As far as I know, there are 4 principal geodynamic settings for the porphyry copper deposits: island arcs (Western Pacific), Andian-type continental margins (Western margins of North and South America), transtensional zones in collision belts (Tibet) and post-collisional collapse zones (Qinling). The two former are the most common settings.
Not really, they are not found in ophiolites, or spreading centers, or within intact cratons. They are certainly not associated with mid-ocean ridges. They are not associated with thin crustal arcs like Japan even though it is above an active subduction zone. You do not find them in passive marginal settings either. Diamondiferous cold plate centers have been x-cut by active diatremes of various kinds but no porphyries. Similarly continental platforms such as the midcontinental cretaceous seaway are not prospective...and of course, they are not to be expected in archean or really proterozoic basins or platforms although somebody is sure to prove me wrong with some kind of phanerozoic event. If the crust isn't at least 30 km its pretty much unprospective...although that's a problem in accretionary prisms when the plate undergoes thickening over time.