Area 51 » Arts

This proposal has been expanded to include fantasy.

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This says it all: abstrusegoose.com/254 – Massimo Jun 10 '10 at 7:48

@ash, no, sci fi is not fantasy... although ppl that like one almost always like the other – Juan Manuel Jun 14 '10 at 13:48

@Mark: The Star Trek/Star Wars proposals don't seem to have much traction (at least not yet). I don't think that Sci-Fi is too big; rather, I think that the title-specific proposals are too narrow. Even if they made it past commitment (and they're not even halfway to commitment), there's only so much ground you can cover, and I don't think those would survive as real sites. This one might, if the SE team considers it "serious" enough to allow it to go beta. – Aaronaught Jul 7 '10 at 14:10

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78 Example Questions (9 closed)

active oldest votes

up vote -1 down vote

added by Ash G Jun 16 '10 at 6:12

up vote -1 down vote

added by Blorgbeard Jun 17 '10 at 19:29

closed as off topic by Steve Homer, Beska, MatthewMartin, Sanjay Sheth, thelsdj Jun 23 '10 at 18:45

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

See Asimov's "The Last Question": multivax.com/last_question.html – Massimo Jun 17 '10 at 19:47

Some SF stories might have entropy or puppies, but not all entropy or puppy questions are SF. – MatthewMartin Jun 23 '10 at 2:04

@MatthewMartin agreed, off topic – Ash G Jun 24 '10 at 6:23

up vote -1 down vote

added by Jherico Jun 23 '10 at 17:08

	Highly subjective and also awkwardly-worded - "Suspension of disbelief" is what the audience does, not the show or book. I would change the phrase "SF with lots of suspension of disbelief" to "[Very] Soft Sci-Fi". – Aaronaught Jun 23 '10 at 17:22
	Or you could say: "SF that requires a lot of suspension of disbelief" – Sasha Jul 5 '10 at 19:42

up vote -1 down vote

added by Riduidel Jul 2 '10 at 9:20

closed as off topic by John Saunders, Elizabeth Schechter, Arlaharen, lavonardo, random Jul 7 '10 at 15:18

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

up vote -1 down vote

added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Jul 4 '10 at 0:30

up vote -1 down vote

added by Arlaharen Jul 7 '10 at 19:55

Subjective, doesn't appear to have an answer. – MatthewMartin Jul 8 '10 at 18:30

up vote -2 down vote

added by Elizabeth Schechter Jul 4 '10 at 1:44

It's not really so much that this question is entirely off topic as that, unless the author's policy is posted somewhere, you're not likely to get a useful answer, just hearsay. – Uncle Mikey Jul 7 '10 at 21:53

up vote -2 down vote

added by Gnub Jul 7 '10 at 22:59

Could whoever did the "not a good example" specify why that is so? I intentionally wrote it as "magic", to empathize that it isn't the same as in Fantasy, but more like "The Force". – Gnub Jul 8 '10 at 15:03

I wasn't the one who voted you down, but I tend to agree... it's just too vague, every sci-fi "universe" has its own explanation for its own version of "magic", some even have several different flavours, and if you're talking about soft sci-fi (i.e. almost all sci-fi) then half of the science is magic; this question just isn't answerable in a general sense, and even if you narrowed it down to a specific book/series/show/movie, it's still highly subjective. – Aaronaught Jul 8 '10 at 18:35

I see - I must've thought in too much of a discussion way - makes sense really. Changed the question (removed "How"). – Gnub Jul 9 '10 at 6:41

up vote -3 down vote

added by Kyra Jun 22 '10 at 15:22

Very subjective – Steve Homer Jun 22 '10 at 20:42

This is like a invitation to fruitless arguing. – MatthewMartin Jun 23 '10 at 2:00

Sometimes subjective is ok, but this one is too subjective – Ash G Jun 24 '10 at 6:25

up vote -3 down vote

added by Sasha Jul 5 '10 at 19:43

up vote -4 down vote

added by JDelage Jun 23 '10 at 11:56

Nicest is a bit vague and subjective. – Steve Homer Jun 26 '10 at 13:55

up vote -5 down vote

added by Beska Jun 14 '10 at 20:53

But...we don't know your teacher... =b (sorry, I couldn't resist...) – David Thomas Jun 19 '10 at 15:48

up vote -5 down vote

added by Jouke van der Maas Jul 2 '10 at 12:03

closed as off topic by Elizabeth Schechter, MatthewMartin, Massimo, Arlaharen, txwikinger Jul 5 '10 at 21:58

