Did you know that this forum has a search function?

[BajaRon]

Just the nature of the beast. Happens on every forum ever put up. I give credit to those who say they've looked and couldn't find it. At least they tried. And, as many redundant questions as there usually are, that's not to say a lot of people are using the search. I use it all the time myself.

Some times taking a chill pill is the only logical solution... hyea:

 

[rollingstone]

It mustn't have a spell checker!

 

[currin20fan]

Same threads

I finally got smart.............if I search and can't seem to find what I'm looking for, I send Scotty a personal message asking the question. :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

And he never fails to answer. Thats why he's the Bike Professor!:bowdown::bowdown:

 

[NancysToy]

I finally got smart.............if I search and can't seem to find what I'm looking for, I send Scotty a personal message asking the question. :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

And he never fails to answer. Thats why he's the Bike Professor!:bowdown::bowdown:

Oh Lord, now I'm gonna have to get an unlisted number. :roflblack:

 

[pro10is]

If you use the search function you'll quickly discover that repeated inquires on the same subject can be extremely useful. More often then not, new and valuable information emerges as time goes by. It's well worth it to revisit subjects often. New ideas, greater experience, advances, and new or different people all combine to add to the knowledge base of repeated subjects.

Think how much smaller, less interesting, and less valuable this forum would be if all subjects were covered only once.

 

[Bob Denman]

Some people ask a question as a way to break the ice...
Some may be new here and don't know the histories behind the questions...
Some are just too lazy to look much beyond their own keyboard... (And that's actually okay too!)

Some of us pps: just drone on and on about nothing in particular... pps:
It's a place for interaction of all types! :thumbup:

Do you wanna talk about helmets now?? :roflblack:

 

[shelbydave]

Knowledgebase?

When I was new to the site, I had suggested a knowledgebase section where information would be placed there in a controlled manner. For instance, all the process steps, and videos that are on the site would be in one location for easy browsing. If someone did some special maintenance, or modifications, they could document it, and submit it for the knowledgebase where it would be entered for the rest of us to see.
A couple of the car forums I'm on have this feature, and it really helps out alot for the people new to Spyders, or the forum.
It may not eliminate repeat questions, but if the info is in the KB, and the asker is referred to that article, it would only help with the search engine as well.
I try to do a search first, but I also find most search engines to be difficult, and unfriendly.

 

[IWN2RYD]

I lean towards life is to short... However this does have a diluting effect for a site as well. As folks who are looking for an answer, normally are not willing to look through 5+ similarly named threads in hopes of finding the answer to their question.

Some sites do a search automatically as you start to create a thread, looking at the title of the thread being created. This helps reduce the amount of duplicate threads. However the user still has to pay attention to that and look at the examples of similar threads being offered by the systems automatic search feature.

That said... The sites I visit that have implemented this option (Not all of them have the option BTW) have reduced the duplicate threads by no less than 50%...

My way around all of this is typing what I need in Google or Bing and let that search engine show me what I want... Otherwise I just grab a coffee and dig through the threads in my search... :doorag:

 

[Bytemi]

As a shy (no really stop laughing) person it was hard for me to join this forum and start interacting with people. Some may even say that I am socially challenaged and I can't argue with that. I asked questions, that I could have Googled and found the answer for, but then I would not have met everyone here and what would I do without Bob! He is always so supporting and encouraging. The questions helped to break me out of my shell. I am sorry if that offends!

 

[Bob Denman]

Not at all... :2thumbs:
Sometimes a question pops up, and a whole lot of folks might not know the answer; but they're embarassed to ask.
This gives them more courage to speak up the next time!

 

[otter28169]

I read every tech thread that comes up in an attempt to learn more about my spyder. I fix houses not vehicles, and every bit of info I get on here is priceless. The old saying goes, "You don't know, what You don't know". People run into issues with their spyders that I never could have thought up, and when they get help, so do I.

I am ready to talk about helmets Bob.opcorn:

 

[ARtraveler]

I am leaning towards............

As a university professor, I always tell my new students that there is no such thing as a stupid question. I encourage them to interact and ask--because, sometimes they are the brave one, and there are several other students in the class that have the same question and are afraid to ask.

Yes, we have a search engine, but not everyone knows about it or is comfortable using it. Most times, a question posted gets answered very quickly, so I don't see a problem with anyone asking a question that "everyone" knows about.

I try to be courteous when a new poster comes on because I remember how I felt when I signed up and posted that first question.

......those that are willing to answer questions even if the answers could have been obtained through the search engine.

 

[DR Buck]

OK, I obviously didn't correctly convey my issue. It's not about 5 people asking the same question or 12 people providing answers. It's about 5 people asking the same question and 12 people providing answers in 37 different threads. :banghead: My point is if a topic has already been discussed multiple times and the thread can be found using the search feature, any new questions and responses could be added to the existing thread. That way all of the great ideas (and some not so great ideas) would be in one place. This gives one the opportunity to read and consider all responses together. One of the forums I frequent actually merges common subject threads together into single threads. So, using the "gas cap" example, I would be able to read all of the "what to do and not do with my old gas cap and why do I still smell gas and my Corbin seat door won't close" answers in one thread instead of twelve. :yikes: And, it was more of an observation, than a complaint. Next time I post in English. :joke:

BTW: No where did I say or imply any of the questions were stupid.

 

[Bob Denman]

Doc B.
Cool :thumbup:... Now I see what's got you up in a knot. I do agree that not every random thought necessarily needs it's own thread. But nobody ever promsied any of us that our lives would proceed without some bumpiness along the way...
It's an easy thing to overlook, once you figure out some of the REALLY boneheaded things that get done around you every week.