Totally agree with making new folks feel welcome by answering their (often redundant) questions. In addition to being head-over-heels for my boy Trevor (and my Siamese cats!) I am also an avid cyclist, both road and mountain. In the past I have participated in cycling forums, and you would not believe how rude some of those people could be towards newbies asking for advice on bike fit, equipment, etc. Yes, it's almost silly for an experienced cyclist to tackle a question like "what's the best bike" (hint, there is no one best bike) but to just tell someone "look it up in the archives", well, in some instances, you could just see the fire being put out in someone who was just getting stoked over riding their bike. So I think it's important for those with more experience in some areas to step up and answer that often basic question that someone has asked. After all, we were all newbies once upon a time...
My $0.02
-Debi