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This is about What are some of the good and bad omens?

The question asks for both good and bad omens as per scriptures (I think all are also covered because good and bad covers all. If there is no affect, it is not an omen at all). This question was closed as "Too Broad" by two users and a moderator as there are thousands of omens mentioned in the scriptures. Before that closure happened, there was already an answer to that question. This is now reopened by the users (in and outside of the review).

The answer posted listed more than hundred omens but that too from only few chapters from two Puranas viz Agni Purana and Vayu Purana. But the list does not end there. There are several hundred omens mentioned in many other puranas, epics and other scriptures like smritis. Remember that scriptures is also a broader category. There is a separate shakuna shastra which is believed to written by Brihaspati. Besides these, there are many more which can be found in panchangams (almanacs) written by astrologers after studying those books. So, the list increases to more than thousand. In addition to these, there are many more followed by people whose origin is not known but they are sure that there is a definite mention of them somewhere in the vast literature.

There have been many instances where questions have been closed if the question has to cover only one epic or many chapters.

Considering above criteria, why is the question not "too broad"?
Why is this question reopened?

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  • 3
    Why are not you noticing the word some in the question, who is asking for all omens?..🤔🤔🤔
    – YDS
    Jun 13, 2018 at 5:47
  • Why are you not noticing scriptures which gives the number to unknown and the omens which are >1000. "Some" don't work on Q&A sites. The questions should be specific @YDS
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 13, 2018 at 5:51
  • I thought of creating a wiki to answer this Q and voted to reopen..I also raised a flag which got rejected...but few other users also voted to reopen and it got reopened today..as of now I think I should not post an answer rather I ll create specific Q on this topic...
    – YDS
    Jun 13, 2018 at 6:00
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    What are some of the omens is not broad IMO. Because we can answer with three or four them. So, given that ambiguity in the manner the Q was asked it is not too broad. If it was "What are all the omens" OR "I want the list of all omens that are mentioned in scriptures".. then it would have been surely broad. I think a Q becomes broad when "too many" seemingly unrelated Qs are found in one Q. Nothing of that sort here.
    – Rickross
    Jun 13, 2018 at 6:07
  • @YDS Wikis should not be created for broad questions. They should be closed. Asking a different question now is also not useful because it creates the same problem again. List questions are generally discouraged on SE. There should be specific questions on a matter. You should be now knowing after your flag got rejected.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 13, 2018 at 6:11
  • Also is it healthy to question a decision that is taken by community like this? If some users have voted to reopen will u question their reasoning? Is it the first time a closed Q has been reopened?
    – Rickross
    Jun 13, 2018 at 6:11
  • @Rickross "Some" is not a great word to explain a question. That doesn't work on SE model. You should know that. One can answer with 2 or 3 but the possibility is 1000 as the question is not limiting the scope of answering. Closing question as too broad looks at the scope of the question. Currently, the question's scope is infinite. There are only good or bad omens. If there are omens which don't give any effect at all, they are not even omens. The question asks for list only which is discouraged on SE model because of infinite scope.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 13, 2018 at 6:15
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    @Rickross It is perfectly alright to question wrongly closed or wrongly reopened questions. That is what the meta is originally for. All metas have these questions. Having these discussions is healthy. If some users have voted wrongly, then others should correct it. That is what I am trying to do. Community also takes decisions which are against the site rules. I think you should know more about meta and their scope.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 13, 2018 at 6:18
  • why is the question not "too broad"? Why is this question reopened? - Obviously it was opened because 5 users thought it was not too broad. By asking the Q here are u asking for their opinions separately? @Sarvabhouma
    – Rickross
    Jun 13, 2018 at 7:24
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    @Rickross If someone posts why it is closed, you shouldn't say 5 users voted to reopen. Everybody knows 5 users reopened. I am asking how and why it is not broad given that the scope of answering the question is still infinite and not specific. There's no improvement from OP after closure. Close vote, reopen vote and reviews are not like upvote, downvote There are rules when to do that and doesn't depend on user's thought. I am asking why those are not followed.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 13, 2018 at 8:50
  • What was jokey there? Vote to close is purely subjective. For some users a Q shd be closed whereas for others it shdn't be. So, what's the fuss here? Why ur intent is in showing that what the close voters did was RIGHT and what the reopen voters did was WRONG? From [a post by Shog9]( meta.stackexchange.com/questions/125/…): "Many times, there will be a question where some people feel like it should be closed. At the same time, I'll feel like it's a perfectly legit question, and it should therefore NOT be closed."
    – Rickross
    Jun 17, 2018 at 16:21
  • @Rickross "Why is this question reopened? - Obviously it was opened because 5 users thought it was not too broad. " Every one knows it's reopened because 5 voted to reopen. If you post a meta question" Why is my answer deleted" and mod replies "Because I clicked on delete button" You will be happy with such reply right? Yes, what close voters did was right and read my question and answer again to know why. Also, Shog's post is not a benchmark. Even his posts will be disagreed everyone else if he is not making sense. It's not Shog's post which you linked. Reviews are not subjective.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 17, 2018 at 17:45
  • @Rickross that's why it's getting discussed in meta now as close reopen game here on this post is getting clumsy
    – Ankit Sharma
    Aug 16, 2018 at 10:19

