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- Posts: 3210
- Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2004 7:28 pm
- Location: Kansas City, MO USA
In another chromatography newsgroup a post struck a nerve in me and I decided to share it with you all here. It is something everyone in the forum should consider IMHO. Peter wrote the following:
"I am a member of this and many other newsgroups, and must admit that
on this one I mostly lurk, rather than play an active part in debate
and discussion.
I think the reason I mostly lurk is that it seems that there is a
lot of sponging on this list.
As an example many people just ask for method X or method Y to be
handed over without any explanation of what they have done to find
or develop a suitable method. There is mostly not even an
explanation of whether someone has done something as basic even as
looking in the literature.
As a chromatographer I enjoy discussing chromatography, I really
enjoy problem solving and I enjoy scientific debate as a whole. But
just handing over information is none of these things.
There are a number of sites on the web that discuss the right way to
ask a question to improve the chances of getting a response. Google
is a good place to start to find those sites, but if you really
can't find anything, then this is a modification from an IT group I
am on:
........................................
Before You Ask
Before you ask a question on a newsgroup, do the following;
1. ask a colleague. This one's a bit of a no-brainer, but people you
know are just as good a source of information as strangers on the
internet;
2. check the application notes of the instrument manufacturers
(especially their websites). These are often full of information;
3. ask an applications chemist from the manufacturer of your
instrument. They are mostly very ready to help (after all,
publications that mention their instruments are good for them too);
4. check the literature, re-check the literature and then check it
some more;
5. actually try some experimentation and some method development. I
know this can be expensive, but you will learn so much more that
way; and
6. Look for a method that works with similar analytes and then
modify that to suit.
When you ask your question, display the fact that you have done
these things first; this will help establish that you're not being a
lazy sponge and wasting people's time. Better yet, display what you
have learned from doing these things. We like answering questions
for people who have demonstrated that they can learn from the
answers.
Use tactics like doing a Google search. This might well take you
straight to a document that will answer your question. Even if it
doesn't, saying "I googled on the following phrase but didn't get
anything that looked useful" is a good thing to be able to put in
email or news postings requesting help.
Prepare your question. Think it through. Hasty-sounding questions
get hasty answers, or none at all. The more you do to demonstrate
that you have put thought and effort into solving your problem
before asking for help, the more likely you are to actually get help.
Never assume you are entitled to an answer. You are not; you aren't,
after all, paying for the service. You will earn an answer, if you
earn it, by asking a question that is substantial, interesting, and
thought-provoking — one that implicitly contributes to the
experience of the community rather than merely passively demanding
knowledge from others.
On the other hand, making it clear that you are able and willing to
help in the process of developing the solution is a very good
start. "Would someone provide a pointer?", "What is my example
missing?" and "What site should I have checked?" are more likely to
get answered than "Please post the exact method I should use."
because you're making it clear that you're truly willing to complete
the process if someone can simply point you in the right direction.
...............................
End of my rant. It wasn't intended as a flame of anyone and I hope
that it is interpretted that way.
I just think this group could be a bit more useful if people
demonstrated some self-help before asking a question.
Kind regards,
Peter
"I am a member of this and many other newsgroups, and must admit that
on this one I mostly lurk, rather than play an active part in debate
and discussion.
I think the reason I mostly lurk is that it seems that there is a
lot of sponging on this list.
As an example many people just ask for method X or method Y to be
handed over without any explanation of what they have done to find
or develop a suitable method. There is mostly not even an
explanation of whether someone has done something as basic even as
looking in the literature.
As a chromatographer I enjoy discussing chromatography, I really
enjoy problem solving and I enjoy scientific debate as a whole. But
just handing over information is none of these things.
There are a number of sites on the web that discuss the right way to
ask a question to improve the chances of getting a response. Google
is a good place to start to find those sites, but if you really
can't find anything, then this is a modification from an IT group I
am on:
........................................
Before You Ask
Before you ask a question on a newsgroup, do the following;
1. ask a colleague. This one's a bit of a no-brainer, but people you
know are just as good a source of information as strangers on the
internet;
2. check the application notes of the instrument manufacturers
(especially their websites). These are often full of information;
3. ask an applications chemist from the manufacturer of your
instrument. They are mostly very ready to help (after all,
publications that mention their instruments are good for them too);
4. check the literature, re-check the literature and then check it
some more;
5. actually try some experimentation and some method development. I
know this can be expensive, but you will learn so much more that
way; and
6. Look for a method that works with similar analytes and then
modify that to suit.
When you ask your question, display the fact that you have done
these things first; this will help establish that you're not being a
lazy sponge and wasting people's time. Better yet, display what you
have learned from doing these things. We like answering questions
for people who have demonstrated that they can learn from the
answers.
Use tactics like doing a Google search. This might well take you
straight to a document that will answer your question. Even if it
doesn't, saying "I googled on the following phrase but didn't get
anything that looked useful" is a good thing to be able to put in
email or news postings requesting help.
Prepare your question. Think it through. Hasty-sounding questions
get hasty answers, or none at all. The more you do to demonstrate
that you have put thought and effort into solving your problem
before asking for help, the more likely you are to actually get help.
Never assume you are entitled to an answer. You are not; you aren't,
after all, paying for the service. You will earn an answer, if you
earn it, by asking a question that is substantial, interesting, and
thought-provoking — one that implicitly contributes to the
experience of the community rather than merely passively demanding
knowledge from others.
On the other hand, making it clear that you are able and willing to
help in the process of developing the solution is a very good
start. "Would someone provide a pointer?", "What is my example
missing?" and "What site should I have checked?" are more likely to
get answered than "Please post the exact method I should use."
because you're making it clear that you're truly willing to complete
the process if someone can simply point you in the right direction.
...............................
End of my rant. It wasn't intended as a flame of anyone and I hope
that it is interpretted that way.
I just think this group could be a bit more useful if people
demonstrated some self-help before asking a question.
Kind regards,
Peter
