The three rules of asking questions

There's nothing wrong with asking questions, it's part of how you grow as a person, connect with your peers, or gain other knowledge. Yet some genuine questions seem off limits for some people, especially when they tend to get personal.

I think it's wrong for any genuine question to be forbidden, which is why I put up these three rules here. They not only apply to the question, but also to the answer.

I believe you should be able to ask any question that follows them without fear of it going wrong.

And you should follow the same rules when answering, and never hold anything against somebody that asks you a question that follows these rules.

Rule 1: Honesty

Your question should be honest.

Only ask a question because you are actually interested in the answer. Do not ask rethoric, ironic, or sarcastic questions.

Rule 2: Neutrality

Your questions should be neutral, and not imply things which have not been confirmed beforehand.

For example, do not ask somebody why they did something before confirming that they did said action.

Yes/No questions should be formulated in a way that either answer is as easy to give as the other one, and a simple yes/no must suffice to fully answer the question.

Do not pack multiple questions into one.

Rule 3: Respect

Respect the answer, which includes the refusal to answer your question. You should only ask follow up questions if you get the impression that the unsatisfactory answer was not a result of the unwillingness to go into details.