My guess is that about 95% of people who post here with questions HAVE searched for the answers. If this is true, the overwhelming percentage of people who are being asked to search are being insulted.

Also, the anti-newpost strategy has had wonderful success here. People would rather add on to a thread that doesn't even fit their topic rather than risk being pilloried for starting a new thread when one already existed. So we get the rolling-in-the-aisles-with-laughter exaggeration of not starting new threads -- threads that are hundreds of messages long, on combinations of subjects, with the posters knowing for sure that they won't be criticized for piling on.

If it wasn't for essential posters like Texrat we'd have quite a problem, but he always manages to quietly correct things so they stay on an even keel.