Well, that would be hard to say, sir. They're each outstanding in their own way.
-- Greg Marmalard, Animal House

Well, first and foremost, your place in any online community will vary, depending on your experience, your growth, and your ideas. Do not worry if someone else posts a more complete answer later, for that give you an opportunity learn more yourself. As an example, I was once a database programmer in a certain (local) database product for about about five years. My next job was in support for another, completely different database product. During the next thirteen months, I learned more about the new product than I'd learned about my earlier forté in five years. Why? Because in trying to answer (often) common questions, I learned idiosyncracies about the new product and different ways to do things. My answers were sometimes right and helpful and they were wrong at others. Still, in trying to solve the specific problem at hand, there was more to learn.

Given the richness of Perl, the innumerable ways people try to use it, and the variations of each problem, each question and each answer to a question can potentially highlight variations and side effects of different ways to do things. This is, I think, one of the really cool things about the Perl community's devotion to TIMTOWTDI.

So I wouldn't say your answers are never needed. You may prod someone else to follow-up with more details. That in itself makes your post worthwhile, IMHO.

Also, who's to say your answers aren't helpful? Even if they're not now, they may eventually become helpful. I've participated in a certain online community off and on for more than ten years now and I can definitely say that my ideas, answers, and knowledge of the product that community supports has changed and improved. So, while I'm answering some questions nearly the same way today that I did in the beginning, my answers are better than they used to be. Expect growth.

Finally, keep in mind that we're all using evolving software. Idioms change as new versions, modules, and ideas appear. Sometimes, it's well worth bringing up a previously discussed topic, especially if you have something new to add to the discussion. You should definitely see if a topic or question has been discussed previously, but don't be afraid to add to the conversation.

[R]emember, no matter where you go, there you are.
-- Buckaroo Banzai, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

--f

• Use strict and warnings
• Use CPAN and the already mademodules whenever possible.
• Use CGI.pm instead of building another security hole...
• Point to the right ressources (perldoc, man pages, good nodes)...
• It's in a WT collumns...
• Don't try to match an email with a 2 lines regex...
• ...

Have you ever given advice on something, then a month later given different advice on the same thing? I usually feel good when that happens because it means I'm making progress.

Help those that you can. Always contribute your ideas .. worst case is that somebody comes up with a reason why it won't work. Then you'll know.

Have you ever given advice on something, then a month later given different advice on the same thing?
Most likely, yes, but not that I can remember. Sometimes my advice is interpreted or explained in a different way. But it doesn't change. In a place like an online community, I have never felt that I know an answer that is good enough.
That probably stems from another one of the things that I ponder, that derives from my first thought to any question: "Did you really mean to ask that question". I find that difficult to do on the internet. I am probably better face to face.

I usually feel good when that happens because it means I'm making progress.
Well, I know what my own attempts would be to tackle the problrm which someone else's question raises. And so I learn from other people's responses. That gives me a feeling of progress.

Always contribute your ideas .. worst case is that somebody comes up with a reason why it won't work.
I think that replying with a misleading answer is not a good response. One should be confident that one knows a good answer that will help the person posing the question. Not throw some vague answer at them hoping it is right. And, as stated in my original post, if I but wait a few minutes, then somebody else more knowledgeable has provided a better answer than mine.
--
Graq

I think perhaps you are being too hard on yourself... Perlmonks isn't only about asking and answering questions. To my mind, it's about appreciating the beauty of the code, understanding new problems and their solutions.

Do you enjoy visiting? Do you get something out of reading posts here? If so, you have a place. Do you need more?

___
-DA

I've seen this happen before on various mailing lists where most of the folks on the mailing list become silent since most of the topics have already been discussed over the years. Newbies tended to be too intimidated to ask after a while, so they just kept quiet. I think PM is great because of the existing base of information available.

FWIW, I've long thought that asking a deeper question contributes on it's own. I particularly like the ones where half the folks regurgitate the (apparent) canned answer from the docs, and the other half realize it isn't that simple.

I've been thinking lately that several questions being asked could be answered well by any of a hundred monks.

Maybe the solution is that some of us saints (who are saints because we post a lot, not necessarily because we're the Perl elite) could recognize these questions and leave the floor open, so to speak.

Or, for the technological solution, let the editors mark a question with a special star, signifying the same thing.

