Yeah, usually if I see that they had said something interesting, and hadn’t heard of them before.
Or, if I think they are being an ass, and I want to see if they are always an ass.
I avoid searches like the plague. If I see a name a dozen times or more, my sub-conscious starts noting it as “in the neighborhood” people. Currently I could name 3 users who know far more than me, and 1 user who is a complete fool. (Actually, that 1 user was brought to my attention in my only true history search; I looked up and read the entire 300+ post thread about .999… equalling 1. To this geek, that was one of the best reads I’ve had in a long time.)
As I’m still so new here, my post count notwithstanding, I experience precious little name-recognition in either direction.
Except any Zappa-related names, of course. Love every one of them.
I check to see my own posts, because this MB is so huge it’s impossible to keep track of what’s been said where … I was having this arguement with someone somewhere fecked if I can find it…?
I looked…
…For all of two minutes.
No doubt it’s somewhere around, and probably right under my nose at that.
It’s good to know I’m not the only stalker.
Perhaps if you did a search on me…
:smack:
Never thought I’d have to use that smile.
Did anyone else just immediately click the search button on that post?
My recent posts also contain a Cecil sighting.
I use search all the time.
If not searching my own screenname for recent replies to my posts or reminiscing older threads of mine, I check out what posts made certain dopers banned, like Wildest Bill.
Are you trying to kill those poor hamsters woman?? 
Go look at the damn thread.
Very rarely.
I can only think of two people I’ve searched: vivalostwages months ago, when I was still a relative newbie and just figuring out who’s who; and NothingMan, someone I met at a Dopefest and struck me as a genuinely interesting guy.