The novel Inferno written by Dan Brown isn't a science fiction or fantasy novel.
So how can anyone ask question about this novel in the Science fiction & Fantasy site?
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The question does have a comment questioning whether it is Science Fiction or Fantasy, and there is currently one close vote deeming it off-topic.– AlexCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 16:55
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1@Alex FYI: The current 1 VTC is mine after seeing this question.– TheLethalCarrot ModCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 16:56
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@TheLethalCarrot Well then it will soon make it to review and will get closed if four others agree.– AlexCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 16:57
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4For the record, even if you don't have close-voting privileges you can still flag a question as off-topic. That will also send it to review, where it will likely get closed if it is actually off-topic.– AlexCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 17:01
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1It's a pity the question is too old to migrate.– Rand al'Thor ModCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 18:43
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1I thought it was fantasy?– ValorumCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 20:31
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@Valorum No, it is realism. Perhaps action. The disease itself is not unrealistic enough to be in either camp. Worse things currently exist, such as smallpox.– user64742Commented Jan 5, 2019 at 20:35
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@TheGreatDuck - A synthetic plague unleashed by a doctor certainly sounds scifi-ish. I've only read the synopsis though. Also, I couldn't care less about Dan Brown's works– ValorumCommented Jan 5, 2019 at 21:35
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@Valorum No, because it depends on what sort of virus. There are man-made viruses that exist currently for research purposes through breeding and whatnot. Given that the movie provides literally no information on the symptoms of the disease other than that it is highly deadly and could kill a large percentage of the population, it could be nothing more than a strain of smallpox. I'm not kidding. We don't enough information to conclude it is unrealistic.– user64742Commented Jan 5, 2019 at 21:38
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Note: don't confuse the book with Roger MacBride Allen's sci-fi similarly titled sci-fi novel.– b_jonasCommented Jan 11, 2019 at 9:14
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@Valorum: If Tolkien had gone around telling everyone that elves and dwarves really existed... they'd have had him committed. But regardless, that's basically Dan Brown's M.O.: Write complete nonsense and tell everyone it's true.– KevinCommented Jan 17, 2019 at 5:37
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1 Answer
The question is now closed
How can this question about Inferno be asked on this site?
Anyone can ask any question they like on the site. The real question is why did no one flag or vote to close it as off topic when it was asked. The answer to that is probably no one thought about it too hard. The answerer has, however, commented the following:
Plus...is this Science Fiction & Fantasy per se? "He noted after answering." :)
So someone at least guessed it might not have been SFF-nal but wasn't sure enough that they didn't VTC it.
Sometimes things stay around longer than they should because the right people aren't around at the right time.
In any case I have now cast a close vote as off topic so we shall see if it gets closed in the queue or not.
As has been noted in the comments here by Alex you don't need to post a meta question about a question that should be closed. Until you hit 3k reputation you can always flag it as off topic to send it to queue. Once you hit 3k reputation you can then vote to close it which will also send it to queue.
Though if you're unsure you can always ask on meta as you have done here and there's usually someone hanging around in chat, in TREU, that I'm sure could help you if you just want some quick reassurance.
This particular question should probably have been asked on Movies & TV (it's on topic and has already been asked there) and it may also be on topic on Literature.SE but seeing as it was asking about the movie I'm not 100% on that.
answered Jan 3, 2019 at 16:53
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5That being said, it's still not the worst idea to gather the community's perspective if you're unsure it should be closed, especially if something seems perplexing to you and you're confused enough to get insecure about the on-topicness. (Though, the meta question sounds quite...confident.)– TARSCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 17:09
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@TARS Sure, we've had plenty of questions asking about a questions on topicness and I'm sure this won't be the last.– TheLethalCarrot ModCommented Jan 3, 2019 at 17:10