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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Are ARG-related questions allowed?
Am I allowed to ask questions on Worldbuilding for an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) that I'm creating?
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Are questions about game mechanics in litrpgs allowed on this site?
In a recent question, the idea of discussing worldbuilding in the context of game mechanics and litrpg things was discussed. KerrAvon2055 and sphennings stated that game mechanics were off limits for ...
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Are questions involving mythical creatures on-topic? Is folklore different from 3rd-party worlds?
This discussion spun off from the most recent ACS debate but it should by no means be taken as an opinion either way on the ACS format. Whether that specific tag/series is kept or axed makes no ...
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How far can we push the term worldbuilding?
I don’t know how much discussion has been on a topic like this already, but allow me to explain.
The term "world-building" was first used in the Edinburgh Review in December 1820 and ...
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Would a very-specific "How would X influence Y" question be closed?
If you're go on Worldbuilding often enough, eventually your bound to see a closed question that sounds something like this:
How would human society be different if a super-cosmic-death-ray was ...
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Could Neverland be built on Worldbuilding Stack Exchange today?
Let me open by saying, worlds are big
It is fair to say that many novels have more than double the content involved in worldbuilding as they do in story and plot. Publishers have a special allowance ...
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Can I ask about invasions?
What we can hopefully agree on:
Worldbuilding is about working out general systems and rules, not specific situations or plots.
Warfare is a condition composed of many different discrete instances ...
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How to prevent suggestions on reality check?
The tag reality-check states:
Asks if a given concept is realistic in a given context. Answers should say yes or no, with supporting info.
However I seem to be getting suggestions on alternatives ...
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Debate on the relevance of law-related questions
I've seen a couple law-related questions closed recently for being "not worldbuilding", not all of them my own, so I would appreciate a clarification of the rules. I have identified several ...
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Help me understand the required level and relevance of "worldbuilding context" in questions that can be answered with real-world science
I want to ask in the context of the now-infamous gerrymandering question, which got removed because it did not do enough worldbuilding. It's not my question, and I have zero interest in seeing it put ...
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Ideas about moviemaking
I have a question about my Worldbuilding Stack Exchange post: making history true again
I have asked this in another SE site and they introduced me to you.
I have asked but didn't find appropriate ...
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Is illusion or delusion a legitimate answer to a world building question?
This answer got me thinking. Is it a legitimate answer to a worldbuilding question of the "how could X be true?" variety to say that it's not really true and certain characters who provide the ...
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Is asking for advice or critique on your world on-topic here?
This recent question is a little baffling and very long-winded, but it seems OP's intended "question" is asking for advice, critique, or feedback on their construction of their matriarchy so far. Is ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
user67090
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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 (...
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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 ...
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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 "...
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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?
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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 ...
user61971
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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'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 ...
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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 ...
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"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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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