Does it really happen that often? It is true that as threads fall down the page, some might not see the first post of an article. It could also be the same subject from a different source. Or perhaps search didn't find the original post. There could be lots of reasons for it. My posts to you were not meant to offend. Just an observation only. We should all try to be kind and stop the snarky remarks.
Or, how’s this?
[see non-geek explanation below]
“SELECT id, MAX(url), freeper_url FROM posts WHERE url = {submitted_url} AND post_date >= DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 7 DAY);”
Anyone who works with databases knows what that means above, but I’ll explain for the non-geeks among us.
That is a simply data base query that look for the same URL a user submits as a post in the last 7 days. If no result is returned, the post is not a duplicate (or at least not the same urk/link). If a result is returned, the user can simply told: “A previous article with that url has been submitted within the last 7 days. click here {returned freeper_url}.
Of course, this database query can be modified/flavored to taste, but with all due respect to the moderators, this would be a bit less snarky than allowing a thread to begin, only to be taken down shortly thereafter with the notice “search works.”?
Think of it this way: It’ll save time for the moderator(s).
just my $0.02 (what I do for a living)
jimjohn