37
votes
Guidelines for new users answering questions
Few guidelines for answering questions about Hinduism:
An answer is most acceptable and authentic when it is based upon Vedic scriptures
and gives proper reference to the source. Some of the ...
- 26.4k
21
votes
Accepted
Let us stop asking for "Sources" every time
I disagree with this.
We definitely don't want folks composing their answers entirely of someone else's work, but backing up their assertions should be considered normal.
These two ideals don't ...
- 100
21
votes
Accepted
What kind of references are valid in answers? Are modern works allowed?
From lowest quality to highest quality of references (according to me).
Wrong reference [for example, misquoting]
These should be avoided as they could be misleading.
Missing reference (for example, ...
- 4,307
18
votes
Accepted
Are mythological TV shows going to be counted as source?
According to me, TV shows should NOT be counted as an authentic source, reason is that our daily soaps exaggerate the stories to make interesting to general public.
If you compare the shows you will ...
- 6,961
14
votes
Which scriptures / sources are considered valid?
What scriptures are considered valid?
All Hindu scriptures are valid and authentic source. Works of Acharyas, Sayings of Saints, Swami and Gurus are also valid source to cite.
What sources are ...
PandyaMod
- 25.2k
13
votes
Is Personal Experience a Source?
No, "Personal Experience" alone can not be considered as a source. Since we supposed to provide correct information we need to cite some authoritative source. Visit Can we revisit the sources required ...
PandyaMod
- 25.2k
13
votes
Accepted
Can we enforce quotations of scripture references?
A Back It Up! principle is a good idea for any subjective topic (which is to say, any topic where the asker or other readers cannot personally verify answers on their own):
Back It Up! means that ...
- 100
13
votes
Let's delete all old answers from early days of the site that lack any references at all
status-planned Please refer to Official policy for deleting answers that don't cite sources and to Why aren't unsourced answers getting deleted even though the policy says that they should be? for ...
- 46.1k
13
votes
Accepted
Official policy for deleting answers that don't cite sources
Update-1: Extended Time length and Exclusion Criterion
Update-2: Old unsourced answers are also subject to deletion now
Update-3: Time criteria is no longer a barrier and post-notice will be used in ...
PandyaMod
- 25.2k
11
votes
The copy-paste issue, Hinduism version
Along with what Shog posted, I think it is important to understand that this site should provide a much higher quality resource for information concerning the culture of Hinduism (whatever that is). ...
- 2,565
11
votes
Can we revisit the sources required rule?
Let me start off by noting that moderation and voting serve different purposes. Moderation should be used to ensure that posts meet basic standards of quality, and voting should be used to determine ...
- 94.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Who all are authority or qualified to post an authoritative opinion on religion, spirituality and Hindu Dharma?
In the absence of any scriptural reference, written works of scholars,
researchers and popular personalities can be used which must be
providing a relevant answer.
This point was written in beginning ...
- 30.4k
10
votes
Why aren't unsourced answers getting deleted even though the policy says that they should be?
There were couple of reasons behind not deleting unsourced answers:
We were liberal, feeling that deleting of answers to be an extreme step.
No perspicuous tool available to track answers to which ...
PandyaMod
- 25.2k
9
votes
Can any reference to Quora/Yahoo be put in an answer?
Ok, a nice question and an important one. So, Can any reference to Quora/Yahoo be put in an answer?, I would say ignore.
Here, am not saying that you can't link, but I would say ignore doing so, will ...
- 6,961
9
votes
Can we stop scriptures sourced from a self-declared non-Hindu faith from being cited as Hindu scripture?
Short version :
NO
We are a neutral site. All the translations and interpretations are welcome here. The site does not follow the policy of allowing a translation of one publisher and not allowing ...
- 25.2k
8
votes
Private beta extended - please focus on quality
I completely agree with @shog9 here... First, as an active member of the community, I'll list down the bad points which am seeing here since day one, which somewhat holds back the community....
Copy ...
- 6,961
8
votes
How to handle uncited fables and myths
There is no dearth of sources to cite; just dearth of people capable of citing them.
Most Hindus today do not learn Sanskrit and do not read texts even in translation. They just answer from personal ...
- 176
8
votes
The copy-paste issue, Hinduism version
I feel this is going to cause issue in a long run. I had posted this in the main room 2 days back.
we should start explaining in the answers rather than just posting
sources
According to me, its ...
- 6,961
8
votes
Accepted
Can we add a citation banner for answers that rely solely on Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is actually a tertiary source of information and are not meant to be used for research. Remember that Wikipedia cites most of its sources, so instead of using a link to Wikipedia, the author ...
- 2,309
8
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to mass-update broken URLs to IndianScriptures.com with HinduScriptures.in?
All of the url replacements have been made.
- 101
8
votes
Who all are authority or qualified to post an authoritative opinion on religion, spirituality and Hindu Dharma?
I have read only a few books/articles of modern authors on Hinduism. Hence, I do not know whether I am qualified to write an answer on this subject. Still, I am offering my opinion.
I am ...
- 16.8k
8
votes
Why was this request to undelete the answer rejected by the mods?
@sv. Don't try to salvage this answer. Just because you add MN Dutta
it doesn't make answer proper. Here problem is not who translated but
"way answer was framed selecting some verses".. ...
- 30.4k
7
votes
The copy-paste issue, Hinduism version
I could not agree more! Copy-pasting only creates duplicate content which someone can easily find on Wikipedia or some other site. It's just like shifting the content from those sites to this one. So ...
- 26.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Can the mods go easy on declining flags on old unsourced answers?
Ah, well, the purpose of "Citation Needed" post-notice reads as:
Some of the information contained in this post requires additional references. Please edit to add citations to reliable sources that ...
PandyaMod
- 25.2k
7
votes
Changing the policy of deleting unsourced answers
Implement the proposed policy change
Upvote this post if you agree with implementing the proposed policy as represented below:
Note: Do not downvote this post if you disagree with this option, ...
PandyaMod
- 25.2k
6
votes
Private beta extended - please focus on quality
Some more concrete suggestions:
Vote up and vote down, liberally and wisely!
Although votes have a secondary effect of giving reputation to the poster, the main purpose of votes on Stack Exchange ...
- 176
6
votes
Is it OK to cite Wikipedia in answers?
I looked through various quoted Wikipedia pages and found these two particularly objectionable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Varna_(Hinduism)&oldid=616427935
(not even describing the ...
- 830
6
votes
Can we enforce quotations of scripture references?
What we can do:
Provide references in your own statements
Downvote all answers lacking evidence
- 1,391
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible