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7:02 PM
@Aify But I think opinion based questions are ok, because unless it's math or something that exists in reality as we know it, it's made up to some extent from my opinion of what I think would work. Otherwise there would only be one possible answer per question. This isn't Physics or SO. Most of the answers people come up with won't work with reality. They are opinion, not fact. That is my opinion.
 
@AndyD273 I disagree; you don't have to back up opinions, but you do have to back up answers.
If you back up your opinions with facts, then your opinion is just a subset of the truth; then whoever's opinion is closer to the truth wins
 
@DaaaahWhoosh is correct
@AndyD273 I'd just like to point out that "Primarily opinion based" is indeed a valid close reason.
IMO, if there is more than 1 valid possible best answer per question, then the question is likely to be too broad/idea generation and thus off topic
 
@Aify Every question on this site, with the exception of is idea generation. I have something I want in my world, but I'm not sure how to make it happen, give me an idea.
 
And yea, I agree with Samuel's take on the Alice Series. They're all off topic to me
@AndyD273 I should've said too broad + idea generation instead of using the slash
Idea generation is good - idea generation without constraints is bad
And idea generation without constraints is caused mainly by opinion based questions
 
7:17 PM
Jeez I go to lunch and its gets all...drama-y in here. What'd I miss.
 
So opinion based isn't the problem, too broad is. And those are easy to fix, just split them apart into multiple questions.
@James Were you here when Shankey threatened us all?
 
@James A lot.
 
@AndyD273 I must have missed that
or ignored it...either way.
 
By the way, TimB's new nick name is Shanky
 
@Green Apparently. This is the first time I can recall someone getting kicked from WB general...
 
7:20 PM
@James Huh, I missed that part
 
@James Wow. I missed the /kick. It's always been civil in here before.
 
@AndyD273 Not sure if you get notified or not...I'm a room owner so that may be why I saw it
 
ya, ArtofCode kicked out 2 people, one twice.
 
good thing we didn't give him the ban-hammer
 
@bowlturner exciting. who ?
 
7:21 PM
;-)
 
@James that's just mean :P
@James careful you don't get kicked
 
@ArtOfCode can take it :)
 
@AndreiROM they both admitted to it but I'm not sure I should point them out.
 
@bowlturner lol
 
@James or he'll boot you out too
 
7:22 PM
@bowlturner yeah unecessary
 
oh, worldbuilding
 
Can a mod boot a room owner?
 
I have no idea
 
never thought SO would lead me to such a fun and balloon-whale filled place
 
@AndreiROM The are magical. Let them fly you away...
 
7:24 PM
@bowlturner I assume you noticed I added the other day?
 
@James I am so proud.
 
@AndreiROM I am glad you can enjoy it even after tasting tea with milk
 
@PavelJanicek it almost ruined it for me. Almost.
 
@James yes. I was there when you did it.
 
@James I was wondering about that
 
7:25 PM
@AndyD273 Not all too broad questions are easy to fix
What if the question is one that is answered by writing 5 books?
 
@AndyD273 Samuel and someone else were talking about biscuits and biscuit tools as relating to woodworking. I thought they were talking about actual biscuits. Hilarious conversation ensued
 
@AndreiROM ah, it all makes sense now
 
"How do I implement a 4D being" or something crazy broad like that - You'd never be able to split it into questions precise enough to answer without having 50+ questions on the site (All numbers are made up)
I don't even think I can properly separate that question into the right questions to ask
 
I just read a question as "How small can an orgasm get?" Had to read it again!
 
@bowlturner It's relative to the size of the organism
;)
 
7:28 PM
Very true! ;)
 
@bowlturner le plus petit mort :D
 
Worldbuilding SE: Visiting the gutter every Wednesday since 2015.
 
Size does not matter
 
I think we found our new tagline
 
@Aify I could split that up. And I already wrote that answer
2
A: Anatomically Correct Angels

AndyD273Couple thoughts on this... Angels aren't bred. Meaning, they don't have to mate, have baby angels, evolve, etc. Instead angels are designed and created, like robots, genetically engineered clones, or something, to be servants for God and to perform tasks; be messengers, be protectors, etc. Th...

