You can attempt to ask for clarification, but that will sometimes get ignored.  If you get clarification, then you can move forward.

I initially answered questions based on what the underlying problem was, rather than the literal question that was asked... essentially assuming based on some of the information in the question.  This proved to be a bad idea since I caught flak from some of the more "verbal" busybodies here.  So, you are taking your status here into your own hands if you start to assume and progress without direct confirmation.

However, even if you stick with the exact questions that are asked, you are still not "safe".  Recently, a question was asked about PowerISO and trouble that a user was having making a copy of a game disc.  His [ORIGINAL][1] question states he had issues with PowerISO, and he wanted a free replacement for it.  After I answered pointing him to a free replacement, the question was [EDITED][2] so that the focus was on attempting to come up with some way to explain PowerISO's behavior.  Oddly enough, *after* the question was edited, my answer started getting voted down.  So, even after you answer a question without making assumptions, the question can still be altered to make your answer superfluous.  And no, the OP of that example did not edit the question, as can be clearly seen.  And no, the question wasn't edited based on the comments he left for other answers.

In Summary, don't assume... but always remember it doesn't matter even if you only answer the exact question, as someone could always pull the rug out from under you anyway.


  [1]: https://superuser.com/posts/429031/revisions
  [2]: https://superuser.com/questions/429031/poweriso-hangs-at-0-for-hours-kills-computer-when-converting-cd-to-an-iso-file