Originally Posted by ldsant
FYI.. . just so the "facts" are provided here since Kathy has brought up the *wood forum.. .every person who requires a search and PMs one of the moderators has been provided a personal response with the appropriate threads.
I asked Kathy to stop posting "do a search" as her response to the newbies on the board since it was not a constructive response and was causing others to have bad feelings with that response.
Kathy, to my knowledge, as of today you have never requested any searches to be performed by any one of the mods in *wood.
To respond to the above, as well as the responses by other moderators here:
1. "Every person who requires a search and PMs one of the moderators" does not cover even a small fraction of the cases where a search is needed. My point is that very often, posters are not even aware of the existence of dozens (or hundreds) of existing posts on a topic, and therefore it would not occur to them to PM a moderator for a search. @:-)
2. I haven't posted "do a search" in a long, long, long while. Instead, I have called attention to the existence of the search function (previously, the FT search function, and now, Google). If someone is unaware of this function, this info can be helpful to them in two ways: they find out about the existence of search, and they find out about the existence of a wealth of information on the topic they are asking about. @:-)
3. I have never requested a search of the moderators because I can use Google or other search engines myself. My point is that although moderators may REACT to search requests, they may or may not be proactive in helping people who start the hundredth new thread on the Hilton NYC, the Sheraton NYC, or whatever well-worn subject it may be. Of course, moderators vary in this respect; obviously some have or make more time to devote to their moderation duties and some are more likely to be proactive than others. But since moderators now have exclusive access to the FT search function, perhaps being proactive and helpful is appropriate. It isn't just about being a police officer. @:-) @:-) @:-)