• Newbie question - This, in no way, describes the content of the node, other than to state it's a question by someone new (presumably new to Perl). Since about 50% of the questions posted to this site are by "newbies", you've said nothing unique about this particular question.

• Simple question or Another question or Perl question - Again, if it's posted in Seekers of Perl Wisdom, we probably already know it's a question. The level of simplicity of the question is irrelevant. And since this is a Perl-oriented site, saying it's a Perl question is a bit vague.

• Hash question, or Array question, or Syntax error - Again, don't you think that's a little vague? (You don't have to answer that out loud.)

• Help please, or Urgent help needed! - Ask a good question, give it a good title, and you'll get your answer, no need to grovel or demand anything in the title. Just tell us what you're trying to ask.

• Windows vs. Linux? - This one should probably be marked with "OT: " for Off-Topic, if all it is is a discussion of the merits of different OS's. On the other hand, if it is Perl related, it would still need to give more details.

• See the "Search" box at the top of your screen? Lots of people use that before posting questions, to try to research answers for themselves. The "Search" utility searches node titles. If every discussion thread were named, "Newbie question", it wouldn't do any good for someone in search of an answer to search for nodes with "deleting hash elements" in their titles. Title searches only work well when applied to well-written titles. For the record, there's a second search utility here at the Monastery, known as "Super Search." It can search node titles and/or node content.

• Click on Newest Nodes (do it in a separate browser window so you don't lose this fabulous node)... See how many nodes there are? This is a pretty high-volume website. Wouldn't you like to know ahead of time, without clicking on each and every node title, which nodes might be of interest to you, and which ones you might just want to skip past? Effective node titles save everyone time on skimming through the sea of nodes for ones that are of interest or relevancy. They also help to draw people interested in your topic to your node. Imagine if the dictionary contained 35,000 definitions, but in place of the word being defined at the head of each entry, they all started with "Definition."

• Now, in a separate browser window, look at Nodes To Consider. Chances are at any given time there will be at least a couple of nodes being "considered" for title change. This is because a monk of Level 6 or higher has decided the node in question's title is so poorly composed that it needs to be changed. Now a bunch of other Monks are going to vote to either keep it the same, or edit it with appropriate changes. And then a janitor will have to go to all that work of editing the node's title. They do this for many reasons, including the two I've listed above. Do you really want to create all that work for others here, and at the same time draw negative attention to your node because your title just says, "Newbie, help!"? Ok, we don't really mind the work, but who wants to have his/her node "considered" for editing? Probably nobody.

When considering a node for title editing, be sure to do two important things: First, give a recommendation on what the new title should be. Second, send a courteous and brief /msg to the person whos node you're considering to explain why the node is being considered for editing. Obviously we can't /msg Anonymous Monk, but everyone else is fair game.

I personally appreciate it when people /msg me with heads-ups on my nodes. Many times, the node's authors will make the necessary changes themselves. Other times, at least they'll have the opportunity to learn where there is room for improvement next time. Be courteous; kindness is a virtue that PerlMonks espouse. And a gentle reminder is more likely to be heeded than a hostile rant.

Speaking of rants, this is the end of mine.