Gonzalo asked:

Well you guys have certainly taken long enough. I have not received an answer to my questions yet.
Anyways, here is one you might feel more comfortable with, or, more willing to answer...

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Hey! I haveanswered one of your questions. Sorry, though, this time your series of questions just
struck me as too big to tackle.

However, I did think that I might clarify (from my own perspective) who the answerers are, and how I
choose which questions to answer. All of us answerers are, as far as I know, unpaid volunteers who
fit this in around our other commitments — a full time job in my case.

Basically, I scan through the questions looking for three things: questions that interest me; questions
about which I think I have something interesting to say; and questions which seem to come from
someone who has thought a bit about the problem and has tried to work it out for themselves.

The sort of question I avoid like the plague is one that is clearly a set essay topic which has just been
plonked straight on the web in the hope that someone else will do the hard work of thinking things
through. I know that you, Gonzalo, don't ask these sort of questions, but if anyone is reading this who
does, this is my advice. Look at your question, work out a sort of plan of attack on it, and ask a
question about one of the more puzzling parts of that plan. Or identify just what part of the question it
is that is causing you problems, do a bit of reading about it, and try to put that concern in your own
words. If your question strikes me as one that has some thought behind it, I am much more likely to
answer.

Tim Sprod