I have posted links to other, related threads in one or two of bob's threads. I did it simply because I thought he might be interested in what they had to say. He asked a question, and the related threads might have had some information that he would like to see.
I've never suggested that he shouldn't have started a new thread on the subject. bob, if someone posts a link to a previous thread, it might be just an attempt to help answer the question.