rowyn

When I see someone talking about a problem online, my first thought is do not offer advice unless they explicitly ask for it. Never. In person, I am less good about this, and sometimes I fail at it online too, but for the most part I think people talking about their problems do not want to hear my suggestions unless they say, explicitly, "Please help me." There are exceptions, but not nearly as many as there are impulses-to-offer-unsolicited-advice. And occasionally, I'll talk about my experiences with something, without saying "try doing this! it worked for me!" which might still be construed as advice-like but is at least a little less presumptuous. c_c

I thought Micah's "I don't want advice or sympathy, I want this idea to be given consideration by others" was an interesting different angle.

I think it's often implicit, or cued, but by being conscious of the fact that you require a specific kind of response -- that, eg, hearing about Atkins for the Nth time in response to your weight-loss woes will in fact drive you into a killing rage -- you can also just signal that explicitly, instead of hoping people pick up on it. :)