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Our help page What topics can I ask about here? says:–

If your question is about

  • Programming, ask on Stack Overflow. If the language is statistically oriented (such as R, SAS, Stata, SPSS, etc.), then decide based on the nature of your question: if it needs statistical expertise to understand or answer, ask it here; if it's about an algorithm, routine data processing, or details of the language, then please refer to the collection of links to resources we maintain.

    • Can anyone tell the intent behind "if it's about an algorithm"? We don't regard questions about Fisher scoring or Hartigan–Wong as off-topic. I think we should clarify that clause (or else remove it altogether).

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    2 Answers 2

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    I believe I originally formulated this clause. The intended meaning of "algorithm" could more clearly be rendered as "implementation of an algorithm." It was not meant to suggest that (statistically-related) algorithms are off-topic here.

    Subject to further discussion, I would propose inserting the phrase "the implementation of" in the text.

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      $\begingroup$ Thanks, I've followed your suggestion. $\endgroup$
      – Scortchi Mod
      Commented Jul 8, 2016 at 11:51
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    A possible alternative would be "if it's about writing or implementing code,". This distinguishes it from statistical algorithms altogether by using language specific to programming.

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