RTFM or Search before you post?, simple poll Options

[neil30076]

Please - Don't take this too seriously, unlike some other sites !

[moordi]

As someone most likely to ask the dumb newbie question, I find the search function valuable, but very time consuming. As a result, I don't think I've ever asked the dumb newbie question (outside of PMing someone), but I've spent a lot of time searching through discussion threads that turn out to be sometimes useful, sometimes entertaining, sometimes irrelevant and sometimes enlightening but about something else entirely (serendipity can be really handy for those of us who have 914 things about their 914 that they need/want to address).

What I've found visiting this site over the years is that new questions on old topics generally spark a few fresh comments and, just as important, there are often many pointers to the near classic threads that have already hashed over the issues. Those links can be invaluable because they not only tend to answer the question, they also tend to include pointers to still more threads that can elaborate on a topic, or offer more context for the problem solution, or just further educate us newbs. In other words, opening a new thread on an old question can be the best search engine.

Finally, quite often when a new old question is asked, time has provided a different, if not better, answer. It may be that parts, tools or techniques become available that weren't around at the time of the original answer(s) or the collective knowledge has shifted and the answer really has changed. Recommendations about tires, suspension and other performance upgrades, for example, can change over time.

So, I guess my vote is No, allow the unwashed to ask those already answered questions!