<p>@whuber's stamina is admirable, but I have to endorse @NickCox's suggestion: You just have to hang in there, contribute answers to questions that don't need clarification (etc.) until you get to 50.  </p>

<p>The other option is to build the lack of clarity into your answer.  Recognize that many askers here don't know enough to use the right terms or include the necessary (and only the necessary) information in their question.  Thus, they may not understand or be able to provide the information requested in your comment.  So an answer could be: 'I think you're asking about ____, but this other aspect could be A or B.  In your case, if it were A, it would work this way...' This has more potential to help the OP and may lead to a stronger answer.  </p>
