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How do I: How are questions numbered?

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    I am a new user of "mathoverflow" and need to learn how to ask
    questions and respond to the answers I get without having the
    discussion closed off when I start raising questions which seem to
    fall into the category of "duplicate questions".
    However, I would first like to know one thing. It appears that each
    question asked is assigned a number and you can bring up the question
    by typing this number into the search box. But the number is nowhere
    displayed. How can I find the number assigned to each of my questions
    so that I will have an easy way of referring to them in any discussion?
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    The number is part of the URL of the question.

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    Personally, I never use these numbers. Why not just copy-paste the link to the question? Of course, with markdown (http://mathoverflow.net/editing-help) this can be done in an aesthetic way.
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    What does "URL" signify and where do I find it?
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    The URL is what is in the location bar at the top of your browser. For example, if you go to
    http://mathoverflow.net/questions/24103/ech-cohomology-of-compact-spaces-via-closed-covers
    then you'll be looking at question 24103.
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    Isn't URI or some such the preferred term nowadays?
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    @geraldedgar: No. URI (universal resource identifier) is a more general concept of which URL (uniform resource locator) is a special case.

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    @Unknown G.: Someone could edit the title of the question, but the number remains the same once you post it.
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    Unknown G.: Why not just copy-paste the link to the question?
    Sonia Balagopalan: Someone could edit the title of the question, but the number remains the same once you post it.

    You're both right. The link could change, but the server ignores the stuff that comes after the number, so old links will still work:
    http://mathoverflow.net/questions/12345/you-can-put-anything-you-want-here

    The title is in the URL so that MO is Google-friendly. Google weights words in the URL heavily when deciding what the page is about.

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