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Question: should this be a fantasy-free zone? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/sciencefiction@lemmy.world
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I read a lot of both SF and fantasy. Most communities I've dealt with have commingled the genres, in part because the line between them can be blurry. Is this community supposed to be strictly SF, or are discussions of fantasy also okay?

I was going to post my mini review of Days of Shattered Faith, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, but it's clearly fantasy (though Tchaikovsky writes quite a lot of SF), so I thought I should ask.

Edit: it seems like I've had pretty good response to the question, and the vast majority would prefer to be more inclusive rather than draw a line. I'll go ahead and continue posting both, though note that so far a moderator hasn't weighed I in, and that could change things.

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[–] 5 points 2 months ago (1 child)

There's always going to be people who gatekeep sci-fi. "That story is fantasy", "the science is unrealistic," "I only read hard sci-fi..."

I take a more liberal stance on the matter: stories can have many genres, and if one of them is sci-fi then it's good enough. DCC to me is fantasy/dark comedy in a sci-fi setting, so it's perfectly cromulent for this community.

If things get too busy in the future I may advocate for splitting by subgenre for example, but in the end as long as there is a reliable enough way to filter posts I see no point in excluding contributions made in good faith.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 2 months ago

    My view is almost exactly like yours, except I tend to feel if there's even a touch of outright magic then it's fantasy (e.g., the typical example of Star Wars).

    Okay, I'll continue posting my mini reviews until the general attitude of the community shifts. Thank you.

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