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I recently answered a question on the Music Practice and Theory SE that asked to identify the raga of a particular composition. I did not know that such questions are considered off topic there (and the question was subsequently put on hold).

Since this is the sister SE, if I may say so, that caters to a wider (including lay) audience, I suppose that such requests would not be off topic here. However, I could not find any such questions yet on this site. Neither are there any tags pertaining to specific ragas, or even to Indian classical music.

So, with my thoughts as above:

  • Would questions asking for raga identifications of specific compositions be considered on topic here?
  • If yes, is it likely that one would receive answers to such questions based on the (current) user base?

More broadly, assuming that the answers to the above questions are positive:

  • As an enthusiast in Indian classical music, what contributions can I make to help build the content on this site?

I might as well add that I am not sure which of the two music-related sites on SE are more suited to my interest and my ability to contribute. (I might post a question on the Meta site of Music Practice and Theory SE as well later on.)

Thanks in advance for your time and responses.

Edit: On reading it a second time, I'm not sure how this post came across. I want to clarify that I'm not here because I felt snubbed over at the other Music SE or any such thing. I am honestly excited to be a part of these communities, and I just want to know how things work around here before taking a dip, so to speak. And I'll probably post on the other Meta, like I said earlier, to figure out how to best contribute there too.

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This is entirely on topic here, under current guidelines. We have a very low active user base, which can make it more difficult to get answers. On the other hand, however, we have quite a lot of casual traffic.

In addition, if there's no other good resource for this, it's quite possible this could eventually become the "go to" site for such questions, which I think would be all to the good for both the site, and your aims.

If I were you, I'd go ahead and post several raga-oriented questions, and just be patient on answers.

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    @Brahadeesh , you can also help and give your opinion on other Meta topics (we lack of members here) and also if you like, you van hang out in the chat to have discussions between members.
    – Bebs
    Feb 5, 2019 at 9:56
  • @Brahadeesh nice, even if you just appear there for a few moments, you'll be pingable.
    – Bebs
    Feb 5, 2019 at 10:04
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I cannot see any reason why such a question would be off topic. However, identification questions can be hit or miss. Even on sites such as Science Fiction and Fantasy that have a much larger user base, they can languish unanswered for years.

Up to this point, the main user base for the site seems to be American/European. Unless you manage to wage a successful recruitment campaign to bring more fans of Indian music to the site, I'm not optimistic about your chances of getting an answer. Not that it would be impossible - bizarre coincidences happen all the time.

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    Hi @Brahadeesh. There are several ways to contribute. Asking good questions that you think are useful and maybe often asked and that answers are hard to find. They'll show in google results and will attract new users. Then, answering unanswered questions; voting to reward good content; help moderating; participating in Meta...
    – Bebs
    Jan 14, 2019 at 10:35
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    @Brahadeesh, it's totally acceptable to ask and answer one's own question, but I would recommend to wait a few days because in general, unanswered questions attract more views, and it's nice to let someone else have the chance to answer (even if you know the answer). Then, on the right of your web page, you'll see a view's count, so you'll know if your questions attract viewers.
    – Bebs
    Jan 14, 2019 at 12:28
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    @Brahadeesh, speaking for myself, I have no knowledge of Indian classical music, so I will not be a good help. But I can say it could be good to have some expert in this knowledge so our community will be able to cover a maximum of music topics.
    – Bebs
    Jan 14, 2019 at 12:30

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