# member and answers



## pertranint

My questions are:
1) How do one becomes a senior member here from the junior?
2) How to get more than one answer when asking a question? Because I see that some people get many suggested answers.


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## Sowka

Hello pertranint 

Welcome to WordReference!

1) A senior member is a member who has posted 100 posts.

2) I think one answer can be enough -- if it is the correct answer. Sometimes, people have to discuss a topic for some time to find a good solution, but sometimes, the good solution is right in the first answer. So I think the number of replies in a thread is not important.


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## jann

Welcome, Pertranint! 


pertranint said:


> 1) How do one becomes a senior member here from the junior?


There are many exisitng threads on this topic.  Please remember to search first....   See Junior Member, Senior Member or just Member?



> 2) How to get more than one answer when asking a question?


My first reaction was the same as Sowka's:  if it's a good answer, one is all you need!  

More seriously, there are many reasons that a question might not receive a satisfactory answer.  You have direct control over some, but not all, of these factors.  For example, you cannot control things like these:

The forums for some languages don't have a lot of activity
For difficult topics and specialty terms, many of the members who read your question may be unable to help
If the answer to your question is straightforward, there may be little to discuss, so there won't be a lot of suggestions
But you can influence other factors:

Search the dictionary/archives first, to make sure that you aren't duplicating existing discussions. Our regular participants get tired of repeating themselves and explaining the same things over and over again.
Use an appropriate thread title so that people can easily identify the subject of your thread
Provide enough context so that the people who want to help you don't have to guess or wait for you to provide more information
Keep your question clear and succinct so that you don't waste people's time
Tell us why you are confused or otherwise demonstrate that you have made an effort
Follow the forum rules (no chatspeak, don't ask for proofreading, don't ask multiple questions in the same post, etc.) to show your appreciation of the people who take the time to help you
I hope this helps a little bit?

Jann
French forums moderator


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## pertranint

Yes it helps. Definitely. Thanks.


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## pertranint

And can you tell me if I can ask for additional information about my question by sending a 'personal message' to any (say) a senior member? Or is it necessary to ask only through Reply button?


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## jann

If you want additional information about the *same topic* that you had originally asked about in your public thread, then I would *definite**ly* advise you to reply in the thread!  

 Since the member has already participated in your thread, he (or she) will see your follow-up question the next time s/he signs in.  Sending a private message instead of a public reply might seem like you are impatient.  It's also possible that somebody different will be able to help you even if the person to whom you addressed your follow-up question has not yet had a chance to return.  In the end, our forums are successful because everybody can read and participate in the language discussions.  Your questions and all the answers you receive remain visible to help other people in the future.  Members who take the time to answer you often like to know that other people will be able to benefit as well.  For all of these reasons, it's best to keep your exchange public.

There is one caveat:  Our forums are organized on a "one topic per thread" policy (rule 2).  This means that if you want additional information that is unrelated or minimally relevant to your original problem, you shouldn't post this request as a reply in the same thread.  The way to approach this will depend on the situation. In some cases (such as asking for explanation of an off-topic correction) it's best to send a PM, while in other cases it's best to open a new thread.

If you gave a more specific example of the type of "additional information" that you might want to request, I could be more helpful.


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## pertranint

Like I ask a question and get an answer which is a good answer. But I need to know more from the same person that replied to my question. So in this case PM is okay? or people will mind?


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## Peterdg

No, I would still go through the thread itself instead of going through a PM.

Personally I always disregard PM's that ask me for more detail except if they ask me to go back to the thread and give my opinion in there. The platform to ask questions is the forum itself so that everybody can take advantage of more detail.


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## jann

pertranint said:


> Like I ask a question and get an answer which is a good answer. But I need to know more from the same person that replied to my question. So in this case PM is okay? or people will mind?


It sounds like you want more information about the same topic, so as I said, in that case I would definitely advise you to reply in the thread rather than sending a PM.

For example, if you had PMd me to ask that question, rather than posting it here, I would have told you to post it in the thread and that I would reply in public.


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## Parla

> Since the member has already participated in your thread, he (or she)  will see your follow-up question the next time s/he signs in.


Not necessarily, Jann. I sometimes return to threads in which I've posted, but not always. I don't mind a PM asking me to return to a thread or to comment in a thread where I haven't participated. Of course the questioner should be sure to include in the PM a link to the thread in question.


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## Mauricet

> I sometimes return to threads in which I've posted, but *not always*.


... even if there are new posts in the thread?? What Jann says is true, as most users (if not all) do have a look at their "subscribed threads" with new posts, systematically, each time they sign in.


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## Egmont

Mauricet said:


> ...  most users (if not all) do have a look at their "subscribed threads" with new posts, systematically, each time they sign in.


It can be dangerous to assume that what one does is what "most users" do.

I do not subscribe to every thread to which I reply. I often revisit threads to which I have replied recently, but not always.


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## Mauricet

Egmont said:


> It can be dangerous to assume that what one does is what "most users" do.


Maybe false rather than really dangerous, I hope...



> I do not subscribe to every thread to which I reply. I often revisit threads to which I have replied recently, but not always.


I do not actively "subscribe" either, but they're in "My Threads", and I naively thought the most sensible thing to do when signing in was to have a look at what's new there.


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