 
7:30 PM
Anyone see deadpool yet?
 
@James heck yea
 
@James No. probably have to wait for it to leave theaters
 
Awesome movie
 
very entertaining
 
the timelines were so confusing
 
7:31 PM
@AndyD273 Worth seeing on the big screen if you can get there.
 
I already saw my movie for the year
 
@James No, but I want to.
 
haven't had a chance yet. Looking forward to ie
it
 
@AndyD273 That doesn't answer the question "How do you implement a 4D being" - all it does is explain how it should work, it says nothing about the implementation.

Also, I think most of the anatomically correct series is Off topic >.>
 
@Green Its violent, verbally offensive and includes a fair amount of nudity...loved it.
@Aify We specifically mentioned that creature design is on-topic.
 
7:32 PM
@James Yeah, that's a bit part of the problem. The wife won't go see that one, and it's almost impossible for me to get away myself
 
Creature design is fine
 
@James Sounds exactly like a proper Deadpool movie.
 
Most of my questions are creature design
But of the anatomically correct series questions that I've read, most of them are too broad and don't provide enough constraints
 
@Aify They don't generally provide any constraints
 
And that's the issue
Too broad without constraints
 
7:33 PM
I think it is addressing another problem though
we get so many of the same type of question, like how to make a dragon, that it's a little silly
 
@Green It truly was. You know how Downy Junior was perfect as Iron Man...like if the tech existed Downy could actually be Iron Man? It was kinda the same thing with Reynolds and deadpool.
 
this way we can point people to one of those questions and stop it from happening
 
For example, the Anatomically correct Golem question provided constraints, but Nuckelavee one doesn't
"How do you make [anything]" without constraints is bad
 
I think those anatomically correct questions could've been split up a bit, go after each physical attribute individually
 
7:36 PM
@Aify It's kind of a grab bag. "Here's the combined wisdom of the site regarding feasibility of dragons. Pick some stuff that works for you, then make a new question we haven't already answered"
 
@AndyD273 I'm so lucky. The wife agreed to come see it with me the day after Valentine's. But now I have to watch a chick flick. Sigh. Such is life
 
But chick flicks are good :/ @AndreiROM
@AndyD273 I don't understand the grab bag analogy
 
@Aify Women enjoy them.
As far as being good ... well. No.
 
Indeed...
 
@AndreiROM Anything with Ryan Reynolds should qualify as a chick flick
 
7:37 PM
No, they're good. They're definitely good.
 
@DaaaahWhoosh that's harsh
 
I like that definition, @DaaaahWhoosh
 
Reynolds is pretty good, he just needs a more serious movie to work with. I think he's been type cast
 
@DaaaahWhoosh Your argument is flawed. Van Wilder, Waiting, Deadpool.
 
I think there's one coming out in which he plays a rich guy who gets his mind downloaded into a different body or something (into Reynolds's body)
 
7:38 PM
Waiting is a hilarious, definiately not a chickflick, movie.
@DaaaahWhoosh Valid point
 
Wait, you mean in deadpool? @DaaaahWhoosh
 
@Aify Say I want to make a world with a dragon. I get pointed to the AC Dragon question, read through all the answers, find the stuff in them that I like, grab the parts I want to and now I have a world with a dragon. Then I can make a new question to fix anything that's missing.
 
@Aify Yeah, he has a naked fight scene in that
 
@DaaaahWhoosh note to self: go watch Deadpool
 
@DaaaahWhoosh yea, but he was all disfigured at that point, so I'm not sure it counts
 
7:40 PM
@AndyD273 that's totally wrong to me though
Perhaps I should unpin that note lol
 
@AndreiROM sssshhhhh they don't need to know that!
 
