PSA: People keep asking the same basic questions without searching first

I run a dog grooming shop and see this on grooming forums all the time. Someone will post 'how do I trim a poodle's face' when there are 50 videos and guides already up. It clogs the feed. I spent 30 minutes yesterday just scrolling past repeats. It matters because good answers get buried. How do you get folks to check the pinned posts or do a quick search? Is it just laziness?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_stella20d ago

The local buy-nothing group has a rule where you must post a photo of your empty spice jar before asking for turmeric. It cut down on repeat posts by about 70 percent. Maybe forums need a digital empty jar, like making you list the three threads you checked first.

brookeross19d ago

Sounds good for turmeric, but that system would break most online help forums. People often can't even describe their problem, let alone prove they searched. You'd just get photos of blank search bars or links to totally unrelated threads. The real fix is better mods who merge repeat threads, not making users jump through hoops they'll fake anyway.

vera_foster3615d ago

My gym tried a similar thing with towel returns and people just started taking pics of random towels from home.