Should community overlap topics be considered on-topic for The Sandbox?

[hotcrystal0]

I’ve had this debate privately with a moderator once, but I think it’s time to get a general community consensus.
There are topics in which enough people are also in that community that it’s earned some recognition, typically in the Discord server. Currently I would say music theory and linguistics count. You could argue that the forums may be a good place to discuss those topics because many other people know them.

[hotdogPi]

There has been zero music theory discussion on the forum (except for CA-related stuff like interpreting the CA "grid" as notes), despite it being a channel on Discord. While I probably wouldn't allow it if it did come up, no change needs to be made because it's causing zero problems.

Linguistics is not related to CA.

[confocaloid]

Should community overlap topics be considered on-topic for The Sandbox?

No. The forums are about Conway's Life and other cellular automata.

Offtopic discussions that don't lead to further knowledge about Life/CA or better understanding of Life/CA remain offtopic. These forums are not for everything. There are lots of other places on the web and lots of other ways to discuss topics with other people.

Also, is it okay if I add a poll?

Not really. For any poll to make sense at all, the exact options would need to be discussed beforehand and agreed (with observable evidence of a consensus for the specific options for a poll), and the idea of having any sort of a poll on an issue in the first place would also need to be discussed and agreed beforehand (with observable evidence of a consensus to make a poll).

So far, most (attempts at) polls are unproductive or counterproductive. Most issues need an actual discussion with meaningful explanations and meaningful arguments, and not just counting unexplained votes.