I preface this with saying that I am aware of the Tuesday Trivia and Friday Free-for-All threads, but I will argue here that they don't fill the same purpose as the type of thread I am proposing.
Specifically, in order of what I think would be most popular, I'm proposing a bi-weekly thread where users submit questions that are:
Now, I can hear the clucking of tongues and the gentle harrumphing that may accompany the idea of encouraging such questions.
And, I do know that "Example-seeking" questions can be asked in the Friday-Free-For-All Threads. And Tuesday Trivia threads can be a source for them as well, but those are usually driven by one question at a time, as opposed to opening it up to all users. Though anyone can submit a question for the Tuesday Trivia threads, only one gets a moment to shine at a time.
In the past "What if" thread submitters have been encouraged to visit /r/HistoryWhatIf, but unfortunately that sub is almost entirely made up of question-askers and not question-answerers with a background in history.
Recent history might be a harder sell, but there are issues within the past 10-19 years that I believe have been researched to the satisfaction of the subreddit's usual high standards of quality.
The hope is that some of those questions that people are always itching to ask can get sequestered and answered in their own thread. The idealist in me hopes that this might actually reduce the mod workload of filtering out questions that otherwise would not be allowed. But the pragmatist in me thinks that that would not be feasible, short of directing people to those threads on the actual submission page for the sub.
I'm hoping to discuss this idea honestly and openly, which is why I am being transparent about the shortcomings that I see, but also about the positive effects of allowing a dedicated place for these type of questions.
Thanks for reading all this!
Example-seeking and poll questions thread - I think I've floated that idea for the Tuesday Trivia thread before; IMO that could work and could breathe some new life to that thread.
What if - this is where the harumphing starts. This would be v difficult to moderate. Basically impossible. Would have to take that one back to the batcave to see if mod crew would accept such a thing with hands-off moderation à la Friday FFA and just let people run free. I'm inclined to think not.
Recent history - harumphing in full force. This is a mod's nightmare; only way I could see this would be as a flairs-only thread. Otherwise, every week would be just like the posts we get (almost daily) that hit /r/all, and IMO we can't handle the extra work nor the aggravation. My vote: if it's flairs-only, ok, otherwise no way.
Well, one of the main reasons the rules are set the way they are, is that they encourage people to share high quality content with others. What ifs, polls and recent events simply attract content that falls outside of that and also a lower level of discussion (even if we removed politics out of the equation, I'm willing to bet that a question about iPods will have some sort of heated debate going on). /r/History is much more suited for all of those in my eyes (my eyes are wrong, as per the clarification by /u/cordis_melum underneath) - people with actual expertise on AH are far more likely to want to respond to a question specifically aimed at them and without the added frustration of being drowned in the usual Reddit noise. If people have an itch to ask what would happen if Hitler lived in 1066, they likely won't get a "good" answer, even if there is a thread dedicated to those qustions. Plus, having a "no rules" thread of any sorts will most probably add to the mods' workload rather than the other way
Furthermore, I find that the threads in which AH allows for things closer to what you propose (and which you yourself mention) are definitely underutilized. I'm not sure how far did /u/sunagainstgold plan her topics for TT, but I am sure there is always a room for suggestions if you wanna hear tidbits about a certain part of history. And the Friday Free For All is an ideal place to ask (in a civil way) about something that falls outside of the rules. People just don't do it that often - as /u/Searocksandtrees says, the stickied comments get often ignored, so if there was another one added, it would either be problematic or didn't solve all that much. These are of course just my two cents.
I'll do you one better than bi-weekly: we run Friday Free-for-All every week, which is exactly what its name suggests! We also run Tuesday Trivia every week, which is basically an inherent "example seeking" rule violation. (I, personally, operate TT and am always open to suggestions for themes!)
In my experience, the mod team typically does suggest that 20-year-rule posts go to a more appropriate sub like /r/geopolitics, /r/neutralpolitics, or /r/CredibleDefense; and that hypotheticals go to /r/HistoryWhatIf. But, I mean, I have personally utilized Friday FFA for the all-important and deeply historical question that cuts to the very understanding of the human condition: who is the best American Girl.^1
^1 Felicity