# Why is the TV Tropes search function gone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346 "2009-07-26T19:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/1 "2009-07-26T19:45:26Z")
It just seems like one day they had a search function, next they didn’t. What happened? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/2 "2009-07-26T20:17:36Z")
Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/3 "2009-07-26T20:37:43Z")
I never found their own search worked very well. On the other hand, searching google for ‘tv tropes [terms]’ always seems to do the trick. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/4 "2009-07-26T20:52:16Z")
It works for me. I got a “Can’t connect to database” type error a few days ago though; perhaps it was down when you tried. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/5 "2009-07-26T22:08:56Z")
There used to be two search functions, a google based one that searched the whole site, and another built in one that just searched for tropes, but that one seems to be gone now. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/6 "2009-07-29T20:38:21Z")
OK; I went there today and the search function was different. You had to go to “Tools”, call up Search, and then type in one of those strings of letters from an image. There was a message saying that I wouldn’t have to do that again once I became “known”; when I went again search was normal. My guess is that the site was having problems from oversearching and the search function was getting crashed. So they put in a speed bump of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/7 "2009-07-29T21:18:39Z")
Uh, while it’s possible I have some sort of weird cookie that’s causing the search to show up, it’s -right- -there- on the front page. I just tried it in IE, which I never use, and the search field was right where it always was - below the “page history” link. The only thing that’s changed is they ditched their internal search engine for a google powered one. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-tv-tropes-search-function-gone/504346/8 "2009-07-29T21:41:22Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Uh, while it’s possible I have some sort of weird cookie that’s causing the search to show up, it’s -right- -there- on the front page. I just tried it in IE, which I never use, and the search field was right where it always was - below the “page history” link. The only thing that’s changed is they ditched their internal search engine for a google powered one. And that’s what I got the _ **second** _ time I went there today.