Reporting Documentation Search Issues in Django

Based on the information you've provided about the search functionality breaking for Django 5.1 documentation, I can offer some guidance on how to properly report and address this issue.

Proper Channels for Bug Reporting

For this type of bug related to the Django documentation website, you should:

1. Use the ticket tracker as you've already done with ticket #35860
2. Make sure to include all relevant details:
   • The specific version affected (5.1)
   • Steps to reproduce the issue
   • Expected vs. actual behavior
   • Any relevant timing information related to merges

Recommendations for This Issue

Since this appears to be a regression related to documentation updates and search indexing:

1. Check if someone has already filed similar bugs by searching the ticket tracker
2. Consider discussing this on the Django Forum or Django Discord server to gather more information from the community
3. Avoid reopening issues marked as "wontfix" without community consensus
4. For lengthy discussions about potential solutions, use the Django Forum rather than the ticket comments

Security Considerations

Note that this is not a security issue, so using the public ticket tracker is appropriate. For actual security issues, those should only be reported to security@djangoproject.com.

The issue you're describing appears to be related to how the documentation search index is updated during documentation changes. This is a legitimate bug that affects user experience but doesn't expose sensitive information.

I hope this helps guide you in addressing this documentation search functionality issue. The Django community values these reports as they help improve the overall experience for all users.