[Air-l] writing effective questions to lists

[James Howison]

There's a useful resource on asking questions in technical  
communities here:

http://catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

I think it might be relevant because my interpretation is that it  
discusses framing one's question as an intellectual, learning,  
adventure and inviting the community to come on your adventure.  Part  
of doing that is convincing people that you are on an adventure,  
showing that you have done some initial work, showing the dead ends  
you've come to and seeking a boost forward from the community that  
will take you places that the community wants to go.

No doubt effective question asking and discussion prompting on  
academic listservs is different in lots of interesting ways but  
perhaps the framing above could help.  I look forward to the guide.

Cheers,
James

On Dec 9, 2006, at 8:24 PM, Barry Wellman wrote:

> I'm gearing up to write a book on writing for the social scientists.
>
> I want to put in something about how to write in listservs, chat  
> groups,
> IM, etc.
>
> I was struck this week by Abigail's Q (see below) which I thought  
> was a
> good example on how NOT to answer a question, because it was so  
> broadly
> framed: what is it about time that Abigail is interested in?  
> (dissertation
> advising manta).
>
> Yet, I have been struck by how much interesting discussion  
> Abigail's Q has
> evoked. For one thing, there ain't much on time (altho did anyone  
> mention
> Evitar Zeruvabel?), so anything might be worthwhile. Second, the  
> broadness
> of the Q seems to have served as a projective test -- evoking a  
> variety of
> responses.
>
> So, I am lead to wonder and to ask: what tips do people have for  
> posting
> to lists?
>
> My quick guide is:
>
> 1. Be specific as to content and need.
>
> 2. Lurk on the list for a while to get a sense of its style.
>
> 3. Try to post something else first, so that you are contributing  
> as well
> as asking for information.
>
> PS: I'd like to endorse Frank Thomas' request for evidence on  
> Virillo's
> conjectures.
>
>  Barry Wellman
>  _____________________________________________________________________
>
>   Barry Wellman   S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology   NetLab Director
>   Centre for Urban & Community Studies          University of Toronto
>   455 Spadina Avenue    Toronto Canada M5S 2G8    fax:+1-416-978-7162
>   wellman at chass.utoronto.ca  http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman
>         for fun: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
>  _____________________________________________________________________
>
>  On 12/7/06, Abigail Groves wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>> I am writing about the internet and its effects on time. I was
> wondering
>>>> if anyone could suggest some readings on this topic?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Abigail Groves
>>>>
>>>> PhD Candidate
>>>> National Centre in HIV Social Research
>>>> University of NSW
>>>> http://nchsr.unsw.edu.au
>
>
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