Questions tagged [asking-questions]

Questions specifically about the process of asking questions on this site.

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Can I re-ask a closed question? [duplicate]

I am talking about this question. This seems to be OP's first question, and OP didn't show any of their work. This is why the question got closed. However, I find the question itself very interesting ...
aqualubix's user avatar
  • 1,295
0 votes
0 answers
128 views

Is there a limit to how many Q/A could be deleted safely?

I have recently learnt that deleting questions is not the correct way to improve our bad quality Q/A. For example on an SE site, If someone had low reputation and asked some bad quality question and ...
An_Elephant's user avatar
  • 2,009
12 votes
1 answer
308 views

Should I split my (specific) post up into two questions after posting?

This is pertaining to my recent question What are the algebraic and geometric multiplicities of the eigenvalues of a Kronecker (or tensor) product?. I chose to ask about both the algebraic and ...
Milten's user avatar
  • 6,838
5 votes
0 answers
85 views

Are there some Mathjax features that don't work on the 'Ask a public question' page?

I just posted a question on the Mathematics site that required the use of set brackets; however I could not get them to work as usual on the 'Ask a public question' page. On their own in math mode, ...
A.J.'s user avatar
  • 3,832
16 votes
1 answer
874 views

How to ask a good proof-verification question?

Firstly, I want to thank the people who have commented on or reviewed my attempted proofs over the years. I'm not a student, so that kind of feedback is invaluable. I've gotten a little bit better at ...
Greg Nisbet's user avatar
  • 9,673
29 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are my questions really this bad?

I just noticed this "recommended" badge in my profile and I'm rather confused. I have $20$ out of the $5$ needed questions for this badge, but apparently they are "poor" questions ...
Clyde Kertzer's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
225 views

Making my question (and sub-questions) rigorous and readable? [closed]

Question for this post: In my post, how do I make the motivation and question rigorous and readable to get a proper answer. (It received downvotes when I first originally sent it to math overflow but ...
Arbuja's user avatar
  • 1
1 vote
1 answer
190 views

How to better ask problems from known contests?

As we know, AoPS has got contest collections, containing threads where users discuss corresponding contest problems. Therefore, is it really necessary to ask them on mathematics stack exchange, if one ...
user avatar
45 votes
0 answers
1k views

Quick beginner guide for asking a well-received question

Mean structure proposed I am writing this post for new users who don't have the time to read the full article of how to ask a good question. In this post, I will give my opinion of what structure ...
user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
161 views

Understand downvotes on my initially well-received questions

Good afternoon, Since I started using this website I've always tried to make my question better to satisfy the generous members sharing their knowledge. Usually, I don't ask big questions, but short ...
user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
280 views

Proposal: Require first time question askers to pass a short quiz on how to ask a good question, before posting their first question

Given the large number of first time question askers who evidently do not really read the advice on how to ask a good question, I propose: The site should require first time question askers to take a ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 12.5k
16 votes
2 answers
885 views

Is it okay to ask an already solved problem?

I was working on some problem and managed to solve using one approach but when I tried a different approach to the same problem I didn't get the expected result, when I was going to ask on the math ...
Kayodê Vital's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
90 views

How to add a long update to one's question?

I just wrote an answer to one of my own questions in which I essentially gave a partial, incomplete attempt at solving the question I asked (which had received zero replies so far). I chose to post ...
Stratos supports the strike's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
886 views

Should I Delete My Answer Even Though It's Correct?

I have answered a question concerning the derivation of a physics problem here: Trying to derive Newton's Shell Theorem, How do I integrate this? For some clumsy reason, I wasn't considering the ...
Accelerator's user avatar
  • 4,330
2 votes
1 answer
165 views

How to ask a question which has to use terminology from a foreign language that doesn't have an accurate translation in English?

The question I want to ask is about a concept for which there is a specific term in a foreign language. The problem is that this term doesn't have an accurate translation in english and since it ...
tempdev nova's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
231 views

Implementing a fill-in-the-blank type structure for new users asking questions

A notable problem on this site seems to be PSQs from new users. In order to encourage better questions, I suggest implementing a fill-in-the-blank type structure for new users asking questions. Once a ...
user avatar
33 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is Math Stackexchange only for experts?

So recently I asked a few questions that seemed pretty difficult to me. But when I scrolled through some other questions I felt that to most other users my question are probably just elementary. Since ...
tempdev nova's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
800 views

About a possible change of instructions to ask a question, for beginners.

It's a well known problem that a new user often doesn't ask a question properly, e.g. asks a PSQ. Perhaps the user can be suggested to check just this table, (to begin with), instead of the current 2 ...
Verónica Rmz.'s user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
84 views

Looking for stats on relation between rep, number of questions, and number of questions downvoted is

I'm looking for some following stats: A detailed histogram depicting for a given amount of rep, what the average number of questions asked is Conversely, a detailed histogram depicting for a given ...
Pineapple Fish's user avatar
18 votes
4 answers
858 views

Posting 'Solved' Questions

I recently created a nice olympiad problem on the invariance principle, and I thought about posting it on Math Stack Exchange. However, I was unsure about it as the community guidelines have not ...
MathMinded's user avatar
  • 1,068
-9 votes
1 answer
199 views

Why can't I edit a new question in place of a duplicate?

I have $5$ or so duplicate/closed questions, which is hurting my "positive question record" statistic. So, I edited a useless duplicate question and asked a new question, which I was told &...
Clyde Kertzer's user avatar
31 votes
0 answers
1k views

Has the culture of acceptable questions on SE changed over time?

I am relatively new to SE, but I have noticed something quite peculiar. I often am reading lots of old questions (years old) and encounter many that are very short, show very little self-attempt, and ...
Clyde Kertzer's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
332 views

Why sometimes when I post a problem I need to wait for 40 minutes?

I recently was trying to post a maths problem but when I click on submit it tells me that you can post once in every 40minutes as such I didn't post anything at all before this in few months so why ...
Paracetamol's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
98 views

Can I make a collapse/expandable area?

Is it possible to make a collapse/expandable section in a question ?
seok's user avatar
  • 41
4 votes
0 answers
167 views

Feature request to help new users [duplicate]

I had this thought the other day on what was concerning new users the most, and one thing I noticed was how new users' questions were regularly downvoted. Being a new user means being exposed to many ...
Aaa Lol_dude's user avatar
21 votes
1 answer
1k views

Questions from elementary beginners

I'm tutoring a high school student who is taking calculus for the first time. I've been trying to encourage her to become more interested in math, and so I thought it could be a good idea to teach her ...
subrosar's user avatar
  • 4,534
16 votes
0 answers
306 views

Improving guidance on the "Ask question" page

I am aware that this issue has been rehashed on Meta numerous times, so I was surprised to discover today that the guidance given to posters on the "Ask question" page is still far from ...
Will Orrick's user avatar
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 ...
Jim's user avatar
  • 1,581
17 votes
2 answers
763 views

User keeps posting questions with posted images, instead of writing the question themself.

It seems that a certain user is in the habit of posting questions (often homework) by cutting and pasting images instead of taking the time to write it out explicitly in MathJax. With more than three ...
PatrickR's user avatar
  • 3,561
7 votes
1 answer
279 views

What to do if I like the question in a post but the post is presented in a bad quality. [duplicate]

I have been wondering about this question for the last week. It is really pointed out to everyone at all times that whenever you ask a question, you must include details, motivation, thoughts, or some ...
Rounak Sarkar's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
411 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 ...
Sebastiano's user avatar
  • 6,759
11 votes
0 answers
496 views

Questions regarding mathematical programming

What is the best place to ask questions about mathematical programming, between Math.SE and StackOverflow? What I have in mind is the following type of questions: Solving the word problem in a group ...
Anthony's user avatar
  • 1,226
9 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why image cannot be used for explaining my maths problem?

I joined few days ago and have recently asked many questions. In most of these questions, I use images to make everyone understand it better. I prefer to use both MathJax and images. But most of the ...
Swarnava Chandra Bose's user avatar
22 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there a shorter and more opinionated version of "How to ask a good question?" that we can direct new users to?

