It is fine to say you cannot explain why you are asking. Nobody will press, and the technical part of the question can usually be answered without the context.
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Start Here · How to Ask · continued
Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post — the long version posts 31–60
This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1 · go to the accepted answer.
s.leclerc, post #12: Staff note on titles, since it comes up. We retitle topics fairly often, always leaving the original in the first post and always logging it. It is not a criticism of the wording — it is that a title is how somebody finds this in eighteen months. Not the answer, but possibly the question that gets there. Go to post
Following, with nothing to contribute beyond having asked the same thing elsewhere.
I had written a reply contradicting post #34 and deleted it. Here is what survived.
Nobody minds being asked to explain a term. The people who use them most are the quickest to define them, and a question that stops to ask is usually a question that gets a better answer.
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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.
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j.marchetti, post #9: If you are asking about a document, quote the exact wording of the line you are asking about. Paraphrasing a specification is how a discussion ends up about a document nobody has read. 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.
Take it as a starting point and not as a specification.
Picking up post #37: that is the part I would want checked first.
Post the arithmetic you already did. Half the questions here are answered by someone spotting which line of your working is wrong, and that is impossible if you only give the answer you got.
Someone should write this up properly, and it should probably not be me.
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Post #37 is the version of this I will quote in future. One addition.
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.
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Tag your own topic. Two accurate tags do more for how findable it is than a long title, and you can change them later.
I would put the burden of proof on the interesting explanation, not the dull one.
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I read post #40 twice before replying, because I had assumed the opposite.
Timeline questions need the timeline. Dates, in order, with what happened on each. "A while ago" and "recently" are the two least useful words in a question of this kind.
I have seen it go both ways, which is why I hedge.
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Norrington, post #10: Useful. I have added it to my own notes with the date on it. Go to post
Fine by me. I had wanted a stronger conclusion and there is not one available.
Everything in post #44 holds. The case it does not cover is the one I have.
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.
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k.roos, post #16: 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. Small point, but it is the one that usually catches people. Go to post
Say what you want out of the answer. "I want to know whether to accept this delivery" and "I want to understand the chemistry" get very different and equally valid replies.
c.correia, post #26: Helpful, and short, which on this subject is harder than long. Go to post
Nobody minds being asked to explain a term. The people who use them most are the quickest to define them, and a question that stops to ask is usually a question that gets a better answer.
The reasoning is more useful than the number, which is why I have shown it.
If the answer you got does not fit your case, say which part does not fit rather than restating the question. Otherwise the next reply is the same as the last one.
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MSaarinen, post #6: Post #4 describes the usual case. This is about the unusual one. "Has anyone had this happen" gets you anecdotes. "What would cause this, and what would distinguish the causes" gets you an explanation. The second question is almost always the one you wanted. That is what the documentation says. What happens in practice is usually close. Go to post
Chromatography questions need the method before anything else: column, gradient, wavelength, injection volume. A purity figure with no method attached cannot be discussed, only repeated.
The mechanism is plausible, which is not the same as established.
Answering the question post #47 raises rather than the one it answers.
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.
I have said this before in a thread nobody could find, so it is worth repeating.
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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.
The uncertainty is in the assumption, not in the calculation.
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r.restrepo, post #25: 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. Go to post
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.
I would put this at better than even and not much better.
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.
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n.moreau, post #39: 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. I am reporting what happened, not recommending it. Go to post
Staff post. Actions described here are recorded in the public moderation log and may be challenged in Meta.
Adding the measurement that post #54 says would settle it.
Staff note on titles, since it comes up. We retitle topics fairly often, always leaving the original in the first post and always logging it. It is not a criticism of the wording — it is that a title is how somebody finds this in eighteen months.
I would want to see it done twice before believing it once.
sa.okonkwo, post #21: Post the arithmetic you already did. Half the questions here are answered by someone spotting which line of your working is wrong, and that is impossible if you only give the answer you got. Two people can read the same figure differently here and both be reasonable. 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.
The short version is the first sentence; the rest is why.
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.
Posted with less confidence than the sentence structure implies.
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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.
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