# Push users to search before posting

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/push-users-to-search-before-posting/116453>\
**Category:** Product Support\
**Created:** [April 30, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/push-users-to-search-before-posting/116453 "2019-04-30T15:37:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Loki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Loki](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Loki)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/push-users-to-search-before-posting/116453/1 "2019-04-30T15:37:06Z")

</div>

We have a Wishlist category that we try to keep consolidated and organized. It is the only category we have in which user’s new topics require mod review before acceptance. They can vote and comment on existing topics.

Even though in the category intro we ask them to search before posting, we get tons of submissions for topics that already exist. We then have to go through all the steps to merge the new submission with the existing topic, which ends up being pretty time consuming.

While the " **Your topic is similar to"** pops up on the right side while they’re posting (and likely contains the existing topic in the first few lines) it seems they don’t use or notice it. Two changes that would make “ **Your topic is similar to** ” more useful:

1. Have it pop up separately BEFORE final topic submission as a “must deal with” screen (only for #wishlist), and

2. Have it restrict the display of similar topics to #wishlist and #roadmap (again, only when posting in #wishlist)

Does anything like this exist or is there a way to create it with plugins, etc?

---

_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/push-users-to-search-before-posting/116453)._