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

The recommendation to conduct a search is not an attempt to establish any type of "rule." It's not being mean. It's not being rude or unhelpful.

It is simply good advice for anyone who seriously wants to get information to help them with their travel planning. No one is saying you MUST search first; no one is threatening to penalize anyone who doesn't search first.

The point is that you severely limit your information sources if you don't search. Not to mention that asking that question that is already asked several times a week is sending someone else's question further down the list more quickly where it is less likely to be seen.

Perhaps if Fodor's put a little message next to their Search box explaining that many topics may have been covered and how to do a search, more people would use it.

If you type in "obnoxious and unecessary" you get two posts and now this one make three!

Aurora -
My theory is that if I have done a search, but did not find what I needed, I put that in my post.
Shows that I put some effort into it, but still need additional help.
Most people who see that you tried searching, are even more inclined to reply to your question.

I know I am.

Debbie

As I have found out from numerous attempts the search function here is nothing if not faulty. Personally I have no problem with someone just asking the question. If it bothers you just DON'T respond.

Debbie... and how does one tell if a poster has "tried' to search? If you don't berlive that I am a searcher, please don't answer my question.

CarolLA.... thanks

AS a new user I am guilty of having asked questions that were covered before. I am also guilty of having written in capitals and probably numerous other faux pas. However I only discovered how to find my own questions when leslie kindly told me how to becos I am also guilty of having asked the same question twice.I also only found out about the text search when she told me about it. So kindly overlook our ignorance and do answer our questions as surely this is what this forum is all about. Having said that I have been trying to find out how to purchase tickets for bullfights in Spain and even tho I used text search I have not been able to get any info tht may be archived. Any suggestions.

Probably not, no one can answer and hard questions here just silly stuff like what is your nationality, how much money do you make, whats the best cheap hotel in London and why the French are so mean to Americans.

Did you try frommers.com message board? They are nice there. There is also virtualtourist.com which has a lot of personal travel logs and a search function which actually works!

julies,

There's a huge difference between:

"This question has been answered before. If you'd do a search you'd probably get the answer you want without annoying me."

AND

"This question has been answered before. Try searching for your subject and perhaps you'll find what you need."

DOCK, I did a text search on bullfights with "topic search" Spain and found plenty of posts with lots of details, right down to how to select a seat in the shade and where ot buy ticketes. Here's a web site that might be helpful:

http://www.las-ventas.com/domingo/cartel.htm

"no one can answer and hard questions here just silly stuff like what is your nationality, how much money do you make, whats the best cheap hotel in London and why the French are so mean to Americans"

Yeah right. Please head off to Froemmers and the thousands who enjoy this board will give you a cookie. Think of the cookies.

richardab

I can tell if someone did a search when they put in their post - " I tried searching but didn't find xyz "

Now - that is assuming they are telling the truth, and not part of a big conspiracy to clog up the post, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt. ;)

I don't want it to seem like there is a posting police, but simple courtesies make this a better place for all-
I know recently there was a post "why doesn't anyone answer" and most likely it was because the question had been discussed in depth very recently, and no-one felt like re-typing all that info.

I have gotten into the habit of replying to some posts " we talked about this recently , do a search on xyz"
I was including the post link, but am getting tired of doing all the leg work myself (doing the search and pasting the post) If they really want the info, they can search on it - or click on my name to see which post I am talking about....

and DOCK - if you look at the top of the page - there are links to some basic 'rules' that Fodors has put out there - a lot of these ideas are right there.

and Snoopy -
if you read Julies initial post,nowhere does she say "....annoying me" she simply states that there are vast resources available, and you will probably get more/better responses if your question is specific and unique.
She is also trying to explain to newbies the reason they might not be getting any responses.

I'll explain why I started this discussion. Maybe that will help you to understand where I am coming from. 2 days ago there was a question about the don't miss sights in Vienna. I responded as did numerous other people, and we all gave thoughtful answers. Yesterday there was a message, "What should I see in Vienna?" The 1st message was still in the past 150 posts (not exactly way down the list). The person who posted the 2nd question was not getting answers because those people who had something to day had probably said it the day before to the 1st poster. And, if the 2nd poster had looked, he would have found all the answers to his question. My point was not to discourage questioners, but to point out that there is a way to find answers to many of the questions, and also to point out why someone might not be successful in getting answers. I also recognize that there is a difference between asking a very specific question that might not be covered in a previous post, and just asking a very generic question that has probably been answered a ton of times.

Also, I have to add that I think some of you are going off the deep end in implying that this is an obnoxious post. If I had said, "You lazy bums. Spend some time searching" then it would have been obnoxious. That was not my tone, nor my intent. This has been a very enlightening discussion; I think I'm starting to understand why road rage incidents happen.

Thanks julies for the tip on rules,however I did not even notice those minute red words until you pointed them out.Once again I confess I am guilty. The post was not Why wont anyone ANSWER , but Why wont anyone Help and if it was not for the polite informative people who did reply I would in all likelihood still be asking questions which would likely be aggaravating you no end.Due to my experience I am thus tolerant of others and their queries and as has been stated in numerous other replies if a question irks you just scroll on by.I have to admit tho this is one of the liveliest posts in a long while on this forum so thanks, at least I know there are others out there .. Thanks anonymous for the bullfight info.

There is also a wealth of information within Fodors under Destinations, Hotels, Restaurants.

I'll tell you what....

You post your way and I'll post my way.

Debbie... Every person who cannot find something does not start their post with " I tried searching but didn't find xyz " . Please don't force your assumption on us.

MY theory is that if I post my question whether I searched or not I may get an interesting answer by a person who is TRUELY willing to help. Sometimes I JUST DO NOT FEEL LIKE PICKING THRU ALL THE MINDLESS POSTS and simply click on my log in name to bring up all those I have posted.

As you may see I do not play by the rules.

OOPS.

Maybe the best way would be as REX does, replying with please see fid xyz where I just answered that question.
followed by 'best wishes' or some other non threatening salutation.

My tail needs washing now.

I wish Fodors had a clear link next to the search box that led to clear, concise and specific instructions on how the search box worked, including the boolean AND and OR comparitors.

But, I still think lots of people would miss it. I design web sites as a sideline and one of the biggest positives and negatives of the internet is that no two websites have the same controls, flow, look or design philosophy. In short, people who aren't terribly internet savvy don't know where to look on the page. And although most sites have a search function, it's surprising how different to intent of that function is (search the site, search the web, search a database). Many people click links and stay away from the unfamiliar.

Help in suggesting a search is probably the best way to go, IF it sounds like help and not annoyance. But, this site is for entertainment purposes. If someone wants to expound, why not? And it someone gets a little terse or sounds a little impatient, it's at least an exercice in skin thickening for the requester. Something useful for all those imperfect things that happen on the trip later.

Exercise, even. Something my brain could use more of from the look of it.