I try, and many people here try to help everyone from Newb to Expert. I try and answer questions but I also try and suggest people try and read the manual to. Although for a newb the manual can be a bit of a chore to slog through it still has much much good information.
I have a LW manual .PDF and I keep it on my desktop. I refer to the manual when trying to answer someones question about something that I dont know, or I google it hehe. I use the manual fairly frequently when getting into areas that I havent delved into before. In .PDF form its easyer to get through or get to where you want quickely. Its a snap to search through it for a keyword on a subject, just hit edit then search. The manual is really big(like a phonebook), but in .PDF form its really easy to get through.
Here is a link to the LW.PDF manual I think every LW user should have one on there desktop for referance. Its a great referance for LW thats right there to answer questions right when you have them.
http://www.newtek.com/products/lightwave/downloads/
I will always try and answer someones question directly if I can. If I cant I never just say read the manual. If I beleave someone can learn something more by reading the manual, or a good book on the subject, then I will suggest they read the nessary chapters or books after I answer there question. I will try and provide links to good books that really go in depth in certian subjects.
Some of my favorite book series are the Digital series of books.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
I really like Bill Flemmings books on Photorealism they have some really sound principles, even if they are a bit old.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
Specific questions are easy to answer buts sometimes people ask such broad questions, that you have to direct them to good reading material. There is so much good reading out there in 3D. I order books all the time. One thing about 3D is that nearly every subject can have many many books writen on them and still not cover the whole subject such as Modeling, Surfaceing, Animation, Photorealism, Compositing, Facial Animation, Charactor Animation, Cinematography, and many many more subjects. The best place to learn about these and others are books that people publish. I know some people can aford a large libary of books but there is many good websites that offer free reading on the subjects of 3D. Just probbly not as in depth as a good book.