As of 2019 am I allowed to ask about speculative lore on Arqade?

Question

I've recently become very interested in the Bloodsouls lore and this got me to thinking:

Can I ask about questions about speculative lore on Arqade?

I've read through questions already asked on the meta and here it says that lore is allowed but does that include speculative lore? And that question was answered in 2013, is it the same today?

On the help page about what is on-topic to ask it states:

• Plot and characters in games

So with the first one says I can ask about plot and characters but does this mean plots that haven't been proven just theorized (but strongly reinforced with evidence in the game)?

This question caught my eye with the blockquote:

This includes speculative questions about developer intent, as well as lore questions not addressed directly through in-universe sources.

This is what he was told when his question was put on hold. Does this mean that I am allowed to ask lore questions that have possible answers backed with in-universe items such as item descriptions etc. ?

I Apologize if this is a duplicate (especially if its a duplicate of the questions I have linked haha) but I've been reading a lot and am still unsure of the answer.

Answer 1

Despite what some people are saying, lore questions are on-topic on this site. However, as with any question on this site, you need to be mindful of how you ask the question to make sure it stays on-topic. This is especially true of lore questions, since there are a few members on the site who are not fond of lore questions and actively try to close them for any reason they can find.

Speculative lore is not completely off-topic, but you have to be careful how you ask. For example, this question is asking about the relation between two characters which is never really explained in any game. However, if you do ask a question like this, be sure that you're not looking for a discussion. "This info is not known" is a valid (and often times the only) answer.

As a general rule for "speculative" lore questions, if you think the answer to your question is probably somewhere within the game or its immediate references (the game's official website, a player's guide, etc.) then you're probably okay with asking it. However, if the answer is probably something that can't be answered except by the game designers, then it's off-topic.

Answer 2

While lore itself is allowed without problems, speculation enters the opinion based area, so it is not a good place to ask these kind of things.

Answer 3

Anything that can get more than five close votes is de facto off-topic here.

While lore questions are off-topic on Arqade because they don't work in the site format, they are on topic on other Stack Exchange sites because they do work in their identical format.

You're better off asking questions on those other sites. Science Fiction & Fantasy would find this on-topic and probably give you more and better answers than you'd get here. Anime & Manga are also worth mentioning- they've been great at answering Pokemon lore questions, even those based on the games.