Originally posted by MidgetsBro
I usually answer questions that have been answered many times before with something along the lines of:

"There is a new thing just invented on the Internet.... it's called SEARCH"

and I usually link the word search to the search results for whatever the person is asking. That way they will know it's there, and (in theory) not ask dumb questions anymore.
which, unfortunately, doesn't get through to most new people here at the forums.