The questions are always the same:
"Where can I buy salt?"
"Where do I get flour?"
"How do you make cheese?"
Over and over and over. I know that we had a big discussion earlier today about "either answer it politely or don't at all." I think the team is aware that certain things are not intuitive, but I also don't think it's worth it to hold users' hands. Why should they progress and get to level 11, 12, 13, without really learning that the point of the game is to explore? After all, that's what we have to do in our daily lives.
I've attempted to send them to tools spirits, asking them to purchase the tool and hopefully take it from there - I'd like them to develop an exploratory spirit, hoping that it will eventually click in their minds that maybe, since they saw other spices when they made that salt, that maybe you can also get pepper from it. Or that maybe if you're looking for an apple and there are no apple trees, that the fruit changer can probably get you what you need. After all, that's what *I* do when I get a new game, a new piece of software, a new device - I explore it, and I figure it out. I use manuals, other documentation, community resources (like the groups here)...and usually my last resort is, "I think I need to ask someone." But the help channel is littered with users that aren't even trying to put two and two together (or at least, I'm aware of a few repeat offenders who are clearly looking for someone to do their work for them).
I think the game definitely needs to be made more self-sufficient. I think either in the tutorial, their attention needs to be drawn to some of this somehow, or Magic Rock needs to be a bit clearer in saying, "You might want to look in Tool X to do this," at least for the beginning quests. Existing resources (such as the encyclopedia) need to be made stronger, and maybe they should even include what tool should be used to get them started. You don't need to go as far as including recipes, necessarily, but if we can at least start making people actually look within the UI (maps, recipes for tools, etc.), instead of to everyone else, for help (and NOT hand-holding), I think everyone becomes more self-sufficient.
I also think it might be worth it to "employ" volunteer higher-level/trusted users to get some of these people started. Of course, these will have to be people that don't mind answering the same questions repeatedly, and there has to be a certain amount of patience involved. I think at one point, the game Second Life had such a system of "guides" who would volunteer their time and energy toward making sure that newbies could get on their way quickly, and it also gives them that positive first-use experience in that they have a friendly face greeting them and making them feel welcome in the world.
(We're not going to discuss the fact that Second Life is all downhill from there. Har har.)
I know we're never going to get rid of that contingent that absolutely wants their hand held, but I think it's worth it to at least *try* to break them of their bad habits and actually explore - after all, I think that's a big part of the game.