r/AlternateHistory

92K archived posts · Jun 2010 – Sep 2026

Alternate History

r/AlternateHistory

The original alternate history subreddit

Created Jun 20, 2010

223KMembers (last snapshot)

92KArchived posts

A subreddit devoted to alternate history, a genre of speculative fiction that deals with history and how it could have gone differently, but not just that! Feel free to post any speculative fiction stuff, off-topic posts, art, whatever.

Rules:

Work must be alternate history. All works must be partially or entirely fictional with a basis in real-world history. However, fantasy and other paranormal or magical content is prohibited, except when part of a properly labelled ASB scenario.
All content must be original. Do not use another person’s work, and especially do not claim it as your own. Crossposting from other subreddits with a similar purpose (such as r/ImaginaryMaps or r/Vexillology) is allowed, so long as the post abides by our rules.
Use flair wisely. A post that is not flaired correctly upon or shortly after submission is liable for removal by the moderators.
Low-effort submissions will be removed by the mods. The content considered low-effort includes maps made solely in “map-painting” programs like MapChart and simple Google service edits (like Maps or Earth) without a fairly detailed scenario, and AI generated content. Also, low-quality submissions (i.e. those w/ high pixelation or compression) are liable to be removed. Don't post GIFs of still images. Usage of Imgur or the native Reddit client for image uploads is preferred.
No glorification of authoritarianism or hate speech of any kind. This rule also extends to historical revisionism and genocide/mass killing denialism.
No bad faith posts or comments, and no current politics. The creation of posts or comments which are designed for the sole purpose of baiting users into a fight, political mudslinging, or bad faith discussion is banned. This is in regard to questions about scenarios and comments, rather than full post scenarios that, by their nature, can unavoidably lead into certain topics that might get heated. To avoid heated discussions, anything political within the last ten years (Since 2014) is considered to be off-limits.
Image posts must have context. Upon submission of image posts, please add at least a paragraph explaining the content being shown. Text prompts cannot be limited to the title and must have additional information in the body.
No shitposts or memes. Shitposts (low effort scenarios meant more for memetic value than for actual discussion), and memes are not allowed to be posted on this subreddit, please redirect your posts to the appropriate subreddits. Repeated violations will result in a permanent ban.
No "What-If" Questions outside of the What-If Wednesday Megathread. No non-scenario "What if" questions or posts that ask a question without much input from the original poster outside of the megathread or as a separate post (If you want to make a separate post, please direct yourself to more appropriate subreddits). If posting within the megathread, it is recommended to put a paragraph or preferably more of your own thoughts on how the scenario would play out.
No ASB Posts outside of Sunday. ASB Posts (Short for Alien Space Bats, meaning an alternate history scenario that has an impossible point of divergence or have fantastical elements such as time-travel, alien interference, folklore beasts, change in the laws of physics, etc) are not allowed to be posted outside of its themed day, Spacebats Sunday.
No Meta Posts outside of the Friday Forum Megathread. No Meta posts are to be made outside the Friday Forum Megathread. If you have any concerns regarding the state of the subreddit (Rules, Situations, Practices, etc) Refrain from making a post and instead post a comment in the megathread.

Other Subreddits:

Serious

Not so serious

r/vexillologycirclejerk

r/worldjerking

r/alternatepisstory

Other communities

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