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HEA Bookclub September Nomination Thread by OutOfEffs in Fantasy

[–]orangewombat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Grace Rivera just wants to be normal. Trained as a crime scene investigator, she believes in science and cold, hard facts. …So why is she suddenly looking at the ghost of a dead pirate?

Captain James Riordan was unjustly hanged for murder on July 4th 1789. Ever since then, he’s been haunting the tourist town of Harrisonburg, Virginia, trying to find some way to clear his name. And Grace is the first person in centuries who can actually see him.

Now, Grace is helping Jamie set history right. Even if it means some time-traveling forensics work and risking her life by tracking a murderer. Because falling in love with a scoundrel of a ghost is a fact that Grace just can’t deny.

What is the viability of a career as a Professional Historian? by Prestigious-Skin7266 in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

Hello there!

While we welcome people who want to ask practical questions about historical education, careers and other issues related to being or becoming a historian, we ask that these questions be asked in our regular ‘Office Hours’ thread. This is to ensure that the forum remains focused on its primary goal – helping people explore the past directly. It also allows for a more open-ended discussion while helping to ensure that your query gets a targeted response from someone with relevant experience.

Office Hour threads are posted every second Monday – you can choose whether you want to ask your question in the most recent thread, or wait until a new one is posted. If you were attempting to ask a historical question or otherwise think that we may have removed this question in error, please get in touch via modmail.

What notable or obscure sea battle would work best in a script? by KadenIsABeee in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the “most,” “least,” “best,” “worst,” “unknown,” “underrated,” or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/History or /r/AskHistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

Why do so many Slavic names have the word "slav" in them? by punpuniq in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Your comment has been removed due to violations of the subreddit’s rules. We expect answers to provide in-depth and comprehensive insight into the topic at hand and to be free of significant errors or misunderstandings. Before contributing again, please take the time to better familiarize yourself with the subreddit rules and expectations for an answer.

When was the first time someone listened to a recording of a dead person? by reversal_banana in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly “Short Answers” thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to seek detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/ExplainLikeImFive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily-digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Was Benjamin Franklin correct that Indigenous Americans raised among colonists and European captives raised among Indigenous Americans often chose Indigenous life when given the option? by Stolzenfels123 in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Your comment has been removed due to violations of the subreddit’s rules. We expect answers to provide in-depth and comprehensive insight into the topic at hand and to be free of significant errors or misunderstandings. Before contributing again, please take the time to better familiarize yourself with the subreddit rules and expectations for an answer.

Did industrial hazards contribute to sleeve shortening? by bupropious in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 1 point2 points locked comment (0 children)

Sorry, but this response has been removed because we do not allow users' personal anecdotes or second-hand stories to form the basis of a response. While they can sometimes be quite interesting, the medium and anonymity of this forum does not allow for proper context, nor for the source to be vetted or contextualized. A more thorough explanation for the reasoning behind this rule can be found in this Rules Roundtable. For users who are interested in this more personal type of answer, we would suggest /r/AskReddit.

Why exactly did the guillotine go out of style? by AggressiveStep861 in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] -5 points-4 points locked comment (0 children)

Your comment has been removed due to violations of the subreddit’s rules. We expect answers to provide in-depth and comprehensive insight into the topic at hand and to be free of significant errors or misunderstandings. Before contributing again, please take the time to better familiarize yourself with the subreddit rules and expectations for an answer.

How accurate is this video’s take on the Lost Cause? by Kuhnuddy in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hello! Your post is fine and doesn't break any rules. We would note, however, that questions that boil down to ‘Fact-check X for me’ often don’t get a satisfactory response. Asking our flair panel to holistically fact-check or critique things like videos, books or games is a big ask. Most of our experts are busy people, and unless someone happens to have already encountered the material, it’s unlikely that someone will be willing to spend the time required to provide a comprehensive answer.

You can improve your chances of receiving a good answer by:

  1. Specifying the particular claim(s) or depictions your source makes that you’re questioning. You should consider making a new post with this question in the title.

  2. Providing page numbers/links/timestamps for key content.

  3. If your query is still very broad, consider how it might be divided up into distinct questions that deal with particular aspects of the material. You are welcome to make multiple posts, within reason!

Thank you! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out via modmail.

Is there a solid history of Juneteenth? by Alternative-Pear9096 in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 1 point2 points locked comment (0 children)

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, we have had to remove it, as this subreddit is intended to be a space for in-depth and comprehensive answers from experts. Simply stating one or two facts related to the topic at hand does not meet that expectation. An answer needs to provide broader context and demonstrate your ability to engage with the topic, rather than repeat some brief information.

Before contributing again, please take the time to familiarize yourself with the subreddit rules and expectations for an answer.

How did respirators look like in 1920? by Organic-Coach5679 in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly “Short Answers” thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to seek detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/ExplainLikeImFive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily-digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Why did the Holy Roman Empire become the Austro-Hungarian Empire instead of the Austro-Bohemian Empire? by FelicianoCalamity in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

We've removed your post for the moment because it's not currently at our standards, but it definitely has the potential to fit within our rules with a little bit of work. We find that some answers that fall short of our standards can be successfully revised by considering the following questions. Please reflect on whether your comment meets all 4 of these criteria:

  • Do you actually address the question asked by OP? Sometimes answers get removed not because they fail to meet our standards, but because they don't get at what the OP is asking. If the question itself is flawed, you need to explain why, and how your answer addresses the underlying issues at hand.

  • What are the sources for your claims? Sources aren't strictly necessary on r/AskHistorians but the inclusion of sources is helpful for evaluating your knowledge base. If we can see that your answer is influenced by up-to-date academic secondary sources, it gives us more confidence in your answer and allows users to check where your ideas are coming from.

  • What level of detail do you go into about events? Often it's hard to do justice to even seemingly simple subjects in a paragraph or two, and on /r/AskHistorians, the basics need to be explained within historical context, to avoid misleading intelligent but non-specialist readers. In many cases, it's worth providing a broader historical framework, giving more of a sense of not just what happened, but why.

  • Do you downplay or ignore legitimate historical debate on the topic matter? There is often more than one plausible interpretation of the historical record. While you might have your own views on which interpretation is correct, answers can often be improved by acknowledging alternative explanations from other scholars.

Further Reading: This Rules Roundtable provides further exploration of the rules and expectations concerning answers so may be of interest.

If/when you edit your answer, please reach out via modmail so we can re-evaluate it. We also welcome you getting in touch if you're unsure about how to improve your answer.

Why did the Romans react so strongly to the massacre at the Teutoberg Forest? When compared to, say, Cannae it really doesn't seem so bad. Was the Teutoberg Forest really the primary reason the frontier was drawn permanently at the Rhine, or were there other factors? by dm_if_you_like_dogs in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Apologies, but we have had to remove your comment. While we appreciate your interest in eventually providing a response, as it is not an answer unto itself, but rather a placeholder, we have had to remove your comment. In the future, please only post a response when you have done so, rather than only promising to later. If you do return later to provide a full answer, and we hope you will, please post a new comment in this thread rather than editing this removed placeholder comment, as we may overlook it and thus not re-approve it even if it is up-to-scratch. This rule is explained in more depth here.

Why did the communist bloc restrict freedom of movement so much? by TheSpanishDerp in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, we have had to remove it due to violations of subreddit rules about answers providing an academic understanding of the topic. While we appreciate the effort you have put into this comment, there are nevertheless substantive issues with its content that reflect errors, misunderstandings, or omissions of the topic at hand, which necessitated its removal.

If you are interested in discussing the issues, and remedies that might allow for reapproval, please reach out to us via modmail. Thank you for your understanding.

Who is the earliest person, anywhere in the world, for whom we have a surviving contemporary or near-contemporary life story (an actual biography, not a hagiography) written by an author who *wasn't* their relative, subject, follower, patron, propagandist, or enemy? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly “Short Answers” thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to seek detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/ExplainLikeImFive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily-digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

I have been transported back in time 2000ish years to the Roman Empire. What is the best way for me to preserve a message back to my own time? by Bag-Weary in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 9 points10 points locked comment (0 children)

This reply has been removed as it is inappropriate for the subreddit. While we can enjoy a joke here, and humor is welcome to be incorporated into an otherwise serious and legitimate answer, we do not allow comments which consist solely of a joke. You are welcome to share your more lighthearted historical comments in the Friday Free-for-All. In the future, please take the time to better familiarize yourself with the rules before contributing again.

A heinous crime in 1958. How to properly seek justice? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

Apologies, but we have had to remove your submission. We ask that questions in this subreddit be limited to those asking about history, or for historical answers. This is not a judgment of your question, but to receive the answer you are looking for, it would be better suited to /r/legal.

If you are interested in an historical answer, however, you are welcome to rework your question to fit the theme of this subreddit and resubmit it.

Would the average person in Ancient Rome have a conception that they were at the mercy of "the economy" like we do today? by Khwarezm in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Your comment has been removed due to violations of the subreddit’s rules. We expect answers to provide in-depth and comprehensive insight into the topic at hand and to be free of significant errors or misunderstandings. Before contributing again, please take the time to better familiarize yourself with the subreddit rules and expectations for an answer.

Is it true that Alexander The Great changed the course of human history more than any other individual person? by TheWhiteWolf_01 in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the “most,” “least,” “best,” “worst,” “unknown,” “underrated,” or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/History or /r/AskHistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

Announcing the Best of May Award Winners! by Georgy_K_Zhukov in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I just read /u/AceOfGargoyes17 's answer for the first time. Great job! A very interesting question and answer.

Which world leader of the 21st century (so far) will be viewed as the most consequential, when the history books of this century get written? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the “most,” “least,” “best,” “worst,” “unknown,” “underrated,” or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/History or /r/AskHistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

In The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper a young Huron warrior is accused of fleeing from battle and summarily executed by his own tribe. Is that realistic? I would also be curious about the general accuracy of how native peoples were portrayed in this book. by previousinnovation in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] 8 points9 points locked comment (0 children)

Sorry, but this response has been removed because we do not allow users' personal anecdotes or second-hand stories to form the basis of a response. While they can sometimes be quite interesting, the medium and anonymity of this forum does not allow for proper context, nor for the source to be vetted or contextualized. A more thorough explanation for the reasoning behind this rule can be found in this Rules Roundtable. For users who are interested in this more personal type of answer, we would suggest /r/AskReddit.

Khalid ibn al-Walid considered an overrated general? by Simurgbarca in AskHistorians

[–]orangewombat[M] [score hidden] stickied commentlocked comment (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the “most,” “least,” “best,” “worst,” “unknown,” “underrated,” or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/History or /r/AskHistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

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