I agree with you that helping people new to the game is cool and a good thing to do, but I'd rather help them learn how to help themselves than help them out by giving htem stuff.

I tend to shy away from giving anything to new people, beyond advice. My main reasons are that when they get free stuff they tend to miss learning something in the process. Whether it be actually learning something in game, such as equipment/magic skills because they didn't have to fight as much to save up for their gear, or learning something as a player, such as how the quest and mission systems work, and how they earn money, items and fame that way.

I'mjust afraid that they might miss out on some valuable learning experiences and in turn harm anybody they party with because they never learned how to function properly in the game.

Now maybe I'm just being too picky or over-reactionary, but that's how I feel about it anyway.