15
votes
How curious is too curious?
I think you might have stumbled onto an issue that first reared its head about two and a half years ago, waaaaay back in early 2016. It started with Is Worldbuilding a What If Site? - a discussion ...
HDE 226868Mod
- 102k
14
votes
What do we do with these messy questions?
It is the responsibility of the OP to ask a clear, concise question
That, as of the writing of my answer, is a question run amok. Rather than improving the question, the OP simply appended... and ...
- 132k
13
votes
Is a question in a title only sufficient, or does it need to be reiterated in the body?
The main reason why I think it is useful to repeat the question in the body of your post is that some questions can be really long. My questions for example are often quite long and that will lead to ...
- 17.8k
13
votes
Catalog of Question Types
I need an infinite list of things.
Suitable: Off-Topic
Description: These questions are usually idea-generating questions and are easily identified by their unconstrained nature. For example, "...
- 132k
12
votes
Catalog of Question Types
I need a situation that would enable a character to (do) X
Suitable: Off-Topic
Description: These questions are about a story set in a world, not about world building. They are sometimes fit for ...
- 142k
12
votes
Accepted
Nitpicking - Good or bad?
There's a difference between loop holes and "the spirit of the question." Which are you asking about?
And if you're wondering why I asked that question...
Asking a good question is hard — ...
- 132k
12
votes
I'm not understanding what is acceptable and not acceptable here
I read over both questions you cited. I think the first is a bit broad but not overly so. On your question, you don't say what metrics your using to choose one element over another. You just ask. ...
- 52.9k
11
votes
Rage quit, frustration as a factor in question removal
It is a common issue
This issue comes open more often than you may think. Two recent examples of people with this issue who started Meta discussion were Vylix, who started the discussion Asked a bad ...
- 17.8k
11
votes
"Am I asking too many questions?" Is it okay to ask more than you answer?
As a general rule of thumb, when a user does something wrong or off, they will notice.
Either a moderator will get in touch, or the community will make it visible through comments, votes and meta ...
L.DutchMod
- 301k
11
votes
What am I doing wrong in this question?
Any answer we can give here will be purely speculative until the miserable miscreants reveal their own rationales.
In skimming the query, I can really only conclude that the issue might be one of your ...
- 41.1k
10
votes
Should speculative biology questions be asked on Worldbuilding or Biology stack exchange?
Questions about speculative evolution are firmly on-topic on WorldBuilding (I am not active on Biology.SE, but in general other sites don't want speculative stuff)
Questions involving speculative ...
- 17.8k
10
votes
Accepted
How do we get a cool popup when a question is asked?
That popup is already active network-wide.
But it is only shown the first time you ask a question on a site. See the announcement on Meta Stack Exchange: The new ask page is now live on the network!
- 2,216
10
votes
Accepted
Messed Up a Question
Once a question gets answer(s) it is preferred that any edit doesn't invalidate them, out of respect for those who put effort in writing them and to avoid that a QA site turns out into a forum where ...
L.DutchMod
- 301k
9
votes
Catalog of Question Types
I need a finite list of things
Suitable: On-Topic
Description: These questions seek insight into a class of issues (I use "class" in the programming sense) that often leads to a bullet ...
- 132k
9
votes
Is the World building forum less effective than using individual forums related to your question?
You should ask a question on WorldBuilding.SE if you are interested in the perspective of worldbuilders.
There are times when people can ask a question in similar form on multiple sites. But the ...
- 17.8k
9
votes
Accepted
Is a question asking for a method to generate ideas generally considered "too broad"?
Maybe my question should have had a list of requirements the method/answer shall fulfill (to narrow down the spectrum of valid methods and allow one answer to be clearly the best).
This one.
Think ...
L.DutchMod
- 301k
9
votes
Minimum necessary context for answering questions and interlinked questions on Worldbuilding SE
If someone says that an answer is not appropriate because of context outside the body of the question, I suggest voting to close as "needs more details or clarity". This is the textbook ...
- 142k
9
votes
How should we deal with "vexatious questions?"
Assume the Best; Insist on the Awesomely Sufficient
Assume the Best
I think the best approach to any problem that, ultimately, distils down to a personal issue (in this case the querent's) is to ...
- 41.1k
8
votes
Is a question in a title only sufficient, or does it need to be reiterated in the body?
While I agree that a question can be located solely in the title, getting the format of the body right to accommodate that decision can be tricky.
In this particular case, the body of the question ...
- 25.2k
8
votes
Catalog of Question Types
Is it possible to X
Alternate Patterns: What do you think about X?
Suitability: On-Topic
Description: These questions frequently ask Worldbuilding participants to verify the ...
- 132k
8
votes
Why can't I put my own questions on hold - or have it happen automatically
The designed mechanism for that is Sandbox for Proposed Questions - if you need to use it, use it. If you feel you do not need to use it - write it right. Many people here write all, or most, of their ...
- 33.4k
8
votes
Cultural Worldbuilding: How to avoid closure?
Avoiding Closure
A guide to writing soft-science questions which survive
Seek Causes, Not Effects - soft-science questions which ask "what would happen if..." lead to speculative answers which ...
- 69.3k
8
votes
What Am I Doing Wrong?
Just wanted to encourage you to make use of the sandbox to tune your questions before posting them, as people can help you avoid certain pitfalls.
Also, come visit the chat, as we can help you ...
- 34.9k
7
votes
Catalog of Question Types
How would X change if Y
Suitable: On-Topic
Description: These questions ask what the consequences would be if something we consider normal were changed. For example, such a question may ...
- 132k
7
votes
Why Was This Question So Well-Received?
Well, I think the answer here is that it's just the vagaries of Stack Exchange. It all depends on who's interested in what and who's reading your questions and what mood they're in.
Frankly, even ...
- 41.1k
7
votes
Exactly what makes my question too broad?
Honestly I have the same feedback for this question that I had for the other one you asked the other day. The point of the stack is not to build a machine for you that you can use to solve ...
- 16.9k
7
votes
How to make a "Fishing for Ideas" question fit on Worldbuilding Main
I concur...
An edit delineating exactly how far from shore one may fish and what sort of license one needs to fish in these waters would solve a lot of problems.
Main issues I see:
The old "VTC ...
- 41.1k
7
votes
How to make a "Fishing for Ideas" question fit on Worldbuilding Main
CC BY-SA
Do not forget that all "user contributions [are] licensed under CC BY-SA". Answering a question with facts, or even with barely supported opinions, is unproblematic; facts and ...
- 97.8k
7
votes
How to make a "Fishing for Ideas" question fit on Worldbuilding Main
Simple: YOU DON'T
Generally, fishing for ideas is defined in all those cases, that the question is extremely broad and there are no real factors that make one answer better than another. As a result, ...
- 17.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it ok to ask questions that don't have specific worldbuilding use?
Yes
What matters more is good content that demonstrably relates to building a fictional world; what matters less is whether you are actively using that particular idea in constructing your own world ...
- 41.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible