>speaking as one who is probably asking a large number of previously asked questions I can tell you that the problem with faqs, manuals and the like is that none of the authors anticipate the form of the question. As a result, we novices can't ever find the help we need when we do RTFM - which makes it much less likely that we'll even bother trying next time round.
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>I'd have no objection to responses in the form "read topic 'xyz' in the september MFAQ especially the bit about 'abc' " - providing, of course, that it really contains the answer I seek!
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>What I find though, is that, largely through my own inexperience, half the time I can't even ask the right questions. So I'll get three or four answers back which either don't address the issue or, if they do, do so at a level way over my head. Fortunately, the other half of the time, I get crisp concise and extremely lucid responses that save literally days of head banging!
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>So yes, by all means create a 'Most FAQ' but don't just tell us to read it - we ain't got time to plough through the whole thing just to get at the item we're currently interested in. At least narrow down the search by giving us the appropriate topic heading/s.
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>Harry

Some times, I find users asking questions that I have no clue where there coming from. Sometimes they ask a question in such a way you're sure that what they really need is something else. So you either answer the question as is or you take a shot in the dark and hope you're right.

I've heard that the best way to ask a question is to just tell exactly what you are trying to do. Often someone has a better approach then the one you are taking and the answer to a specific question may not get you the answer you're looking for. Ofcourse, I am just as guilty of asking the "wrong" question as the next person, but I find more often than not, I eventually have to tell them what I am trying to do.