53
votes
Why is Worldbuilding Stack Exchange so good at answering questions?
Because it's easier (and more quickly gratifying) to be a jack of all trades than a master of one.
We're a community with topics described foremost in breadth, secondarily in depth.
A large number ...
- 17.5k
35
votes
Do we want to enable a banner stating that AI content is banned on WB.SE?
YES, I want the banner as explained in the question.
L.DutchMod
- 296k
21
votes
Why is Worldbuilding Stack Exchange so good at answering questions?
I think one of the things is that we have a culture where people don't have to be afraid of trying.
Let me borrow Durakken's reference to 2/10, 5/10, 10/10 answers.
On many scientific subject-...
- 29k
20
votes
Accepted
Why is this disliked?
The primary problem that I have with that question is that I find it unreadable. You wander off talking about crime and then start talking about a young man getting paid to go places and be good ...
- 25.3k
20
votes
When is "that's not possible" an appropriate answer?
That's Not Possible is a sufficient answer anytime the question is too constrained.
Questions that are Too Broad (unconstrained) are a problem because it's hard to know where to start answering.
...
- 34.8k
19
votes
Accepted
Accepted answer is a mix of given answers
Accepted answers are like car dealership stickers
Personally, I hate leaving one of my questions without an accepted answer. But that's me. Neither I nor you owe anybody anything. In fact, if you ...
- 128k
17
votes
The source(s) for my answer are NSFW. Should I link my sources?
I am great fan of a certain NSFW webcomic called Oglaf. It has a high-fantasy setting and a lot of the situations happening in it are perfect answers for some questions in this site. For example, in ...
- 142k
15
votes
How to handle "cop out" answers
We've had similar problems before with comments saying just use magic
This is basically a duplicate of a problem that has already been discussed on this site:
Are comments saying “just use magic” ...
- 17.7k
14
votes
Is a single rude remark inside an otherwise good answer grounds for deleting the whole answer?
NO
This is what the edit function is for.
I thought the comment was unnecessary and over the top, thought not actually "rude". I think it expressed a valid (if exasperated) position ...
- 40.9k
14
votes
Is it Fair to Encourage People to NOT Answer Questions that Need to be Closed?
As a user of this site, and as a moderator, I've seen a number of questions that received close votes for being 'bad', that to me as a subject matter expert in certain areas were eminently reasonable ...
Monty WildMod
- 65k
13
votes
When is "that's not possible" an appropriate answer?
Reality check is the big one for "that's not possible", I think a fair number of my answers are along those lines, but again, that to me is the point of the tag. Someone has come along saying "does ...
- 118k
13
votes
Real Life cannot be an overriding limitation on any question unless specifically requested
If the question doesn't specify the expected direction of answer, it's reasonable to infer from what information there is.
The Sea of Japan question doesn't specify any level of future tech, alternate ...
- 22.4k
12
votes
Should we delete answers that don't meet the requirements of the hard-science tag?
So my view on the subject.
Who is/are the arbiter(s) of whether or not an answer meets the requirements of the hard-science tag?
The community.
Instead of taking the step of deletion, I think we ...
- 17.5k
12
votes
Accepted
Is it acceptable for a question to have no accepted answer?
It is Acceptable
Stack Exchange has two different kinds of forums. It has Worldbuilding, where the expectation is that queries will be somewhat opinion based and responses will vary wildly in subject ...
- 40.9k
11
votes
Challenging Questions' Premises
We've discussed cases before when it doesn't work that way or that's not possible are valid answers if correctly written.
I don't think it's a valid reason to close a question, but it is a valid ...
- 118k
11
votes
Accepted
What to do about near-duplicate answers from unregistered user(s)?
If we're talking about this specific case only, I would say delete both.
The question asks about building a tower out of ivory. I think most of us would interpret that as asking about whether, if you ...
HDE 226868Mod
- 102k
11
votes
Accepted
How to lock my question and/or answers?
Locking can only be done by a moderator, or by the system under certain circumstances. It's not something you can do yourself. A locked post cannot be commented on, voted on, favorited, edited, or ...
- 1,398
11
votes
Accepted
How to make an answer using an existing work acceptable?
I think that the following two steps are needed to ensure the quality of the answer:
Provide proper reference, detailing out the specifics of the case
Explain why the referred example is applicable ...
L.DutchMod
- 296k
11
votes
Should I Start Flagging Answers on Underdeveloped Questions?
First of all, please be aware that moderators are volunteering their free time for handling exceptions that the community cannot handle.
Based on the above, raising tons of flag is not likely to ...
L.DutchMod
- 296k
11
votes
Is it permissible to cherry-pick someone else's answer for the same question?
The bottom line is that we're not here to compete with one another; we're here to write good answers (and ask good questions!).
I'm struggling to see where there's been any misconduct here. ...
HDE 226868Mod
- 102k
11
votes
Accepted
Is a single rude remark inside an otherwise good answer grounds for deleting the whole answer?
I will say that I do disagree with the deletion for reasons that many folks have articulated (though, as has also been acknowledged, the now-removed text was certainly over the line). Given that there ...
HDE 226868Mod
- 102k
10
votes
Why is this disliked?
This hit too close to our actual world and seemed to be some sort of sly remark on some current celebrity rather than an actual World-building question. While I don't love the implications, and I ...
- 32.1k
10
votes
Is it Fair to Encourage People to NOT Answer Questions that Need to be Closed?
Let's not become the Thought Police.
Given the site we are let's start with a quote from Babylon 5 :
I am Grey. I stand between the candle and the star. We are Grey. We stand between the darkness and ...
- 23.3k
9
votes
According to reality check, possibility implies existence
I think a major factor in this effect is the "Open World Assumption." I find the Open World Assumption to be very popular among people developing worlds because it states that anything which is not ...
- 133k
9
votes
Why is Worldbuilding Stack Exchange so good at answering questions?
Because there are many experts at building worlds. We all do it every day in some way or another. We come up with what could possibly connect point A with point C if we can't see point B and know what ...
- 6,618
9
votes
Checklist for the perfect answer - Idea refinement
Question: Are you actually answering the question, within the constraints stated in the question?
Should be answered: Yes
Worldbuilding SE is a part of the Stack Exchange network, ...
- 29k
9
votes
Accepted
Should ridiculous valid questions be answered or closed?
Just looking at the links you've provided, I think the answer is evident in at least the first and last questions as they've been closed. The last one in particular is clearly too broad and therefore ...
- 54.2k
9
votes
Good answers to bad questions, a voting issue
If the question is off-topic or otherwise unsuitable then it should be closed
Sometimes we get bad on-topic questions to which good answers can be given, but we shouldn't* encourage off-topic ...
- 118k
9
votes
How to tell people answers must adhere strictly to the conditions of a question
There shouldn't be a(nother) way for the OP to announce that they will be strict with answers (like with the hard-science tag) as it implies that the question can in all other cases be ignored and ...
- 17.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Posting two answers in a question
If both of your answers are standalone, independent answers that solve the issue in question in a totally unrelated way, then you should post them separately, making sure each one is high quality one.
...
- 33.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible