I still consider myself an "apprentice" with Perl, which means I write a lot of "baby Perl" and the other monks do their best to teach me how to program--in spite of my experiential shortcomings.

With that in mind...I think the Monastery is a good place for newbies with a bit of experience regarding effective online communication. This makes sense given the fact that those with the most experience have dealt with Usenet and other online fora before.

I do think that some monks come across too harshly against the completely clueless or uninitiated, however, I understand the frustration with dealing with the same things over and over and over again.

Personally, I try not to mind that so much...because I tend to believe that if *anyone* gets it, then the agony will have been worth it. Others disagree, of course.

To answer your question more directly...I think the Monastery was established with high goals. I think there are a few, vocal monks that suggest to the unitiated that we're not supportive of the clueless. I feel this is unfortunate, but also believe that people should solve their own problems. *I'm* certainly not willing to consult for free...more than I already do elsewhere. I will share the knowledge I've learned from others...gladly and freely. I will even try to puzzle out the real questions underlying poorly written nodes. Not everyone is so kind.

I'm not saying we should be. Like others, I get tired of homework and "do my work for me" nodes. I am saying we're sometimes harder than necessary. Folks experienced with certain Usenet fora will recognize that and look past it. Others won't.

Such is the nature of online fora. It's existed long before the Monastery was established and it'll contiue long after we're all dust.

I believe there is a certain class of individual that the Monastery appeals to. Yes, we should be open to all members, but not everyone agrees with me.

In the end, I believe you should focus on what's important to you, help where you can, and let everything take care of itself.

Have we driven people off in our various quests for idiomatic solutions and postings? Perhaps. I can't answer that. However, if you think that we perhaps have...then I challenge you to counter such forces.

--f