I think the bigger problem with Google's UI is that the top links to Google's to...

moocow01 · on Feb 22, 2012

That functionality -- especially in regard to the news tab -- drives me nuts. Over and over I click the top news tab forgetting I have to click the link on the side and lose the current context of my search.

At first I just assumed it was a bug since the other tabs kept the context of the search. Then after a week of the same, I looked into how to flag the issue so it could be fixed and low and behold I found it was a product feature (or non-feature).

Its such a strange UX decision that I have to assume that it is driven by revenue generation or some other metric rather than good user experience.

davidu · on Feb 22, 2012

I've always assumed the Google News link losing state was a bug. It's a tab bar, and it used to keep state. Now it doesn't.

I suppose they had to do it this way or nobody would ever really see the Google news homepage (as if that matters).

Achshar · on Feb 22, 2012

But it does work for images, maps and youtube.

redwood · on Feb 22, 2012

Hmm good point, perhaps the news issue is a bug! Nevertheless even more bizarre tho less severe

streptomycin · on Feb 22, 2012

I've noticed that the past couple months or so. It used to correctly keep your search term across categories.

iopuy · on Feb 22, 2012

I cannot agree more. Has it always been like this or is this a recent change? I thought I remembered a time in which clicking "News" did keep your old search term but I cannot be sure. In any case, this behavior has been a bane to me since I discovered it.