That's a point well taken about holding monks to a higher standard. I don't know if those of us with higher ranks should be treated any differently from the newest monk to register. (We ought to understand the way the monastery works better than recent supplicants, but that's not what I mean.)

I think merlyn is really trying to figure out what to do here. It's not comp.lang.perl.misc, with a huge FAQ, a supporting cast of thousands, and years and years of history. It's not #perl on Efnet, with its own unique blend of rules and conventions. It's not perl5porters, for better or worse.

It's unique, because it's more egalitarian... it hasn't been around long enough to develop many customs and traditions. The traditions we do have, about trying to help people where they're at, about respecting other people, and about giving the best solution we know how -- even if we're corrected by a dozen other monks in the next thirty seconds -- these traditions we need to encourage. We need to apply them equally to everyone.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that merlyn is really trying to fit in -- why else start a top level discussion node? By all means, suggest ways he can fit in. Give him feedback, example posts comparing posts you consider helpful to posts you consider harmful (if that's not too strong a word).

Just don't push away a fellow monk with a wealth of knowledge and experience who's trying to fit in and understand the mostly unwritten and still evolving rules here. We all get the chance to make mistakes because we can learn from them. Please don't deny the opportunity for personal growth.