I agree with unSpawn and trickykid completely.
While I think there is often a place for a "curt reply" (sorry, usenet reader), I do not always agree it is the best response.
Those "curt replies" come off as rude and are often unhelpful to new posters. Others may see the point but the OP can feel little but offended by asking a probably sincere question.
A link is often a better reply if you are going to the trouble.
(EDIT: Hey, fancypiper's answer is a link. Yum, eating words now).
There is always the option that "If you don't have anything good to add, then add nothing".

I agree with that. The instructions need to be very short and solid (not more than 20 lines) so that everybody want to read it. Very long documents like "how to ask questions" mensioned above are useless. Most of the people don't want to read it. So
"The longer, the better" is not always true.
Sometimes, it can be "The shorter, the better".

If you're going to give a link, tell them to google/whatever engine for others... so they don't get dependant.
I know I was like that for a while...

titanium_geek

well i think the fact that there already *IS* this exact page on joining kinda speaks volumes don't you think?

oops.. been a while since i registered. sorry


titanium_geek