se@n, this is the best i can do to attempt a
reply to your post. i hope it makes sense:

the list is a surrogate for the work environment
that many ng's will never enter as it means leaving
the comfort of their day job or suburban lifestyle.
now wait! that is not a judgement, it is only a fact,
and the email list offers a comfort zone so that all
this can be discussed.
in the "real" work environment, the guy who knows gives
stuff to the guy who doesn't know, and says, "do this.
after doing it so-and-so many times just the way i showed
you earlier, we'll talk about it, why it is just so, and
what some of the vaiations are. some day in the future,
we'll also show you another task in a similar fashion.
one day, all the tasks you master will enable you discern
whether to do all this my way, your way, or not at all."
e-RICHIE