Answering Questions

[tstage]

QUOTE: Originally posted by IRONROOSTER

I generally skip long rambling questions that are 4 or 5 (or more) lines long.

Enjoy
Paul

Paul,

I encourage you not to be so quick to dismiss someone's question just because it appears to you as "rambling". Sometimes, in order to get the needed answer to your question, the question must first be understood. That may mean that I bit of background is needed to achieve this. Be patient with some of us who aren't quite as gifted at being as succinct as we would like to be. Done in five...

Tom

[DSchmitt]

I don't mind veering off topic once in a while, but am bothered when someone has not read the previous posts, which included correct answers, and posts a completely incorrect opinion. I am not talking about a difference of opinion.

An example: I have seen cases where a question is asked about a specific piece of equipment. Correct answers are given which included links to web sites with the information. A few days latter someone expresses their uninformed guess.

[railman]

I think everyone tries to answer the question...if they don't, then they usually are trying to start something....(we've had plenty of that here lately) but overall, like at any cafe, when in a conversation, you never get the answer right away...we have to wade through the stories and small talk before the story clears.

[BR60103]

People may reply to questions but not be able to answer more than a part of it. You may find that a three part question gets answered by 3 people.
We also know that some people don't read the question (ask any school teacher!). There are also people that ask questions in terms that we can't understand enough even to reply.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I like Paul's guidelines, that's a good start.

Not all questions have a simple single answer. This hobby is part art and part science. Ask an electrical question, and there may be a correct answer. Ask about paint or plaster or layout design, and the sky's the limit.

I think the person who asks a question, needs to understand that in addition to the actual question, there is likely to be a fair amount of related discussion. That discussion not only benefits the person who asked the question, but everyone who reads the topic. A good example was the hair clipper oil topic last month. That thing rambled on for at least 3 pages, and opinions were clearly divided, between using it or not.

The thing that makes this forum so great is that there are so many people with different experiences, that are willing to share with those that have questions. Also, think about how boreing the forum would be if every question only got a single answer, and then no more.

I respond to a lot of topics, but probably way less than 10% of all topics posted. This means that there are plenty of topics that I don't feel qualified to address. I try to give my best answer to every topic that respond to. There have been times where I was dead wrong on a post, then I learned something.

We don't want to discourage replies, we want to encourage them. The answers will come.[:)]

[IRONROOSTER]

It's true that some of the threads just go haywire. I try to answer the question, but sometimes other interesting points come up along the way.

Some guidelines for the questioner to help avoid this would be to:
1. Keep the question(s) short.
2. State your circumstances separately from your question.
3. If you have unrelated questions consider putting them in separate posts.
4. Use carriage returns and white space.

I generally skip long rambling questions that are 4 or 5 (or more) lines long.

Enjoy
Paul

[tatans]

I have had some great questions answered and super tips from this forum, lately I'm seeing responses to questions veering off the subject, (myself and other queries) either people are not reading the question, or they only answer one small part of the query, leaving the author to re-ask the question again hoping for a correct response. Of course, there will be various forms of answers, but remember, not all people are as technically adept as some of the questioners, Also lately people tend to give a very short response and then tend to wander off on some other subject, and the next 5 responses have no bearing on the original question. I know we can't set down a set of rules & regulations on answering questions, but try to think how much help you are to Bozo's like me. Thanks