I am a reinsurance analyst. No-one knows what that is, including me.

I spend most of my time working with Excel (and Access) and have learned VB/VBA by trial and error as an incidental part of my job. At my last place of employment I was also the entire IT department serving 25+ users, so I now have a broad range of ignorance.

I discovered EE due to the number of technical Google searches which pointed here and, unlike many internet forums (fora?), it seems to be a friendly, helpful place so I thought I would stick around! I am also a Moderator for certain forums on Woody's Lounge - www.wopr.com/Lounge - so try and divide my spare time between the two, when my wife allows! No kids - yet! :-)

I am currently a Microsoft MVP - thanks to Brad and Kevin.

I can be contacted on rorya at operamail dot com or rory dot archibald at gmail dot com - but please note that I can no longer receive or respond to these emails during my work hours. Note also that I am in the UK, therefore my office/home hours may differ from yours! :)
I don't do requests outside EE unless you want to pay me! Emailing me to ask me to look at a question makes me LESS likely to look at it (unless I've already been participating in it).

A few tips for getting answers on EE, based on my observations so far:

1. It helps to explain what your end goal is, as well as the specific issue you are having. There may be a better, simpler and faster way to get where you are trying to go than the path you are currently stuck on. For example, you may be having a problem with a complicated formula;  sometimes, if you explain what you are actually trying to achieve rather than just asking why your syntax doesn't work, an Expert will know of a simpler formula to use, or a better data layout or something else which will make your life easier in the long run.

2. Always test solutions on a *copy* of your work.

3. Check out the other questions while you're waiting for an answer - you might well be the answer to someone else's problem. :)

4. Play nicely with others. Goodwill is key to your getting answers, so if people see you in a bad light (even if it's not directed at them) they are less likely to try and help you.

5. Questions titles like "URGENT!!!" and "HELP!!!" are useless, and often annoying. A meaningful title will help people know if they can help and assist in future searches. *Anything* in all capital letters is irritating (to me, anyway) and I just ignore anything in "text speak" (b cuz i h8 it)

6. The people answering your questions are volunteers who all have other things to do. Explain yourself clearly and answer any additional questions, so nobody wastes time on solutions that don't address your problem. Don't make demands - people will help as and when they can, but quite often have employers/spouses who get first call on their time. ;)

7. I am generally quite friendly - if my answers seem abrupt, it is usually because I am answering quickly in between work tasks. Occasionally though I am just having a bad day, so I apologise in advance!  :)

8. Accepting answers. Once you have a solution, please accept it (or them if you have multiple solutions - you can split points). It saves time for the cleanup volunteers and means there are more solutions in the database for others to find.

9. Last but by no means least, grading. I'm sure you've already read the official grading guidelines (if not, please do), so I will just add that this can be a touchy subject. At some point or other we will all get a bit "caught up" in the pursuit of grades and points ( I know I have) but they're your points and questions, so you should grade as you see fit. Just be aware that people may disagree! :)

10. Remember we answer questions for the fun of it (well, that and the T-shirts) and you won't go far wrong.