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Some hours ago another user asked a question about Daenerys' color of eyebrows, and I realized that I didn't remember any reference by GRR Martin about her pubis, but, instead, I could remember some references to Cerseis' blonde pubic hair, so I just asked a question about this topic.

This question (10K Users only, sorry) has been deleted and I need to know if questions like this, in the context of these adult books, just questions and no photos, don't comply with this site politics.

screenshot of the deleted question

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  • 2
    Link for 10k+ users. scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/142810/…
    – Skooba
    Oct 11, 2016 at 20:53
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    Related: meta.scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/1582/…
    – Skooba
    Oct 11, 2016 at 20:54
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    Related previous questions here on meta: What's our tolerance for adult content? and Should questions about sex and other adult activities be off-topic? and Are questions about a slightly adult SciFi comic acceptable?
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Oct 11, 2016 at 20:57
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    "Subscriber certifies to Stack Exchange that Subscriber is an individual (i.e., not a corporate entity) at least 13 years of age.". I don't think a question about the colour of someone's pubic hair in a work of fiction falls foul of that. It's not a good question, but neither is it in violation of the site's rules.
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 20:58
  • @valorum Well, at least is as good question as one about Daenerys eyebrows. ;)
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 21:05
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    @Ginasius - Well indeed. And I'd be quite happy to downvote it for being a crap question. I wouldn't flag it for deletion/closure though.
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 21:05
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    "I think a Mod should at least leave a comment if they use a hammer to close/delete a question." - Skooba. Agreed.
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 21:33
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    There were already three people who had already voted to close the question. I just happened to agree with them. And as far as I remember, it only takes 4 people to close a question.
    – Thaddeus Howze
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:17
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    @ThaddeusHowze - I would have voted to reopen it. I suspect those that have upvoted my answer (below) would have also done so. Then we'd be right back here again :-)
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:33
  • Then perhaps it should have remained a nonentity in the first place for the reasons I stated. It brings no intrinsic value to the site. I have returned it to the previous state and find it unfortunate we are forced to discuss it AT ALL.
    – Thaddeus Howze
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:41
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    @ThaddeusHowze For the record, although one user had flagged the question as offensive, nobody had voted to close it before you deleted it. (You can check this in the post's timeline.)
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:43
  • @ThaddeusHowze - Alas, the Streisand Effect is something that needs to be taken into account.
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 23:05
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    @Ginasius - The guiding principle is that you shouldn't ever delete a good question, nor one that has good answers. In this case, there doesn't appear to be a good answer coming, nor is the question itself finding favour with the community. You're under no obligation to close it and you can choose to leave it open if you see fit. Personally, though, I'd suggest you close it.
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 23:16
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    @valorum I'm afraid that I have not explained well. I want to know if I should close this question about site politics in meta for avoiding streisand effects and some doses of sarchasm and anger.
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 23:24
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    @Ginasius - Ah, I see. No. Leave this question open for future reference.
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 23:35

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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In regards to the question above, I don't think this should have been deleted. It's neither pornographic nor prurient and it's unlikely to lead to the posting of inappropriate content (although we may need to keep an eye on answers/comments to make sure that nobody steps over the line), especially since the OP is interested in the written word, rather than the nude scenes from the TV show.

Per Kevin's answer on a related question

  • Is the question being asked in good faith? - Yes, it appears to be.

  • Is the question itself adding to the substance of the site - Arguably yes. Textual analysis is certainly something we'd encourage.

  • Are the experts here best-equipped to answer your question - Definitely.

I think @Thaddeus should undelete the question and see where it goes. If it descends into a free-for-all (which I doubt), then by all means shut it down asap.

Now that it's been re-opened, it can get downvoted into the basement where it belongs

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    Now if you'd asked me "is it a good question", the answer would have been "Hell, no, pass me the downvote button".
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 21:17
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    Experts, like in the tag or in the pubis region? :p
    – Möoz
    Oct 11, 2016 at 21:58
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    @Mooz - Modesty forbids me from commenting.
    – Valorum
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:15
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    I can't say I was impressed with the question, but how is it any worse than all the other why-would-anyone-give-a-rat's-ass trivia questions that flood this site?
    – user14111
    Oct 12, 2016 at 0:18
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    @user14111 - The convergence of triviality and pubic hair seems to be what's caused all the fuss. I do agree that it's no more pointless than many other questions on this site.
    – Valorum
    Oct 12, 2016 at 0:37
  • @Valorum Thank you for your answer, that I find complete and very reasonable.
    – Ginasius
    Oct 18, 2016 at 16:44
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Being the person that flagged it and can be seen in comment, I should probably speak.

