Is it bad form on this forum to say. "Use the search button?"

[pakman92]

I've been a part of many different forums ranging from smart phone forums to this one.  I never see on this forum.  "Use the damn search button!"  Is it a unspoken rule to scold the lazy?

[MarineVietVet]

You're welcome to say that but as always do it in a friendly and respectful manner.

Saying to someone "Use the damn search button!" is neither.

[llecs]

I'll add that the search feature isn't always going to produce top results. Sometimes the word choice is off or maybe the poster doesn't know exactly what to look for if looking for a specific post. The kind thing to do is to post a link to the thread if you think that the poster might be looking for a needle in a haystack. And I recommend not to answer an easy post if the poster is just too lazy to research it on his/her own.

[laz98]

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@llecs wrote:

I'll add that the search feature isn't always going to produce top results. Sometimes the word choice is off or maybe the poster doesn't know exactly what to look for if looking for a specific post. The kind thing to do is to post a link to the thread if you think that the poster might be looking for a needle in a haystack. And I recommend not to answer an easy post if the poster is just too lazy to research it on his/her own.

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Ahh, but how do you know they didn't try?  I hate when people say, "Google it!" when they could have just provided an easy-to-understand answer to technical questions about something they know quite a bit about (in this case, I'm talking about computer issues).  I was just thinking about posting something like the OP earlier today.

[GregB]

I would like to see a requirement that after you register, you have to spend 100 hours reading posts before you are allowed to ask a question.

[FrugalRican]

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@GregB wrote:

I would like to see a requirement that after you register, you have to spend 100 hours reading posts before you are allowed to ask a question.

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Was going to ask you something but only on hour 98.

Be back in a few.

In all seriousness though. Coming in here and trying to read is a lot more overwhelming than just coming in and posting and getting bombarded by Ilecs' posts and links. As a new person, I'd much rather get that welcome post with the links than to try to sift through thousands of posts trying to find a situation that is almost identical to mine.

I do think that a lot of the people here are very nice upon entry because they were there once, and knew how nice it was to have someone to relate to on a sympathetic level. It truly makes a difference.

[Imhotrodcrazy]

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@GregB wrote:

I would like to see a requirement that after you register, you have to spend 100 hours reading posts before you are allowed to ask a question.

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Well,  I have only been on the forum for 3 yrs.  I just figured out my time reading and it comes to 298 hours.  So, that relates to 100 hrs per year for me.  In that case  I would have had to wait a full year before I asked a question. 

[haulingthescoreup]

I like the response, "The search button is your friend."

(And then I tell them to be sure to sort by date, so that they don't drag up some four-year-old thread that is now completely irrelevant.)

I'll be the first to admit that it's difficult searching here, for a variety of reasons. But I do get grumpy when I read a post, especially by someone who has been here for a while, asking something like, "Does anyone have any Chase cards?"

[crunching_numbers]

I realize I am not on the forum that long yet, although I have been quite active here. I remember some of my earlier posts, and although the questions seem basic to someone here a while, they were new for me.  I asked things like the difference between HPs v's SPs. Could I have searched for it? Actually yes, but I was new, and the thought never occurred to me to do so. I just figured that I had something I wanted to understand, so I would ask.  As I got more familiar, I have searched for things, but with varying results, and several useless threads that were not what I was looking for. It is usually easier to ask.

I guess I am trying to say that when you are new, you don't know enough about the subjects to realize you are asking an easy thing that has been covered a gazillion times. you have a question and you ask it.  It was never about being too lazy to search, but rather not realizing I should or not easily finding the info with a search.

[marty56]

I had a boss one time who liked to say RTFM a lot.  I guess here it would be UTFSB.  In case any one was wondering "F" stands for fargin.