ld2 has got a valid point here. An area for the total newbie where questions cannot get downvoted (or upvoted for that matter) would be a good idea.
That way newbies can learn the obvious without 'learning it the hard way' ie losing *cough precious XP. We should ofcourse restrict posting in this area to level 1-3 or something, real monks should never be afraid to face the monastery with their questions :)

jorg