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You shouldn't be searching in the URL bar. There is a search bar for that. If anything, it should be a toggle to allow searches to execute from URL bar input, b

You shouldn't be searching in the URL bar. There is a search bar for that. If anything, it should be a toggle to allow searches to execute from URL bar input, but for IT folks and others who recognize the distinction, searches from the URL bar are frustrating and insecure.

fpgaminer 12y ago
Do you have research to back up the statement that "searches from the URL bar are frustrating"? I could cite Chrome's market share as an indirect, empirical study indicating the contrary. Regardless, your comment is tangential to mine. My comment was about a bug in an existing Firefox feature. Whether that feature should exist in the first place or not is only tangentially related.
- forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
  I'm pretty sure Chrome's market share is more related to it being advertised on TV, google.com, and being bundled with other software than because of the Omnibar...
discardorama 12y ago
There's "you shouldn't be ..." and then there's "what most people outside the tech world do". There is a lot of overlap between the two. In the real world, for whatever reason, many people use the location bar as a search box. Now, I'm not agreeing with FF's decision; just pointing out how it is IRL.
- forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
  Additionally, in the real world, people use the google search field as a URL bar. It really boils down to people just not understanding how things work / are supposed to be used.
  - err4nt 12y ago
    You took the words right out of my mouth! I have worked on dozens of sites in all different industries and the one thing that unites them all: Google Analytics traffic shows that many people punch in a full domain name into Google and rely on Google to display the result they want. If your website is http://hackastack.com http://hackastack.com I doubt you'd go a month without seeing a referral from Google for a search for www.hackastack.com or something similar, even if you don't use 'www' on your site
yohui 12y ago
Since Firefox tells users to "Search or enter address" in the location bar, I don't think it's correct to tell users trying to search that they're using it wrong. The issue described by fpgaminer is a legitimate problem. The fact that some may prefer stricter segregation between URL and search fields is a separate issue, as is the behavior by certain ISPs that triggers this problem.

fpgaminer 12y ago

Do you have research to back up the statement that "searches from the URL bar are frustrating"? I could cite Chrome's market share as an indirect, empirical study indicating the contrary. Regardless, your comment is tangential to mine. My comment was about a bug in an existing Firefox feature. Whether that feature should exist in the first place or not is only tangentially related.

forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
I'm pretty sure Chrome's market share is more related to it being advertised on TV, google.com, and being bundled with other software than because of the Omnibar...

discardorama 12y ago

There's "you shouldn't be ..." and then there's "what most people outside the tech world do". There is a lot of overlap between the two. In the real world, for whatever reason, many people use the location bar as a search box. Now, I'm not agreeing with FF's decision; just pointing out how it is IRL.

forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
Additionally, in the real world, people use the google search field as a URL bar. It really boils down to people just not understanding how things work / are supposed to be used.
- err4nt 12y ago
  You took the words right out of my mouth! I have worked on dozens of sites in all different industries and the one thing that unites them all: Google Analytics traffic shows that many people punch in a full domain name into Google and rely on Google to display the result they want. If your website is http://hackastack.com http://hackastack.com I doubt you'd go a month without seeing a referral from Google for a search for www.hackastack.com or something similar, even if you don't use 'www' on your site

yohui 12y ago

Since Firefox tells users to "Search or enter address" in the location bar, I don't think it's correct to tell users trying to search that they're using it wrong. The issue described by fpgaminer is a legitimate problem. The fact that some may prefer stricter segregation between URL and search fields is a separate issue, as is the behavior by certain ISPs that triggers this problem.