CB; you are correct that there is a lot of information already posted on this forum; and a simple search could reveal answers prior to asking new questions. And I have been a big proponent of telling people to use the search function first. But I'm a lot more tolerant of internet questions than most people.
Back when Al Gore first invented the internet, it was a very difficult arena to navigate. As someone who's been involved with computers even before the internet, I was quite good at searching things out. I even made a bit of money doing Online Research for people. Before the search engines became easier to use. But since google and most other search engines have become mainstream, it's been a lot easier for people to look up information.
But I must say that I recently discovered that "Online searching" is still not the easiest thing to do. During the memorial day weekend, my wife and I went to her father's to visit. (Few states away). He's 87 and for the last 5 or so years we've gotten him into using a Kindle and a laptop. He loves to read, but he had a stroke a while back and holding a book was difficult. I regress; but wanted to emphasize that if not for the stroke, he probably would never have used a tablet or laptop. Anyway, he now uses the kindle for reading books and the laptop for checking his investments. But something I noticed was that he and my wife were discussing all sorts of things and had lots of questions. "Who did this", "When was that", "What date", etc. He and my wife started doing searches. He on his laptop and my wife on her tablet. At first, I didn't think anything of it. Then, after a few minutes, both said they couldn't find what they were looking for. Without thinking, I put my beer down, grabbed my cell phone, spent literally 10 seconds, and told them the answer they were looking for. No big deal. Well, over the next week, I noticed both of them being frustrated because they couldn't find what they were looking for. Yet, I could spend literally SECONDS, and find the answer.
Guess what I'm saying is, maybe a lot of the questions being posted here on the forum, the person MAY have actually tried searching for the answer first. But I have learned, that even with powerful search engines like google, there is an "ART" or "SKILL" to knowing HOW to search. MOST people are so generic in their search request, that they wind up with too many results that are vague. They click on a couple and get frustrated because it didn't answer their question fully. This isn't their fault. It's actually the fault of the search engine developers. As an Engineer myself; with degrees in Electronics, Computer Science, and MOST HELPFUL a degree in Psychology; I realized that when I wrote contracts, instructions, information packets, etc. sometimes I wrote from a "Technical Perspective" thinking that others should have no problem understanding what I wrote. Only to find out that I took my knowledge and understanding of a topic for granted; and many others didn't understand. (This is why I'm so long winded in my posts. I TRY to ensure other understand me fully). Search Engine developers are no different. What they write seems EASY and LOGICAL to them. But not for everyone else. My wife and her father used the SAME SEARCH ENGINE that I used. They spent 5-10 minutes and couldn't find what they were looking for. I spent 10 SECONDS and found it immediately.
So it's quite possible that people have tried searching for something first; and simply couldn't find it. I've learned to be a bit more patient with posters. Yes, I prefer that they TRY to search for information first. But I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I think you are correct. What I'd like to see is: When a NEW topic is being started, before the submit process allows the thread to start, it looks at the WORDS IN THE TITLE of the new thread and come back to the poster with links to SIMILAR THREADS already listed. And then gives them a choice to continue with a NEW thread, or post in an EXISTING thread. But either way, as long as people get answers to their questions, and it makes them a more informed applicant, family member, cadet, etc. then the forum is doing what it was intended to do.
Mike