[LOCKED AS ANSWERED] Forum format and searchability

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Morning all!

just took the plunge and wiped my win10 in favour of ZorinOS Lite.

Love the speed - google images load in a flash on an Acer with just 4gb ram, whereas win10 had slowed to an absolute crawl after the latest updates - 1+ min for each page!

Feedback here is about this forum itself.

Where ZorinOS and site is a lovely, clean look, this forum looks old, outdated, like something from the last century. Worse, the search function is almost completely useless. Fine for me, I can use Google site:zoringroup.com to find what I want, but will no doubt leave new or even average users unable to find what they need to know.

Perhaps this is intentional - encourage users to upgrade to the paid versions. But if so there's a flaw in that logic. People who need access to free software (penniless writers like myself) are highly unlikely to do upgrade.

Anything that can be done about the look / search?

Hi and Welcome to the Zorin forum. Yes I know where you are coming from and know it has nothing to do with enticing users to get the paid version. I joined at version 4 and shortly after that it changed to the one you see now. Originally the next major release to be based on Ubuntu 18.04 was going to be released anytime now is going to be late January 2019 - timed with this release will be a new website, the intention of its structure to be like stack exchange so please be patient.

I fear the day our users are no longer into a position to access the huge knowledge database when switching to an uptime system.
Mods are always keen on helping out despite the 'cripple' search engine.

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Just want to say I am really dissapointed in the "search" facility on this forum. It just does not work at all for me and from reading the above seems a general complaint.
For me, trying to get info ahead of installation is being thwarted by this and is putting me off ZorinOS. I guess if search existing does not work then only recourse is to post new questions. That will only clog up the forum with duplicate threads.
Any news about fixing search would be welcome.

Hi

thanks your concern
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14247&p=62744#p62744
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-- for reference --

The limitations of the phpBB forum software are known. For that reason the site allows Google to index. In doing so you can make use of the powerful search engine of the web browser. (same for Bing)

If you add Zorin to your question you will get all our posts on a plate

try Zorin uefi

hope this helps

zorinantwerp wrote:-- for reference --

The limitations of the phpBB forum software are known. For that reason the site allows Google to index. In doing so you can make use of the powerful search engine of the web browser. (same for Bing)

If you add Zorin to your question you will get all our posts on a plate

try Zorin uefi

hope this helps

Don't forget duckduckgo.com or ixquick!

Zabadabadoo, Welcome to using Zorin O.S. To the board, as well.

I started using Zorin a few weeks ago as my first Linux distro. Prior to using that, I had used Windows 7 for a couple years and before that, it was Windows XP Pro.I got on XP when everyone else was getting on Vista. When they were getting on Vista, I was sniffing around at NT2000.
I'm a little slow, but I get there, eventually.
I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am.
I've had some trials with it. And I have noticed something that is a general trend: Millions of people are using Windows and having issues with it. They take to the web and discuss those issues and seek out advice. Linux is a smaller crowd and many in that crowd are much more knowledgeable than me. Due to this, a general search of pretty much anywhere is much less likely to produce a slew of answers like it does with Windows. It's the numbers.
Since my first loading of Zorin O.S., I have learned far more at a much faster rate than I ever learned on Windows. It feels like I was plodding along for years and just switched to the fast lane.
The versatility of the system has caused me to try out a number of things with varied success and due to the lack of easy access help as there was with Windows and M.S. Support, I have had to be far more self reliant and hit a lot of books. Frustrating, at times... But worthwhile. Like looking in the mirror a few months after leaving your desk job for a physically demanding one.
Last night, I was learning how to make good custom icons. Just because. I also made my first Firefox theme because the one I wanted didn't exist and I wanted it. Never did that, before.
So, I actually disagree with the Mainstream Idea here:
Post. Ask. Discuss. Who cares if it is a duplicate? Who cares if someone else discussed it ten years ago? Today is today. And with many new releases, updated discussion is probably a good thing.
Last night I struggled with trying to turn off edge tiling for an embarrassingly long time. I tried all the suggested tips on Terminal. I tried everything in dconf-editor. Nothing worked.
Then I opened CCSM and unchecked the box that says: "Make grid."
That was it. No one else discussed that solution because it's well... outdated. I'm slow, but I will get there eventually...

Hi Aravision, your mention of CCSM might confuse new users as Compiz to which CCSM refers to is not installed by default.

Swarfendor437 wrote:Hi Aravision, your mention of CCSM might confuse new users as Compiz to which CCSM refers to is not installed by default.

Well, unless he has that explicit issue in which I was providing a mere "example of experiences" and not providing a Guide or Walkthrough; I don't believe it is an issue, at all. Now you are just starting to over-nitpick. I am sure as a Mighty Internet Forum Moderator, you feel plenty justified to micro-manage, but there is a very Clear Reason people dislike Microsoft Windows. This is not a topic where someone asked a specific question; it's opinions and suggestions.

But... if you want me to stick 100% to topic;
This forum rejected my protonmail to register requiring me to fallback on using accursed (Now "Oath") yahoo, which I hate.
I have participated on many vBulletin discussion boards over the past decade and have never experienced one that has the User Settings so cramped and restrictive. I would think a Linux topic Forum would be more freedom minded.
So, there's some negative feedback to cancel out my positive comments.

I was giving guidance, not criticising, unless of course you are up for a temporary ban!
The problem with the forum is it is phpBB - the new release of Zorin will coincide with the implementation of a site akin to Stack Exchange.

Am locking this thread.