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I have a question posted here which is relatively unanswered. It's understandable as I have really been trying to figure out a way to phrase a question in a subject area I know next to nothing about.

Based on the only comment there, I feel like I could possibly ask something like: "Are all equations developed from modelling natural phenomenon?" and clarify further within the question but this too seems fairly broad and I didn't want to muddy the community water with another ambiguous question and have the other one left open as well.

Is best practice to delete the original Q and post a new one, or ask the new one, and if I get an answer - post a link back to the answer?

In this type of a situation, how do I ask / discuss the topic enough to develop a question? Is the meta a more appropriate place to ask "How would I ask a question about X" ?

Thank you in advance for your consideration and feedback!

-AL

PS - I know this has been answered here - but it was from a decade ago and I wanted to make sure this was still an accurate guideline and whether or not there was more specific feedback to my particular case.

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    $\begingroup$ I've been here for years, and I'm still unclear on what basis one should decide between "close and start over" and "edit previous question". I'm curious to see what answers this question will get. $\endgroup$
    – JonathanZ
    Nov 15 at 0:18
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    $\begingroup$ Personally I would prefer to edit a question if it needs more context which may be helpful to potential answerers. And unless the core mathematical problem changes it is better to edit the original question to add more information. A new question is preferable if you modify the problem in a significant way (say like altering hypotheses). This is more important if there are existing answers. $\endgroup$
    – Paramanand Singh Mod
    Nov 15 at 2:19
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    $\begingroup$ @ParamanandSingh - The issue is I need discussion to generate a question. For someone versed in math they can ask a precise Q - in my case - I need help on how to formulate my wonder into a Q - that's the 'Q' that's out there now. Adding more context to that I feel like will be muddy unless I am able to change the title and body together. Maybe seeing my starting point and the resultant Q is helpful - that's why I asked here because it could go both ways really so I want to defer to community best practice if that makes sense. $\endgroup$
    – A L
    Nov 15 at 2:41
  • $\begingroup$ I know it's been a while (and your question on the main site is actually closed now, making this kind of moot with respect to that specific question), but if you need discussion, it's probably best to start in a place like Mathematics Chat. The idea is that once a question is actually posted on Mathematics, it shouldn't need discussion, it should need an answer and be written in a way that accepts an answer. $\endgroup$
    – David Z
    Nov 28 at 2:39

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