Wikipedia:Should you ask a question at RfA?

This is an essay on the Requests for adminship. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Shortcut WP:RFQA

Reading time: Less than. 4 mins. This is one of three important advice pages for RFA voters. The other two are Advice for RfA voters and Arguments to avoid in adminship discussions. It is strongly advised to read both.

This page in a nutshell: This advice is based on 100s of previous RfAs. Ask a question only if you have a reasonable concern specific to this candidate, and you need to deal with that concern before you can decide to support or oppose the candidate

The rules for Requests for Adminship say anyone can ask up to two questions, and questions at RfA can be helpful both to the candidate and to other commenters. Does that mean you might want to try to come up with a question to ask?

In general, you should ask a question only if you have a reasonable concern specific to this candidate, and you need to deal with that concern before you can decide to support or oppose the candidate. Asking an irrelevant question is harmful to the RfA process, can be stressful for the candidate, and will make you look clueless.