Here are some basic guidelines for submitting a question to Seekers of Perl Wisdom:

• First, and foremost, be able to articulate your question. Chances are, that if you can't, monks will not understand your problem and you won't get the answer(s) that you need.

• Written "descriptions" of what you're trying to do, and what problems you are running into will rarely suffice, without accompanying code. Don't be bashful! Post what you have - as "ugly" or "wrong" as it might be. No one will persecute you for trying to figure out a problem on your own!

• PLEASE, don't post a question, like, "I want a program that will do XYZ, then mail the output to ABC, and write it to a file. How do you do it?....". Chances are, if you post a question like that, you will be downvoted, or ignored.

• Read Writing Formatting Tips before actually posting code. As you write your post, you will always have the option to preview your post. Exersise that option often,until you are certain that your post is looking like you intend it to =).

• Use Super Search to search for possible answers to your question. As this is a large, and active community here, there is a good chance that your question has been answered before.

• Read previous Seekers of Perl Wisdom nodes for examples of how to pose your question.

• There is rarely a need to post copious amounts of code to get an answer to your problem. If you feel the need to do that, step back for a minute, consider what works in your program and what is problematic. It is also helpful if you attempt to debug your program yourself (I assume that you are already using  -w and use strict). Post only the code which is pertinent to the specific problem you are having. If you're post is going to be lengthy, be considerate and use <READMORE>tags.

• When composing lists of paragraphs, you might consider adding <P> tags to your <LI> content.

• There are alot of online resources here; take the time to read through all of the friendly manuals =)

• You will find a wealth of knowledge provided with your standard distribution. Use it. If you're not sure where to start, type these from your command line: perldoc perldoc,  man perl and  man perldoc. Learn these commands! Here, you will find a plethora of information about perlfunctions, commands, etc.

• You might also check out this thread and Voting Guidelines (or 'How should I spend my votes?') for additional writeup ideas and guidelines.

• When posting code or preformatted text, do *not* use <PRE> or <TT> tags. Use <CODE> </CODE>tags instead.

• Kudra and danger have always considered Ovid's 'before you post' a good list of practices.

• Treat the other monks with respect. Don't waste their time and they won't waste yours.

Thanks to, in no particular order,  Guildenstern , footpad , kudra, danger, Ovid, toadi for providing me with helpful suggestions on how to make this a better document.