103
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How to ask a good story-ID question?
As one of the site's top answerers of story-identification questions, I'd like to offer the following suggestions to anyone thinking of posting a question in this tag:
No detail is too insignificant. ...
- 652k
37
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How to ask a good story-ID question?
Questions must have as much detail as possible, including, but not limited to:
Media (short story collection, magazine, novel, TV, film, animated, website) Was it part of a series?
Original year of ...
37
votes
Accepted
How to find a story-ID answer?
A couple of weeks ago someone asked the same in chat, and I gave some tips (see transcript). I'll try to whip that up into a more or less clear guide below. Still in writing.
Disclaimer: all examples ...
- 55.2k
36
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Let's talk about Story ID requests for erotica
They should be allowed.
As long as it's SFF, it's fine.
We are a site about science fiction and fantasy. And, let's face it... there are very often explicit scenes in SFF. And sometimes there is a ...
- 38k
29
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Let's talk about Story ID requests for erotica
If a question is overtly offensive, it should be flagged as such.
Gratuitous NSFW pictures, links to porn, unnecessarily graphic language ... all of these are at best things to be edited out of a ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 133k
24
votes
Accepted
Closing Story-Ident questions as duplicates (where there's no acceptance)
story-identification questions should only be closed as duplicates where both answers are accepted, regardless of the similarity between them. (If the OP posts a "yes this is it" comment, that's as ...
- 652k
24
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Accepted
How to ask a good (anime/manga) Story-ID question?
With gratitude to Hakase's answer on Meta.Anime
In addition to the elements we've already discussed in How to ask a good story-ID question?, anime- and manga-specific questions that the poster could ...
- 652k
22
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Accepted
How often is it polite to ask for a story-identification
Ask them as often as you want. Asking a high volume of good quality questions is not only allowed but encouraged. Good content is what these sites thrive on.
However, you may want to slow down your ...
- 103k
20
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Can I ask about identifying a sci-fi puzzle book?
As long as there was a consistent science fiction theme throughout, these books would be perfectly well on topic.
We've had other questions about puzzle books (typically of the CYOA variety) as well ...
- 652k
20
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Accepted
Can I add a note to my own incorrect story ID answer, explaining why it is incorrect?
The user who asked the question should be encouraged to accept the correct answer
If the user who asked the question accepts the correct answer then no notice on your incorrect answer is necessary. A ...
NullMod
- 69.3k
19
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Is it bad form to ask the same story-id question here and elsewhere?
It's not bad form.
You should absolutely feel free to cross-post your story-id question to as many sites as possible, with the exception of posting it elsewhere within the Stack Exchange Network.
...
- 652k
19
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We have more than 1,200 unresolved [story-identification] questions >3 months old. Is that a problem?
No, we should not care.
There's no real limit to the number of unresolved questions we can keep lying around. These are not bad questions, and their presence does not harm the site. If we do the ...
- 9,383
19
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Accepted
Are secondhand story ID questions OK?
Yes
Because, more rep These questions are fine and totally on-topic. In fact, we've had some good ones too:
B-Movie. Spaceship uses chickens as a power-source. Planets shaped like butts
sci-fi book ...
- 44.8k
18
votes
Accepted
CW answers for story-ID questions where the OP has found the answer?
I don't see any need for new rules/procedures, the generally-accepted guidance from meta.SE is that if you see an answer posted in comments, it's fair game to "steal" it and post it yourself.
e.g. ...
- 9,428
17
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Closing Story-Ident questions as duplicates (where there's no acceptance)
If only one question has a known correct answer, then we should leave the other open.
My response to the suggestion that we close ‘obvious’ story ID dupes has always boiled down to “Okay, but why?”. ...
- 102k
16
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Accepted
How to write a good story-ID answer?
As one of the site's top answerers of story-identification questions (by volume), I tend to follow a very simple process when answering.
Movie ID
Indicate the name of the film
Indicate the year of ...
- 652k
16
votes
Accepted
Are users allowed to add information when editing a Story-Identification question?
Information added to a story ID question by another user may change the meaning of the question because the other user (editor) may be recalling a similar but different story. According to the help ...
NullMod
- 69.3k
16
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Accepted
Late acceptances of story-identification answers
As it turns out, these records have been broken.
Our current overall record is over 10 years:
Were there two elves named Glorfindel?
And our current record for story-identification is over 9 years:
...
- 37.4k
16
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Why was I asked to provide information already included in my question?
You weren't grilled harshly, you were asked to provide some basic information we generally ask of all story-identification requests. If you don't believe me, go through that tag and look at the ...
- 37.4k
15
votes
Accepted
Is there an alternate place to ask for story identification for non-sci-fi?
There are actually quite a few sites that allow some type of identification question:
Literature: Literature ID questions are on-topic. You can ask about more than books: comics, manga, graphic ...
- 19.8k
15
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Which ID questions do we want from Movies & TV?
All of the questions below meet our main criteria for an acceptable migration candidate;
That there's discernible SF/F content
That they're uniquely identifiable
https://movies.stackexchange.com/...
15
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How to ask a good (fan fiction) Story-ID question?
On top of Valorum's list, it is also helpful to describe the relationship between the fic and the original:
Tone and narrative voice - Is the fic written in the same overall style? For example, A ...
- 9,383
15
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Would a western video game identification question be on-topic?
Same as always (though I don't remember the exact meta at the time).
If you're positive it has sci-fi/fantasy elements, and can provide them, sure, it's on topic;
If you can't remember its SFF parts ...
- 55.2k
14
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Closing Story-Ident questions as duplicates (where there's no acceptance)
I'll post my answer in the form of a question: I have to question what makes a story ID question a duplicate? Is it the answer? I ask because the name of a book could be the answer to several ...
- 62.8k
14
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Are old school Martial arts films considered SciFi/Fantasy?
The answer is a qualified yes.
Obviously, there are martial arts that are completely mundane, such as those that are actually practiced in the real world. Some films make use of these, and they are ...
- 115k
13
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I'm asking a Story-ID question. Should I include spoilers?
You should definitely include spoilers. The two biggest reasons that I can think of are:
The spoilers or plot twists are usually very memorable if done well. This means that the spoiler or plot ...
- 1,872
13
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How to ask a good (fan fiction) Story-ID question?
In addition to the elements we've already discussed in How to ask a good story-ID question?, fanfic-specific elements that the poster could identify include:
The site that you viewed it on, ...
- 652k
13
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Accepted
Is there a consensus on tagging solved story ID's with the name of the author/story?
We shouldn't.
For the same reason as we shouldn't edit the answer into any question once it's solved. For story-ID questions, the story title is part of the answer, not the question. Editing it into ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 133k
13
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How to find a story-ID answer?
Some useful web sites for researching story-ID questions.
Web searches:
DuckDuckGo
Start Page
SF Data Bases:
The Internet Speculative Fiction Data Base
SF Encyclopedias:
The Encyclopedia of Science ...
- 153k
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