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Including Resources in Answers and Questions about Feedback

September 9th, 2014

Hello brothers and sisters! I have a few questions: The first is, should we include sources? I know that we should refrain from guiding people to other websites, etc., which makes perfect sense, but I’m curious if sources are considered such. Secondly, the limitation being around one page in Word, does that mean the shorter the better? Does it seems that answers would be easier to understand if there is less information? Anyways, I’m waiting to hear some feedback on my first answer. I could have elaborated so much it probably would have wore out the eyes of the reader, but I tried to keep it simple. That is probably a good idea right? Anyways, feel free to friend me and know that I am grateful for the opportunity!

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    Ed Chait and Jinny Leo like this.
  • Tim White Common sense is a good guide. First, someone asking the question may be interested in it enough to read a long answer, but another is interested in the simple answer and not all the background information. Some questions cannot be handled with a short answer, but the shorter the answer, the more likely the reader will ingest it all. We are able to list reliable sources in reference, but not as a way of avoiding the task of writing the answer. That needs to be not done in a way that seems to be passing the person off, but in a way that the reader can know the issue was handled with due diligence.
    August 28 at 10:19am · Edited · Unlike · 5
  • Nace Howell Interesting. Well said. Thanks!
    August 28 at 10:20am · Like · 2
  • Jeffrey Gante There are so many articles for a person to read in this lifetime, Christian and not. It certainly is good if a person can read something short, sweet, and to the point. Even I end up scanning longer posts and articles for lack of patience.

    However, I agree with Tim that our answers, at least for me, are many times more clearly answered with more information. Sometimes I just have too many scripture references that I feel I must include…which also means more explanations.
    August 28 at 10:44am · Unlike · 4
  • NV Harder Nace, the first thing I do is to continue to pray that I never misrepresent God’s Word to anyone seeking the truth in biblical answers (Ephesians 2:8-10 & 6:10-20; John 1:1-34, 3:16-17, & 16:4). Upon receiving a single or a multiple part question, the second thing I do is do a search at the Got Questions.org website. If there is or are article(s), which is or are especially relevant to the subject(s) at hand, sometimes I summarize, quote, or paraphrase them, but I always reference them, just in case the questioner is really interested in obtaining further information on the subject(s). Third, I look at the profile information, sentence structure, and literary tone to determine how to answer the questioner. Keeping it simple is very useful for those whose communication skills indicate that English is not their primary language. While I like to keep the answer to no more than one page, the average is about half to two-thirds of that amount. For example, this missive is about one-third of a page. Using paragraphs to address particular points helps with clarity. Fourth, for those questioners in harm’s way and in dire need of help or who are threats to themselves or others, I ask them to please seek local assistance from the police or county mental healthcare facility immediately. For serious but non-life-threatening cases, I ask the questioners to please seek local assistance through Focus on the Family’s online counseling and referral service for which I provide a URL. Fifth, for sisters and brothers in Christ, I often include a very specific written prayer at the end, particularly in regard to important life decisions. I hope this helps.
    August 28 at 10:58am · Edited · Unlike · 6
  • Wendyl Leslie Tim is correct in that common sense should prevail. Generally, I try to answer the question within one page, no longer than 1.5 or 2 pages. A good rule to follow is keep it short and simple. Another rule I try to follow is to answer the question within the first paragraph, if not the first sentence or two. Then follow-up with an explanation.

    Secondly, I always remind the questioner that they can write us back if they need further explanations, etc. Hope all this helps.
    August 28 at 11:01am · Unlike · 5
  • Nace Howell All valid (and great) points and good reminders. Thanks for helping me have more to go on!
    August 28 at 12:13pm · Like · 4
  • Marc Weiss I think the others have spoken well for the question – let me add – the 1 page Word Doc is a guide. I have had questions that took 4 pages before. I also have had them take one paragraph. I cannot answer divorce and remarriage or eschatology in one sentence. I can answer who Jesus Christ is in simple terms using the Bible in a page. That is easy to do. I cannot answer God’s attributes in a page. I do not even know all of them

    Judgement prevails on this one. One time a writer asked me 7 questions. Just go with what you think is appropriate. The GQ staff is very nice and understands that not all situations are equal.
    August 28 at 5:37pm · Like · 4
  • Wendyl Leslie Yeah, Marc, I had a guy that asked 15 questions all at once. He had a lot of issues. So, I walked through them with him one by one. All in all I I got him all settled after six separate responses. His initial comments/questions took over two pages.
    August 28 at 5:43pm · Like · 4
  • Marc Weiss Exactly Wendyl. I think the 1 page is a good guide if we have a single question, but every question is different. This was one example. If anyone can answer this in one page, I commend you . This is an older question that I handled, this is just an example, not asking for help….

