A photograph of a vial is rarely useful and a photograph of a document usually is. Redact the identifiers before you post either.
Topic summary
Why "any advice?" is the least effective ending for a post — the long version
This is a generated summary. It shows the 9 most-liked posts from a topic of 84, in their original order, with the accepted answer included where one exists. It is a reading aid and it will miss nuance — the full topic is the record.
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.
26 likes 13mo
Post #27 describes the usual case. This is about the unusual one.
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.
24 likes 12mo
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.
32 likes 12mo
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.
31 likes 11mo
d.szymanski, post #54: 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. Go to post
Confirming post #60 from a second method, which matters more than confirming it from a second person.
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.
The step people skip is the one I have spelled out.
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.
32 likes 9mo
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- Rewriting my first post: a before-and-after, with commentaryStart Here › How to Ask · 3 replies
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