Without taking sides, I am going to suggest that people who joint this (or other Golf) forums may have come from various car backgrounds. Both French and Japanese cars are very cheap to modify (please don't go into a debate why. We know!) so it comes as a bit of a shock when xenon headlights for a Peugeot cost £150 but up to £500 for a VW.
Also there are many examples of other forums where members gladly help out fellow members for free or very cheap (couple of bear tokens). Understandably if retrofitting VW parts is your day job, you need to charge a reasonable amount to cover costs, etc.
But when I meet up with a few local members (not a group meet) and do some VCDS scans and programming, DSG Resets, help folks with radio installs. I don't expect them to give me £50 for an hour of my time. I help them because I'm an enthusiast(ish) and so are they. I understand that if they use parts/materials then they need to pay for them but there is a line between helping out a fellow forum member and charging exorbitant prices for little work. E.g. quoting £80-100 to do a job that takes less than 2 hours. That is the cost of an independent garage!!
Si-R32, I totally agree on the amount of people that get annoyed because they/you can't do something to help them. VW tools do cost a fair bit of money, especially if your just doing something for a hobby. The fact that more than one guy on here can code in clocks could be celebrated!
Rant over, apologies, it's been a frustrating day at work. And don't get me started on grammar/spelling! :-P