Hello everyone!

As you probably are aware, /r/AskHistorians exists with the aim of providing high quality, in-depth responses to historical questions. And we do a pretty good job at achieving that goal. But we also aren't blind to the fact that some questions just aren't very deep! As is well established, we essentially treat those questions as "launching blocks", moderating them to the same standards as any other question, and expecting a prospective respondent to be able and willing to provide broader context for where that specific question fits in. But this often creates something of a paradox. Users are coming here because of the reputation for accuracy that the subreddit has cultivated, but with questions that aren't well suited to the intent of the subreddit. This leads to something of a Catch-22, with some of the simplest questions going unanswered, as prospective respondents are simply unlikely to put in the effort writing about background for a question which can be answered with a short sentence.

Well, we're trying out something today! While this thread will still aim to provide high quality answers, it is specifically for those really simple questions which you might have. If you're looking for numbers, names, locations, and the like, this is the place for it. We want to see if this approach will both provide an easy and effective way to get answers to the more basic, but no less burning, questions users have, as well as hopefully providing some baseline information which can be used to expand and ask more in-depth questions in the sub proper.

Here are the ground rules:

• Top Level Posts should be questions in their own right.

• Questions should be clear and specific in the information that they are asking for.

• Questions which ask about broader concepts may be removed at the discretion of the Mod Team and redirected to post as a standalone question.
• We realize that in some cases, users may pose questions that they don't realize are more complicated than they think. In these cases, we will suggest reposting as a stand-alone question.

• Answers MUST be properly sourced to respectable literature. Unlike regular questions in the sub where sources are only required upon request, the lack of a source will result in removal of the answer.

• Academic secondary sources are prefered. Tertiary sources are acceptable if they are of academic rigor (such as a book from the 'Oxford Companion' series, or a reference work from an academic press).

• The only rule being relaxed here is with regard to depth, insofar as the anticipated questions are ones which do not require it. All other rules of the subreddit are in force.

This Feature Thread is a test-run, and if it works out, we may make it into a recurring one. We would love to get some feedback on this, but please restrict it to responding to the comment pinned to the top here.