in reply to RFC - How to ask...
How about a checklist to put at the top of the post, then refer to further details below? The reason I say this is because it's more than halfway down before you recommend to SuperSearch or Google, which I think is the remedy to most of the issue being addressed by this post. Someone too lazy to consider posting etiquette will most likely miss this, and I see it spouted all the time (and I think most of us have been guilty at some point).
Also, I think there are two distinct types of questions - coding problems ("why doesn't this work?") and advice seeking ("how do I...", "where do I find...", "what's the best way to...", etc.). Much of this post doesn't apply to the second kind.
Something in this format perhaps (further modification probably needed):
General Checklist Before Posting:
- Is my problem original? Have I searched perldoc and/or the module documentation? Have I used SuperSearch or Google?
- Does my question include all necessary information? Can I be more specific?
- Do I explain the behavior I'm expecting, or what I'm trying to accomplish?
- Does it have a descriptive title?
Additional Checklist for Coding Problems:
- Do I have a simple example illustrating the problem? Does it compile? Does it use strict and warnings? Is it wrapped in <code>...</code> tags?
- Do I provide example output?
- I'm not asking for other people to do the work for me, am I?
I know this is all redundant but it may help to have it all at the top, at which point the reader could continue for a more detailed explanation of why these things are important. I also like tye's template for a post and I think it would help to have that presented first as well.