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To understand why TeX-sx exists we need to think about the overall network aims and how sites inter-relate. I think to do that we first need a little history. The 'main site' (StackOverflow, 'SO') is about programming in general. The first sites that were created in parallel to SO (SuperUser and ServerFault, SU and SF, respectively) both have distinct ...
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Yes, this site follows different rules than most of the StackExchange sites do. This is given by a particularly specific topic (*TeX systems are very specific) which is mostly used by a particular type of people. So while on StackExchange such questions are in general frowned upon, we believe that these "showcases" provide a good reference for other people, ...
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I think it's important to remember that the 'bigger' StackExchange picture is that each site is a 'community'. On the 'main site' (StackOverflow), the community feeling is very much to avoid list-type questions. A classic example of one we have and I think most people on TeX-sx feel is useful is LaTeX Editors/IDEs. I guess you have to remember that the '...
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Solutions using alternative tools which fall within the 'TeX sphere' are entirely appropriate and have always been welcome. Obvious examples are that plain or ConTeXt solutions to LaTeX problems are often possible, or that picture mode, MetaPost, ... answers to TikZ question are often illustrative. For that to work, of course, there needs to be some care in ...
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This is a summary of the comments, so that we can get an answer. There are a number of reasons why TeX.se exists, and StackOverflow is not the best place for asking TeX related questions.
First and foremost, the Stack Exchange model is based on user choices: new sites can be proposed by anyone on the Area 51 site and if the site gains enough visitors, ...
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I think the answer is "it depends".
If you search for "Lilypond" on both sites you get a pretty complementary set of questions, and that seems appropriate: the ones here are about the integration of TeX and Lilypond (questions about fonts or engines, for example) while the ones on Music.SX are generally about setting the music itself.
So I think for most ...
23
I was one of the persons who voted to re-open the posting in question, so let me take a minute to explain my reasons.
Basically, I disagree with the claim that the posting in question is "so opinion-based that it can't be answered objectively". The posting obviously expresses some very strongly held opinions, and I will readily note that not every locution ...
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I think there are three different kinds of questions which could be considered relating to typography. One kind is inherently subjective and opinion based and therefore off topic, while the other two I think are usually on topic. Unfortunately the typography tag is a bit of a mess in terms of what kinds of questions it picks out.
Document layout questions
...
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At present, none of the close voters have left comments on why they are voting to close. Thus the best we can do is speculate. First, I'll look at the general case I think we've got here, then move on to your question specifically.
Questions about (TeX-focused) editors are on topic in general, but there is an issue when an editor simply cannot do a ...
21
As the question indicates, almost all real (La)TeX documents will be created using a text editor. There are three distinct ways that might be done.
Using a standard text editor with no (La)TeX-specific add-ons. This category covers for example using Notepad, TextEdit or 'vanilla' Emacs.
Using a standard text editor with add-ons. This covers both simple ...
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It's a nice idea, it's fun, we can learn from it. However, I think this question is not suitable for TeX.SE.
From the FAQ:
You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual
problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the
usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page.
This question would be ...
18
Not necessarily. First, I don't think that especially math font identification is 100% welcome on GD.SE. Second, most often when the question is asked here, it has a subtle sub-question: "... and how to use this font in LaTeX?"
This makes the question off-topic on GD.SE and on-topic here. Of course, one can argue that the question should be split then (font ...
18
TeX - LaTeX followed the regular Area 51 proposal process to get where it's at today.
From the Area 51 FAQ:
How do I start a new site?
If your area of expertise doesn't already have a Stack Exchange site, propose it! Stack Exchange sites are free to create and free to use. All we ask is that you have an enthusiastic, committed group of expert users who ...
17
There is a difference between cosmetics that TeX should perform and cosmetics that purely rely on the typesetters choice.
If the question is about how to turn on/off ligatures, implement auto kerning hyphenation, letterine, ornaments etc. or the specification is given and don't know how to realize in terms of TeX then it is obviously on-topic.
