# Will this question about understanding what this geometry question mean be on topic here?

https://english.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/13147/will-this-question-be-on-topic-here

So I asked this question on English stack exchange and they said "probably not". So will this question be on topic here?

A line OA of length r starts from its initial position OX and traces an angle AOB=alpha in the anticlockwise direction.It then traces back in the clockwise direction an angle BOC=3 theta (where alpha is greater than 3 theta).L is the foot of the perpendicular form C on OA

I ( yet) don't want help in solving the problem itself but what this gibberish mean. I did try to do it myself.

For example first sentence say "....from its initial position OX...". How can a line start from a line OX shouldn't it be point O instead??

• It seems on-topic to me (definitely moreso than for English SE). I would just include a little more context. For instance, the quoted text itself doesn't contain the full problem, and although you don't want it solved (yet), it would probably be helpful for people interpreting the problem to see the whole problem. Also, it would be good to know where you found this problem, if it had any pictures associated with it, and maybe the topic you're trying learn with this problem, etc. Problems are often very hard to interpret without the proper context! – Theo Bendit May 7 at 4:16
• By the by, I completely agree with you about the "from its initial position $OX$" comment. Note that $X$ is not used anywhere in the problem (or, at least, what you've quoted) after that point. My only (fairly uneducated) guess would be that $O$ is the origin, and $X$ is a point in the positive $x$-direction (e.g. $(1, 0)$). – Theo Bendit May 7 at 4:18