I see nothing like that. Search results show up for me just as they have always done in the past........no "following" or topic requests from Houzz. In fact, no input from Houzz at all!

Nope, still the same for me. I have hit it one time before and I think I just clicked out and didn't follow anything.

The notice that is popping up, "Welcome to Houzz Advice", covers the entire search results page, and you can't opt out; you're required to follow at LEAST one subject. Until you click on a subject to follow, the "done" button to close the window is un-clickable, and so you can't read the search results.

I hope it is a temporary lapse. I liked the search function when it worked.

I use the search bar almost every day, and I DON'T need Houzz telling me what I want to read. I'm beyond exasperated.

It’s a really stupid website design. I see that notice too when doing a search on the forum topics page. However, the workaround is to start a search while you are in a thread like this one (or any other thread), and it will yield the results without the annoying banner.

romogen, I get the notice even searching from this thread page. I suspect were you to close Houzz-less and re-open it, that you'd suffer the same fate. It seems to be a rolling effect, depending on when you signed in and what part of the website you've used first. I'm now getting the option to post to multiple threads (which actually is handy) when I go to edit a post, which didn't happen when I first discovered the "advice" screen. I still want my search results without having to submit to HOUZZ's whims.

Have you tried rebooting your device or clearing your cache? Sometimes that helps.

Thanks romogen! I cleared my cache (actually just the Houzz cookies), and now I can search from a thread. We'll see if they continue force-feeding this change on us, or if it just quietly slinks off into the sunset.

John

I cleared my cache and it still won't search for me. :-(

I just got it to search!!!! I'm not fond of the larger print- change of font or whatever they call it. Looks like all capitals. Not soothing.

Sheila, it did that for me, too. I use Firefox, so I went in and changed the "zoom" for Houzz. It helped.

Sigh...It's doing it AGAIN. I'm having to clear my cookies before every
search, which signs me out, which of course means then I have to sign in
again before I can post or comment.

Edit: now even clearing the cookies doesn't help. If I'm signed in, I can't search without the @#$^&#! advice pop up in the way.

Anything I REALLY want to keep I am printing out a paper copy.

Well, search is working again. WHAT is going on?

I'm not sure why you think the problem lies with Houzz. I believe it is far more likely to be associated with your browser or the device you are accessing Houzz/GardenWeb from.

I have no problems with the Search feature or with accessing ANY of the forums. Or posting to them. And any change in font size is due to a mis-swipe on my touch pad and is easily rectified by going into my browser settings and reducing the size.

I use Opera with Windows 10 on a laptop and I am always signed into the website. No pop-ups, no ads, no problems with accessing any part of this website. I can't believe that if the problem IS based with Houzz, I am the only one who is exempt or that Houzz is freaky enough to single out specific members to harass. Something else is going on that is causing your issues.

Hi All, If you are performing a search and select to search in "Advice" (which is on Houzz) vs. "Gardenweb", you will see that popup.

For the discussions page on Houzz, there is a personalized feed made up of only the forums discussion topics you have chosen to follow. The discussions page on Gardenweb shows all topics, as you probably know.

Overall, it should be a much more personalized experience with less noise from discussion forums you don't usually read. If you are a Gardenweb user and see that screen on Houzz discussions asking you to follow topics, it should already be defaulted for you to follow topics on Gardenweb that you already participate in. It is actually meant to make it easier for you to build a personalized feed of only the content you want instead of forcing you to read other topics.

Sorry for the confusion and frustration!

Emily, that pop up appears when I search from Gardenweb. I NEVER sign into the Houzz main page. My entryway is the Antique Rose forum. I STAY signed in (until today). When the advice window pops up, it already has every topic checked I've ever commented or posted on, as if you want me to follow them all by default (you do, evidently). And when I UNcheck them ALL, I no longer have the option to close the window, as the "done" button is unclickable. It should just go away so I can read my search results!

I don't use a "device", but when I search using my computer, the search bar defaults to the Gardenweb forum from which I'm doing the search. But I also get an option to search Advice. It would be very easy to choose that option, but if I do, I'm asked to sign up for 'Advice', whatever that entails.

I wonder if you're careful to search only in 'Antique Roses', or whatever forum you're trying to search? If so, I guess the configuration of your device or of the Houzz site has changed, and searches are now defaulting to 'Advice'?

I hope you can sort it out soon; I'd hate to see you go.

Virginia

This is what I saw when I searched from THIS thread (the search bar even says "search in Gardenweb") under Antique Roses, just now:

and it can't be got rid of, without following at least one topic.

