Before posting, there are a couple of actions I usually do.
- Has the question/meditation/suggestion/algorithm been posted before?
If so, it is quite disappointing for the author, and may result in some terse RTFM replies. If a similar node has been posted, refer to it. That way you are showing due dilligence in searching, and due credit to the original author.
- Is the subject something of general interest, or is it wildly off-topic, and tenuously Perl related?
If I am not comfortable here, I tend to use the Chatterbox. Quite often I will find a monk with precisely the experience that I need to solve my problem - or I convince myself that I should be looking elsewhere than on Perlmonks for my answer. This sometimes helps me hone my ideas before posting a new rootnode.
The power of the Monastery is in its links, and in its people. Quite often, when a search fails to deliver, posting a question or a msg to the Chatterbox wakes one or more of the brethren up, who supply the necessary links (both on and off site).