This depends on a number of things. A big part of what affects my behavior is, well, me personally. It's how much time I personally have and how interesting I personally find the problem. If I have a lot of time, and I find the problem pretty interesting, I'll spend whatever time I have to come up with a solution.

If it's not a "solution" kind of question, I may spend lots of time on an explanation, or I may only spend enough time to post a search result. Sometimes, I know right where an explanation is, and I can just post a link without much searching.

I have sometimes answered questions from my phone. These answers are very short.

If it sounds as if the poster has not spent much time trying to find a solution, I'm less likely to spend time providing one. If someone has spent a lot of time on something, I might go as far as posting a link to documentation and an explanation specific to their situation and a solution to their specific problem. If I have a lot of time, I may do this even if the OP hasn't put forth much effort.

Sometimes I provide only whatever answer hasn't already been provided. If someone already gave the CPAN link, I might write a little solution from scratch. If they've gotten documentation and a working solution, I might provide further explanation.

Mostly, though, it depends on my time and interest.

In reply to Re: Give a fish or teach to fish? by kyle
in thread Give a fish or teach to fish? by Anonymous Monk

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