I've never seen that and I just searched for Mutabilis and it immediately gave me about 800 results. I never, ever log in through Houzz, but instead use gardenweb antique forum. I've done that so long that as soon as I type "ant" it brings up the antique rose forum and from there I go to interior design or hot topics. Actually now that I think about it, it also lists those two choices separately on my bar. I don't even remember how to go in through Houzz since it's so long since I've done it. I also use Firefox and doing it this way is easy and there's never a problem with the Search app.

Try just clicking on the gray area. That got rid of it for me when it showed up a few months ago.

Ingrid, I've always stayed signed in to the Antiques forum, and navigated from there. Today, I signed out and back in when I cleared my cookies, trying to work around this problem. But again, it was here I navigated from.

Sherry, clicking the gray area doesn't do anything. It was the first thing I tried when I saw the box, lol.

John, can you switch browsers? All I can come up with is that you accidentally chose to search Advice, and for some reason, Houzz and/or your computer have the mistaken impression that you really, really want to sign up for Advice, and just don't know how to... It does seem to be a glitch, since others can avoid the "get started" window seen in your screen shot.

I tried searching Advice, got that same window, but used the back arrow, and it went away. For some reason, yours is a "sticky" window, and that suggests a glitch somewhere. Can you e-mail the help desk to ask how to get rid of the too-helpful sign-in pop-up?

Virginia

I think the change is on Houzz's end. Searching on Antique Rose forum not working at the moment either here.

If you are in a discussion thread like this one and type in the search bar, you should see some options in the drop down menu. The top option is to search only in this forum, but if you click to search "roses in Advice" you will be on the Houzz site and see the popup.

I tried that Emily, and at the moment it won't search for me in this Antique Rose Forum. It goes to the Antique Rose Forum without searching the topic I put in.

Sheila, I agree that something changed recently, and since it's affecting you and John, but not everyone, it's hard to say where the blame lies. What browser do you use?

Virginia

It's affecting me. I use google

Emily, the screen shot is of what I got when I searched "adam" (a rose) in Antique Roses from this very page.

A reflection of how upset I was when I made the original post: I just realized I misspelled "fascism", lol. I just *don't* do that :P

I use Firefox, Virginia.

OK...I just did the identical search for "adam" 10 minutes ago. Same problem. Couldn't get to the results without "following" a topic. I did the exact same thing just now, and it showed my search results, free and clear, with no dang advice pop up. Either they're working on it, or I'm losing my mind...

EDIT: holding my breath, but they seem to have resolved the problem. The search results are still unencumbered (two whole hours). We shall see what the morning brings...

Maybe if we complain enough they can fix how to save topics much easier as well :)

Alana, they seem to be in an updating mood. But at least they seem to have got the bug out of the search function.

But like I said on the thread in the Roses forum, change for the sake of change belongs in the nursery with three year olds. Some things just don't need to change; especially if they work, are efficient, and are easy to use ALREADY. I don't need "new and improved" just for the glitter and novelty.

John

If Houzz is so eager to make changes to something, maybe it could take a crack at my daughter's school district. I've reached the point where I'm looking at advocacy lawyers. When something is working, people try to fix it but break it in the process. When something is broken, people leave it in the rain to rust from neglect...and then they stomp on it for good measure. Sigh. Carol

Carol, I hate that you're having trouble with your daughter's school. We all just want what's best for our children. But you're right, where bureaucracy is concerned, change is glacial, at best. And where change is needed most, it's resisted most. Maybe we could send them a few of the Houzz techs to shake things up, lol.

Carol I am so sorry for your trouble as well. I hope something happens for the better for you.

Thank you both for your good wishes! School has been an educational journey for our whole family. It's nice to have wonderful forum friends and a shared irritation with dysfunctional technology. :-). Carol

Is this the BS you were talking about?

Paul, that's exactly it. But after the first full day of it, it went away for me. I don't know what's going on, but it hopefully won't continue to bother you. I found temporary relief by clearing the Houzz cookies (it did come back later, no matter what I did); try that and reboot, to see if that helps. After you reboot, be verrrrrrry careful when you do a search; when you type in the search bar and the dropdown list of topic options appears, to NOT search in "advice", no matter WHAT you're looking for. Once you do, the cookie for the dang pop up will get stored again.

It's a pestilence.

John

John,

I wasn't using Search at all! I just loaded the default Antique Roses page, and BAM!

They may be tinkering with it again. If it's asking you to follow three topics, that's slightly different from what we were seeing; it was only requiring at least one. Regardless, they just need to get rid of it.

Try going to the top of the page. Hover over Stories & Advice. A drop down menu will show. Click on Garden Web, then on the section you want. For roses, click Garden, the the rose forum you want. It should be in the old style. It does not work for everyone, but works fine for me.

I'm getting it. Obnoxious. Hate Houzz!

This incarnation of GW barely resembles the one I signed up for over a decade ago. Not much about Houzz's implementation of the forum I approve of.