The question had nothing to do with anything except pubic hair, other than "George mentioned these other pubes once". Since it was a sexual question, failed any notability standards (link to plot, link to characters, link to SFF elements, etc) that I would consider, didn't really rise to any other standard of quality either being 2 sentences long, I assumed the worst and just flagged it.

I appreciate you might be interested in pubes, but that interest being barely related to anything this SFF site might cover does not - in my opinion - make your veiled "do the curtains match the drapes" question worth hosting.

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    Agreed; it's a 100% trivial and pointless question. However, the discussion here is regarding whether the site allows questions about sexual/explicit content. Especially given that the mod who hammered the question didn't state why (was it because of its triviality? because of its poor quality? because of its sexual content?).
    – Möoz
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:05
  • @Mooz - And the general answer is roughly "yes". My personal answer would be "Yes, if it's worth it" since I've seen very little of quality that rises above cliche. But the subtext is about the question he posted, so that is what I address.
    – Radhil
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:07
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    @radhil The question has to do with the treatment that gives George R.R. to some sexual secondary caracteristics in his books. This is not an absurd question if some treatment has been done about this topic by Martin before, and I'm quite sure that he did about Cersei's. You can argue that an excessive attention to minor details in books is pointless, but a lot of questions in this site are about extremely minor details and they are not deleted.
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:12
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    @Ginasius - explaining why you're asking is important in defining the borders of the discussion, and the answers. If you want intelligent responses, show intelligence in the question. I might not have flagged if you had.
    – Radhil
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:16
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    @radhil I must protest about your "I appreciate you might be interested in pubes" phrase. I must interpret that you are making an sarchastic attack "ad hominem" and I must ask for my right to be presumed good faith in my question.
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:16
  • @radhil I think that the reason for me to ask this question has been explained by me intelligently enough: another user asked a question about eyebrows and I remembered Cersei's precedents. I find your expression of "doubts about the intelligence of my question" patronizing and insulting.
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:19
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    @Ginasius - well, so far you haven't really added any context other than "well, hair color has come up", and you've done so after the fact, and that reference is also a pretty thin question. I do not intend sarcasm in my answer; I'm no saint myself. I try to keep an open mind, but that open mind is still believing this is just a large troll. Popular opinion already seems to be on your side in a wierd way, but until I see something new, I'm not likely to change my mind, and will stand by my words and be roasted with them.
    – Radhil
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:25
  • @radhil I didn't added context about "hair color has come up" after the fact. This context was in my first question since the beggining. Read it once more. So you flagged it I presume that you have read it once.
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:31
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As my motto is: "If you do it right, no one is aware you've done anything at all," it is considered problematic that I took such a unilateral movement. I am perfectly okay with this particular effort, however.

  • Since the nature of the fantasy character's pubic hair does nothing to advance the nature of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Stack Exchange, I felt it was perfectly necessary to delete a question which added no value, nor significance to any conversations regarding fantasy (beyond prurient ones which could meet that need elsewhere) nor is the science fiction explanation as to what color her pubic hair could have to do with anything useful seemed beyond me.

  • I took it upon myself to remove the question since it added no value to the site in any meaningful way scientific or fantastic, and felt it would bring the potential for other less-salient, more salacious questions.

  • As it is my belief we are involved in the mission of promoting intelligent and useful discourse about all things science fiction and fantasy, I believe we should be creating questions which elevate the genres not bring scorn and derision regarding them.

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  • Answer me this 2 questions, please: 1.- If i ask help from the community to find the book and pages by George Martin where he writes about Cersei's pubis, will you also close that question?
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:24
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    and 2: those reasons to close a question (promoting intelligent and useful discourse etcetera) are not equally valid for trivial questions about eyebrows? Should these questions also be deleted?
    – Ginasius
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:26
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    I wish we still had the "too trivial" VTC reason for situations like this.
    – Möoz
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:31
  • Perhaps, but since four people have not flagged them for deletion, I will not be involved in closing them until such a time as it is deemed necessary. This is only a problem for you at this time. If you can get others to reopen it, you are free to do so.
    – Thaddeus Howze
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:37
  • Well, it can't be reopened since it wasn't actually closed, it was deleted right away. So there's that.
    – TARS
    Oct 11, 2016 at 22:39

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