Thou Shalt Google It

[takkuneg]

Due to a frequent trend of posts that read like this:

"What is a/an [object]?"
"What does [word] mean?"
"Who is [person]?"
"What does [acronym] stand for?"
"What is [measurement] in [unit of choice]?"

and the ever-provocative "Huh?" and "What?", the mods would like to remind all members of the existence of search engines. Rule #3 of the Forum Rules states:

Originally Posted by bbcentral

3. Search the forums before posting a question. It may have already been answered.

The same applies for generic information. Instead of posting your question, a search may turn up an existing source with the information you are looking for. Many confusions can be quickly and easily resolved by a Google search that may give you an answer much faster than waiting for another member to view and reply to your post. It will also reduce the number of clutter posts in threads and will make the relevant information on the thread topic easier to find and read through.

It is true that asking questions is a good thing. It is how we all learn and exchange information. That is what we are on this board for, after all. Understandably, information on more obscure topics/people is going to be harder to find, and this is when quick searches may simply not be enough. If a search does not provide you with the information you require, then go ahead and ask about it.

Examples of things to search for before asking:

- acronyms, "netspeak" terms, and slang
- definitions of words
- names of unfamiliar persons
- Titles and phrases
- Movies, TV Shows, and Actors (see also: IMDb)
- unit conversions*
- words in other languages*

Here is a good rule of thumb: If you feel assured that another member or mod can quickly find the information and post it for you, chances are that you can too. Instead of relying on others to always provide information for you, take the initiative and dig up the information yourself.

If you are making a post or reply about a subject, you too can help out your fellow members. Posting relevant links, quotes**, and example images***with your initial or supplementary post can help provide further information for others.

If typing in the URL of a search engine each time you need it seems tedious, you might want to look into installing a search toolbar on your browser of choice. (Takkuneg uses and recommends Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar.)

Failure to search may be subject to the following:

- a link to this post
- "Google is your friend."
- an encouraging macro (see beginning of post)
- a warning from the moderators. Repeat offenses are subject to infractions.





* Please visit the following thread for links to relevant pages:
International Conversion Tools

** Please limit the length of copypasta by citing only important sections. Do not paste and quote the the whole page. News articles can be an exception, since some news sites have a habit of purging news articles after a given period of time, and full copypasta might preserve these articles, especially if they are specifically Blues Brothers-related.

*** Hotlinking is frowned upon, as it takes up other sites' bandwidth and the unexpected removal of images from outside sources can later make a thread look emtpy. Upload images you want to use on another host, such as Photobucket.

[GreenOnion]

This is actually a reply for Thou shalt google it (locked in website news).

I thought it was relevant, so here it is:

YouTube - Posting and you

[takkuneg]

That rules. Now an official part of the thread.