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Are History of Worldbuilding questions on topic?

Is a “real world” question off topic?Are cartography questions on topic here?Are questions about how to develop worldbuilding software on topic?Should the help center be updated to specifically list real world history questions as off topic?Fortnightly Topic Challenge #27: HistoryIs “check out my world” on-topic?Should I delete this off-topic question, or try and rework it?Why is my question about the feasibility of keeping different tools outside in threat considered off-topic by some?How are the “anatomically correct” questions asking for evolutionary insight on-topic?Have worldbuilding-resources questions become off-topic?A proposal to finalize the “are real world questions on-topic” debate

10

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See this question: History of Worldbuilding - The Flying City

Should questions such as this be considered on or off topic?

discussion on-topic

share

asked 15 hours ago

Tim B♦Tim B

62.3k1965

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

10

$begingroup$

See this question: History of Worldbuilding - The Flying City

Should questions such as this be considered on or off topic?

discussion on-topic

share

asked 15 hours ago

Tim B♦Tim B

62.3k1965

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

See this question: History of Worldbuilding - The Flying City

Should questions such as this be considered on or off topic?

discussion on-topic

share

asked 15 hours ago

Tim B♦Tim B

62.3k1965

$endgroup$

share

asked 15 hours ago

Tim B♦Tim B

62.3k1965

share

asked 15 hours ago

Tim B♦Tim B

62.3k1965

asked 15 hours ago

Tim B♦Tim B

62.3k1965

asked 15 hours ago

Tim B♦Tim B

62.3k1965

3 Answers
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oldest

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The question asks about the first date when a concept was put in a story. That's not worldbuilding, but plain literature history. If I have a question about literature history I ask it on the pertinent SE community.

That the OP states that it helps them in worldbuilding, doesn't make it a worldbuilding question, same as asking "how do I conjugate to be in space?" remains a grammar question and not a space exploration question.

share

edited 15 hours ago

answered 15 hours ago

L.Dutch♦L.Dutch

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  You seem to deny that history is a resource. By finding out what previous world-builders did helps us to formulate our own ideas and build on them or indeed avoid reinventing the wheel.
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  – chasly from UK
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  @chaslyfromUK Please post an answer making that argument and see if people agree with you. :)
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  – Tim B♦
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  @chaslyfromUK Your answer should explain why it's specifically relevant to worldbuilding and how it actually helps you to build a world.
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  – Tim B♦
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  @chaslyfromUK Even more, if a question is not obviously about worldbuilding, it helps to specify in that question how it is a worldbuilding question.
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  – a CVn♦
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  @Tim B - I will at some point. However I know that Meta is inhabited by a cadre of hard-liners who can't get their heads around any new idea whatsoever.
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  – chasly from UK
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  @a CVn - That is a fair point. I'll do that.
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  – chasly from UK
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  I think this has parallels to the Stack Overflow "Boat Question" meme: You can't just stick "for Worldbuilding" on the end of an unrelated question, e.g. "What is the best snack to eat while Worldbuilding"
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  – Chronocidal
  14 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Chronocidal I think my answer to the old question Is a “real world” question off topic? applies there...
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  – a CVn♦
  14 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Chronocidal - So the history of world building isn't related to world building? That makes no sense. How does that have the least similarity to 'eating a snack'?
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  – chasly from UK
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  ""how do I conjugate to be in space?" - How to conjugate "to be" in time travel was an important part of Douglas Adams' universe. Admittedly that might be better dealt with on conlang but in itself conjugating a verb isn't necessarily off-topic. Maybe aliens have a fourth person singular and plural.
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  – chasly from UK
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  @chaslyfromUK My example was taking it to an extreme, to emphasise the point: The "for Worldbuilding" part of your question was entirely superfluous, because deleting it doesn't change the question, and shows it as common form of Science Fiction & Fantasy question. It isn't about building worlds, it's a history question about worlds that other people have already built
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  – Chronocidal
  12 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Chronocidal - In the old days artists would be apprentices to the great masters. They would study their works and then build on their techniques to develop their own style. The same applied with classical music. It is a long tradition in any area of creativity to be willing to learn from previous masters of the trade. Note, I'm not talking about writing skills - I'm talking about learning world-building skills. I simply can't see an objection to that.
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  – chasly from UK
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  @chaslyfromUK Learning world-building skills would be on-topic. But that's not what your question was about.
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  – Chronocidal
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK "In the old days artists would be apprentices to the great masters" "I'm talking about learning world-building skills" So, again, how does knowing the year when an idea was first used influence your worldbuilding efforts?
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  – a CVn♦
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  @a CVn - It tells me who wrote what and when. From there I can read the original author and learn from them.
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  – chasly from UK
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

