harold wrote:Should there be a manadatory search of the archives before posting a question or should I just go ahead and ask what is the best valve oil?
Frequent readers of ANY publication, whether it be PC Magazine, Field and Stream, Mountain Bike, or TubeNet will realize that topics get repeated many times and the content generally appeals to the largest subset of readers.
With Internet forums those who have the most to gain are those who have little knowledge to an average working knowledge of the subjects discussed. Those with the most experience will have the most difficulty finding answers because they seek an even smaller subset of individuals who have even more experience. Those with the least experience can benefit from the input of nearly everyone taking part in the discussions.
Those who have already absorbed the majority of the knowledge of the base, or I suppose bass on TubeNet

, are hungry for even more obscure facts.
Because of the continuing lifecycle of a nearly 10 year old forum, the same questions WILL come up from time to time. New enthusiasts are born every day and they are newbies in not only this clique but also in the use of TubeNet itself.
"Rotary vs Piston" is a brand new, never before discussed topic for many people who are just now stumbling into TubeNet from Google. Those who have seen the topic before can either choose to offer their perhaps finely tuned opinions or lay out of the topic altogether if they feel like they have nothing to offer or gain by taking part.
If there is a truly excellent concise answer in the archives, such as "Who won the XXXX Symphony audition 3 weeks ago", then feel free to refer them to the previous answer. Most of the time, however, previous discussions are little more than opinions expressed by a snapshot of individuals at a moment in time. Telling someone to "search the archives" will put them in a discussion which could very well be out of context.
If the frequent readers of TubeNet are no longer gaining new insights from TubeNet then it may be time to step away from the keyboard and go to the zoo with the family.