Kuneco help

Frequently asked questions

Posing questions

What is a good question?
Posing a question in the right way is important to increase the chances of getting answers as well as to increase the speed by which you get them. Here are a few rules to follow.

- Specify the kind of answer you want. Let other users know what will and what will not be a good answer.

- Summarize your own findings in the question. When writing your question, include a summary of any information that you already have about your question, including specific links if they are pertinent or have proven to be dead-ends. This will help other users understand where to begin when trying to answer your question.

- Break up multi-part questions. Multi-part questions often do not get answered because they can be difficult to answer well. If you have a complex, multi-part question, you will typically get better results by posting parts of the question separately, so that other users can choose to answer the parts of the question they find most interesting.

How much should I spend on salary?
The amount of money you spend on salary can have a significant influence on how many answers you get.

The more complex a question is, the more time it requires for another person to answer. Others will only want to answer a complex question if they feel adequately compensated for the time spent on researching and writing an answer. If you have a sense of how long it will take to find an answer, you should take that into account. Further, if it is very important for you to get an answer, you should probably increase the salary - just to be sure. A high salary may also result in a faster reply.

How much should I spend on advertising?
The amount of money you spend on advertising determines how fast you get an answer.

The more you spend on advertising, the more frequently your question will be displayed on other people's front page. And the more frequently your question is presented to others, the faster you get an answer - and the more answers you get. If you are in no rush to get an answer, there is no need to spend very much on advertising. If getting an answer is urgent or if it is important to you to get more answers, spend more.

Do I need to pay extra when I get more than one answer?
No. You are never expected to distribute more salary than what you offered when posing the question. You are, of course, allowed to do so anyway, if you are pleasantly surprised by the answers you have received.

Why do I have to pay salary in advance when I pose a question?
This is to ensure that users never spend money they do not have. If your question is not answered, you will get the salary back.

Why do I even have to pay a salary to get an answer to my question?
You do not have to. But the chances of getting an answer of high quality dramatically improve when you offer a non-zero salary. Salary motivates people to answer your question.

How do I choose good subject tags for my question?
To ensure that your question reaches the right experts, it is important that you choose appropriate subject tags for it. As a general rule, try to choose subject tags that are general and conceptual. In particular, words in plural are preferable (for example, "horses" rather than "horse").

Make sure always to include some general subject tags. For example, if you have a question about thermodynamics, you should not only include the subject tag "thermodynamics" but also "physics" and "science".

Generally, when choosing what subject tags to associate with your question, try to look at it from the answerer's point of view. What fields of knowledge are necessary in order to answer your question?

Do I get my money back when I cancel my question?
You can only cancel your question as long as there are no answerers. When cancelling the question, the proposed salary will be paid back to you. Money you have spent on advertising, however, will not. This is because your question may already have been advertised a lot to others at the time where you cancel the question.

Answering questions

What is a good answer?
Before you attempt to answer a question, make sure that you really can contribute with new insight not already formulated in other answers, and that you are able to formulate a decent answer in the question's language. If you cannot answer all parts of the question, make it very clear to the asker what parts you are answering - and how big a share of the salary you expect for this work.

When you have written an answer, compare it to the question as well as all subsequent posts and ensure that you have clearly stated which parts of the question you are and which parts you are not trying to answer. Also make sure to include references, for example links, to media where the asker can find additional information.

When do I get paid for my answer?
When the asker of the question is pleased with the answers received, he or she can close the thread, thereby distributing ratings and salaries to the answerers. In principle, it is up to the asker to decide when this happens, but there is an upper limit to how long it can take. If the asker has not closed the thread within the maximum allowed time, Kuneco will automatically distribute the offered salary among the answerers.

When can I complain about the salary that I received?
In order to complain, the question thread must be closed, you must have submitted an answer before its closure and the closure have taken place no more than 7 days ago. Further, the total offered salary for the question must be at least 1.00 € (or the equivalent in your currency) and your received salary must be less than the offered salary.

Can I complain about the rating I received?
No. It is completely up to the asker to determine your rating. If you feel unfairly treated, just remember that your average rating will not be affected as long as you, in general, keep on writing high quality answers.

Accounts and settings

Do I need to create an account to use Kuneco?
The moment you submit posts or change your settings on Kuneco, your settings, account balance etc. are tied to the computer you are using. You can choose to create an account at any time but are only required to do so when your account balance is more than a certain amount or if you want to withdraw or deposit money to your account. By getting an account, you protect your settings and money from other people using your computer, and you can access your account from other computers.

I forgot my password. What should I do?
If you have a password protected account and have forgotten your password, please use the link "Forgotten password?" in the menu. If you have forgotten your username, please use the appropriate form on the "Contact" page.

How do I choose good subject tags in my settings?
For every language that you add in your settings, you are asked to write some subject tags. Spending a few minutes on writing some good subject tags greatly improves your experience on Kuneco: the right choice of subject tags ensures that you always see relevant questions on the front page.

As a general rule, write general and conceptual subject tags. In particular, words in plural are preferable (for example, "horses" rather than "horse"). Rather write too many than too few subject tags and make sure always to include some general subjects. For example, if you are knowledgeable about thermodynamics, you should not only include the subject tag "thermodynamics" but also "physics" and "science"

Your knowledge is more valuable than you think! For instance, your home country and your mother tongue can and should be chosen as subject tags by default. If you are knowledgeable about other countries (for example, neighboring countries), choose these as well. If you are educated within a certain subject, this subject is a natural choice, but so are neighboring subjects that you have become acquainted with through your studies.

Try to write at least ten and preferably twenty or more subject tags for each language in your settings. If it seems that you are never able to answer questions with certain subject tags, remove these subject tags but try to replace them with new ones.

