Tim Stone asked: New users often are not accustomed to the Stack Exchange system, and sometimes struggle to present themselves properly, either in the way they use the site or their attitude. How willing are you to work with "problematic" users, and at what point do you decide that someone isn't worth the effort?
slhck answered: You'll often see me helping new users by editing their posts, leaving comments, or explaining basic etiquette to them. If they have questions that simply aren't a good fit for Super User or Stack Exchange in general, I'll try to point them to a better place to ask.
slhck continued: I'm also willing to "follow" new users and take a look at their contributions to help them on their way… problematic users should be brought to attention to other moderators and dealt with privately, but primarily every post (question/answer) should be judged by its own merits first.
Oliver Salzburg answered: When I get frustrated, I'll leave the user be. I'm not particularly helpful when frustrated.
DragonLord answered: I would point them to the FAQs, both on the site, and the network FAQ on MSO. This is essentially everything a newcomer needs to know to use Stack Exchange.
DragonLord continued: If the user, after several attempts at educating him/her, doesn't seem to respond to assistance, I'll simply continue to close or delete as appropriate.
Daniel Beck answered: I am willing to help if the users show some promise. This is highly subjective, but I expect at least minimal effort invested in the issue and proper question presentation. I will comment on what needs to be done and point out why: To improve the user's chance of getting help and not be ignored. It's not worth the effort if the user has no idea what he's talking about, the question is an unreadable mess and he's otherwise unhelpful. Result is closing e.g. as NARQ.
KronoS answered: I currently employ @TomWijsman's commenting tools that have been very helpful in guiding new users along the path that they should go. I try to encourage new users to use the Meta site and chat (if they can) as well as editing new questions to better reflect how SE works. However, help vampires do exist and at some point, they have to be let go.
Tom Wijsman noted: The commenting tools are not mine, I have just adapted a version for the review beta. The original is here and written by Benjol.
Ivo Flipse added: Just because we're mods doesn't mean we're not human. I wouldn't expect a mod to always keep calm, but a would expect them to know when that happens and back off
