# Can I ask native English speakers to answer my question first?



## ridgemao

Hello, everyone:

I asked many questions in the English-only forum, many native and non-native English speakers helped me a lot. I do appreciate their work and kindness. 

But few non-native speakers tend to make language mistakes, and my thread might be skipped if it has 1 or 2 replies. 

So can I ask native English speakers to answer my question first ? (I do appreciate non-native speakers commenting later)
Or can I ask the moderator to verify the answer if the thread is only answered by non-native speakers ?

I am not sure it will break forum rule or be a problem of bias.

Any suggestions? Thank you.


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## Hector9

@Englishmypassion has opened a thread about this before

Read this: Don't answer my questions; I want natives' answers


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## ridgemao

Hector9 said:


> @Englishmypassion has opened a thread about this before
> 
> Read this: Don't answer my questions; I want natives' answers



Thank you for your link, I read it thoroughly. I have to say that I never sent such PMs to other members,  and being rude is always terribly bad. I also realized that everyone has right to post answers in this forum, equally.

I have a suggestion here, non-native English speakers can mark their English skills in the user profile. I also hope moderators can verify answers if the thread is only answered by non-fluent-non-native English speakers.

Thank you.


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## Glasguensis

It is not the role of the moderators to validate the answers provided. In terms of replying to questions the moderator's role is like any other user - if a moderator happens to see that an incorrect or misleading answer has been given, that moderator will usually post their own reply, as will most other active members. But the moderators are not chosen for being language experts and their opinion should not be regarded as authoritative. 
The best way to get good answers is to ask good questions. Choose a specific sentence (and give your source), provide context, and explain exactly what your problem is. The more vague or abstract your question is, the less likely you are to receive clear replies.


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## ridgemao

Thank you. Now I understand it.


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## chipulukusu

I would add that, being an Italian native speaker, I've found both in the Italian Only forum and in the Italian-English forum non native speakers with a much better knowledge of Italian grammar than mine. I think the indication of the poster native language is more than enough at this purpose. The rest is up to having an open mind and lack of prejudices.


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## chamyto

Agreed. All of us have a mother tongue, but this does not necesarily reflect that we have a good command.

To add my personal opinion,  if you want a native's response first be clear and try not to seem rude with those whose mother tongue is not the one discussed.

Regards.


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## Cagey

In addition to the above, I would like to point out that native speakers often don't reply to threads if they think the answers already given are correct. 

The lack of response from a native speaker may indicate that native speakers have seen the thread and decided that they had nothing useful to add.


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## Encolpius

Cagey said:


> ... The lack of response from a native speaker may indicate that native speakers have seen the thread and decided that they had nothing useful to add.



I, too, would be often grateful to natives for a short comment like: I agree or a  sign in some threads. How should I know a native has read and agreed with the answer?


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## siares

Encolpius said:


> I, too, would be often grateful to natives for a short comment like: I agree or a  sign in some threads. How should I know a native has read and agreed with the answer?


I think sometimes they don't read - that's visible from old threads which go
1 - OP asks a question
2- Moderator asks for context
3 - OP provides context
4 - no answer
I still think this would be solved by an 'unsolved' button: Why do people apologise for adding to old threads? + 'Solved' button once again
If objections to it are mainly because 'solved' prevents people from adding comments, the buttons could be named:
- Come enjoy me and comment (solved)
- Can you please help? (unsolved)

In the meantime, to put it cynically, adding onto old threads rather than posting a new thread gives OP a much better chance to be ignored by native and non-native speakers equally.


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## Encolpius

I think if creators want to keep the high (and still only) semi-professional standard of this website they should be more attractive for younger generation which prefers those quick clickings and likes and dislikes and I do not know what you call them. I think moderators participate more frequently and actively than members.


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## siares

I don't understand the connection between your post 11 and mine 10 - if there is one, please explain.


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## Encolpius

Oh, there's no connection.


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## siares




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## JustKate

siares said:


> I think sometimes they don't read - that's visible from old threads which go
> 1 - OP asks a question
> 2- Moderator asks for context
> 3 - OP provides context
> 4 - no answer
> I still think this would be solved by an 'unsolved' button: Why do people apologise for adding to old threads? + 'Solved' button once again
> If objections to it are mainly because 'solved' prevents people from adding comments, the buttons could be named:
> - Come enjoy me and comment (solved)
> - Can you please help? (unsolved)
> 
> In the meantime, to put it cynically, adding onto old threads rather than posting a new thread gives OP a much better chance to be ignored by native and non-native speakers equally.


If you notice a thread in which the moderator has asked for context and the OP has provided that context, but no answer was received, I'd appreciate it if you report that thread, and I think the other moderators would too (at least the EO moderators would). Then we can either answer the question ourselves or try to figure out another way to help the OP. If it's an old thread, it might be too late for us to do any good, but if it's not, we'd like a chance to make things right.


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## siares

JustKate said:


> If it's an old thread, it might be too late for us to do any good, but if it's not, we'd like a chance to make things right.


The ones I see are random old threads. If I report a new one like this and moderator answers it fully, that would be good. If not, the thread now has old date/time and 3 answers and in EO threads go cold fast. My advice would have been not to report it from the start, but to abandon it completely and post a new one with changed context wherever possible.


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## ridgemao

Hello:

Today, someone answered my post and deleted it, and left a message. I was confused at first but then I realized he is a non-native English speaker and he didn't feel good because I started this "non-native speaker" discussion.

I am very sorry to hear that and I think I must clear something here: After all these discussion, I already realized that some non-native speakers can give language suggestions as well as native speakers. And more important, when you ask or answer a question, it doesn't matter how good your English is, but it does matter how serious you are when you type words in this forum.

Before I ask a question, I always search similar threads, google the phrase and look it up in 3 or 4 dictionaries. The more effort I used, the more time I could save for other members in this forum.

If a non-native member answers my question seriously, it is much better than a native member types some words carelessly.

Thank you for your contributions to this forum.


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## DonnyB

I tend to work on the same principle as Cagey (post #8).

If I see that a non-native speaker has already given a perfectly good answer to the question (and in some cases they're actually _better_ than the one I would have given) then I don't see any point in adding mine just for the sake of reinforcing it.

But where I can see one that's potentially misleading or actually _incorrect_, then I do generally try and add something of my own to the thread (or, in the worst cases, to report it).


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