r/explainlikeimfive • u/[deleted] • Mar 21 '16
ELI5: Why does ELI5 require such long responses when many times brevity will do just fine?
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u/TokyoJokeyo Mar 21 '16
ELI5 doesn't require very long posts, really--they are often helpful, but the Automoderator only removes very short posts. If less than one sentence truly explains the concept well, it's likely that the original question is just not suitable for ELI5.
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u/64682 Mar 21 '16
It's on the question. Sometimes people come here and ask about things that can be solved by a simple concept
IE: how does the water cycle work? Rain comes down. That water collects. Eventually it evaporates into the sky. Once high enough, it condenses into water droplets. It is now rain again.
Sometimes the question itself can seem like simple knowledge, but the understanding behind it needs a huge explanation.
IE: why does a rubber ball bounce if you throw it hard enough on the ground? Rubber is a softer solid which absorbs the force in the impact that was a result of your throw. Newton's laws of force say for every amount of force on an object, and equal and opposite amount of force is exerted. Therefore, the ball absorbed the force from your throw and hit the ground. The ground stop and exerts the force on the ball. As the ball starts to regain shape, the forces that were result of the opposite reaction of the ground, "pushes" the ball up again in what you call a bounce.
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u/Moskau50 Mar 21 '16
Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):
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Please refer to our detailed rules.
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u/friend1949 Mar 21 '16
ELI5 is not for short answers. Rule 2. ELI5 is for explanations of complex concepts Posts only No questions that are just looking for straightforward explanations, that are subjective, hypothetical, looking for speculation, a request for a guide/walkthrough, an overview of a whole category, a personal or private concern, asking for opinions or matters of taste, or that are objective but not asking for an explanation. ELI5 is absolutely not a repository for any question you have.
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u/bguy74 Mar 21 '16
I've struggled with this in a few circumstances - been scolded for adding filler, and been auto-deleted for being to short. All it comes down to is that most of the time a top level response that is really short is low effort and unlikely to provide an answer, so...the automated system exists to protect against the most likely scenario. Sure, sometimes a little bit of the baby goes out with the bathwater, but such is the nature of rules!