Topic summary

Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post

Start Here › How to Ask worked example guidelines site feedback beginner friendly

This is a generated summary. It shows the 9 most-liked posts from a topic of 127, in their original order, with the accepted answer included where one exists. It is a reading aid and it will miss nuance — the full topic is the record.

m.guerreroTL2 Moderator31 Oct 2024#1

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 conclusion.

My current understanding is set out below in the order I arrived at it. I think step two is the weakest part and I would like that examined first.

38 likes 21mo

e.silvaTL2 Moderator9 Nov 2024#22

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

Picking up post #19: that is the part I would want checked first.

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.

31 likes in reply to #10 21mo

mira.patelTL4 Admin21 Nov 2024#57

s.girard, post #12: 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. Go to post

Staff post. Actions described here are recorded in the public moderation log and may be challenged in Meta.

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.

27 likes in reply to #12 20mo

j.vandermolenTL3Regular24 Nov 2024#68

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.

31 likes 20mo

h.friskTL2 Moderator25 Nov 2024#71

t.ndiaye, post #35: 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

post #70 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.

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.

31 likes in reply to #35 20mo

a.kwiatkowskiTL2Member27 Nov 2024#80

crossover_review, post #74: Coming back to post #72, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer. 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. Go to post

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.

32 likes in reply to #74 20mo

r.chukwuTL2 Moderator28 Nov 2024 · edited#82

t.steenkamp, post #39: post #38 is right about the mechanism and I think understates the practical bit. 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. Go to post

post #81 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.

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.

28 likes in reply to #39 20mo

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

f.piresTL2 Moderator9 Dec 2024#123

c.niemel, post #83: 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

This follows post #120 rather than contradicting it.

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.

28 likes in reply to #83 20mo

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