A note about Googling.

[Snake X]

Google it. Google it some more. And google it some more. Just in case, google it just a bit more. And if you still havn't found it, you may ask.


Far too often I see this and no doubt this is a standard for any person that uses forums.. However, I felt that I should say something about this subject.

Have you ever noticed when you are googling a question or something and you see it in forums where people in the end just say "google it. Thread closed" or something of the sort?

I don't feel like I'm the only one who's ever noticed this trend and I wanted to finally comment on this.

When I see this, I just want to say to the person if they've outright denied any responce "If it wern't for google I wouldnt be seeing "google it", smart one..."

I think with this in mind people should know when to enforce the search rule especially google but because I see this a lot, google doesn't always know..

That DOESNT however mean by any stretch of the imagination this can be used an excuse to not google, I'm just saying that keep in mind when your telling someone to google it, just make sure the person didn't see that exact same message before they made the post..

Well, what do you think anyways?

[Scipi]

I agree. Especially if you ARE googling it and you come across >9001 "google it" answers and no solution.

[Eeems]

I usually will tell them to google it and provide some links I found while googling their problem.
On IRC I usually will ask if they googled it first and most often they will shamefully say no and then proceed to google it
Just saying google it on omnimaga is not providing anything to the discussion so if someone asks something that is easily answered by google, post the link to what you found with the answer and then tell them to google it next time ( although more tactfully ).

[Juju]

It's more pertinent to say "google it", then add to that post some links you found while you googled it yourself. Even, answer the question completely, then they'll be like, "oh, okay". They might even ask for explanations if they didn't understood what you (or they) googled first. Then someone else would ask themselves the same question and google it to stumble upon your thread and get all their questions resolved instead of spamming another forum with "google it".

[Sorunome]

Interesting point of view juju

[DJ Omnimaga]

On Omnimaga this kind of behavior has always been discouraged and even under new administration has continued to be discouraged. I believe on other forums people are also kinda tolerant as well now, but I do remember incidents where new members were not given a chance.

Of course if someone didn't do his homework, he'll be pointed to Google, but otherwise, we always try to help him while asking him if he has found anything on Google and if he didn't use it then maybe he'll find his answer. It can be hard to know if the person already tried Google or not, but it's best to use judgement. And for new members I always prefered to try to remain polite as well. Just plain telling someone to RTFM/JFGI n00b is not a good way to keep members imo (although some people don't mind those remarks).

On the other hand, it's good to let us know you did your homework (and an effort while doing so, A.K.A. trying multiple search queries, checking the first few pages of results, and attempting a search directly on the forums if they use their own search engine, even though Omni search engine is very slow). If you ask for help after searching Google for 30 minutes, but you don't tell us you searched for a while to no avail, then we might still suggest Google.

[Snake X]

On Omnimaga this kind of behavior has always been discouraged and even under new administration has continued to be discouraged.

What do you mean by 'this kind of behavior' exatly? o.o

And yes omnimaga is good about helping others no doubt about that, i just hate it when its like a thread from '02 and it ends with "google it" or something like that

Which leaves me to a point about how like if theres something really old your trying to figure out and sure there may have been a lot of results back in whenever the person was searching for it but like 10 years later there wouldnt be as much results haha.

Oh and this place doesn't seem to have this issue in the slightest btw, just referencing some other places haha


And DJ if I'm thinking that by 'this behavior' your meaning telling people to google, I've seen a community that will ban you outwright for asking for help. Or even hinting for help. It was a small one but they wanted you to figure out everything for yourself.. a free and open site such as this is a blessing

EDIT: I also should probably mention that I was in no way referencing omnimaga with the original post. Just generally discussing it really. You guyz are awesome with helping

[DJ Omnimaga]

By this kind of behavior, I meant people who are obnoxious towards newbies and other people in general.

Also I did see some Omni members getting banned (or close) from another calc site 5 years ago exactly for asking for help. Thankfully, the admin did not agree with such ban and removed them, but eventually the member's account vanished completely and I'm unsure if he asked to delete it or if it was deleted by staff. The staff who instated the bans are no longer staff there since years ago.