Frequently Asked Questions
What is this?
Seriously Fish Q&A is a questions and answers community where registered site users can ask questions on any topic related to fishes or fishkeeping and get answers from other members. You can also help others and share knowledge by answering their questions, and by doing both things accumulate points and build reputation.
How does it work?
Community members are rewarded for asking good questions or answering well using a simple voting system. If you think someone has posted a particularly interesting or original question you can vote it up, and if an answer is especially detailed, knowledgeable, or otherwise useful you can vote that up, too.
When you receive an answer you are happy with, or that you consider definitive, you can choose to ACCEPT that answer. The question is then considered answered, though it remains open for further comments.
How does it differ from the forums?
The forums are for in-depth discussion so if you want to discuss a news item or blog, or ask for others' opinion about something, that's the place to post. If you're looking for a simple, definitive answer to a specific question, use the Q&A area instead.
What constitutes a good question?
- Avoid repetition - search to see if your question has already been asked before asking yourself.
- Keep it clear. A good question will not be too long, but descriptive enough that others understand what you want to know.
- Using correct spelling and grammar will help others find your question and you'll get better answers. This is an international community so if your English isn't perfect, keep things simple.
- Provide detail when necessary. If asking a question about your own aquarium, for example, include any relevant, specific information that may help others give an answer.
- If use of a photograph or image will help people to answer your question more easily, e.g., when asking for species identification, please include one or two.
- Categorise your question correctly. This will help your question be seen by the right people.
What constitutes a good answer?
- Try to address the question accurately, stay on topic and explain things so that anyone can understand.
- Avoid using text-speak or slang, and try to avoid misspellings and bad grammar. Use complete sentences wherever possible.
- Include additional details that relate directly to the question being asked if possible.
- Researching answers is fine, but plagiarism isn't. Cite your source(s), use quotation marks, and add links to other answers or websites used for research.
- If answering purely on the basis of personal opinion or experience, say so.
How does the voting and reputation system work?
To encourage participation and reward good answers, reputation points are awarded as follows. The number of points awarded depends on the action taken, as follows:
- If someone UPVOTES your question, you are awarded 5 points [this is a good question]
- If someone DOWNVOTES your question, you lose 2 points [this question isn't clear]
- If someone UPVOTES your answer, you are awarded 10 points [this is a well-written answer]
- If someone DOWNVOTES your answer, you lose 2 points [this answer is not useful]
- If you ACCEPT an answer on your question, you are awarded 2 points [reward for 'completing' your question]
- If your answer is ACCEPTED, you are awarded 15 points [this is the best or definitive answer]
