I'm not trying to contemplate the meaning if "is", but I think newbie needs some definition. If in saying newbie you mean someone who thinks, "Perl is cool! How do I make this ultra complicated thing.. and give me every detail", then no. This isn't the place for that newbie.

Now if by newbie you mean someone who is putting in the time to try to learn something on their own, has dedication and truely has a desire to learn how to write good code (or better understand the language), then yes. This is a good place for them.

I'd say that the harsh responses tend to be aimed at questions that show very little work was done before the author wrote the question, or very little thought went in to asking the question.

I'm happy to participate in an online community that promotes and rewards thought, hard work, personal achievment, and selflessness. While a RTFM comment is sometimes a little harsh, I think that referring people to where they can get their answer (if it's well documented and should be core reading), is better than giving the answer.

If someone can't be bothered to take their own time to read what someone else has already documented then why should the people at perlmonks be bothered to take the time to give them information?

In a nutshell, I think that with newbies, perlmonks helps newbies help themselves. And to me, that's the best kind of help out there.

Rich