Originally Posted by
agarose2000
"Before you ask
Try to find an answer by searching the archives of the forum you plan to post to.
Try to find an answer by searching the Web.
Try to find an answer by reading the manual.
Try to find an answer by reading a FAQ.
Try to find an answer by inspection or experimentation.
Try to find an answer by asking a skilled friend."
No way Im' doing ALL of these before asking a forum question. I agree that laziness and stupidity is bad policy, but this is ridiculous. All this does is encourage alienation of all possibly productive forumites. You might as well say flat out "don't bother to ask your question - it's definitely too stupid and common for all of us road cycling forumites."
If you want a great example of a forum doing it 'right', check out BeginnerTriathlete.com. It's true that yes, the same questions get rehashed over and over again, but there's usually a specific take on it that makes it more relevant to the issue at hand. I'm frankly tired of all this 'go home and do your homework' BS before you're worthy to ask a simple question.
When I decided I wanted to start cycling regularly there was no internet ... no bikeforums for me to ask every single little question that entered my head. I found the answers by going to the library and reading books, then by inspection or experimentation, and then by asking my father who has been into cycling since the 1940s.
In other words, I did as many of the things in that list as I could ...... and I expect the same thing from the people who ask questions here. Figure it out for yourself, if possible ... and if you still have a question, by that point hopefully you've learned a lot along the way so you can ask a very specific, well-thought-out, intelligent question.