Does search work in Discussions / Q&A

Question

I see a lot of mods and other people often say to people: search before you post (paraphrased)

But... does search work?

I tend to check after people are being said that, but I don’t get search hits on my phone (iOS app)

I’m not able to post photos here, but when I searched on “increase” “level” “SoloLearn”
I got a lot of hits that had nothing to do with my search query.
First hit was: why has sololearn stopped making assignments. Tags: “assignments” “coding”
Second hit: was about pointers and references in c and c++

So.... any thoughts?

I am genuinely interested and I’m not flame baiting.
I can imagine people getting disparaged when they hear they are doing it wrong (and people not answering because of it) when they can’t find anything when they search..

Answer 1

Brave Tea, you are absolutely right. The search feature on Sololearn is unreliable and glitchy. It doesn't simply work most of the time. When it does, the search results can be very strange because all topics are jammed together. It's really difficult to find something, especially if you are new to Sololearn.

Some seasoned users tend to "bully" noobs with links to other Q&A's. That's awful! The reason is: they most likely saw or answered a similar question before, just because they spent a lot of time here.

I don't mind those "experts" and I always respond, if the question is interesting.

But to be fair, there are many questions that suck. That really pisses people off.

Answer 2

Faisal, I believe, we all agree with you and understand the both sides. But it's not the point of this Q&A. The point is: the search feature does not work. It's silly to point at the the door of a collapsing house.

Most importantly: the bugs should be fixed. And a better tutorial is needed for new users. It has to be there just like the hints that are already implemented.

Answer 3

Check this tutorial by Babak
https://www.sololearn.com/post/77534/?ref=app
(Most popular option also works👍)

Apart from what ~ swim ~ mentioned you can try bobbies search engine if you want to find things specifically in sololearn

Answer 4

Update: I tried the search terms "Increase level" and "increase level XP" with default sort. It returned relevant results. Beta App v2.6.2 released 1st Aug. It works better than stable.

Old:
It needs to be done a specific way to have better odds of getting one.

What i do is: sort by "Most Popular", type a few (non-general) keywords, scroll a bit. Should get some hits. But If that fails then a search engine is the better (more precise) way to get it.

Either way, from what I hear the beta app improves the search functionality quite a bit. Once it hits stable our search woes should be gone for good. Till then continuing as before.

Answer 5

Just updated to the beta. app v2.6.2.121(according to play store) Released 1 Aug
Every sort option has an asterisk Seniru ~ swim ~

Answer 6

thanks for the tip!

since it is so badly in need of a fix would suggest we all keep answering people’s questions :)

Answer 7

D'Lite
Duplicate posts which contain unique/quality answers can stay. It's duplicates which don't that go.

If you want to send specific feedback. The app and email are your best options.

~ swim ~ That does appear to be ahead of stable(2.5.5). You also have an about section, i guess?

Sort option marked with "*" in the Q&A were supposed to have an improved algorithm. Perhaps, try sending feedback. As you are on the beta. which should hit stable once done.

Answer 8

~ swim ~
Just wondering, does an asterisk (*) appear next to the different sections in the Q&A forum? If not, then you may not have the correct version of the beta which fixed the search engine 🤷‍♂️

Answer 9

Faisal no problem 😊 Thanks!

Answer 10

Lord Krishna I have the 2.6.2 version but doesn't have the asterisk mark 😒

Answer 11

~ swim ~
I'm currently using version 2.6.2 (same as Lord Krishna), so anything below that shouldn't have that feature (IIRC). However, considering your post where you shared a link to some shady APK, you seem to be using an unofficial version of the Sololearn beta which would likely not include all the features for that version

Answer 12

Lord Krishna hmm nope. Cannot find it

Faisal I also installed the app from an external source. If that's the case can share the apk if it's possible, please?

Answer 13

Vitya yeah I know. I get both sides, truly I do.
the most annoying I find who post other QnA posts (which in itself I am okay with) that link to other QnA posts and so on. that is jusy lazy :(
be kind to eachother :)

Answer 14

My search feature is also not good despite the recent claims of improvement. I guess a manual update is required.

Answer 15

The issue here is that duplicate posts aren't given room for "quality" answers because they're referred back to older and possibly "less quality" answers

Answer 16

Seniru
I personally didn't install the beta through the use of an APK, and I wouldn't necessarily be willing to share the beta without consent from SL considering that it likely isn't allowed to do so :/

Answer 17

~ swim ~
Yeah I can understand that haha
For the future though, just try to stick with any official releases of the app as to avoid false information being spread regarding the future versions of the platform d:

Answer 18

Brave Tea & Vitya
I can't speak for everyone, but the main reason why other Q&A posts are generally linked to newer threads in the forum is because they're simply duplicate posts that have been asked several times before. Having people ask similar questions daily can drown out some of the more specific and unique questions, and so redirecting users to search for their question prior to posting is done in hopes that it will reduce the number of duplicate threads. It is done with the intent not being to bully or just because it's an easier thing to do than answering the question itself, but rather to help users understand the guidelines and rules for Sololearn as to keep it regulated

Answer 19

Lord Krishna I feel Brave Tea is somewhat right.
Things change, better solutions/answers could be provided, new people with new insights join Sololearn every now and then.

Its best if we "re-answer" certain questions more efficiently

Answer 20

~ swim ~
I had deleted that post earlier so it should be gone now. I now realize that I should've let you know about it, so I apologize for the lack of communication on my end for that