How to Ask Questions to Get Clear Answers

Have you ever asked a question online and received unclear answers that didn’t help you at all? You are not alone! This is a common dilemma that is often prevented by providing more details about the issue at hand. I’ve been through this situation myself, often because I’m running out of time troubleshooting a mechanic and trying to get a solution as quick as possible, I end up asking a single sentence question. But this reduces the chances of someone understanding what the problem is. 

In order to increase the chances of getting clear answers when asking in the forums (and any online platform), here are some recommended tips:

• Clear title. This is the presentation card of your question. Meta experts, mentors, and creators will often see the title before reading the description.

Bad practice: “My scripts do not work”

Good example: “Projectiles do not detect collision with NPC Avatar legs”

• Detailed description. It is said that the number of things that can be done with creation tools is infinite. By being specific in the description, the answer will be tailored to your question. Describe things like: What is happening? What should happen instead? What are the details of the mechanic that you are trying to create? Is it single player/multiplayer? Are you using TypeScript or Code Blocks? If something doesn’t work as you are expecting, what are the step by step actions to get there? And so on.

• Include attachments. A code snippet or a picture can say more than words sometimes, and we have the ability of capturing video and photos on both headset and PC. When asking questions, in particular when troubleshooting something or asking for the best approach of a mechanic, it’s invaluable to include the code (if it’s TypeScript) or a picture if the question is related to Code Blocks or something that you can observe (e.g. Leaderboard displaying wrong information). 

• Be direct with the ask. At the end of your post, try formulating a direct question like: “Why is the Persistent Variable not being recognized in the script?”, “Why is the hammer not detecting the collision?”, “How can I change the script so it differentiates the NPC Avatar vs real players?”

Try following these recommendations when posting questions. You will get more accurate results, helping you obtain faster/better quality responses.