Kobo search engine: from bad to worse

[Nightyume]

Originally Posted by CathyD

If you do not want erotica (I don't either) you can add -erotica to your search. Like this: "bundles"-erotica

Good to know, thanks! My daughter just bought a Glo, and I hover nearby when she's on the site, making sure none of the racier covers & titles appear. She searches out the book title on Goodreads, Amazon, or Chapters first, then uses quotation marks on the Kobo site, but some mung still sometimes shows up.

You might want to try the new Kids' account option. I have no idea whether it works well or is as hopeless as using the regular site but it might be a good choice for you. I actually made a post about it so people with kids can check it out.

[Nightyume]

Originally Posted by spersephone

I bought a book the other day, and there seems to be no ability to download this one to my computer, whether with DRM or not. They've definitely changed some stuff that worked well before.

What kind of book was it? Some books have always been app only (no downloading in ANY format) like comics and certain picture books.

Originally Posted by Anak

I know that basic search operators work with Kobo search.
The real trouble here is that the Kobo website is multi lingual but the search engine isn't. It doesn't filter properly on language. Searching on an author's name results in book titles by that author in various languages.
It is imposible to limit a search to only one language with the current offered search options.

Not being able to find the correct books with a either a limited/specific or broad search parameters can only result in no purchase/no sale.
This must cost Kobo a huge amount of potential revenue. But I doubt if they are really aware how huge this problem is for especially non English language books.
I doubt if the search engine is ever tested on non English language books.

You CAN do this but like everything else about the search it doesn't work well. After searching for something on the left side you'll find all the options for limiting your search such as genree and whatnot. You'll also find a language option. You can't always find the language you want listed based on your search and other times the book won't have been classified for that language (in spite of it obviously being in that language) but it does sometimes help and is a nice choice for casual browsing (when I want to browse I just do a search for an empty search field and then start paring down the results using the options on the left).

[spersephone]

It would be good if you could sign in, and choose preferences, like no erotica, or English only. If it was tied to your account so you didn't have to filter like that.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by taming

Put what you are searching for in quotes to get the best results. If you do not want erotica (I don't either) you can add -erotica to your search. Like this: "bundles"-erotica

That feature works as well as any new Kobo feature! My search "carniepunk"-erotica gives me "Sex is my Hobby: Another Adventure in Erotica" and "Brutally Breeding the Babysitter". And worse. Great.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by spersephone

It would be good if you could sign in, and choose preferences, like no erotica, or English only. If it was tied to your account so you didn't have to filter like that.

This.

[spersephone]

Originally Posted by Nightyume

What kind of book was it? Some books have always been app only (no downloading in ANY format) like comics and certain picture

It was a regular popular fiction book, I've tried again a few times, but it's not there.