@Aify Thats fine, but that's why the series was created
 
@AndyD273 Let's say I needed to make a world with a dragon - I make the dragon, and then ask about the parts I'm unsure about. That's what it SHOULD go like, IMO
Like I said, the majority of that series is too broad because there are non constraints
 
@Aify But what if I don't know how to make a dragon? How one could work, etc?
 
Then you're not showing any effort
If someone comes straight out and asks "How do I make [insertcreaturehere]" without doing prior research or showing effort of some sort, I will 90% of the time downvote it.
 
7:42 PM
I think you can ask how to make a dragon, it's just going to take more than one question
 
@Aify Perhaps, but we were getting so many of them at one point just before the series started.
 
I've said this before, I'll say it again: We shouldn't be working off precedence in order to figure out our current scope.
Just because they've been allowed in the past
 
@DaaaahWhoosh Right. So the series was started to kind of collect all those thoughts in one place for people who needed a nudge in the right direction so they could come up with good questions.
 
doesn't mean they should be allowed now.
 
@Aify Doesn't mean that they should be disallowed either
 
7:44 PM
They SHOULD be disallowed because they are too broad
or rather, most of them are too broad
so SOME of them should stay
but the majority should go
We have to be able to ignore the argument of "But this question was on topic 8 months ago" in order to properly define our site scope now
Every question could be viewed as a separate, individual case, to determine on/offtopicness
 
The majority of too broad questions can be fixed with minimal effort, and experienced users should be willing to help new users to do that.
 
@James your so polite to when pointing issues to new questions.
 
@Aify So you're advocating for a fresh start? Where would we even begin, then?
 
No, not a fresh start, that's crazy @DaaaahWhoosh
 
@James Yep.
 
7:46 PM
@bowlturner I remember first coming to SE and getting roasted and not being offered any particular help, it annoyed me but I stuck around anyways.
 
I'm just saying that when determining off/ontopic questions, we need to look at the question without using precedence
 
So I try to be nice and helpful to new people
 
and determine the scope of it off of a nonbiased view
 
@Aify But without using precedence, I'm asking what do we use?
 
@James I'm not complaining. I find it very noble. I try but often I go the route of "if you can't say anything nice..."
So keep up the good work
 
7:48 PM
@DaaaahWhoosh We have basic rules, let's make them more solid
 
@bowlturner lol I have done that from time to time.
 
We can objectify our rules
For example, checking if a question has enough constraints to validate a single green checkmark without being opinion based
If the correct answer can't objectively prove that it is better than all the other ones then the question is probably flawed
 
@Aify All right, yeah, I guess I agree with that
 
Who do you prove it to?
 
Anyone who reads it, @AndyD273
Who reads it is irrelevant
Facts make the answer
It's as DW said earlier - An opinion backed up by facts makes it a subset of the truth, and whichever answer is the closest to the truth wins.
also, as a side note, the AC series should've been tagged with hard-science
because it's asking for anatomically correct. Equations would come in VERY useful there for determining correct answer.
Or at least science based, if not hard science
 
7:54 PM
I see two possible questions in the AC series: how could it survive with this shape, and why would it have evolved that way
 
I actually see a third - what would it look like (but then it would be tagged with hard science, and would have to provide certain constraints in order to restrict it from being too broad).
 
Who said "An opinion backed up by facts makes it a subset of the truth"?
 
DW did!
 
good old Doctor Who
 
Oh, I was reading that as DV
downvoter
 
7:56 PM
lol
 
no, Aify's the downvoter :)
 
AC wouldn't fit inside the constraints of hard science, because most of those things can't exist
 
@AndyD273 the whole point of the questions is that they can!
 
^
But not the way we think they'll look
 
Yeah, you'd need a pseudo-hard-science tag for those.
 
7:57 PM
For example, an AC Griffon would probably have a wingspan MUCH larger than you imagined
@Samuel So Science based, then
 
Real equations providing a false conclusion
 
@Samuel Thats what science based is for :)
 
I agree, I just mean the requirement for equations and citations.
 
@Aify larger wingspan or smaller body, that's where insufficient constraints come in
 
You could probably find a way to calculate the amount of wingspan required to provide lift for a lion + the wings
 
7:58 PM
Science based, but not hard science.
 
@Aify Easily
 
@DaaaahWhoosh very true, and that's why i said you would have to provide the constraints in the question
And that's also why I'm saying that most of those questions are as of right now, too broad IMO
 
Come to think of it, a duck would make for a pretty good dragon
 
A duck would be the perfect dragon if it could breath fire
 
Except, you know, the feathers.
 
7:59 PM
Feathers can be good protection!
Er
 
A bat is much closer
 
@DaaaahWhoosh any dragon that can be taken down by light buck shot is not a good dragon
 
Depending on what the enemy is
 
A proportional duck the size of a dragon couldn't get off the ground :)
 
That is also true
 
8:00 PM
Unless most of its volume was methane lifting gas
 
see, though, this is a great example of how opinion-based this gets, we all have different criteria for dragons
 
I'd hate to be a dragon in a thunder storm
 
Wouldn't pterosaurs have made great dragons?
@AndyD273 I'd just sit in my cave of gold during the storm
 
Pterodactyls?
 
just Pterosaurs in general
The Quetzalcoatlus would've been great.
 
8:02 PM
You've lost me since I'm not googling that.
 
lol
 
@Samuel I believe that was the largest of the flying dinosaurs
 
You can think of it as a giant pterodactyl
 
@Aify Oh wow, those look even scarier than dragons
 
IIRC
 
8:02 PM
Yup, Andy is right
IIRC 16 meter wingspan
 
and by large I mean huge
 
That'll do it.
 
small plane sized
 
well, now I want to know why dragons don't have beaks
 
lol
 
8:04 PM
they're so terrifying to me, so alien
 
@DaaaahWhoosh Lizard based vs bird based like dinosaurs
Plus most dinosaurs probably had feathers too
 
Now that's an interesting question @AndyD273... provided you give us proper constraints, such as by providing models/pictures of the references you want us to use in answers.
 
It wasn't my question?
 
Lizard vs bird based was you
 
but what's the question?
I'd personally want to know if all dragons were based on lizards
like the Asian ones, those don't look like lizards, but what are they?
 
8:10 PM
I thought that it was pretty common knowledge that the current theory was that dinosaurs were feathered. They even acknowledge it in a one off line in Jurassic World
 
Oh, I must've misread that
I thought it said "Lizard based vs Bird based Dragons"
 
I think some were feathered, but not all, no?
 
South American 'dragon' was mostly a bird at least feathered. Quetzalcoatl
I think it translate to something like feathered serpent
 
a feathered serpent sounds like it'd be a good pet
like having a snake, only it feels like a bird on the top
 
8:17 PM
the wings kind of ruin it though, I just want a stupid squirmy snake
maybe the feathers are just camouflage, and they can pop up to make the snake look scarier
but mostly they'd just make the snakes soft and pet-able
somehow, a snake with fur doesn't make as much sense
 
no, that's a rat without legs...
 
Well, I know where to find a rat without legs.
Right where you left it.
 
@Samuel Not around my house. Any rat that can't run is gonna be missing pretty fast
 
8:36 PM
Yeah, I guess that's true. I've only recently had cats. They came with the wife.
 
8:56 PM
@Samuel Thanks for making me spray beverage on my keyboard.
 
9:11 PM
@James As long as it was tea with milk.
 
@Samuel Neither actually. Just water this afternoon.
Can I get some more feedback on this:
5
Q: What shall we do with the history tags?

JamesSo I was sifting through tags today and what I will refer to as the history section seems like a mess to me...ok maybe that is too harsh, but I still think we can make it better. :) We have: history alternate-history and then a whole host of era specific tags ancient-history medieval renai...

I still feel its a good idea but it is a lot of change and I don't feel the discussion is anywhere near a consensus.
 
eh, which one requires the least editing of existing questions?
 
@DaaaahWhoosh It's all kind of one big set. Currently for burnination purposes we would have to edit 50ish questions.
 
I'd really like only new questions to follow the new tag descriptions.
 
