Here's a simple suggestion that may improve the Party Search function:
Add some sort of meta-tag parser into the window and allow people to place shorthands for common descriptions. A very simple example of this the smilies that you see on the side of almost every forum posting software. I'd imagine that common icons such as LFG, WTB, WTS, Sword, Axe, 15>50, Ectos, Mission, Quest, etc. I'd would imagine there's around 100 or so very commonly used terms that would help alot in making alot better use of the limited text size for everyone
It shouldn't be too hard for ANET to slap together a few icons that represents the commonly used terms and put them next to the party search window, it'd be very much like the emotes/smilies that you use when you try to reply to this post. When the user clicks on it it'd just place a meta tag into the text string that is then parsed into an icon, just like using colon and a ) would give me an icon of
.I know the technology must exist in GW because what I'm proposing is alot like the existing skill-display thing. I don't have much time but I'll try to explain this better. The current skill-display thing compresses information like Primary Class/Secondary class/8 Skills/Attributes all into a short string like this:
AGMgyLzzwOUGAjc2wgagLKrA
Of that string, I'm sure only a few characters is used to describe Elementalist/Dervish. The rest describes my 8 skills and the attribute levels for them. So basically, if I were starting a mission and I needed a Elem nuker, I'd click on the <Mission> Icon, then click on <Need>, then <Dervish> then <Nuker> Icons and the text string that is actually used would be some compressed meta-tag that ANET can come up with, much like the string that is shown above.
For the classes ANET can easily reuse the existing icons they already have like the triple daggers for assasins, etc.
Eitherway, I hope someone understands what I'm talking about, I'm too pressed for time to fully describe this more clearly but it shouldn't be too hard to grasp. Just look at the software this forum already uses. Or look at the equipment/Skill template setup when you make a PVP char. Just replace the equipment template with a commonly used term.
Oh and if ANET people are reading this: From a business/cost-efficiency perspective, the code could probably be re-used for GW2.