Soc.history.what-if is a newsgroup dedicated to the discussion of alternate history. If you've ever thought about what would have happened if Alexander the Great had never had his success, or Columbus had landed on some other shore, this newsgroup is for you. Many of the users in the soc.history.what-if newsgroup are professional historians who make alternate history their hobby. No matter what the user's background, you'll find interesting stories and speculations about what would have happened had history taken a different turn. For newcomers to alternate history or new visitors to the newsgroup, visit the soc.history.what-if FAQ to get a basic overview of what alternate history encompasses, as a topic, as well as a list of common "what-ifs", a list of common abbreviations, recommendations for further reading, discussion about how close our actual history came to becoming something different, etc.