...must you make everything difficult?! lol
 
9:22 PM
I was one answer away from the hard-science badge and someone went and removed the tag from a load of questions and I was three away.
I mean, I guess it's just the what changes allow for minimum editing.
Be that policy or the actual changes.
 
Well so long as we can rename tags without editing all the questions (which I believe we can) then all we have to edit is the questions with
so we can light it on fire...
 
Well the tag badge will be awarded to night. Finally hit 100 questions
 
@James Wasn't there an option to just rename it?
that would require no editing
though, after saying it, it doesn't sound like it would do anything
 
@DaaaahWhoosh I think both proposals have going away completely as its too broad to be useful in cetegorization.
 
I can see why removing the history tag would be beneficial
it is quite ambiguous
 
9:32 PM
and it's sexist! what about herstory? ;)
 
@bowlturner I have a great argument on that
 
@DaaaahWhoosh let's hear it
 
for most of history, male pronouns and such have been the default. So I say, if you want to be feminist, why not remove the masculine definition and leave the default definition?
 
@bowlturner patriarchy!
 
Take 'man' away from the men, then there is no masculine version of 'womankind'
just the neutral 'mankind'
that way, every time a man is referenced in history, it could be a woman, rather than women saying now that every man has a penis
by giving 'mankind' to the guys, women have written themselves out of history
similarly for history, 'herstory' has never existed until now, so by making 'history' masculine, all of history has been about men
if you want to make women feel welcome, I say we should remove the male connotations from things, rather than creating new female connotations
that's my argument
in my sci-fi world, I'm trying to come up with the masculine form of man. The best I've come up with is 'broman'
or I guess goman might work. Ge is a goman, that object is gers.
everyone got real quiet...
 
9:49 PM
Singular they is the use in English of the pronoun they, or its inflected or derivative forms, such as them, their, themself, or themselves, as a gender-neutral pronoun to refer to a single person or an antecedent that is grammatically singular. It typically occurs with an antecedent of indeterminate gender, as in sentences such as: "Somebody left their umbrella in the office. Would they please collect it?" "The patient should be told at the outset how much they will be required to pay." "But a journalist should not be forced to reveal their sources." The singular they had emerged by the mid-14th...
Problem solved.
 
@DaaaahWhoosh Hear hear!
 
@Mazura Eh, 'they' has problems, mostly that we speak it like it's plural, even when it's meant to be singular
For instance, 'they have to know this' should be 'they has to know this', but we don't say it that way because English is weird
 
Pagina Latina incipio.
I think.
 
@HDE226868 you're gonna have to translate that one
 
I'm always in the worst position to argue about any of this stuff. I'm a healthy, wealthy, American white male. As LCK puts it, you can't even hurt my feelings.
 
9:53 PM
@DaaaahWhoosh "The website for Latin is starting."
I used Google Translate to find the Latin version, though; I'm still relearning the stuff I used to know.
 
I'd love to tell everyone to relax about gender inclusive language and whatever, but that's easy to say when I'd have to try to perceive it as threatening.
 
@Samuel That's one of the reasons I'm trying so much gender stuff in my sci-fi universe, it's a way for me to better understand sexism. By making humanity into a matriarchy, it becomes easier to see how women feel in this world
 
As an aside, I'd like to submit that the collective Worldbuilding site could have done a way better job writing the new X-files.
4
@DaaaahWhoosh It's a noble effort, though I'm not sure we're capable of true understanding.
 
@DaaaahWhoosh matriarchies are fascinating social constructs. They're like the bonobo versions of human government compared to the chimpanzees.
 
@Samuel Probably not, but I'd like to think fictional worlds can help. For instance, I'd recommend 'The Handmaiden's Tale' for a feminist dystopian future. As in, what feminists would consider a dystopian future
 
10:01 PM
@DaaaahWhoosh Ever since I started using SE it's become second nature to me. IMO, 'OP' always takes the gender neutral, singular they.
 
