Putting new forum members in a Catch 22

[Heming]

Being a new member, I thought I'd chip in:

I actually find the search function quite inadequate. That might of course be me, but I can never seem to find anything. And I'm usually quite good at ferreting out information from the abysses of neverwas (I'm an archivist / records manager professionally).

Apart from that, I have noticed the same thing as the original poster - if you're new (in any forum), you're still pretty much expected to know the entire thread history of the forum, and then shut up about it and carry on. I find xmarks better than many other forums on this point, but have also noticed that xmarks is very intolerant of thread resurrection - unless done by an old and respected member...

[RamsayClanCommish]

I must agree with the original poster. Though it isn't confined to only this board. Also, I find it irritating to have a thread that after a few days of being opened is met with "We'll I think we've discussed this as much as possible", "Nothing new here", or "I think we can see where this is going so I am locking this down" and the thread is closed.

To my mind, this is a forum for discussion so let us discuss. If you don't like a particular topic or don't like the way a thread is turning...don't read/don/t post. I do not encourage flame wars. But I think we are all reasonable adults who can carry on spirited debate and who despite topics being repeated CAN find new things to add.

[Rex_Tremende]

or, those members who make comments such as 'so and so posted this before', or 'I think x member already mentioned this last year'.

are we in some sort of unspoken contest now where whoever discovers or mentions something first..wins a prize or something?

As one who sometimes refers people to past threads on a recurring topic, I don't do it to stifle conversation, but rather it's my view that new discussion is best informed by its history. What information is already out there? What are people's opinions on something? How might they have changed since the last time? What's the reaction likely to be if one says such-and-such? Can a better case be made than the last time? What new information do we have today that we didn't have then?

Sometimes I feel I want to contribute without feeling like I'm being redundant. I view it as trying to be helpful, not boastful of what a good memory I have or how quick I am to be the first to post it. I suppose I could not say anything at all, but so many topics come around so many times, if I felt that way, I might as well resign.

Sometimes I also refer people to the search function, but I think that I usually do it in what I hope is an instructional sort of way, e.g. "If you use the advanced search and specify 'search function' in the keywords box, you'll find many discussions about this topic. View results as threads, not posts, to help you sort through all of it." I am not a newbie, but I use the search function a lot. The best time to teach someone how to use something is when they need it. In this way, I am letting new people know that a well crafted search query can yield good information.

If explaining to people how something works puts them off, or if reminding them that there's a history to be mined shuts down their desire to participate in the present, well, I feel sort of sorry for them.

Kind regards,
Rex.