I agree with the list member[s] who say[s] newbies should be treated respectfully.
when i was a [greater] newbie, i had a bad experience on this list, a member was extremely rude to me. so i kept both myself and my suggestions away from the lug-meet that i had written to enquire about. i guess that is what that member wanted, anyway-- someone new is always threatening to the coterie.
re the thread discussion about silly questions: lots of people, esp. from our cultural/educational atmosphere *cannot* absorb knowledge except through a conversation. they simply cannot parse the written word, esp in English-- there is a mental block, otherwise lack of confidence, or simply the necessity to think with the left brain that makes them manual-averse. here, the person is not someone necessarily lazy, stupid or mentally challenged.
Suhit Kelkar.