Getting good advice from a forum

[OMPundit]

As an internet guy I have participated in a LOT of forums over the years and I constantly see the same issue occur where sincere people don't really get good advice or the right advice because they weren't clear in their question or remark.

If you want to get the best advice from a forum, make sure you provide a clear and detailed post. This means providing any details that would pertain to your question. An example might be someone asks "I have mysite.com and I won't to promote it better online?" fair enough question, but if you also provided clear details about your specific objectives, the resources available, and any customer data that is relevant, my answers would be specific to what would work best for your situation versus a generic one answer fits all.

I look forward too seeing your posts!

[vangogh]

I've seen that too. Most of the time if I see a question that needs more detail to be answered I'll ask for more detail and try to offer some general advice.

I wouldn't say the questions are always sincere though. Sometimes they are, but sometimes it's a person leaving a post in an attempt to drop a link or get a signature link. The questions are vague because they will be less likely to get deleted.

It's a mix of both genuine and clever spam.

[OMPundit]

I do the same, but I am more apt to answer well thought out questions, they make me think that the person asking is not looking for the spam link but for real help.

Just trying to help the people who really want it get more responses.

[vangogh]

Absolutely. The more well thought out the question the more detailed the answer. I know in some cases people didn't realize that it would be hard to answer the general question. Usually asking for more details does get them to provide more.

You are making a good point for people seeking answers. The answer usually lies in the details so those details are a necessary part of the question.

[rezzy]

True and the details can change a situation entirely.

[KristineS]

That is very good advice. I'm spend time on a lot of forums too and I've seen that happen many times. What's really sad is that people will try to help, but the question is so vague that the answer is just broad to be really useful.

Try to target in on what you really want to know, and definitely provide details. The more we know, the better answers we can give.

[Business Attorney]

I have spent a lot of time on forums, including some forums where anyone can (and do) answer legal questions and other forums where only lawyers can answer legal questions.

By and large, I find that the answers to legal questions on forums rate about a D- on average. Very few questioners give enough information to accurately answer even the most black and white questions. Of course, many of the questions are simply not susceptible to being asked in a forum. The questioner simply doesn't know enough about the area to give enough information.

There are other reasons most of the answers are so bad. On an "expert" forum I participate in, I get questions like "I am interested in starting a landscaping business. Can you tell me what I need to do?" Seriously, do they think a volunteer is going to write a book about how to start a business? Have they not heard of a library? Or Amazon?

Unfortunately, many of the answers are as bad as the questions - or worse. I hate it when I see an attorney give a short answer to an impossibly vague question. The questioner might as well throw a dart at a dart board or use an Ouija board to get an answer. Even worse, a significant number of answers even by attorneys are simply wrong or a gross generalization.

I think that forums are a great place to express ideas, and get input. But on most business oriented boards, the people who are looking for answers rather than input are very likely going to be disappointed.

[vangogh]

But on most business oriented boards, the people who are looking for answers rather than input are very likely going to be disappointed.

I think it depends on the question and what the questioner is hoping to get in response. You're right that a question like how do I start business X is not going to get an exact answer. How could it. If the question is more along the lines of "I'm confused about how to start up business X, could someone help point me in the right direction" or "What kind of things should I be thinking about" then I think they can get good answers. I suspect that's what you meant by input as opposed to an answer.

The only time a question really bothers me is when I can tell the person asking didn't take the time to even attempt to find out on their own. Some questions are easily answered by typing it into a search engine. Asking at a forum is a good way to generate new ideas and get feedback and just have interesting conversations that hopefully open you up to new points of view.

[billbenson]

Don't forget as well that there are a lot of lurkers on forums; or non lurkers who read the post and response with interest. If the question is unusually vague, you can always approach it with your criteria ie "I assume you mean this, this and this" and answer the question that way. When possible, I try to answer questions with information that will help more than just the poster.

As for getting misinformation, you can't really trust anything on the web. If you spend enough time on particular forums, you get to know who is knowledgeable and in what area. Also, most good forums have people who will correct misinformation. Lastly, it's always a good idea to do some research. Post the question on several forums and weigh the answers.

[Steve B]

There is also the natural human characteristic of asking a question in such a way to get the answer they WANT. This means they intentionally or unintentionally leave something out that might make the case for an answer they don't want to hear.

[vangogh]

Bill I'll often answer a question as much for those lurking and reading as for those asking. That's one reason you'll see me leave longer responses than needed sometimes. Just trying to cover a few extra bases in the hopes it helps someone reading.

Good point Steve. We all hope to hear certain answers to our questions and can easily bias the question so the answer is inevitably closer to what we want to hear.

[KristineS]

I have to agree about questions regarding legal stuff. I see that on another forum I'm on quite frequently. People ask questions hoping to get a certain answer, and then get mad when they get a different answer. In some cases you can tell they've clearly already decided to do something, and they're just looking for validation.

I usually try to jump on those questions and let the people know they really should consult an expert and not rely on what someone on a forum is saying. Opinions are o.k., but there are some things on which you need to get expert opinions.