SEARCH is not the wondertool.

[Sasha]

A discussion forum is a way of doing research.

About 75% of the traffic we receive is from search engine results. What that translates to is someone going into Google, entering a query and our site popping up as a result of what they are looking for. They may read a thread or two, but they may not be satisified with the result(s). So they start a thread.

A discussion forum is for just that, a discussion. It's not for a user to be told to go elsewhere when they post a question.

But for crap like uniforms, california licenses, boots, light bars, scopes, and jump bags they are going to get the SAME info that they got on those one or two threads they read. Seriously they have been discussed to death, there is no new perspective to bring to those discussions all they do is serve to annoy the general forum population.

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[firetender]

Guiding the Noobs to think...

When I see a first post with a standard question I know the OP hasn't checked things out on his/her own before asking the question.

As a result the questions get very generic and fifteen responses later, after everybody and their Mom replies, the Noob realizes what he/she is asking.

So I usually say something like do a search and then hit us with specific questions to please save everyone's time, especially your own.

Even if the OP doesn't search he/she will usually take a little extra time to better form questions.

 

[JPINFV]

Is there any way to provide a link that prepopulates Google with site:emtlife.com ?

 

[JJR512]

Is there any way to provide a link that prepopulates Google with site:emtlife.com ?

There is a way to create a text entry field as part of a form, with a button that, when you click it, will use Google to search only emtlife.com. In other words to put a search function here on this site that uses Google to search only this site.

It's a bit late and I'm a bit tired, but I believe that answers what you were getting at.

 

[JJR512]

I'm not against people asking for help, but I think people should make an honest attempt to solve the problem themselves first. The information is out there, it is just a matter of finding it. Using google may produce more results than you need, but being able to process that information and discriminate between what is useful and what isn't is an important skill to have.

I understand and agree with what you are saying. What I am against, though, is the way many people seem to assume that when someone comes here to ask a question, that is the only research they have done, are doing, and will do on the subject.

When someone comes here and asks a question, we often have no way of knowing what kind of attempt (honest or otherwise), if any, they've already made, or are concurrently making. It is true, though, that occasionally people do actually come out and say that they didn't look anywhere else or didn't use the search function, but that isn't usually the case, I believe.