Forum is quirky...
Accepted answer
I will try to address your concerns. What browser are you using? Are you seeing any javascript errors when you try to enter a comment? Is this happening only on certain questions, or all the time?
Advanced search is available; we need to do a better job of making it more visible. Currently, if you do a search, on the results page you should see a link at the top called "Advanced search options". Clicking this will show you how to do the types of searches you are looking for.