WDYEWDYG? "What did you expect, and what did you get?" Question-askers often say something "doesn't work" but forget to tell what it actually does, what they expected it to do, or both. Often, the problem is in a mistaken expectation of what should happen, or a mistaken interpretation of what did happen.

In order to help them, one has to make assumptions and guess at these things, and the guesses may be off-target, resulting in an annoying waste of time for both sides.

It's like Nebuchadnezzar asking for an interpretation of his dream but refusing to reveal the dream itself. I'm looking for effective ways to remind people. There are wonderful articles on how to write a good question, but a huge class of people will not find and read such an article. Any ideas?

My work: Android apps and GIS mapping for a non-profit org.

Programming languages / tools: Android, Python, XSLT/XPath, Javascript, HTML5, SQL (various flavors), Java.

Less often: ConTeXt, C.

In my spare time, I enjoy developing 3D graphics and educational programs for my family.

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