"Let me Google that for you."
"Google is your friend."
"Ever heard of Google, n00b?"

When someone asks for help on a forum, they are almost guaranteed to get this sort of response within a minute. While I do appreciate due diligence, and am a strong believer in the power of research, I find this kind of answer to be useless, negative, and rude.

Firstly: How does your answer benefit the asker? It does not. I have received this as a response to questions that I have researched on Google for hours, finding no result. This answer was, therefore, of no use to me- since I DID Google it with no results. If it IS the case that the person has not tried Google for the answer, chances are that after getting no help in the forum, they will go there of their own accord. You do not need to waste your time patronizing them.

Secondly: What does your answer say about you? If the person has heard of Google and done due diligence and found no answer, it appears as though you do not care about the hard work that they have done. If they have not heard of Google, you are sarcastically bashing them for not using something they have not heard of. The only situation in which you do not look bad is if the person has heard of Google and not used it- but even in this situation you do not look helpful or kind.

Thirdly: How does this answer match up to real-life situations? Imagine with me, if you will, a student who goes to the teacher for help with homework. The teacher's response is "Your textbook is your friend." Imagine a member of the press asking a popular scientific journalist a question, to which the writer responds, "Hmm, let me find my journal for you," and throws it in the interviewer's face. Imagine asking a librarian a question and being asked in response, "Haven't you ever heard of a card catalog, you uncultured jerk?"

Google is a useful tool, but it is not perfect. It will not always give people the answers they seek, and sometimes people just want to be sure that their information is from a knowledgeable, personal source. Berating people for not using Google is presumptuous, pretentious, and the easy way out. If you want to help, try offering actual advice. If you are just out to troll people- trust me, there are more annoying ways to troll than telling people to use a research site.