I think it's a good thing to do when the thread becomes too long.
It's very time consuming start reading all the thread from the very beginning.
Moreover many information written in the first posts is usually out-of-date.
It's a good thing to do a search before posting. But usually the answer (as in this case) is split in several posts.
An answer like mine put it all together for an easier reading.

Last, but not less important, I think one should always help. Assuming the other part is not trying to be too lazy.

That's my opinion.

Many times I've found myself reading thru a whole thread and missing important pieces as they were buried into a long post. I am convinced that a summary every now and then helps a lot.

BTW, I totally agree with what you've stated. Even if it appears incongruent with what I've just written. I agree not to repeat answers and I agree that one has to read before posting. But there are cases where repeating an answer avoid wasting time to newcomers.