Money

If I deposit money to my account, can I get it back?
It depends on a few things. First of all, you need to satisfy some requirements, including having a certain rating and account balance, to be able to withdraw money. More information about this can be found on the "Balance" page under "Withdraw". Second, when you withdraw money, it is paid to you via Moneybookers, meaning that you will need to comply with their requirements in order to get your money; see www.moneybookers.com for further details. Finally, Kuneco charges a small fee when withdrawing money, meaning that you, in any case, will never be able to get all your money back.

I have problems withdrawing money from Moneybookers. What do I do?
If you have completed a withdrawal from your Kuneco account and have received an e-mail from Moneybookers, please contact Moneybookers if you have problems withdrawing your money from them. If you have completed a withdrawal from your Kuneco account but have not received an e-mail from Moneybookers, please contact Kuneco from the "Contact" page.

Why do I need a good rating to be able to withdraw money?
Kuneco prefers its users to write a few high quality answers rather than many low quality answers. To ensure that those who earn money by answering questions on Kuneco help maintain these standards, a certain rating is required before it is possible to withdraw money.

Why is there a limit to how much money can be on my account?
The limit is due to a European Union law. There is, unfortunately, not much Kuneco can do at the moment to avoid this.

What currency exchange rates does Kuneco use?
Exchange rates change all the time. Kuneco receives information on a regular basis about the current exchange rates in the money market. However, the data is not continuously updated, so in order to avoid loss when money changes currency in Kuneco's system, the exchange rates used by Kuneco are slightly less favorable than those offered in the money market.

General

Why does Kuneco not support my language?
The Kuneco staff has to be able to understand the content of each post in order to settle any dispute between users and to assess abusive posts. Thus, it is only possible to pose questions in languages mastered by people in the Kuneco staff. Further, it is only possible to write inquiries in the languages that are spoken (and not just understood) by people in the Kuneco staff. We hope to increase the number of languages soon.

Will other users know who I am?
No. You are always anonymous on Kuneco.

What does Kuneco use my e-mail address for?
Kuneco will never spam you or pass on your e-mail address to third parties! That said, it depends on your settings what Kuneco uses your e-mail address for. Generally, Kuneco sends out e-mails to inform you about events in the threads you are interested in, but if you do not want to receive e-mails, you can easily specify this in your settings.

What should I do if I find a bug?
If you find a bug on Kuneco, please report it from the "Contact" page.

What should I do if I need technical assistance?
You should carefully look through the "Help" page if you have a problem or a question concerning the use of Kuneco. If you cannot find an answer here, Kuneco can be contacted from the "Contact" page.

I have contacted Kuneco. When will I get a reply?
Kuneco should always be contacted from the "Contact" page and never by phone, regular mail or e-mail. If you have used the "Contact" page and your inquiry requires an answer, we will do everything we can to get back to as soon as possible. Hopefully within a few days, depending on weekends and holidays.

Terminology

Abuse

A post should be considered abusive if it satisfies any of the requirements listed in the Terms of service section on the "About Kuneco" page. If in doubt, simply use common sense. Abusive posts can and should be reported by anyone who sees them. Several abuse reports may result in temporary or final closure of an account.

Account

When you are active on Kuneco, your personal settings, account balance etc. are initially tied to the computer you are using. When creating an account, you choose a username and a password. You are then able to access the account from other computers, and your settings, balance etc. are much better protected.

Advertising

Questions are advertised by being displayed regularly on the front page of users who has the language and one or more subject tags in common with the question. The more you pay for advertising when posing a question, the more frequently your question is shown to others - and the faster you will get an answer. Only open questions are advertised.

Cancellation

When you have posed a question, you can cancel it as long as it has received no answers. If you have offered salary for the question, the salary is paid back to you when the question is cancelled.

Closed

When a question has received answers, the asker can decide to close the thread. When doing so, the asker distributes salaries and ratings among the answerers, and any new answerers will not be able to receive any of these.

Complain

If you have submitted answers to a question for which salary has been offered, you can complain after the question's closure about how the asker has distributed the salary among the answerers. In order to complain, certain requirements about the size of the offered salary must be fulfilled. When you complain, Kuneco administrators will enter the dispute and resolve the conflict by irrevocably distributing the salary on behalf of the asker.

Expired

If a long time has passed since you posed a question and it still has not received any answers, it will expire. This means that the offered salary is paid back to you and that the question becomes closed.

Open

When you have posed a question, it is open to receive answers until you cancel it, close it or it expires.

Quarantine

When you earn money by answering questions, or if you spend less money on salary than you offered when posing a question, the money becomes quarantined for a certain period of time. This is because there is a risk that other users complain, and Kuneco needs to be able to settle conflicts by redistributing some of the money. As long as the money is quarantined, you cannot spend it or withdraw it from your account.

Rating

When you have posed a question and decide to close it, you must rate the answerers. This rating helps the answerers understand whether they have done a good job, and it helps other users estimate the quality of an answer.

Salary

A salary is an amount of money offered by the asker of a question to be paid to answerers for a satisfactory answer. When there are more than one answerer, the asker distributes the salary among them as he or she finds fair. The asker can distribute more or less salary than originally offered. If less is distributed, the asker may risk complaints from answerers and may ultimately be required by Kuneco to pay out the remaining offered salary.

Subject tag

When posing a question, you must choose some subject tags associated with the question. These are words that describe the general subject of the question. The subject tags are used to match a question with the best potential answerers, namely those who have chosen the same subject tags as their field of expertise in their settings.

Thread

A thread is a collection of posts, beginning with a question and followed by posts from answerers as well as additional posts from the asker.