If you search, you tax the server.
If you don’t, you post redundant threads.
Which one is the lesser of two evils?
How ironic if this has been done before, eh?
I wanted to start a thread once, but did a search first to confirm my suspicion that it had been discussed before. There are lots of threads about relationship issues, and the subject I had in mind was in that department. Theoretically it’s a good idea, I think, but maybe I might want to start that thread anyway, because all the Dopers who’d spoken on the subject were in considerably different circumstances than mine.
I WILL mention that when I did the search, I had a hell of a time getting to the threads on the subject. I blame that more on my own slow browser (and the fact that I need more RAM in my computer) than on the SDMB’s server though.
But anyway, whether I start my thread or not, I still think it’s a better idea to do a search first rather than post redundant threads; if I get another idea for a thread on a topic that I strongly suspect has been discussed, I’d still do the search first anyway, even in spite of my slow browser and lack of RAM.
I’m of a mind to search first, too. But Lynn and Tuba have informed us so many times of the server resources drain, I wonder how important the search function is.
To further my OP, is it harder on the server to search than to support more threads?
I often search Boardreader and Google anymore. If you google a name or subject and include Straight Dope, it shows SDMB threads. One of Handy’s better suggestions.
What do you Mods think?