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This question:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/75944119/variance-of-truncated-normal-distribution

asks how to read a formula in order to perform a particular calculation. As I read it, it's not a computing question. It might arguably be a mathematics question, but to my reading of it, it's well within the borders of what we would normally discuss here.

Why would we be migrating it to stackoverflow?

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    $\begingroup$ IIRC, I voted it first to close on the grounds of self-study as it basically threw a formula and asked how to use (without any attempts to comprehend the same). I didn't vote to migrate it. But now reading again, imo, it was implicitly asking to show a running example which the answer did, so the migration could be defended. I am not able to decipher any statistical content apart from the fact that the relations are relevant statistically. However that is my opinion only. $\endgroup$
    – User1865345
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 2:25
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    $\begingroup$ Thanks for the response! Migrating it based on the fact that the answer had code (if that were the basis, but I am not sure of that) would be blaming the question for the form of the answer it got. I really don't see the question as asking for code (not that code of itself would necessarily disqualify a question in any case). $\endgroup$
    – Glen_b
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 4:38
  • $\begingroup$ Sure, Glen_b. I deem the migration as a borderline case, if not wrong. At any rate, the poster was asking to input some numbers, calculate the formula. There was no statistical issue with it (again, imo) . But your query is why it was migrated to SO. I would wait for whuber to articulate the reason (of course if whuber wants to). $\endgroup$
    – User1865345
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 4:54
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    $\begingroup$ Sure, agreed; there's no necessary requirement on a mod to explain each decision (I didn't notice or mind who did what when I posted this question). I was simply hoping to understand better for my own choices (making ordinary-user moderation decisions like voting to close or migrate etc) because if anything I'd have expected the migration to go in the opposite direction and I wondered if there was something important I should take account of that I was missing. I hope our choices were more or less consistently aligned most of the time and I couldn't see a good way to get to this one. $\endgroup$
    – Glen_b
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 5:01
  • $\begingroup$ I do see that the OP's response to the question from the person that posted the answer mentions R, but again that doesn't of itself imply that the question was asking for code or was about code. Perceptions of the intent of the question could certainly differ from mine. I am not in any sense trying to suggest that the choice was wrong, just not something I presently understand. $\endgroup$
    – Glen_b
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 5:11
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    $\begingroup$ My speculation: The question already shows the formula for the variance of the truncated normal distribution. And in the comments it is added "but am looking for the numerical calculation". That comment turn it into a programming oriented question. One might still consider it ontopic when the question is about deciphering the symbols used in the formula and not about how to compute it in some software, but I find it not weird to see it being migrated given that it can be interpreted as a question about coding. $\endgroup$
    – Sextus Empiricus
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 9:43
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    $\begingroup$ IMO it should have been kept here. Asking to explain a formula is a valid question here, and answering with a code is valid, too, many questions and answers include code. "Self-study" is not against the rules either, and every study is self-study anyway. Maybe instead of voting to close, migrating, meta discussing the question and border cases, you could just answer it, and everybody would be better off $\endgroup$
    – rep_ho
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 12:34
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    $\begingroup$ @rep_ho No; every study is not self-study. As a teacher too, I consider that there is a big difference in principle between an assignment students are expected to tackle on their own and any other project. There is a grey area, naturally, but the distinction is there for a purpose. $\endgroup$
    – Nick Cox
    Commented Apr 7, 2023 at 8:05
  • $\begingroup$ @NickCox i know the purpose, i just don't agree with it, but that's for an another discussion. $\endgroup$
    – rep_ho
    Commented Apr 7, 2023 at 8:18
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    $\begingroup$ Curious but unimportant point to be aware of rather than act on: my comment on the accepted answer was on CV (with LaTeX, which is not used at SO) and the answer was edited on CV before migration; the original answer and the fact it was edited is not visible. $\endgroup$
    – Henry
    Commented Apr 9, 2023 at 14:30
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    $\begingroup$ @Henry I apologize for that and will try to review comments before migrating questions. $\endgroup$
    – whuber Mod
    Commented Apr 10, 2023 at 16:19

1 Answer 1

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I migrated it. I agree it was a borderline case for migration, but it was a very clear case for closure for multiple reasons (which I am sure most of you can readily enumerate: self study, duplicated, image-only, off-topic, etc.). Because the question explicitly is "somebody show me how to do the calculation" and it had received an answer in code, I felt the more constructive solution was migration rather than closure.

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  • $\begingroup$ I completely agree with this. +1. $\endgroup$
    – User1865345
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 13:48
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    $\begingroup$ But also I agree with Glen that in general posts shouldn't be handled on the basis of the type of answers it received. $\endgroup$
    – User1865345
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 13:49
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    $\begingroup$ @User1865345 I have not intended to imply the type of answer was the cause of closure, because it was not the basis of my decision: with one glance at the post I knew it needed to be closed. But the answer was the icing on the cake, because it gave me hope that the existence of a good code-oriented answer would help the post survive on SO. $\endgroup$
    – whuber Mod
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 13:53
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    $\begingroup$ No whuber. I didn't say so either. I just said it in a generic sense. I agree with your point. $\endgroup$
    – User1865345
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 13:54
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    $\begingroup$ Thanks for migrating instead of closing. $\endgroup$
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Apr 14, 2023 at 2:37
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    $\begingroup$ If a question is "a very clear case for closure for multiple reasons" (many of which may apply on the target site as well), I'd think this is specifically a reason not to migrate. Migrating a bad question just creates moderation work on the target site, whereas closing/deleting it should be the end of moderation (if the problems aren't fixed). Don't migrate bad questions. $\endgroup$
    – NotThatGuy
    Commented Apr 17, 2023 at 16:04

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