Historum

Like so many discussion sites on the Net, which are only as good as the moderation--this one seems to me to exist so that the control freaks who run it can ban people for any and all reasons that they can dream up. Posters, even those who know the subjects well, are booted off temporarily or permanently for giving their opinions about other posters--while the moderators can publicly say what they like about the posters with impunity. As the moderators also participate in the discussions and get into disagreements with other posters, you can see where they might not be able to act without prejudice at all times. A bona fide science, microbiology. Is a taboo subject. I got permanently banned for suggesting that, since Historum uses an American-based server, they should probably show more respect to Freedom of Speech. Yet a "moderator" repeatedly allowed one of his friends to disrespect me without comment or intervention. My advice is stay away from this forum unless you love being unfairly censored or treated.

Fun site and a bunch of interesting comments. Several posters and one mod are somewhat tender. Just step away when they get silly.

Other than one touchy slightly brain-struck mod on matters modern politics, the site offers a lot of insight and good commentary.

I used this forum from 2011 to 2023. Yes, about 12 years. Yet, authoritarian moderation banned me from stating facts because that "insulted" a certain group of users of that forum. That is like banning a user from a geography forum because he stated the fact that Mexico's per capita income is lower than America's as if that was offensive to Mexicans!

As I remember it, the site was not as bad in the early 2010s, but now clearly ideologically driven: one can freely deny the genocide that Stalin executed in Ukraine and deny the monstrosity of the crimes of some of the most brutal dictators of all time like Pol Pot and Mao Tse Tung. Yes, the moderators are literally communist sympathizers: if they had any sense, they would either ban denial of genocide or allow holocaust denial.

Thus, the site has a clear Marxist and Critical race theory oriented ideological agenda, applied to revisionist history. If you think anybody who is considered "white" in the past was great, then you are a white supremacist sympathizer. While it is the most common thing there to denigrate anything considered "white" or "eurocentric." "Socrates? Just garbage." But God forgive you if you state there that Confucian though was religious (which is true), as associating philosophy produced by "non-whites" to religion is considered supremely offensive. How come? Marxists hate being labeled religious (because they ARE!); thus they think it's insulting to label ancient religions, religions (as long as they were not practiced by "whites," if they are "white," however, then it's the duty of the users of the forum to denigrate it). But there is nothing more Eurocentric than giving 100% differential treatment to European history relative to non-Europeans! That is, by trying hard not to be Eurocentric, you become Eurocentric: because you orient yourself around Europe either way.

Indeed, one veteran user told me there is no issue if the Chinese are racist. To him/her it's not a problem as long as they are not "white." That is because, in the head of this user, we should not expect a person of non-white ethnic background to be capable of behaving in a civilized manner. How can you get more bigoted than that?

If you disagree with the obvious Marxist-revisionist-critical race theory agenda that all users must follow, you better stay away. Then, why did I stay there so long? Simple, the first years there, I was a naive student who lacked the sense to understand how vile some people were, and the moderation was not as bad in the early 2010s (although in retrospect, I admit the moderation was already biased, but now it's worse). I thought that the signal/noise ratio was good enough to justify my time spent there. Now, the quality went down, and the ideology went up.

Banned because of me mentioning artificial intelligence languages and nonsense poetry translation (the poem mirror-printed in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) in a thread about linguistic development of the human civilisation.
Accused at first as 'words salad' by a forum-contributor and then by the moderator called Naomasa298 ("The only person producing word salads here is you. Any more nonsense posts like this and I'll remove you from this thread")
Unbelievably unfriendly to non-native speakers. Ι am from Norway and I made some mistakes in the rhetorical aspects of the English language. A user called Olleus bomber replied to me "You've made three posts in a row that are nothing but meaningless word salad. If English isn't your first language, I might advise double checking what comes out of online translators. If it is, then you might find you're better able to get your point across if you put a little more thought into making your sentences coherent and meaningful. Because, at least for me, it really isn't working at the moment..."

And the moderator openly insulted me. Two times. Horrible experience. https://historum.com/t/does-all-language-descend-from-one-single-language.*******/

Also unfriendly to irrational thoughts and religious people. I can't always think logically. (I am a poet and I have been suffering from Aspergers for ages)

The hitler attitude is not a sustainable attitude towards history studies. For those who want more serious contents. Avoid this website. https://historum.com/ Hitler website.

There are a decent number of knowledgable people in their respective fields active on the site, and they will happily engage new members, answer questions and stimulate lively discussion. A very broad range of subjects are continually discussed there, from pre-history to the 1980's, from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Americas. Military history, architecture, art, archaeology, linguistics, etc. There are also regular essay competitions. History subjects tend to attract a steady flow of bonafide nutters, but the moderation team deals with them quite efficiently. At first, the moderation might seem a little heavy handed at times, but in my time there, I've learnt to give them the benefit of doubt. The rules are clear, and anybody that repeatedly brings up modern politics, genetics, insults fellow forum members or is proselytizing will face sanction. It won't take long before you understand why these subjects are off-limits. People who have a genuine interest in history will enjoy the site. Personally I've learnt a lot there. And I haven't come across any other history forums that engenders such productive discussions.

Otherwise it's Censor City.
I just had a thread removed that cited only:
Pew Poll
Gallup Poll (via Guardian)
The Australian
BBC
Because it shed Islam in an unfavorable light.
That's all it takes on Pistorum.com.
Thread removed, indefinite suspension (up from initial 3 day)

Pretty much very Juvenile discussion in any case.
The board is filled with Revisionist History
You've probably seen it and the like.
'Afro-centric' B. A.'s telling you they Built the Pyramids, invented the Radio, Tennis Racket, and lived in High Civilization before Greece, Rome, etc.

Please disregard the negative reviews listed here. Historum has no tolerance for trolls or time wasters and the (volunteer) mods don't have the time or inclination to mollycoddle bruised egos.
I've been a regular there for over a decade and it's the best non academic history forum around.