Search for what? If I don’t know what stories are posted how the hell am I supposed to search for it. Truly stupid.
Stop being a posting nazi.
Bandwidth costs money, and mods are not plentiful, so FR relies on the community to help direct traffic. When I first came here years ago, other freepers let me know what things to do and not to do. It's not personal, nor did I say anything to you except that the article had already been posted and discussed. Maybe some who participated in that thread would also like to see yours; or maybe some who might post to yours might like to see what others have said.
Or, there is the issue of duplication within a short time frame, which the mods often do adjust by locking the second thread. I did not sic the mods on you, so your ire is misplaced.
Here is an answer to your question:
If you are about to post a story, go to the search box and enter the title of the story. Beneath is a pull-down menu with four items: Keywords, Users, Title, Yahoo. Choose "Title", and the Search box will tell you if the title has already been posted, and when. You can then see if a day has passed or only an hour, and decide whether to repost the story or to join the existing discussion, or link to it on your thread yourself, if there are some points of interest on that thread.