12
votes
What makes a good question about the 2023 Israel-Hamas War?
There are no special rules that apply to these questions. These are the same rules that apply to all questions, but these are the rules most likely to trip you.
Do not post pictures in questions or ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
10
votes
It's okay to take a break from Skeptics
In this time of need, we also have the ignored questions feature by our side (specifically the right side):
You can use this to make questions you don't want to see less prominent or hide them if you ...
- 32.7k
7
votes
Why isn't my question labeled with "edited"?
There is a 5 minute grace period after making a post and editing it where it doesn't show as a new edit. In the case of a new post it is included in the initial revision. In the case of an edit it is ...
- 5,314
5
votes
Accepted
Is this question suitable for the site? "Did Gaza have the potential to become a 'Singapore' in the Middle East?"
A question I sometimes ask people who post questions is "What would you expect an answer might look like, for and against the proposition?"
I can't imagine what a "No" answer would ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
4
votes
Accepted
Why has my comment that a claim is apparently not serious been deleted?
Which deleted comment are you talking about?
Was it this one?
TBH most of the Reddit contents are one-line quips that you've read 100 times before. AI is quite capable of that.
That one was an ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
4
votes
Accepted
Should my answer, which addresses implications in the framing of a question, have been deleted?
Should my answer, which addresses implications in the framing of a question, have been deleted?
No, neither your answer nor my answer should have been deleted. Both answers offered additional context ...
- 5,434
4
votes
Are answers saying a claim is possible allowed?
"I don't know—but here's some evidence" can be a valid answer
In the past, I've used comments for information that could be seen as a partial answer, but comments suck, and I've often seen ...
- 32.7k
4
votes
Why was my question about tanks in Ukraine closed?
Your question was poorly written and contained no notable claim that could be addressed. Furthermore, your subsequent comments added no clarity whatsoever to what you might be asking.
If you have a ...
- 3,353
4
votes
Accepted
Why was the definition of the NGO "Breaking the Silence" removed from my question?
I think it is appropriate to have some context for who Breaking the Silence is.
The context appeared to be a self-description, which is typically the most appropriate way to describe an organisation.
...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
4
votes
What are the criteria for having an entire tag just for one person?
My reaction to this question is "What harm is it causing?" Perhaps I am missing something, so I remain open to further explanation.
We don't have the reach of Stack Overflow, so a vast ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
4
votes
Accepted
Does Skeptics.SE presuppose methodological naturalism?
In the tour for Skeptics.SE our scope is defined:
Skeptics is a question and answer site for applying scientific skepticism
In the Welcome to New Users FAQ question, provides a link to a definition ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
3
votes
Accepted
Should we be more vigilant about closing Israel-Hamas conflict questions where reliable information doesn't exist?
The issues raised for Skeptics.SE by the 2023-israel-hamas-war are identical to the issues raised by the russo-ukrainian-war and others before it.
I stand behind my answer on that topic - in brief: ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
3
votes
Why is the word skeptics between two brackets in our logo?
Here is the first time the square brackets appeared in a design proposal.
I did draw upon the idea of "citation needed" here.
So maybe this meets both the minimalist (+1 for me: I like ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
3
votes
How should we answer questions which can be answered both yes and no?
You don't have to answer yes or no
…and in a situation like this, you probably shouldn't even try.
People are sloppy with their language; rarely does a claim have a single rigorous interpretation. We ...
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3
votes
What approach should I take to testing an implied claim for something already answered?
I think you should ask a second question.
But, we need a notable claim. If it is just your curiosity, it is off-topic here. We need to find a widely-believed claim that someone is making.
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
2
votes
Why was my question about tanks in Ukraine closed?
Because you are a known troll with a network-wide suspension that you keep trying to evade, even though it is so much faster for us to delete your nonsense than it is for you to post it.
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
2
votes
Are answers saying a claim is possible allowed?
Any information is better than none.
It's long been the case here that partial answers are perfectly OK on Skeptics. Many questions are going to be virtually impossible to get definitive sourced ...
- 57.7k
2
votes
Are answers saying a claim is possible allowed?
I think partial answers are allowed. And establishing that something is historically possible given the time frame rather than the opposite may be helpful. This also goes the other way around, as ...
- 63.5k
2
votes
Should AI Generated Answers Be Allowed - New Banner Options
No, we should not accept AI generated or edited answers on this site as there is an issue with them in that they can be well written and appear to be correct but are in fact incorrect or logically ...
- 5,314
2
votes
Why is it a english-language question?
The question was closed as it lacks a notable (or any) claim.
The banner states:
Questions are required to show that the claim is notable
This is explained in the link within the banner as:
...
- 989
2
votes
Accepted
(IMO) There are inconsistencies between Skeptic On-topic criteria and some existing questions
Basically, this meta-question is questioning the decision of the community and mods not to close one particular question immediately.
Short answer: Yep. In hindsight, I wish it had been closed.
It was ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
2
votes
Accepted
How should new information that invalidates a popular answer be handled?
This isn’t new information and it has already been addressed in a comment that is now a decade old and the answer is 13 years old. At this point the edit should be rejected as it clearly goes against ...
- 5,314
1
vote
Why is it a english-language question?
Welcome to the Skeptics.SE. We have some unusual rules here about what makes a question on-topic.
Here is more information about how we work.
Your question was written in an unclear manner, and did ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
1
vote
Should my answer, which addresses implications in the framing of a question, have been deleted?
There are several different issues here:
Should we accept answers that ignore the actual question being asked and instead address the implicit claims (i.e. about the implications of the facts, rather ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
1
vote
Can online petitions be used to substantiate notability, ie "a large number of people must be exposed to the claim"?
The problem is you can have satire articles that have many views too. The main dispute on that Q was (1) whether people truly believed it was possible, an issue of implied claim, and (2) whether legal ...
- 63.5k
1
vote
Can online petitions be used to substantiate notability, ie "a large number of people must be exposed to the claim"?
No, it would not be able to be used as a notable claim as those sites can easily be manipulated and have fake votes cast for things. There is also the issue that there is no way to determine if ...
- 5,314
1
vote
Are answers saying a claim is possible allowed?
I want to say "It depends", but I am still figuring out what it depends on.
We don't require, but often recommend, that questioners include some short reasoning about why they are skeptical.
...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
1
vote
Answers to the current issues that considered on-topic are helping to promote propaganda rather than clarify
I am largely ignoring the specifics of the question here - that is addressed in (IMO) There are inconsistencies between Skeptic On-topic criteria and some existing questions
I am ignoring the ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
1
vote
How should we answer questions which can be answered both yes and no?
If the question is trivial (in the sense that its literal answer is both obvious and of no use as an argument supporting some larger claim that the question arose in connection to), then a good answer ...
- 5,434
1
vote
Links to scanned books and "fair use"
I encourage you to think about intellectual property and "fair use" and try to behave ethically. I try to do so too, but that doesn't mean my personal ethics are going to match yours, so I ...
OddthinkingMod
- 144k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible