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Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post posts 91–120

This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1.

N
NHuddlestonTL1Member30 Nov 2024#91

Picking up post #88: that is the part I would want checked first.

Avoid "any advice?" at the end. It is so generic that people do not know which part of the post it refers to. Pick the specific part and ask that specific question instead.

1 like 20mo
MG
m.guerreroTL2 Moderator1 Dec 2024#92
i.amankwah, post #67: On post #63 — agreed on the reasoning, with one qualification. Having read the exchange above, I think I was wrong earlier in this topic and I want to say so plainly rather than quietly editing. The correction was fair and I had been repeating something I had not checked carefully enough. Go to post

Coming back to post #90, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.

Chromatogram questions: describe the method first. Column type, gradient, wavelength, detection method. Everything else follows from method. A chromatogram without method is a number without context.

6 likes in reply to #67 20mo
W
WendelboeTL2Member1 Dec 2024#93

Arithmetic questions: write out the steps. "I have a 10 mg vial, I added 2 mL, I want a 0.25 mg dose, and I get this number for the syringe mark" is answerable. "How many units" is not.

15 likes 20mo
FY
f.yildizTL21 Dec 2024#94
GP
g.pemberton_ukTL3Regional · UK1 Dec 2024#95

This follows post #92 rather than contradicting it.

I disagree with the reply above, and I think the disagreement is substantive rather than terminological.

The distinction being drawn does not survive when you look at the published data for this specific question. I would be glad to be shown wrong on this, because the version I am arguing against is more convenient.

0 likes 20mo
AV
ai.vukovicTL2 Moderator2 Dec 2024#96
a.kwiatkowski, post #80: On post #76 — agreed on the reasoning, with one qualification. Arithmetic questions: write out the steps. "I have a 10 mg vial, I added 2 mL, I want a 0.25 mg dose, and I get this number for the syringe mark" is answerable. "How many units" is not. Go to post

Questions you cannot explain: "I cannot say why I am asking this, but is this compound stable at room temperature?" is more productive than no question at all. People here know that some questions cannot be asked in public and they will work with that constraint.

3 likes in reply to #80 20mo
DT
dexa_twice_yearlyTL3Regular2 Dec 2024#97

Units. Everything needs units. This is why we ask every single time. I have seen the same arithmetic done three different ways depending on whether the person was thinking mg/mL or mg/dose or something else entirely. Stating the units makes that impossible.

10 likes 20mo
RS
r.szaboTL2 Moderator2 Dec 2024#98

The specific question in the title is more useful than you might think. A title like "a question I have" forces the person answering to guess what you want to know. A title with the actual question gets you an answer in two hours instead of two days.

22 likes 20mo
I
IMainwaringTL3Regular2 Dec 2024#99
p.frisk, post #29: Coming back to post #27, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer. Practical note that does not fit anywhere else. Whatever you conclude from this topic, write down what you did and when. The single most useful thing in your own records is not any individual result; it is that they are dated and consecutive. Go to post

What you have already read matters. Saying "I read the maintained page on this and I still have a gap" tells people they do not need to point you at the same resource you have already found. That is a genuine time saver.

5 likes in reply to #29 20mo
BA
b.adeyemiTL2 Moderator3 Dec 2024#100

Context that matters: compound, how long in, current dose, relevant history. Context that does not matter: how you feel, your hopes for the outcome, your medical history beyond what affects this specific question. The first set gets you answered. The second set makes the reply longer without making it better.

14 likes 20mo
DO
d.oyelaranTL3Pharmacist3 Dec 2024#101

Picking up post #98: that is the part I would want checked first.

Disagreement-style questions: "I read this and it contradicts what I heard here, which is right?" is answerable. "Is this a bad idea?" without giving the context is not.

3 likes 20mo
HV
h.vargaTL2 Moderator3 Dec 2024#102
n.okwuosa, post #10: Picking up post #7: that is the part I would want checked first. Thank you for the correction. I have edited my earlier post with a note rather than silently, so the thread still makes sense to read. The error was mine and it was the kind that comes from remembering a figure instead of looking it up. Go to post

Lab result questions: state the result, the reference interval, and what else is on the same panel. A single flag on a single draw is usually uninformative without context.

10 likes in reply to #10 20mo
K
KLindqvistTL4 Moderator3 Dec 2024 · edited#103
Staff post. Actions described here are recorded in the public moderation log and may be challenged in Meta.

Disagreeing with an answer you got: cite what you disagree with, say what contradicts it, and ask which one holds. Do not open with "I think you are wrong". Lead with the evidence.

31 likes 20mo
CT
c.tullochTL2 Moderator4 Dec 2024#104

On post #100 — agreed on the reasoning, with one qualification.

Two things before anyone answers the substance.

First, the context in the first post is clear and specific. Second, the question is framed so that an answer can actually address it. Both are the norm here and both matter more than they sound.

0 likes 20mo
PM
physio_marchettiTL2Physiotherapist4 Dec 2024#105
h.varga, post #102: Lab result questions: state the result, the reference interval, and what else is on the same panel. A single flag on a single draw is usually uninformative without context. Go to post

Questions you cannot explain: "I cannot say why I am asking this, but is this compound stable at room temperature?" is more productive than no question at all. People here know that some questions cannot be asked in public and they will work with that constraint.

1 like in reply to #102 20mo
JI
j.iyerTL2 Moderator4 Dec 2024#106
an.adeyemi, post #21: Context that matters: compound, how long in, current dose, relevant history. Context that does not matter: how you feel, your hopes for the outcome, your medical history beyond what affects this specific question. The first set gets you answered. The second set makes the reply longer without making it better. Go to post

Avoid "any advice?" at the end. It is so generic that people do not know which part of the post it refers to. Pick the specific part and ask that specific question instead.

6 likes in reply to #21 20mo
VS
v.szaboTL3Analytical chemist5 Dec 2024#107

post #106 is right about the mechanism and I think understates the practical bit.

The specific question in the title is more useful than you might think. A title like "a question I have" forces the person answering to guess what you want to know. A title with the actual question gets you an answer in two hours instead of two days.

23 likes 20mo
NO
n.oseiTL2 Moderator5 Dec 2024#108

Worth separating two things that post #104 runs together.

Having read the exchange above, I think I was wrong earlier in this topic and I want to say so plainly rather than quietly editing.

The correction was fair and I had been repeating something I had not checked carefully enough.

0 likes 20mo
EF
e.ferrariTL2 Moderator5 Dec 2024#109

Thank you for the correction. I have edited my earlier post with a note rather than silently, so the thread still makes sense to read. The error was mine and it was the kind that comes from remembering a figure instead of looking it up.

0 likes 20mo
PA
p.amankwahTL2 Moderator5 Dec 2024#110

What you have already read matters. Saying "I read the maintained page on this and I still have a gap" tells people they do not need to point you at the same resource you have already found. That is a genuine time saver.

3 likes 20mo
ST
sterile_tableTL3Regular6 Dec 2024#111

Units. Everything needs units. This is why we ask every single time. I have seen the same arithmetic done three different ways depending on whether the person was thinking mg/mL or mg/dose or something else entirely. Stating the units makes that impossible.

1 like 20mo
GB
g.bakkenTL2 Moderator6 Dec 2024#112

Context that matters: compound, how long in, current dose, relevant history. Context that does not matter: how you feel, your hopes for the outcome, your medical history beyond what affects this specific question. The first set gets you answered. The second set makes the reply longer without making it better.

0 likes 20mo
P
PSundbergTL2Member6 Dec 2024#113
k.haddad, post #69: I read post #67 twice before replying, because I had assumed the opposite. Arithmetic questions: write out the steps. "I have a 10 mg vial, I added 2 mL, I want a 0.25 mg dose, and I get this number for the syringe mark" is answerable. "How many units" is not. Go to post

Coming back to post #111, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.

Practical note that does not fit anywhere else. Whatever you conclude from this topic, write down what you did and when. The single most useful thing in your own records is not any individual result; it is that they are dated and consecutive.

15 likes in reply to #69 20mo
YE
y.eriksenTL2 Moderator6 Dec 2024#114
f.haddad, post #44: Questions you cannot explain: "I cannot say why I am asking this, but is this compound stable at room temperature?" is more productive than no question at all. People here know that some questions cannot be asked in public and they will work with that constraint. Go to post

Asking a follow-up: new topic or reply in the old one? If the answer depends on the previous post, reply. If it is a question that makes sense without the previous post, new topic. The second gets faster answers.

6 likes in reply to #44 20mo
RH
revision_historyTL3Wiki editor7 Dec 2024#115

Chromatogram questions: describe the method first. Column type, gradient, wavelength, detection method. Everything else follows from method. A chromatogram without method is a number without context.

2 likes 20mo
AA
a.adeyemiTL2 Moderator7 Dec 2024#116

post #115 is right about the mechanism and I think understates the practical bit.

Five questions in one post gets you one answer: the easiest one, usually not the one you needed most. Post them separately or pick the one that depends on the others least and ask that one first.

0 likes 20mo
WT
week_threeTL1Member7 Dec 2024#117
n.dziedzic, post #84: Disagreement-style questions: "I read this and it contradicts what I heard here, which is right?" is answerable. "Is this a bad idea?" without giving the context is not. Go to post

Arithmetic questions: write out the steps. "I have a 10 mg vial, I added 2 mL, I want a 0.25 mg dose, and I get this number for the syringe mark" is answerable. "How many units" is not.

22 likes in reply to #84 20mo
JI
j.ivaturiTL2 Moderator7 Dec 2024#118

I disagree with the reply above, and I think the disagreement is substantive rather than terminological.

The distinction being drawn does not survive when you look at the published data for this specific question. I would be glad to be shown wrong on this, because the version I am arguing against is more convenient.

9 likes 20mo
HO
h.oyelowoTL2Regular8 Dec 2024#119
f.novak, post #32: Lab result questions: state the result, the reference interval, and what else is on the same panel. A single flag on a single draw is usually uninformative without context. Go to post

On post #115 — agreed on the reasoning, with one qualification.

What you have already read matters. Saying "I read the maintained page on this and I still have a gap" tells people they do not need to point you at the same resource you have already found. That is a genuine time saver.

0 likes in reply to #32 20mo
RZ
ro.zielinskiTL2 Moderator8 Dec 2024#120

post #119 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.

For anyone arriving from a search: the marked solution above is the direct answer, and the replies underneath it add the caveats that make it safe to use.

22 likes 20mo