Hi bookishboy,
Spambait, you're not incorrect in what you posted, but it'd be a shame to see this group get a reputation as elitist or insular.
In this thread, someone had an opinion that I happened to agree with. Then I specifically got called out. I have no problem backing up what I write, otherwise I wouldn't have written it. In most cases, I do follow your advice: "if you don't feel like lending a helping hand when people ask annoyingly simple/obvious/duplicate questions, perhaps it would be better to just not respond?"
So I'll answer shortly: accusations - whether true or not - of not searching older posts thoroughly is not an isolated complaint in any forum, and the response "Give newbies a break" is equally timeworn. The issue will never go away, and it's just a peeve, nothing more, and not advocation for any type of elitism.