Hello,
I opened my own sample question in order to take pictures to help you
through these functions.
First click on "My Account" at the top of the page, this should bring
you to the default page, which is "Showing Complete List of
Questions". Look for the question you want to modify or clarify. It
should be in the list, with Status, Subject of Question, Last Updated,
Researcher (one who answers it), and Price. Click on the question
subject of the question you wish to view/edit.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/open_questions.jpg
---
How To Clarify Your Question:
You'll notice a couple buttons at the top depending on whether or not
the question is locked by a researcher at the moment. If it's locked
(or currently being edited) you cannot change the price, or modify it
otherwise, but you can add a clarification by clicking the button at
the top marked "Clarify Question". This is how you have a pre-answer
dialogue between you and the researchers, in order to better explain
the details of your question, or to address any specific concerns that
the researchers currently have.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/clarify_menu_locked.jpg
If it's not locked you have a couple options, but we'll stick with
clarifying first.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/clarify_menu_unlocked.jpg
Upon clicking on "Clarify Question" you'll get a text box to type a
clarification.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/clarify_box_locked.jpg
If all goes well with your clarification, the page will be updated
with your clarification. You can view the clarification I made on my
sample question at the link provided at the bottom of this guide.
---
Responding To a Clarification:
In my sample question, missy-ga was nice enough to ask a clarification
on whether or not it was okay to answer the question. Upon signing
into my account, and going back to the "My Account" page, I had a
little "Needs Attention" note next to my question notifying me I had a
clarification request.
Pictures:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/needs_attention.jpg
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/please_respond.jpg
Upon clicking the subject of the question again, I have a red notice
stating "Please respond to the clarification request." From here, I
can click on "Clarify Question" again and get the same text box as
before to respond to the researcher's request.
---
Changing the Question Catagory Or Price:
If the question is unlocked, and only if it is unlocked (meaning
nobody's working on an answer), you can change the catagory or price
of your question. You can't change the wording (that's what the
clarifications are for) but you can raise the price to spark interest
if you see that nobody seems to be working on your question and it's
been a couple days. To do this, just open up your question and while
it's unlocked click the "Edit Question Parameters" button.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/edit_menu_unlocked.jpg
This will open the box below.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/edit_box.jpg
From this box you can select a different catagory to place it in, or
raise the price.
---
What To Do Once the Question's Answered:
If everything went well, and a couple exchanges have taken place
between you and answerer, there's probably an answer waiting for you
to rate. If you go back to the "My Account" screen, you'll see a
different "Needs Attention" notice. If you notice below, there is a
researcher name in the Researcher column which means your question has
been answered by that researcher.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/answered_needs_attention.jpg
By clicking on the subject of the question again, you'll be taken to
your question, this time with a red notice stating, "Please add a
rating to this question." This doesn't mean the answering's over
though. Read through the answer, and scroll down to the bottom of the
answer, and if you're unsatisfied with the answer given, or would like
a little more detail, just click on "Request Answer Clarification"
again and ask the researcher how he can further add to their existing
answer to make it a better answer for you.
Pictures:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/answered_top.jpg
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/answered_menu.jpg
If you think the researcher has done a satisfactory job though, then
click on the "Rate Answer" button and the box below will pop up. From
here you can give the researcher a rating and any comments you would
like to share with the researcher. Remember, if you're looking for
more information, request a clarification, do not put it in the
comments box, because then the question is closed. Also, if the
researcher has done a superb job, you may but are not required to
leave a tip for the researcher, all of which will go directly to the
researcher who answered your question. You cannot tip researchers who
worked with you to clarify your question or commenters though.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/rate_answer_box.jpg
Once you've left a rating and comment, the question is finished but
will remain online for you to reference later. Also, sometimes
researchers go back to old questions to add updated info they find
later, but aren't required to. Also, comments are still allowed to be
left, so others browsing can add to the researcher's final answer.
Pictures:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/answered_and_rated_top.jpg
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/rating_and_comment_box.jpg
---
How To Close a Question Before It's Answered:
Sometimes you want to just close a question, so it can't be answered,
and you don't get charged for the answer (except for the listing fee
of course). You may have found the answer yourself already, or the
answer may no longer be needed by you. In this case, if the question
is unlocked (it must be unlocked to be closed), you can just click the
"Close Question" button, and you'll be prompted once more just in case
if you really want to close the question. Once the question is closed,
no more comments, or clarifications can be made, and the question is
dead in the water. You will not be charged any more than the listing
price you already paid to ask the question.
Picture:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/images/close_question_unlocked.jpg
---
What must have happened with your old question, "leak problems" was
that you closed it accidentally. What I can recommend is that you ask
a new question and in this question, ask the researcher to refer to
the clarifications of the old one or just copy/paste the old question
material into the new one. That's the end of my little guide, and it
was a pleasure to make it because I've never really gotten a chance to
see this service from the customer's side. Thank you goes to missy-ga
and legolas-ga for helping with the question, and thank you for asking
it again.
Additional Links:
My sample question:
https://answers.google.com/answers/images/main?cmd=threadview&id=114194
What to do after you ask a question on Google Answers (this guide but
in webpage form):
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/answer_guide.html
Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question, if you require
more information, please clarify the question, or if you find this
answer satisfactory, please feel free to rate it. Thank you!
skermit-ga |
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