All Questions
625
questions
50
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How to write a good MathOverflow question?
How do I write a good MathOverflow question? Got any advice for me?
- 7,470
31
votes
111
answers
12k
views
Requests for reopen and undelete votes for closed and deleted questions
Since I expect this may prove rather useful, I'm blatantly purloining Asaf's question from meta.math.se.
Please post general requests for reopen votes as answers below.
Beware that "short" ...
71
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Who owns MathOverflow?
Is MathOverflow a subsidiary of Stack Exchange? Did MathOverflow lose its independence when it migrated to the Stack Exchange network?
- 43.4k
132
votes
60
answers
19k
views
Best of MathOverflow, or papers inspired by MathOverflow
This is a place to collect MathOverflow success stories!
Was some of your research inspired by something on MathOverflow? Do you know questions & answers that led to interesting research? ...
25
votes
25
answers
3k
views
Help cleanup tags!
This is meant to agglomerate tags that need (occasional or regular) cleanup. That is tags that mean multiple unrelated things and need to be separated into more specific tags. Please follow the ...
16
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Frequently asked questions about tagging on MathOverflow
Due to several discussions on the main site, I am asking this question concerning the best practices for tagging questions on MathOverflow. Unfortunately, the relevant documentation page https://...
37
votes
5
answers
4k
views
History of MathOverflow
What is history of this site? When and by whom was it created?
What were the important milestones of this site?
17
votes
24
answers
3k
views
Help improve tagging!
Please help by writing tag wikis for your favorite tags!
Use answers to this post to suggest tag synonyms.
Finally, if you're a 10k+ user, note how easy it is for you to edit tags now!
10
votes
6
answers
747
views
What outgoing migration paths should we have?
Now that we can migrate off topic questions, what sort of migration paths should be useful to have?
I think that adding at least Cross Validated, if not one or two of the other science sites, would ...
- 37.5k
14
votes
2
answers
892
views
Revamping the closure reasons in 2022
Prompted by Gro-Tsen's recent meta question, it appears that now may be a good time to rethink our site-specific close reasons here on MathOverflow.
Background:
If you have sufficient rep, you can ...
Tim CampionMod
- 56.7k
56
votes
1
answer
723
views
Minor edits, subject to review
Now that MathOverflow has moved to 2.0, there is a potential solution to the long-standing tension between people wanting to make minor improvements to old posts, and others not wanting the 'active ...
- 7,470
48
votes
16
answers
5k
views
Interesting (and not sufficiently answered) questions on math.SE
In light of the generally positive response to this meta-thread, I am creating this to help advertise (and hopefully fully resolve) "interesting" questions on math.SE. I'm not really certain what the ...
- 676
23
votes
1
answer
3k
views
My question was closed on MO because it is not research level. Where should I ask instead?
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?...
17
votes
1
answer
682
views
What should I do when I see a spam post on MO?
What is the correct way to handle spam on MathOverflow? Can regular users do something when they see a spam post?
16
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Do we have an unofficial quota on how many old questions one should bump for minor edits in a single day?
I noticed tonight that a well-intentioned user has been doing a lot of minor edits of formatting of old questions with the effect of filling most of the active question list with old questions bumped ...
- 36.6k
38
votes
29
answers
3k
views
Big list of feature requests and suggestions for a fantasy MO 3.0
I feel that MathOverflow is unique in the StackExchange network. There are features which we might want which might be unique to this site, and which might not be immediate feature requests or ...
- 21.8k
26
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Should users be shown some basic information before posting the first question? [duplicate]
In an answer to another question discussing possibilities how to decrease the number of off-topic questions1 it was mentioned that: Perhaps we should force a person to read the rules before posting ...
- 4,588
14
votes
1
answer
793
views
Who are the MathOverflow moderators?
Where can I find the list of MathOverflow moderators? How can I contact them?
12
votes
1
answer
636
views
Why are MO tags formatted as they are?
I noticed that some of the more frequently used MO tags are formatted according to a certain pattern, e.g.:
nt.number-theory
pr.probability
lo.logic
fa.functional-analysis
Why are the tags formatted ...
- 201
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Can I somewhere see my own deleted questions?
Don't worry, I won't try to sneakily repost them or otherwise bother anyone else besides me with them. I just felt like it would be nice to see what sort of questions I was thinking about a couple of ...
- 2,417
23
votes
1
answer
705
views
Tea archive (mathoverflow.tqft.net) seems to be down
It seems that the link http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/ (which, according to this announcement, serves as an archive of the old tea, i.e. the previous incarnation of MathOverflow Meta) no longer works.
...
- 4,588
22
votes
4
answers
756
views
Customize the modal window for the first-time askers [duplicate]
When a user asks their very first question on a Stack Exchange site, they are shown a modal window with a short advice. The content can be either a generic message or it can be customized for a ...
- 4,588
17
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Comment template for questions more appropriate for MSE
I think it would be nice to have a comment template that everyone could use when a (new) user asks a question on the site which is clearly more appropriate for MSE. Here's what I've been using today:
...
- 18.2k
14
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Frequently Asked Questions: MathOverflow FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions for MathOverflow
What kind of questions can I ask here?
What kind of questions should I not ask here?
What about open problems?
Where's the rule that says I have to wear ...
24
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Editing etiquette
What are some general guidelines for editing a MathOverflow post? Are there some "do"s and "don't"s I should know about?
(The material that was previously in this question box has been moved to an ...
Todd TrimbleMod
- 51.8k
21
votes
5
answers
2k
views
What should be the policy on "open problems" on MO?
The subject of this discussion are questions on "open problems" on MO.
There is an existing policy on "open problems" reproduced from the (old) FAQs, which involves an open-problem tag.
The ...
user9072
16
votes
7
answers
2k
views
What's our consensus on people resurrecting old questions just to edit formatting?
I think the title says it all. Personally, as someone who uses the "newest questions" as the front page, I'm not keen on people tweaking questions or answers that seem to have outlived active interest....
- 25.1k
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Should we try to re-start manual deletions or is the situation fine anyway?
On MO 1.0 we had, after some discussions and conflicts but still, what I think was a quite smoothly and efficiently working process of deleting "bad" content.
It seems with the move to MO 2.0 this ...
user9072
7
votes
8
answers
1k
views
Specialized chat rooms
Would there be an interest in having more specialized chat rooms, like the one for homotopy theory that currently exists?
So far, the homotopy theory one seems to be fairly successful, and it seems ...
- 2,468
-19
votes
5
answers
2k
views
MathOverflow updated site theme is ready for testing!
As part of implementing the new unified themes across the network, we're gradually rolling out updated site themes for each site. As of today, we have enabled your updated site theme for testing.
If ...
67
votes
6
answers
3k
views
The Association Bonus
One new feature that's come along with the transition is the "association bonus", which allows members of Math Stackexchange --- and other sites that are much further removed from the mission of MO ---...
- 22.2k
41
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Who owns my MathOverflow posts?
Does Stack Exchange or MathOverflow own my posts? Can I reuse my posts elsewhere? Do I need to cite MathOverflow if I want to reuse my posts elsewhere?
- 43.4k
39
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What shall we do with stone soup?
Sometimes, a question is asked that isn't up to the standards of MathOverflow. Maybe it's worded vaguely, maybe it's too open ended, or maybe the asker fundamentally misunderstood something important.
...
- 7,470
34
votes
0
answers
616
views
Revamping the closure reasons
Motivation 1
Currently the custom off-topic reasons for MathOverflow read:
This question does not appear to be about research level mathematics within the scope defined in the help center.
...
- 34.6k
28
votes
8
answers
1k
views
New feature - citation helper
At the request of the moderators, we have added a citation helper (based on the citation helper user script by Scott Morrison).
If you are familiar with the original script, you will note a few ...
- 101
19
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How can I log in into my old mathoverflow account?
I had a separate log in account for mathoverflow. Now, I'm unable to log in into that. I see only options of logging in using google, facebook, stack exchange etc but no option of logging using ...
15
votes
5
answers
669
views
What should the modal window for first-time askers say?
When a user asks their very first question on a Stack Exchange site, they are shown a modal window with some introductory advice. As explained in the March 2020 announcement of this feature, there is ...
Tim CampionMod
- 56.7k
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
List of recurrent technical problems involving MathJax
Edit: I have retagged this question 'feature-request' in an attempt to expedite action on these issues. I request that the MathOverflow developers implement an automatic fix of the issues in the ...
- 6,119
37
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Viewing reputation and badges is now opt-in and compatible with the new front page
This announcement is a little late (see the discussion here), but in response to discussions over many years, we (the moderators and board) have implemented a change to the site where by default, ...
Ben WebsterMod
- 43.2k
28
votes
2
answers
658
views
Migrating to Math.SE: too many close reasons [duplicate]
As everyone knows, we get a fair number of questions on this site that are not research level, but would be appropriate for http://math.stackexchange.com. As a frequent Math.SE user, I have an ...
- 28.6k
22
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Measures to separate math overflow from the rest of the stack exchange network
It seems that there is a widespread concern about the influence that in many ways the switch to the stack exchange network has on this site. I infer this from the many questions on meta on this ...
- 25.5k
35
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Reputation and badges are no longer visible next to the users' names
Right now it seems that a bug is affecting MO: reputation and badges are no longer displayed next to the users' names.
This happens both on the front page:
as well as on pages of individual questions:...
- 5,075
34
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How can we visually differentiate MathOverflow from MathStackExchange within the constraints of the new design themes?
The new design theme introduced for MO here is now live. Several issues with the new theme were raised in that discussion. I'd like to discuss one of them, which is sort of buried in my answer and ...
Tim CampionMod
- 56.7k
34
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Long-term archiving of MathOverflow
Suppose 'the worst' happens. Stack Exchange folds (commerical entities have been known to), and at the same time the moderators lose all interest and/or decide the despise mathematics. Where would ...
- 7,470
30
votes
2
answers
920
views
On the current color scheme, and why it sucks
Being color blinded is not very easy. You end up wearing black shirts and blue jeans, because it's easier. When you look at a computer monitor sometimes the red and green mix together, all sort of ...
- 37.5k
26
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Has the switch to SE 2.0 increased the rate of low-level / inappropriate questions?
I would be curious to know whether, now that links to MO appear in the footer of every SE 2.0 site, and in the "hot questions" list of the Stack Exchange button, the rate of inappropriate questions ...
- 6,702
25
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Using Math Overflow to check whether or not a proof is correct
A user named Jürgen Böhm recently posted two questions which boiled down to checking whether or not his proof is correct. I left a comment on the second one saying that I don't think this is ...
- 24.8k
22
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is MathOverflow's "agreement" with Stack Exchange?
On June 24, 2013, MathOverflow signed an agreement with Stack Exchange, Inc., to migrate the original site to the newer Stack Exchange 2.0 platform and join the Stack Exchange network.
François G. ...
- 1,317
17
votes
4
answers
389
views
What do moderators do?
What do moderators do? Is it just a matter of dealing with posts flagged for moderator attention, or are there other things too?
- 7,470
16
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Tags that encourage off-topic questions
MathOverflow has a few problematic tags which are not inappropriate by themselves but suggest off-topic ideas. A prime example of this is the calculus tag. Sometimes a research-level mathematics ...