On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 22:57:15 GMT, Frogleg wrote:
On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 11:35:06 -0800, wrote:

But this year I see the group has become pretty meanspirited.
Everyone directs inquirers to other sources, never giving their
experience, thoughts or whatever, and now including a few snipes like
read the label, look it up, do it yourself, etc. etc. etc.

I beg to differ. I believe nearly all the inquiries requesting
specific information or experience are answered adequately and
politely (with the usual exceptions for any newsgroup). Even when a
troll posts only "how do I garden?" he generally gets a few hints, or
a follow-up query to clarify the situation.

I see little point in writing a treatise on, say, growing tomatoes,
when I can suggest a good web site on the subject. Some posters don't
appear to know how to use search engines. It isn't mean-spirited to
suggest how this is done.

When someone posts "how much sun does XYZ plant need, and can I grow
it in zone 6 (or mentions a location)?" there are *heaps* of relevent
answers.
Suggesting a good web site on a subject is a good thing to do, and
should be just as good as answering directly. That a great starting
point for a user finding information on their own. Posting a link to
Google is not.

It would be hard to find someone that is more experienced with search
engines then I am, and even though I use google frequently there are
limits to its usefulness. Some searches are easy and quickly return
the exact information you need, while other searches are more
difficult to do and are drowned in the noise of the Internet.

Its funny, I've often seen people posting a question on a topic, not
just on gardening but anything really, and one of the replies is
sometimes a "do a google search, moron" reply that may actually
contain a google search to use. When I follow that link I usually see
the very same post I was in at the top of the list, followed by others
asking the same question, with similar useless responses. The answer
is often buried, if its there at all, under a long lists of search
results. The point is if you do a google search, you'll probably see
yourself in the mirror asking the question in this newsgroup.

Swyck