I'm having problems finding answers and my posts are getting marked duplicate, what do I do?

Question

Question: What problems exist in the search engine user interface?

Question: What procedure should I follow when using search to avoid problems in the search UI?

NOT a feature / change request

I was having quite a few problems and wondered what to do. I realized that a good portion of my difficulty centered on some issues with the search engine user interface.

SEARCH ENGINE UI ISSUES ADDRESSED:

a) Selecting a tag from the search results clears your search text.

b) The tag list on the right does not show at all times.

c) The tag list on the right is cleared by a non-existant tag.

d) The tag list on the right is cleared by a search with no results.

e) The tag list on the right is cleared by hitting to get your results.

f) You added text to the list of tags in your search text. Clicking another tag clears your text (but not the tags.)

g) Clicking a tag from your list of already selected tags clears your search.

h) The tag lists on the right is cleared by adding any text to the list of tags you have built.

i) Search text only expands when you are typing, if you text was cleared you might not know.

I needed an immediate solution independent of any improvement that might be made to the search. I came up with a procedure I use that appears in my answer below.

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I found quite a few tags that might apply:
[search] [tags] [community-wiki] [bug] [feature-request] [asking-questions] [question-quality] [new-questions] [searching] [similar-questions] [advanced-search] [search-results] [help]

Answer 1

Here is my workaround for problems with the search. Click Ask A Question, and compose your question the best that you can. But do not click the button to actually post the question to the site. Instead, stop and examine the links that appear above your text.

This search is way better than anything you can get by carefully thinking of keywords and tags and entering them into the search box. This is especially true on Meta, but has worked for me on Stack Overflow also. It eliminates all your issues a through i and is generally quickest, too.

You can then open any of the links in a new tab, and discard your post, since you no longer need to make it.

Answer 2

I use Google.

It works great, and as a bonus, it finds the answer even if it isn't on a Stack Exchange site!

If I'm absolutely confident that I saw the answer on a particular Stack Exchange site, I use Google's site search feature:

search keywords site:meta.stackoverflow.com

I confess to frequently wondering why individual websites even bother with a "search" function. I know there are all kinds of variously-valid reasons, but talk about re-inventing an inferior wheel.

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Aside from all of that, it looks like most of your recent activity and duplicate-question-closure experiences have occurred on Meta. In that case, allow me to remind you that Meta is a very unusual place, inhabited by unusual people with a near-obsession with how Stack Exchange sites operate and an apparent uncanny ability to remember nearly everything that has ever been discussed here.

I vote to close a lot of questions as duplicates here, and sometimes I amaze myself at my ability to find duplicates. Sometimes it's memory, sometimes it's search-fu, and other times it's just the persistence that comes with knowing that something must exist. The one thing it is not is a commentary on the person whose question I vote to close.

So you should not feel bad to have your question closed as a duplicate, especially on Meta. It doesn't mean that you did anything wrong, and it doesn't necessarily mean that you put an insufficient amount of effort into searching for your question. Obviously there are exceptions to that, like the 900th time we get a "why am I blocked from posting questions on SO?" question; we're all tired of that and express our distaste with downvotes. But as a rule, it can be difficult for the uninitiated to find what they're looking for on Meta. For example, sometimes question titles are written for humor and play up inside jokes more than the content of the question itself.

One of the great things, I think, is the amount of collective experience here that can dig up these gems and point people in the right place. That's just as good as getting an answer, in my opinion, if not better.

Answer 3

Here is a work around procedure that will help avoid UI problems with the search. it is my hope this might be a collaborative effort so please feel free to revise it.

FIRST: Try going into "Ask Question" and typing in your title. A list of existing answers appears. You can try playing with your question and will likely find the answer. If that fails, before your asking question attempt a more thorough search by placing your search in the search box at the top right of the screen. This will take you to the search page. (From: Kate Gregory)

PROCEDURE TO AVOID SEARCH ENGINE UI ISSUES:

i) Type your search text (without tags) into the window at the top right of the page.

ii) Copy this to the clipboard. Either +A +C or X.

iii) This takes you to the search page. Clear your text if needed. Start with a blank box.

iv) Open another window/tab for a view of tags. Right click "Tags" near the top, Open a new tab / window. You are going to use tags and this will help to narrow the relevant results.

v) Now start choosing tags. Type your first tag. Make sure it exists first. Now you get list of tags on the right.

vi) Continue selecting tags until you have all you want.

vii) Now add your texts. Probably with an existing answer.

viii) No? Try variations on the words. Similar words You may have made a poor choice.

ix) Still no existing answer? Remove phrases like "How do I" "What is the" "Is there any". Just use key words.

x) Still didn't work? Try broadening your terms by using very few words that are central to your questions. You will get a lot of results but try going through a few pages to see if they are close to your needs.

xi) If all of the above has failed, trying ask the meta-so community. They will either help you rephrase your question or possibly just answer it if has a short answer.