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If a question is closed (put on hold) on MathOverflow as off-topic for not being research level-question, but it is still a question about mathematics. What might be a suitable place for such question? What should I know before asking there?

Often when a user asks a question not belonging on this site, they receive some advice in comments where and how they should ask the question, it might be a good idea to collect advice on this topic in one place, so that a link to this post can be provided in comments.

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    $\begingroup$ I am aware that several possible sites are listed in the help center and also that close reason (if this one is chosen) contains a link: "MathOverflow is for mathematicians to ask each other questions about their research. See Math.StackExchange to ask general questions in mathematics." Still, there is only very limited space in these places, I think it might be useful to have something which can be more verbose. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Commented Jun 11, 2018 at 16:38
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    $\begingroup$ Moreover, the post here can be edited by regular users - not only by SE staff. AFAICT some of the links mentioned in the help center - such as Ask Dr. Math or NRICH - seem to be out of date. And if we are able to come up with some reasonably looking text here, perhaps we can make a comment template with the link to this post, and it could also be incorporated into "How to ask?" page. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Commented Jun 11, 2018 at 16:38
  • $\begingroup$ My own suggestion is to rename the site MathResearchOverflow .... Those of us from other disciplines (e.g. software) wouldn't immediately 'get' the research implications .. I believe there are other Math sites as well ... $\endgroup$
    – JosephDoggie
    Commented Jun 25, 2018 at 13:43
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    $\begingroup$ I will just add that the help center has been edited and it no longer contains the outdated sites mentioned in the above comment. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Commented Jan 4, 2019 at 15:13
  • $\begingroup$ Can my question be moved from mathoverflow to mathematics.stackexchange? $\endgroup$
    – Kedar Mhaswade
    Commented Jul 20, 2020 at 13:02

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Most sites are staffed by (unpaid) volunteers who expect questions with the intent, format, and content such that they can process the question for the site properly. You should look at the site information and change your question accordingly to raise the odds of it being accepted by that site.

Here are some useful sites for mathematical questions:

  • Mathematics Stack Exchange - if you are used to Stack Exchange platform, this is a site in this network which is for general mathematical questions - as opposed to MathOverflow which caters to research-level questions only. Before asking on that site it might be useful to look a bit at their help center. You can also find useful tips in the guide on How to ask a good question. And if you already have sufficient reputation in Stack Exchange Network to talk in chat, you could also ask for assistance with your question in one of the site's chatrooms, if needed.
  • Art of Problem Solving - although the site as a whole is directed mainly to contest math, topics from many other areas and levels are discussed there, too.
  • Physics Forums also have a section for mathematics.
  • There is also the Reddit community, r/math and other math-related subreddits. Depending on the nature of your question, you might consider r/learnmath or r/HomeworkHelp
  • Math Help Forum is a discussion forum for both pre-university-level and university-level mathematics.
  • S.O.S. Mathematics has a discussion board for various levels of math.

You can find various lists of similar sites, for example, also here:

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    $\begingroup$ I have made this post CW in the hope that other users will contribute with further additions and improvements. After all, that is what community wiki is for. $\endgroup$
    – Martin Sleziak
    Commented Jun 11, 2018 at 16:43

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