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How to Ask

Framing a question so that it can actually be answered: what to include, what to leave out, and why we ask for units.

30 topics1,563 posts13 solved Moderators: bench_notes, owen.brady About this category

onboarding beginner friendly guidelines site feedback worked example

30 topics

Topic	Participants	Replies	Views	Activity
About the How to Ask category onboarding beginner friendly guidelines Pinned Wiki Framing a question so that it can actually be answered: what to include, what to leave out, and why we ask for units. This post is a community wiki: any member at trust level 3 or above can edit it, and every…	+6	10	11k	4mo
How to ask a question when you cannot say why you are asking it beginner friendly site feedback worked example onboarding Solved Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: How to ask a question when you cannot say why you are asking it Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things people…	+49	53	36k	4h
How to ask about something you suspect is a bad idea — a second dataset beginner friendly onboarding site feedback Solved How to ask about something you suspect is a bad idea — a second dataset — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked. Question in the title. Context below, and I…		2	3.3k	4h
The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour worked example site feedback onboarding beginner friendly Wiki The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour — setting out what I have, and where I think it stops being reliable. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things…	+113	127	2.7k	13h
Rewriting my first post: a before-and-after, with commentary — what changed since site feedback onboarding beginner friendly worked example Posting this under the heading it deserves: Rewriting my first post: a before-and-after, with commentary — what changed since Everything below is what sits behind that. I want to check my reasoning rather…	+15	19	12k	13h
Asking a follow-up: new topic or new reply? worked example onboarding beginner friendly Solved Asking a follow-up: new topic or new reply? — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the…	+68	73	40k	1d
Coming back to: How much context is too much context in a first post? beginner friendly site feedback worked example onboarding Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: How much context is too much context in a first post? Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things people here…	+2	6	7.5k	1d
What to include when your question involves a laboratory result beginner friendly site feedback guidelines Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: What to include when your question involves a laboratory result Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things people…	+8	12	14k	2d
Why we ask for units every single time, with three examples of what goes wrong worked example onboarding beginner friendly guidelines Why we ask for units every single time, with three examples of what goes wrong — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked. Question in the title. Context below,…	+118	135	2.2k	11d
The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour — does this still hold? beginner friendly onboarding site feedback guidelines The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour — does this still hold? — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked. Question in the title. Context…	+19	23	40k	14d
What to include when your question involves a chromatogram — one year on worked example guidelines site feedback onboarding Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: What to include when your question involves a chromatogram — one year on Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the…	+69	75	862	14d
How much context is too much context in a first post? guidelines beginner friendly onboarding site feedback Solved How much context is too much context in a first post? I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to…	+70	74	935	18d
What to include when your question involves a laboratory result — a second dataset onboarding guidelines worked example site feedback Solved What to include when your question involves a laboratory result — a second dataset I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. Question in the title. Context…		2	7k	23d
Follow-up: How to disagree with an answer you were given, well onboarding worked example guidelines site feedback How to disagree with an answer you were given, well I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include…		2	16k	30d
How to disagree with an answer you were given, well beginner friendly site feedback worked example guidelines Solved Wiki How to disagree with an answer you were given, well — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include…	+9	13	1.6k	1mo
Why we ask for units every single time, with three examples of what goes wrong — what changed since onboarding guidelines worked example beginner friendly The question in the title: Why we ask for units every single time, with three examples of what goes wrong — what changed since I will give what I have already checked below so nobody repeats it. Question in…	+14	18	19k	2mo
Five questions in one post gets you one answer — how to split them guidelines site feedback worked example Closed On the subject in the title: Five questions in one post gets you one answer — how to split them Working notes rather than a conclusion. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the…	+84	90	1k	2mo
How to ask about something you suspect is a bad idea onboarding site feedback guidelines beginner friendly Solved The question in the title: How to ask about something you suspect is a bad idea I will give what I have already checked below so nobody repeats it. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to…	+81	87	16k	2mo
Second pass at: How to ask a question when you cannot say why you are asking it onboarding worked example guidelines Solved Second pass at: How to ask a question when you cannot say why you are asking it — setting out what I have, and where I think it stops being reliable. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to…	+73	81	16k	4mo
Rewriting my first post: a before-and-after, with commentary worked example beginner friendly onboarding Closed Rewriting my first post: a before-and-after, with commentary Writing it up because I had to work it out twice and would rather nobody else did. I want to check my reasoning rather than get a conclusion. My…		3	2.7k	4mo
What to include when your question involves a chromatogram guidelines beginner friendly worked example Solved What to include when your question involves a chromatogram I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to…	+49	54	58k	6mo
What to include when your question involves arithmetic beginner friendly onboarding site feedback guidelines Solved Closed What to include when your question involves arithmetic — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to…		2	3.1k	7mo
Second pass at: Asking a follow-up: new topic or new reply? guidelines site feedback worked example beginner friendly Solved Wiki The question in the title: Second pass at: Asking a follow-up: new topic or new reply? I will give what I have already checked below so nobody repeats it. I want to check my reasoning rather than get a…		4	81	8mo
The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour — the long version onboarding beginner friendly guidelines The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour — the long version Writing it up because I had to work it out twice and would rather nobody else did. Question in the title. Context below, and I…	+129	142	49k	8mo
Titles that describe the question, not the situation onboarding site feedback guidelines worked example Closed Titles that describe the question, not the situation — setting out what I have, and where I think it stops being reliable. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things people…	+139	153	22k	8mo
Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post — the long version guidelines site feedback worked example onboarding Solved Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post — the long version Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the…	+79	83	1.6k	9mo
Titles that describe the question, not the situation — what changed since beginner friendly site feedback worked example guidelines Posting this under the heading it deserves: Titles that describe the question, not the situation — what changed since Everything below is what sits behind that. Question in the title. Context below, and I…	+29	33	29k	10mo
Revisiting: What to include when your question involves arithmetic worked example site feedback onboarding beginner friendly Revisiting: What to include when your question involves arithmetic — setting out what I have, and where I think it stops being reliable. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the…	+21	25	384	12mo
Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post worked example guidelines site feedback beginner friendly The question in the title: Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post I will give what I have already checked below so nobody repeats it. I want to check my reasoning rather than get a…	+115	126	55k	20mo
Revisiting: Five questions in one post gets you one answer — how to split them worked example guidelines beginner friendly site feedback Solved Revisiting: Five questions in one post gets you one answer — how to split them Writing it up because I had to work it out twice and would rather nobody else did. Question in the title. Context below, and I…	+2	6	13k	20mo

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