Timbucktu

[Wispy68]

Where is Timbucktu?

[hal]

Timbucktu (now known as Tombouctou) in in Mali, Africa, close to the river Niger.

[Wispy68]

Cheers hal.

[WendyW]

There is a lot of info available on http://www.thesalmons.org/lynn/wh-timbuktu.html

[Bert]

why didn't Nicola Jane look in an atlas, or just type the word in a search engine on the internet? Even though the spelling has changed, my atlas lists Timbuktu (see Timbouctou).

[comloulou]

because bert if everyone just typed their question into a search engine there'd be no need for an Answerbank would there?

[darth vader]

sometimes some people just don't know where to start - especially if the word is misspelled then search engines throw up wrong results. Also some people aren't as good as others with search engines in general. Don't be quick to judge!

[Wispy68]

Thank you for all of the positive replies.

[lucylastic]

This started out to be such a friendly little "club" where questions were asked and answers given. Now from some of the answers above just as an example, people are pilloried for even asking a question. Oh the questions are so easy for those who know the answers isn't it and that makes the questioner an idiot I suppose. We all possess knowledge to a greater or lesser extent; surely there's no need to act all superior because we know something that the questioner doesn't. I've also noticed a distinct lowering of politeness as well. Could this be from cowards trying to be macho from the anonymity of their keyboards? Perhaps it would be a good idea if our email addresses were displayed alongside our sign-in names.

[lucylastic]

Looking back I see there was only one contributor who poured scorn, but he is so typical of the negative element creeping slowly into this site. Ask away Nicola, you've got the silent majority behind you all the way.

[Bert]

Hey, I'm sorry, guys and gals. And I hope that my apology is not too late. I wouldn't say I was "pouring scorn" or pillorying anyone. It's just that I feel that this site is intended for questions that cannot be answered any other way. Surely it is not unreasonable to suggest that a person might check in an atlas before going to the Answerbank? I mean, someone has asked "where is Albania?" Some questions, yes, you don't know where to start, but, on a straightforward question of geography, the first place to look is an atlas.