[Catalog-sig] Fwd: pypi - scould not use search to get to applicable package

[Andrew Kuchling]

Sent to webmaster.

--amk

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ethan Shames <ethan at dogdini.com>
Date: Dec 12, 2006 7:21 PM
Subject: pypi - scould not use search to get to applicable package


Hi All,

What with the push for advocacy & etc...

Some things did not work out for me at the pypi webpage & would
defiantly keep folks from finding what they need.

Please follow along:
I wanted to find any python based client software for mpd, (linux Music
Player daemon) so I picked up a link to the Python Package Index:

1. Landed on pypi page: http://www.python.org/pypi/
2. The page lacks a large friendly "Search Python Packages" box & button
3. The page does nothing to help uninitiated user connect "Cheese Shop"
to "Place where you get python packages"
3a. Never mind a little hint, like "package=program, same-same"
4. Placed my search phrase "mpd" in the delightfully unadorned search
box, with the exquisitely obscure "cheeseshop.python.org" option
selected, and pressed the plain, nearly-fades-into-the-background
"search" button.
5. Was whisked off to a plain, un-parsed, un-wrapped, and ultimately
useless Google search results page. Whoops, what's all this then, and
where did python.org go?
http://www.google.com/search?sitesearch=cheeseshop.python.org&sitesearch=cheeseshop.python.org&sourceid=google-search&q=mpd&submit=search
6. Good News! There are several useful looking hits! And the most useful
are at the top of the page. Great!
7. Bad News! None of the links take me anywhere near the packages
mentioned. They link off to a dreadful page that does not even have link
to where I might want to be.
http://cheeseshop.python.org/pypi?:action=browse&asdf=214&asdf=160 Wow!
That Python's got everything, just like they said! It's even got useless
non-related results pages, just the spammers & link farmers!
8. Ok, I'm a good citizen, I like Python & want prospective users to
have a good experiance, I'll just press the ...plain, but clear... link
to "Report a website bug"
9. (...but why does one sidebar need to have not 1, not 2, but 5
different link styles?)
10. No Joy! the Report a website bug button...has a bug.
http://psf.pollenation.net/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/wiki/CreatingTickets
Result= Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at
psf.pollenation.net
11. After I managed to stumble (use firefox to search the "index of
packages" page for "mpd") my way to the most promising of packages, the
package pages had no link to downloadable goodness.
12. Following to the project's homepages did not work out, either.

Ok, I give...
no mas, no mas...
 -Ethan

(but I love ya, just the same, or would not have taken time to tell the
tail)