Today’s post focuses on questions—specifically, how to write and post one.

 The Ask a Question button appears in two places: on the Knowledge Network homepage  and on the Knowledge Network’s Questions page (accessible via the Questions tab in the horizontal blue banner at the top of each Knowledge Network page).

Once you click on the Ask a Question button[AM1] , you’ll see three sections of the page, one labeled QUESTION, one labeled RECIPIENTS, and one labeled SUMMARY.

In the QUESTION area, you have five fields to complete.

 

1. Title: Add a short but descriptive title. This title is the easiest thing for users to read, so make sure it’s clear and informative. An ideal title is between three and seven words (e.g., “Sample Fleet RFP” or “Best Practices for Site Plan Approval”).

Do not end your title with a question mark. Instead, the title should explain in the shortest of terms what the question asks. Save the “ask” itself for the body of the question.

1. Question: Provide enough detail in your question to help your colleagues offer a useful answer, but not so much that you overwhelm readers. Depending on your situation, you may want to give brief context to help other users understand why this question is important to you or your community.

The most important thing to remember is brevity. People using question-answer platforms might deem something tl;dr (too long; didn’t read) if you’re too wordy.

1. Attachment: Sometimes your question will be in relation to a specific file that you need to provide—in which case you should attach the file to the question.

If this file is something you think can be of use to other Knowledge Network users beyond the context of your question, we ask that you upload it as a Document (see “Submit a document” at the bottom of the left column on the documents page) and provide a link to the page of the document in your question rather than an attached file.

1. Need responses by a specific date? If your question is time-sensitive, click here and enter a date.
2. Sensitive question? If you’d like to post your question anonymously, click here. You’ll still receive notifications (depending on your profile preferences) when people answer your question. The question will be visible like any other question, however, nobody will see that you posted it.

In the RECIPIENTS area, you can choose the topics to which your question relates.

 

The Knowledge Network has over 200 different topics, each focusing on a unique aspect of local government. (Stay tuned for In the Know’s how-to for topics tags!)

In the Topics section on the new question form, you can choose any number of topics to go with your question. We ask that you choose at least one, and point out that the number for optimal exposure is 3-5 topic tags.

Beside each topic is a number in parentheses. That number is the topic’s audience size, that is,  the number of people who list the topic page as an area of expertise or interest. For example, the Accountability topic has an audience of 100 people.

In the SUMMARY area, once you begin selecting topics, you’ll see your audience number growing, as well as the option to remove any topic you include by clicking on the “x” in that topic’s icon. Thus the SUMMARY section shows you how many people will see your question.

Any posted question will appear on the Questions page, as well as on the home page of any topic to which the question has been tagged. (Click on Accountability’s homepage to see all of the related questions.)

Once you finish reviewing everything you’ve entered into the Ask a Question page, click
“Post Question” (at the very bottom of the page, on the right) and see your question go live immediately!

NOTE: We recommend that you draft your question in an e-mail or word-processing program, then copy it into the new question form to avoid losing your work.

Stay tuned for the next Knowledge Network How-To: Browsing and Answering Questions!

Do you have any more burning questions about posting questions on the Knowledge Network? If so, add your comment to this blog! We want to help you make the most of the Knowledge Network.