I think the reason why the attitude on perlmonks is much better than on comp.lang.perl.misc is simple: the voting system.

If you get involved in the Monastery you are at least mildly interested in the XP scheme. Even merlyn and his self-proclaimed disdain for it was quite happy to rack-up the XPs when he started to answer questions faster than anybody could ask them!

What are the consequences when a beginner ask a question, no matter how easy it is to find the answer in the docs:

• a RTFM! post will get downvoted,
• no answer will get no vote!
• a post gently pointing to the appropriate answer in the docs will get some xp's depending on who answers and on the tone of the post,
• a friendly, complete and correct answer will get lotsa xp's, no matter who answers.

In short the system drives people to answer, and to do so in a friendly manner, rather than in a harsh tone.

In a way the voting system just formalizes peer pressure

So I guess it is not surprising that very few of the newsgroup regulars participates in perlmonks: about the only feedback mechanism (and way of building a reputation) on usenet is called flame wars! Not quite appropriate for civil discussions, not very friendly to beginners, and certainly very different from their usual MO.

Interestingly enough the system also rewards good questions and monk's involvement, so after a couple of basic-level questions it seems that most people here start learning on their own, answering questions, and overall bringing their knowledge to the community instead of just asking to be spoon fed information.