I agree with D Brown in that I have a lot of respect for those who wish to learn this trade, who take advantage of the many opportunities available to them such as woodworking schools, classes, and the vast number of books/magazines and online knowledge that is already available. Armed with that and the foundations that start with personal work are a much better start.
I am certainly glad to help people and pass knowledge to those who are putting in a comprehensive effort to learn and become proficient, and at least grasp the basics before accepting money for their work.
I have very good friends who practice woodworking as a hobby, even accepting a little money on the side. Even still I gladly share knowledge with them.I have event sent smaller projects that are not suited towards my business, their way.
I know that they are at least respecting their craft, and they often do better work than some who claim to be professionals. They paid their dues, and learned the fundamentals.
However what I am talking about is here seems to be a trend though of ignoring all of that. These are the people that skip the personal work, classes, and don't read any books, or preform research. Yet they take on projects with the attitude of "I have no clue how to do this, but I can go online and ask people who do, because someone will answer my question"
I am guilty of asking dumb questions, and certainly do not know anybody who hasn't, but the latter example is getting into a territory that is beyond that. Certainly there are few professionals who could say that they never get in a little over their head, but the difference is they have the foundation to solve their way out of whatever predicament they are in.
However when someone asks. "How do I build a table?" or "keep a table top flat" The answer essentially needs to be "woodworking 101"
I have no problem with an industry that works together to pass knowledge the right way, to those who have proven by their actions that they are dedicated to their craft. There are a lot of possibilities to create more opportunities for this.
However, I have to say that this is a profession that doesn't often work together as others do. In my area, I certainly network with other shop owners, and we do try to work together however there is nothing that compares to professional organizations that exist in other fields.
In addition to greater co-operation I would like to see a greater degree of recognition for those who are furthering the craft. Less for those who seem to want to skip past the step of learning to walk, before they run
My thoughts are that it might be more helpful to guide some of those who have clearly not grasped even the basics to pursue some degree of training, research, and personal work. While they may seek "how to advice" they are likely not experienced enough to be able to interpret how to implant such steps given to them, or sort out the good advice, from bad information. They are likely not at that level yet, and would likely benefit much more from research, and some form of structured training, or mentorship. This may not be something they want to hear, but it is the truth. Trying to answer some of these basic questions may not necessarily be helpful.
I thin might have implied this but there is no need to chase people off, but perhaps steer them in the right direction and encourage them to do things right, and elevate themselves by becoming a professional.