A
female
age
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So_Very_Confused
writes:So many times folks submit good questions but, get few answers. It's very frustrating to have an important topic you need advice on and not be able to get it. While talking with friends is easy to get to what you need, asking in written form can be difficult.Here are some ideas to help you write your question so that you get lots of reads and answers...1. MOST important... WHITE space. NO one wants to read a block of text. Use paragraphs with at least two lines between ideas. BETTER to err on the side of TOO much white space vs too little. If I open a post and it's ONE solid block of text (more than 10 lines) I tend to not read it. 2. While details are important... too many details are distracting, better to have to come back and clarify minor points than overwhelm with details of things unrelated to the current situation. 3. That being said... you do need to give enough information to make sure we understand the full situation. "my husband is cheating on me with a neighbor. What should I do" is not enough information. "we moved in 1995, since then we've had three sets of neighbors, two sets were homosexual men, finally we have a heterosexual couple and now my husband is cheating on me with the husband of the couple. I like the wife enough that I could try being bisexual with her but what should I do" is too much information.The KISS principle is important here... KEEP IT SIMPLE "stupid" We want to help but you have to help yourself as well.
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reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (3 December 2013):
So_Very_Confused is verified as being by the original poster of the question I'm bumping this up to newest answers because the last 3 posts asking for advice were WALLS of text...
. MOST important... WHITE space. NO one wants to read a block of text. Use paragraphs with at least two lines between ideas. BETTER to err on the side of TOO much white space vs too little. If I open a post and it's ONE solid block of text (more than 10 lines) I tend to not read it.
A
female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (17 March 2013):
So_Very_Confused is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThank you for the reply.
I agree a catchy title is important but sometimes the posters don't have the luxury of picking their own title as the moderators have final say.
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 March 2013): Hi, I know it's ages since you submitted this but I came across it and liked it. I agree that big blocks of text are boring to read, and bad spelling, grammar and punctuation make some posts very hard to follow. I think a lot of it depends on the type of question, though. I've asked a lot of questions about relationships and I would say I get 2-5 answers per question on average. I once asked a question involving oral sex and got about 16 replies within a couple of hours.
I don't click on all questions, only the ones that interest me, so having a good title surely helps, too.
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male
reader, Myau  +, writes (12 December 2012):
 I would just prefer people to get to the point. Leave your life story for the autobiography.
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male
reader, Noidentity.  +, writes (5 December 2012):
I know what you mean, I asked a question recently about a problem that has been bothering me for three years and so far it has only two answers, one of them is from me.
It does not help to have a whole block of text but some questions that do have white spaces don't get much answers either, Its not the first time I asked a question on this site as before I either did not get many answers or what answers were there, were not detailed enough or helped my situation though I understand that not everyone has the answers one seeks.
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A
female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (28 November 2012):
So_Very_Confused is verified as being by the original poster of the questionAunty Em you are so right... I was going to add something about that... but I felt that it was not applicable to everyone...
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A
female
reader, AuntyEm +, writes (27 November 2012):
 Excellent suggestions and very true...If I see a post that is just a massive block of text, I also tend to avoid it...white space is good.
I'd also like to add that if you wish to write to a specific aunt via private mail, sometimes it's better to ask first. Just a simple 'I have a question about cheating/divorce/money worries etc, would it be ok to mail you'
It can be quite daunting to open a mail to be suddenly faced with a question that you either don't know how to answer or don't want to answer so please ask first. Also some aunts may not be using this site for long lengths of time and your question could be over looked or missed.
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