While I appreciate and mostly agree with what you're saying, I want to bring up a point that often goes overlooked vis that not all homework questions are trolls or the by product of lazy students. I can think back to times when I was the victim of brain cramp or poor teaching methods or both and relied on the help of a friend or study partner to get me out of the Dark Woods (Eternal thanks, Tom Bombadil). If we lump all academic questions into the category of trolls, we will inevitably trounce on some student out there who seeks the same thing we all seek: a better understanding of Perl.

As is the case in so much of life, context is everything. Judgement has to enter into it. Personally, I'm inclined to run the risk of helping the lazy to avoid the risk of quelching someone's drive to learn.

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