https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/3b062r/moderators_search_page_updates_subreddit/
created by tdohz on 24/06/2015 at 22:23 UTC*
351 upvotes, 25 top-level comments (showing 25)
Hi mods,
We have a couple of changes coming down the line that may impact you: an updated search page, and changes to the subreddit description field.
We've been beta-testing[1] an updated search page for the last month, and are now getting ready to launch it to everyone. These changes include the introduction of subreddit results, restyled post results, and a general UI refresh. You may need to update your subreddit CSS to accommodate the new results page - you can find more details on this cssnews post[2]. Please aim to complete your changes within the next week, if possible, to provide the best experience when we launch search.
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/beta/comments/36k0u3/beta_update_519_new_search_page/
2: https://www.reddit.com/r/cssnews/comments/3b061i/upcoming_css_change_new_search_page/
If you are relying on search as a way to "filter" the listings page, and therefore want a more consistent experience with listings, we will temporarily support the old search UI using the URL parameter `feature=legacy_search`, like so: `https://www.reddit.com/r/beta/search?q=search&feature=legacy_search`. This is also a quick way to access the per-post actions, so if you rely on search as way to do bulk moderation on posts, this solution should work for you as well. We are working on building out both better filtering tools as well as better bulk-moderation tools. When those are ready, we will remove support for this parameter and the old UI.
We haven't done a lot with the subreddit description field historically, but we're now starting to use them more as a simple way to, well, describe a subreddit to people. For example, our OpenGraph[3] metadata uses the subreddit description, which means that these will be displayed whenever someone posts a link to a subreddit on Facebook or Twitter. We're also using them in our new search page for subreddit results.
As a result, we have a couple of requests for you regarding your subreddit descriptions:
1. Please remove any markdown you have in the description field. Many of the places we're using the description do not support markdown, such as in the OpenGraph tags. Markdown support will be deprecated in this field going forward, and at some point we will likely remove any remaining markdown in existing fields.
2. If applicable, please consider updating your description to actually concisely describe the purpose of your subreddit. As mentioned, in many cases this description will be the first or only information about your subreddit provided, so it's ideal if this is descriptive rather than, say, an inside joke or just the name of your subreddit again.
Let us know if you have any questions.
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4: http://i.imgur.com/Nn2ybiv.png
5: http://i.imgur.com/qpZnpCE.png
Secondly, the reason we are asking you to strip them out now is that any automated process to remove markdown tags will likely mangle some edge cases and therefore leave your subreddit with a possibly less-useful/readable description. Consider this an early heads up that your subreddit description may be mangled if you decide to leave markdown tags in.
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6: https://www.reddit.com/prefs/
7: http://i.imgur.com/YJf6wu4.png
Comment by CrypticCraig at 25/06/2015 at 00:14 UTC
63 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I thought the point of the beta-testing was to get feedback then change accordingly? From what I've seen the new search page has been negatively reviewed. It's much more complicated than it needs to be, I'd like at leas the option to switch back or the css to do it independently. It was the reason I turned off beta.
Comment by creesch at 25/06/2015 at 03:53 UTC
34 upvotes, 2 direct replies
As far as mass mod tools go, you are aware of /r/toolbox (used by a few thousand moderators) and the fact that we encourage you to rip off any feature we offer?
Comment by spicedpumpkins at 25/06/2015 at 00:13 UTC
67 upvotes, 4 direct replies
Many mods keep asking for and NOT getting search by date range within a sub (e.g. submissions older than 6 months but less then a year, etc.) or even the most basic of quoted searches such as "The Who" still delivers results for *anything* with the word "who" in it.
C'MON man.
Comment by [deleted] at 25/06/2015 at 04:25 UTC
18 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by bubbla_ at 02/07/2015 at 02:24 UTC*
12 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I hate the new search with passion, it looks clunky and takes way too much space compared to the old one. What do you need all that empty space for? Not to mention that now narrow by subreddit function which I used every day is in the end (why?!). I don't know, maybe it is better from technical point of view, but as a user it's fucking awful. At least you could've let us choose.
EDIT: some guy posted a script for greasemonkey/tampermonkey you can find at /r/Enhancement that fixes this atrocity.
Comment by Walter_Bishop_PhD at 24/06/2015 at 22:52 UTC
22 upvotes, 2 direct replies
This change breaks RES' search widgets in /r/Dashboard - do you think you could add a little tweak to make the search page use the "legacy" layout if /r/Dashboard is the referrer on a search request? At least until they're able to push out another release
Comment by SquareWheel at 25/06/2015 at 05:57 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Much thanks for adding ?feature=legacy_search. That solves my issue completely, even if it's not a long-term fix.
Comment by [deleted] at 25/06/2015 at 16:37 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Well I was a beta tester. And the search bar is still horrific.
