now it feels like I'm in the company of a bunch of hell-bent school bullies.
From my experience of bully behaviour that isn't what is happening here. Bullying usually involves abusive behaviour and language and isn't much to do with the topic as the person. The responses he has got are to do with how he is behaving, not who he is. I haven't seen any abusive language. As for behaviour, people are being as blunt with him as he is with them. Many have also told him what he should do in order to get a better response. He has ignored them.
Many societies around the world shun people that won't fit the norm. The norm in the newsgroups he is causing trouble in is that "You look for yourself first, do some research, then ask". He isn't even willing to use a search engine, let alone read the documentation or heaven forbid, read the source code himself. Sooner or later he'll give up, or realise that if he does a bit of the work himself he'll get much more back. Its up to him.
You'll notice that I've answered your question in another reply as its obvious you have put some effort in before making your comments. In other words I am not behaving in a contradictory way to what I specified above.
Stephen -- Stephen Kellett Object Media Limited http://www.objmedia.demon.co.uk RSI Information: http://www.objmedia.demon.co.uk/rsi.html -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
