#lisp on FreeNode is home for many experienced CL wizard, and not primarily a place for asking trivial lisp newcomer questions. Of course, not all of these questions are valid. Some of those people joining #lisp simply want to get their homework done (preferably by others). But sometimes there are people that seriously want to learn Lisp. Every single one that is not sucked into the Common Lisp community is a loss that might not be quantified. And selfish as I am, I simply dislike the idea that there are any obstacles for lisp newcomers to start writing lisp code that someday I might be able to use :).
Now we have a channel, where newcomers can ask question and eventually get answer by newcomers. It is #cl-gardeners. You don't have to fortuneteller to predict that sometimes newbies can answer questions by other newbies better than an experienced CL. And in most cases, both parties gain knowledge. The unexperienced newbie by getting an answer, the semi-experienced newbie by repeating his partially acquired knowledge; you'll find that learning technique in every serious "teachers handbook".
However, CL wizards that are in a mood for providing help to newcomers are invited to join #cl-gardeners to share their experience. This gives #lisp the opportunity to send help seekers to #cl-gardeners when #lisp is busy with more important stuff or simply doesn't want to give an answer. (This is also the reason why #cl-gardeners should be on the same net as #lisp.)
So, if you are interested join #cl-gardeners on FreeNode. Lurking and idling is totally ok, and actually desired. Please consider #cl-gardeners as candidate for your autojoin list.
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