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I got called out for giving vague answers in this community last week
Someone named Alex from Denver replied to one of my posts and said 'you're basically just saying 'it depends' without any real info.' I realized I was being too general because I was worried about being wrong. Now I force myself to give at least one concrete example or a specific number, like saying 'in my experience, it takes about 3 hours to...' instead of just 'it takes a while.' Has anyone else had to fix a habit like that when answering questions here?
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emma_baker616mo ago
Oh man, my friend got roasted for giving exact cooking times online. She told someone to bake cookies for 12 minutes, but their oven ran hot and they burned. Now she says things like "check at 10 minutes and see how they look." Giving a solid starting point with a little flexibility seems to work better, right?
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ericcraig4mo ago
Pretty much, yeah. @emma_baker61 I just learned the hard way to say "start checking around 10 minutes" instead of promising any exact time. Ovens are liars, every single one of them.
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angelam806mo ago
Wait, isn't giving a specific number sometimes just as bad if it's wrong for their case? I mean, if I say something takes 3 hours based on my old computer, but they have a new one, I just gave them bad info. I try to give a range now, like 'it took me 2 to 4 hours when I did it last month.' That way it's still specific but leaves room for their situation being different.
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