title: When to make a method static?
body: <p>I'd like to know how people decide whether to define a method as static. I'm aware that a method can only be defined as static if it doesn't require access to instance fields. So let's say we have a method that does not access instance fields, do you always define such a method as static, or only if you need to call it statically (without a reference to an instance).</p>
  
  <p>Perhaps another way of asking the same question is whether you use static or non-static  as the default?</p>