# Search?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search/217576>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 7, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search/217576 "2003-12-07T18:02:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search/217576/1 "2003-12-07T18:02:42Z")

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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?

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**Author:** ![Yersinia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6bbea6/32.png) [@Yersinia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search/217576/2 "2003-12-07T19:16:24Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search/217576/3 "2003-12-07T19:57:00Z")

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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?