Why does rule 1.4 exist?

Question

Rule 1.4 bans questions that require theorizing. But as it exists, I can't answer in my head the question, why does it exist. So it is a tyrant whose whole purpose is to keep itself in power. Sounds like a dictator to me! So, why does it exist?!

Comments

We made these rules following years of feedback, plus surveys showing the majority of people prefer theorising questions to be moderated tightly. You can see the history of this:
* Pre 2022 rules update: https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/meta/76693
* Post 2022 rules update: https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/meta/80556

Answer 1

On the site rules, it says

PokéBase is not a traditional forum — questions should be answerable, not discussed endlessly.

Oftentimes, these theorizing questions (e.g. "Why is this this way?" or "Why did they do this instead of this?") have no definitive answer. As a result, they more often than not fall under this category of discussion questions, which are not allowed. This led to this rule being in place.

Comments

To add onto this: One of the premises of this site was to make questions definitively answerable, in order to set it apart from other Pokemon websites. By engaging with the website, you've proven that it has a niche! That rule exists because it forms the entire core of PokeBase -- to remove it now would remove years of precedent.

Pokemaster has discussed creating a more traditional forum section for the site, but it hasn't happened -- nor have we received updates on its status in years. If you'd like a more traditional, opinionated forum, PokeBase is not currently the place for you.

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Another thing to add is that the rule says “case by case” for a reason. Some theorising questions have straightforward and useful answers. We try to be reasonable.

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In other words, Pokebase is focused on objectivity instead of subjectivity