Man! For a while there, seeing that answer to any question made me paranoid to even post one!
It got so bad that I (and more than a few others, I bet) would begin with the disclaimer, “I googled this, but…”.
Hell, the reason for even posting anything here is to get as many answers (and perhaps real life experiences) as possible.
I’m glad I rarely ever see that phrase anymore and it makes me wonder if ever anything was officially declared from Mod Management regarding cessation of this?
Maybe, but you have to admit, for some of the lamer, simpler questions that get asked by certain hard-hardheaded posters, it is the appropriate response.
I freakin’ loathe “Let Me Google That For You”. I see it often used as part of an argument:
Idiot claims X, usually something outlandish or misrepresented.
Me: “Wait, what? I don’t suppose you’ve got a cite for that, do you?”
Idiot: “LMGTFY”
Seriously, would it have hurt to provide a link the citation in the first place? Generally, when someone pulls this crap, it’s a pretty clear indicator that they’re playing fast and loose with reality.
Ah, looks like you’ve got a bigger problem with (what you perceive to be) its typical application, and not LMGTFY itself. I am a fan of it, when used properly of course, but yes, it is too simple for some jackass who doesn’t know what he’s talking about to not only pretend he’s a whiz because he has access to Google, but to be a real tool about it. Jerks ruin everything for everyone. I learned this in pre-school.
Yeah, it doesn’t really make sense to me in this context. It is not reasonable to expect people to do google searches to find evidence for your claims in a debate or argument.
It IS reasonable to expect people to do a little bit of independent research with a publically available tool like Google before asking for assistance with a general question of fact.
On the other hand, what ‘LMGTFY’ sometimes proves is just that the responder has strong Google-fu, not that the asker should have been able to find the answer on his or her own.
I’ve used that phrase a few times around here, but mostly when people are asking really stupid questions that they could have googled and gotten a complete answer for in less time than it took to post their question.
Just some made up examples, but you really don’t need to pop into GQ to ask “Where is Spain?” or “Does Ford make the Taurus anymore?” Nor are they questions that are likely to sustain a lot of interest or responses. Sometimes it really comes across as “I spend a lot of time on this board because my nephew bookmarked it for me. So I’ll ask my stupid question here because I have no idea how to get to The Google. Does it have an AOL page?”
