Ask an Expert (AaE) “How To”

What is AaE?

From the Public’s point of view:

  • An online system for asking questions and receiving expert answers quickly on a broad range of subjects.

From the Extension Professional’s point of view:

  • An efficient way to apply research-based knowledge to meet the immediate needs of our clientele
  • An effective way to strengthen the visibility and reputation of Extension as a national, state, and local resource bringing knowledge to bear on current issues of everyday life.

Becoming an AaE Responder: Step-By-Step

To respond to questions in the Ask an Expert system is not difficult if you have an eXtension ID and follow three simple steps. (If you don’t have an eXtension ID, or forgot your password, see instructions at the end of this doc.) The steps are listed here, and described in detail below: 1) Go to your profile & edit your tags; 2) Edit your settings; 3) Answer a Question; 4) Follow the Guidelines.

Step 1. Go to your Profile and Edit your Tags

  1. Go to and login.
  2. Click on AaE in the dark bar across the top of the page. This will take you to the ‘public’ side of AaE, which shows the answered questions that have been marked ‘public’ by both the asker and the responder. There’s also a tab for unanswered questions. That page looks like this:

  1. Click on ‘AaE Expert Dashboard’ to get to the ‘expert’ side of AaE. (See the red arrow above. If you don’t see this it’s because you’re not signed in to AaE. Click ‘sign in’ on the upper right.)This will take you to your home page or ‘dashboard’, which shows the number of questions currently assigned to you as well as your photo (or some kind of image if you haven’t added a photo), locations, tags, and groups.
  2. From your Dashboard, you can edit your profile, your settings, and your groups. To do this, look at the upper right corner, find your name, and click the drop-down arrow to see this:

  1. Click on ‘My Profile’. Here’s where you should add ‘tags’ that describe your areas of expertise. This will make it easier for you to be assigned questions that fit your expertise. Click ‘edit tags’ to add or delete your tags/descriptors. You can also find your ‘metrics’, i.e. the numbers of questions you’ve been assigned and answered.

Step 2. Edit your Settings

Click on “Edit settings” in the upper right corner. This takes you to Settings > General. There are tabs that allow you to do several things here:

  1. General Tab

‒Add a description of yourself in ‘About Me,’ as little or long as you like.

‒Fill in your ‘Public Name.’

‒Upload a photo. It’s a good idea to add a pictureof yourself or of something that symbolizes your expertise. This can be a flower, a garden, a bush, a tree, an insect…whatever you like. Do this by clicking ‘browse,’ and selecting one from your computer. Remember to click ‘Save Changes.’ Here is a picture of the ‘General’ settings:

  1. Locations Tab

If you don’t add a location you will be considered system-wide. If you click ‘Add a Location,’ you can choose one or any number of states or other specific locations. For each state, when you click ‘edit’ you can choose one or more counties.

  1. Tags Tab

This is another place to add or change your tags, as in Step 1-e above, under ‘My Profile.’

  1. Answering Tab

The link to “Answering” allows you to do a number of important things (see screenshot below).

‒Mark me as away. Check this box when you’ll be unable to answer questions. Just remember to uncheck it when you are available again!

‒Questions submitted to my groups can be automatically assigned to me. Check this box to receive questions from the groups you belong to. Many don’t belong to any groups, so this won’t apply to you. If you don’t check this, you’ll only receive questions if a wrangler assigns them to you.

‒You have three choices of locations you are willing to receive group questions from:

‒Email Signature. This will automatically be added to any question you answer. You can put whatever you choose, but at least include your name, your role or title, and the university you are associated with. Be sure to click ‘Save Answering Settings.’

  1. Groups Notifications Tab

If you belong to a group, you have two notification choices for each group. Checking either or both will generate email alerts, which is a good way to make sure questions don’t sit for too long.

Step 3. Answer a Question

When you’re assigned a question you’ll receive an email with a link to it. Within 24 hours, if possible, click on the link to open the question; then:

  1. Add tags by typing into the strip and pressing ‘enter’ for each tag. Like the tags you entered for yourself in step one-e, these tags make it easier to match questions with responders that have that expertise. (See the example on the next page).
  1. Before creating an answer you can use the search box (the strip in the black area above the question) to see if there are any answers to similar questions you could draw from.
  1. Type or paste your answer in the box, including links to helpful websites or other information. Be sure to highlight the text to link to and click the ‘insert link’ button to add the url.
  1. Add imagesif that would help make the answer more clear.
  1. Double check your signature. You can edit it here if you wish.
  1. Click “Send”. You can also use the “Search for an answer” box and find previous answers to related questions. Feel free to cut and paste portions or all of any relevant information you find there. This is not plagiarism. If you decide you cannot answer this question, assign it to someone else or to a Question Wrangler, who will reassign it.

