Poll: Am I the only one sick of being told ot "Google it." when asking about ANYTHING?

[otakon17]

I'm sure you've all come across this situation in a forum or an IRC or Skype or anything with communicating over the internet with friends or strangers. Someone mentions something you've never heard of and you ask what that is. Instead of getting a short description, you get the insufferably dickish sounding "Google it". What truly bugs me is the frequency which this comment will pop up.

Am I the ONLY one that thinks this is rude behavior? If you were talking to someone in the flesh and they asked you about something, would you shunt them off and say "Oh go look it up in a library/online."? I believe this has a LOT to do with the "disconnect" people feel while communicating online at times. They don't treat it with the same reasoning that they're talking to a flesh and blood person with emotions for some reason. It's infuriating and downright rude if you ask me.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Very much depends. If I were to ask you, say, what the population of Iceland is, it takes me 18 seconds to google Iceland, go to wiki, and scroll down to the Jan 2014 estimate of 325,671.

Now, if it was a difficult or nuanced question, that's another issue, but it can get very frustrating when people won't go look up information which is very easy to find.

 

[JoJo]

I don't think so, at-least not in forums. The difference is that if you're talking to someone in real time, whether over skype or in meatspace, it's a lot quicker for them to give you an answer than for you to search online. On the other hand, if you're using a forum then you already have the Internet at your fingertips, surely it's much quicker to Google what a term means rather than type it out as a question here and wait several minutes minimum for a reply?

 

[Thaluikhain]

Very much depends. If I were to ask you, say, what the population of Iceland is, it takes me 18 seconds to google Iceland, go to wiki, and scroll down to the Jan 2014 estimate of 325,671.

Holy shit, 18 seconds? Don't mean to be rude, but do you have a slow internet or are the and incredibly slow typer?

My net froze for a little while (it likes doing that) while I was doing it. Just did it again and got it down to 11 seconds.

 

[otakon17]

Very much depends. If I were to ask you, say, what the population of Iceland is, it takes me 18 seconds to google Iceland, go to wiki, and scroll down to the Jan 2014 estimate of 325,671.

Now, if it was a difficult or nuanced question, that's another issue, but it can get very frustrating when people won't go look up information which is very easy to find.

Not something like that, no. I mean stuff like, they mention a band you've never heard of, you ask them what it is and they give you "Google it.". Stuff like that, not specific numbers or complicated stuff. Stuff they could answer in a sentence and a brief description.

 

[otakon17]

I don't think so, at-least not in forums. The difference is that if you're talking to someone in real time, whether over skype or in meatspace, it's a lot quicker for them to give you an answer than for you to search online. On the other hand, if you're using a forum then you already have the Internet at your fingertips, surely it's much quicker to Google what a term means rather than type it out as a question here and wait several minutes minimum for a reply?

Mostly in this case, long time Skype group I'm in. It's the go-to answer for anything one asks "Oh what's that? Google it." "What does that mean? Go Google it." "What do you mean? You have Google, use it".

But you're right, in forum discussions it's not really an issues, so I'll say when chatting realtime.Also, meatspace? What are you, HK-47's prototype?

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Totally know what you're talking about, OP. It's most rampant in online chats, and you're usually getting it from someone who is socially inept - but not introverted or isolated enough to keep they damn mouth shut. There's a LOT of projection involved; if you happen to be someone who doesn't see the inherent value in engaging other human beings, of course you're going to be flippant when someone has the audacity to reach out purely for the sake of reaching out.

Anyways, big pet peeve of mine.

 

[Eamar]

Very much depends. If I were to ask you, say, what the population of Iceland is, it takes me 18 seconds to google Iceland, go to wiki, and scroll down to the Jan 2014 estimate of 325,671.

First comment nails it.

If it's a specific, factual answer like this that you're looking for, seriously just google it. When people ask stuff like this on a forum, I guarantee the vast majority of people who provide answers have just googled it themselves (I know because I do it all the time), so it just looks like you're too lazy to do it yourself (somehow) and want others to do it for you. Besides, it's invariably quicker to look something up yourself than to wait for another person to reply to you.

Honestly, google is the internet conversation-haver's best friend. I pretty much always have an extra tab open so I can look stuff up as I go.

Of course, if you're asking about something more nuanced or uncertain google won't cut it, so ask away. That feels less like you're being annoying or wasting someone's time.

