# Etiquette of Similar posts **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 27, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-of-similar-posts/84130 "2001-09-27T16:20:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-of-similar-posts/84130/1 "2001-09-27T16:20:20Z")
What is the general etiquette for searching for similar threads before posting a new thread. Is this something a poster is expected to do, or are they free to post a question that has already been asked? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-of-similar-posts/84130/2 "2001-09-27T16:29:50Z")
Well, I’ll tell you what my strategy is. If it’s in GQ, I will search and see if my question has been answered. If so, I don’t post. If my question has been addressed but not answered, and the thread was pretty recent (last several months or so), I’ll bump the old thread and ask if anyone has new info. If it is an older thread than that, I’ll just start a new one. In pretty much all the other forums (IMHO, MPSIMS, etc.), I just search to see if anyone’s discussed it in the last several months, and if so, again, I simply bump the old thread. If it’s been longer than that, I post a new thread. (For certain stuff, like Very Vaguely Creepy, I would _always_ post to the old thread, just because, well, there can only be one VVC thread. You know?) Does this make sense? And, for anyone else who reads this, am I doing it wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-of-similar-posts/84130/3 "2001-09-27T17:01:35Z")
Yeah, it’s pretty much a judgement call. As **MsWhatsit** said - if you have a question that’s been answered then leave it, otherwise use your discretion. IMHO is often the hardest place to do this in, because while you may find a very similar thread having been posted recently, you might want to solicit new opininions. I don’t really dig bumping years-old threads except without good reason, and it’s generally not done to bump the threads that happened before the change to vB code, because the old UB code looks so confusing and the posts are often in the wrong order. Other than that, just use your noggin. [sub]I like the word “noggin”.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-of-similar-posts/84130/4 "2001-09-27T21:48:54Z")
You are expected to do a search before posting a new thread in any forum. I’ll usually close a thread in GQ if the question has been asked within the last month, and sometimes close it if it’s been asked in the last several months. I’d suggest a search-the-whole-thread type search for the last 30 days _and_ a search-the-subject-only search for the last year. If the thread might reasonably go in either of two forums, search them both. It’s best to confine your searches to a less busy time of the day, if possible. If we’re talking about a GQ, you’re also expected to do some off-board searching to find the answer: search [Google](http://www.google.com) and [Cecil’s columns](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/) at the very least.