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

It's not so much off-topic as just a lousy question guaranteed to generate extremely opinionated answers followed by ad hominem attacks against both the answerers and the writers@ – Uncle Mikey Jul 7 '10 at 21:55

up vote -6 down vote

added by scope_creep Jun 15 '10 at 12:20

	In the book Norstrilia, by Cordwainer Smith, a boy called Rod McBan, starts speculating on the stroon money markets using an old battle computer, and overnight amasses enough money and possessions including Earth to become the richest man. The question really becomes as the banks use more and more computer processing time to manipulate the markets, do you think their will be a time coming they may become powerful enough to manipulate the market, in a manner that would leave the bank owning the whole earth. – scope_creep Jun 15 '10 at 12:24
	not sure what to vote here. This seems like a discussion question more than a 'QnA' question – Ash G Jun 16 '10 at 6:15
	that may be a macro issue with this whole topic - will the target audience be satisfied/served by a Q&A site? – KeithL Jun 17 '10 at 15:46
	Not a SF question. – JDelage Jun 23 '10 at 11:58
	@KeithL: these are all proposals for Q&A sites. They stand or fall on their function as Q&A sites. If the audience requires something else, then this will not be the site for them. – John Saunders Jun 23 '10 at 14:28

up vote -7 down vote

added by scope_creep Jun 7 '10 at 18:21

Appears to be a dupe of Was Asimov the best science fiction writer or what?, since both show subjectivity and are shallow. – Roger Pate Jun 8 '10 at 2:09

Hi Roger, I know it is subjective, she is a little known author, and I wanted to get her know more. The book is astounding. I've been reading science fiction for 30+ years and have a library of 2000+ books but it is still the best. – scope_creep Jun 15 '10 at 11:55

Too subjective. – Ash G Jun 16 '10 at 6:18

up vote -8 down vote

added by Juan Manuel Jun 7 '10 at 17:55

closed as off topic by Massimo, Amos, alexanderpas, KeithL, Uncle Mikey Jun 17 '10 at 19:41

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Why is this not a good example? – Juan Manuel Jun 7 '10 at 18:28

it's subjective and off-topic – Juan Manuel Jun 7 '10 at 19:34

Great example of questions that should not be asked here. – Massimo Jun 9 '10 at 14:06

Too subjective. – Ash G Jun 16 '10 at 6:18

These questions will only result in ambiguous answers. It is a very subjective. – Nararayana Jun 17 '10 at 20:10

up vote -8 down vote

added by Niall C. Jun 7 '10 at 17:57

closed as off topic by David Basarab, Robert Cartaino♦, Jonathan Sampson, Massimo, Amos Jun 16 '10 at 11:18

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Off-Topic because it is subjective. – David Basarab Jun 7 '10 at 18:13

Appears to be a dupe of Was Asimov the best science fiction writer or what?, since both show subjectivity and are shallow. (The other is older by just a few minutes, but is older.) – Roger Pate Jun 8 '10 at 2:08

Off-Topic because it is subjective. – scope_creep Jun 15 '10 at 11:51

@scope-creep: Questions shouldn't be voted off-topic because they're subjective, they should be voted off-topic because they're off-topic. If you think a question is too subjective then vote NAGE. The issue being decided here is: Are movie reviews considered on-topic? If someone wanted to discuss, for example, the sci-fi hardness of a specific movie, I think that should be on-topic. This one's only NAGE because it's apparently asking for general feelings/reactions and isn't tailored to the theme of a sci-fi site. – Aaronaught Jun 21 '10 at 15:34

meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/53919/… – CrazyJugglerDrummer Jul 4 '10 at 0:29

up vote -10 down vote

added by scope_creep Jun 15 '10 at 12:10

Sex and the City 2 has been argued as being a science fiction film in same manner or argument, that is a dog, smells like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then its a duck. Sex and the City 2 displays those typical science fiction charateristics. Is this true? – scope_creep Jun 15 '10 at 12:12

I think you need to add some context to make this an interesting question. For example, who exactly (besides yourself) is making this comparison? What SciFi characteristics does SatC2 display? – KeithL Jun 17 '10 at 15:44

I'm unable to argue the point either way (I have no intention of ever seeing the movie), but I can't imagine it -if it's anything like the series or first film- being considered SF. Also, +1 @KeithL. – David Thomas Jun 19 '10 at 15:51