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I might consider it on topic in meta, but it's not in its own right worldbuilding. However it is one of the staples of SciFi.SE as it's an element of existing (commercial) worlds, which is very much their field.

share

edited 14 hours ago

answered 14 hours ago

SeparatrixSeparatrix

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  I'm not sure that referring back to Aristophanes, as one of the answers did, has much to do with commerce.
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  Meta isn't for "stuff that's off topic on Main". Nor is it for discussion about the site's topic. Meta is for questions and discussions about the site itself.
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  – a CVn♦
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  @chaslyfromUK, just because he's not commercial now, doesn't mean he wasn't commercial then.
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  – Separatrix
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  @Separatrix - You know you're being illogical. Would you put a ban on anyone using this site who wrote a successful story or designed a successful game? If 'being commercial' is prohibited in the site rules, please direct me to that paragraph.
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  – chasly from UK
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  @chaslyfromUK, the key separation between us and SciFi has always been the "existing world" versus "new world". Talking about existing works is the remit of SciFi, yes we refer back to existing works a lot to answer questions, but directly addressing existing works, as your question is doing, falls fully under SciFi not here.
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  – Separatrix
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  "we refer back to existing works" Yes we do, and we also refer back to existing questions on the same subject. Thus there is notice taken of the internal history of questions on the site. Surely the external history of a given question is just as relevant. It helps us unwittingly appearing to pirate the work of others.
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  @chaslyfromUK Yes, but that doesn't mean that every question encountered in the process of building a world needs to or should be asked on Worldbuilding SE, just as not every question encountered in the process of writing needs to or should be asked on Writing SE.
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  – a CVn♦
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  Just to play devil's advocate, it's been stated here before regarding conlang questions that just because a question is on-topic on another Stack Exchange, that doesn't mean it's automatically off-topic on WorldBuilding. The fact that Chasly's question would be on-topic on SciFi should be irrelevant wrt. whether it's on-topic here or not, especially as she clearly has no intention of reposting it there.
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  – F1Krazy
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To discuss it's relevance we should look at what the help center says is on topic for the site:

Worldbuilding Stack Exchange is a site for designers, writers, artists, gamers and enthusiasts to get help creating imaginary worlds.

[...] When asking questions keep in mind that the goal of the site is to help you build your world, not to tell your story.

[...] If you are looking for discussion, brainstorming, or an overall process rather than specific questions and answers, the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange might not be a good place for your question.

The goal of the site is to help build your world, not to look for recommended readings/movies on the subject. Instead, this is brainstorming ideas for your world, which is not on topic.

Here are some examples of questions that would be relevant to worldbuilding:

• How would a city be made to fly?


• How would the layout of a floating city be affected by the fact that it's floating?


• How would the inhabitants of a floating city survive without connected trade routes to other cities?


• What effect does the size of the floating landmass have on the city?


• What are some adverse effects that a floating city might have on it's population?


• etc.

