Bug 261039 - The /search/ page is useful, but obscure
Summary: The /search/ page is useful, but obscure
Status: Open
Alias: None
Product: Documentation
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Website (show other bugs)
Version: Latest
Hardware: Any Any
: --- Affects Some People
Assignee: Wolfram Schneider
URL: https://www.freebsd.org/search/
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2022-01-08 17:08 UTC by Graham Perrin
Modified: 2023-07-29 05:46 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

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Description Graham Perrin freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2022-01-08 17:08:10 UTC
I stumbled across <https://www.freebsd.org/search/> amongst my forgotten open tabs from months ago. 

Captured a few weeks ago: <https://web.archive.org/web/20211101053005/https://www.freebsd.org/search/>

It's a useful page, however I have no idea how I got there; I suspect that it's obscure. 

From its sidebar, with 'About' at the head, I wondered whether it's in the About area, however the word 'search' is nowhere in the body or sidebar of <https://www.freebsd.org/about/>.
Comment 1 Pau Amma 2022-01-09 01:19:05 UTC
(In reply to Graham Perrin from comment #0)
I'd expect to find that page linked from web resources and or support, at least.

Tangentially, a site map would be nice to have as well IMO.
Comment 2 Graham Perrin freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2022-01-09 11:39:25 UTC
(In reply to Graham Perrin from comment #0)

> … I have no idea how I got there; …

Discovery might have been: 

1. <https://www.freebsd.org/community/mailinglists/>

2. You can search or browse the mailing list archives. At the 
   current time, archives prior to May 2021 are in a separate archive.

3. click 'search'

4. <https://www.freebsd.org/search/#mailinglists>

5. manually remove the anchor from the tail of the URL

6. load. 

Years passed before I discovered the /search/ page, probably because I nearly always use Google for tightly focused search results.
Comment 3 Graham Perrin freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2022-01-09 11:55:49 UTC
(In reply to Graham Perrin from comment #0)

> … I have no idea how I got there; …

Ah, probably via <https://www.freebsd.org/projects/newbies/>, the second of the two 'search' links under 'Questions and Support'. 

As a side note, I almost never clicked the 'New to FreeBSD?' button, at the home page, because I used PC-BSD and TrueOS (and so, largely avoided the FreeBSD site) for years before I switched to installing FreeBSD. I never thought of myself as new. 

Back on topic: I reckon, there should be an unmistakable link from the home page, to the search page.
Comment 4 Wolfram Schneider freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2023-01-09 19:55:48 UTC
The page https://www.freebsd.org/search/ should be splitted into two parts, 1) By the FreeBSD.org web site and 2) external search services.

I don't think we need a search form for Manual Page or Ports here, that's confusing. Just a link to the search service.