====== Soc.History.What-If ======

Commonly abbreviated to SHWI. One of the first AH sites on the internet, predating AH.com. 

It began as a Usenet discussion group, hence the somewhat odd name. 

Noted for producing such [[timelines:non-ah.com timelines|timelines]] and alternate history projects as:
  * //**[[timelines:Empty America]]**// by Doug Hoff
  * //**[[timelines:For All Time]]**// by Chet Arthur
  * //**[[timelines:Shattered World]]**// by Bobby Hardenbrooke
  * //**[[timelines:Bronze Age New World]]**// by [[offtopic:Doug M.|Doug Muir]]
  * //**[[http://www.kebe.com/for-all-nails/|For All Nails]]**// - A fan continuation of Sobel's //**[[alternate history:For Want of A Nail]]**//. ([[http://fwoan.wikia.com/wiki/For_All_Nails|Here]] as well.)

SHWI also created the [[shared worlds:Mosaic Earth|Mosaic Earth 1]] gaming project and the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20070611004248/http://www.flin.demon.co.uk/|Alison Brooks]]-coined concept of the [[alternate history:Alien Space Bats]]. Needless to say, a lot of the early AH online community concepts and lingo got their start on SHWI.

Sadly, SHWI has recently fallen silent, its vast catacombs echoing vacantly. The last time anyone looked, the only 'members' there were [[Straha]] and a [[Polish trolls#Polish troll]], who just about deserved each other.

In April 2018, AH.commers [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/so-spammers-spambots-have-finally-killed-soc-history-what-if-it-appears.442217/|discovered]] that the last remnant of soc.history.what-if has been shut down, apparently after being inflicted by heavy spammer or spambot activity. SHWI seems to have passed into history...

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==== Former SHWI regulars on AH.com ====

Plenty of the older members of AH.com - the founding members in particular - had experience with the SHWI newsgroup. Some newer AH.com members count as well, often having returned to the AH genre after several years. Here is a sample of a few notable former SHWI members who are now members of AH.com and have contributed to the site over the years.

  * [[DanMcCollum]] 
  * [[Doug M.]]
  * [[EdT]]
  * [[Ibnyahya]]
  * [[Jared]]
  * [[Jonathan Edelstein]]
  * [[Neopeius]]

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==== AH.com discussions about SHWI ====

**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/soc-history-what-if.76406/|Soc.history.what-if]]** - General discussion from November 2007, on the history of the newsgroup and its status in the late 2000s. 

**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/so-spammers-spambots-have-finally-killed-soc-history-what-if-it-appears.442217/|So spammers/spambots have finally killed soc.history.what-if it appears]]** - Sad news about the seemingly final demise of the newsgroup, in April 2018.

**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/raymond-speer-from-shwi.449146/|Raymond Speer from SHWI rememberance]]**

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==== See Also ====

**[[links:AH on the Web]]**

**[[http://www.anthonymayer.net/ah/faq.html|Anthony Mayer's FAQ about SHWI]]** - An excellent FAQ about the SHWI newsgroup's history, at Anthony Mayer's personal AH website. (Also archived [[https://web.archive.org/web/20180428103406/http://www.anthonymayer.net/ah/faq.html|here]], just in case.)

**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/old-usenet-discussion-groups-including-shwi-for-download.553077/|Old Usenet discussion groups including SHWI for download]]** - Thread by oldie147.

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