How should I ask a question which can be answered with one link?

Question

I wanted to ask the following question on Math SE:

Some time ago I have read a paper in which the author introduces an alternative to the notion of cardinality, which had the properties [...]. Can anyone provide a link to this paper?

(I have omitted details of the question, as they are not relevant)

Searching on Google didn't help me with that. I am basically asking the community to provide me with a single link, and I felt that this is pretty much just asking someone else to do the job that with some effort I could do myself, hoping that someone will have a better idea as to what exactly to search for.

My question is, are these kind of questions allowed on this site? If so, are there any guidelines as to what I should include in my question? (in this case I am thinking about a particular paper, so I can provide multiple details on it) If not, what is some other place that I could ask this question?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Yes, such questions are allowed as long as due diligence has been paid trying to find the reference before posting.

Are there any guidelines as to what I should include in my question?

You have encountered a problem. There is a paper that you've heard of, but cannot find. You've probably googled (or binged, or whatnot) lots of terms and phrases, but you haven't succeeded in finding the paper. When you write your question, you should describe the paper and its content in such a way that when little Timmy Post tries to search for this paper (or related ideas), he finds your question (and hopefully the answer).

Similarly, an answer should not just be a link. It should include the whole paper's name and place of publication, so that even after link-rot the answer remains useful.

Finally, use the reference-request tag.