Posting a problem/question on the website from the web (posting a ‘Who Knows’)

This can be done under the "Problem Solving" tab of the platform as shown below;

1. Click on the "Problem Solving" tab of the Home page.
2. Enter your question in the space provided below the title ‘Ask a question’.
3. Select the relevant category (subject area) that relate to the question from this drop down menu.
4. You may add relevant key words.
5. Click on ‘Ask’ to post the question.

Posting a problem/question on the website from a mobile phone (Uganda only)

1. On your mobile phone under the message menu, type in your question/problem and send the message to +256 702 203 938.  For instance, you could type and send the question: ‘In how many countries does AFAAS currently work?’
2. You will receive a notification on your mobile phone bearing the amount deducted (for sending the SMS).
3. You will then receive 2 other SMS notifications from AFAAS team on your mobile phone. As an illustration, the first would read as follows: ‘Message received thank you: The AFAAS Network’. Your confirmation code is: 3064. Please confirm your mobile number at https://afaas-network.innodev.org/.
4. Once your question has been reviewed and posted on the platform, it will be displayed, along with the SMS Problem ID. You will then receive 2 SMS. The first will read ‘Your question has been posted on the AFAAS Network- the hashtag is #10rf- answers will follow. The second SMS will read ‘For more features we can register you on the AFAAS Network website. If you would like to register, reply with your name and email address’.
5. Once you have submitted your name and email address, you will receive an SMS ,’Thank you for your information. A user account will be created for you shortly, and you’ll be sent instructions’.
6. Your question will be assigned to an ‘Answerer’ by the Virtual Platform Administrator. The first 5 responses will be sent to your mobile phone.

How do I respond to a problem posted on the website?

1. Click on the problem that you would like to respond to from the list of problems in the ‘Problem Solving’ webpage.
2. Enter your response in the space provided in the page that follows and click on ‘Save’.

How do I respond to a problem posted on the platform using a mobile phone?

1. Use the SMS Problem ID to send a response from your mobile phone. Note: Each question sent to the platform by SMS is assigned its own SMS Problem ID made up of 5 characters.
2. Follow the following steps. On your mobile phone under the message menu:

• Enter the ‘SMS Problem ID’, leave a space and enter your response.
• Send the SMS to your local country number e.g. for Uganda send to +256 702 203 938.

How do I respond to a question to which I have been assigned?

A problem posted on the website can be assigned by an AFAAS administrator to a member who is believed to possess some knowledge on the subject. If you are assigned a problem, you will receive an email notifying you of this and will be offered a link to the respective problem. Once you click on the link, you will be redirected to the page bearing the problem and you can respond to it as shown in the previous steps (on how to respond to a question via web and/or SMS).

How do I indicate interest in knowing the solution to a posted problem?

You can express an interest in discovering solutions to problems that have been posted on the platform by requesting to receive email and SMS notifications of the solutions, as they are posted.

1. Click on ‘Follow by SMS’ for SMS notifications and/or ‘Follow by Email’ for email notifications under the ‘I want to know too’ tab.

Once you have clicked on either button, you will be notified and updates will be sent to you.

How do I request to stop receiving email and SMS notifications?

Click on ‘Unfollow by SMS’ and/or ‘Unfollow by email’ under the tab 'I want to know Too' to unsubscribe from these notifications.