Where can I post a Reference List?

Question

Question:

Is there somewhere on this website that I can post a list of traits a species I am working on has, so I can refer back to this list as I ask individual questions about the viability of each trait?

I am currently working on a fictional species and have a list of 20-30 different traits I would like the species to have. While I do have the list in notepad, I was wondering if there was somewhere I could post this list on the site, and link to it as well as add the links of questions pertaining to each trait as I ask more questions on the Stack Exchange?

Because questions should be direct and focused on one issue at a time, I do not know if it makes sense to post this 20-30 point list at the bottom of each question I ask. It seems like it would add unnecessary clutter. Though I would like it to be available so people who respond can know a fuller context for the questions I ask.

Answer 1

If the question is about the viability of any one specific trait, then what difference do the others make?

If the question is about the viability of some subset of the traits in combination, then that subset is relevant to answering the question and thus should go into the question itself.

If the question is about the viability of all of the traits in combination, then all of the traits are relevant to answering the question and thus should go into the question itself.

Really,

• Don't spread things out! If it's relevant for the question, then it goes into the question, even if that means you're repeating yourself a bit. Don't assume that everyone has read, or is willing to read, all of your questions; make each question self-contained. See have you [...] included everything that is important for your question? and Do answers to your question depend on any knowledge specific to your setting that isn't included in the question[...]?
• Don't include unnecessary information! If it isn't relevant for the question, then it doesn't go into the question, either directly or by implied-useful reference. Trim ruthlessly until there is nothing left to trim from the question you're asking now.

A little humor generally doesn't hurt on Worldbuilding, but the majority of material in your questions should be material that is relevant to answering that one question.

I almost get the feeling that you want to use Worldbuilding SE as your own notebook. That is not its purpose! You should keep your own set of notes, which may include an extensive (and possibly more detailed) list of creature traits, to which you refer and from which you take the relevant parts when composing any single question.

Also, I disagree with Secespitus' suggestion to use a meta post for this. Meta is meant for discussing how the site works, whether something is on topic, about the implications of a particular policy, etc.; it is not meant for keeping extra material that would be off topic if posted on the main site.

Answer 2

A Meta post

The closest I can think off would be to start a Meta Post and put the list there with links to each item. To give you an idea of what I am thinking of you may want to have a look at some of the series that we have on this site:

Anatomically Correct Series

Creating a realistic world series

My “Alien Message” series

As you can see someone started a series and often other people contributed to this series, too. You can just create one of your own and link to the Meta Post in your Main Site questions.

But: Please remember that each question should stand on its own.

You can link for additional information, such as an Anatomically Correct question that almost always links to "A list of all the Anatomically Correct questions can be found [here](https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2797/anatomically-correct-series)". But you still have to mention all the important information in your question - it should not be necessary to read additional questions to understand your new ones.

It might add clutter to the question, but if you always put the same requirements at the end of your questions people who are familiar with your concept will just skip that part and people who are not familiar know what the requirements are. Think about it like this: maybe you find out that you need to change some of the traits, because someone mentioned something that made you re-think your current approach. It would be weird if later someone discovers an older question from you and looks at the linked list of requirements, only to find that the answers to the older question don't fit the requirements.

Maybe you can also only mention the traits that are important for the question you are currently asking. That depends on which traits you are referring to and what kinds of questions you want to ask. But in general I'd recommend you start a series post on Meta once you have maybe three or four questions and plan to continue for some time. Then you can link the Meta Post for those that are interested in the concept, which makes it a whole lot easier to find everything and know what may be coming up. And the list of common traits can just be a list at the end of the post. It may not be perfect to copy-paste that list to new questions, but it's important that every question stands on its own.

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You should also have a look at the reference tag and its description here:

For questions that collect links to reference material. When used to index posts that are related to each other, such as questions in a particular series or about a particular world, the question should have a single community-wiki answer to collect the links.