Adding broad search (beyond hashtags and local search) on Mastodon would be really useful.
But it could be used by bad actors to find users to harass.
Would you like to see expanded search features?
Please boost so we can gather views across the fediverse.
The #spirit in which this place was created doesn't seem to encourage optimizing the harvesting, processing, and digestion of #information.
In that sense, I appreciate the opt-in nature of #hashtags.
#NonLocal #search on the other hand, strikes me as more of a constraint of the #infrastructure, which would be probably overloaded by the continuous exchange of data from search traffic (and maintaining of local and remote indices).
@tkurz @conradhackett As I understand it, implementing search across the entire Fediverse is analogous to implementing search across all email providers; it may be technically possible, but ... see Thorsten Kurz's reply.
I would also add, as a long-time user of open source software, that it's wise to get to know open source software well before asking for improvements. When I first started using GIMP, my attitude was, "It's not Photoshop! Blah!" But once I learned GIMP I no longer felt that way
Conrad Hackett 
Thorsten Kurz
Dan Harper