The question you're asking is designed to solicit opinions or best-practices on a particular topic, with the goal of reaching community consensus.
16
votes
4answers
229 views
Have we had ANY professionals participate in SFF?
Are/were there any SFF professionals (writers, or movie people) who posted on this site?
By professional, I mean someone who did a paid job involved with producing SFF content.
11
votes
1answer
155 views
What does “user removed” mean and why did I lose reputation?
I just looked at my rep and I got hit with -70 because "User removed". Was someone banned? And I thought after about 5 mins up/down votes were cemented in and couldn't be changed unless an edit to the ...
-5
votes
2answers
52 views
Tagging Middle-earth
We have lord-of-the-rings, the-hobbit, silmarillion, tolkien, rings-of-power, and middle-earth. And they're just the ones I've noticed. I'm inclined to think that anyone interested in any of these ...
-3
votes
2answers
37 views
Should we have a magic-artifact tag?
While reading through the questions this morning, I found this one:
Where Did Dolores Umbridge Get Her Evil Quill?
While all the current tags are correct, this is specifically about a magic item. It ...
2
votes
2answers
60 views
2
votes
0answers
56 views
PSA: use this nifty Data Explorer query to see how close you are to Taxonomist badge
I haven't seen that query on DataExplorer before (searching for "Taxonomist" in query list).
For your pleasure, I present:
How close are you to a Taxonomist Badge
13
votes
1answer
351 views
Can we be consistent with “Is X a Timelord” questions?
I know the "Is X a Timelord" discussion gets a bit old, but I think we should come up with a consistent scheme.
As far as I know the first question of this kind was asked by TangoOversway:
Is Santa ...
6
votes
2answers
113 views
Should mods remove the Community Wiki status of posts that were improved several times by the original author (or others)?
I made a query to List Non-Closed Community Wiki Posts and I checked 2 random ones:
Why doesn't a blackhole destroy a Stargate?
How many different Enterprises were there?
They seem to have ...
6
votes
1answer
152 views
Do I need to provide peer-reviewed articles proving the answer I wish to find before I ask the question?
Check out this comment.
An acceptable question would have been: "This is a peer reviewed literary analysis from a reputable source, showing this, that and thus example that the writing style ...
12
votes
2answers
204 views
What is the Dark Knight tag intended to be used for?
The dark-knight tag reads as follows:
The Dark Knight is one the nicknames for the DC Comic superhero Batman and the name of a 2008 live action feature film. Also refered to as the Caped Crusader ...
9
votes
22answers
462 views
Hat suggestions 2012 [closed]
Since we opted in to the hat promotion thing, I thought it would be a good idea to vote which site-specific hats would be most wanted by the community. It seems to be unclear if and how many hats we ...
13
votes
4answers
219 views
Should we opt in for the special Hat Dash promo?
Just recieved the following email from Stack Exchange, and wanted to know if you guys think we should participate:
Last year, on our Gaming site, we hosted an event called Hat Dash, where users ...
6
votes
0answers
113 views
Nominate questions for re-open
Now that a consensus is that there shouldn't be any closure of questions that are marked general reference, please nominate your favorite questions for re-open.
If you have sufficient privileges, ...
2
votes
3answers
87 views
What References Do Users Want to Accept on SFF Should General Reference Be Eliminated? [closed]
Mark Trapp noted in his comment to Martha here:
Other sites other than Wikipedia/IMDB pass your "availability test" and Wikipedia/IMDB fail the "reliability test" (they can, and most assuredly ...
22
votes
5answers
437 views
Should we burninate General Reference?
The General Reference closure reason has been a continuing source of contention.
I'm still not clear on what it is intended to accomplish (explanations I've seen have ranged from showing that the ...
5
votes
3answers
263 views
Is unrealistic anime or manga automatically considered sci-fi/fantasy?
I recently read this question and I gathered from a comment, as all the manga/anime in question was 'unrealistic' (because of the volumes of food eaten) it was considered 'on-topic' even if it didn't ...
