Topic searches and New members

[skilletlicker]

A couple days ago there was a thread having to do with a gadget to clean/sort dried beans. I had no interest in the gadget but thought the topic might be be helpful. The topic disappeared quickly. Thinking to post a simple suggestion in another appropriate conversation, the search on "sort beans" yielded 92 threads and probably thousands of posts.

I have gotten to know many of you, and have enjoyed lots of conversations. I greatly appreciate DC because of those experiences, but if, before my first post, I felt constrained to research a topic like sorting beans, I doubt I'd have posted a first, let alone second time.

I'm not sure what the solution to this is but I think the question is worth mentioning in a polite society such as ours.

Edit: This is not any criticism of the moderation of the forum, but a question on how best to respond politely to inevetable duplicate or similar questions and topics.

[GB]

With a site this size it is inevitable that certain searches will yield a huge number of posts. The short answer is just do the best you can. Do a search and see if what you are looking for jumps out at you. No one expects you to wade through thousands of posts. That is just not realistic. But if you do a search first you may just find what you are looking for. If not then post the question, even if it is a duplicate and it will either be answered or someone will point you to a previous conversation where it was answered

[jennyema]

Your 92 results will all have a date on them. It should be pretty easy to find the most recent ones.

Also try searching for a more unique term than beans.

[Alix]

One of the things moderators do is post a link to a relevant discussion in a question thread.

It is message board etiquette to do a search on your question first and see if there are already threads dedicated to it. (How many threads have you seen here about seasoning cast iron for example?) But if your search returns a HUGE number of threads and a quick scan reveals that none of them is what you are looking for a new thread is definitely indicated.