Re: why is Tiki search so bad?
Like Gary says, Tiki's native search is...um...err... less than perfect. Read here, for more info.
You're welcome to use my super-duper TikiWiki Google CSE which will search across multiple *.tikiwiki.org domains, using regular Google syntax.
I've found that nearly all questions could be answered by the Tiki docs, but as you point out, navigating the docs is tough. As a doc contributor, I'm somewhat familiar with the docs (well, parts of it, anyway). We've started adding tags to the doc pages which (I hope) will make it easier to find things. Maybe you can help?
HTH,
-Rick
Need more help? Try TikiWiki for Dummies Smarties or read my Tiki Blog or visit my UserPage
;){kind=link}
;){kind=link}