The best answers have a way of showing up over time... it would be nice if monks with less XP had more of a chance to contribute answers.

You know, you made two points that suggest to me that you've got quite a bit to contribute. On the one hand you state that you solve nearly all of your problems utilizing the resources at your disposal. I don't have to say that that is a highly desirable trait, and very likely means you have good answers to many questions. On the other hand, you feel your answers to other's questions are usually not as good or are less complete than other people's answers. I guess this begs the question --- are you sure you are satisfied with your own answers to your own questions? Might others have 'better, more complete' answers to your questions as well?

Having gone and dug around and finally solved a problem you were faced with (assuming you didn't find the answer here), might we not benefit from hearing your problem and solution? And perhaps others will point out problems with your solution, or alternate approaches to the problem, and you and I, and many others, can benefit from the resulting discussion. I mean, I probably get as much (if not more) value from seeing alternate approaches to problems I do have answers for ('cool, I never thought of doing it that way'), than from seeing solutions to problems I haven't encountered before.

Also realize, that what you consider to be a "lesser" answer may have just the right wording that makes something "click" for the questioner. I mean, we've all probably had the experience of being shown something new that made us go "huh?", and then had someone else provide an alternate explanation or analogy and suddenly everything is clear. And it isn't always the difference between good and bad teachers (and, just as an aside, I am constantly astounded by the number of monks here who are not only good and experienced coders, but good communicators and teachers as well!!). Sometimes it is simply a lucky turn of phrase that does it, other times it is because you are talking at the right level for the questioner (as arhuman points out above).

Communities are simply a natural offshoot of humans as social beasts. Most people have a natural proclivity to joining with others and sharing ideas. It can be fun and thought provoking. And it just so happens that everyone benefits from such an arrangement, and that is a good thing.

So don't ask whay your community can do for you. Don't even ask what you can do for your community. Just dive in and enjoy yourself and the rest will take care of itself.

$PM = "Perl Monk's";
$MCF = "Most Clueless Friar";
$nysus = $PM . $MCF;

So, contribute when you can. But don't let yourself fall into a rut of shy self-deprecation, either. Don't be so self-critical that you're paralyzed from posting anything just because there might be a better way of doing something. That may be true, but unless it's genuinely awful, broken code, and assuming no one else has posted the exact same thing, there's value in posting it, both for any feedback you get and because there's no harm in seeing more ways to do it. (Hell, if it is genuinely awful code yet you think it's decent enough to post, that's an excellent reason to post it - you might never learn different, otherwise, until it's too late.)

Even if you sit thinking "well, eventually, someone will come to the same realization that I did, and post my approach to the question, so I might as well not bother contributing" - if that's true, turn the question around, and ask if it doesn't matter who posts it so long as it's posted, then why not be the one to do it?

And if you can't contribute very often any other way, you can still vote for posts that deserve it. Esp. novices who may, like yourself, feel uncertain about their posts and their position.

-- Frag.

Part of the learning is in the posting, and you may phrase something (that may have already been said) in a way that turns the lightbulb on or clarifies a previous response. Also by posting you hone your own habits to be quicker and clearer.

To me, the question "where do I fit?" is missing the point. As a contributing member of the community, you fit in. Exactly where changes over time and at any particular time is irrelevent. If you look too closely it will change, I think. :-)

Have fun,
Carl Forde

But it still worries me slightly. I would hate to give a misleading answer. It is my greatest worry, the thing that I would most want to avoid, is to mislead somebody else, to direct them the incorrectly: to give them the wrong answer.

But I think I see the point that most of your are making. A community such as this is exactly the right place to show my thoughts. The very nature of PerlMonks is that I can provide my thoughts on the solution, and if I am giving bad advice, then somebody will correct me. And thus I can still learn just as much (replying or not replying) without fear of causing any lasting harm.

Interestingly, at least for me, is that this post has rocketed me from level 1 to level 2, and I can now vote. This has made me feel a lot more useful than any reply I feel I might have given to a post. It is a great way of saying 'Great post' without the 'Me too!' internet-ism.

Thank you for all your replies. To be honest, I was surprised by the response. Often when I voice questions like this, I get shot down in flames.

What I fell I have learnt, is that: my place is to join in, to help others learn as I am learning myself. It sounds simple...
--
Graq