As someone who is newb to the world of straight razors but not a newb to the internet and the joys and pains of forums, I think SRP's wiki is pretty useful. I browsed it for a week or two before I joined.
However, it does leave a lot to be desired. The times that I have tried to search it seem to get me stuck in just searching that particular part of the wiki. Or when I do find some info that is pertinent it isn't as detailed as I would like.
Then I try doing forum searches. I usually net some useful information but what if I want more?
Right now if you so a search for "Rolls Razor" (yes, I found one for $10 at the local antique shop and figured if I couldn't get it shaving well it's at least a sweet looking case) you will get 12 pages of results. The first thread that looks to actually deal with the subject is the 14th thread down. There are a couple of posts from this year but it's essentially a dead thread with mosts of the posts dating from 2009. There may well be more information for me to find, but to search through 12 pages of threads is a project that would take days, if not weeks due to work, kids, trying to spend time with the wife, trying to occasionally do something with a "real life" friend that I can see in person.
If I wanted to find out more about this item either before I purchase it or before I ruin it or my face using it, I would probably ask a question on the forums and hope for either an answer that is helpful or a link to another discussion of said item so that I can learn as much about it as possible in a timely fashion.
Not all of us nublets mind doing some research but when you're faced with what could be a multi-day search of staring at the PC screen, clicking that handy little "New Thread" button is mighty tempting.