You bring up an excellent point - and one that is tied directly to the purpose of this site - which is education. We have many knowledgeable posters who are not meteorologists, but they have great insight into meteorological processes. I'll try to clarify for you and others who may be wondering about the same thing.

If you have a question for a particular individual that has posted something, i.e., what did you mean when you said that 'the highest surface winds appear to be located at a considerable distance from the center of the storm?' you should direct that question to the individual that made the post using the PM capability. That individual is probably the one that can give you the best answer.

But if you have a question that concerns a specific storm, i.e., 'with Edouard the highest reported wind speeds seem to be in the Lake Charles area which is quite a distance from the storm center. Why is that?' - you can ask that question directly in the thread that is covering that particular storm.

On the other hand, if you should have a more generic question not associated with any storm, i.e., 'How does the NHC determine the highest surface windspeed when a hurricane or tropical storm makes landfall?' then the Hurricane Ask/Tell Forum is the best place for those questions of a more general nature. Also note that any weather related question can be asked in the Hurricane Ask/Tell Forum. Remember that the primary focus of the site is Atlantic tropical cyclones, so questions about other weather events or processes may not get answered as quickly.

Never feel nervous about asking a question - its how we learn (and that includes all of us). My personal philosophy is that there is no such thing as a stupid question. If you put it in the wrong place, we may move it but we'll never delete it as long as its not inflammatory. Hope this helps.
ED