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Let us suppose that a user of this site receives an answer to a question of his or hers, but (s)he cannot understand some passages in the proof and, after asking the answerer for clarifications, either the answerer refuses to explain the passages or does not answer after a reasonably long time - say two weeks, for example - has passed.

What is appropriated in such a case to do in order to ask for clarifications? Let us notice that clarifications could benefit not only the asker, but also other people reading the site and having the same difficulties, or even lead to the correction of errors that might well exist in a human made proof.

Would it be allowed to post a separate question containing only the passages that have not been understood? If it would, how should one word a question asking for such clarifications?

Moreover, does an official Stack Exchange policy exists or can the rules change from a site to another?

I apologise if this question already existed, but, after searching some keywords, I cannot find an answer to this issue.

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    $\begingroup$ Another thing you could try to do is ask a different question to approach the issue in another fashion. I took a look at your questions on Gauss's Law and thought you were getting bogged down in the mathematics. You should perhaps ask about the physics and the reality and the why of it, and about the electromagnetic field. IMHO the concept that electric charge acts as sources or sinks for electric fields is badly misleading. $\endgroup$
    – John Duffield
    Commented Nov 8, 2015 at 14:59

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  1. Make a comment asking for clarifications.

  2. If you don't get what you want, try advertising your question in the chat room.

  3. If that doesn't work, put up a bounty. That's what they're for.

  4. If you don't want to put up a bounty because you don't have enough rep, then that's the rep system doing it's job. You haven't done enough on the site for the site to trust you're judgement about what questions deserve more attention. Go earn more reputation by answering questions.

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    $\begingroup$ What if you don't want to put a bounty because of losing rep? $\endgroup$
    – TanMath
    Commented Nov 7, 2015 at 21:24
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    $\begingroup$ @tanmath: rep is quite useless in the real world. If you have a problem with losing fake internet points to get an answer to a real problem, then you have a mental block to get over. $\endgroup$
    – Kyle Kanos
    Commented Nov 8, 2015 at 2:00
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    $\begingroup$ @KyleKanos I don't know, I would out a bounty in an essential question I really need to know, but if there is a question with no answers, yet it isn't the most important question, then I wouldn't put one. $\endgroup$
    – TanMath
    Commented Nov 8, 2015 at 2:54
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    $\begingroup$ @TanMath I think basic economics principles should tell you what that means :) $\endgroup$
    – DanielSank
    Commented Nov 8, 2015 at 3:16

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