Questions tagged [scope]
Use this tag when examining what is on-topic or off-topic, and why.
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Are works that aren't SF per se, but have occasional SFnal elements on-topic? (e.g. spy movies)
For example, spy stuff like James Bond, 24, Tom Clancy, have some elements of sci-fi, but are a genre unto themselves. Should we include them in the list of on topic discussions?
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What questions are on-topic, and what questions are off-topic?
SciFi.SE's identity is still being defined, and as such there's a lot of unresolved confusion wrapped up in dozens of topics about what types of questions are acceptable.
Let's stop creating ...
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What is our actual policy on science questions?
One of the most contentious close reasons we have on the site is the one that designates real-world science questions as off-topic. The close reason is worded as follows:
"Questions seeking ...
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Are *all* list questions off-topic?
"List questions" are generally off-topic on Stack Exchange sites, and Science Fiction & Fantasy in particular, because they tend to be open-ended, generate debate, have some level of personal ...
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Are anthropomorphic animals by themselves enough to deem a work fantasy?
The direct cause of my question is this: Why did Remy (the rat from Ratatouille) cook Ratatouille at the end of the movie?
I can think of a number of works, from The Wind in the Willows to Flushed ...
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How do we handle conflicts with the Anime and Movies sites?
There are now Stack Exchange sites about anime & manga and movies & TV. Questions about SF anime, manga or movies could therefore be on-topic on two sites.
My understanding is that a question ...
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Are list questions allowed?
This just started, but there already seems to be a lot of questions that essentially boil down to "Please list stories that X". These questions cannot have a definitive answer, and sometimes you can ...
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Should we exclude religious texts, and which?
It's clear that questions about religious texts cause friction. So should we ban questions that are specifically about religious texts? If so, how wide should the ban be: only about the Bible (which ...
user56
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Can I ask a question about video game based scifi/fantasy?
As an occasional consumer of Halo books/games, I'm often curious about certain plot points or want to ask questions about that game's universe. Would this be the appropriate site for these questions? ...
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What's our tolerance for adult content?
Why did T'Pol act like a human woman with Trip?
The topic of the question seems fully within the boundaries of the site, but the actual content is a bit not-quite-family-friendly.
Is this within ...
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Is Fantasy in spec for this site?
Should fantasy be included in this? I know many people mix them up, and there are definitely cases which can be very hard to distinguish. So, the question remains, should we include Fantasy, or not ...
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What is and what isn't considered science fiction?
Note: This site is now Science Fiction & Fantasy. All speculative fiction, including alternate history, are considered on-topic.
Following up on:
Should questions about "Is X science ...
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Are fan-fics fair game for this site?
Is it valid to ask about fanfic and other alternate-version sources for science-fiction material on this site?
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Is it reasonable to ask about the meaning of phrases in a science-fiction work?
Peter Miles is apparently making his way through Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, and is asking about the meaning of particular English phrases that are not explicitly about science fiction (although one ...
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How do we deal with questions about rumors and release dates? [duplicate]
I just noticed this question:
Has anyone heard any rumors about the third book in Scott Sigler's “Infected” series?
While I sympathize with users being curious about release dates, but especially ...
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Should questions about sex and other adult activities be off-topic?
I'm finding this question highly offensive. Previously this has been unresolved due to a fortunate lack of such questions but thanks to this latest question for bringing it to the fore.
Should ...
user14002
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What problems does answering a question on this site solve?
All successful SE sites are basically focusing on a problem that someone has, and tries to find a solution by phrasing it as a question and applying answers as solutions.
This was originally ...
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Are Google-able questions appropriate? [duplicate]
I know it's only the first day, but plenty of the questions I've seen so far appear to be easily answered by doing a simple search.
"What author wrote Title?", "What actor played ...
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Are children's literature and cartoons for children on-topic?
Books and movies intended for children very often contain fantasy elements. They are typically not considered part of the fantasy genre, but rather part of the specific “for children” genre. Does this ...
user56
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Are works that may or may not just be dreams on topic?
The question Is Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim vs the World is a symbol? was recently closed with the reason of unclear what you're asking.
The question is unclear, so the final close reason makes ...
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Are questions looking to simply prove or disprove a premise with a yes/no answer a good fit for our site?
Recently, the question Was Eric Flint's 1632 the ONLY prominent SF&F work/universe where some (approved) fan fiction is officially considered canon? was asked.
The question asked for a single ...
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What are our boundaries?
A few weeks ago, I noticed the first questions that gave me pause, thinking, should we allow these? But they kind of fit, so I didn't do anything to get in its way.
Could the Planeteers use their ...
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How should we handle questions that are about non-SF/F elements in a SF/F work?
The many meta questions regarding scope have quite firmly established that questions must be about a work that is related to sci-fi/fantasy. We have, however, seen dissenting opinion and behavior when ...
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Are book / movie / TV series identification questions allowed?
If there are books that I read a long time ago that I'd like to re-read but I've forgotten the author and/or title, may I post a question asking if other users can identify it? The same for movies or ...
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Is the story-ID question that turned out to be about the Axe commercial, on-topic?
A user asked
What movie are these gifs from?
