I have noticed in recent weeks a plethora of answers/comments recommending that people ask their questions on MathOverflow.net when it is clearly NOT appropriate to do so. MathOverflow is for questions of interest to professional/academic mathematicians. Their FAQ clearly states this, and they close down questions very quickly that are below that level.
Nearly all of the math-related questions on this site are inappropriate for asking on MathOverflow. We do both our community and theirs a disservice by sending math questions there. Until there is a site that is more suited to "amateur" mathematics questions (and I include myself in this group) that often occur on this site, we really don't have a place to refer non-programming questions.
Here are some recent questions that have recommended mathoverflow but probably shouldn't, and are perpetuating the myth that it's the destination for mathematics questions:
- New Site Suggestion
- Can you add a math related site to the “Trilogy”?
- Where to ask questions on mathematics ..
Are there any other ways we can correct this problem?
edit: just a note -- I am not in any way involved the management of the MathOverflow site.
professionalmathoverflow.net
sounds good. If you silo yourself for only 'professional' mathematicians, then you hurt anyone interested in the field of math. In this case, the problem is that the name of the website tells the user that all math questions are welcome. It's a big sign that says, "come in".