9
votes
3answers
214 views
Is the answer appearing in the first few results of a Google search sufficient basis for a *potential* General Reference closure?
I know there are previous discussions on this, but they appear to be somewhat contradictory, and it is coming up enough that we should have a clear and current consensus.
In the original What sites ...
-3
votes
2answers
142 views
Should the question about the cat in chapter 17 of PoA be reopened?
This question has been closed as general reference: Who was the cat in the chapter 17 of 3rd book?
I think the question deserves downvotes but not close votes. If you see comments there, CVers have ...
6
votes
1answer
162 views
Inappropriate content? Seriously?
With the profanity discussion going on, I posted an xkcd strip in chat which was even starred! The system decided this was inappropriate and answered:
your account has been automatically suspended ...
10
votes
3answers
264 views
Is profanity in direct quotes from source material permitted?
I've just seen the question “Exorcist” possession: when and why? which contains a direct quote from the source material that contains profanity. This question was later edited "before it got flagged ...
11
votes
2answers
303 views
When is it okay to ask about a character's sexual orientation?
We've gotten two questions in the past few hours that ask if a character in a TV show is gay:
Is Major Nelson gay in I Dream of Jeannie
Is Dr. McCoy gay in Star Trek?
The former is currently ...
15
votes
4answers
373 views
I haven't read the book/watched the movie/… May I ask a question about it?
I would like to ask a question about a book or short story that I haven't read, or about a movie or TV series that I haven't watched, or about a radio program that I haven't listened to, etc.
Is that ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
What's the bench mark for spoilerification? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is there a moratorium on some spoilers?
How long should we wait before not spoiler tagging sections of questions?
15
votes
3answers
357 views
Is general reference used inconsistently?
The general reference close reason reads as follows:
This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed ...
5
votes
2answers
272 views
Fate of the question about the Mary Sue-ness of Harry Potter characters
Are any of the characters in Harry Potter books a "Mary Sue"?
This question has a number of points against it:
It's obviously pretty subjective.
It's rather broad, being about all the ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
What is the meaning of spoiler?
I came across this word on this site. I posted one sci-fi question and many people started to downvote my question and called it a spoiler.
What does "spoiler" mean, and why is it causing people to ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views
Should we start considering other reliable Wikis for the ground of general reference? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is Wikia.com general reference?
For example, if one searches Google for a Star Trek keyword, result from Memory Alpha comes on the first page along with Wikipedia. ...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
Topic of the Fortnight - Fringe - Rewards!
This is the topic for posting suggests for the winner of the Fringe Fortnight. All suggestions welcome below!
1
vote
1answer
45 views
What if people have different opinion about the question's closure?
I recently asked a question, It was commented to re-alter the way it is posted and change the title of the question by the moderator. It has different opinion on its closure. So i believe based on the ...
10
votes
1answer
220 views
What is with all the “Earliest” questions?
Often times I see a question that sparks my interest, and it looks like it's going to ask for the origins of a particular theme, but then I read the question to find "what is the oldest story of" or ...
6
votes
2answers
82 views
Why do we pick the Topic of the Fortnight in chat rather than on meta?
We could just open another question for every topic and have people make suggestions in the form of answers (which can easily be voted up and down). Instead we use the starring system of the chat. ...
2
votes
2answers
47 views
Does absence of a reference count as “general reference”?
An interesting conundrum with a recent question: Which Doctor Who episodes were written by Steve Cole?
A few people have voted to close it as general reference, but someone points out that the linked ...
2
votes
2answers
50 views
Which SE site is a good place to ask about removing SFF custom CSS themes?
Meaning no offense to Jin, the current SFF theme is murder on my eyes (my eyes are probably more at fault than the designer :)
I'm rather weak at CSS-fu, especially on the user side (e.g. fixing CSS ...
3
votes
0answers
198 views
Twitter contest for 3-day passes to New York Comic Con 2012 [closed]
Stack Exchange is giving away 5 3-day passes to New York Comic Con via Twitter. Here’s what you have to do to enter the giveaway:
Follow the @StackSciFi Twitter account. Winners will be contacted ...
6
votes
1answer
73 views
Is asking for a resource on topic?
I haven't been able to find a Wheel of time FAQ up to date to Towers of Midnight on any of the various mirrors.
Is asking for a faq resource on topic?
Here's the dragonmount version of the FAQ which ...
5
votes
0answers
103 views
Topic of the Fortnight - Oct. 1-14
Topic of the Fortnight:
The topic of the fortnight is Fringe.
This topic was chosen by Izkata, in our chat room.
What can I ask?
Questions as they arise from the new season, as well as old ...
9
votes
0answers
114 views
New York Comic Con 2012, October 12-14 [closed]
UPDATE: All 3-day passes have been claimed. Thank you to everyone who claimed a pass. See you at the con!
New York Comic Con is soon approaching (October 12-14). For any users interested in ...
6
votes
1answer
87 views
We now have a Chat Room to discus the Topic of the Fortnight!
Here is where you can join in the discussion. Let me know your thoughts on the chat!
5
votes
1answer
76 views
Can I ask a question about the story flow of a fantasy series?
I recently started reading a long and popular fantasy series. I've reached about 50% of the first book (or so says kindle) and I'm so and so about it.
I was wondering if it's ok to ask a question ...
6
votes
3answers
247 views
Am I a “Selfish” User?
I was over reading Meta Stack Overflow and came across an admittedly old post called Slow Down Selfish Users where the OP takes users who don't choose answers frequently enough to task for being ...
3
votes
4answers
91 views
When Should We Edit a Title?
The most common edit other users do with my posts is to edit my title and change my title's formatting when the formatting is already correct. I have my preference for a title's style and I respect ...
-4
votes
2answers
132 views
Should we discourage perpetuating trolls by meme-fying them?
Everybody knows what I'm talking about (if you don't, never mind). It is indisputable that there are memes in this community that positively reinforce trolls in their behaviour by shovelling massive ...
4
votes
1answer
66 views
Who would partake in a Topic of the yet-to-be-finalised-period chat discussion?
I'm thinking of holding a regular chat session to discus the Topic of the X thread we are intending to run. This would be a good way to address what people want to do with and get out of such a thing, ...
2
votes
21answers
350 views
Shark vs Gorilla Blog Posts
In the chat JohnO suggested a Shark vs Gorilla series of blog posts. While Shark vs Gorilla questions are not allowed in the normal site, it could be something fun for people to participate in on the ...
7
votes
5answers
256 views
A call to arms! I mean Ads for Gaming.Stackexchange!
There are many of us on Arqade who would very much like to offload some of the "lore" questions here, so advertising there would definitely be good. – Mark Trapp
I've posted on Arqade about this ...
4
votes
3answers
144 views
What is the point in the community promotion ads that go to *this* site?
I was under the impression that the community promotion ads are shown only on this site
If that is so, can we remove the ones that send us in a circular loop:
...
7
votes
1answer
65 views
Can we ask questions on books written in other languages?
So far, I've only seen questions on English-specific books. Is this a language restriction?
-3
votes
3answers
287 views
Is there a point at which someone should start getting paranoid about serial downvoting?
Is there a point where someone can conclude that they are being serially down-voted without being an outright paranoid?
Around 11am:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
-2; 21 mins ago; downvote; When did Eru interfere ...
10
votes
2answers
156 views
What should I do with a question on a book whose answer I find by “reading with more attention”?
I have been re-reading the LotR and, it being a masterpiece and a huge work at the same time, I felt the need to ask for clarification about a rather specific issue.
I got a good answer and accepted ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
Should the questions on SFF have to include a mention of the ultimate goal of why you are asking them?
A question of mine just got VTCed with the explanation including a quote from a famous FAQ by Eric S. Raymond "How to Ask Questions The Smart Way":
from How to Ask Questions The Smart Way: "If you ...
