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Why is "Search" so difficult.....

Merlin66

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Digz

Digz

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Personally, I like to do 'my home work' before asking a question here. I will use google and the search engine here before asking a question. Having said that I am sure I have posted questions which have been posted and answered before.

As mentioned previously trawling through hundreds of posts until you find one which contains the information you are after can, at times, be frustrating but equally this can also yield a wealth of information and other question which I may not have considered thus broadening my knowledge.

Having said that asking the same question in a forum makes people feel like they have had a tailored and personal response which is something I really like about this forum.

Also, once I've asked a particular question and got the answer I am after I like sharing this with others who ask the same question (time permitting - which it isnt at present!!!!). Firstly this helps cement what I have learnt and secondly allows me to put something back into the forum and help others.

I also tend to look upon the question asking as another kind of filtered search - that is, members who respond often know exactly which previous forum thread will help the OP out and get them there quicker than using the search function and wading through hundreds of posts.

Just my 2p worth :-D

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x6gas

x6gas

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Interesting thread. Personally, I think that the willingness of members to answer noob questions is one of the things that makes this forum so welcoming and thus so great.

I've returned to the hobby after a long break to find that it has changed beyond recognition. I do try to search for answers, but it isn't always that easy, especially if you are still picking up the terms used in the current astronomy lexicon.

Anyway, I've been very grateful for the helpful replies I have received, and as my knowledge of specific things grows (i.e. things I have direct, personal, experience of) then I enjoy giving something back by answering questions where I can. This is pretty much a direct reponse to the friendliness received on here. I really feel that SGL is a community (with all the good and bad things that brings) rather than just a forum...

Funnily enough, I had a couple of weeks a while ago when lots of people were asking about attaching DSLRs to skywatcher / celestron reflectors and I was very happy to be able to help since I had done that myself.

There are also other examples of peeps asking questions coz they struggle to really understand the answers already given and need a bit more hand holding - for instance by PM. I am really happy to help where and if I can... and if I wasn't I wouldn't offer / reply.

Simples!

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Celeste

Celeste

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I have used the search facility, many times...but sometimes....the threads don't quite answer your question.....and alot of the time, it's nice for people to help/advise personally rather than read someone elses problems. *Some* questions IE webcam flashing is a well trodden thread BUT it's HUGE....have you ever read through it looking for one thing? I did.....it took ages, and then I still had to ask a question.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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I think the forums search engine is pretty diabolical its had enough trying to find threads you have answered questions in or even your one threads..

That's why I'm normally happy to answer questions and dig out previous threads whenever possible...

I agree that this sort of approach is what makes SGL "different" ...

Long may it continue........

Peter...

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assasincz

assasincz

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I actually do not see people starting new threads all the time as any sort of problem. By virtue of curiousness and lazyness, this forum doesn't get stale and it is still alive and humming, with new and fresh ideas coming in. People are reminded of the most troublesome issues and thus are able to coverse about various things with the latest, novelty perspectives.

One of the reasons why I abandoned a certain (an only) czech astronomy forum was due to this very issue. The administrators there kept sverely punishing those, who started new threads and kept scolding everyone, especially the newbies - that was the very thing that drove me away. Since then, the forum turned into a playground for a few chosen ones and anyone new, brimming with curiousness, was ousted away. It is now very neat and very organized, no doubt, but at the same time, it feels to be a hostile and unkind place.

With SGL, the liberalism, the possibility that you can ask anything that is bugging you (instead of spending endless hours at the search button) and that there are loads of people eager to answer and throw in a large pile of tips and hints as extra is still very appealing to me and was the very reason why I have joined this marvellous forum. SGL seems to be a very warm and welcomy place, and I would regret this to be otherwise. :icon_confused:

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Jandy100

Jandy100

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This really could be perceived as a controversial thread. I am beginner myself, and although my interest in astronomy was restricted to web & books after BBC Stargazers Live programme last year I wanted to take the hobby to the next level.

As a beginner I started by searching the web for information I needed to make that first purchase, but if honest the information research was contradictory and made the decision process so much more difficult.

Until I posted that first thread & plea for help I didn't even know Astronomical Societices actually existed. The willingness of members to answer my questions did help to make this forum so welcoming, but more importantly the information was "real" if that makes sense. Experienced Astronomers opinions, sharing of experience & advice help me understand more about this hobby & what can be got out of it.

Let's be honest Astronomy as a hobby is not quite the same as taking up golf or jogging as a pastime. At the end of day if beginners questions "get up members noses" then they have a choice on whether or not they want to reply or even bother to read it in the first place.

For me, the advice from SGL members has been invaluable in helping me understand & start up in this hobby, and I thank all those that have gone out their way to help.

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Capricorn

Capricorn

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It is not the searching on SGL, or lack of it, that gets me. It is the inability to search the web for an answer.

Seen many asking for a Messier List, put Messier List into Google or Bing and right at the top is Wikipedia supplying a very good list of Messier Objects and good data. So half the replies are the link to Wikipedia.

Recall one person asking what is there to look at tonight, post appeared about 7:05pm. At 12:10 someone (Mod = Tal???)replied suggesting a few possibilities. The reply back from the OP was Thanks been waiting for someone to suggest some things. They had waited over 5 hours and it seems done no observing.

Sometimes the internet and this ability to just ask prevents people from doing it themselves. Sometimes the answer should be "Read a book!"

Does seem to be this idea of I won't do it myself, I'll ask someone else.

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johninderby

johninderby

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I think there are over 6000 members on SGL, and probably less than 100 who answer the majority of the questions.

May be I need to have a "trial separation"

Believe it or not it's now: Members: 18,303 :icon_confused:

When a beginner asks a specific question, those are the ones I like answering. The really general questions that cover just about the whole field of astronomy in one go are the ones that get a bit repetitive.

John

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