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Justmenoworries Since: Apr, 2018
#1: Jan 17th 2023 at 9:49:40 PM

This problem started two days ago. If there's already a thread for it, I apologize, I currently have no way of finding it. So as I said, the search function hasn't been working right for me for two days. Every time I type something into the bar and hit enter, the page won't load properly. It'll just search and search, without displaying any results. I've tried to use it from my phone a few times, just to be sure it wasn't anything to do with my laptop, but got the same outcome.

When I follow direct link, everything goes swimmingly, but having to search for a direct link to a page isn't always practical, especially when I'm searching for a trope I don't know the exact name of.

Is anybody else having this problem, and if yes, is it being worked on already?

Edited by Justmenoworries on Jan 18th 2023 at 2:14:50 AM

T-Squared Pixel Pusher from Next Sunday, AD Since: Nov, 2018 Relationship Status: Heisenberg unreliable
Pixel Pusher
#2: Jan 17th 2023 at 10:06:12 PM

It's not just you. I can't use the search function either.

Beep Boop.
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#3: Jan 18th 2023 at 3:22:40 AM
MorganWick (Elder Troper)
#4: Jan 18th 2023 at 10:19:08 PM

No problems for me either. If you're still having problems, try using Google with "site:tvtropes.org".

Troper1138 Since: Dec, 2010
#5: Jan 18th 2023 at 10:27:17 PM

Can you search for anything on Google itself? If you're getting a CAPTCHA on Google, it will likely mess up your searches on this site as well. (The TVTropes search engine basically uses Google—it says "Enhanced by Google" at the bottom of your results, with a link to a page talking about Google's Programmable Search Engine: "Add a customizable search box to your web pages and show fast, relevant results powered by Google Search".)

CompletelyNormalGuy Am I a weirdo? from a place where folks put cream cheese on hot dogs (Oldest One in the Book)
Am I a weirdo?
#6: Jan 18th 2023 at 10:43:47 PM

I've played around with it a bit. The "old search" feature isn't working for me. It just keeps loading indefinitely. If I switch the slider to "new search" though, that works.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
Geoduck Bivalve from Pacific NW (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
Bivalve
#7: Jan 19th 2023 at 1:17:13 AM

I'm having the same problem (old search spins its wheels, new search works OK), but only with Firefox, if I try it with Chrome, it works OK. And yes, using Google directly works.

Edited by Geoduck on Jan 19th 2023 at 1:23:07 AM

The Mansion of E
Justmenoworries Since: Apr, 2018
#8: Jan 19th 2023 at 11:57:20 PM

So I've read through the responses (thanks, by the way) and the problem seems to be that I'm using Firefox. And Old Search seemingly doesn't work on Firefox anymore. I don't plan on switching to Chrome (I really dislike Google in all it's forms) so I guess I'll just be using New Search from now on, that still works fine for me.

Again, thanks for all the help.

One last thing: Is there really nothing that can be done about Old Search and Firefox? New Search a lot of times doesn't show me work pages that I know exist or shows me pages that are completely unrelated to what I was searching for, so it's still not ideal for me.

Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#9: Jan 20th 2023 at 8:05:48 PM

Old search isn't working for me either (on Firefox, by the way). And new search has... quite a few problems that make it a pain to use. Such as completely ignoring quotation marks, meaning you can't even narrow down the search more to get around the other problems.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#10: Jan 20th 2023 at 8:13:07 PM

This is very strange. I just tested this on Chrome and Firefox (I use the former but have both on my laptop), and it worked on both.

On Chrome:

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2023_01_20_at_111111_pm.png

On Firefox:

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2023_01_20_at_111139_pm.png

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
akumanner Since: Nov, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#11: Jan 22nd 2023 at 11:49:22 AM

Old search doesn't work for me on Brave. New search Pretty much requires exact match to give relevant results.

Karxrida from Eureka, the Forbidden Land Since: May, 2012 Relationship Status: I LOVE THIS DOCTOR!
#12: Jan 23rd 2023 at 2:27:19 PM

Old search doesn't work at all for me on Chrome. New search is so useless that it didn't give me the page I wanted even with an exact name.

reppuzan Since: Dec, 2014
#13: Jan 25th 2023 at 7:37:24 PM

Suffering this problem on Chrome too! Weirdly enough, I can search just fine using Microsoft Edge on my PC and Chrome on my smartphone. It's just Chrome on my PC that doesn't work.

Apparently this issue has popped up in the past, so any idea on how to fix it?

SilverCrown (Private) Relationship Status: Singularity
#14: Jan 26th 2023 at 12:59:51 AM

After testing this, I can confirm that old search and new search work on Vivaldi. It seems to just be a Chrome issue.

MajinBlue Since: Aug, 2022
#15: Jan 27th 2023 at 5:48:53 PM

Old Search doesn't work for me on Firefox, Edge, or Duckduckgo. New Search works for all of them, but as stated New Search is hot garbage. I cannot even BEGIN to wonder how New Search works, because it's impossible to find anything using it.

Silverfan Do you have time to learn about Yasaka? from UNKNOWN Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Do you have time to learn about Yasaka?
#16: Jan 28th 2023 at 12:39:29 AM

Oh thank God, I'm not the only one. Several times now when I try searching for anything, it won't give me the exact page even if its a two word title. This seems to only happen on my laptop Chrome but no issues on mobile

If only they had ninshu, Naruto could show Bort his own childhood to stop him being such a little bitch. - Ironypus
Dghcrh You can't escape this monster from Small country that looks like a fish Since: Dec, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
You can't escape this monster
#17: Jan 29th 2023 at 2:20:43 PM

Both searches are useless for me, especially on the forums.

I'm mainly a fan of underrated media.
Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#18: Jan 29th 2023 at 2:35:03 PM

Okay, now NEW search is doing the endless loading thing too. Still on Firefox.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
MajinBlue Since: Aug, 2022
#19: Jan 30th 2023 at 5:35:49 AM

Oh, this is fun. Not only is New Search hanging now, it won't even let me switch to Old Search.

DanteDyavol Since: Jun, 2011
#20: Feb 6th 2023 at 9:11:14 PM

seconding that new search is hot garbage, and old search loads indefinitely. with new search, it's about 50/50 for whether a work will show up at all, even when you specify that you're looking for a work, and even if it has a pretty unique name.

for example, if you look up Skinamarink, a movie with a unique name, that clearly has a work page, on the new search, it doesn't return any results at all. when you narrow it down to only search for works, it pulls up a bunch of unrelated works, but the actual page for Skinamarink doesn't show up at all. at least, not on the first 5 pages, after which i stopped looking. i didn't even know the movie **had** a page, until i actually typed the url into my browser.

MajinBlue Since: Aug, 2022
#21: Feb 21st 2023 at 5:13:51 PM

News: Old Search is working again, at least for me on Mozilla Firefox. I hope that means it's resolved.

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