Join our beta and test our new search function

[KatieCMumsnet]

Hi all,

We’ve been improving our search function to make it a bit more usable and to improve the results, and we’d love to get your feedback.

To give early access to features, we’ve created a beta version of Mumsnet for users to opt-in to. By joining the beta and providing feedback, you’ll help us decide what works and what needs to be improved before we make the feature available to everyone.

To join the beta, click this link: Join beta

When you click the link you’ll see some changes:

• On desktop, there's a new search bar in the header that links to the new search function
• On mobile, we’ve moved the header around slightly and there’s a new search icon top right

All feedback is helpful and welcome (good or bad). So if you've got a mo, please give it a try and tell us what you think using the feedback icon on the search pages (the smiley face bottom right corner) or in reply to this post.

Thanks!

And if you want to leave the beta for any reason then click this link: Leave beta

Initial thoughts,

it's incredibly slow, both the initial search and then switching between tabs (all/Talk etc).

It's odd that the search drop-down bit assumes I am searching for a user (when in fact I was searching for a board).

Having looked closer, I see that the search does not even consider that you may have been looking for a board - I think boards should be included as there are so many and it can be quite laborious to find the one you are after.

Also, another comment (sorry). When I search the site I have found it is generally best to leave the site and search Google for "Mumsnet + keywords). This works pretty much all the time and is what, TBH, your search needs to match.

New results page is much friendlier and prettier though.

Will give this a try. Recently searched 'Singapore grip' (the tv series) - first result was the Penis Beaker thread

Can we have results in date order please?

If I am looking for, for example Tenerife, I am more interested in recent posts, but the returns 2020, then 2015, 2014,2019 etc

Date order would be great, with the latest posts first.

It is slow and I can’t see it as better, and as the pp said, the dates are still all over the place.

I searched bootcamp, intuitively you’d think biwis latest one would be one of the top results, but it’s just a random mess with dates in random order, jumping from 2017 to 2012 and then back again.

I’d assume the most popular and most recent would be a key filter, but it seems someone forgot to add prioritisation and it just gives a load of random results,

Honestly it looks a bit like the people doing the enhancements don’t actually use the site, so have limited knowledge of what would be useful and irs more generic enhancements for the sake of it.

I’d be worried you’re spending money on stuff folks don’t need or want. But a couple of tweaks could have made them very useful.

I dislike that the ability to search between dates has been removed. It was a feature I used quite a lot. Removing the feature seems odd, especially when it doesn't seem to have been replaced with a better alternative.

I really don't like how it assumes you're looking for a poster, and when you type you get a drop down list of @ poster names.

It feels much slower than the previous search, but I do like the clearer results page.

Finally the article part seems broken. When I search via the article tab it takes me back to the all category. Then when I click articles it gives me random results. Even if I click newest then go back to relevancy the results often don't make sense.

I searched holiday and the first results were

1. Best baby food makers and blenders
2. What we did in lockdown: streaming, schooling and sex toys
3. The top products bought by Mumsnet users in 2020

I searched pets and the first results were

1. Win £750 in vouchers for Love2shop and Pets at Home (understandable why this comes up)
2. 12 Best Lego Sets for Kids 2020 | Mumsnet
3. The best plant pots 2020 | Mumsnet Swears By

I think that’s the thing, it doesn’t work. I guess the question would be how come the folks who developed it didn’t notice it doesn’t work?

@Bluntness100

I think that’s the thing, it doesn’t work. I guess the question would be how come the folks who developed it didn’t notice it doesn’t work?

Yes it's quite worrying that it's managed to get to beta testing without such obvious problems being spotted.

It seems the same as it was before, to me. The main problem being that it just returns a ton of data in no particular date order, with no way to sort (by date, poster etc) or filter.

@ThePawtriarchy

It seems the same as it was before, to me. The main problem being that it just returns a ton of data in no particular date order, with no way to sort (by date, poster etc) or filter.

Which is really rhe basics of a search function. This just chucks everything with a linked word out in no particular order. Which is useless.

It’s better to do one or two enhancements that actuall work and enhance the user experience than spend time and money on pointless stuff like notifications or a search function that doesn’t actually provide any benefit.

This improvement and the notification one is the very definition of the emperors new clothes.

It's the date thing that gets me.
How hard is it to return the latest posts first? Or last? Just put them in some sort of fecking order!
@Bluntness100

Okay, there is a whole message missing.

Twice I tried to say something along the line of; this seems like an update created by in house staff, I can well imagine Mods trying to create the new search function, and doing okay, but not brilliantly.
Someone who knows what they are doing could create a search function without breaking sweat!

I do think we need to start embracing the funkiness of MN - its never going to be a fully functioning super site. It really is run on a shoe string.

But that’s ok, the site is great, and it works fine. Sure it could be better, couldn’t everything. 🤷‍♀️

@Bluntness100

But that’s ok, the site is great, and it works fine. Sure it could be better, couldn’t everything. 🤷‍♀️

Is this sarcasm 😂😂

Sorry, the site does run fine, until you need or want to do a search.

Then it is crap. To be honest.

On a first look, I’d say the search function is slow and very annoying as it doesn’t actually bring up results remotely linked to what I’m searching for. How are burping a baby or nappies connected with barn conversions, for example?

Also, as others have already said, the search results should be in date order, starting with the most recent - particularly if you are going to remove the facility to search between specific dates.

The current search function is pretty rubbish but I have yet to see anything better in the beta version.

Well no. It’s not sarcasm, but I agree you can’t search for threads, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Just tried the beta search.
I like being able to pick topics to search and couldn't see a way to do that now?
I searched for the word deployment and all I got was results for employment.
So not good for me at all.

The search function isn't that great tbh, it brings up unrelated results, and 2+ year old ones at that. Could there be a filter for age? I find that a google search with mumsnet on the end works much better, but would love if you brought it to the site/app!

It didn’t work for me. I searched for Alzheimer’s and the top result was an 2010 article about WW2 veterans being under attack.

Still enjoy Mumsnet though -I’m not paying so I’m not complaining!

Hi all,

We released this in to beta so we could spot issues and fix them so thank you for taking the time to give feedback.

A note on some of the key issues raised:

• The set of results you see first should be organised by ‘relevancy’ but it looks like something is broken as it’s not returning relevant results - we will look in to that

• There is an option to filter by newest or oldest first but it must not be clear enough so we will make that clearer

• Speed is also a big issue so we will speed it up!

We will make some changes and let you know once we’ve made updates - I hope you’ll take the time to give it another go.

Thanks again,

Katie @ MNHQ

That's much better! Perfect :)

Well, I had great success.

I did have one go that worked (sort of).

I picked a post from an old Strictly thread, where I knew a couple of keywords, the poster, and roughly when it was posted.

So with the old search I set Telly Addicts (pre-favourited) as the topic, put in the dates it was between, the poster's name and my keywords. It was the top result.

The new one, I put the keywords and the poster's name in. I didn't get anything. Without the poster's name I did get Strictly threads but from all different years.

(I also don't like being told I might have mistyped when I know I haven't!)