21
votes
Accepted
How can "torus shape" planet be "non-mainstream" physics?
Demanding that questions only deal with situations that unequivocally can occur in the real world rules out objects on infinite planes, point masses, Einsteinian trains, Maxwell's demon, supersymmetry,...
- 33.4k
17
votes
Little tolerance with mathematical-physics questions
Generally speaking, mathematical physics questions are on-topic and more than welcome.
Note that advanced questions naturally tend to have fewer views, upvotes, and potential answerers. But don't get ...
QmechanicMod
- 213k
17
votes
Why was my question closed for not being focused when it actually was?
I could be wrong, but it could be the case that users saw a really long post broken up into multiple parts and thought "this isn't focused". You do only ask one question, so I don't think ...
- 58.5k
15
votes
My question got closed saying that it was opinion based
While I do not speak on behalf of the other close voters, the facts are clear:
If the velocity is constant, the acceleration is zero.
If a quantity is constant, it does not depend on time (in this ...
- 12.9k
15
votes
My question was downvoted after it was closed, can I ask the community to delete it?
The question failed the reopen review with no vote to reopen. From the timing it is evident that least two of the three reviewers saw your edited version and did not think it merits reopening. Note ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
15
votes
How can a question on electromagnetism in dielectrics be considered engineering?
The change to require only three close votes for a question to be closed has been very effective at closing the more outrageous homework questions rapidly, but it is also causing a small but ...
- 363k
14
votes
Allowance of Computational Physics questions
I think this question should be on-topic. To the extent that it is a software-recommendations question, it's precisely the kind of recommendation question we want to encourage: it is well-researched, ...
- 135k
14
votes
Why was my question about the Devil's problem deemed a homework question?
Your question does not ask a conceptual question about physics, it simply asks users to solve the exercise you call "the Devil's problem".
That you ask us to solve the exercise not by saying ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
14
votes
Moderators close questions as "homework-like" excessively
As someone that spends time closing many of these questions, there is nothing wrong with questions that are “homework-like” in an absolute sense. The problem is when the question either displays ...
- 3,422
13
votes
Why was my question about the Devil's problem deemed a homework question?
First, note that not all homework related questions are off topic here. However...
I wasn't interested in learning or understanding any physics methods; my interest was to find out whether 13 is ...
- 58.5k
13
votes
Why is there a homework tag if the posts keep getting closed?
I think this post emphasizes, once more, a real problem of PSE: some inconsistency between the stated policy of the site and how it is applied in practice.
The stated policy says
"A 'homework ...
12
votes
Accepted
Should cosmetic edits be made to a closed question?
With the remodeling of the review queues, users now have the option to explicitly mark their edits to closed questions as significant enough to warrant reopen reviews.
So, as long as the editors ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
12
votes
How should we handle "multidisciplinary" questions with subparts that are appropriate for different SE networks?
I think the fact that even the meta question here talks about different subquestions is simply an indication the question is not focused enough for the SE model: Yes, to answer the question you are ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
12
votes
Moderators close questions as "homework-like" excessively
This question shows a couple of misunderstandings about how this site operates and its mission. But there is also a grain of truth.
First: the “homework closures” you mention are not done by ...
- 109k
11
votes
Can anyone show me any mathematical equation in duplicate?
The most-upvoted answer to that question is a great example of discussing mathematics as opposed to doing mathematics. The meat of the answer is
[T]he real problem is not so much ...
robMod
- 94.2k
11
votes
Why was this question considered "big list?"
A question of the form What is the biggest X? presumably means that an answerer should only answer if they are 100% sure that they know the unique answer (which btw may change in the future), and all ...
QmechanicMod
- 213k
11
votes
How is this question about a black hole passing through the solar system non-mainstream?
I for one think the question is unclear or too broad.
“Inhabitable” is not really defined, and actually hard to define. One can imagine the surface of the Earth is cold but that doesn’t make it ...
- 47.8k
11
votes
Why was this question of mine closed by a moderator?
In case you are talking about this question, it has been reopened by regular reopen review around the same time you posted this question. This site does not work in real-time and after I closed your ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
10
votes
Why is there so little answering of elementary physics questions?
This is not the first time someone has asked why simple physics questions are given less focus and/or ignored compared to more advanced material nor will this be the last. I will answer in the same ...
- 24.6k
10
votes
My question was closed on Phys.SE. Can you recommend me another Internet site where my question might be on-topic?
Problem Solving Strategies chatroom
This requires a rep of at least 20 points.
Typical questions come from college/university exam preparation (mainly JEE) and undergraduate level physics courses, ...
- 27.5k
10
votes
Accepted
Will SE block me if my questions are consistently marked as off-topic?
The SE will block your account from posting new questions if your existing questions are judged to be low quality, but the exact criteria they use have never been disclosed - presumably to stop people ...
- 363k
10
votes
Fixing the closed-question notices following changes to the software
Let's kick things off with the most important one - the homework close reason, which currently reads
Homework-like questions and check-my-work questions are considered off-topic here, particularly ...
- 135k
10
votes
Accepted
Why was this question down voted and closed as non-mainstream?
It's all about phrasing:
"How are accelerated frames treated in special relativity?" is a perfectly fine question.
"Special relativity cannot work with accelerated frames! Prove me (or &...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
9
votes
What is "mainstream physics"?
"Closed seconds after I wrote them" is a mischaracterization - your question was closed 6 minutes after it was posted. (While this might seem like a petty complaint, I want to make it clear ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
9
votes
In what ways is this question lacking detail or clarity?
Comment from ACM for if the OP is asking about the technical term strange matter
I'll note that even if one guesses that the question is about strange matter in the technical sense, that still doesn'...
- 58.5k
9
votes
Closure of the Neutrino Detector Question
Thanks for starting this discussion. Just to clarify, I'm answering here as a user of the site, rather than as a moderator. I want to do what the community wants to do; but this is an issue where I ...
robMod
- 94.2k
8
votes
Why was my question about the Devil's problem deemed a homework question?
I did imply in my question that I wanted to see a solution, but that was merely because I wanted to verify. I wanted to get convinced whether 13 is the answer.
We call these check-my-work questions. ...
robMod
- 94.2k
8
votes
Requesting a question to be re-opened because it is not opinion based
Even though you have eliminated an explicit reference to opinion, this does not change the fact that IMO the question is still opinion-based. I can answer yes/no/I think so/I don’t think so without ...
- 47.8k
8
votes
Asking if a post deleted on MathOverflow could be suitable for the main site Physics Stack Exchange
No, "Is there a crisis in physics?" is both too broad ("in physics" can mean anything from metereology to quantum gravity) and too opinion-based/unclear (it is not clear what ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 129k
8
votes
I don't know how to be on-topic
There are a couple of issues with your last closed question which I'll explain.
Homework-type question are essentially off-topic unless they are about explaining a concept. Your post does not appear ...
- 9,970
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible