PLEASE USE THE F'IN SEARCH FUNCTION (yes I'm shouting šŸ˜© )

(Rob) #1

I have spent FAR too much time on this board in the past few months and have absolutely loved it for the up to date info, community, civility and diversity. Itā€™s only been up for just over a year but the breadth of insight from both experts and personal experience (often at least as important given we are all special snowflakes), data, science, resources, links etc. is phenomenal. I guess in January there is an influx of newbies looking for a diet solution but the way Keto is blowing up I doubt the flood will stop in any month so I make this plea to noobs and longtime membersā€¦

Please use the Discourse Search Function!!!

It is flexible, effective, it seems to have a pretty good prioritization algorithm to put better results higher up the list even based on a super basic search request. There is a reasonable chance that your question has been asked before and answered comprehensively (especially newbies) and if it hasnā€™t then it is probably a great addition to the keto discussion and knowledge base.

There are plenty of ways to introduce yourself and interact with folks (accountability, intros, progress, adding resources/science/articles etc. if thatā€™s a goal) without asking a question thatā€™s been answered twenty times before.

Not this post but I think there should be some kind of high-level sticky in each section to remind everyone to do this.

PS I did search for this before writing this post :grin:

For the love of Richard Morris look here first if you canā€™t or wonā€™t use the search feature
(Rob) #2

I concur.

I gently point new folk towards the FAQ if they are asking a question which is covered in there, as they clearly have not read it yet.

If the FAQ yields no help, the search function is very useful and I have passively answered a lot of my own questions that way.

Sticky topics would certainly help!

(Mel Soule) #3

I canā€™t hit the like button enough to support this post @richard and @carl @Brenda

(Karen) #4

I do think we are seeing a sea change. 3 people at work are vocally doing keto.

Newbies not only have questions, they are looking for supportā€¦personal support. Keto is quite different from anything they are used to (was in those shoes) and there is fear, real fear that goes with eating/dieting against years of conventional nutrition wisdom. ā€œAm I doing this right?ā€. " How on earth can I get this much fat eaten, and where to find it?". ā€œWill this harm me?ā€.

I doubt when an individual takes up vegetarianism that you would hear confusion or fear and people donā€™t hide it. There is public and medical support for publicly perceived ā€œhealthyā€ diets.
So I am not surprised that people new to keto want a direct/personal connection to someone who has been doing keto and can directly support them.

I believe one can skip or dismiss a subject one feels they have heard before. Although I sometimes find a nugget of information buried in words of support for a Newbie.

K

(Jason Fletcher) #5

I would add. and when your question is answered DONā€™T delete the thread so much good info on here is lost this way.

(Darlene Horsley) #6

I agree. However, my question is, wonā€™t that still lock newbies out of categories the answers they seek might lie in until they become a trusted level member?

(jilliangordona) #7

For some questions, yes. But I am guessing here we are talking about things like repeated questions on why Ketostix no longer show ketones, which I know I have personally answered at least 10 times in the last few months.

(Candy Lind) #8

Itā€™s gotten to where I actually do a search most times before I answer someone, to see if thereā€™s a better answer than I could give somewhere else in the forums.

(Candy Lind) #9

TRUTH. I debated with myself for months before a friend convinced me this was the way to go. I am forever in her debt.

(jilliangordona) #10

I second the notion of how scary it can be to be on the opposite of conventional medicine!

But now I find myself going the opposite way more often than not. For better or worse, this WOE has certainly changed my mindset in more ways than one

(Stan Brooks) #11

TLDR: I donā€™t got time to read this. I am too busy not searching and creating new threads.

(Candy Lind) #12

:rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy: :rofl: :joy:

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #13

Thereā€™s a January effect in nearly every corner of the Interwebs where a lot of new folks either got something new for Annual Gift Giving Period and want to join a community (my sous vide and BBQ groups), or make a resolution to do a thing, and join a community to get help (Keto).

A bit of patience will stem the pain, shake out tourists from new members of the community, and get everyone up to speed.

I hate to say it, but no one new ever uses the search function on any site.

(Jeanne Wagner) #14

Let the newbie pipe in here. Three months into Keto, new to this forum last month (January!!).

I did the intro email bot tutorial, which I thought was cool. I read the heading description of each section. I read pinned posts. I very quickly concluded ā€˜search before you ask.ā€™ Now, sometimes I donā€™t have the time to search for a couple of hours before I ask. Because this database is so amazingly filled with tons of information it literally can take hours to read through all the matches of your inquiry. (Used to be a database programmer but that was in the 90s and I havenā€™t kept up with the tech since.) If you get super specific using the advanced search function sometimes there is no answe so I like to try to find a happy medium. But you gotta understand, I think that most people wonā€™t bother to go to these lengths, as basic as they are. This thing called impatience is a real biotch. And there are those that donā€™t really grok computers and searching, etc.

And then there is the thing where a similar subject might pop up that is a year or so old, last reply was just as old. Do you tack onto that, even if you have a separate not quite the same issue or question? I find that to apply to most of my questions.

Itā€™s all a learning process. I will try to be more vigilant with searches. :wink:

(Candy Lind) #15

This woman is a pip! :+1:t2::+1:t2::+1:t2: @EyesWideOpen Jeanne, you rock!

(Jeanne Wagner) #16

Thanks @CandyLindTX! Youā€™re pretty spiffy yourself!! :grin:

#17

Quick question, I have been keto for almost 5 full days and my urine test strips show Iā€™m in deep ketosis however Iā€™ve gained almost 1/2-pound already. Does anyone know Iā€™m doing wrong?

In all seriousness, I love your post @Capnbob. Iā€™ve actually taken several breaks from this forum due to repetitive newbie questions which are spammed out by the dozens every day. I would love it if the Admins could devise a way to limit this behavior. One quick thought, why is the ā€œnewbiesā€ category at the top of the list anyway? Doesnā€™t that just encourage the sign-up, click, ask behavior we are seeing over and over? I really loved the ā€œreplace the carbs you ate with fatā€ post as step one for newbies, and yet itā€™s clear to me that very few of the people new to this forum have read it.

I get it, people need and want support. That makes sense. But what ever happened to trust the process? Keto is simple, especially in the beginning. Seriously, how many times do we have to suggest people stop looking at the scale? Because so far there must be 5,000 posts talking about how the scale is a poor tool for judging health.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #18

You guys are awesome. Seriously I love how kind you are to each other. That is not sarcasm.

From someone whoā€™s been doing this for years (me) Iā€™ve learned to help those I have the time and patience to help and scroll past and let someone else answer the keto stick question for the hundredth time. Sometimes itā€™s okay to just scroll on by and let someone else answer. Thatā€™s better than building a resentment and getting irritated. The fact of the matter is I care about all the newbies, but I have my limitations as a human being. Iā€™m aware I donā€™t have to answer every question. If they ask me specifically of course I answer! If you find yourself getting burnt out and annoyed let someone else answer, because these repetitive questions are not going to stop. Ever. Itā€™s the nature of the beast and thatā€™s okay. When I was new I was the same way.

Have compassion and do what you can. Many times I only have time to refer someone to the Newbie section. Sometimes I donā€™t even have time to specifically link them and I just hope that they can find it. I tell people constantly to use the search function to find things, not because I think they should but because I donā€™t have time myself the show every single person exactly where everything is.
Let me reiterate, I love newbies! I love all these keto people and I want to help everyone!

This is serious business weā€™re saving lives here.

But I am human and I have my limitations. So are you. Let It Go. We want everyone to feel welcome here even the people that ask millions of questions. LOL

(Ethan) #19

Yeah. We have an internal slack channel dedicated to it.

#20

Yup