Posted by Proud Blade(VIP) on May 1, 2000 at 16:32:06:
1) No one likes seeing the same question posted twenty times per day. It clogs the board. The number of people who routinely answer questions is small, compared to the number of people who post. Asking the small group to repeatedly spend their time answering the same question is dumb. Yes, I could spend a minute re-answering your question. Or I can spend a minute reminding you that Forum Search exists. In the latter case, you hopefully learn how useful and easy it is, and quietly go about your business. In the former case, you'll likely do the same thing tomorrow, cluttering the Forum further with redundant information.
2) Forum Search is easier and faster than posting, then waiting for a reply. It's also more thorough- often, you will pull up several people's takes on your question.
3) You can check your sources with it. Certain people who post a lot of answers make a lot of mistakes. Not sure how accurate I am? Search my handle, pick out threads at random, and see how often I'm wrong. Want to send me email and ask for more detail? Forum Search will pull that up as well.