Hi there!
Our statistical analysis provided by /u/georgy_k_zhukov has shown that in case of popular threads (meaning upvoted to the top of the sub), over 90% receive an answer while in case of other threads, at least 39% of questions receive an answer.
While especially in the later category there is room for improvement, one needs to take into account that often times, questions are popular questions that can be answered by a look in our FAQ and also that there is quite a few questions that are a.) either not answerable per se or b.) where there are simply no experts among our ranks or on reddit in general (Indian History or the History of Oceania being such examples).
With other threads, the key to seeing an answer is patience. Composing a good answer takes time because people need to see it; look up stuff in their books; write a text; and edit it re: language, sources, and so forth. As you can see from the analysis we have conducted, the average time after which a questions receives a response is about 7 hours.
This, admittedly, is a long time but there is also little that can be done since some threads rise fast while people who can answer that question might not even have seen it yet. We work behind the scenes with an extensive alert system sending out pms and recommending using IFTT but people can't be on call to answer questions 24 hours everyday.
Composing these answers takes time and to receive an extensive answer completely for free, the only thing required is patience to get an answer in over 90% of all cases (when the question is upvoted).
In the meantime, you can also check the venues where we highlight our best content:
and the new addition: Our Facebook page.
Thank you!
I'll just put out a PSA:
Many of the posts we get are repeat questions. If you recognize a question, and remember that there were great answers in the past, please feel welcome & encouraged to track those down and provide links to the OPs. Providing links is not the private realm of flairs or mods - in fact, doing so is how I got flaired in the first place.
Expert users get burned out, but that doesn't mean OPs don't deserve great answers. Everyone can chip in to help OPs out.
Some tips:
Don't make the OP feel bad about asking a repeat question. Just like a library or a classroom, we should expect to see the same questions over and over. And just like a library or classroom, we should respond with respect.
Try to make sure that the threads you're linking actually do contain good answers. Look for answers where respondents attempt to explain, provide context/background, and ideally, sources.
Make it clear that you're not slamming the door on anyone else wanting to answer: there's rarely a definitive answer when it comes to history, so the more perspectives the better.
Thanks everyone!