To summarize a question about the history of a subject used in different worlds does not belong on Worldbuilding.SE, instead it belongs on SciFi.SE, more specifically its belongs on SF&F.SE under the history-of tag.

share

answered 4 hours ago

william porterwilliam porter

1307

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14

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The question asks about the first date when a concept was put in a story. That's not worldbuilding, but plain literature history. If I have a question about literature history I ask it on the pertinent SE community.

That the OP states that it helps them in worldbuilding, doesn't make it a worldbuilding question, same as asking "how do I conjugate to be in space?" remains a grammar question and not a space exploration question.

share

edited 15 hours ago

answered 15 hours ago

L.Dutch♦L.Dutch

85k421

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  You seem to deny that history is a resource. By finding out what previous world-builders did helps us to formulate our own ideas and build on them or indeed avoid reinventing the wheel.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK Please post an answer making that argument and see if people agree with you. :)
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  – Tim B♦
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK Your answer should explain why it's specifically relevant to worldbuilding and how it actually helps you to build a world.
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  – Tim B♦
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK Even more, if a question is not obviously about worldbuilding, it helps to specify in that question how it is a worldbuilding question.
  $endgroup$
  – a CVn♦
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Tim B - I will at some point. However I know that Meta is inhabited by a cadre of hard-liners who can't get their heads around any new idea whatsoever.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  15 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  @a CVn - That is a fair point. I'll do that.
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  – chasly from UK
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  I think this has parallels to the Stack Overflow "Boat Question" meme: You can't just stick "for Worldbuilding" on the end of an unrelated question, e.g. "What is the best snack to eat while Worldbuilding"
  $endgroup$
  – Chronocidal
  14 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Chronocidal I think my answer to the old question Is a “real world” question off topic? applies there...
  $endgroup$
  – a CVn♦
  14 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Chronocidal - So the history of world building isn't related to world building? That makes no sense. How does that have the least similarity to 'eating a snack'?
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  13 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  ""how do I conjugate to be in space?" - How to conjugate "to be" in time travel was an important part of Douglas Adams' universe. Admittedly that might be better dealt with on conlang but in itself conjugating a verb isn't necessarily off-topic. Maybe aliens have a fourth person singular and plural.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  13 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK My example was taking it to an extreme, to emphasise the point: The "for Worldbuilding" part of your question was entirely superfluous, because deleting it doesn't change the question, and shows it as common form of Science Fiction & Fantasy question. It isn't about building worlds, it's a history question about worlds that other people have already built
  $endgroup$
  – Chronocidal
  12 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @Chronocidal - In the old days artists would be apprentices to the great masters. They would study their works and then build on their techniques to develop their own style. The same applied with classical music. It is a long tradition in any area of creativity to be willing to learn from previous masters of the trade. Note, I'm not talking about writing skills - I'm talking about learning world-building skills. I simply can't see an objection to that.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  12 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @chaslyfromUK Learning world-building skills would be on-topic. But that's not what your question was about.
  $endgroup$
  – Chronocidal
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK "In the old days artists would be apprentices to the great masters" "I'm talking about learning world-building skills" So, again, how does knowing the year when an idea was first used influence your worldbuilding efforts?
  $endgroup$
  – a CVn♦
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @a CVn - It tells me who wrote what and when. From there I can read the original author and learn from them.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

14

$begingroup$

The question asks about the first date when a concept was put in a story. That's not worldbuilding, but plain literature history. If I have a question about literature history I ask it on the pertinent SE community.

