But obviously many people's gut response to that post was negative. That's why the post got reaped. The poster should have taken more care to not generate negative reactions. If you are a stranger in a foreign land and you are looking for advice, it's probably wise to try and be polite.

It's human nature for people to be very leery of one another. And so if there is no indication that you can be trusted, especially if you are a total stranger, you will probably get treated shabbily. So while this guy may have had a valid question about software engineering, the reason it failed is because he failed to practice good social engineering.

Everything in this world is give and take. You happen to be a particulary generous individual because you really enjoy answering questions. You give advice and take back enjoyment. I extend you heaps of gratitude to you for being that way. You in particular have helped me a great deal. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same disposition as you. All I'm saying the poster should have understood human nature better and that everyone is not as generous as yourself. We may hate or like schmoozing, but that does not change the fact that it works.

I personally think it would be near impossible to create a more newbie friendly place than PM. I am still astounded to the help I've received here and one day I hope to be able to return all I have taken. One of the major reasons I think this is so is because people take the time to extend the simple courtesies such as "bro", "fellow" or a simple "thanks". It gives PM a real sense of comradery and I think it can be hard to tolerate people who don't seem to want to respect the PM culture.

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