Newbie by choice, here. I know the frustration of seeing repetitive or poorly worded (non-English speakers notwithstanding) and questions that obviously indicate the person won't crack open a book. Even I, as someone new to the Monastery since mid-summer of 03, can spot them now.

And now, when I'm thinking about posting a question (and not to sound too self-righteous) I do take the time to Google, SuperSearch, read the Camel book, etc., before posting.

Just last night I was in the middle of posting a question when I forced myself to try one more variation...and it was the one that worked. So, no posting.

As a "newbie" I'm a little embarrassed to ask a question around here, but enjoy doing so because the replies come quickly and are usually 100x better than other forums. I would propose a "newbie" area where XP'd monks would only have to be subjected to more elementary questions by choice.

Anyway, I wish I'd discovered the Monastery ages ago. My code wouldn't have sucked so badly. I'm thankful that there are tolerant monks who are willing to help. I look forward to the day when I can return the favor.

However, to answer the question, asking questions here is only part of the learning process. The existing nodes, tutorials, FAQs plus all the other great resources we have as Perl coders should form the bulk of that process.