That the OP states that it helps them in worldbuilding, doesn't make it a worldbuilding question, same as asking "how do I conjugate to be in space?" remains a grammar question and not a space exploration question.

share

edited 15 hours ago

answered 15 hours ago

L.Dutch♦L.Dutch

85k421

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  You seem to deny that history is a resource. By finding out what previous world-builders did helps us to formulate our own ideas and build on them or indeed avoid reinventing the wheel.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK Please post an answer making that argument and see if people agree with you. :)
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  – Tim B♦
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK Your answer should explain why it's specifically relevant to worldbuilding and how it actually helps you to build a world.
  $endgroup$
  – Tim B♦
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @chaslyfromUK Even more, if a question is not obviously about worldbuilding, it helps to specify in that question how it is a worldbuilding question.
  $endgroup$
  – a CVn♦
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Tim B - I will at some point. However I know that Meta is inhabited by a cadre of hard-liners who can't get their heads around any new idea whatsoever.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  15 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  @a CVn - That is a fair point. I'll do that.
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  – chasly from UK
  15 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  I think this has parallels to the Stack Overflow "Boat Question" meme: You can't just stick "for Worldbuilding" on the end of an unrelated question, e.g. "What is the best snack to eat while Worldbuilding"
  $endgroup$
  – Chronocidal
  14 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @Chronocidal I think my answer to the old question Is a “real world” question off topic? applies there...
  $endgroup$
  – a CVn♦
  14 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @Chronocidal - So the history of world building isn't related to world building? That makes no sense. How does that have the least similarity to 'eating a snack'?
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  13 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  ""how do I conjugate to be in space?" - How to conjugate "to be" in time travel was an important part of Douglas Adams' universe. Admittedly that might be better dealt with on conlang but in itself conjugating a verb isn't necessarily off-topic. Maybe aliens have a fourth person singular and plural.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  13 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @chaslyfromUK My example was taking it to an extreme, to emphasise the point: The "for Worldbuilding" part of your question was entirely superfluous, because deleting it doesn't change the question, and shows it as common form of Science Fiction & Fantasy question. It isn't about building worlds, it's a history question about worlds that other people have already built
  $endgroup$
  – Chronocidal
  12 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @Chronocidal - In the old days artists would be apprentices to the great masters. They would study their works and then build on their techniques to develop their own style. The same applied with classical music. It is a long tradition in any area of creativity to be willing to learn from previous masters of the trade. Note, I'm not talking about writing skills - I'm talking about learning world-building skills. I simply can't see an objection to that.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  12 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @chaslyfromUK Learning world-building skills would be on-topic. But that's not what your question was about.
  $endgroup$
  – Chronocidal
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  $begingroup$
  @chaslyfromUK "In the old days artists would be apprentices to the great masters" "I'm talking about learning world-building skills" So, again, how does knowing the year when an idea was first used influence your worldbuilding efforts?
  $endgroup$
  – a CVn♦
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @a CVn - It tells me who wrote what and when. From there I can read the original author and learn from them.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  12 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

$begingroup$

The question asks about the first date when a concept was put in a story. That's not worldbuilding, but plain literature history. If I have a question about literature history I ask it on the pertinent SE community.

That the OP states that it helps them in worldbuilding, doesn't make it a worldbuilding question, same as asking "how do I conjugate to be in space?" remains a grammar question and not a space exploration question.

share

edited 15 hours ago

answered 15 hours ago

L.Dutch♦L.Dutch

85k421

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share

edited 15 hours ago

answered 15 hours ago

L.Dutch♦L.Dutch

85k421

answered 15 hours ago

L.Dutch♦L.Dutch

85k421

answered 15 hours ago

L.Dutch♦L.Dutch

85k421

2

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I might consider it on topic in meta, but it's not in its own right worldbuilding. However it is one of the staples of SciFi.SE as it's an element of existing (commercial) worlds, which is very much their field.

