[DISCUSS] Metron Alerts UI - possibly deprecate query builder and meta alerts

[Shane Ardell <sh...@gmail.com>]

Hello devs and users,

A few of us working on Metron Alerts UI are seeking some user feedback on
two existing features. Specifically, we are wondering:

* How often do you use the query builder feature of the alerts search bar,
especially since the implementation of the manual search query option?
* How important is the meta alert feature to you? How often do you use it?

Both of these features are pretty intertwined with the search bar's
functionality. The query builder is lacking encapsulation from the search
bar, which leads to a lot of developer confusion when managing state for
the search bar. Meanwhile, meta alerts requires us to manipulate a user's
query string on the front-end before the request is sent to the REST layer,
which, among other things, makes it difficult for us to "seamlessly" switch
back and forth between manual and query builder mode. In addition, it's
another layer of complexity for a user entering their own query string in
manual search mode.

The implementation of these features is making it extremely hard to
maintain and implement new features if it involves the search bar. We are
talking about putting some time into cleaning up the implementation of
these features and improving their functionality, but if they don't have
much user value than perhaps it's better we put this to a vote to see if
these features should actually be deprecated.

Thanks in advance,
Shane