34
votes
Accepted
What do we do with science fiction and fantasy?
No. As we do on Movies, we don't dictate which site has "precedence" or "priority" over the other. If someone asks a question here that's On-Topic here, it should stay here, even if it's also On-...
- 1,763
30
votes
Should graphic novels be on topic?
I think they should be On-Topic. There can be quite extensive character analysis, plot explanation, etc. related to comics that would add quality content to the site. AND, not all comics fall into ...
- 1,763
29
votes
Accepted
What do we think about story identification?
Identification questions are like... The cabbage, radishes and shredded carrots that some sushi shops put on the platter before stacking up the meat & rice. They make the plate look nice and full, ...
- 101
28
votes
Should we allow questions about religious texts?
I think this can work, if we all agree to not disparage anyone.
Once again, I swoop back to Mythology Stack Exchange. We deal with everything from tales from the Sumerians to the Quran (a relatively ...
- 5,932
25
votes
What do we do with science fiction and fantasy?
On-topic questions should not be migrated (possible caveat: unless explicitly requested by question's OP?). Rationale for that is laid out in SE reference on migrations.
Caveat: questions which are ...
- 4,566
24
votes
Accepted
Should recommendation questions be on-topic?
No.
Book recommendation questions have a tendency to invite multiple answers, none of which is more correct than any other. Both the answers themselves and the votes cast on them will likely be based ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 72.6k
20
votes
Should recommendation questions be on-topic?
Absolutely not.
Rand's answer is good, but I thought I'd add something.
I moderate Hardware Recommendations, wherein we deal with recommending computer hardware to people who ask for it. The one ...
- 343
19
votes
Accepted
Should reading-order questions be on-topic?
TL;DR: Yes. Very much so.
Why are they good?
Reading-order questions are possibly the most practically useful questions this site will ever see. Questions about literary analysis, or plot points in ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 72.6k
19
votes
Should graphic novels be on topic?
I think they should be on-topic.
There's a masters thesis on Frank Miller's Sin City. Another thesis on Alan Moore's Watchmen, not to mention a whole book titled Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach ...
- 8,414
19
votes
Should questions with sexual topics even be allowed?
I don't see a reason against such topics. On Stack Exchange, folks are expected to behave maturely, and that involves covering topics that - well, require some maturity to handle. For the same reason, ...
- 5,932
19
votes
Who are the experts? Not us. We've grown a philosophical bezoar - let's work this through!
This is the . . . eleventh time I've been in a Stack Exchange site from its beginnings in private beta or before, over two and a half years. And let me say this: what you've brought up is something ...
- 5,932
18
votes
Are songs and poems on-topic?
Poems should be on-topic without further qualification. For hundreds of years, poetry was nearly the only type of literature produced, and some of the greatest works of literature are poems.
I favor ...
- 2,053
18
votes
What do we do with science fiction and fantasy?
If the question is on topic here, leave it here.
If for some reason we may think the querant will get a better answer there, we may direct them to SFF in a comment, but since the question is still on ...
- 583
17
votes
Accepted
Is literary analysis on-topic?
Yes, but we should demand quality answers, as well as quality questions.
Questions should show work done, otherwise be downvoted as "not sufficient research".
If too many crappy homework questions ...
- 4,566
17
votes
Accepted
Are questions about the process of creating specific literary works on-topic?
Yes.
As these questions would be relating to a specific work or author, there is a defined scope.
Depending on the age of the work, there may be interviews and articles discussing this with the ...
- 4,026
17
votes
Accepted
Are questions about authors on-topic?
I would say that they would be on-topic, but only insofar as they relate to an author's literary life.
We had a similar issue on History of Science and Mathematics early on. Would a question about ...
- 5,932
17
votes
When are reading-order questions on topic?
Don't ask for a recommended reading order, ask for things that inform a choice of reading order
Let me back up a bit. Why do people want to ask about reading order in the first place? In 99% of the ...
- 849
16
votes
What do we think about story identification?
You may want to sit down. This is going to be long.
Identification questions are helpful.
Unlike, say, literary analysis, or questions about plot points in specific works of literature, ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 72.6k
16
votes
Who are the experts? Not us. We've grown a philosophical bezoar - let's work this through!
What is an expert?
First off, let's acknowledge our weaknesses. We, the current userbase of this site, are not 'experts' - in the sense that (as far as I know) none of us are literature professors, ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 72.6k
14
votes
Should graphic novels be on topic?
Yes, because they are literature.
Of course, this is debatable, but since Maus has won a pulitzer, it's pretty clear, that comics are being considered literature and so are manga. Which makes them on-...
- 270
14
votes
Accepted
Are questions on online literature and e-books on-topic? if yes, then please make tags for them
Yes, these should be on-topic.
As I've already said on a few other scope meta questions, why not? They're written works, and they can be just as interesting and worthy of analysis as paper books. In ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 72.6k
14
votes
What kinds of mythological questions are on topic?
I vote to welcome any mythology questions that are connected to a written source. (But see also Does Oral-Literature count as literature here?)
Using this as a distinction, only the first of your ...
- 8,414
12
votes
Accepted
Are questions about the themes of a work Too Broad?
Are questions about the themes of a work Too Broad?
In general, no. Analysing the themes present in a work is part of literary analysis, and we've already had questions about such things on this site....
Rand al'ThorMod
- 72.6k
11
votes
Should questions asking about availability of a specific book be on-topic?
No
Generally SE is a not a good fit for recommendations. Pure shopping questions are even worse. The applicability of the answer for future readers is very doubtful. So let's not do that. I fully ...
- 1,031
11
votes
Is this site focused on Literature Analysis or literature in general?
This is an issue of whether to be inclusive or to be exclusive, because in my view to focus on literature is to include literary analysis, but to focus on literary analysis is to exclude much of ...
- 6,083
11
votes
To ask interpretation of a specific poem, what form of question is recommended?
Yes, they are on topic.
We have several questions like this already.
See What circumstances is Bachchan referring to in this poem?, What is the meaning of "To Autumn"?, and other such ...
MithicalMod
- 24.1k
11
votes
Are questions about performance on-topic?
Interpretation of character is a form of literary analysis
It's as simple as that.
I highly recommend taking a look at Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov which demonstrates how ...
- 4,188
11
votes
Are we ready to say what's on topic?
My proposal is that we remove all three paragraphs of apologies and hedging quoted in the question, and replace them with the following:
We interpet ‘literature’ in a broad sense, including written,...
- 56k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible