There are two types of questions, each with two sub-categories:

• Those that interest me;
  • Those I know the an answer to;

    Of these, I only take an interest if either no answer is forthcoming, or I believe my answer to be in some way better, than those that are.

  • And those I do not;

    These are the best ones. These cause me to think and learn. These I pursue for my own benefit. If that pursuit happens to benefit the OP, that's cool--but it is not a pre-requisite.

• Those that don't interest me.

I've stated it before at greater length, but I'm here to learn, not teach; to offer, not impose; to be stimulated, not revered. If anything, I am more frustrated by stock answers--and stock non-answers--than stock questions.

The really interesting thing about the questions asked by non-Perlers and non-programmers, is that they often ask the stock questions in really interesting ways. With these, the best bit is not the answer to the question, but rather the best phrasing of the stock answer to best serve the questioner. In that respect, this place has probably done as much to improve my analytical & language skills as it has my programming skills.