Asking for advice for how to post questions here

[gelfand]

Hello, forum looks like it has good help and I'm certainly in need of that :S

I'm currently working on some pretty basic physics / mechanics stuff, Newtonian stuff (up to lorentz transforms)

Re the formatting of this place - I was wondering if an appropriate way to ask a question would be to :

Image of the question (because it's generally something that I've been working on)

Image of my working (which is typed in LaTeX)

Link to a LaTeX paste of the working should others want to have any elements from that.If there's a better format then I'm all ears (or eyes).

So a question in this format would be something along the lines of :

Hello - I'm working on this question <image link of question>

Here's an image of my working <image link of working [typed not hand written]>

Here's a link to a TeX paste of that working <link to tex paste of that, mathb.in etc>

[If needed] Here's a sketch I made of the problem <link to sketch>

Here's a couple of thoughts around the problem that I'm not sure about that don't really fit in with the working...Is that suitable?

Thanks in advance.edit -

one of the reasons for this is that I type things up in my text editor rather than the browser as it's much easier for me to use

 

[berkeman]

Hello, forum looks like it has good help and I'm certainly in need of that :S

I'm currently working on some pretty basic physics / mechanics stuff, Newtonian stuff (up to lorentz transforms)

Re the formatting of this place - I was wondering if an appropriate way to ask a question would be to :

Image of the question (because it's generally something that I've been working on)

Image of my working (which is typed in LaTeX)

Link to a LaTeX paste of the working should others want to have any elements from that.If there's a better format then I'm all ears (or eyes).

So a question in this format would be something along the lines of :

Hello - I'm working on this question <image link of question>

Here's an image of my working <image link of working [typed not hand written]>

Here's a link to a TeX paste of that working <link to tex paste of that, mathb.in etc>

[If needed] Here's a sketch I made of the problem <link to sketch>

Here's a couple of thoughts around the problem that I'm not sure about that don't really fit in with the working...Is that suitable?

Thanks in advance.edit -

one of the reasons for this is that I type things up in my text editor rather than the browser as it's much easier for me to use

Welcome to the PF.

For schoolwork questions, please post in the Homework Help forums, and fill out the Homework Help Template you are provided there. We prefer that you type in your work (or paste in your LaTeX), as opposed to posting images. That makes it easier for folks to quote your work when responding.

If it is for general technical questions, post in whichever technical forum is the most appropriate, and show as much of your work and links to your reading as possible. That should get you good responses.

 

[gelfand]

Welcome to the PF.

For schoolwork questions, please post in the Homework Help forums, and fill out the Homework Help Template you are provided there. We prefer that you type in your work (or paste in your LaTeX), as opposed to posting images. That makes it easier for folks to quote your work when responding.

If it is for general technical questions, post in whichever technical forum is the most appropriate, and show as much of your work and links to your reading as possible. That should get you good responses.

Well I'm not too sure - If I have a problem that I'm working on relating to collisions or conservation of energy or whatnot, where would that go?

None of the things that I have are technically homework, they're not to be handed in or whatever.

cheers

 

[berkeman]

Well I'm not too sure - If I have a problem that I'm working on relating to collisions or conservation of energy or whatnot, where would that go?

None of the things that I have are technically homework, they're not to be handed in or whatever.

cheers

Per the PF rules (see INFO at the top of the page), any schoolwork-like questions should go in the Homework Help forums and use the HH Template. Even if you are self-studying, the problems should go into the HH forums. Here is a thread that explains the PF philosophy on how to handle schoolwork-type questions:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/homework-coursework-questions.373889/

There are some exceptions, BTW. For very advanced schoolwork questions (like graduate school level), they can sometimes be posted in the technical forums, as long as the OP shows *lots* of their work on the problem.

