Questions tagged [scope]
Discussions about what is and is not on-topic, or within scope, for this site, and therefore what questions can and can't be asked here.
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Are modern-day flat-earth myths on-topic?
I find myself curious about flat-earth theories, and wondering if they count as myths for the sake of this site. As per this question, age is not hugely important.
I'm sure questions about Nüwa ...
7
votes
2answers
102 views
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange wants to know about forwarding questions to here
Over on the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange, we help storytellers fill in the details of their world with plausible explanations. In many ways, we're a unique stack exchange because we answer ...
6
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1answer
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Would Nautical superstitions fall under mythology and folklore?
As long as humankind was at sea there have been a lot of superstitions in and around the sea.
Some of the nautical/sailors superstitions are time worn and some are relatively new.
The version of ...
4
votes
1answer
45 views
Would questions looking for parables/tales be on-topic of this site?
Would questions looking for parables/tales be on-topic of this site? I'm not sure if this falls to the first bullet of What qualifies as a "myth"?:
Traditional myths, i.e. stories of great ...
5
votes
1answer
68 views
Is asking about the nature of a religion's god on-topic?
Currently Worldbuilding has a question asking for more information about whether the Moon Goddess and Horned God of Wiccan mythology are tripartite or not. The poster also wants to know what the ...
0
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1answer
110 views
I want to propose we open this forum to Blake's Pantheon
I've been spending a little time on the new literature site, and they get a sh*t-ton more questions than we do. We would benefit greatly if we could attract more lit people, as the lit people we ...
3
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2answers
103 views
Are these Christmas questions on-topic?
It's the holiday season, and this year we've had a slew of christmas-themed questions:
Are There Pagan Roots of Christmas Traditions?
Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?
Why do Ethiopians play gena ...
3
votes
3answers
129 views
Is comparing to recent stuff on topic?
Explaining the plot, character, setting or symbolism of a myth
Historical or societal context of a myth
Myth identification
Translations of and primary sources for a myth
Well, it sure isn't ...
4
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0answers
139 views
Dead Languages/Living Myths
Not to keep stirring the pot (although I am more and more seeing my role here as partly taking on unpopular positions, in order that they are at least represented;) but where do artists like André ...
-5
votes
1answer
138 views
Can we please help new users by defining mythology?
I've been thinking about the question What is the earliest recorded example of religion (formerly What is the consensus for the earliest recorded mythology?). I feel bad about that question, because ...
4
votes
2answers
121 views
At what point is a question out of scope as being too centered around 'practice'?
The question Are Pastafarians required to always be dressed as a Pirate when discussing their religion? was closed as off-topic. What I can gather from the comments on the question and the meta ...
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1answer
125 views
Should questions not specifically about myths/stories be centered around a myth or story?
Sometimes the lines between religious myth and other elements overlap. Religious practice, history, politics, individuals, whole peoples, and entire cultures have affected mythoi around the world and ...
8
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1answer
215 views
How "academic" should we be?
I'm pretty new to StackExchange, so I apologize if this has been answered. I saw that on the Wiki academic books and articles are mentioned as good sources, and "encyclopedias" are not, yet many of ...
3
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2answers
85 views
How to describe the scope of the site in the help?
Now that we have temporary moderators on Mythology SE, I believe they have the power to update the help text on certain help pages.
I think the most important of these is What topics can I ask ...
5
votes
3answers
144 views
Are shopping (aka recommend this) questions on topic?
I saw this question and was surprised that it had up-votes and no close votes.
On every Stack Exchange site I've participated in, questions asking for recommendations are off-topic because they are ...
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vote
2answers
159 views
Let's create a canonical definition of mythology
This site has existed for two weeks, and we've had numerous discussions about defining our scope (most of those discussions have addressed small portions of the scope -- e.g. "is greek mythology on-...
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votes
3answers
137 views
Are questions about urban legends / unsolved mysteries on topic?
There are two sorts of urban legends;
Ones that happened somewhat in the past but well after we started to have good historical records e.g. Roanoke Colony - Associated Test Question 2k link; London ...
0
votes
1answer
60 views
Are cryptozoology questions on-topic [duplicate]
In a sense, many cryptozoology stories seem to be close to mythology - some have supernatural angle (yet, admittedly, not all or even not most). And the "real, ontopic" myths themselves are full of ...
