As anyone who has spent any time on forums such as this one should realize, often new posters ask a question which on the surface seems to be a straightforward and simple question. However, simply being given an answer to that question may not be in the best interest of the person who asked it.

I think sometimes people who answer questions in a forum are too quick to provide simple answers rather than asking 'why' the question is being asked.

A simple and extreme example is if someone were to ask you for directions to the edge of a cliff and you knowing the answer to that question and wanting to show off your knowledge, simply gave the answer. It would be far better to ask 'why' they wanted to get to the edge of that cliff. IF it was to throw themselves off it, then I'm sure you would NOT give them the directions but instead try to find a way to help them change their mind about what they had in mind. IF it were to photograph bird nests on the cliff face, you MIGHT know a better way to approach it from the bottom of the cliff, etc. The point is that people can ask questions for which we know the obvious answer but in fact are the wrong answers to give unless we know why they are asking and can determine if it is the right question to be answering for them.

In terms of this forum, it is quite common for example for someone to ask something like, 'what's it like living in X, I'm thinking of moving there.' You can jump to provide an answer OR you can first ask them HOW they plan to gain residency. If they don't have a way of gaining residency, there is no point in telling them what life is like. People often ask the wrong questions, simply because they don't KNOW the right questions to be asking and getting answers to first.

If you respond to questions on a forum frequently, then perhaps you may want to first consider whether you have enough information from what the OP has written to know that answering the question asked makes sense or whether instead you should be asking for more information from the OP before answering that 'simple' question.

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