Comment by _underrated_ at 02/07/2015 at 16:42 UTC
9 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Aaaah, I usually don't comment on things like that. But, today I went to search few things, and saw this clusterfuck. Can't believe someone thought this was a good idea.
I can't find anything, I don't know which is imgur link, which is self post until I freaking open it.
How is that an improvement? This is worst search option ever. Why do you never listen to your users? No one wants this, as evidenced in comment section.
Search function before wasn't that good, but this one is awful. I can't figure out anything on it.
Comment by radd_it at 24/06/2015 at 23:26 UTC
15 upvotes, 1 direct replies
We are working on building out both better filtering tools
Comment by Scientologist2a at 25/06/2015 at 01:12 UTC
12 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I had to remove myself from the beta test because the result page on the new search only gave one page of results, which in many cases made the results even less useful
The reaction to this should be interesting.
you thought the previous riot was bad. . . .
honestly, you should be able to search everything.
Conspiracy theorists will accuse you of hiding stuff through an even more useless search.
Drama awaits
Comment by Moosemaster21 at 05/07/2015 at 17:22 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The new search page is actually terrible. Please revert to the old style or at the very least keep the `&feature=legacy_search` option. This is extremely important to myself and a lot of other moderators I've conversed with. Not just moderators even, I've spoken to several normal users who messaged me (via communications forms other than reddit) asking me if I knew why the search page looked so ugly. Don't sweep this under the rug, this is a massive issue. I use the search function pretty frequently and I'm already seeing myself use it less because of this change. It's a mess.
Comment by 1millionbucks at 25/06/2015 at 03:19 UTC
10 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Instead of changing the search UI, how about you make the search actually better?
Comment by PabstyLoudmouth at 25/06/2015 at 01:04 UTC
17 upvotes, 0 direct replies
You know what I would like to see? An Admin post thanking all the mods and sub creators that make this what it is. Celebrate 10 years and not one word about sub creators and their mods. All done for free so you can have a good job that pays much higher than average.
We don't want this to change, most of us like this just that way it is. What was my first ever post? You can't find it, and that is a problem.
Comment by shaggorama at 25/06/2015 at 13:40 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
How is reddit using OpenGraph? This is the first I've read about this protocol (let me know if this question belongs over at /r/redditdev)
Comment by [deleted] at 24/06/2015 at 22:59 UTC*
30 upvotes, 6 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by [deleted] at 25/06/2015 at 00:16 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I didn't even know you could use markup in the description field, lol.
Comment by Sephr at 24/06/2015 at 23:40 UTC*
5 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Please remove any markdown you have in the description field.
If your metadata framework can't handle rich text the problem is with the framework, not the text.
Instead of killing off the feature have you considered only sending the text content of the rendered HTML to OpenGraph?
Comment by SaberMarie at 02/07/2015 at 02:45 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I can see this new search system being useful for subs that rely on a lot of text content. Some subs rely more on title keywords and flair formatting, though, and this makes it more difficult to use the search feature.
Comment by Dropping_fruits at 25/06/2015 at 11:41 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
What about links in the description to private subreddits? Are you just going to kill things such as subreddit redirects and entry requesting to private subreddits such as /r/reallounge?
Comment by HenryCorp at 02/07/2015 at 05:31 UTC
0 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Please make the new search go away forever. Come back when you have a distinct functional advantage.
Comment by PowerOfGamers01 at 24/06/2015 at 22:57 UTC
0 upvotes, 1 direct replies
thanks daddio.
Comment by V2Blast at 25/06/2015 at 13:13 UTC
-1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Search stuff mostly seems good, and I'm glad you added a "legacy" feature (at least until you make "filtering" possible without using search that way).
It seems like most people don't understand the difference between the description and the sidebar. By and large, there's rarely a need for any markdown in the description. That said, you guys do need to add a link somewhere on the page of a private subreddit to message the mods of the subreddit.
Comment by [deleted] at 25/06/2015 at 01:39 UTC*
-22 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Hey Mods, My name is /u/Assy-McGee, and I hate every single one of you. All of you are fat, retarded, no-lifes who spend every second of their day looking at stupid ass pictures. You are everything bad in the world. Honestly, have any of you ever gotten any strange? I mean, I guess it’s fun making fun of people because of your own insecurities, but you all take to a whole new level. This is even worse than jerking off to pictures on facebook.
Don’t be a stranger. Just hit me with your best shot. I’m pretty much perfect. I was captain of the football team, and starter on my basketball team. What sports do you play, other than “jack off to naked drawn Japanese people”? I make 120,000$ a year as a /r/4chan moderator, and have a banging hot girlfriend (She just blew me; Shit was SO cash). You are all fatass mods who should just ban yourselves. Thanks for listening.
Comment by [deleted] at 25/06/2015 at 05:27 UTC
-2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Will pictures that identify your subreddit be affected after the update?
