# Unsure on how to improve this question

I am unsure on how to improve a question that was put on hold. Specifically, this question. The people that voted to close said that it is off-topic, and "not about mathematics", but I don't see how they could think that. The question is about understanding mathematical concepts and theorems, the first item listed on the page regarding on-topic questions.

It also stated that the question is missing context or other details. I think my thoughts are addressed on the problem in the question in the first paragraph. As for my own attempts at solving the problem, I haven't a clue where to start. Should I include that in the question?

I think that the reason for closure is the reflexive reaction to deal with the $-\frac{1}{12}$ questions with close votes without fully scoping the context. Recently a popular (physics) blog talked about this interpretation of the zeta function, and the site was flooded with lots of bad questions and insistent users suggesting that they could use this "fact" to do things like prove the Riemann hypothesis and that we're all idiots for not seeing their genius.