Does anyone know if there is a print book with artwork about the Spanish conquest?

AskHistorians depends on everyone who visits the site to make this community what it is, be it people asking questions, answering questions, or simply reading answers.

But special recognition is made for users who are consistent in their high quality contributions to the community, by giving them 'Flaired' status, a reference to the colored badge that is displayed next to their username. It is a small token of recognition of the work that users do on this subreddit, and the value they bring, simply because of the passion they have for history and sharing their knowledge.

Why Should I Want Flair?

While being recognized is pretty nifty in of itself, Flair comes with a few benefits! The main one is that it gives you access to the exclusive backroom subreddit for Flaired Contributors, where you are part of a community that brings together hundreds of historians from around the globe! It is a place for collaboration, either within the subreddit or professionally, as well as a space where you can let your hair down a bit and interact with your fellow-historians in a friendly, laid back atmosphere. Flairs are able to socialize, play games, and participate in meet-ups, as well as organize panel AMAs on the subreddit, and be forewarned about what might be happening on April Fools Day.

Keep in mind that Flair is a privilege though. The requirements to maintain flair are fairly low, but we do place flairs on (hopefully temporary!) 'Inactive' status if they have not been active in the community for the past 6 months. It also of course does not make a user immune from the rules, and repeated violations can result in warnings or removal. Although thankfully rare, we revoke it not only for bad behavior in our subreddit, but even bad behavior elsewhere. We don't care too much what you do outside our subreddit, but you are nevertheless an ambassador for AH, and if you are acting in a way that calls into question your suitability to have flair, no matter where it happens, we may warn, or deflair for it.

Sounds Nifty, How Do I Get It?

Any user can apply for Flair in the thread which is linked on the Sidebar of the Subreddit. But we have fairly high expectations for an application. Users with Flair need to have a history of contributions to the subreddit that aren't just doing the bare minimum, but really go above and beyond. Flair signifies the trust of the mod team in your abilities, so we need to be confident that they are there!

As such, we expect users to submit applications that have at least three, but ideally five or more, answers written in the subreddit which demonstrate their understanding of the topic that they study. As Mods, we evaluate many things, but the most important are:

• Depth of knowledge on the topic, and the ability to go above and beyond the bare minimum in answering a question
• Familiarity with relevant literature and the ability to cite it, and critically engage with it where necessary
• Comfort with engaging with users to answer follow-ups and possible push-back

If you think that you can meet those requirements, we want you to apply!

Expertise Is Not Simply a Degree

One thing that should be noted here is that you don't need to have a degree to meet those requirements. We don't grant flair based on having a PhD or other form of credentials. Plenty of people with PhDs have written crappy answers on this subreddit which we removed, so it really doesn't guarantee quality anyways! Plenty of flaired users, and even some mods, are merely enthusiastic and talented amateurs. We evaluate applications based on what is written, against the historical method, and it isn't some hidden secret to gain those skills. So don't be dissuaded because you don't have a piece of paper calling you an historian, the most important thing to have to become a flair is a passion for your topic, and a passion for sharing it.

I Applied, But You Rejected Me! Why!?

Most applications are rejected for one of two reasons, so before applying, make sure to take a step back and try and consider these factors as objectively as possible.

The first one is sources. Yes, we don't require sources under the rules, but we do expect to see them in Flair Apps. We need to know that you are comfortable citing a variety of literature, and that the literature you are citing is good stuff. A source-less Flair App, or one where you cite the same book over and over, will get rejected.

The second one is depth. To be sure, some questions really just don't take much to answer, but those aren't good ones to highlight in an app. Remember, we need to see what you are capable of and make an evaluation of it. Perhaps those two or three paragraphs really is all that can be said on the topic, and that is fine in the context of that question, but it doesn't give us much to work on. Make sure that the answers you highlight are ones which can give us a full sense of just what you are capable of as an historian.

If you are rejected though, don't worry! We are happy to provide feedback, and work with you to ensure that the next application is a good one.

But No One Ever Asks About What I Know!

Some topics are more popular than others, we know, and this can often be the biggest impediment for users seeking out flair in less common themes. There are a few options available for you though!

• Saturday Showcase: This runs every Saturday, and is a place for users to simply... share whatever it is they want to share. You can write about literally anything here. If you have an answer looking for a question, there is no better place for it!
• Floating Features: We periodically run special 'Floating Features' which are very broad topical prompts, and invite users to share a bit of history from their field that relates to it. Keep your eyes peeled for them!
• Non-Flair Alerts: We know how easy it is to miss a question that is perfect for you, but the Mods see literally every question! We maintain a list of both Flairs, and Non-Flairs looking to change that, and we send out alerts for questions daily as a friendly 'heads up'. If you want to be on this list, let us know!

But I Know Nothing and Still Want to Get Flaired

Easy there Jon Snow, there are some options available for you still! In addition to the 'normal' Flair, we have a few other special Flairs to recognize other ways which users can contribute to the community.

Interesting Inquirer

This flair is given at Mod's discretion to users who simply ask a lot of good questions! It isn't something you can apply for, but rather happens if we realize that we are upvoting the same user a lot, so if you want to get it, then the easiest way is to simply be noticed!

FAQ Finder

Although we allow repeat questions, because no answer is ever truly the final word, some questions get repetitive, and people just don't want to answer it again. But we know that reddit's search feature sucks, which kind of complicates things. Linking to older answers to similar questions is thus a pretty vital service on the subreddit, as it can help spread the load for answerers, and ensure that more askers get a response all the same! You don't need to know too much about a topic though to try and dig up old threads, and if you know the secret tricks to improve searching on the site, it might be downright easy!

Given how important this work is, users who consistently provide assistance to other users by linking to older threads or to sections of the FAQ that are relevant are recognized with the 'FAQ Finder' Flair. This is something that you can apply for too! We ask that users include links showing it is something that they have been doing consistently for at least several months, but no expertise in an historical topic is necessary!