I. Posting

Every post must be one of three things, an actual question, an AMA, or a [Meta] post. Anything that is not one of these three things are to be reported and subsequently deleted.

1A. Questions

Questions should be regarding history, either directly (e.g. What events led up to the War of 1812), or indirectly (e.g. How historically accurate is Assassin’s Creed?). Try to be specific, if you are asking whether Nixon was a “good president” or not, try to define what you mean by good. Try to define a time period if the question is ambiguous. History is typically define as 20 years old or older. Anything newer than this should be reported, and will be judged upon case by case. Also, questions should be about what did happen, not what could have happened. Questions of that type should be posted in r/historicalwhatif.

1B. AMAs

AMAs cannot take place except when approved by the moderators. AMAs are for either famous historians (authors, historical directors, etc) or special events (if the Olympics are coming up and you are an expert on the Olympics). Whether or not an AMA is appropriate will be judged upon case by case. Verification of identity will be required, either by a picture of yourself including I.D. and a sign saying, “Hi, r/askhistorians”, or a post on an official twitter/facebook page. Other methods of verification can be discussed if these do not work.

1C. [Meta]s

Any post about the workings/policies of the subreddit should be made with a [Meta] tag. Do NOT make a [Meta] post about whether something is allowed or not, just message the moderators for that. [Meta] posts are only appropriate for something that requires a discussion among subscribers.

II. Commenting

There are two types of comments, top-tiered and non top-tiered. Here is a graphic defining what I mean by these terms: http://i.imgur.com/vZveY.png Both these catagories have different rules.

2A. Top-Tiered

Top-tiered comments should only be answers to the question at hand. Memes, jokes, insults, or other unhelpful words are not permitted (exceptions may be made for jokes if they are only part of an otherwise informative comment). Sources are HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended, but not absolutely required (other restrictions apply for flaired users—see below).

2B. Non Top-Tiered

Comments that are not in the top-tier are much less restricted. Comments should still have a purpose—if they exist for no other reason than to insult someone they may still be deleted, but jokes will more than likely not be deleted.

III. Flair

Flair is for users with an extensive knowledge of a given topic area. Flaired users are held to a higher standard than other users. Flaired users commenting outside their topic area will be treated as normal users.

3A. Applying for Flair

Applying for flair takes place in the Panel post, which has a link in the sidebar. In order to be given flair, you must link to three comments you have made in the past displaying your ability to give a helpful answer, including sources. At least one of the comments should be in your given topic area. If you have an obscure specialty, contact the moderators for alternative methods of verification.

3B. Flaired Expectations

Users with flair must have two things— 1. An extensive knowledge of their topic area, with the ability to cite sources on anything they say in that topic area. 2. The ability to convey their historical knowledge in a way that is understandable to a person with little-to-no historical background knowledge. Flaired users which consistently fail to meet these expectations should be reported to the moderators via mod mail.

IV. Banning

4A. Reasons

You can be banned for repetitively and wantonly violating the in sections one or two. You should receive a warning before an official ban, if you are to be banned for these reasons.

You can also be banned for being a spambot, or consistently reposting to downvote-brigade type subreddits, including but not limited to SRS.

4B. Appeals

If one of your comments has been wrongfully deleted, or you have been wrongfully banned, you can message the moderators explaining your situation. If you do not feel comfortable messaging the entire moderation team, you can contact me directly.

These rules are subject to change at any time. Questions should be directed toward the mod mail.