Search before posting: Sometimes your question may have already been answered by us or other students in the past. This gives us more time to answer new questions. Also you will avoid having us link to another post as an answer.
Link and screenshot any external resources you are referring to (exams, discussion, stackoverflow, lecture slides + webcast time/video): It is more convenient for us and other students to look at the screenshot and follow the link if we need more context on the question. It will also substantially decrease the time it takes for us to answer your question. Also, you probably have whatever you are referring to opened already.
Try to avoid too open-ended/vague questions such as: “How does BFS work?” or “How come the solution to a discussion problem is this?” or “How does this proof from the textbook work?” This keeps us guessing on what you are really stuck on. If you walk us through your thoughts and reference specific lines that you find confusing, we can better address the problem you are facing. It may even help us uncover any misunderstandings that you may have.
Please try to post homework questions publicly as follow-ups on the appropriate question threads whenever possible. If your question is too detailed/revealing to fit there, that’s a sign that your question is better answered during office hours. We do not have the bandwidth to pre-grade answers on Piazza, so detailed private HW questions are discouraged.
You should only post in the “Student Answer” box if you are fairly certain about your answer. Do not post follow up questions or +1 in the student answer. Posting in the “Student Answer” section marks a post as resolved and will likely be missed. Use “Follow ups” to follow up while leaving the overall post unresolved.
If you want a reply on a follow up, mark it as unresolved, or we may not see it.
If you reply to a follow up answering the question at hand, mark the follow up as resolved since it no longer requires attention.
If you don’t seem to understand the given responses to your question, come to OH and mark your question as a conceptual question when putting yourself on the queue. Conceptual questions, which are questions on discussions, past homeworks, concepts (ie from the textbook or lectures) and this semester’s exams get priority over homework questions. It is sometimes much easier to explain questions in a one on one setting where staff can articulate their points through illustrations.