# AskHistorians

5 Hacker News commenters recommended AskHistorians and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Praised for sourced answers, strict moderation, and civil discussion with no junk that sparks curiosity about history. Critics say threads often get locked for breaking obscure rules.

## Why people recommend it

- Sourced answers with strict moderation (1 comments): "AskHistorians is legitimately a great resource, with sources provided and very strict moderation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45837818))
- Fills gaps and sparks curiosity (1 comments): "It's filled in both so many gaps and made me increasingly curious about many periods/places" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47168576))
- Civil discussion, no flamewars (1 comments): "It's oddly refreshing. No flamewars, no junk comments" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46173669))
- Described as a gem (1 comments): "Unironically, the AskHistorians subreddit is a gem." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47167145))

## What people warn about

- Threads often locked over obscure rules (1 comments): "9/10 times it gets locked for breaking some obscure rule." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49890774))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Lobsters](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lobsters.md): 105 recommend
- [LessWrong](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lesswrong.md): 14 recommend
- [Stack Exchange](https://hackerapproved.com/p/stack-exchange.md): 14 recommend
- [Math Stack Exchange](https://hackerapproved.com/p/math-stack-exchange.md): 6 recommend
- [Cloudy Nights](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cloudy-nights.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "AskHistorians", https://hackerapproved.com/p/askhistorians-subreddit/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).