Your conclusion is evil, and yet funbeppi wrote:Maybe the following can be implemented by the forum administrators:
New members (e.g. those with less than 5 posts, like the PM sending threshold) will have to answer "Yes" to the question "Have you searched the forum and made sure that your question is not already answered in other threads?"
This will limit repeat questions to those who cannot (or won't) read, not just those who cannot (or won't) search. (How such people can write a post is unclear to me, but at least we then have even more reason to ridicule them - which is kind of fun.)
I think there a few of issues:-
- On many forums historically the search function is/was complete rubbish, and was never on the priority list for upgrading. That said I think the onus is still on the person seeking information to give it a go. Since the advent of 'powered by Google', search functions in general are vastly better.
- Every person asking a question thinks their circumstances are unique, despite there being a large amount of cross-over with others who have asked the same question before.
- There is an unspoken element of wanting hand-holding. Moving continent is a big and stressful event, and people seek out moral support for their decisions.
- I imagine there are also people who flagrantly expect others to run around for them, but my gut feel is most people asking 'silly' questions come under/across the above three categories.
