It's probably also self-reinforcing once it starts, because once a mailing list, IRC channel, etc. has a reputation of being populated by abrasive know-it-alls, new members have less of an incentive to bother being civil. Also, people mock-trolling to get useful answers is incredibly irritating to everyone else, which probably makes the overall attitude even less patient with newbie questions.
I don't know of a better way around this, either, but it reminds me of an offhand comment somebody made recently about how once cultural forces take a certain amount of bribery and corruption for granted, doing things honestly at all becomes much more difficult.
It's probably also self-reinforcing once it starts, because once a mailing list, IRC channel, etc. has a reputation of being populated by abrasive know-it-alls, new members have less of an incentive to bother being civil. Also, people mock-trolling to get useful answers is incredibly irritating to everyone else, which probably makes the overall attitude even less patient with newbie questions.
I don't know of a better way around this, either, but it reminds me of an offhand comment somebody made recently about how once cultural forces take a certain amount of bribery and corruption for granted, doing things honestly at all becomes much more difficult.