indeed, occasionally, be a sane and sensible question, but X really does have better things to do than wade through all the rest in hope of finding it - if it exists at all. Usenet is just everyone with Everyman omitted: the jerk and the earnest post side by side. There are exceptions of course. Just occasionally X may have a bad hair day and send a vituperative reply to even the most deferential approach, and usenet may deliver a reply that at least attempts to be helpful. And once in a blue moon one might obtain something genuinely useful in reply (my thanks again to Istvan Nemeti here in Budapest) But, if there is generally nowhere on the internet between the overcrowded under-bridges and the austere mathematical towers of academe, perhaps FQXi could create one. Suggestion. Create a forum (requiring registration and login) in which non-members may submit one question per specified period (a month?) that is: 1) Concise (maximum length say ~200 words, including references) 2) Supported by a maximum of one attachment (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc. of reasonable dimensions to allow for equations or diagrams; not PDF) 3) Free of embedded hyperlinks and URL's 4) Appropriate to the subject of the forum 5) Clearly and appropriately posed 6) Answerable in principle 7) Interesting The objective criteria 1-3 could be enforced or handled automatically and the question would then be rated against the subjective criteria 4-7 by members willing to do a little pro-bono work - perhaps no