What is one domain or example question that you consider to be off topic? (Please post just one per answer.)
asked Jun 8, 2011 at 1:49
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3You guys had some reasonable on- and off-topic questions defined in the definition phase for this site - taking some of the arguments made there (even if those arguments are nothing more than, "I'm basically voting down every question that I can only imagine being asked by a man with a bong in his hand"), fleshing them out and applying them to questions being asked now would be a good start...– Shog9Commented Jun 8, 2011 at 3:16
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5I think that the phrase "I can only imagine this being asked by a man with a bong in his hand" definitely needs to go in the FAQ or the close reason text somewhere...– Cody Gray - on strikeCommented Jun 8, 2011 at 4:52
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7 Answers
Legal questions should be off-topic.
(There is, I suppose, a philosophy of law, but it would probably start at a much higher level than copyright.)
- Questions about teaching philosophy should probably be on topic; those about job prospects for majors should probably be off topic.
answered Jun 8, 2011 at 22:37
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@ajray: You could teach? Or do basically anything. You have a degree in liberal arts. It's really no more or less useful than, say, a degree in history. But that should definitely be off-topic here. Commented Jun 9, 2011 at 6:04
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@ajray: Rants about the absence of job prospects should be off-topic, too.– PhiraCommented Jun 9, 2011 at 8:34
- questions about the meaning of life are off-topic
- zen koans are off topic (anything starting with "if a tree...")
answered Jun 8, 2011 at 22:36
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3Ka-Ban! Yes? I'd say that Zen koans are on topic if they are questioning elements of zen philosophy. Smart-ass questions, however, are right out. Commented Jun 9, 2011 at 11:26
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2I think koans are on-topic, but their answers are off-topic. Commented Jun 13, 2011 at 16:44
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1Questions about the meaning of life are off topic?! Are you kidding? That's what philosophy's all about!!– JezCommented Jun 22, 2011 at 8:29
I'd say that questions like this are off-topic, whereas actual questions related to logic and reasoning are on-topic.
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2Can you go into detail on why that question would be off-topic?– Shog9Commented Jun 9, 2011 at 19:18
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2I can see how that question, reformulated, could be decent. It's just a bad question right now though... But yes, explain your reasoning, please. Commented Jun 10, 2011 at 0:31
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4Ehh, for a counter-example, look at this question. It basically asks exactly the same thing: "who said x?" But it asks it in a much more coherent, well-thought-out way. That's what we want to encourage. There's no reason to ban this type of question in general, at least given that it's obviously something said by a philosopher.... :-) Commented Jun 10, 2011 at 10:17
Any question that would not even be considered for a undergraduate exam should be off-topic here.
For example, those questions that:
- display no domain awareness whatsoever (have you done any research? ANY?)
- are too broad (which is almost certainly a consequence of not understanding the domain)
- require, due to their scope, more than a thousand words to answer
answered Jun 9, 2011 at 11:25
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2While I agree those sorts of questions are off-topic, I'd also encourage all of us to consider using comments (or in some cases answers) to correct the askers. Lack of domain awareness will be common, but sometimes a small nudge toward getting the asker to do research could very well convert a bad question into a better or even great question. Commented Jun 13, 2011 at 16:51
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I like your restrictions, I don't like the reference to undergraduate exams. I don't think they match, and I dislike the exclusionary "you have to be an undergraduate" implications. (See discussions on Area51 on allowing only undergraduates to a site, etc). Get rid of that, and you'll get a +1. :-) Commented Jun 22, 2011 at 6:56
Beginner cogito style questions are off topic, e.g.:
1 How do I know I'm not a brain in a jar
2 How can I be sure I'm not dreaming?
3 Do I exist?
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@Cody you're right it's just two sides not a third "I don't care"– Chris SCommented Jun 9, 2011 at 15:10
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3I think those questions should be on-topic, but the many duplicates we are likely to see in September should be redirected to a canonical set of questions. I.e, we should only answer them once. Commented Jun 13, 2011 at 16:46
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They may be on-topic, but they are obviously poorly formed and fall into requiring 1000+ words to answer.– mfgCommented Jun 22, 2011 at 19:31
There should never be any more questions under either the zombie or the apocalypse tags.
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6Actually zombies are a really fascinating thought experiment for free will... But it does have to have philosophical content beyond "a man with a bong asked this" Commented Jun 11, 2011 at 0:58
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@Brian is quite right here. Zombies are invoked in many thought experiments about not just free will, but also philosophy of mind.– boehjCommented Jun 11, 2011 at 8:33
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I was considering allowing an exception or two for the
apocalypsetag. ;-) Can we at least agree to no more conjunctions of those two tags? Commented Jun 13, 2011 at 16:48