But if it ...
16
I voted to close as "opinion based" (and enough people did the same that it was closed).
But since that vote was overturned and people voted to open it, I added an answer.
The answer does of course include subjective opinion, but democracy wins I suppose. It doesn't mean I think it's necessarily a good question (for this site) or necessarily a good answer (...
16
I think the answer has to be no really. It seems to be stretching the "related typesetting systems" too far. There is a lilypond tag on stackoverflow
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Lilypond originally was developed using LaTeX, but the current version does not use TeX at all to produce its output of graphical music scores. So questions about Lilypond's syntax (or the Scheme syntax used to modify it) are off topic.
As with any program that produces graphical output (Inkscape, Gimp, Photoshop), you can include the output graphic files ...
16
I think this is in principle not an off-topic question, since it does relate to TeX and related tools. However, to avoid it being closed as a duplicate, you might want to check out the following questions already on the site and only craft a new one if those answers don't answer your question:
What graphics packages are there for creating graphics in LaTeX ...
15
If your question is about how to write such mathematics with (La)TeX or if it is possible in your requested way at all, then the question would be on-topic, but should be well phrased nevertheless.
If you are looking for some other software, or looking for people to program one for you, then the question would be off-topic.
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If you are printing using TeX, then yes it's on topic, if you are not printing using TeX then it's fairly clearly off topic.
14
As a faculty member who teaches an annual "Technical Writing Using LaTeX" class, I find the "Big List" questions with multiple answers very useful.
Students can quickly be shown a very broad answer or survey to a topic.
The multiple answers in a list are very motivating when I first introduce a topic in LaTeX.
Extremely valuable is the inclusion of MWE for ...
14
If no TeX is involved, then it's off-topic here. Stack Overflow is the right place to ask the question.
All the same, many users on this site use pandoc and Markdown, and have lots of experience converting document formats. So if you don't get an answer to your SO question you might ask in the chat room here.
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I'm not really a fan of such questions, as it remains really open-ended (or too broad). Answers can be as simple as "No, that's the best you can do" to 10 answers each doing it in different ways. You may even have both these options (no + a bunch of yes's and/or alternatives) in the same set of answers, depending on the end-user's expertise, making ...
13
You have given the necessary connection to TeX yourself. This means IMO the question is perfectly on topic here.
Although the site description explicitly mentions "Related software and tools, BibTeX, MakeIndex, Lyx, etc.", I don't think a question about PDF as produced by pdftex would be any less on topic than a question about arara or configuring some ...
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Flagging using the generic 'needs mod attention' function is fine (though we tend to be conservative about closing). Whilst we can add a limited number of custom close reasons for the site, the number of uses has never seem worth it: we don't have one big use of flagging.
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As I see this question it's a perfect candidate for http://math.stackexchange.com (as already suggested by a comment to that question). They users there aren't bad in TeX either, because they use it with MathJax.
Because there is already a specialized SX site for this I agree that we should consider such questions as off-topic on TeX.SX. However, migration ...
12
Yes. And since Graphic Design is now mature, can we have a proper migration path, please?
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I don't see that we are accepting opinion-based questions. You might be alerted because of the
Is LaTeX used for novels?
LaTeX vs Word; improvements of LaTeX over the years
Why is LaTeX so complicated?
Does LaTeX really perform worse than Word?
In any case two of them passed hundred votes and the others are around twenty. Now saying well it can be ...
12
No they are not. We have some happy-trigger people who likes to see only what they want to see. And they vote to close on practically anything ignoring our long-lost grace period and wait-for-a-reply habits.
That's how five people who have nothing else to do, can alienate users from once-known as a friendly place in the name of almost a hundred active ...
12
Should questions be to the point or provide context?
I would say, both. I have struggled with this point now and in the past. It is an art (to me, at least) to provide enough background that potential X-Y problems are avoided, but not provide too much information that it confuses the objective or makes the question "too localized" and not of much benefit to ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
