In Reply to: Searching archives is hard because posted by paris91 on Monday, 12. September 2005 at 00:05 Bali Time:
There are times when you just have to tell people to search the archives. Too many people ask vague and common questions that require long responses (if the response is going to be meaningful).
What would help is if people asked questions AFTER finding out as much as they can about what they are interested in. Then they could ask a specific question that will get a brief and helpful answer.
But if someone is just being lazy and asks: Is it worth going to Lombok?; Or "Should I do a day trip to Yogya?"; Or "What are the property laws in Indonesia?"; Or "How much does everything cost and where can I get it?", then the only way to help is to either write several thousand words, or direct them to the hundreds of thousands of words that have already answered their queries in the archives.
It would also help if people were clear with their headings. They could at least use a question mark if they're asking a question. Otherwise, the archives become full of posts like "Drug clinic in Lovina", and you click on it, thinking it's giving info, but there's only a question about whether or not there's a drug clinic in Lovina.
And then there's the endless number of posts that are answered in the FAQ, one of the links from this page, or in a post two inches below where they post the new question. That's just super-lazy, whether or not they are newbies. I mean, do they go to restaurants, look at a clearly marked menu and then ask the waiter what food they have and how much it costs? I hope not.
So, I guess, in order, everyone should do this:
1. Read the FAQ.
2. Read the links.
3. Search the web for info.
4. Check the archives.
5. If still confused, ask a specific question on the forum.
6. Use a question mark (?).
And then the archives will be nice and easy to use, and the posts won't have to be archived every few days because the same questions are being asked over and over again.
You could probably fill entire websites just with the posts relating to rasberry cordial and the various plastic bag theories.