 

[gelfand]

Per the PF rules (see INFO at the top of the page), any schoolwork-like questions should go in the Homework Help forums and use the HH Template. Even if you are self-studying, the problems should go into the HH forums. Here is a thread that explains the PF philosophy on how to handle schoolwork-type questions:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/homework-coursework-questions.373889/

There are some exceptions, BTW. For very advanced schoolwork questions (like graduate school level), they can sometimes be posted in the technical forums, as long as the OP shows *lots* of their work on the problem.

OK cool - homework seems most appropriate and the LaTeX seems to work pretty much as expected, thanks

 

[gelfand]

Per the PF rules (see INFO at the top of the page), any schoolwork-like questions should go in the Homework Help forums and use the HH Template. Even if you are self-studying, the problems should go into the HH forums. Here is a thread that explains the PF philosophy on how to handle schoolwork-type questions:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/homework-coursework-questions.373889/

There are some exceptions, BTW. For very advanced schoolwork questions (like graduate school level), they can sometimes be posted in the technical forums, as long as the OP shows *lots* of their work on the problem.

Just to check - I think that screenshots of the questions are appropriate? Or photos (if they're from a book), as long as they're clear.

 

[berkeman]

Just to check - I think that screenshots of the questions are appropriate? Or photos (if they're from a book), as long as they're clear.

Usually. We prefer as much typed in as possible (again, to make it easier to Quote and show errors or whatever), but often images are needed of the problem statement. And yes, please make them good images -- we struggle all the time with dark fuzzy cellphone shots that are basically unreadable...

If you have a look around the HH forums, you should see what works well.

 

[Borek]

Speaking about images: please post them upright, so that we don't have to twist our heads to read them, and please don't make them too large - typically 2-3 hundreds kB is more than enough for a perfectly readable picture. That's just part of "if you make our lives easier, we are more willing to help" policy, which is not spelled out in the forum rules, but (not surprisingly) is adhered to by most people wiling to help you.

That being said, if you start asking how to post a question that means you are aware of the fact there are rules and customs that we adhere to. Always a good sign. Welcome to the forum

 

[gelfand]

Thanks - yes I will ensure that images are uploaded the right way up :P

Re the size - typically I just use Imgur to host images (take a photo on my phone or screenshot / copy from google photos to imgur / use imgur url) which works fine from my experience.

all good

 

[Evo]

Thanks - yes I will ensure that images are uploaded the right way up :P

Re the size - typically I just use Imgur to host images (take a photo on my phone or screenshot / copy from google photos to imgur / use imgur url) which works fine from my experience.

all good

Just remember to type out the problem and your attempt at a solution first then you can add details such as drawings with an image, or you can post pictures as a backup in addition to what you have typed. Do not post only images instead of typing out the work, just to clarify what @berkeman was saying.

 

[Borek]

Re the size - typically I just use Imgur to host images

That's not a guarantee of a reasonable file size - quite often people upload their images to external services but they don't bother to change anything, and we have t deal with several megabytes per picture download. Some of the people helping at PF live in the sticks or use some low end uplinks for whatever reason and it is eating up their bandwidth.

I am not assuming you will do it wrong, it is just that people with fast internet connection often forget about such things (or even are just not aware of possible limitations).

 

[gelfand]

Just remember to type out the problem and your attempt at a solution first then you can add details such as drawings with an image, or you can post pictures as a backup in addition to what you have typed. Do not post only images instead of typing out the work, just to clarify what @berkeman was saying.

images are often vital to demonstrate a problem and ones understanding of it though - there's not really anyway around that for a lot of things imo.

 

[gelfand]

That's not a guarantee of a reasonable file size - quite often people upload their images to external services but they don't bother to change anything, and we have t deal with several megabytes per picture download. Some of the people helping at PF live in the sticks or use some low end uplinks for whatever reason and it is eating up their bandwidth.

I am not assuming you will do it wrong, it is just that people with fast internet connection often forget about such things (or even are just not aware of possible limitations).

what's a suggested service then if this is a problem?

