How To Ask a Good Question and Get Great Answers

Very good article. Pretty much stuff most people know but it's good to have it reiterated from time to time.

But there is one catch. Most people say "if you want an answer just google it up". But many people don't know how to ask a good question and sometimes they don't even know how to ask at all. They get an issue and then their mind goes blank. "Ummmm what do I do now?". Google is useless if you don't know what you want to know. Ie. Don't know the right targeted question that'll give the answer that is being looked for.

When you’re asking a question, understand what it is you want. In our iPad video example, a good question might be:
“How can I get video working again on my iPad?”
while a bad question might be:
“How do I reset my iPad?”

I see your point here. And I agree. But using your example some people get am ipad error and just don't know what to ask. But if we can get users to go really basic and ask the basic things, like in your example. "I have this issue, what can I do about it?" is much better then "I found a possible fix and how do I do it?". Simply cause for the kinds of people who ask these questions they might not know if the fix they want to try out if the right one. Best let the more regular forum goers direct them to the right fix.

I so believe in 42. As in I believe the answer to all our problems lies in asking the right questions. But when you just don't know about things it's hard to ask a good question. I don't think your article posted here is perfect. But it does go a long way to helping people to ask the right questions. And most regular forum goers can see when someone asks about one thing when it's clear their problem is another thing. The regulars can politely steer them in the right direction and help them.

If you don't know what the problem is, how do you describe it to get an answer? That's where a good memory comes in. A little point that needs to be said that is not in the article. If you don't know what the problem is but you can tell us what steps you took that let you to arrive at the problem we can most times work out what the problem is if you can't.

So overall a very good article. Just remember not everyone can understand or recognise the problem infront of them.

Originally Posted by the8thark

If you don't know what the problem is, how do you describe it to get an answer? That's where a good memory comes in. A little point that needs to be said that is not in the article. If you don't know what the problem is but you can tell us what steps you took that let you to arrive at the problem we can most times work out what the problem is if you can't.

That's why you offer background, include photos/screengrabs/whatever. It's so that those who're trying to answer the question can gain some insight.

This is also the advice for someone who gets an error and doesn't know what to ask. The best question would be something like:

"I got this error (providing some detail about what they were doing when they got the error and what the precise error was), what do I do now?"

This would be much better than, for example:

"My iPad got some error, I forgot what it said, now it doesn't work. What do I do?"

That pretty much only leaves someone who'd like to answer the question with the option to ask more questions.

If everyone understood, and recognised, the problem things would be much easier. It's because people don't that some background and images are useful.

David

Fantastic article as usual David.

Do you have time to write one that teaches forums users how best to answer a question?

Some examples:

If you don't have time to fully read and understand the question before replying, please respond when you do have time.

Don't assume people are being trolls, and if they genuinely are, don't respond in a way that adds flames to the fire.

Drop the attitude of "you shouldn't be using a computer if you don't know as much as me"

Know the feeling Devil, but then, you get what you pay for.

By and large, the people answering the questions are doing so "because they can".

Way back in the old days of online messaging (if you remember using FIDOnet, AARNet or UUCP then you're in the right ballpark) there used to be a little saying commonly quoted:

Be considerate in what you send out and accepting on what you receive back.

Basically, we'd all be better off if we self-censored a little better but didn't lose any sleep over other people not doing so...

David

"...even if you’ve got an appropriate topic and have included background, with images, to support your great question you may still end up with answers that don’t seem relevant. That’s just how it is."

And there's a reason for this. As memory works by association, when something is mentioned in the posts, it may trigger a memory of something in context with the thread, or, out of context with the thread by the OP. This in itself can be quite harmless, as informed posters will indicate a comment has been made, and then get back on topic.

Difficulties arise when a side comment becomes a major issue, whereupon a moderator will correctly advise a poster to start another thread. Communication can be a challenge at the best of times, especially on public forums where, for the most part, posters are unknown to each other. However, it is possible to arrive at a meeting of minds, as the following shows.

There's a touching story about Helen Keller's battle for comprehension under the loving and determined tutelage of Anne Sullivan. The point of Helen's understanding took place when she was about 7 years of age. It'd been a huge struggle on the part of her teacher Anne Sullivan, who'd guided young Helen through her blind, deaf, and emotionally agonising journey into the delightful moment in which she made intellectual contact with another human being, Anne Sullivan, and then her own Family.

Helen was a difficult child. Being both blind and deaf, is a grave handicap. Yet, Anne Sullivan persevered with her, and a month later, Helen became aware that the finger-spelling Anne had been doing upon her hand had meaning. This point became an emotionally charged event as Helen's comprehension was at last revealed by her intelligently finger-spelling back to Anne.

Most take for granted the chatting they do with each other, but, there's more to chatting than merely talking. For instance, it's possible to witness two or three people "conversing," only to realise that there were simply two or three monologues. And that contact, intellectually or emotionally, is absent.

Intellectual contact only ever takes place when one's mind is able to grasp what another means. Then and only then, will there be a meeting-of-minds. And this is the victory of Anne over Helen's severe handicap, there was this delightful meeting-of-minds, which led to the most charming of friendships that mere "chatting" will ever achieve.

Likewise in forums, it needs both poster and reader to make the appropriate effort, for understanding to take place. It's always helpful when Posters assume that others may have the same problem/s, but lack the ability to articulate them. This insightful approach may then result in a post that meets another's felt needs, prompting the exclamation, "Wow, this is what I'm having trouble with, I just didn't know how to put it into words."

Thanks David for your pointers to effective and profitable posting. Much appreciated. And may your presentation lead to an increased meeting-of-minds between posters and readers, as they "finger-spell" their way around MacTalk; and other forums.

Helen Keller