Quote:
Originally Posted by warsw
My thoughts are that there are very few topics that haven't already been discussed on the forum at one time or another and if all everyone did was to go to the search and look up old info there would be no reason to even have the forum. Part of the reason for the forum is to help each other out but the main reason I come here is to share ideas and to have fun.
The other reason I don't like always using the search is that there are always new members with new ideas and updated info. If all we do is use the search all we will ever get is old info and there is never a chance for the new info or new ideas to be brought forward. I do think that there might be some topics that the search might be helpful but not all.
I would think that if you have nothing new to add to a topic and feel that you have already given all the info you have to offer then just don't go there. Just skip it and let other that think they might have something to offer go there instead.
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warsw &jergeod -
Steve is not suggesting that members refrain from asking questions and instead only use the search function to find answers to their questions. He is not asking people to stop exchanging ideas on various topics or to take a less active part on the forum. No one, including Steve, wants all posting to come to a halt and have everyone start using only the forum's search feature. If you think that is what we are suggesting, then you have missed the point.
There is a lot of valuable information about various topics and issues that can be found in past threads. Much of that information is as current and relevant now as it was "back when". It doesn't become outdated over time. Adding excessive weight to a unreinforced bumper, for example, isn't a smart thing to do. It wasn't a good idea last year and it isn't a good idea this year. So if a person wants to know today if he should add a bike rack to his bumper, what he will be told now is essentially the same as what he would have been told 6 months ago.
What new information can we possibly tell him? What is the problem with having someone refer him to previous threads and posts which contain all sorts of discussions about bike racks on bumpers?
If you want to jump in and share your ideas with him or answer his question, you are free to do that. If someone else suggests that he read the pages of discussions that have taken place previously about this very same topic by using the search function, that is perfectly acceptable as well. The answer to his question has been answered before - many times. All we are suggesting is that the poster take some time and effort, browse through the threads/posts and get the answer that way. If you want to save the poster doing some reading on his own, then give him the answer.
If a new member posts a question about a topic that has been asked dozens of times earlier and there is an abundance of threads with answers, then I will continue to suggest that he use the forum's search feature. Other members are free to join in and contribute answers but I, for one, "won't be skipping it". However, if you want to participate and provide suggestions, then I would encourage you to do that. No one is curtailing discussion or funneling members' ideas to the search function.