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How do I: To find out if one of my questions is an open problem

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    • CommentAuthorgarabed2
    • CommentTimeSep 9th 2010
     
    I have been trying for a long time simply to find out whether my question No. 33928 is an open problem,
    and if not, whether the answer to it is a "yes" or a "no". It seems to me that the question is of some interest.
    But though I have gotten lots of comments about it on many different mathematical websites, nobody seems
    actually able to tell me what I really want to know-"is the problem open or not?" Can anyone suggest how I
    might obtain this information. I would greatly appreciate any help in this matter.
    • CommentAuthorCam McLeman
    • CommentTimeSep 9th 2010 edited
     
    Well, if no one knows anywhere knows the answer...

    I guess I'm wondering what the point of asking here is -- surely if someone here knew the answer, they would've answered it on MO.

    p.s. In looking for the question you were referring to, I couldn't help but notice you have questions whose answers should be accepted. (When can boundedness be characterized topologically in Metric spaces?, for one)
  3.  

    I noticed the same thing as Cam. You've asked 35 questions, about 75% of which have received at least one answer. Of these, I took a quick look and decided at that at least half have answer which seems to be correct and definitive (often you have comments indicating this), but you only have accepted one answer. This is rather poor etiquette in general, and in this case it is specifically counterproductive. A sizable factor in the decision to think about, or answer, a question is who has asked it -- is this a person with a good reputation on the site, and in particular someone who will properly acknowledge the work done to answer a question? It is possible that some people may have stopped looking as closely at your questions because of this.

    Another consideration is that to best get people's attention, you should phrase your questions as cleanly as possible and use the terminology people are most likely to recognize. The title of the question you ask about uses terminology that I have never heard before -- terminology which is used for concepts which I certainly have heard before -- and indeed I don't think I ever looked at that question until now. Henno Brandsma in his comments suggests an equivalent version which is much crisper. I suggest you check that this is actually equivalent to your question, and then edit the question so as to ask it Henno's way.

    Then, if you wait a week or so and still get no answers...well, you have some real evidence at least that your question is an open problem. In this case, you might also want to specifically ask a few general topologists, since general topology has some expert representation on MO but not really the quality or quantity of such in some other areas, like number theory, algebraic geometry, or logic. I don't see how you can ever know for sure that a problem is open, you can only acquire various degrees of certitude.

    • CommentAuthorgarabed2
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2010
     
    Thanks alot for your comments and suggestions. I did not mean to imply that I had not received responses
    to my question No. 33928-merely that it did not seem to be known whether the question was open or not.
    This was really the main thing I wanted to know and I thought it would be well known. But, as you say, the
    problem is most likely of interest mainly to topologists. I agree too, that I should have asked the question
    the way Henno Brandsma did and would like to do so now (except that I am afraid of its being closed as
    a "repeat question")
    I have certainly asked alot of questions on MO and gotten alot of helpful answers, and I regret it if my
    acknowledgement of these answers seems insufficient. I am still trying to learn the most appropriate
    way to "ask questions" and "accept answers" on MO. For example, is there a way to "accept an answer"
    other than by writing a "comment "?
  5.  

    For example, is there a way to "accept an answer" other than by writing a "comment "?

    Sure -- just click on the "check mark" next to the answer (top left).

    • CommentAuthorgarabed2
    • CommentTimeSep 16th 2010
     
    Thanks, Jose, for this information which is something I never knew before.
  7.  
    Note: If you edit your question (I think anyone can edit his/her own non-comment posts), to replace it with the "better" version, it will show up at the top of the "active question" queue. You don't have to ask a new question.

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