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The question was reopened. Thank you, MSE!

Yesterday, a moderator suddenly closed my question How can one mathematically compute the security level of a human computable password schema?. I asked this question $20$ days ago and it didn’t receive a single close vote during this period. I strongly believe that my question follows all math.SE guidelines and should be reopened.

The moderator left the following comment:

I am closing this question because (1) I think that it is more appropriately asked elsewhere on the SE network (e.g. at Cryptography), and (2) it has already been multiply cross-posted on the SE network (this kind of cross-posting is very much discouraged).

Let me address these points:

(1) I believe that the OP should be free to post the question on any site they desire as long as it meets the site's guidelines. If one considers it to be more appropriate on another site, that is their individual opinion that I disagree with. So let’s see if the question meets math.SE guidelines. The following is the list of close reasons for questions on math.SE and I explain why they are not applicable in this situation:

  • Duplicate: It's a completely original question.
  • Off-topic (the reason cited for closing): The question is about math. The answer asks for math. Is math out of scope for a math website? In fact, I quote from my question

The only condition is that it should be mathematical in nature.

  • Needs details or clarity: I have provided all relevant details. There is no ambiguity.

  • Needs more focus: The question is about a very specific schema and is well-defined.

  • Opinion-based: The question is mathematical, purely mathematical. There is no subjectivity involved.

(2) Let me explain the timeline of events. After I posted my question $20$ days ago, I added a $200$ reputation bounty on it. After the bounty expired, I still hadn’t received any answers. I hence asked the question on MathOverflow with an explicit reference to the original post. This was within the acceptable site guidelines for cross-posting. I followed up with a $50$ reputation bounty on my MathOverflow question. I still received no answers. I hence posted the question on ComputerScience.SE, once again explicitly referencing the original questions. I was informed by a moderator that this form of cross-posting was disallowed and promptly deleted my post. As it now stands, the question remains only and only on math.SE. Hence, cross-posting is not an acceptable reason for closure.

I voted to reopen my question and received the following vague response:

Original close reason(s) were not resolved

May I ask what needs to be resolved?

I also tried to reach out to the moderation team in the form of flags. This was the comment I left:

The question asked is about a specific schema and seeks a purely mathematical answer (which makes it on-topic). I have spent a lot of time and effort on this question and it has gone through extensive revisions. It is truly heartbreaking to see it closed so suddenly. I have deleted it on all other sites. Further, I would like to offer a 400 bounty. But I cannot do that on another site. IMO, the question is best suited for this site and should be reopened. Please consider this request.

The flag, asked $12$ hours ago, is still pending, and so I ask here.

Further, a community member has now added a comment on the post that reads

I think the question now has enough information that I could answer it. I agree that it is reasonable for it to be open somewhere. It's not clear to me whether it is better suited at Math.SE or at Cryptography.

I request that the post is reopened. I would also like to offer a bounty as I understand that the question takes time and effort to answer. I am limited by reputation on other sites to offer a sufficient bounty.

I truly respect the job of the moderators and understand that this was done in good faith. However, I believe that this was a mistake on their part and hope that the question can be reopened peacefully. If I missing something, I'd love to be informed.

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    $\begingroup$ 12 hours is, in reality, a very short time in which to expect someone to respond to a flag (please remember you're not the only person raising flags). While this is a well-written question and I think you make your case adequately it's also worth remembering that patience is a virtue and some people may see this as an attempt to force the moderators's hands. $\endgroup$
    – postmortes
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 7:26
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    $\begingroup$ @postmortes I completely understand and respect the time moderators take. I do not wish to force the moderators' hands in any way. This is a query, not an order. $\endgroup$
    – user905694
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 7:29
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    $\begingroup$ We have a long tradition of discouraging cross-posting. This is because in the past it has resulted in users of many sites wasting effort, giving answers with significantly overlapping content simply because they did not know about the other versions. This carries extra weight whenever the asker neglected to cross-link the distinct versions, depriving the answerers the information on the other answers. $\endgroup$
    – Jyrki Lahtonen
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 8:11
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    $\begingroup$ @JyrkiLahtonen To be very clear, every single cross-post I made had an explicit reference to the original question mentioned right at the top of the post. The cross-post on MathOverflow was within acceptable guidelines. The post on compsci.SE was not (and I promptly deleted it). No version of the question remains on any other site except math.SE. $\endgroup$
    – user905694
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 8:13
  • $\begingroup$ It is still true that sometimes it is not clear what is the best site for a particular question. The advice has converged to 1) pick one site, post it there, and wait for a couple of days, 2) if you later see the need to repost it on another site, add a link to both editions so that all the interested answerers know what is going on. $\endgroup$
    – Jyrki Lahtonen
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 8:14
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    $\begingroup$ @JyrkiLahtonen That is exactly what I did. I picked math.SE and waited for $9$ days (with a bounty). Then asked on MathOverflow (with a link to the math.SE post). I then waited for $9$ more days (with a bounty). Then asked on compsci.SE (with a link to both the math.SE and mathOverflow post). I was told this cross-post was not allowed so I deleted it. $\endgroup$
    – user905694
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 8:16
  • $\begingroup$ Ok. Sorry about the complaint. I did not see any links, and did not know that you had removed the other versions. $\endgroup$
    – Jyrki Lahtonen
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 8:16
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    $\begingroup$ The upshot of this whole situation is, I think it lead to a person who knew how to answer the question to revisit the question and figure out how to answer it now. $\endgroup$
    – Brian
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 8:53
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    $\begingroup$ @Aplateofmomos Always looking on the bright side - love it :) $\endgroup$
    – user905694
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 8:55
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    $\begingroup$ ^^Care Next time, post such requests there; the whole point of that thread was providing a place to those seeking reopening and/or deletion. $\endgroup$
    – amWhy
    Commented May 27, 2022 at 17:24
  • $\begingroup$ @JyrkiLahtonen I'm curious about "The advice has converged to 1) pick one SE site, post it there, and wait for a couple of days..." Where did this convergence take place; is it for Math SE only or network wide? Where can I read further how the community arrived at this convergence? I usually advice people choose a site and if they get antsy to flag for moderator assistance to migrate it along with any helpful comments that have accumulated and that's what I've seen others advise as well. (The "overflow" sites are a different matter) $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Jun 4, 2022 at 23:09
  • $\begingroup$ @JyrkiLahtonen I've only seen SE cross-posting advised after migration is no longer allowed (≥60 days) $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Jun 4, 2022 at 23:11

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