 

[samuraiweasel]

I am guilty of doing this in real life, but only because i know that i wont have the answers to the barrage of questions that will follow a simple answer, and to me atleast, it indicates a desire for knowledge without understanding. plus, i had too google it to learn, so get off your lazy arse and do it yourself.

 

[DasDestroyer]

Here's a relevant link: http://bit.ly/1hFtVYs
More seriously, I agree that if you're talking in realtime it's a bit rude, unless it's something that is complicated to explain without, say, pictures, or if it's something like the population of a country, which the person you're asking will have to google anyway.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

My net froze for a little while (it likes doing that) while I was doing it. Just did it again and got it down to 11 seconds.

I got it down to 2 seconds, neener neener!! Oh, wait... that's because you posted the answer on this thread.

OT - I also think it depends. So many arguments can be avoided if a poster did an online search instead of asking for an answer, receiving the answer, that answer offends someone else who reads it, and then a pointlessly stupid internet spat breaks out. Or else, immediately following the helpful post, another person just HAS to come in and unnecessarily say, "Google it, you fucking idiot." That only reeks of pure ignorance and cruelty.

I always Google something before I write about a subject that interests me, but about which I'm mostly unfamiliar. If someone said "Google it" to me, it would only piss me off. I'm intimately familiar with things that make me angry so I do my best to avoid those situations.

EDIT - there are times when answers are convoluted (even on Wikipedia) and then it's perfectly acceptable to ask what seems like an obvious question because you hope to find someone who can better explain it. However, the person asking should probably preface their post with the disclaimer that they made an attempt to look elsewhere first. It works wonders for repelling nasty comments.

 

[JoJo]

I don't think so, at-least not in forums. The difference is that if you're talking to someone in real time, whether over skype or in meatspace, it's a lot quicker for them to give you an answer than for you to search online. On the other hand, if you're using a forum then you already have the Internet at your fingertips, surely it's much quicker to Google what a term means rather than type it out as a question here and wait several minutes minimum for a reply?

Mostly in this case, long time Skype group I'm in. It's the go-to answer for anything one asks "Oh what's that? Google it." "What does that mean? Go Google it." "What do you mean? You have Google, use it".

But you're right, in forum discussions it's not really an issues, so I'll say when chatting realtime.Also, meatspace? What are you, HK-47's prototype?

What's HK 47? Googled, just faster ;-)

But fair enough, yeah I'd agree it's pretty rude over Skype, they might as well just tell you what they're talking about.

 

[Queen Michael]

You know, if you were to Google that question you'd probably have got an answer quicker. But my money's on "Probably not."

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I don't think I'm told that at all. I'm usually the one who tells people that.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Just depends if its first page search material. Is splintercell chaos theory on xbox? then google that crap. Does splintercell CT support split screen over system link MP? then that is forum worthy.


If you ask who is foo fighters? google. Asking if anyones seen them live forum.

Basically if its a 2 sec fact based question then google it. Something more opinion or obscure then you can ask.

 

[krazykidd]

It's not rude , you're just sensitive. If you google it you'll not only get the answer quicker, but you'll probably get a better answer. I use this in real life all the time. Everyone has a smart phone, it's no extra hassle. And if they don't have one, i usually use that opportunity, to make fun of them and tell them to get one. I'm a terrible person like that.

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

Even online it can be tedious depending on context. If we're having a debate and you make a contentious claim which I challenge, you don't get to tell me to 'google it'. It's your job to back up your claims, not mine, especially since in most cases a quick google search would not be sufficient.

Also, when you get told to google it after you have and this happened;

Then it's also tedious. Sometimes it's easier to have an actual human help you.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

Sometimes it's easier to have an actual human help you.

See, what I can't stand is when you explain a difficult concept using scientific facts, then someone challenges you to back it up because they possess a moral code that runs afoul of replicable findings. Totally impossible to do.

That way I know what information they're getting instead of them doing something stupid like googling "MK Ultra" and getting sucked into conspiracy theory land whereas I could've just linked them to a wikipedia page and noted "yeah, its not real".

Hah! Funny you say that because I had to Google MK Ultra about a year ago. Once I read about it, I couldn't believe I'd never heard the term before considering my interest in conspiracy theories. I knew about CIA mind control, but never knew that the theory had a name.