Lazy Questioners and the Questions they Pose

Here's something (else) that irks me on discussion boards/listservs: lazy questioners and the questions they pose.

On one academically-oriented writing listserv I subscribe to, someone recently posted a question asking if anyone had the contact information for Professor/Writer A at University B. The query included both the professor/writer's full name and the professor/writer's current university affiliation.

Well, no. I didn't have that information offhand. But surfing over to the university's site, and searching its directory for the professor/writer's name, I found it easily. The original poster could have done the very same thing, and I can't believe s/he didn't realize this beforehand.

I wonder if anyone will, indeed, "backchannel" the original poster with the information I found. I hate to reveal my peevishness and say that I'm more inclined to hope someone simply tips the poster off to this not-so-amazing investigative tool to assist future queries.

--Prunella Peeve