Questions tagged [answers]
For questions about answers on the main site. Consider using the accepted-answer tag if the question is about an answer that has been accepted.
328
questions
-6
votes
1
answer
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Can I use math formulas from this community in open source non-CC projects?
I am planning on using some math formulas I get from this community in open source projects with a basically completely free use no attribution needed license subject to how close to that license ...
28
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How long is too long of an answer?
I recently answered my own question here and decided to lay out most of the mathematical procedure I took to solve the problem. My only concern is that this answer seems very long and I was wondering ...
- 409
31
votes
1
answer
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Since when does this site require registration to post answers?
I remember the discussion which led to allowing only registered users to ask questions: Let's require registration to ask a question. (It was marked status-completed in October 2016.)
IIRC, ...
- 54.5k
-16
votes
1
answer
410
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MSE's policy on restricting the use of downvotes for answers: Targeting a member or ANY non-scientific reasons? [closed]
I recently received the following public comments on how to use down-votes from a senior diamond moderator, Dr. Xander Henderson, who patiently explained me the policy of the site on how to use down-...
- 10.2k
0
votes
1
answer
121
views
How to handle a "hidden" answer
I am confused by the message "This answer is hidden. This answer was deleted and converted to a comment" that I got when I tried to answer my own question.
After a year developing a better ...
- 109
1
vote
0
answers
92
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Feature: options for downvoting an answer similar to the options for closing a question
For the most part, users give very useful comments that help improve the question/answer.
But I am sure many of you too must have come across sometimes the mysterious offshoot downvote and then spend ...
- 6,572
0
votes
2
answers
132
views
If a question author receives an answer needing some editing, can the answer be edited by the question author so the answer author gets full credit?
I have this question that I want to up-vote an answer for it, namely Algebraically Simplify $n =\left( \frac{ \left(5\right)^{\log 5}} { \left(2 \right)^{\log 2}} \right) ^{ \frac{1} {\log 2-\log 5 } }...
- 945
17
votes
0
answers
949
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May I ask why my answer was deleted without explanation?
In Why do we believe the equation ax+by+c=0
represents a line?, I wrote this answer:
Let $A=\left(x_{A},y_{A}\right)$ and $B=\left(x_{B},y_{B}\right)$ be distinct points.
We define the line $l$ ...
- 460
-1
votes
2
answers
308
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Should I delete my question if I already got a definitive answer?
There are a lot of times when I just post a question, and a couple minutes after, I get an answer that just completely answers the question without any problems.
Take this one. I posted it, and ...
user1286095
19
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How should I (nicely) tell people they should answer my question rather than giving the answer in comments?
I know this isn't an issue specific with math.se, but this is one of the community where I feel like it is widespread.
Take as an example my last question. I am basically asking "Is the result X ...
- 372
2
votes
2
answers
129
views
Answered a question that I later realized is a duplicate
I have just added an answer to a question that, shortly after posting my answer, I realised is probably a duplicate of this other question, as suggested in the comments, and I flagged it as such.
My ...
- 2,901
24
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Found an incorrect yet accepted and upvoted answer
This answer claims that eigenvalues of a matrix are preserved under elementary row operations.
It has two upvotes and it is an accepted answer. I came across it while searching related topics on ...
- 2,420
0
votes
0
answers
144
views
Suggestion for dealing with a comment if it contain the Answer to the question (w/o other answers)
Suggestion for dealing with a comment if it contain the Answer to the question (w/o other answers)
If I try to flag a comment there are the following alternatives: harassment / unfriendly / obsolete / ...
- 1,606
2
votes
1
answer
228
views
Writing answer on behalf of someone else
Assume a post on MSE is answered by someone in comment section and alternative approaches to solve the problem are not provided . There are two senarios:
First:
Nobody will convert that comment to an ...
- 7,014
34
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Someone's answer is completely copied and pasted from my answer, and their answer got accepted.
Someone's answer to a question is completely copied and pasted from my answer (except they didn't use Mathjax), and their answer got accepted. I don't mind, but I just think it's strange behavior, for ...
- 26.1k
9
votes
1
answer
667
views
Should I delete a partial answer when someone else posts a complete answer?
Recently I edited and bumped this question; I thought it was interesting and it had garnered no attention in over two years. I wasn't able to solve it, but I mentioned I solved a problem with a ...
- 8,017
1
vote
0
answers
101
views
Sorting answers by last modified date gives peculiar results
I was looking at this question on Maths Meta. There are four answers and I have them sorted by Date Modified (Newest First).
Listed below are the created and last modified dates of the four answers in ...
- 3,084
1
vote
0
answers
166
views
I wrote an answer to my own question but it got deleted because someone didn't understand my question
Yesterday I asked a question which was quite open ended and lacked direction because I wasn't sure exactly what I was asking. I put some examples and very general statements to try to account for my ...
- 146
0
votes
0
answers
172
views
What counts as an allowable answer
Suppose user A posts a math problem and his answer to it. He then asks if his/her solution is right. Now user B posts, as an answer to A, that the answer is correct.
I have been told that user B is ...
- 4,132
0
votes
1
answer
227
views
I have written a wrong answer and have no means to correct it. What should I do?
I wrote an answer but later found that the method used was wrong. Moreover, other answers have already covered other methods and I can't think of a new answer (which could have been used to edit) . ...
- 2,857
31
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Answers in a language other than English
I would appreciate if someone could clarify what the policy and etiquette are about using languages other than English on MSE, or point me to an authoritative resource on the subject.
What prompted ...
- 76.9k
3
votes
0
answers
132
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Follow-up on previous question about comment-answered questions
Last week I asked this question on what the current policy is on comment-answered questions.
I thought I had reached an understanding. The top answers expressed that if someone sees this, they should ...
- 3,177
26
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Treatment of comment-answered questions: what is the current policy as of February 2023?
I have noticed that quite a few questions tend to be answered in the comments.
This was apparently observed $12$ years ago to a similar extent. These questions (unsurprisingly) tend to be on the ...
- 3,177
51
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Editing comments to remove references to gender
This morning I discovered that an old answer of mine to a question about real life application of Linear Algebra had been transformed into a comment.
I admit that the answer was not too serious: I ...
- 27.4k
4
votes
2
answers
505
views
How to copy page content including all TeX commands
I posted an answer to this question, and a commenter suggested an alternative. The commenter answer was simpler, more elegant than mine, and I would have upvoted it ... except he had posted it in the ...
- 42.4k
4
votes
0
answers
353
views
Separate an extremely long second solution into another answer or leave it in the original one?
I answered this question yesterday. In my answer, I discuss 2 different evaluation techniques, one of which is long and partially incomplete. However, after thinking about it for a while, I have ...
- 1,185
10
votes
1
answer
694
views
The thin line between answers and comments
What qualifies as an answer?
I reproduce my (deleted) answer here:
Use SFFT to factor $xy-8x-4y = 0$.
The answer received $2$ upvotes and was also accepted by the OP. A while later, however, a ...
user1082389
-10
votes
1
answer
145
views
"Post Answer" option for those mid-way writing despite "Closed" post
When the post is closed, no longer answers are accepted as:
the answer box gets removed.
if you were writing something, the post answer option is no longer available.
In the latter case, I am ...
- 3,104
-13
votes
1
answer
195
views
Would quality picture answers be on topic?
I recently came across this free website, and I've been using it to present ideas and explain things.
I recently asked a question which got a great answer by user Mateo. Using the website, I then ...
10
votes
3
answers
673
views
Are users obligated to read (or at least skim) existing answers before posting a new answer?
Are users obligated to read (or at least skim) existing answers before posting a new answer?
I can see one reason for "yes": it would reduce redundant answers. But How to write a good answer ...
- 26.1k
9
votes
1
answer
834
views
New answer which is identical to mine
As I was scrolling through the new questions of MSE, I thought of checking out some of my previous unaccepted answers and learn something from the accepted answers.
And it happened that a question($g(...
user1078285
2
votes
1
answer
114
views
How did this closed question gain a new answer?
I closed a question (“ Transposing matrices by multiplication ”) some hours ago as a dupe, but someone gave it a new answer two hours later. Looking at the revision history, the question had not been ...
- 142k
0
votes
1
answer
107
views
Should I post link as a comment or an answer?
Situation: A question was asked.
I tried to find a solution, but got stuck. So I asked for help from MSE and am currently waiting for answers.
