Friendly reminder--do a search BEFORE you ask a question
 

There is a wealth of archived info on this site, and it is yours if you are willing to spend a few minutes looking for it. If you really want some good help, try to see if your question has recently been answered because you will probably not get a lot of help if the same (or nearly the same) question has recently been posted. I think a lot of people who would normally give a lot of help will just ignore questions that have recently been covered in depth.

Not much point to a post like this really.

If a person is not inclined to search beyond the first five, they will never find you sage advice.

Can you see an exited newbie doing a search on 'search'?

In many ways it is exiting to see how many people come here looking for info on their first ever trip.

Dr. Nathan Pusey told me that he always answered every student's questions no matter how they were posed. He explained that many people have trouble or unable to construct a sentence asking for the information they need or want. Better to speak up with a seemingly inane question than miss the train altogether.

As a follow-on I'd humbly add that some of the "answers" could be a little more "compelling"..mainly those that are suggestions for where to stay/go/eat. For example, somone recently asked about a certain hotel..should they stay there or not..and another person answered by saying the hotel was "special" but, very unfortunately, didn't say why they thought so. I think the case for being special could have been made had the person answering given at least one reason for their feelings. Just a thought.

I agree with you julies that there a re a lot of repetitive questions. I skip over any that are the same as ones that I have already answered. But do people take notice that they can do a text search before they post the question?

Not doing a search limits your responses to those who happen to see your question. Using search will provide a lot more information. Use the search feature, then you can ask for updated or additional info.

As there have been many posts telling people to use the search function, shouldn't you have followed your own advice and just topped one of them?

I don't understand why people try to impose rules on this site. If you are a first time visitor to a message board, do you think people are going to say to themselves "hmmm... let me do a search so that people do not get offended." I think only people who visit this board frequently would only know that certain questions have been asked numerous times. I think it's offensive to a new visitor to get the obnoxious "do a search" response. Just ignore the question if it's too repetitive for you!

What do you care. If you don't like the questions then simply don't look. This is a free and open forum. If people feel more comfortable asking a question rather than searching, then so be it. Besides in this everchanging world a lot of stuff changes and by asking a new question you may get a new perspective and be updated on recent developments.

If everything is so repetitive for you, then why do you still come here? It's exciting for new members to post and get responses. I didn't know about the search until recently when someone told me to search first before I post. That response made me feel like I shouldn't post anything, so I did start searching instead of posting, and I did find the information I was looking for by searching. If everyone did searches, then there would be no NEW posts. JMO

This particular topic has been covered many times. There are always people saying they get annoyed at repetitive questions and there are always people saying they would rather respond nicely to newcomers than say "Do a search". There are always people who think the board is ruined by the same old boring questions day after day and there are always people who think it is worthwhile to get fresh answers to old questions.

I don't mind repetitive posts. I guess that's why I'm responding to this one.

...and once again I add, if you don't like it don't read it. The forum is a good tool, use it as you wish.

If you don't like questions and repetition, simple go and read Fodors recomendations. Besides I think that EVERY question has been asked a number of times, if everyone stopped posting new questions, there would be NOTHING new in this forum.

Posts like this one need to go away.

No they don't. And I'll help make sure it doesn't.

Bnice,
I agree that an obnoxious "do a search" response is uncalled for.

OTOH, a polite response to do a search could mean the responder saw a similar (active) thread recently or has responded in detail (on another thread) and just doesn't want to do same again.

I, for one, think julies suggestion is worthwhile especially when one considers prior (recent) posts are likely to have more info., i.e. if you, in the past week gave a long response to a post, and a duplicate post shows up, how likely are you to repost?

Let's face it, our search function isn't exactly user friendly, especially for newbies who are unfamiliar with the mechanics and culture of this board. When a post comes up on a subject that has been thoroughly covered, even done to death, I think it's useful to give a short run through on how to use the search function. It's sort of my "teach a person to fish" philosophy.

I'm with Julies on this one. And I don't think it is a "mean spirited" post.
In reality, if someone is asking a question that has been answered multiple times in the recent past, they will probably get more out of reading those posts than their new post.

I am one of those that skips a lot of posts that have been recent topics. For example, in the last week or 2 , there have been 3 or 4 posts asking about places to stay in Kinsale. 3 seconds with the search button, and all sorts of hits come up. After I responded to the first couple , I just stopped replying, as I was tired of typing the same thing in over and over again in the same day/week.

I agree with Betsy's teach a person to fish philosophy. The search engine isn't clearly marked or easy to use - but it does reveal a great wealth of information.

What I usually do if I see a subject I know has been well covered is do a search myself, top one or two relevant messages explicitly addressed to the original poster and reply to the original post directing them to the topped messages and suggesting they search for more if they need more info.

Hello everyone. I am a fairly new visitor and user of this forum, and I have extensively used the search function. There are a few issues here though 1)yes, the search function is not the most user-friendly one which makes it easier to just write your own questions, 2) this forum is almost like a support group - sometimes people ask questions just to get a validation on what they may be thinking or get help with the final choices which is more of a personal thing than getting factual information that can be acquired by a search and 3) sometimes there is information on a topic but it does not quite meet your needs. I agree things like "budget hotels in Rome" come up again and again which can easily be searched.

Correct, the SEARCH function doesn't always bring up the right topics. For example, type in the words "Vienna eat". The search returns with no posts, yet I am sure sometime over the life of this forum some has said, "When I go to VIENNA I like to EAT...".

My suggestion is that "you do you thing your way and I'll do it my way". I didn't see that Fodors left anyone her in charge of being a moderator.

By the way what are the best sights to see in London? You can find out because when you put in the words "best sights London", It tells you that there are none. Try putting in only the word LONDON and you get more than you can possibly pick through.

If you type in Vienna "AND" restaurants you'll get a plethora of good info. Also London "AND" sights, same thing. don't use the quotes tho
:-D