Wikipedia:Reference desk advice

Don't ask the original poster unnecessary questions

Something I think is plaguing the reference desk these days is the inability of respondents to use their imagination and make assumptions. If someone asks a question without realising more detail could be helpful, make the detail up or use whatever option would be most likely. If you can't do that then supply the answer for every option. Look at this example, adapted from a real science desk question.

What is the minimum mass of a rocket that is able to escape from the Moon's gravity?

What kind of fuel do you plan to use? I ask because different fuels have different masses.

The answerer should obviously have chosen the lighter option. But without thinking, he decided the questioner hadn't provided enough information.

No medical or legal advice does not mean no medical or legal answers

Many respondents don't seem to understand what consititutes a request for advice we can't give and what is a simple question. Consider the following:

I just robbed a bank and accidentally shot a guard! I didn't mean it, I swear! I thought the gun was loaded with blanks. What will happen to me?

What would happen if I accidentally shot someone with a gun I thought contained blank ammunition? Would it make a difference if I was in the process of robbing a bank?

The first example is a clear request for legal advice. The reference desk can't give that advice because we aren't lawyers and, as with any online answer service, it may be incorrect or misleading. The second example however is not a request for legal advice. It is rather a requst for legal information: a simple informal statement of legal facts, possibly with an attached opinion.

The differences are subtle and difficult to explain, but I think the two examples above are quite good illustrations of them. Our article Legal advice is a bit clearer. This also applies to medical advice.