46
$\begingroup$

The purpose of this thread is to help focus the attention of the community on posts that may require reopen and undeletion votes. A request should be posted as an answer below (one request per answer).

Some guidelines:

  • Please be polite, and respect the many different viewpoints in our diverse community. This goes for the person making the request as well as those commenting on it.

  • There is a reopen queue. Please wait until a post has gone through this queue, before posting here. Notice that the first edit after the question is closed pushes the question into the reopen review queue if the edit is done within 5 days of closure, and so does a reopen vote. (If the review has already been finished, it is shown on the timeline of the question.) When in doubt, wait 24 hours after the last substantive action.

  • To inform readers of the current (and past) states of the targeted post, please add the information Reopened or Undeleted at the start once the request has resulted in some action. (If the action is undone, add this too, like Reopened, Reclosed.)

  • Do not only post a request, like "request reopening of link". Instead, make a case for your concern. Yet keep in mind that it can be easier to get your request handled if you try to frame it in a way that takes the feedback the post received into account positively rather then seeking confrontation. Also, try to improve the post before posting here.

  • In case of "small" requests, like one missing vote, it can make sense to ask in chat instead of posting here. The room CURED is a reasonable place for such requests. The same guidelines apply there.

  • If you are involved in the thread which you post about (e.g., you asked the question or you answered it), please disclose this.

Earlier versions of this thread that served as a model:

$\endgroup$
1
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I edited the post inspired by a concern expressed in a comment. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Jul 19, 2020 at 23:49

189 Answers 189

Reset to default
1
2 3 4 5
…
7
11
$\begingroup$

Reopened

This is on the chopping block again: Is zero a prime number? The question was the subject of this meta discussion: How to prevent the loss of excellent answers to poor questions. which resulted in reopening.

(Disclosure, I have a solution on the question. I feel the question and solutions are worth fighting for, in this case.)

The reason this time for closure is "too broad", but it is far from obvious that this objection is valid. The OP asks three complete and answerable questions, two of which have answers elsewhere on the site. The remaining question became the focus of some of the answers, and there does not appear to duplicate with comparable content.

So for all intents and purposes, there is a single, clear question that seems rather likely for a layperson to ask, and there are good answers. There is nothing about the breadth of the question which inhibits solutions, as can be seen.

Furthermore, on the holistic side, after so many upvotes on the question and its solutions, and approaching now 30000 views, it seems that the post IS manifestly useful. So, I request your votes to re-open this.

$\endgroup$
9
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I agree that this rather should not be closed, especially after the improvement of the post. (Yes, the question still has some shortcomings, but I feel it is "good enough".) I tangentially got involved last time; but stopped short of taking action. I reopened it now. (This is less of a so-called unilateral action as it was 'nearly' reopened two weeks ago. ) $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 17:42
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @quid Thank you for your attention to this! $\endgroup$
    – rschwieb
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 18:28
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @quid I'm curious: my understanding was that closed questions were still viewable and not eligible for automatic deletion (assuming that the question is upvoted and has upvoted answers). Why is it inappropriate to close the question and leave a message to the effect of "This question has been preserved because of a good answer. It is never-the-less not a high quality question." For example, the lock message on this question. $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 19:04
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @XanderHenderson 'Why is it inappropriate to close the question and leave a message to the effect of "This question has been preserved because of a good answer. It is never-the-less not a high quality question.' Why do you use the indicative here? No one did that, as far as I know. In any case not recently. The question was reopened after a substantive edit, and then reclosed without comment, as 'too broad'. It also had a delete vote. Maybe more to the point, I would not consider it as inappropriate. But frankly given the edit I don't consider the question as all that bad. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 20:57
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Sure, it is a bit of a laundry list, and the last question is a bit strange, but in it's naive way even this seems like a genuine question. But it is also not unreasonably broad. Would it be asked now, I'd recommend to split it up, maybe. But this is not easy to fix now, and maybe not that important either. Maybe the combination of question even can be seen as hinting at the level at which the questions is asked. To only ask "is zero a number" might be ill-posed or underdefined, but in context I think it works. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 21:04
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Then there is also a community-aspect. Somebody actually put some non-trivial effort into improving this question, and the result is not that bad. If even this is not enough, at some point the line of argument that users should improve post they care about loses credibility, which leads to less improvements. @XanderHenderson $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 21:10
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @quid I apologize---my original comment was poorly phrased, and likely not really related to this reopen request. A better phrasing might have been "In cases where there are really good answers to questions of marginal merit, (1) don't those answers automatically get preserved even if the question is closed? and (2) can such answers be protected? Since you seemed kind of ambivalent with respect to reopening (which I see now was an over-interpretation on my part), I was asking about an alternative. $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 23:38
  • $\begingroup$ In any event, thank you for the feedback. I honestly do value it. :) $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Commented Jul 16, 2018 at 23:39
  • $\begingroup$ For the record, I stand by my thoughts from 2 years ago: the question is not a good exemplar for the site. It is too broad (it asks three distinct questions, each of which might merit a quality answer), but there are good answers which I think should be preserved. I am still in favor of closing the question (to send the message that it isn't really up to snuff), but locking it so that it isn't (and cannot be) deleted. $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 17:29
10
$\begingroup$

Reopened, Put on hold, deleted, undeleted, deleted, re-undeleted, re-deleted, undeleted again, deleted again, locked, unlocked and reopened

Please consider reopening What digits is the "number" $\infty$ composed of?. This question was closed as "not about mathematics". Obviously, this question is based on some misconceptions of what infinity is, but they are perfectly natural misconceptions for a layman and that hardly makes the question "not about mathematics". The question has a nice answer which clarifies the misconceptions and is a valuable addition to the site.

$\endgroup$
7
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I agree. Voted to reopen. $\endgroup$
    – user279515
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 8:28
  • 7
    $\begingroup$ I don't think having that question around helps us in building a useful math Wiki, which is what the founder of the site had in mind. $\endgroup$
    – Jyrki Lahtonen
    Commented Nov 22, 2018 at 10:26
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Questions like this have really interesting and revealing answers. I'm thinking about padic numbers and infinitely long strings of digits depending on the base, but I feel like I'm denied my reopen vote by the vigilantes who co-ordinate their fast deletion vote, so minimally many users have the power to reinstate it. $\endgroup$
    – Robert Frost
    Commented Dec 1, 2018 at 21:39
  • 9
    $\begingroup$ I don't think the question is particularly bad, and not worth deleting. It addresses some common, layman misconceptions, and I don't think that is such a bad thing. (Maths suffers from a poor understanding at all levels of society - let us do what we can to help!) Also, the question is 4 years old. I favour keeping open older questions rather than judging them by todays standards. $\endgroup$
    – user1729
    Commented Jan 30, 2019 at 19:58
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ The question is currently undeleted but closed. The questioner seems aware that "infinity" might not actually be a number in the usual sense, but so far there's no answer explicitly saying how it differs from numbers. I would like it reopened to allow someone to post one. $\endgroup$
    – timtfj
    Commented Feb 5, 2019 at 12:32
  • $\begingroup$ @timtfj: It is deleted again. Some discussion regarding the recent deletion can be found in the CRUDE chatroom. $\endgroup$
    – user170039
    Commented Feb 5, 2019 at 15:32
  • 9
    $\begingroup$ @JyrkiLahtonen I disagree that the question is without use. I think a plausible-yet-naïve-question like this one has a lot of utility to resolve a misconception that others are probably going to have. I can't say I like this particular question, but I can say that I think it's dumb in this case to work so hard to delete it. (It seems to me that a useful wiki would want mechanisms to resolve misconceptions, anyway. Full disclosure: I don't really buy into math.se-as-a-wiki.) $\endgroup$
    – rschwieb
    Commented Feb 6, 2019 at 14:57
8
$\begingroup$

Closed, re-opened

Solve for $x^2 + 7x +1 = 3n(x^2 + x +1), n \in \Bbb{Z}$ My this question was put on hold as off-topic because it lacks context. It also gives a link to how I can add context. The link gave the following points

  1. Include your work My response - I answered that question which I asked. I got a few hints from the comments which helped me. Should I give a summary of my solution it the question?
  2. Motivation for question-
    My response - I said in the details of the question that the original problem was a trigonometric equation which I solved but was stuck there.
  3. Where did the problem come from? My response- it came from a book which is suppose to help me in my College entrance exam. But in this context it is really irrelevant and rather obvious.
  4. give your background My response- I did give my background. I am a high school student who is self studying for college entrance exam.
  5. reference My response- None exist.

I am not critising the one(many) who put my question on hold because nobody have to answer my question as this site is run by volunteers. I am just curious. How can I improve my question?

$\endgroup$
8
$\begingroup$

Closed, re-opened

Please consider reopening What is wrong with this solution of find the least value of $ \sec^6 x +\csc^6 x + \sec^6 x\csc^6 x$.

  • This question is closed as a duplicate of this previous question by the same OP: Find the least value of $ \sec^6 x +\csc^6 x + \sec^6 x\csc^6 x$ but the two questions are different. The closed question asks why a particular method of solution does not work, which is very different from the duplicate target.

  • Perhaps relevant: the OP has also posted this question on Meta asking about the site policies on marking posts as duplicates (in general, and not pertaining to the reopening of this specific post).

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Also, OP has indicated that he/she no longer cares about the question, and in particular is not seeking reopening. $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Commented Apr 19, 2019 at 22:34
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ @GerryMyerson True, but the post itself belongs to the community and I feel it is worth reopening, hence the request. $\endgroup$
    – user279515
    Commented Apr 20, 2019 at 0:53
7
$\begingroup$

Reopened

I edited the question Variable in upper bound of sum when it had 4 votes to close, and I also posted a rather detailed answer (which the OP accepted). It got "put on hold as unclear what you're asking" even though I think it's now quite clear and on-topic. Can the question be re-opened?

$\endgroup$
7
$\begingroup$

Reopened

This meta question has been closed as a duplicate:

Can we please STOP closing and deleting old posts with answers?

However, it is not a duplicate. The older question is about deleting questions with answers, which is a more general question. (Indeed, it starts with the phrase "A few deays ago I posted an answer...") The newer question is about a special case, and which deserves a separate discussion. In particular, the newer question states [emphasis not mine!]:

Recently...quite a few old questions with good answers are being closed and deleted...I do not see any merit for closing such old questions: who the heck do we really expect to come back and "provide additional context" for a question that was asked two or even six years ago?

Of course, you may believe that this question is not worthy of a separate discussion. That's fine, but I believe the correct way of expressing this opinion is the answer the question saying so, and linking back to the older question.

$\endgroup$
5
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Well, it would help if the poster(s) of new meta discussions would take earlier ones into account more systematically. But, yeah, I'll reopen it. If people want to discuss again, that's fine to a point. . $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Apr 29, 2019 at 8:29
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @quid My point is that the word again is not relevant. Its an essentially new discussion, not covered in the older post. Do you not agree? (It would be nice to clarify the reopening reason first, for posterity's sake.) $\endgroup$
    – user1729
    Commented Apr 29, 2019 at 8:38
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Yes, I'll leave a comment. The issue with these things is that even if the question is technically different, the discussion is often not focused enough. I know that you noted that with the other answer there. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Apr 29, 2019 at 8:46
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @quid Thanks. Incidentally, is it possible to delete the other answer, the one I commented on? (Or does that take moderation too far?! I flagged it as "not an answer" a wee while ago.) $\endgroup$
    – user1729
    Commented Apr 29, 2019 at 8:52
  • $\begingroup$ Well, depends who you ask. I prefer not to delete it, but you could request it in aa comment. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented Apr 29, 2019 at 8:55
6
$\begingroup$

Reopened

The question A Proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic was rightfully quickly closed as unclear, but the asker has since edited to clarify what they meant and what specific difficulty they had adapting the standard proofs to get what they want. It seems to me to be a perfectly reasonable question which is mostly clear (though a constraint like "not using integers or rational numbers" is inevitably going to be a little slippery).

$\endgroup$
6
$\begingroup$

Reopened

I would like to see the question "What is $\nabla X$ in Riemannian geometry?" re-opened. (I see from the timeline that the reopen queue has finished. In hindsight, I should have edited the title when I made the reopen vote.)

It appears it was marked as a duplicate of Gradient of a vector field?, seemingly because the short version of the question (and the old title, "What is $\nabla X$?") is very similar. But I would say that the rest of the question and the context (including tags) make it a question that necessitates an answer that would be inappropriate on the other question. "Gradient of a vector field?" has a tag and context of multivariable calculus, not Riemannian geometry.

Since "What is $\nabla X$ in Riemannian geometry?" doesn't yet have an accepted answer, I would like it re-opened so others can contribute.

$\endgroup$
6
$\begingroup$

Reopened

The OP added an attempt to Determine the number of ordered triple $(x, y, z)$ of integer numbers (negatives and positives) satisfying $|x| + |y| + |z| \le 6$ in a comment to an answer while there was still only one close vote. I have moved that attempt to the question. I think that the question now meets the criteria for context.

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Doesn't the question now contain a complete solution to the problem? which makes it a pretty peculiar question? $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Commented Mar 28, 2019 at 21:53
  • $\begingroup$ It gives context, which was why the question was closed. It doesn't really matter to me since I've already answered the question. Questions are not closed when the OP answers them, so I thought this one shouln't be closed for lack of context. Other answers might provide different insights. $\endgroup$
    – robjohn Mod
    Commented Mar 28, 2019 at 23:29
6
$\begingroup$

This answer from 7 months ago was apparently deleted by Community as spam or offensive yesterday. I don't see how it could be offensive, and such an answer to a question tagged is surely not spam. Why would someone flag this answer?

And in any case, it's certainly not a great example for a review audit...

$\endgroup$
8
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I failed a similar review audit today... $\endgroup$
    – YuiTo Cheng
    Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:16
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Same answerer, posted the day after, deleted more or less at the same time with a link to the same site and in both cases the post is identical to the linked review... It's weirder than I thought. $\endgroup$
    – Arnaud D.
    Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:23
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I think only moderators can undelete a post deleted by Community, right? (it's even locked in this case) $\endgroup$
    – YuiTo Cheng
    Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:28
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ According to this answer and the linked Meta answer, this is indeed the case for posts deleted as spam (in fact they are locked) but not the others. $\endgroup$
    – Arnaud D.
    Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:36
  • $\begingroup$ Are spam flags handled by Community? $\endgroup$
    – YuiTo Cheng
    Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 16:56
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Again?! (notice the answerer's account has been deleted, which still exists yesterday) $\endgroup$
    – YuiTo Cheng
    Commented Apr 26, 2019 at 2:08
  • $\begingroup$ There is also this one, though I don't know if it has been used as an audit. The same user also has a deleted answer on MO apparently, though I don't have the rep to see it. I understand the deletions a bit more now... $\endgroup$
    – Arnaud D.
    Commented Apr 26, 2019 at 5:49
  • $\begingroup$ I've added a post about these audits in this thread. $\endgroup$
    – Arnaud D.
    Commented Apr 26, 2019 at 6:01
6
$\begingroup$

Undeleted, reopened, closed, reopened

Minimum Elementary row/column transformations to find Inverse of given Matric

This question was definitely not up to site standards, but it had a couple of really cool answers, one that I had awarded a bounty to. I think it's worth undeleting for the answers alone.

$\endgroup$
9
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ If the question is "definitely not up to site standards," then it really shouldn't be on the site. If you could edit it to bring its quality up, then that would be nice... but as it stands, I really oppose the undeletion or reopening of this. $\endgroup$
    – user296602
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 4:02
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @T.Bongers That's why it probably should be closed, so it can be improved by the asker. I could edit it, but I don't want to hijack the asker's question any more than I have. I think it should not be deleted because it has illicited some interesting, unduplicated mathematical content that is, IMHO, worthy of the bounty awarded. $\endgroup$
    – Theo Bendit
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 4:06
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ The asker had 28 days to improve the question before its closure, and another 5 before its deletion - they chose not to. Do you expect that to change if the question is undeleted? $\endgroup$
    – user296602
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 4:46
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @T.Bongers no obviously no, Theo is not expecting the question to be improved but to show to the rest of the community the couple of really cool answers the 'bad' question has. $\endgroup$
    – user486983
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 4:49
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @T.Bongers I don't, no. I don't have any reasonable expectation the question to ever be re-opened. But in the interest of generating and collecting interesting mathematical content, I think it's worth keeping the question around. Are you saying I should edit it, replacing the asker's wording with my own, because the asker has abandoned it? $\endgroup$
    – Theo Bendit
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 4:55
  • $\begingroup$ My opinion, Theo, is that if you can edit the question to bring it to where it can be undeleted, reopened, and stay open, then more power to you. $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 7:14
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Generally, it's not clear that the asker abandoned it. Anyway what I'd propose is that yes you edit it to something more readily comprehensible and detailed. I don't think there is a need to overdo this. For example, spell out the method the asker refers to, and rewrite the question so that no words are missing. Leave a friendly comment to OP saying that you found the question interesting and therefor fleshed it out a bit. If there is some problem with this approach, you can always ask your own version of the question and then ask for a merge, which would transfer the answers. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 13:05
  • $\begingroup$ @quid I might do the latter. I hijacked the asker's question to have a subtly different focus anyway. Once I've asked it, do I just flag a moderator's attention and request a merge? $\endgroup$
    – Theo Bendit
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 13:08
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Yes, a flag for mods is the way to go. However it'd be good to wait until the discussion has settled as once we merged it's near impossible to go back. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 13:09
6
$\begingroup$

Undeleted

Requesting an undelete for this question. I'm having trouble seeing why the question was deleted, and the asker did so after I provided an answer, which seems like a possible abuse of the Q-A system. The question itself was well-written and motivated, with clear effort put in, and received three upvotes. Further, I didn't come across any duplicate questions in math.se, though I may have overlooked them.

Proposition 5.4.4. in Tao

$\endgroup$
1
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ This and this might be (partial) duplicates, but that doesn't warrant a deletion. Voted to undelete. $\endgroup$
    – Arnaud D.
    Commented Jun 12, 2019 at 6:27
6
$\begingroup$

Undeleted

How many cycles are there in graph with $n$ nodes, where each node is adjacent to the next and all nodes are adjacent to a node in the middle?

The OP asked a question and made a genuine attempt to answer the question and explained their thought process. I wrote a detailed answer to help correct their mistake and demonstrate the pattern that leads to the final answer. The OP thanked me in a comment and then deleted the question. I feel that there is no reason this question should be deleted, since the question quality and answer quality are at the appropriate level. Can this be undeleted?

$\endgroup$
2
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Usually in this thread only the change of state is included (such as undeleted, reopened - and maybe later deleted again, reclosed, etc.) - and not the state in which the post was at the time of the request. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Commented Apr 15, 2020 at 7:42
  • $\begingroup$ @MartinSleziak Thanks for the clarification, sorry about that $\endgroup$
    – angryavian
    Commented Apr 15, 2020 at 17:02
5
$\begingroup$

Reopened

This question I asked was closed for lacking context. After context was added, the hold was never lifted, and eventually was closed.

$X,Y$ not homeomorphic if $X\backslash x$ is disconnected for all $x\in X$ but $Y\backslash y$ is connected for some $y\in Y$

$\endgroup$
5
$\begingroup$

Reopened, then closed as off topic, deleted

This question (does the existence of an lcm in a commutative ring imply the existence of the gcd of the two elements) was closed as a duplicate, pointing to this one (which shows inter alia that the existence of an lcm in a domain implies the existence of a gcd). In fact, I had done the same thing yesterday.

However, this is not a real duplicate. The question here is about rings, whereas the alleged duplicate is about domains. The proof there does not easily translate: for example, the first step of the proof in the question pointed to is to take $m=\mathrm{lcm}(a,b)$, let $s$ be such that $ms=ab$, write $m=ar$ and $m=bt$, and then claim that $s=\gcd(a,b)$. The first step is to show $s$ divides $a$, which it does by showing that $(ab/m)*(m/b)=a$. This is equivalent to saying that $st=a$; but I do not see how to conclude this in a ring (in a domain, multiplying through by $b$ and then cancelling will do it, but how do you do it here?).

As I had already closed it, and then re-opened, I can no longer vote to re-open on the page.

$\endgroup$
2
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Were it me, I would have voted to close the question for lack of context. There is zero context. Where did the question come from? What is the background of the asker? Why should anyone care about that question. It really isn't a very good question, and it probably should be closed. $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Commented Sep 4, 2018 at 3:48
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ @XanderHenderson: That's valid, but the problem right now is that it points to a question claiming that it provides an answer when it does not. $\endgroup$
    – Arturo Magidin
    Commented Sep 4, 2018 at 3:53
5
$\begingroup$

Reopened, closed, reopened

I just came across this question: Derivative of Square Root Visual after failing a reopen review audit and I'm wondering why it's still closed: unclear what you're asking. I agree that the MathJax formatting isn't the best, but it is still readable.

The OP has actually shown what they've tried, and what they didn't get, so the reason for closure is beyond my understanding. I thus request to reopen the question.

I have now edited the question to make it look neater.

$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ Well it is definitely unclear what they are asking... One has to take roughly 10 mins to watch the youtube videos to see what they are trying to say (watching parts of 2:25 and 12:48 don't quite work, at least to me). $\endgroup$
    – user99914
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 10:32
  • $\begingroup$ @JohnMa I think they meant 3:25, as it looks much more relevant? $\endgroup$
    – TheSimpliFire Mod
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 10:43
  • $\begingroup$ They start the $x^2$ example at 2:35, and then to power rule (up to 10:30). Then they switch to $1/x$ (it seems this is the more relevant one). $\endgroup$
    – user99914
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 10:50
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Thanks for the update @Brahadeesh. It's now reopened. $\endgroup$
    – TheSimpliFire Mod
    Commented Apr 13, 2019 at 9:33
5
$\begingroup$

Closed, deleted, undeleted, deleted, undeleted, deleted, undeleted, reopened, closed, deleted, undeleted, deleted, undeleted, deleted, undeleted, reopened

This is being deleted repeatedly by the same people even though it has a great answer. There are several votes to reopen. I think it should be reopened because of the answer.

Cevians $AD$, $BE$, $CF$ are concurrent, as are cevians $DP$, $EQ$, $FR$; show that $AP$, $BQ$, $CR$ are concurrent

$\endgroup$
1
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ By my standards the Question has sufficient context in respect of the OP's remark (in the original body of the Question) that we should try to apply Ceva's Theorem. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented Jan 12, 2019 at 19:40
5
$\begingroup$

Undeleted, redeleted，re-undeleted and locked (but for how long?)

About the Continuum Hypothesis asks a reasonable question that has been answered many times before. It was properly closed as a duplicate.

But it was then deleted, even though it had six upvoted answers with scores from 3 to 13. I think this was unnecessary and counterproductive.

I'd like to see it undeleted.

$\endgroup$
6
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ "I think this was unnecessary and counterproductive." I don't see why it was counterproductive. Could you please elaborate? What I see is that there is quite questionable content in the question-post and the thread does not add anything that is not on the site elsewhere. Thus it is good that it is deleted. $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 20:11
  • $\begingroup$ @quid is it that because are we running out of space in the site? :P $\endgroup$
    – user486983
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 23:02
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @Isa in a sense of memory, of course not, and deletion does not change anything. In the sense of giving space to good content over not so good one, in a way yes. We should get rid of not so good stuff so that better stuff gets more visibility. For the specific questions, there are just odd things in the question: "OK found out about Aleph numbers - so it isn't based on reality, but on some imaginary stuff. That's fine by me, my reality says integers < rational < real, but to each their own ..." Why should we disseminate this? $\endgroup$
    – quid
    Commented May 18, 2019 at 1:12
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @quid: Exactly, and that's not the only comment of this cranky sort by the asker, slashmais, who for example commented on hdhondt's answer saying "I think however that there is a major flaw in this reasoning and that I can demonstrate why the flaw occurs as well as how to resolve it, but it would be inappropriate for this site (elicit a discussion) - I would appreciate if you (or anyone else) can point me to a forum meant for such discussion.". $\endgroup$
    – user21820
    Commented May 19, 2019 at 10:09
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I think the productive way forward is for any answerer, who thinks that his/her answer hasn't been expressed clearly enough on the (very excellent) earlier question by Steve314, to add an answer to that thread instead. $\endgroup$
    – user21820
    Commented May 19, 2019 at 10:10
  • 7
    $\begingroup$ In my opinion, the answer of mdp to the deleted question is so pedagogically excellent - better than any answer I've read so far on the other duplicates - that I can't understand the argument that its removal is good for the site. Yes, mdp (if she/he sees this) could cut-and past her/his answer to one of the other questions, but it would lose all its up votes, and therefore its visibility. Future readers would therefore be less likely to benefit from it. $\endgroup$
    – Will Orrick
    Commented May 19, 2019 at 15:58
5
$\begingroup$

Undeleted, and closed as off-topic, re-deleted, undeleted (after editing)

Please consider undeleting the following post: What is the area of the shaded region.

Considering the high quality of several answers to the question, I do not think we should delete the post.

$\endgroup$
5
$\begingroup$

Undeleted, Reopened.

Please consider undeleting and reopening this question which is a natural, well-written question on solid geometry that received a good answer. It's not clear to me why anyone thought it needed to be closed, let alone deleted.

$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ So this question was closed and then deleted? Why can't I see the history of the events? All I see is the question asked by Matthew without edits at all. $\endgroup$
    – user486983
    Commented Feb 25, 2020 at 17:59
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @user486983 Since that post was never edited there doesn't appear a similar thing to click on, like "edited Feb 30 at 12:12", but you can see it by clicking on that clock bellow the upvote/downvote button, or alternatively here: math.stackexchange.com/posts/3543155/revisions (replace timeline with revisions to arrive to this link). $\endgroup$
    – Zacky
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 19:36
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ It's quite sad that no one who voted to delete/close bothered to give OP lend op a hand after it was clearly shown the desire to cooperate in the comments and decided it's better to silently get rid of that post. That message "needs details or clarity" is also quite handwavy(I might guess that those who voted to close, wanted to see more context and not that they considered it unclear, but well it's quite too late now). $\endgroup$
    – Zacky
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 19:45
  • $\begingroup$ @Zacky Thanks. I've always thought that the closed, deleted, etc. counted also as edits on the question, but it turns out nop $\endgroup$
    – user486983
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 18:37
5
$\begingroup$

Reopened

The question Two definitions of tensor product: when are they equivalent was closed as a duplicate of understanding the "tensor product of vector spaces". While both questions ask for a comparison of the standard quotient-of-free-vector-space definition with some alternative definition, the alternative definitions in the two questions are not the same. Moreover, the two questions need different answers: the answer to the first is that, as suspected by the OP, the two definitions are equivalent only in the case of finite-dimensional vector spaces, while the answer to the second is that the two definitions are equivalent, even, it happens, in the infinite-dimensional case. (The main concern of the second question, however, is the "how" of equivalence rather than the fact of equivalence).

Prior to being closed, the first question had received a nice answer, but the poster, fearing the question might be deleted, moved the answer to the second question, where it reads as a bit of a non sequitur, its purpose possibly mysterious to some readers. I'm hoping that if the question gets reopened, the answerer (who recently added a disclaimer to the post) might feel encouraged to move the answer back to the post for which it was intended.

The first question is a pretty fundamental question about the different ways tensor products are defined in various strands of the mathematics literature, and seems to me like a question we ought to have on the site along with some good answers. The second question is concerned with clearing up some misunderstandings about Timothy Gowers' article, How to lose your fear of tensor products, and also seems a valuable question. But clearing up misunderstandings is better done by not muddying the waters with answers to a distinct question that happens to be just similar enough to make things confusing.

$\endgroup$
4
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Reopened, but the "Possible duplicate" banner is still there. It doesn't disappear automatically? Someone can/should edit it out? $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Commented Apr 19, 2020 at 7:06
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @GerryMyerson I edited the banner out. It seems to be a known bug, occurring when reopening questions that were closed as duplicate when the UI was very different: meta.stackexchange.com/q/193951/313042 $\endgroup$
    – user279515
    Commented Apr 19, 2020 at 9:41
  • $\begingroup$ @Brahadeesh so they've known about it since 2013, and not fixed it? $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Commented Apr 19, 2020 at 10:04
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @GerryMyerson Yeah :P There are a lot of bugs that are not feasible for the devs to spend time on, apparently. That's what I gather from browsing Meta SE. $\endgroup$
    – user279515
    Commented Apr 19, 2020 at 10:07
5
$\begingroup$

Reopened

Annuity immediate and present value

I disagree with the reason for closure. There is clear context in the form of a nearly complete (but ultimately incorrect) attempt to answer the question. The only possible reason I can think of that it might have been flagged for closure is that those who voted to close are unaware of the terminology used in financial and actuarial mathematics. But this is not a valid reason for closure, because a lack of familiarity with the subject material does not mean it requires explanation. A student who does not know calculus should not expect to see a question about integration to explain what an integral is.

$\endgroup$
4
$\begingroup$

Undeleted

As per quid's advice, I would like to request that Number of real roots of an iterated quadratic: $x^2-3/2$ be undeleted. The question was self-deleted within a few minutes of my posting an answer which claimed that the conjecture of the question was false, so the reason for the deletion appears to be embarrassment. However, the question itself was an interesting one, as evidenced by more than 10 upvotes and 7 stars.

$\endgroup$
4
$\begingroup$

Reopened

Please reopen this this question. One user @lulu stated the question was clear but it is still closed.

If the question is unclear, state why?

$\endgroup$
4
$\begingroup$

Reopened

I would like to see this question opened:

Intersection of a nested sequence of subgroups

The OP has provided all the context requested in the comments. Also, it is an interesting and relatively hard question.

$\endgroup$
4
$\begingroup$

Undeleted, Redeleted,undeleted, Reopened

This interesting question on Euler's constant was closed then deleted:

Approximating Euler's constant

Please vote to reopen and to undelete. The question got two wonderful answers by @robjohn and @Gary.Now it's completely hidden. And some members can't benefit from the nice answers posted there.

Edit1: Thanks a lot for you help. The question is now undeleted and accessible to all. But we still need two votes to reopen the question.

$\endgroup$
7
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ Even though I think the post is worth keeping undeleted as it contains useful content, I think it's rightfully closed as it lacks context and I don't understand why you want it reopened (in the actual state). $\endgroup$
    – Zacky
    Commented Feb 21, 2020 at 22:39
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Zacky these questions get very nice answers that's why I think it should be left open. it's because it was open that RobJohn and Gary could answer the question. But my first goal was to undelete the question so it remains accessible to member with low reputation. $\endgroup$
    – user577215664
    Commented Feb 21, 2020 at 22:46
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ This chatroom, GENTLE, might also fit well for your goal in the future too. $\endgroup$
    – Zacky
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 19:58
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Zacky Thanks a loot. Will look there. $\endgroup$
    – user577215664
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 20:00
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ A +10 answer and a +13 answer, deleted. Vandals. @LostInSpace I hope you can find your way back here, to vote to undelete. $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Commented Mar 4, 2020 at 22:47
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ It was a nice question with great answers. @GerryMyerson . it's undeleted Gerry $\endgroup$
    – user577215664
    Commented Mar 4, 2020 at 22:49
  • $\begingroup$ @GerryMyersonYes thank you a vote for undeleting was missing yesterday so I voted and the question is now reopened. Thanks to all. $\endgroup$
    – user577215664
    Commented Mar 5, 2020 at 23:28
4
$\begingroup$

Undeleted, locked by a moderator, deleted by a moderator.

Please consider undeleting this post: Does the law of cosines contradict Pythagoras's theorem?

It has been recently mentioned by Martin Sleziak in the CRUDE chat room and a user by GENTLE.

As Henning Makholm's comment under the deleted post mentioned, "... the asker is wrong, but he's presenting his wrongness clearly in a way that makes it possible to pinpoint how he's wrong, and he's asking about what he's missing. That's exactly what asking questions is for!"

$\endgroup$
2
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ It was closed as a duplicate. Do any of the answers contribute anything that's not in the answers at the duplicated question? (Not a rhetorical question – I'm just not interested enough to check for myself.) If there's nothing here that isn't already elsewhere, why undelete? $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Commented Nov 21, 2019 at 4:31
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @GerryMyerson The closure as a duplicate could be fine, even if the other question is really poor as content. But the deletion is really not motivated for a question with more than 8k views and many upvotes. $\endgroup$
    – user
    Commented Nov 21, 2019 at 14:59
4
$\begingroup$

Reopened, Closed again, Deleted.

A first-time poster asked about 27 and 37 as repeating decimals. I found the question perfectly clear and on-topic and wrote an answer.

None of the five people who voted to close it as needing “details or clarity” bothered to leave a comment to say what they thought was unclear.

$\endgroup$
3
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I'd like to add that I think it's shameful that a first-time poster was treated with such discourtesy. $\endgroup$
    – MJD
    Commented May 30, 2020 at 12:50
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I did not remark that close votes must be accompanied by comments. $\endgroup$
    – MJD
    Commented May 30, 2020 at 13:30
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ The phenomenon is certainly an interesting one to ask for an explanation of...but the asker didn't ask for an explanation. They just asked for a "name for this", and it is quite arguably unclear what they mean by that. There is definitely a good question to be had here (and which you answered), but it's not clear to me that it was asked. $\endgroup$
    – Eric Wofsey
    Commented May 31, 2020 at 1:34
3
$\begingroup$

Reopened, then closed as duplicate.

It would be useful if this question can be reopened, so that it can be closed as a duplicate (see comments to post for more details).

$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I am not sure there is much benefit in re-opening questions just to re-close them with alternative close reasons. This particular post really should be expanded significantly, if it is to be saved. Re-opening and re-closing will still probably lead to deletion. In particular, because it is a self-answered post, we can expect much higher standards than a post where the OP genuinely has a question. $\endgroup$
    – Carl Mummert
    Commented Oct 28, 2018 at 1:07
3
$\begingroup$

Undeleted, then deleted again, then undeleted again, then reopened, then closed again, then reopened again

Please undelete Compare $\arcsin (1)$ and $\tan (1)$ because OP has made an observation $\sin(\tan1)\leq1$ in order to compare the two quantities in the question title. This question has

  • 4 net upvotes;
  • 3 $\star$;
  • 2 (ex)-moderators' answers; and
  • 1 Undelete vote remaining to save this question.
$\endgroup$
1
2 3 4 5
…
7

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .