While I believe you edited out something less welcoming, I'll take it in the spirit intended. Thank you!
Thanks guys!
If your stance is that the search function is so limited that it is useless, I disagree. Also with something that comes up often enough (Immigration/Border Policy, Abortion, Transgender Rights, etc) you won't have to deal with opinions that old. Especially as we are in a thread less than a year old
I never claimed it was perfect, just that you could get an idea of how they felt about something within 5 minutes. I assumed 2-3 for checking search terms to find one that gets results and the rest to peruse a few posts. Most replies on this forum don't come that quick. I also never mentioned that this was the only way someone should get information, but I will note that if someone isn't being forthcoming it can be a way to get the information you're after. Using the search in this way can also reveal things like posting habits, biases both political & not, and if they behave differently in regards to one subject/person than they do regarding another in the same circumstances. It all depends on how far you want to go to sate your curiosity. Mentioning how to use the Search Function shouldn't result in anyone circling their wagons.
BTW, unless your intention was to type "allow for the fact that views change" which I've been assuming in my reply, I didn't understand what you meant by "you'd have to allow for fact,".