I agree but that doesn't seem to be the general consensus around this forums, so I just basically quit posting, helping, etc. Again I'm not good at searches, and if I get repremanded for not being good at search then the only alternative for me is to say nothing.
I mean no disrespect nor do I hold any ill feeling towards anyone, just using the options I have left at hand.
This happens every once in a while in some thread. As a mod, let me chime in a bit here because I feel it's necessary (and I really don't like to see people getting discouraged from helping others).
People don't tell you to search because they don't like you or because they look down at you (if their post is actually offensive, that's against the forum rules – please report the post), but because they've probably seen the question asked a few times already. The first time they help, the second time as well, but as more and more people come in and don't bother to read even the post above theirs, it gets frustrating.
Sure, there's always a way to phrase it better (e.g. "It's been posted a few pages back, look for that.") that would help people better while letting them know they could've searched for it, but when you see the same questions again and again, you sometimes lose it… because most of us
p) are human, and because you tend to assume the 10th person to do something didn't bother to search like the other 9.
My advice? Search before you post using some keywords and read the first and last few pages (actually, do this first – it's often faster and better than searching). Understandably, that doesn't always work and sometimes you don't find what you're looking for even though it's there, and that's fine. So if someone asks you to search, thank the member and politely ask him to be more specific. Most will be happy to help you further if they see you've actually tried or if you're having difficulties.
(Sadly, as more people ask the same questions and receive the same answers, you eventually get to a point where searching only gets you "Search for it" results. What I usually do in these cases is reply to myself with a link to the answer to save future askers some trouble. Having a FAQ definitely helps, too!)
Hope this helps a bit. :highfive: