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While there is a similar question about drawing diagrams, it was not clear to me from that post whether the software aspect of 'how to draw' something is considering being on topic.

While I can plot a lot of things comfortably using the Matplotlib, sometimes I find that Desmos is faster and easier. More relevant to when I would want ask a question on MSE is when I have a feeling that something should be easy and doable in Desmos, but a search engine or documentation don't give a direct or clear enough answer.

Is it appropriate to ask such questions as "How do I plot <thing> in Desmos such that <conditions>?"?

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    $\begingroup$ Questions about math are on topic. But it sounds like your question is not. $\endgroup$
    – GEdgar
    Apr 27, 2020 at 9:28
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    $\begingroup$ I had occasion to contact Demos's developers by email. The response was receptive but suggested a fairly limited resource set and "road map" for new features. Math.SE will hardly be able to better support their users than they can. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Apr 27, 2020 at 14:17

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Short answer: no, it's not on topic.

Longer answer: still no :) Desmos is a tool that helps you with mathematics, but it's not a mathematical concept or object in its own right. Questions regarding it should go to either a dedicated Desmos forum (if there are such), or perhaps you might get a useful answer on stackexchange.com itself.

Should mathematics tools be on topic is another question that could arise from this, but I think it's fairly clear that they shouldn't be. The two major tools for doing mathematics are your brain, and pen-and-paper. While I do think people would happily ask questions like "what pen is best for solving ODEs?" and "what non-prescription drugs would make it easier to understand motivic cohomology?" I think very few people would think they were on-topic here. Questions about Desmos, sadly, fall into this category.

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