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Permalink Reply by John Burns on May 31, 2017 at 6:51am

I have also had some problems finding what I want through the search.  If I find an idea I really like I will print those pages to a PDF or copy to a word document and save it at that time.  You should also note that there are two search boxes.  One in the top corner that searches all of the site and one at each forum which only searches those threads. 

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on May 31, 2017 at 7:15am

Is it just me or does the forum search not work very well at all?

It's not just you, Kevin! This used to be a "hot topic" and has been a chronic problem.  The bottom line is that this forum is "Powered by Ning" and the Ning software is rather dated and clunky!  I'm a volunteer moderator and although I have some editing/deletion tools, I'm not involved with the technical/software aspects of the forum.  That being said, I've had plenty of feedback over the years and there is universal dissatisfaction with the forum's format and search engine!

On the other hand, I think Zenith Aircraft has given us builders and flyers incredible freedom with this forum - although they sponsor it and pay the bills, Sebastien and the folks at Zenith have taken largely a "hands-off" attitude and typically don't edit or censor the comments and criticisms expressed in the forum (unlike some other aircraft and engine forums).  So, it is hard to be too critical, but I and others have encouraged Zenith to adopt a new forum format with an effective search engine and modern features such as vBulletin.  I know Sebastien and one of our more technically-adept members, Efe Cem Elci, have been in discussions about this but I've heard nothing lately.  It seems one sticking point is that there would be a tremendous archive of information that somehow needs to be preserved in a transition to a new forum platform.  Perhaps some positive and contructive encouragement to Sebastien from the forum members might get the ball moving again?  ;>)

Thanks for letting me use your post as a "teaching moment" to just give a little background on the nature of the problem!

As far as the present problem with searches, I'll usually try a search in one of the two previously mentioned search boxes.  If this doesn't yield a result, I've had good luck to simply use Google and use a few key words such as "Zenith.aero" or "STOL 750" or "STOL 701," etc., to yield results relevant to this forum.

John

N750A

Zenith.aero Forum Moderator

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