share

edited 14 hours ago

answered 14 hours ago

SeparatrixSeparatrix

83.3k418

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  I'm not sure that referring back to Aristophanes, as one of the answers did, has much to do with commerce.
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  – chasly from UK
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  Meta isn't for "stuff that's off topic on Main". Nor is it for discussion about the site's topic. Meta is for questions and discussions about the site itself.
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  – a CVn♦
  13 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK, just because he's not commercial now, doesn't mean he wasn't commercial then.
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  – Separatrix
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  @Separatrix - You know you're being illogical. Would you put a ban on anyone using this site who wrote a successful story or designed a successful game? If 'being commercial' is prohibited in the site rules, please direct me to that paragraph.
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  – chasly from UK
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  @chaslyfromUK, the key separation between us and SciFi has always been the "existing world" versus "new world". Talking about existing works is the remit of SciFi, yes we refer back to existing works a lot to answer questions, but directly addressing existing works, as your question is doing, falls fully under SciFi not here.
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  – Separatrix
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  "we refer back to existing works" Yes we do, and we also refer back to existing questions on the same subject. Thus there is notice taken of the internal history of questions on the site. Surely the external history of a given question is just as relevant. It helps us unwittingly appearing to pirate the work of others.
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  – chasly from UK
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  @chaslyfromUK Yes, but that doesn't mean that every question encountered in the process of building a world needs to or should be asked on Worldbuilding SE, just as not every question encountered in the process of writing needs to or should be asked on Writing SE.
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  – a CVn♦
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  Just to play devil's advocate, it's been stated here before regarding conlang questions that just because a question is on-topic on another Stack Exchange, that doesn't mean it's automatically off-topic on WorldBuilding. The fact that Chasly's question would be on-topic on SciFi should be irrelevant wrt. whether it's on-topic here or not, especially as she clearly has no intention of reposting it there.
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  – F1Krazy
  6 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

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I might consider it on topic in meta, but it's not in its own right worldbuilding. However it is one of the staples of SciFi.SE as it's an element of existing (commercial) worlds, which is very much their field.

share

edited 14 hours ago

answered 14 hours ago

SeparatrixSeparatrix

83.3k418

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• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  I'm not sure that referring back to Aristophanes, as one of the answers did, has much to do with commerce.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  13 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  Meta isn't for "stuff that's off topic on Main". Nor is it for discussion about the site's topic. Meta is for questions and discussions about the site itself.
  $endgroup$
  – a CVn♦
  13 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK, just because he's not commercial now, doesn't mean he wasn't commercial then.
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  – Separatrix
  13 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  @Separatrix - You know you're being illogical. Would you put a ban on anyone using this site who wrote a successful story or designed a successful game? If 'being commercial' is prohibited in the site rules, please direct me to that paragraph.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  13 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  @chaslyfromUK, the key separation between us and SciFi has always been the "existing world" versus "new world". Talking about existing works is the remit of SciFi, yes we refer back to existing works a lot to answer questions, but directly addressing existing works, as your question is doing, falls fully under SciFi not here.
  $endgroup$
  – Separatrix
  13 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  "we refer back to existing works" Yes we do, and we also refer back to existing questions on the same subject. Thus there is notice taken of the internal history of questions on the site. Surely the external history of a given question is just as relevant. It helps us unwittingly appearing to pirate the work of others.
  $endgroup$
  – chasly from UK
  13 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
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  @chaslyfromUK Yes, but that doesn't mean that every question encountered in the process of building a world needs to or should be asked on Worldbuilding SE, just as not every question encountered in the process of writing needs to or should be asked on Writing SE.
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  – a CVn♦
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


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  Just to play devil's advocate, it's been stated here before regarding conlang questions that just because a question is on-topic on another Stack Exchange, that doesn't mean it's automatically off-topic on WorldBuilding. The fact that Chasly's question would be on-topic on SciFi should be irrelevant wrt. whether it's on-topic here or not, especially as she clearly has no intention of reposting it there.
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  – F1Krazy
  6 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

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I might consider it on topic in meta, but it's not in its own right worldbuilding. However it is one of the staples of SciFi.SE as it's an element of existing (commercial) worlds, which is very much their field.

share

edited 14 hours ago

answered 14 hours ago

SeparatrixSeparatrix

83.3k418

$endgroup$

share

edited 14 hours ago

answered 14 hours ago

SeparatrixSeparatrix

83.3k418

answered 14 hours ago

SeparatrixSeparatrix

83.3k418

answered 14 hours ago

SeparatrixSeparatrix

83.3k418

1

$begingroup$

To discuss it's relevance we should look at what the help center says is on topic for the site:

Worldbuilding Stack Exchange is a site for designers, writers, artists, gamers and enthusiasts to get help creating imaginary worlds.

[...] When asking questions keep in mind that the goal of the site is to help you build your world, not to tell your story.

[...] If you are looking for discussion, brainstorming, or an overall process rather than specific questions and answers, the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange might not be a good place for your question.

The goal of the site is to help build your world, not to look for recommended readings/movies on the subject. Instead, this is brainstorming ideas for your world, which is not on topic.

Here are some examples of questions that would be relevant to worldbuilding:

• How would a city be made to fly?


• How would the layout of a floating city be affected by the fact that it's floating?


• How would the inhabitants of a floating city survive without connected trade routes to other cities?


• What effect does the size of the floating landmass have on the city?


• What are some adverse effects that a floating city might have on it's population?


• etc.

To summarize a question about the history of a subject used in different worlds does not belong on Worldbuilding.SE, instead it belongs on SciFi.SE, more specifically its belongs on SF&F.SE under the history-of tag.

share

answered 4 hours ago

william porterwilliam porter

1307

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add a comment | 

1

$begingroup$

To discuss it's relevance we should look at what the help center says is on topic for the site:

Worldbuilding Stack Exchange is a site for designers, writers, artists, gamers and enthusiasts to get help creating imaginary worlds.

[...] When asking questions keep in mind that the goal of the site is to help you build your world, not to tell your story.

[...] If you are looking for discussion, brainstorming, or an overall process rather than specific questions and answers, the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange might not be a good place for your question.

The goal of the site is to help build your world, not to look for recommended readings/movies on the subject. Instead, this is brainstorming ideas for your world, which is not on topic.

Here are some examples of questions that would be relevant to worldbuilding:

• How would a city be made to fly?


• How would the layout of a floating city be affected by the fact that it's floating?


• How would the inhabitants of a floating city survive without connected trade routes to other cities?


• What effect does the size of the floating landmass have on the city?


• What are some adverse effects that a floating city might have on it's population?


• etc.

To summarize a question about the history of a subject used in different worlds does not belong on Worldbuilding.SE, instead it belongs on SciFi.SE, more specifically its belongs on SF&F.SE under the history-of tag.

share

answered 4 hours ago

william porterwilliam porter

1307

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

To discuss it's relevance we should look at what the help center says is on topic for the site:

Worldbuilding Stack Exchange is a site for designers, writers, artists, gamers and enthusiasts to get help creating imaginary worlds.

[...] When asking questions keep in mind that the goal of the site is to help you build your world, not to tell your story.

[...] If you are looking for discussion, brainstorming, or an overall process rather than specific questions and answers, the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange might not be a good place for your question.

The goal of the site is to help build your world, not to look for recommended readings/movies on the subject. Instead, this is brainstorming ideas for your world, which is not on topic.

Here are some examples of questions that would be relevant to worldbuilding:

• How would a city be made to fly?


• How would the layout of a floating city be affected by the fact that it's floating?


• How would the inhabitants of a floating city survive without connected trade routes to other cities?


• What effect does the size of the floating landmass have on the city?


• What are some adverse effects that a floating city might have on it's population?


• etc.

To summarize a question about the history of a subject used in different worlds does not belong on Worldbuilding.SE, instead it belongs on SciFi.SE, more specifically its belongs on SF&F.SE under the history-of tag.

share

answered 4 hours ago

william porterwilliam porter

1307

$endgroup$

share

answered 4 hours ago

william porterwilliam porter

1307

answered 4 hours ago

william porterwilliam porter

1307

answered 4 hours ago

william porterwilliam porter

1307