If I get a suitable answer, then I plan on posting this ...
- 6,670
-7
votes
1
answer
117
views
Is it alright to answer via YouTube link?
One of the questions that I had asked earlier, here on MSE (added at the end of this post), failed to get an appropriate response but a few days later one of my friends whom I consulted later ...
- 3,104
9
votes
1
answer
715
views
How to respond to newbie answer.
I came across a late answer by a new user to a question, which I link here; and I have a dilemma how to respond.
The formatting was pretty bad (read: non-existent), so I edited it and commented, ...
- 6,670
42
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What if askers don't know what they don't know?
I recently answered this question about vector space isomorphisms. The question is somewhat unfocused, but it seems clear to me that this is because the asker is struggling with the concepts involved ...
- 6,783
22
votes
4
answers
1k
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What do I do if I got two equally good answers for a question that say basically the same thing, and I don't know which one to accept?
Here is the post for context: Is "today is Presidents' Day" a proposition, propositional function, or neither?
Both the answers are really great and thorough, and they basically say the ...
- 989
0
votes
0
answers
85
views
Find comment or answer about notation
If I remember correctly I asked a question during spring 2020 about group theory or algebra and somebody wrote that they had an informal symbol for a generalized operation (I think it looked similar ...
- 2,275
11
votes
0
answers
382
views
How to appropriately link to a resource that answers OP's question?
So I recently came across this question, where the OP asks for a proof of the uniform convergence of a certain sequence, and I happen to have a link to some lecture notes which contain a detailed ...
5
votes
1
answer
103
views
Answers not showing on profiles on mobile site.
For some reason, answers are not displaying on mine or other's profiles on the mobile site. See the picture below.
ShaunMod
- 46.1k
0
votes
0
answers
40
views
Deleted comments to post "Aproximating differential equation in maple"
Yesterday I asked a question in the post named Aproximating differential equation in maple. I received beneficial feedback and help but the help comments are not there anymore. Were they deleted or ...
- 45
20
votes
7
answers
1k
views
Should we discourage full solutions to questions that explicitly ask for a hint?
I've encountered several posts in the past that explicitly ask for a hint for their stated problem. It's not uncommon for these questions to gather full solutions for their problem, sometimes in their ...
- 52k
6
votes
0
answers
138
views
How can I provide useful links which may answer a question.
I am currently looking at providing this user with a resource which may answer their question, however I cannot add this as a comment as I do not have enough reputation. I am not sure if I should post ...
- 1,193
1
vote
0
answers
224
views
How come some of my questions get only some comments but not any answer?
Certain times, I post questions that get some valuable comments but never an answer.
For example the question for comparison on real numbers and caveats.
I am not sure why this happening. Is my post ...
- 1,629
2
votes
1
answer
412
views
How fundamental is the choice of title in a question on Math.SE?
When I'm trying to write a question I certainly make a lot of effort to be as clear as possible.
Certainly the hurry does not provide good advice and, several times in my specific case, I spend little ...
- 7,792
5
votes
1
answer
346
views
Where to Place Answer to a Duplicate Question
I recently posted this answer to a question marked as a duplicate. I did check first that my approach had not previously been taken. Should I delete my answer and transplant the analysis as an ...
- 38.1k
-7
votes
1
answer
113
views
Remove "This question has more than 30 answers" warning for "big-list" questions on meta
Since "big-list" questions are expected to get more than 30 answers, is it OK for you to remove the "This question has more than 30 answers" warning?
Could it also be done on other ...
- 179
6
votes
1
answer
272
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How should questions tagged "solution-verification" be answered? [duplicate]
Often when people post their solutions to a particular problem on a question of theirs and they tag it solution-verification, the solution that they give is flawless, or can be improved a small amount ...
- 6,592
-13
votes
1
answer
186
views
Why users are providing expired link? [closed]
I see many old answers contains expired links. Whenever I click on a link it show that links has expired.
I'm not getting why users are providing expired links in an answer?
- 14.7k
-2
votes
1
answer
182
views
Are answers involving final answer only allowed? [closed]
I was wondering in what circumstances are short final answers allowed. There are some case where I am left astonished of how such answers follow MSE's guidelines.
- 179