Ok first of all many thanks you guys for replying to my thread and offering me some advice.
Secondly my comments were not directed at any individual in particular, it was just the general feel i was getting from this forum particularly from reading newb/help posts.
Thirdly i would like to try an bring some understanding to the whole argument that i have generated.
I realise that probably every topic under the sun has already been covered at one stage or another in this forum, but as you said doc there aren't a whole lot of absolutes - and for every person that says yeah there is another one somewhere saying nay so one reason for posting a new thread would be to try and get a general consensus rather than having to sift through the archives. Leading me on to my next point, i know there is a view out there that this is the lazy man's approach and in some cases that would be perfectly valid, however there are people out there that are not academically orientated and are unable to read through masses of articles and tutorials, finding it easier to learn in a more personal environment which in my view would be the reason for starting a new thread. Another thing is that some archived threads may have contributors who are no longer members of the forum or have maybe changed e-mail address and cannot be contacted with any follow up questions - a new thread may necessitate the regurgitation of already discussed topics but at least the information is being discussed by current users and, as doc has kindly offered me, can be taken outside the forum to e-mail or whatever. Also terminology can sometimes be a bit confusing given that i imagine the majority of people on this forum are from the US, but again maybe that gets back to your argument of asking the right question and stating what country you are from.
I realise there is a fine line between the two arguments but i think newcomers who post already discussed topics could be cut some slack - i mean if you are going to bother posting comments such as 'use search' or 'this topic has already been discussed' then you might as well just post a link, seems to me as they would both take about the same amount of effort. Again i'm not pointing fingers here as i know you were kind enough to post the link Maiden .
Anyway that's about all i have to say on the matter, the last thing i want to do is cause any ill feeling on this forum - and once again thank you for your contributions