@Mazura yeah, I'm not saying we shouldn't use it, I'm just saying it's an imperfect solution
 
@DaaaahWhoosh @MonicaCellio's "Sisters" series has, I think, inadvertently studied that quite well.
 
@DaaaahWhoosh Oh, well then I completely agree ;)
 
@HDE226868 I really should read that... the blog in general is probably something I should read more
but now that I'm learning Unity and Blender simultaneously, I don't have much time
 
10:23 PM
@HDE226868 yeah, I didn't set out to do a matriarchy theme, but it turned into a key part of the world. The (male) warlords add an interesting wrinkle; if your fighters ever lose faith a high priestess might have problems, matriarchy or no.
@Samuel for what it's worth, I'm a woman who has no problem with neuter "he" and who cringes at invented words like "herstory". You do not fix a gender problem by flipping it to the other gender; true neutral or go home. But people object to "it" and "they" has plural-form problems, so there we are.
 
@DaaaahWhoosh My brother authored a Unity course on Lynda. I understand it's quite good.
@MonicaCellio I think most people don't have a problem unless they are looking for one. I just have no emotion based counter-argument against it when it comes up.
 
@Samuel I may take a look, right now I'm hitting Blender like a watermelon hits a brick wall, but when I get back into Unity I'm sure it'll prove useful
 
@MonicaCellio true neutral or go home <standing ovation>
 
@DaaaahWhoosh Blender is fun. Are you planning to make a game then?
 
@Samuel Yep, I have a lot of ideas, and I've already created some nice 2D stuff in almost straight Java
I figure 3D is where it's at, so I'm trying to learn it
it may also help because I like to draw, so some 3D models would be nice to see
 
10:37 PM
hi im new to this chat and site.what do you on hear
what is the site worldbuilding about
 
@DaaaahWhoosh Yeah, my brother does that. Though he was writing his own engine, so I think after two years he got burned out. So he's just making small stuff now.
 
@WritingNerd Hi there! We talk about everything from the state of the site to worlds we're building to our blog to the (now completed) moderator election to meta ideas to whatever pops into someone's head.
 
@WritingNerd See the tour.
 
"Worldbuilding Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for writers, artists and others using science, geography and culture to construct imaginary worlds and settings."
 
The help center can answer some of your more specific questions about the site, and meta will give you more insight into other things.
 
10:42 PM
what do they mean about world like right know im writing a story about 4 kids but i need help describing a field trip to a candy shop
 
5 hours ago, by ArtOfCode
PSA: Don't abuse flags. You'll make a whole lot of people very unhappy, and you'll get yourself removed from chat.
 
@CalebWoodman What's a balloon whale?
 
@CalebWoodman Which is why I've deleted it.
 
@Mazura That was one of the random tags that was put in the room when it was created. It has since generated at least one question.
 
@Mazura "Balloon whales" is a Worldbuilding SE meme, used as a tag in chat.

Sometimes you just need a large mammal floating gently through the air.

This fictional creature is an organic type of lighter-than-air aircraft, floating around in alien skies.
 
10:45 PM
Uh, Monty Python reference?
 
ok caleb can i ask now
 
@CalebWoodman Chat's probably fine for most things
 
You always learn the important stuff first. Like cursing in a new language.
 
@caleb i found it under Worldbuilders' General Chat

Main chat room for worldbuilding.stackexchange.com
 
ohai @TimB - can you drop over to TL for a mo?
 
10:49 PM
What do you do with tags in chat?
 
@Mazura nada
 
@CalebWoodman You're not a fan of mystical biscuit tools?
 
@ArtOfCode @WritingNerd @CalebWoodman yeah, chat is pretty informal. Questions about developing a plot or characters don't belong on main, but people are free to discuss story ideas and stuff in chat here. (Also check out Writers.SE chat.)
 
@CalebWoodman Wasn't it already a thing?
 
@caleb its called sweet tooth candy shoppe and the whole th grade takes a trip there after studying candy in class
 
10:55 PM
Absolutely no idea.
 
@caleb the 1st chapter or intro
 

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