[wp-forums] Suggestion for wp.com questions, and one other thing

[Melanie]

If the new kid on the block (at least in offering support help) can jump 
in - I started helping to answer questions because I had trouble finding 
answers myself.

I know that sounds weird, but I've been using WP for a little over a 
year now, and one of the (myriad) reasons I've loved WP is that I could 
*always* find the answers to problems via the forum and the codex 
(previously the wiki). I only ever even posted twice before this week, 
once just to offer thanks for all the expert knowledge in the forum, and 
once to ask a question that was answered almost immediately. When I came 
to the forum the other night to find an answer to a simple problem, I 
quickly realized things were bad, so I jumped in. (And if time allows, 
I'm going to try and be a regular in that capacity.)

The number one biggest problem that I see right now is that the search 
function is completely off kilter, so there are a LOT of questions 
coming through that people would have been able to solve if they'd been 
able to search effectively. I know there are always going to be people 
who don't even bother to search (I did tech support for 8 years... 
believe me, I know), but right now, even those who do search end up 
having to ask. And that's without even mentioning the broken next page 
links and the broken favorites setup.

What's happening right now is chaos brought on by loss of functionality. 
If everything were working as it should, I don't think the need to 
reorganize (though that need does exist) would be nearly the priority it 
seems now. Alas, I am not a programmer, and I'm not familiar enough with 
bbPress to offer help in that area.

I also think less people are willing to offer help because of this 
broken state. It's incredibly frustrating to try and do so when you 
can't even search or keep track of your threads if you have more than 30 
you've tried to help with. I'm fighting to keep from being overwhelmed 
with the prospect myself.

I do realize that it's likely that I'm preaching to the choir here, and 
I doubt my complaints are new. As well, I could be dead wrong. Maybe it 
was just as bad before everything was broken, and I just never noticed. 
I'm just offering up my opinion on the matter. Feel free to ignore me 
completely; I know I'm long winded and most people nod out after the 
first paragraph. :)

Mel