What I like to do if there are already threads on an issue is to do the search myself, to make sure it's reasonable to do and find, then I either include a link to the search results or to the actual posts with the answers to someone's question. Sometimes I will include search tips or an invitation to the poster to pm me for help with searching. I agree that if we are going to build and maintain a community we need to be polite and helpful. On the other hand, sometimes it is obvious that the poster is being lazy in their request for information, in which case I just don't respond at all. Oftentimes I notice that nobody else responds either, and I think we all must feel the same way. Politeness and common courtesy are as important in online communities as they are in real world communities, the adage "if you don't have anything nice to say...." always applies.