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Questions tagged [on-topic]

Questions about whether or not a given question or sort of question is on topic at Worldbuilding Stack Exchange.

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2
votes
1answer
94 views

People Keep Asking Science Questions

I've noticed that a lot of people are asking science questions without giving any kind of worldbuilding context. I have been guilty of this in the past. It can be tempting to post a question that you ...
1
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1answer
82 views

Is this question really off-topic?

I don't know much about the tags or rules in Meta, since I usually just briefly lurk, so I'd appreciate it if someone can fix the tags to be more appropriate and I apologise if I've broken any rules ...
2
votes
1answer
43 views

Is background lore considered worldbuilding or storytelling?

I'm hoping to ask a question related to a funny narrator anecdote similar to what you find in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, though with some interaction with the main character. However, I'm not ...
8
votes
2answers
111 views

Asking about legal scenarios

Say I'm building the grounds for a story, but I'm concerned with the specific legal arguments that would revolve a given hypothetical situation. I could ask a legal question on law.stackexchange, but ...
9
votes
4answers
228 views

Why is my question not about building a world?

My first question on this site has been put on hold because I am "asking questions about a story set in a world instead of about building a world". I read the linked explanation on meta, but I don't ...
26
votes
6answers
541 views

Let's talk about sexploitation questions

I have seen some questions that just stand out as not belonging in WB (nor Stack Exchange, nor any other Q&A sites) and that have one characteristic in common: they seem to be coming from a (...
2
votes
1answer
65 views

What makes for a good “why would” question that stays on-topic?

Most of these types of questions get judged as too story based, and get closed rather quickly. However, there are a few gems that have lasted the test of time. These mythical diamonds in the rough ...
6
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3answers
136 views

Are “how would X explain Y?” questions on-topic?

I just read How would a physicist explain this starship engine?. I actually like the question, but I wonder if it's opening a bag of worms? The Cons I See When I asked the community about the "...
-2
votes
1answer
73 views

Why was the “Deities vs You /Liquid Anon/ What'd be the most optimal carrier fluid comopsition?” put on hold as too story-based?

Deities vs You /Liquid Anon/ What'd be the most optimal carrier fluid comopsition? I really don't have a clue. Why was the question put on hold as too story-based of all reasons?
2
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3answers
45 views

Are geology, oceanography and metheorology planetary questions better suited for Earth Sciences Exchange?

I realized I could as geologist answer some of your questions about planets, but i am wondering if you would find better answers at ES exchange when they are not fantasy worlds as bloody oceans and so ...
-3
votes
2answers
159 views

Is “The Elementary Evil vs You /Wights/ Rooting Henry's troops out” ready for reopening

The Elementary Evil vs You /Wights/ Rooting Henry's troops out They said it was too story-based and broad. Good thing I had that GoT fanfiction idea that instead of season 7, the Night King just ...
-3
votes
1answer
104 views

Why was “Making a sword in the stone, in a medieval world without magic” *not* closed?

Annoyed by some of my questions and those of other people being closed for spurious reasons, I decided to set up two test questions. The first question This was deliberately designed to be popular ...
5
votes
1answer
249 views

Why was “How can The Temple of Elementary Evil reliably protect itself against kinetic bombardment?” put on hold?

So, I'm not sure why but this one was put on hold: How can The Temple of Elementary Evil reliably protect itself against kinetic bombardment? So, why was it put on hold?
0
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3answers
120 views

Answer contains description of real-life animal torture and my edit request was denied. Is such content acceptable?

A user posted a pretty disturbing description of actual animal torture in an answer. Instead of flagging the whole answer I tried to remove the offending passage while keeping the actual answer, but ...
12
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5answers
385 views

Are History of Worldbuilding questions on topic?

See this question: History of Worldbuilding - The Flying City Should questions such as this be considered on or off topic?
-10
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1answer
70 views

Can we have a MacGyver tag or category?

The great strength of this community is its wide-ranging expertise on diverse subjects. Questions that involve an individual are routinely put on hold as too story based but where else can we go for ...
5
votes
3answers
146 views

Inconsistency in closure of story-based questions

I don't want to encourage extra closures and I certainly don't want to close any of the following. In fact I prefer to keep them open. How would a superhero who needs to fall asleep to use his powers ...
-2
votes
7answers
135 views

Why is this on hold?

I do not feel that my thread was put on hold in good faith. This is the thread. This is my question: "What goods, available to Group B, could create a trade relationship that is existential to the ...
12
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6answers
231 views

Real World Worldbuilding?

I'm mainly active on Writing SE, but I'll often redirect someone here if I think their question is primarily about worldbuilding. However, I consider worldbuilding to be any kind of background ...
8
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3answers
131 views

'Alternate word' questions: Worldbuilding SE or English SE?

I recently saw this question, asking for an alternate word or phrase to the English phrase 'human rights'. One couldn't use that phrase for non-human alien species, so the question was asking for ...
11
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4answers
197 views

Questions about worlds with low maturity - What to do when a question cannot be answered right now?

EDIT: I've added a 4th point that I want help with I have recently noticed a lot of questions that seem like quite chaotic approaches to world building. In my humble opinion, if your approach is ...
2
votes
3answers
75 views

“I don't have a clue about X, but I'm using it in half-written story. Please explain!!”

Example: Travelling the multiverse by accident? The original question: As you've probably guessed, I have no idea about how multiverses and parallel universes, or space-time travel, etc work. But, ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views

Are “explanations for magic” something that belong on World Building SE? [duplicate]

I see more and more questions asking for help to explain how a specific magic could "work". They are all opinion based, a kind of brainstorm exercise, and sound more like plot related questions than ...
10
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6answers
334 views

How should we deal with inherently open-ended fishing-for-ideas questions?

We've had a number of questions lately that, in my opinion, skirt the rules. They're not specific (per the new Help Center, THANKS! for that BTW). Examples are: Anti-Psychic Countermeasures What ...
37
votes
5answers
483 views

Are the “spoon” questions on-topic? And should they be?

I'm not currently a particularly active user on Worldbuilding, although I've contributed a bunch of answer back when the site was new. I do, however, regularly visit several other sites on the Stack ...
-8
votes
1answer
185 views

Opinions about the new Technobabble tag

A recent question introduced the technobabble tag. Click here to read its wiki. I like this tag. I think it reflects the highly creative nature of the site and balances the fact that far too often ...
12
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6answers
310 views

How curious is too curious?

The fallout from Worse than zombies, part 1, has reminded me that I keep meaning to ask to what extent one can ask question about things they are curious about rather than issue they need answers to. ...
3
votes
2answers
162 views

Why is everyone suddenly so strongly against homework questions?

This meta question has sparked a flurry of responses saying we need to get tough on homework questions being asked under the guise of worldbuilding. This argument has come up several times in the 'are ...
2
votes
5answers
142 views

How and why is my question too broad?

I asked this question yesterday which was marked as too broad. One of the comment from @JBH stated this reason: "How to build a world" questions are occasionally asked here. If the question is very ...
2
votes
1answer
65 views

Was this resource question closed because of the word “best?”

I found this question: The best tool for drawing on (Google) Maps It's been closed as POB. Was that because of the OP's use of the word "best?" I thought software recommendations were allowed so ...
7
votes
1answer
203 views

Is the “suitable dress” question off topic?

There has recently been a question asked: How plausible is it for a 12-year-old girl to walk through a village in her swimsuit in England? The question is asked well and has good answers...But is it ...
-2
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1answer
91 views

What's a good question about world building?

There's this site, where you ask questions about worldbuilding, so I was wondering what good question about world building are there?
28
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10answers
1k views

A proposal to finalize the “are real world questions on-topic” debate

If you would like to discuss this or explain disagreements, or want clarification please feel free to join this chatroom. The moderators have discussed the recent re-invigoration of the on or off ...
1
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3answers
79 views

Is name choice on-topic for Worldbuilding?

I'm very new to the SE "Worldbuilding" site, and therefore I'm not quite sure if a question I have is on-topic there. It is about the mechanics of a world, though its this world, and the mechanics ...
2
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4answers
165 views

Clarifying “What topics can I ask about here?” from the help center

This is pretty much a continuation of JBH’s post but it is narrowed down to a specific issue. It also comes after a suggestion from elemtilas to refocus the question. This is the question that shed ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views

Why is “How can a teleporter stop a bullet?” off-topic?

What's the safest way to catch a bullet in your body? Was closed for being off-topic, for being "too story-based." Why is it too story based?
0
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0answers
35 views

Is “How to make shotguns practical again” on topic? [duplicate]

I was thinking about asking how I can make shotguns practical in the military outside of a military police context but I think it might be a bit overly broad. Would you agree with this assessment and ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views

Can a popular question be kicked off the hot network question list?

I asked a question here that was receiving views and votes from the hot list and then it stopped. Marked as off topic although 12 people up voted it but it only took 5 to close it. I'm not complaining ...
2
votes
2answers
81 views

Would a question about classifying certain actions as rape be on topic?

I will say in advance that this isn't the most cheery subject. For my writing, I need to know whether a situation is classed as rape or not. However the situation involves a character who, using ...
1
vote
2answers
53 views

Remove now off-topic questions that were barely on-topic previously?

Ideas for a Worldbuilders mapping site, Mapping site - Go Break It and Mapping site (again) - Moderators are about the development, bug collection/review and moderation of a mapmapking tool that was ...
11
votes
1answer
294 views

“I have an implausible end goal. Please tell me how to get there!!”

Plausible Weapon or Other to Cause Space-stage Civilization to Shatter and Revert to Primitive Societies Since I am horrible at coming up with ideas, I couldn't think of a circumstance or weapon ...
2
votes
2answers
37 views

Would asking for an outline for worldbuilding issues be on-topic?

Would a question on writing an outline specifically for my worldbuilding belong in the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange or on the Writing Stack Exchange? I mean general advice for how to structure my ...
2
votes
2answers
78 views

How is the “phenotype inheritance” question on-topic?

There's a recent question on the stack here asking about phenotypic variance within an arbitrary ancestral tree. At first, I assumed it was simply mis-posted on Worldbuilding because it seems to be ...
4
votes
2answers
142 views

Would a question about how deep someone needs to be buried so they wouldn't be found be on-topic?

My friend has just heard about StackExchange and is in the middle of writing a horror story. When I showed her this site she asked me: "Could I ask how deep you would have to bury someone so they ...
6
votes
4answers
159 views

Questions with multiple answers but still flagged as off topic, too broad, or down voted

Not to be confused with: Why are questions with multiple answers off-topic? We've all seen questions that have been flagged as off topic, too broad, etc. or have been voted with negatives numbers. ...
4
votes
1answer
67 views

Why was my question about figuring out physical differences between fantasy races put on hold for being to vague?

I made a post called How to differentiate between elves and men where I asked about how to make elves physically different enough from mem that you could distinguish one from a man at a glance. I got ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views

Does this question regarding underwater spaceships lack worldbuilding purpose?

Why can't spaceships go underwater? The trouble I see with that question is a lack of criteria for the desired answers: It doesn't quite ask for the design a spaceship which can go underwater; ...
7
votes
0answers
164 views

How can a question be “Too Story Based” if there is no story involved?

This question is currently on hold for being too story based; What would be a realistic timeline for these prosthetic related events? But, the problem I am having is, there is no story in the ...
8
votes
1answer
151 views

Is questioning a well known trope on topic?

The question Virtual Reality and Physical Trauma is basically asking if there's any basis to the trope that wounds gained in VR appear in real life. Is reality checking a known trope on topic?
4
votes
2answers
103 views

Would a question about a potential voting system be on-topic?

For instance, I have the very beginnings of a question swirling around in my mind about a fairly hard to explain ranked-choice voting system (not even close to fleshed out in my mind yet) which might ...
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