1 Answer 1

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IMO, the question is still "too broad", because the OP is asking about listing something, which can be too many in numbers.

If we consider this question as objective, then in future, people may be inspired to ask the questions such as:

  • What are some good teachings from Vedas?
  • Which are some controversial teachings from Manusmruti considering present era?
  • List some good verses in Bhagavad Gita
  • What were the teachings from Bhishma during AnushAsana Parva?
  • ...

Not every "listing" is "too broad". But the listing items based on subjective qualities (like good/bad, right/wrong), will lead to "too broad" questions.

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  • Good verses - this is subjective. People will ask what is a good verse according to u? But good omens is not subjective neither is bad omens. So wrong examples u've taken to prove ur point.
    – Rickross
    Jun 13, 2018 at 16:29
  • The problem with the Q in hand is that some people think that it is asking for too much under one heading. But others feel that because of the use of the word "some" it is not asking for too many things. So, here the focus or key is not the word (s) good/bad but the word "some".
    – Rickross
    Jun 13, 2018 at 16:32
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    @Rickross So, here the focus or key is not the word (s) good/bad but the word "some" -- Agree and that is why it's too broad...'some' means 10 for some, 200 for others (from a pool of 1000 omens). One could make it an objective/precise question by asking 'Which scriptures/chapters particularly deal with omens - good or bad?'
    – Say No To Censorship
    Jun 13, 2018 at 17:45
  • @sv. "Some" is the first reason and a few users are saying good and bad omens is not too broad, all is broad. This question is about omens. There are only good or bad omens. Omen If an event doesn't give good or bad, it is not an omen. So, this indirectly asked for all the omens in the question. Moreover, we can't say if there are only 1000 omens. Omens are scattered through Ramayana and MB in many chapters. Searching for them is a hectic work. NOt only these, there are many other books to find too.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 14, 2018 at 2:11
  • @iammilind seems u were not aware of this too broad rule when u asked hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/23751/12304 🤔
    – YDS
    Jun 14, 2018 at 6:11
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    I was aware of what I was doing @YDS. From beginning, it was known to everyone that the question is meant to be "too broad". But that post was requested for the special status. If genuinely interested then, read this related meta post to know the history of that post: A question related to “Wrong attribution to Bhagavad Gita”, should be kept open.
    – iammilind
    Jun 14, 2018 at 7:22
  • @iammilind that's the point..even we can close many Q asked on Omens as duplicate of this question..
    – YDS
    Jun 14, 2018 at 8:03
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    @YDS iammilind was aware what was too broad when he posted and he is aware now too. No need to go through the profiles of users and put emojis at the end. It implies sarcasm and not polite if always used.There's a meta discussion about it. Users and mods participated in it. Anyway, this is a never ending list question. Even if they quote from all the puranas, itihasas, they will be just a CW with 1000+ omens and it takes days to read answer which no one does. We can complete 10 answers in that time. No need to take unnecessary effort for that. If similar questions are asked, vtc as too broad.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 14, 2018 at 8:13
  • @Sarvabhoumai didn't go through profile..i knew that question...and i was not aware of the meta post may be bcz i was not Active on meta then...
    – YDS
    Jun 14, 2018 at 8:30
  • "even we can close many Q asked on Omens as duplicate of this question..", @YDS, if you read the last para of meta Qn, I have also noted that, due to popularity and highly researched nature, Gita is deeply rooted among ppl. Moreover, Gita's critical version is almost same for all the scholars. But other scriptures, need not be added to such "too broad" list. Let Gita be the exception. Nevertheless, despite upvotes & a dedicated meta, that Qn still remains closed as "too broad", which I respect. If you want to draw parallels between "Gita" & "Omens" Qn-s, then close the "Omens" post too.
    – iammilind
    Jun 14, 2018 at 8:43
  • I don't agree with ur thinking of course. For me it is not too broad. @sv.
    – Rickross
    Jun 17, 2018 at 16:24
  • @Rickross ok, agree to disagree :)
    – Say No To Censorship
    Jun 17, 2018 at 16:25

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