<p>A small point not covered in the excellent answers so far: a premature (though well intentioned) answer to a currently unclear question can do more harm than good. When a question bears more than one reading; makes false assumptions or relies on implicit, unexamined premises; lacks crucial context&mdash;answering it can create much confusion, even mislead the OP &amp; other readers. Better to first contribute to its clarification.</p>
