The URL format is easily mapped into human FTP, Telnet, Gopher, and Usenet News reader commands. Some of the more amusing are described in the list of Frequently Asked Questions for this newsgroup. Faced with such a request, a good Elmer will smile and proceed to lead the novice through some project or operating experience. Several hours, days, or weeks later, the novice would have his answers, but would have earned them. Even better, the sense of accomplishment would boost the novice's confidence and nudge him or her down the road to being a model, experienced ham operator.
Many present hams feel that such an experience is missing today.
As a result, the quality of new hams declines and the knowledge and operating habits they develop in their first formative months and years leave much to be desired. An Elmer today is of any age, male or female, who has some expertise and is willing to share it with beginners. Elmers don't even need to be licensed amateurs, just people with knowledge in some area of electronics or communications technology. To that end, I maintain a list of such Elmers. URL-format pointers to resources they maintain, such as WWW home pages or FTP archives, would also be quite welcome.