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On the one hand, there are several legitimate questions that can be phrased in this manner. Off the top of my head, there are several already on board, regarding aliens, vampires, werewolves, time travel, babies being born without teeth, Migdal Bavel, the elements, graphology... The list goes on and on.

But that the list goes on and on is precisely the problem. At what point do we draw the line of what sort of question is on-topic and what sort of question should be "taken out and taught outside"?

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    Can you give an example of a question of this type you think should not be allowed?
    – Double AA Mod
    Oct 28, 2016 at 21:22
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    Motivation and scope can make a difference here. "I read in such-and-such commentary that the talmud talks about space aliens; is that true and if so where?" is different from "do any Jewish sources talk about people with green hair?". A question to ask about the question is: is there any plausible reason to think Jewish sources would say something about that? (No time for an answer now so just dropping this here as food for thought. (CYR for kashrut status of comments before eating.)
    – Monica Cellio
    Oct 28, 2016 at 21:33
  • That's a fair point Monica. But say that the two questions are of identical scope, but one is "Do any Jewish sources talk about aliens" (evidently permitted) and the other is "Do any Jewish sources talk about doors" (I would assume ridiculous enough to get closed down). So at what point in between do we say no?
    – DonielF
    Oct 30, 2016 at 3:33
  • Related: meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/1208/… meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/2160/…
    – Isaac Moses Mod
    Oct 30, 2016 at 4:06
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    Is this really different from meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/q/2160? That's "what's Judaism's take on discussion X" and this is "what's Judaism's take on item X". cc @IsaacMoses
    – msh210 Mod
    Oct 30, 2016 at 7:14
  • @msh210, I agree, and seeing neither answers nor dissent, I'll go ahead and dupe this.
    – Isaac Moses Mod
    Oct 31, 2016 at 18:34

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