Welcome flair applicants! This is the place to apply for a flair – the colored text you will have seen next to some user's names indicating their specialization. We are always looking for new flaired users, and if you think you have what it takes to join the panel of historians, you're in the right place!
For examples of previous applications, and our current panel of historians, you can find the previous application thread here, and there is a list of active flaired users on our wiki.
A flair in /r/AskHistorians indicates extensive, in-depth knowledge about an area of history and a proven track record of providing great answers in the subreddit. In applying for a flair, you are claiming to have:
Expertise in an area of history, typically from either degree-level academic experience or an equivalent amount of self-study. For more exploration of this, check out this thread.
The ability to cite sources from specialist literature for any claims you make within your area.
The ability to provide high quality answers in the subreddit in accordance with our rules.
For a more in-depth look at how applications are analyzed, consult this helpful guide on our wiki explaining what an answer that demonstrates the above looks like.
To apply for a flair, simply post in this thread. Your post needs to include:
Links to 3 to 5 answers which show a sustained involvement in the community, including at least one within the past month.
These answers should all relate to the topic area in which you are seeking flair. They should demonstrate your claim to knowledge and expertise on that topic, as well as your ability to write about that topic comprehensively and in-depth. Outside credentials or works can provide secondary support, but cannot replace these requirements.
The text of your flair and which category it belongs in (see the sidebar). Be as specific as possible as we prefer flair to reflect the exact area of your expertise as near as possible, but be aware there is a limit of 64 characters.
If you are a former, now inactive flair, an application with one recent flair-quality answer, plus additional evidence of renewed community involvement, is required.
One of the moderators will then either confirm your flair or, if the application doesn't adequately show you meet the requirements, explain what's missing. If you get rejected, don't despair! We're happy to give you advice and pointers on how to improve your portfolio for a future application. Plenty of panelists weren't approved the first time.
If there's a backlog this may take a few days but we will try to get around to everyone as quickly as possible.
Updated Procedures
Note that we have made some slight changes to the requirements of the past. Previous applications required all answers to be within the past six months. But we realize that this can sometimes be tough if you write about uncommon topics. We have changed the temporal requirement to be one answer that was written in the past month. The answers as a whole will be evaluated holistically with an eye towards a regular pace of contributions. i.e. 3 answers each spaced 3 months apart would be accepted now, but we would likely ask for more recent contributions if an application was one recent answer and the rest over a year old. Flair reflects not only expertise, but involvement in the AskHistorians community.
"I'm an Expert About Something But Never Have a Chance to Write About It!"
Some topics only come up once in a blue moon, but that doesn't mean you can't still get flair in it! There are a number of avenues to follow, many of which are dealt with in greater detail at the last section of this thread.
We invest a large amount of trust in the flaired members of /r/askhistorians, as they represent the subreddit when answering questions, participating in AMAs, and even in their participation across reddit as a whole. As such, we do take into account an applicant's user history reddit-wide when reviewing an application, and will reject applicants whose post history demonstrate bigotry, racism, or sexism. Such behavior is not tolerated in /r/askhistorians, and we do not tolerate it from our panelists in any capacity. We additionally reserve the right to revoke flair based on evidence of such behavior after the application process has been completed. /r/AskHistorians is a safe space for everyone, and those attitudes have no place here.
If you see an unflaired user consistently giving excellent answers, they can be nominated for a "Quality Contributor" flair. Just message the mods their username and some example comments which you believe meet the above criteria.
To apply for FAQ finder, we require demonstration of a consistent history of community involvement and linking to previous responses and the FAQ. We expect to see potential FAQ Finders be discerning in what they link to, ensuring that it is to threads which represent the current standards of the subreddit, and they do so in a polite and courteous manner, both to the 'Asker', and also by including a username ping of the original 'Answerer'.
Having a flair brings with it a greater expectation to abide by the subreddit's rules and maintain the high standard of discussion we all like to see here. The mods will revoke the flair of anybody who continually breaks the rules, fails to meet the standard for answers in their area of expertise, or violates the above mentioned expectations. Happily, we almost never have to do this.
Before applying for flair, we encourage you to check out these resources to help you with the application process:
Right, it's time. Applying for a flair of Water In The Middle Ages.
Answers:
I applied in the old thread literally the day before it got archived, so I'm moving my application here.
Hi, I would like to attempt a flair application under the category of Asian History, with specific area of specialisation being “Medieval and Colonial Maritime Southeast Asia”. Here are some recent questions I have answered (tried to make text links and failed =( ):
How come Christian missionary work was unsuccessful in Indonesia?
Did Asia experience any “Golden Age of Piracy”?
What's the History of Overseas Chinese in Thailand, Malaysia & Singapore?
Why did the Khmer Empire collect human gallbladders?
Why was the Khmer Empire and the Kingdom of Champa influenced by Indian culture despite being much closer to China?
Did South East Asia (both Mainland and Maritime) ever use metal armor? How would metal armor be used in hot, humid climates?
Thanks!
Well, since you insist, and exposure therapy is often a very good way to get over insecurities anyways, I'd like to apply for flair.
The thing is, I don't know what to apply for precisely. "Soviet Moscow", tentatively? "Soviet Urban Culture"? Maybe "Soviet Moscow and Subalterns", if you don't mind me pushing my luck a little. If you can think of a better way to unite that into one flair, though, I'll gladly do that, because I'm not comfortable applying for a double flair yet.
Answers I've written and am not totally embarrassed by include:
Why did the Soviets care so much about the style and form of the art produced in their country?
How was the legacy of the Decemberist Revolt treated during the Soviet era?
And although these answers are now more than six months old, I'm kind of proud of them:
Thanks for you consideration, and I blame the corgi.
Flair Expansion Pack Request:
I'm answering more questions on Native American slavery. I was thinking something like "New World Demography | Disease | Indigenous Slavery" for the new flair. Open to suggestions if that is too long/not appropriate by standard flair conventions.
Did The 1537 Papal Bull outlawing indigenous slavery do anything? was the most recent answer.
I figure it’s time to give this a shot, why not. I’d like to apply for a flair in “Roman Religion” and, tentatively, something in the vicinity of “Roman Writing Culture”, or maybe “Roman Reading and Writing Culture” if that works better.
For Roman religion:
How did the Roman household gods relate to the primary deities (Jupiter, Neptune, Vesta)?
How would the Romans incorporate a new god?
How did Roman families acquire Lares?
For Roman written culture:
How did letters in Rome look roughly around 350-400 AD?
How can one read inscriptions in Roman monuments?
Did the Romans have square-format books like we do? Or did they only have scrolls?
How were texts organized in ancient libraries?
Thank you!
Hey y'all, finally getting around to doing this. The categories I'm applying for are Modern Romania, The Holocaust, and Axis War Crimes. As far as credentials, I have a Ph.D. in Modern European History, currently work as a researcher at a topically-relevant museum where my primary areas of research and publication are the Holocaust and Axis War Crimes, and published a book about Romania and the Holocaust last year (I'd be happy to give proof of these privately, I just don't want to post them publicly so I don't dox myself, because my combination of narrow fields would make me very easy to identify.)
Modern Romania:
On the collapse and aftermath of Communism in Romania
On Allied bombing of Romania and its effects during WWII
On Béla Lugosi and Romanian-Hungarian ethnic identity in Transylvania
Holocaust:
On the killing of Sonderkommando workers during the Holocaust
On guards in extermination camps
On the murder of Jews during the Holocaust
Axis War Crimes:
On debunking the Clean Wehrmacht myth
On the role of German generals in planning and executing war crimes
This pains me to write, but I would like to have my flair removed if that is possible.
Sadly, I have not had enough time nor energy, for various reasons, to write and research answers on this incredible subreddit. Being a flaired user comes with certain expectations and, I feel, a duty to remain an active contributor in this community. As I am unable to fulfill this duty, it seems fitting to remove my flair. If in future my life changes and I get more time to devote to reading and writing about the late Roman military (nothing would make me happier) then I will gladly resume my contributions to this awesome community. Unfortunately, that does not seem very likely at the moment.
Mods, thanks for showing me the recognition and trust a flair entails. I will continue lurking on this subreddit as I always have but from now on hopefully with less of a guilty conscience :)
Would like to apply for some flair! Some of my bigger/in depth answers.
The newest one: What would the odds be of Dua Lipa actually surviving the sinking of the Titanic?
Do we know if there were any very drunk people on the titanic as it sank ?
The topic is niche so I'm not sure what the flair would actually be. Titanic history? Titanic studies? RMS Titanic? Why do you know this?. I'll leave that up to you if you see fit to flair me :)
Thank you!
I'd like to apply for flair:
Eisenhower Administration: Foreign Policy
Only one Now TWO posts from the past three months
Newest post:
Older
But I've more than a few older than that...
Hello,
I’d like to apply for the flair “Architecture & Design After 1750” under the History of Art category.
Here are links to four five recent answers related specifically to this topic:
[History of Flat-Packs and the modernization of the Shipping Industry] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/oi0nt2/history_of_flatpacks_and_the_modernization_of_the/h4txy90)
[Food and Alcohol on the Midwestern Frontier (1830-1880s Iowa)] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/oifyem/comment/h4x4pln/)
[Where did office workers in the 19th Century go to the bathroom?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/op8s2m/comment/h66ybt4/)
[Why wasn’t the Crystal Palace rebuilt?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/otah0x/why_wasnt_the_crystal_palace_rebuilt/h784bow/)
Thanks!
I apply for flair "Early Modern Persianate India"
Hi all: I've been meaning to apply for a bit, but wanted to make sure I was able to be active in the community before doing so.
I'm hoping to apply for a flair title, but Im also interested in any input about a flair label from the moderation team. My work is primarily on the Troubles and Northern Ireland, but my answers have often spilled more into terrorism in general and - even more often - the Long 1960s. Im also worried about the political implications of terms like terrorism for some of these movements.
My newest answer is below, followed by others which I hope meet the standard.
[What political impact did the the student protests of 1968 have in Europe](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/nni713/what_political_impact_did_the_student_protests_of/)
[How on earth did the Unabomber evade capture for nearly 20 years, despite the costliest investigation in history?](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/aeiq6y/how_on_earth_did_the_unabomber_evade_capture_for/)
[Were Women Allowed in the IRA in the 1990s](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/j7e9ay/were_women_allowed_in_the_ira_in_the_1990s/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=post_title)
[Bombings, hijackings, and domestic terrorism in general were far more common in the late 60s and 70s in the US than they have been at any point subsequently; are there any theories as to why this is, or why it stopped?](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/aim0ab/bombings_hijackings_and_domestic_terrorism_in/)
[ETA, a Basque separatist movement, committed numerous terrorist attacks to support their demand for independence. In comparison, the Catalan independence movement seems to have limited itself to peaceful means. Have they ever considered taking a violent road? Why or why not?](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/bimhtv/eta_a_basque_separatist_movement_committed/)
Could I please apply for a flair change? I'd like to change my flair to:
Picts | Work and Folk Song | Pre-Columbian Archaeology
Let me know if that's too long though...! Or if you think I should shift the categories around somehow.
Picts
Work & Folk Song
Pre-Columbian Archaeology
I would like to apply for the flair 'Qing Maritime networks' or 'Late-Imperial Chinese Maritime History'
citing:
This response on racism among Chinese Water Bandits
This response on Silver and the Opium trade
This discussion of Zheng Yi Sao
Because the two piracy questions cover some of the same ground, I'll also append these two answers which directly address the 'great divergence' but mostly use examples and details related to maritime history.
My former account (/u/kittydentures) no longer exists. Can I please have my flair transferred to this account?
Old replies on /r/AskHistorians: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3rfgww/is_there_a_link_between_freer_modes_of_female/
AH Profile (all still true):
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/profiles/kittydentures
My interview on the podcast from a few years ago: https://askhistorians.libsyn.com/skhistorians-podcast-046-la-chemise-a-la-reine-and-historical-costumery
Thanks!
Sup dudes,
I would like to apply for, quite simply:
Urban and Social History
I hold a BA in Ancient History and MA in Urban History, so my interests range from pretty much anything between the Persian Wars to the present day, but I am especially interested in ancient Roman civilisation, early-medieval urbanisation in Europe, 20th century Britain and the works of Lewis Mumford.
Some recent posts:
Why do medieval cities always seem to end at the walls? Because cartographers were lazy
Who were the 'good guys' in history? Let me tell you about this one religion that produces a helluva lotta philanthropists (not my usual kinda territory but it wasn't a great question)
Thank you for your consideration.
Hello,
I figured I might as well toss in a flair app!
For the text of the flair, I was thinking possibly "Indo-European Historical Linguistics | etymology", but I'm happy with something more specific /different & am open to suggestions. My knowledge is more or less centered on the Germanic, Hellenic, Italic and Celtic branches of the family, and really lags on the "Indo" part of Indo-European, but Indo-European seemed like the most succinct way of saying it. I think that would be in either the "European" or the "other" category.
My three on-topic comments:
Recent flair's-choice winner: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/nog87h/yan_tan_tethera_pethera_pimp_why_did_english/h00zqse?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Thank you for your consideration, and looking forward to hearing!
I'd like to apply for the FAQ Finder flair
I would want to apply for the FAQ Finder flair as well
From the last two months:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/pvpk9h/did_columbus_sell_children_as_sex_slaves/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ojg6kf/why_did_indian_powers_fail_to_keep_pace_with/
I can dig more if necesary, i have been doing this for years. (And yet i didn't knew there was a FAQ Flair until today )
May I request that my flair color be changed from European Blue to Asian Tan? I feel like most of what I do is East Asia related, so I would want my flair to reflect that.
Hello, time to give it a shot.
I'd like to apply for a flair: Medieval and Classical Europe | Power and Mythmaking
Answers for Review:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/p0eutz/in_avatar_firelordking_zuko_lived_as_a/
Hi, I'd like to apply for a flair.
I was thinking "Modern Econ. History | Social and Econ. History of China to 610", though I'm not 100% sure on the wording.
Posts on economic history:
edit: BEEEEEEESSSSS
On early China:
What were the general family dynamics within imperial or aristocratic harems in fifth century China?
The stone age may not have ended for lack of stone, but did the bronze age end for lack of bronze?
Thanks ^_^
I'd like to apply for the FAQ Finder flair again.
(I asked for it two months ago but i didn't got any reply)
From the last two months:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/q15oid/no_taxation_without_representation/hfdd53g/
From the last six months:
From the last year:
I would like to apply for the flair: American Advertising.
I have posted in three "Saturday Showcase" threads. All of the answers were from questions previously asked in this sub within the past 6 months that I did not see. I understand that this is abnormal for a flair application, but I thought I would apply anyway, if only to get some helpful feedback on my answers.
Were slave markets advertised? If so, how was it done?
Many old print advertisements, especially those in the early-to-mid 20th century, prominently make statements like "Easy to Digest!" or "Digestible!" when selling food. Why was this practice common? Why was this something an advertiser felt they needed to convey? (Two part answer with follow-up responses).
When did free newspapers/advertisers become financially viable?
Here's a tangentially relevant answer related to comparative economics of slavery:
Why was the American slave population self-sustaining while it wasn't in the Caribbean?
App for flair: Public Historian
MA in Public History
Curator of a WWII Museum
Strong background in Public History studies; Guilded Age America; WWII; and Ancient History (Focus on Greeks and Roman histories). Most of my answers on the subreddit are on Roman and Greek questions due to the fact that I deal with the other studies at work. Overall, I consider myself as a public historian.
Roman: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/o61cpg/comment/h2rmr3q
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/nid52t/comment/gz2y45t
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/kdzq9h/comment/gfzn5fe
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/jg1319/comment/g9nvcp9
I'd like to apply for flair: Film History | Modern Japan. I've got a PhD in Film & Media Studies/East Asian Studies. Would be happy to provide links to peer-reviewed articles.
Recent post on singing styles in 1930s
Older post on "whiteness" in Japanese culture
I would like to apply for the flair of: Late Colonial and 20th-century Philippine History.
I have many other answers on here, but I think these represent my expertise the best.
Hello,
I'd like to apply for the flair:
WWII Military Grand Strategy
I studied WWII in college as the focus of my BA in History, and took courses focused entirely on separate topics of the war including the Pacific Theatre, European Theatre, and Holocaust. As I mention in one of my comments, I wrote my senior thesis on Operation Barbarossa, and have had my work published regarding Japanese Aircraft during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
My posts:
What was the strategic value of capturing Stalingrad in late 1942?
What was Britain and France's plan to beat the Germans in 1939?
What happened to black Germans under The 3rd Reich?
How did Nazis and supporters morally justify their war crimes?
I'd like to request a flair change, please. My research focus has moved a bit. My area of expertise now is the US South and Caribbean. 18th and 19th centuries. Thanks for all the hard work you do!
Slovene history | Legal history
Some of the comments might overlap, insofar as they utilise Slovene legal history, since naturally, questions about Slovene history generally are exceedingly rare, so understandably, the double might be refused. ( If it perhaps lacks a single long detailed comment for a particular issue, may I write a post or ask & answer my question on a particular issue, like the developments of the Office of Praetorship, for example ) Thanks.
edit; As some of those might be outside the requied time;
edit2:
In the Early Middle Ages (400-1000), what was 30 gold solidi worth in Italy?Response to now-removed comment and by extension to the OP.
Hi, I would like to apply for the flair: The Isma'ili Da'wah Period 765-1270 CE / 148-669 AH
Please can you review these answers:
Top level comments in this thread should exclusively be applications for flair. If you have questions about the process, please restrict them as replies to this stickied comment.