Refresh of the Purim Torah Policy

Question

We've done four Purim seasons under the existing Purim Torah Policy, so we have a decent amount of experience to draw on in determining if it needs any changes. This meta-question last season garnered a great deal of attention and some well-thought-out ideas, some of which were expressed in a dedicated chatroom (no longer active). The next Purim Torah season starts in less than two months.

Therefore, I propose that we look into revisions of the Purim Torah policy. Answers to this question should consist of verbatim re-writes of all or part of the policy.

In my opinion, there should be an emphasis in that drafting on concision and formatting for inviting readability. The more fine print, the less it will be read and implemented.

I suggest that once the community has had a chance to write, edit, comment on, and vote on drafts, the moderators make the final decision about how to edit the policy post, since it has official faq status.

Answer 1

This was implemented in 5778.

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I move to change

• All Purim Torah questions must include the following disclaimer code at the bottom:

  ---

  #This question is [Purim Torah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim_Torah) and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the [Purim Torah policy](http://meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/797/).#

to

• All Purim Torah questions must begin their title with PTIJ: and include the following disclaimer text at the bottom:

  ---

  #This question is [Purim Torah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim_Torah) and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the [Purim Torah policy](http://meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/797/).#

This can make it easier both on the homepage and in the related/HNQ lists (as well as when using an RSS reader) to determine if a post is serious or just in jest.

Answer 2

Note: I think that if we want to ensure that all relevant users will read and apply the entire policy, we need to make it more inviting and readable than the incumbent version, especially if we're increasing the complexity of the rules. This is one attempt at that. I'd love to see other rewrites that demonstrate other ways to communicate this policy invitingly.

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We pride ourselves on generating and maintaining clear, high-quality, serious questions and answers about Judaism. Once a year, though, for a couple of weeks, we also go in for something a little ... different.

Purim Torah Q&A

Purim Torah, silly parodies of real Torah discussion, is a way to loosen up during the Purim season, and look at Torah concepts from a new and creative vantage point:

^{"Henry & The Funhouse Mirror," by mob mob, used with permission}

We want to have this fun without compromising our carefully-cultivated regular Q&A, so there are some rules:

When

Post Purim Torah questions between Rosh Chodesh Adar [Bet, if there is one] and a day or two after Purim, only¹.

• 5776/2016: Sundown on March 9 through the evening hours of March 26

What

It's gotta be distinctly "Purim" (not serious), distinctly Torah, and distinctly Q&A. Purim Torah questions that don't have all three of these qualities may be closed.²

So, post sincere-looking questions (you know, the kind that invite answers) that:

• misinterpret a real Torah concept or Jewish text

or

• apply a distinctly Torah style (e.g. Talmudic analysis) to an irrelevant topic

Post answers in the same spirit³ as their questions, so no completely serious answers to Purim Torah questions, and no silly answers to serious (non-Purim-Torah) questions.

And (Don't skip!)

We don't want to confuse anyone, so please mark your Purim Torah questions in these two ways:

• Apply the tag purim-torah-in-jest and no other tag.⁴

• Paste this disclaimer, exactly as it is here, at the bottom of your question:

  ---

  #This question is [Purim Torah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim_Torah) and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the [Purim Torah policy](https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/797/).#

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Moderation Stuff

• Close⁵ Purim Torah questions that aren't "Purim", Torah, and questions.

• At the end of Purim Torah season, delete all Purim Torah questions that were closed as not ""Purim", Torah, and questions."

• At the end of the Purim Torah season, close all open Purim Torah questions as "Off-Topic" with the close comment:

  Purim Torah questions are on-topic only once a year, and will be closed after Purim. For details, see: Purim Torah policy

• If you want an old Purim Torah question re-opened during this year's season, ask the moderators.

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<sup>1. Of course, serious questions are also allowed and encouraged during this period!
2. On Meta, Purim Torah has to be about Mi Yodeya, not necessarily about Judaism itself.
3. No pun intended.
4. On Meta, apply the tags discussion and meta-purim-torah-in-jest.
5. Use "Off-topic/Other" as the reason.</sup>

Answer 3

_{My additions in bold. Please edit as you feel appropriate.}

Generally, we expect all questions here to be written from the point-of-view of genuine curiosity, and we expect all answers to be genuine attempts to provide real information and analysis that directly addresses the question.

However, the community has indicated that, if regulated carefully, Purim Torah - silly parodies of real Torah discussion - could be a worthy exception to this expectation. So, Purim Torah questions and their answers in kind are allowed, with the following regulations:

• Purim Torah questions may only be posted between Rosh Chodesh Adar [Bet, if there is one] and a day or two after Purim. (In 2016, this corresponds to the period from sundown on March 9 through the evening hours of March 26.)

• All Purim Torah questions must be tagged with exactly one tag: purim-torah-in-jest (or, on Meta, only meta-purim-torah-in-jest and discussion).

• All Purim Torah questions must include the following disclaimer code at the bottom:

  ---

  #This question is [Purim Torah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim_Torah) and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the [Purim Torah policy](https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/797/).#

• Purim Torah answers are only permitted on Purim Torah questions, not on sincere questions.

• A valid PTIJ question must invite multiple possible answers and have at least one of the following three components:

  1. A mis-application of a Torah principle
  2. A mis-interpretation of a Jewish text, be it Tanach, Talmud, or some later writing
  3. A "distinctly Torah style (e.g. Gemara/Rashi/Tosafot-formatted) analysis of some secular issue."

  If the question does not meet this criterion, it will be closed. If one of the standard closure reasons does not apply, those voting to close should use a custom reason.

• After the time period specified above, all Purim Torah questions closed per the above point will be deleted, and all remaining Purim Torah questions will be closed as "Off-Topic" with the close comment:

  Purim Torah questions are on-topic only once a year, and will be closed after Purim. For details, see: Purim Torah policy

  At the discretion of the moderators, some exceptional questions may be re-opened during future years' Purim Torah seasons.

Answer 4

I propose, based on Scimonster's recommendation, to change

• Close⁵ Purim Torah questions that aren't "Purim", Torah, and questions.

to

• Close Purim Torah questions that aren't "Purim", Torah, and questions. Use "Off-topic/Other" as the reason, and paste the following into the Comment box:

  I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it does not meet the requirements of the [Purim Torah policy](https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/q/797) that it "**misinterpret** a real **Torah** concept or Jewish text or apply a distinctly **Torah** style (e.g. Talmudic analysis) to an **irrelevant** topic."

and to delete Footnote 5.