The answer revealed that they were from an Axe commercial. In it, we see a number of angels walking the street towards a young man who has apparently ...
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Where do we draw the line on "opinion-based" questions?
There's been a lot of discussion on whether certain types of questions should be closed or not. In particular, it seems there's some disagreement as to what, exactly, constitutes a question that ...
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What are "future works"?
We have had a long-standing policy of closing "future works" questions as POB.
What is unclear, and seemingly disagreed upon is exactly what constitutes a "future work".
Is it works that we know for ...
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Should we have a policy on questions about adult topics in SFF?
While we have a long-standing policy that it's OK to ask about adult topics here - everything from sex to rape to bestiality - there have also been quite a number of questions in recent years which ...
Rand al'ThorMod
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Should we change the name of this site to include fantasy?
We've already had one question that has basically decided that if people want to talk about fantasy here, it's okay, but the name sci-fi would discourage them. There have been other hints from other ...
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Are questions about alternate history on or off topic?
... even when the device used to achieve timeline divergence didn't involve time travel and similar.
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Why is fandom information treated as if it weren't on topic?
From the Help Center > Asking:
What topics can I ask about here?
Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange is for questions targeted
towards science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts. This ...
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Is Wikia.com general reference?
It's fairly clear that Wikipedia is considered general reference (for both SciFi.SE and many other sites).
Is wikia.com network considered general reference as well? For example for Harry Potter ...
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Should meta posts regarding the deaths of figures that are important to SFF:SE be on topic?
Over the past few years we've had several "In Memoriam" posts regarding figures that are of iconic importance to the SFF:SE community.
Given that these posts seem to be generally well received by the ...
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Are "recommend me" questions allowed? [duplicate]
Are questions of the form "I really liked X series. Could you recommend me some similar works?" allowed?
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Is "I am curious about X" sufficient justification for asking questions on SFF.SE?
In my long time here, I have witnessed time and time again people attacking questions (as in, downvoting, VTCing, and/or posting hostile comments or meta content) on the basis of:
"Why are you ...
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Are questions about writing SFF stories on-topic?
Is this a site for prospective writers to come and ask for significant help writing a book, or should such questions be more appropriately addressed at the Writer's SE site? Specifically, I found this ...
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When does a movie question get migrated to Movies and TV?
I asked this question yesterday:
Nolan's Dark Knight: Why would Dent's convictions be overturned?
It got moved to Movies and TV by the evening. Now, I've been using mobile exclusively for ...
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Which mediums can be the basis of questions?
I could not find the information anywhere, so I was wondering whether there is any restriction on the kinds of medium whose works can be discussed here? Books, TV, Movies seem to be fair game but what ...
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A first look at questions so far
Six days into the private beta, I've taken 100 questions more or less at random and came up with:
22 “list works containing X”
20 trivia questions (that are only interesting to people who've read/...
user56
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Acceptability of reading/viewing order questions
There are quite a few reading-order questions (I added the tag; it should perhaps include viewing-order in some way, but I couldn't think of a suitable word).
Personally, these questions seem ok: ...
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Are shopping questions on topic?
Is asking where something sci-fi/fantasy can be obtained on topic?
What about asking about out of print (and whatever that is called in TV/film) items? Is it ok to ask where a copy if a work could be ...
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Would non-horror Speculative Fiction be on-topic for this site?
Speculative fiction is usually defined as science fiction, fantasy and horror plus some odds and ends. scifi and fantasy are on-topic for this site, but horror is not. So would that odds and ends ...
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What's our policy on questions about fantasy/sci-fi creatures that aren't directly related to a specific on-topic work?
There are multiple questions on the site about fantasy or science fiction creatures that aren't directly related to a specific on-topic work. Most are eventually closed, but they're often quite ...
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Gorilla vs. Shark - a Longer Explanation
An issues that has come up recently, that seems to recur every so often, is the question of what constitutes a "Gorilla vs. Shark" question on SF&F. We know such questions are off-topic, ...
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Scifi Stack Exchange is now "Science Fiction & Fantasy"
ANNOUNCEMENT:
This site has been officially renamed "Science Fiction and Fantasy". While both subjects were generally considered on topic, the fantasy genre is now explicitly integrated into this ...
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Are questions about Santa Claus on topic?
Is Santa Claus a Fantasy topic? I think yes, but just want to be sure before doing so.
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Are stories that only appear to contain fantastical elements on topic?
This question concerns a very famous short story by Saki. For much of the story, it appears to be a ghost story with supernatural elements. That there are no ghosts or apparitions involved is the ...
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If a sequel contains SFF content, does that make the original property on-topic as well?
There are a number of vanilla films, books and TV shows that have included science-fiction or fantasy content in sequels.
The Oscar™-nominated Weekend at Bernie's had zero fantasy content. The sequel ...
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When are we okay with multiple-questions-in-one?
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/96150/a-few-questions-on-sirius-black just came up on the Close Vote queue. Because it's asking several questions in one go, I VTCd as too broad.
Since this ...
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Should questions about "Is X science fiction" be off-topic? [closed]
We've already had a couple of questions asking if something can be considered science fiction, and questions of this kind seem very unlikely to produce interesting or informative answers. I think they ...
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