How Not To Do Search
Ok, I have an interesting idea for a conference discussion topic (well, at least I think so). I decide to look around for conferences that might be suitable. I find a website (which will remain nameless for now), which appears to provide the ability to search all conferences.
I find an interesting list on software conferences, but the problem is that the list is worldwide, and includes conferences in the immediate future. I need something that is only in the US, and no earlier than 2009.
This looks like a pretty acceptable interface, all-in-all. Ah, but look at those search buttons. Notice one next to each search field? Surely, you might think, those are just convenience buttons – everything gets munged together into one master query… right?
Alas, you think wrong.
- You can search by country
- You can search by date
- You can search by category
But you cannot search by all three at once!