The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour — the long version posts 121–143
This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1.
Everything in post #119 holds. The case it does not cover is the one I have.
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.
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.
Anyone with a larger sample, please post it.
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.
The arithmetic in post #122 is right; the assumption feeding it is the part to check.
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.
This is the sort of exchange that makes the archive worth searching.
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.
Stating my assumptions rather than smuggling them in.
Where I part company with post #124, and it is a narrow parting.
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.
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.
I looked this up rather than remembered it, which is the right order.
Adding the measurement that post #131 says would settle it.
Quantities without units are the single commonest reason a question sits unanswered. "Two and a half" is not a dose, a volume or a concentration until you say which.
Correct me on the arithmetic if it is wrong; I would rather know.
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.
I am reporting what happened, not recommending it.
A question about somebody else's post should be a reply to that post, not a new topic. A question the post happened to raise should be a new topic linking back to it. The difference is whether the answer is useful without the original.
Questions you cannot explain: "I cannot say why I am asking this, but is this compound stable at room temperature?" is more productive than no question at all. People here know that some questions cannot be asked in public and they will work with that constraint.
Confirming post #136 from a second method, which matters more than confirming it from a second person.
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.
Questions you cannot explain: "I cannot say why I am asking this, but is this compound stable at room temperature?" is more productive than no question at all. People here know that some questions cannot be asked in public and they will work with that constraint.
If it helps: the failure mode here is usually boring rather than dramatic.
A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either.
I have no interest in any supplier named above.
I had written a reply contradicting post #138 and deleted it. Here is what survived.
Questions you cannot explain: "I cannot say why I am asking this, but is this compound stable at room temperature?" is more productive than no question at all. People here know that some questions cannot be asked in public and they will work with that constraint.
I have deliberately not rounded that, because the rounding is where the argument starts.
Adding the measurement that post #140 says would settle it.
Quantities without units are the single commonest reason a question sits unanswered. "Two and a half" is not a dose, a volume or a concentration until you say which.
That is the version I would defend. It is not the version I started with.
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