    How do I know whether I have met holy spirit? I’ve always wanted to believe in Jesus, but didn’t really knew what it meant to believe in Him. I just knew if I didn’t believe in Him I wouldn’t be saved and I lived in fear of not being saved. “what if I am not a believer?” the thought scared me. During a worship pastor called people to come to the front if you want to believe and receive the gift of holy spirit. Of course the act of going to front to pray wouldn’t save us but only having faith in Jesus would save us. So I went out there to pray and suddenly I cried I asked my self ‘what is happening to me why am i crying?’ and somehow it was good I didn’t know why i was crying but all i can remember is that it was good. And I wanted more of this peace / goodness so this time i tried to force the cry, and all of sudden I stopped crying. It happened about 10 years ago, and I am thinking I didn’t cry back then because I was embarrassed to be in front of lot of people But what if subconsciously I went out there to “prove” to Jesus my “faith” by going out there even though it was embarrassing to go out in front of many people, then wouldn’t it be a wrong reason for me to go out there? then all the cry and good feeling came from satan?
    August 28 at 6:30pm · Like · 3
  • Nace Howell Haha… Wow, Marc. I see what you mean. I just got a pretty loaded one myself. I’m not sure a page is going to be enough!
    August 28 at 6:56pm · Like · 3
  • Tami Condra-Parsons Nace thanks for your post! At the ten year anniversary I picked up a hand-out with pre-approved reference sites, I will send it to you if you’d like AND if I can find it.

    Please don’t be disappointed if you don’t receive any feed-back from your answer. I’ve found it rarely happens. A few times, < five probably, the questioner has written a response (Always nice to hear back!), and a couple of times I received guidance from the former editor.
    August 29 at 10:38pm · Like · 3
  • Gwen Sellers If any of you ever wants feedback from an editor, please let us know [you can email me – Gwen(at)GotQuestions(dot)org, or the general mailbox – Questions(at)GotQuestions(dot)org]. We’re always happy to give feedback. We don’t want to pester you with constant feedback and, obviously, also can’t give feedback on every answer. So generally no news is good news … But we know that feedback can be extremely beneficial and encouraging. And we definitely want to encourage you. We really appreciate the time and effort you put into this ministry. It’s such a privilege to see your hearts come out in the answers and to know that God is using you to speak into the lives of others.
    August 30 at 12:45pm · Like · 3
  • Nace Howell Gwen, I figured no news is good news. Thanks!
    August 30 at 12:50pm · Unlike · 3
  • Timothy Craig Munger I include sources if I use a direct quote from a book.
    August 31 at 7:23pm · Like
  • Marc Weiss No news is good news, Nace
    August 31 at 7:27pm · Like · 2
  • Marc Weiss Gwen – I would not mind occasional feedback. I did not know we could ask for it
    August 31 at 7:27pm · Unlike · 1
  • Gwen Sellers You can always ask I’ll go ahead and take that as an official request, Marc Weiss and send you an email soon …
    September 1 at 12:48pm · Like
  • Marc Weiss I got it – thank you! Good news.
    September 1 at 1:25pm · Unlike · 1
  • Byron Earnheart I try and apply what my high school English teacher said…when in doubt, cite it. When I quote the Bible, I refer them to the website and translation I copied/pasted from. I also refer them to the GQ site as appropriate as well. But if I’m using Eusebius or Sproul or Augustine or whomever…while I may not make an academically valid citation, I do try and give enough information to point the person to where I’m referring therefore eliminating the “this guy just made that up” argument before it crops up in their mind. While I’m a HUGE believer in GQ and the authority of Scripture, there’s plenty of sources to amplify what I’m saying that do a better job than I and I’m not ashamed to point them there.

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