8
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1answer
143 views
Should Mormon mythology be on-topic?
Generally, it is agreed that Christian mythology is on-topic. Now, recently, there has been a great deal of discussion in chat about how to distinguish "genuine" mythologies (e.g. Greek, Norse, Native ...
6
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2answers
108 views
How to ask a good question about mythology as shown in pop culture?
Norse and Greek mythology, especially, are depicted with some frequency in movies, books, comics, and television. It's reasonable to wonder how closely their representation in pop culture media ...
2
votes
1answer
107 views
What should be the defining cutoff for when something is mythology?
There has been a lot of controversy in Meta and chat about what is and what is not on topic as far as fictional sources, religions, and whatnot.
Should we allow tags for external media?
Are fictional ...
7
votes
2answers
164 views
Is Cthulhu on or off topic?
I've seen a lot of Cthulhu questions on the Sci Fi stack exchange, would he be considered on topic here?
He would be considered a mythological creature wouldn't he, the same as The Minotaur or Medusa?...
8
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1answer
109 views
Are questions about literature related to mythology on-topic
Some works of literature are heavily based on existing mythology. Are these works on topic here?
To be clear, I am not referring to entirely fictitious mythologies, like Cthulhu or Star Wars mythos.
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5
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2answers
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Are questions about the scientific basis of mythology on topic?
This is inspired by https://mythology.stackexchange.com/questions/435/how-enkidu-was-created-out-of-clay-and-saliva, which (to my understanding) discusses the scientific basis behind a myth. My ...
8
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3answers
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Are fictional mythologies on topic?
Are mythologies from fictional sources on topic?
Questions about the Old Gods of the Forest from Game of Thrones?
Questions about the Nine Divines from the Elder Scrolls series of video games?
Etc.
...
8
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3answers
111 views
Are questions about who worshipped what on-topic?
So @Yannis asked this question: Which cities had chthonic Zeus cults?
I am quite conflicted about whether such questions are on topic. It's a question about "whom did the people from this time period ...
11
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2answers
145 views
Is asking for resources and myth identification allowed?
On most SE sites, eventually someone comes along looking for a specific resource. The usually ask a question in the form "Where can I find a [book, site, etc] about [insert topic]?"
These aren't ...
2
votes
1answer
61 views
Can I ask for identification of ancient cylinder seals?
Are questions about identification of specific ancient cylinder seals on-topic?
7
votes
2answers
154 views
Are questions asking how some supernatural event/ability/power works on topic?
Example: Why can you look at Medusa in a mirror and not be turned to stone?
It seems to me that such questions, unless the mechanism is explained in the myth, are purely speculative and not ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
Are discussion of mythology-related pseudo-science off-topic
This question caught my attention:
Which is asking about the Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis, a pseudo-science hypothesis, positing that mythological beings (in this case the Anunnaki, a group of ...
7
votes
2answers
71 views
Where should we draw the line for werewolf and vampire questions?
I just noticed that Are vampires and werewolves on-topic? is closed as a duplicate of Should we include folklore?. A comment below points out that if folklore is going to be on-topic, then vampires ...
2
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0answers
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Are vampires and werewolves on-topic? [duplicate]
Seems there are already some questions about vampires and werewolves? However they have been closed.
So I wonder, are these creatures are part of the mythology and can be on-topic here?
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3answers
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Are questions about the relationship between History and Mythology on topic?
So I asked this question: https://mythology.stackexchange.com/questions/6/why-did-the-trojan-war-really-happen
Clearly, the Trojan War and the Iliad in particular are squarely within the realm of ...
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5answers
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What should we do with questions that probably have different answers in different texts?
Consider this question: https://mythology.stackexchange.com/q/61/33
It's probably the case that no two sources are going to agree on how tall Hercules was, or how many cows he could lift, or whatnot. ...
14
votes
3answers
164 views
Should we include folklore?
There is a question here on Meta on what is the distinction between folklore and mythology. The same question was raised on Area 51 Discussions before this proposal went into private beta.
I'm ...
7
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4answers
161 views
Is scientology on topic here?
I'm asking this in response to this question - are questions relating to scientology on topic here at mythology.SE?
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1answer
529 views
How will we define mythology?
Because this is the Mythology SE, we need to make sure we have a clear definition of mythology. We talked about this a bit on the Area 51 proposal, but we need to make clear guidelines for mythology.
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