One of the types of threads we find ourselves removing very frequently is questions about current events. We get it – the news can be complex and confusing, and is the place for explaining complex and confusing things in a simple manner, right?
Well, it can be – but most questions about current events aren’t allowed here. However, very frequently a question about current events is *almost* okay, and changing it slightly can make it a perfectly fine – or even *great* – query for ELI5.
With 2020 being an election year for the United States, and the ever-constant churn of dramatic news stories, we’re seeing a big uptick in rule-breaking current events questions.
#Why can’t I ask about current events?
We seek explanations which are *objectively correct*, *complete*, and *permanent*.
Current events may not yet have an objectively correct answer; either because knowledge is simply missing, or because knowledge is, at present time, restricted to a small number of people. As such, many answers are going to have a lot of speculation involved. Current events may also be very contentious, so you get “explanations” which are really someone arguing their opinion in disguise. These can be very hard to moderate fairly, and can lead either to dissemination of misinformation, or to unfair comment removal. We want to avoid both.
Sometimes, you can provide an answer which is objectively true, but which is missing a lot of information, simply because no one *knows* that information yet. Alternatively, an answer may seem complete… but three months from now, new information is found which contradicts that answer. We like our answers to be as complete and as permanent as possible; hence rule 7, which requires users to search before posting, because many questions get asked over and over. Yes, sometimes new advancements are made in scientific knowledge, which may render an answer obsolete, and that’s okay. But with current events, almost *any* answer is going to be rendered obsolete very quickly, which is going to lead to repost after repost. To avoid this, we ask that you wait until the news is *old* before asking questions. How old is “old?” It varies, but if something is actively in the news it’s definitely not time to post yet. If it’s out of the news then it’s probably safe, but we reserve the right to remove on our discretion.
There are also other rules which are frequently violated when asking about current events:
* **Why did XXXX do what they did?** – This is asking about the private motivations of an individual or group. is not for mind-reading.
* **If we had prepared for this event, would it have turned out differently?** – This is proposing a hypothetical situation; people can come up with guesses, but not objectively-true answers.
* **Why did <political party> try to cover this up?** – Political question, soapboxing, possibly-false premise, etc etc
#What can I ask, then?
Think carefully about what you need explained, and how you can ask that question in a way which is more general and deals *only* with well-established facts. Some examples:
* Instead of “How is this new disease so deadly?” you could ask “What factors are known to contribute to the fatality rate of a virus?”
* Instead of “Why did flight 0451 crash?” you could ask “How do airplanes’ landing gear locking safety feature work?”
* Instead of “What happened in the Iowa Caucus?” you could ask “How does a DNC caucus work in the United States?”
#But I really want my rule-breaking question answered.
There are many other great places to ask questions on Reddit! Please consider one of the following:
* r/OutOfTheLoop is the best place for current event questions. People will get you caught up and provide a wide range of information.
* r/NoStupidQuestions allows most questions and answers and is a great go-to.
* r/AskAnAmerican is a good place for questions about American politics, which we are going to be seeing a lot of this year.
* r/ChangeMyView is for when you *want* a debate
* r/NeutralPolitics is a heavily-moderated sub which *requires* claims to be backed up by citations, leading to a more fact-based political discussion
* r/AskReddit is good for polling other users and getting personal opinion and experiences
* r/FindAReddit can help you find a subreddit devoted to questions of a specific nature
As always, we require that you [read our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules#). We appreciate reporting any posts or comments which break the rules. If you have a post or comment removed, you can [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive) to contest removal. If you are polite and demonstrate that you have actually read the rules, we will listen and will strive to help you to the best of our abilities.
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