Originally Posted by puddy

Here are my points:

1. Telling someone to "Try a search" is not helpful in any way. The seach function can be very useful, but as others have pointed out a) it's not always easy to get the results you want and b) the info in a search result may very well be outdated. Additionally, many posters are new and wouldn't think to look (and they definitely don't think to look in the Help/Rules section before posting).

If you feel the need to direct someone to do a search, you should provide a keyword or phrase that will be helpful to the user. This has been done for me in the past, and I found it very useful.

2. The same goes for checking CO.com. It's very easy to provide a link for specific information. Many times people just don't know where to look.

3. If you feel that you don't have the time or energy to help a poster out by giving useful info, then don't reply at all. You don't have to reply to every post.

4. Because of these "Did you try a search?" posts, people have now started to preempt their posts with "I tried a search." People should not feel the need to do this.

5. You mentioned that you always have a lighthearted tone and make posts with humor. Everyone should know that tone does not translate well over the web. While some might think they were being lighthearted, others might see it as condescending.

6. I'm not trying to be rude here, but you are not the moderator of this forum. If xyzzy or umguy feel people are not searching enough before posting or not properly naming their posts, they can take action. If you are bothered enough by these posts, you should probably PM them to see what can be done. If it's really that bad, perhaps a sticky "READ BEFORE POSTING" post would be necessary, although I don't believe it is and would not want to see one here.

This is a simple FF forum where people can go to learn and share information. It's not worth getting upset over a few questions being asked multiple times or some misleading post titles.