The advice in how to ask a good question is good, but reading through the whole thing takes a while and, IMHO, requires some familiarity with the site to interpret. It also presents the reader with ...
Greg Nisbet's user avatar
  • 9,673
-8 votes
1 answer
191 views

Unusual behaviour of community

I recently (3 days ago) posted a question. It was quite lengthy and descriptive but I had given it my best to outline the question and made sure it was well written. Like I mentioned earlier it is 3 ...
Prajval K's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
453 views

Is it useful to the community to post questions without having had formal training in mathematics?

As someone who is interested in how numbers behave, but with no formal experience or vocabulary, I recently posted a couple of questions and gained quite a bit of knowledge and insight from the ...
ToMath's user avatar
  • 143
4 votes
1 answer
205 views

"You can only post once every 40 minutes."

Dear all friendly mathematicians, When I tried to post my question on this site - I saw "You can only post once every 40 minutes." Is there a restriction on that in general? Or is that due ...
Марина Marina S's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
239 views

Is it alright to have a question on Math Stack Exchange that simply asks the name of a theorem?

The title pretty much explains this question. I am wondering what the name for the lemma that states "If one integer divides two different integers then it will divide their difference." Is ...
Simon Ward's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
708 views

Color change on the M.Se site.

This is a quick question which again happened as a glitch. I was looking for questions to answer and somehow saw the “ask question” and “activity” button, on the home page and my page respectively, ...
Тyma Gaidash٠'s user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
166 views

Would someone looking for this question know what a "codomain" is?

Looking at this question should the word "codomain" be changed to "range" in the title to make this post more easily find-able by those with same question? I.e. do kids these days ...
Mike Pierce's user avatar
  • 18.7k
31 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is a "PSQ"?

The term "PSQ" is frequently used on Mathematics Stack Exchange, both on the main site and meta. For the benefit of users unfamiliar with this term, I thought that it would be a good idea to ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 18.3k
0 votes
0 answers
101 views

Duplicating standard reasoning in a question about an open problem in number theory

Recently, a math professor, with a very impressive set of mathematical papers. made a comment that took me by surprise. I am very open to the feedback. I wanted to open it up here to see what others ...
Larry Freeman's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
112 views

How can I improve my specific question?

My question I am here to understand how improve to formulate my question. As matter of fact in the link I have tried to show my attempt and I have required as a question to check if my attempt is ...
cely's user avatar
  • 343
-2 votes
1 answer
65 views

Red Colored Tags Showing Up for Certain Tags and Questions is Confusing me. What do They Mean and Why are They Here?

Status-byDesign and faq are both tags that appear completely red when one tries to view them or put them into a question Here is what I mean: These appear to look like this because these tags are ...
Тyma Gaidash٠'s user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
72 views

vertex transitive self answer

Can I self answer a question I post about examples of connected, vertex transitive graphs? I cannot find anything listing larger ones, and am even less likely to find examples with thoughtful choices ...
alan2here's user avatar
  • 1,017
1 vote
0 answers
84 views

Does this question on observed animal choices in a binary decision tree belong on math.SE?

I am conducting biological research on animal behavior. I have an experimental design that looks to me awfully like a math problem. I don't know if it is suitable for the math.SE and I have problems ...
S Pr's user avatar
  • 101
23 votes
1 answer
617 views

Advise new users to stay engaged with their question

A number of times recently I've seen a new user drop a simple question (some bad, but some OK questions), and it's got some misunderstanding of what they're working on or a confusing explanation, ...
Joffan's user avatar
  • 39.4k
2 votes
1 answer
256 views

Can you have two accounts for two separate people, on the same computer?

Can you have two accounts for two separate people, on the same computer? My sister and I thought so, but she just tried to create a new account on this site. However, I personally can't ask questions ...
Michael Blane's user avatar
30 votes
4 answers
2k views

I am a student and have reached my limit of 50 questions per month what do I do?

I am a student and have reached my limit of 50 questions per month. I am poor and can't afford a math teacher and have been using this site to teach me a lot of new things so that I can get better at ...
Michael Blane's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
111 views

What is the problem in formulating my question

I have a question about my Mathematics Stack Exchange post: Existence condition of an expression I am new in mathstack and before writing a question I have tried to read how be able to write a quite ...
mathlove's user avatar

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