If I take an image of a diagram I've drawn then it's uploaded to Google Photos and I copy from there to imgur, but can use a different service if that's best. Preferably something that compresses it in one and can host / display like imgur can as well (I'm not sure if imgur serves up different sizes depending on bandwidth or not)

 

[Evo]

images are often vital to demonstrate a problem and ones understanding of it though - there's not really anyway around that for a lot of things imo.

Is there no formula? Is there no writing? Is there no math? These are the things that need to be typed. Everyone here types things out and it's not a problem, images are used for diagrams and as visual aids. So the answer is yes, you can use pictures in addition to what you type. But the core work also needs to be typed. The people that help you will not be posting pictures and it's extremely unfair to make them type everything off of your picture when they could simply copy and paste it. We just do not allow all of the original poster's work to be images.

 

[berkeman]

images are often vital to demonstrate a problem and ones understanding of it though - there's not really anyway around that for a lot of things imo.

Agreed. And as others have said, I doubt that any of your posts will be a problem. You can understand, though, that we get way too many posts by newbies who shoot dark sideways cellphone pictures of a 2-sentence problem, and show very little effort in their post. That's what we are trying to avoid. As you saw in the Homework info post that I linked to, we value our Homework Helpers a lot, and want to be able to filter out the more obnoxious posts from what they see posted on the forums. We've actually emphasized that a lot over the last 5 years or so, and it's really improved the quality of the posts in the HH forums. Good stuff.

So no pressure, but post a link here to your first post asking for help. I'm sure it will be great!

 

[jtbell]

we get way too many posts by newbies who shoot dark sideways cellphone pictures of a 2-sentence problem

With atrocious illegible handwriting.

 

[dlgoff]

That's not a guarantee of a reasonable file size - quite often people upload their images to external services but they don't bother to change anything, ...

Wouldn't it be better to use the UPLOAD function instead an external service. I use to only use external services and at a later date find one of these

for my image. I know uploading takes up server space, but for students searching the homework forum to see if others may have asked the same or similar question, finding that image may cause some frustration.

 

[jtbell]

Yes, use the upload function instead of hosting the images externally, in general. If the image is wider than about 1000 pixels, it's a good idea to resize it before uploading, so it will fit in a typical desktop browser window. If it's "too big" it will still display at a reduced size, and the forum software will offer to display it at full size if you click on it. However, in my experience, diagrams etc. never need to exceed that size in order to be legible.

 

[Borek]

what's a suggested service then if this is a problem?

If I take an image of a diagram I've drawn then it's uploaded to Google Photos and I copy from there to imgur, but can use a different service if that's best. Preferably something that compresses it in one and can host / display like imgur can as well (I'm not sure if imgur serves up different sizes depending on bandwidth or not)

Like others said - upload here, just take care to keep the image within reasonable size limits (both in terms of pixel width and file size).

In no time classifying images as uploadable/too big will become something that even doesn't require your attention

 

[gelfand]

Wouldn't it be better to use the UPLOAD function instead an external service. I use to only use external services and at a later date find one of these View attachment 194613 for my image. I know uploading takes up server space, but for students searching the homework forum to see if others may have asked the same or similar question, finding that image may cause some frustration.

yea fair - I would just note that for me personally at least to upload is a couple more steps, and I guess I'm just familiar with imgur (usually people want to save server space :P )

I'll try and use this though. I understand about the sideways photos shot in the dark and that being pretty useless, cheers

 

[UsableThought]

Yes, use the upload function instead of hosting the images externally, in general.

Greg said in a thread I started yesterday that linking to an image with the IMG button in the rich text editor will now result in a set of ATTACH tags, with the image being copied over into the database here. He's going to announce this soon, apparently. Here's the comment where he mentions the change: https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...just-want-them-displayed.912193/#post-5746047

So in effect, linking to an externally hosted image will now result in similar behavior as when uploading an image - the image will be displayed, AND it will be imported as an attachment.