Note: Although we strive to give the best research-based answers possible, you are not liable for any information you give. Each answer automatically has the following disclaimer attached:

This message is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for personalized professional advice. For specific local information, contact your local county Cooperative Extension office or other qualified professionals. eXtension Foundation does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, professional, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned. Reliance on any information provided by eXtension Foundation, employees, suppliers, member universities, or other third parties through eXtension is solely at the user’s own risk. All eXtension content and communication is subject to the terms of use which may be revised at any time.

Other Considerations

Follow These Guidelines

Click on the question. Within 24 hours, click on “Reply” and type or paste your answer in the box, then click “Send”. You can also use the “Search for an answer” box and find previous answers to related questions. Feel free to cut and paste portions or all of any relevant information you find there. This is not plagiarism. If you decide you cannot answer this question, assign it to someone else or to a Question Wrangler, who will reassign it. Use the following guidelines to help you.

Always respond. If it is an inconvenient time for you, or if the question is not in your areas of expertise, please reassign the question by using the “Assign to someone else” link on the Ask an Expert screen. If you don’t know who to assign it to, click “Hand off to a Question Wrangler.”

Be brief and precise. Answers should be concise, with the exact answer in the first two sentences, if possible, with explanation and elaboration following. Indicate any specific differences due to geographic location or other conditions. Use language that is broadly understood, define scientific terminology, and avoid jargon.

Include links. Refer to articles and websites as appropriate, and provide source information for quotes or references. One of the best places to find research-based information is the ‘Search’ website because it searches the websites of universities in the eXtension system.

Omit opinion. As representatives of land grant institutions, our role is to help others learn by providing them with unbiased, research based, peer-reviewed information. If individuals have the facts or information at their disposal, they can make educated decisions for their specific situations.

Use spell check. Verify that your responses are both grammatically correct and spelled correctly. Cutting and pasting from Word helps ensure correct spelling.

When a question is broad, vague, or esoteric... Don’t just ignore it. You can ask for more information or clarification or you may decide to refer them to additional sources so they can find their own answer. e.g., "Your question requires an answer beyond the scope of the space provided for this interaction, but here are a few links or articles that might provide you with related information you have requested."

Reassign Questions You Can’t Answer

If for any reason you are unable to answer a question assigned to you, please click ‘Reassign’ above the question or in the right-hand column. Then do one of three things, either 1) look down the list of “Best Matches to find someone to answer; OR 2) click ‘Assign to a Question Wrangler’ OR 3) type in the name of someone you know who could answer it. If they are in the Ask an Expert system and available, their name will appear. Click on their name, and then ‘Assign to….’ This will open a box where you can type them a message if you wish. Then click ‘Assign to…’ again. See the screenshots below.


Close Questions After Getting a Thank-You Response

Sometimes a person will answer questions you ask, offer more information, or thank you for your answer. Any type of reply will be assigned to you the same way questions are assigned, with an email alert and a link to the question. Please click on the link, go to the question, and click ‘close’ above the question. This will open a box where you are asked to give a reason for closing it. Type a simple phrase like “already answered” or “thank you reply” in the box and click ‘Close Question.’


Watch Questions You Want to Learn From

Sometimes you may come across a question you too would like to know the answer to. You can ‘watch’ this question and receive an email alert when an answer has been given. Below explains how to do this.

Forgot your ID or password or don’t have an eXtension ID?

1.Go to . You’ll be asked to enter your eXtension ID OR the email you used to register with when you first signed up. You’ll be emailed directions for resetting your password.

2.If you haven’t signed up, or you don’t know what email address you used to sign up with, go to the sign up page at and proceed as if you are signing up for the first time (and maybe you are). If you use the same email you used before, you’ll be alerted that you are already a member. Then you can go back to step one and enter in your email in order to reset your password.

Need Help?

  • For this training resource or support, contact Dr. Lela Vandenberg, or Karen Jeannette, .
  • For all other eXtension Ask an Expert ‘how-to- questions, ask @

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