[wp-forums] Codex Sidedoor

[TechGnome]

Fear not spencerp, this is one that got through...
I'm giving this one a new thread title as it's  new topic about the 
Codex and getting people to use it.... which is always a wonderful topic 
around here.

spencerp wrote:
> T.G. wrote:
> 1) You should care though. These are your forums just as they are mine, > just as ..Big ol' snip ...
> There is a HUGE sticky right on the front door, and yet, those questions still come through the forums. I know it's not listed on every forum, but still. And there is also other repeated questions all the time too though.
>
> I know were all pointing users to the codex with links, which does help with most I guess, but there is still that % that doesn't even want to look through it.. I guess it was just a suggestion, and it's ok with me with whatever suggestions, opinions and what not.. =)
>
> spencerp

I see the forum as being the barrier in this case.... on one hand we 
want the forums to be easy to use that people will want to use it.... on 
the other hand, it is too easy... and then comes the fact that the 
search doesn't work... and as I'm thinking about it... why ISN'T there a 
link to the Codex on the Support front page?  I know this has been 
brought up time and time again.... but why can't we get a link to the 
Codex main page and some of the FAQ sections in the codex put into the 
margin of the forums? Or sneak them in between the tag cloud and the 
latest discussions?

I suspect that people hit the wordpress.org site, see "support" in the 
menu and click it - completely oblivious that if the click the "docs" 
link they can go to the Codex.... What we need is a second entrance to 
the Codex from the forums.... I also still believe that a Codex "hint" 
needs to be near the search boxes (ie: Did you try looking in the 
Codex?) that link to the Codex.

But the bottom line is that the search needs to be fixed in the 
forums.... I think people aren't searching because 1) trying to follow 
some of those suggestions are kludge that shouldn't be needed. Example 
is the first one: USing Google - Into their search box, write this: 
site:wordpress.org/support/ your_search_term ...
OK, but if I want to search on multiple words, how does that work? Odds 
are the typical Joe using WP doesn't know... Heck, I don't even know... 
do I separate them with %20 ? or + or _ ???
2) I just entered this is, just for kicks: site:wordpress.org/support/ 
can't find database
First thing is something about importing from GreyMatter and is over a 
year old.
Second result is newer and on topic Third result os over two years old 
and includes people no longer with us.
Point is that results can be hit and miss.
A lot of it is cached stuff that reads "*Can't find* SQL *database*. 
Topic started 2 years ago; 12 posts so far; Latest reply from 1; This 
topic is not resolved." in the result excerpt. Which is all that stuff 
you find at the top of the threads... Makes it very hard to tell what I 
am going to find in there....

But this is all stuff that has been said before, will be said again,.... 
and again..... and again.

-tg