Where can I ask this question?

Question

So, I am somewhat annoyed now:

I ask a question on Stack Overflow.

It gets heavily downvoted and locked.

So, I try asking a question on GameDev about converting a mathematical formula into actual working code.

It does not get downvotes, but does get locked.

Now this would be fine, but then in the locking message I am specifically told to go to stack overflow?

So, either GameDev knows nothing about StackOverflow, or the person who locked it is badly informed.

(And, not that I should be talking about SO here, but their locking reason is "Questions seeking debugging help ("why isn't this code working?") must include the desired behavior" even though the question does list the desired behaviour! Jesus, why cant people make up their minds?)

So anyway, with that tiny rant/constructive criticism over, I would just like to ask: Where CAN I ask that question? Considering it is a programming question, I have no idea where else I should actually ask. I could potentially ask on the mathematics forum, however that would be severely offtopic and would definitely get locked.

Answer 1

So you are new around these parts. That is ok, first, let me say welcome!

Second, please stop and take a look around, there are rules and guidelines for this place and you have been breaking a few of them. I would strongly recommend you get started with a tour of the particular Stack Exchange site relevant to your topic:

http://www.stackoverflow.com/tour

Afterward, if you are still confused what you should be and shouldn't be asking, make your next stop the help center:

http://www.stackoverflow.com/help

Here you'll find specific QA for keeping you on-topic "What topics can I ask about here?", and the rules we try to follow here on the Stack Exchange.

The Stack Exchange community can be your best friend if you abide by a few of these rules. There are hundreds if not thousands of people willing to help answer your questions, but this community is firmly rooted in the mindset of happily "providing fishing lessons", but absolutely "no free fish".

Your problem is not that you were asking a question in the wrong place. It is that you were asking an unproductive question. By asking that question, you come very close to just asking for a solution, without showing much troubleshooting effort.

If you are truly here to learn, prove it with some effort.

Do not expect to show up with a problem, put in zero work, and walk away with an answer from someone else who solved it for you. You will see this time and time again, on Stack Exchange: "What have you tried?"

Ask better questions

In your first question, you ask "What is the error in this code?", take a look at that sentence. This is your code! You should have run it, and seen an error, if it exists. If it doesn't, and your getting weird output values, now you know its a logical issue; you can turn on your debugger, and start walking through the steps.

Follow these guidelines, read the manual and I think you will find Stack Exchange is an amazing community. We are looking forward to having you aboard; If you are up to the challenge.

Answer 2

It's closed here because it's about turning a mathematical function into code. That's not something that's specific to game development. It could also be closed as a "Debug my code" question. Those questions are not a good fit for the stack exchange sites. "Debug my code" questions only benefit the person asking them and don't help the community at large. You should ask it on a site that's more oriented for discussions, like a forum.