"NOT AGAIN"

I know we were all newbies at one point...but what is a polite way to inform newer newbies of the SEARCH function of this forum???
Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but it irks me to see the same questions asked over & over & over & over...
and I know I'm not alone (right, Rob?)!
It's one thing to search & need help because you worded your search wrong or something, but it's really annoying to see people not even make the effort to use the feature!
This opinion is solely the opinion of the OP and does not, in any way, reflect the opinion of the website owner or any of its members...
but you know you were thinking the same thing--I was just the one that posted it!

I'm going to drink more coffee and finish waking up...

I'm too new to post a grumble, but you are absolutely right. Like, 3 times in the last 4 days, someone has come on and said, "Teach me how to breed balls and make lots of money for as little work as possible". A 3-year old thread just got revived, too......

Should that one thread we keep linking to be made a sticky? Would people look for it? Should it be that easy? I dunno, but the 2 inquiries were like 5 posts apart from each other! Dang!

There is no polite way and even if there was it would be no guarantee it would stop the problem. There could be a post at the very top of the forum and someone will start a brand new thread on the exact same topic and not use the one already right there in front of their face.

This is an issue with just about every forum I have ever been to. Some people get down right nasty about it. In some cases it's not really the newbies fault, since the search engine in a forum is not psychic, and the words, even as a phrase, don't really help find exactly what is being looked for.

Personally, I would prefer to not have people here chase away new members with a slap to the face about using the search function. This is a DISCUSSION forum, after all. There is no requirement that someone cannot discuss something in a new thread that may have been covered in an older thread. If someone makes a post you aren't interested in, you are not obligated to read it, much less reply to it.

I think a well done FAQ or sticky is a good idea. But also, sometimes when a new person asks an ordinary question, he might just be looking to get a conversation started and get involved in the group.

If you welcome him/her and point to the FAQ (which will also have info about the search function) and then he researches and comes back with more advanced questions, then he is learning and participating.

If he doesn't do any reading or research and just wants to be spoon fed, just ignore him. I bet though that if you do the welcome thing, more people than not will read your FAQ and thank you, and you will have won over a new aficionado.

Not everyone can find or knows about the search, there are still some of us who are not very facile with the computer. When I first came to this site, I didn't even register correctly and had to ask for help just getting on here.

Remember.. it's the 10th time you've read that question, but it's the FIRST time they've asked it.

If the questions bugs you, ignore it and move on to enjoy other threads. There's a huge possibility that someone else will come along to answer the questions, and save you the frustration. Later, you'll end up answering when you're in a better mood when the NEXT person asks the same questions. It's sort of like tag-team forum work.

School's getting out right around now,
It's NoOb season.
Not even zyrtec works on them.

We have to get our next gen from somewhere though.

I like whoever posted the link to that genetics page. I hurt my brain cell learning so should they.

A FAQ or sticky at least gives you something civil to point them at but if they search it just means that 5 year old threads will be resurrected.

Pray for the animals that have no say in their keepers and curse the parents who don't care.

I really like it when newbies ask the same questions over again. You always get someone who hasnt seen the question before answer. Thats really how you learn things. there is never one right answer to any question. There is a bagillion right answers to every question and I want to know them all!

A FAQ page or sticky is all fine and well only if it is seen and read. It could be in 4 inch letters and still not used.

How about those 4 year old Classifieds that are resurrected inquiring about the availability of the hatchlings being offered?

Those are from the newbies that used the search function.

It's a no win situation. Just practice your deep breathing exercises and wait it out. Three months and schools back in, it'll die down then. I've lurked in many forums on & off for years and it's a definite cycle, like cicadas or locust swarms.

Maybe the Bite Club should be mandatory reading, find the worst picture on there and when they irk you send them the link.