I think this is an expectation thing. People expect to be able to figure it out in time x. They expect they'd have to use y time to find the solution in the docs. And people will most often estimate that x <<< y, having been burned by bad documentation before. People will often be disappointed that their search through the docs didn't get them any answers and most people will have strong memories of "figuring it out eventually" by throwing spaghetti at the wall long enough.