Image
A collage of discussion bubble graphics in orange, yellow, and blue.

What is an H-Net network?

H-Net networks are topically-defined forums that focus on specific regions, time periods, broader themes and disciplines, or some combination of these. Browse the full list of networks to identify ones that overlap with your field of study. Collectively, these networks reach over 100,000 subscribers in more than 90 countries. They enable scholars to communicate about and collaborate on current research and teaching interests; to discuss new approaches, methods, and tools of analysis; to share information on digital resources, books, and articles; and to test new ideas and share comments on the literature in their fields. Through H-Net's Home Office, some networks have formal affiliations with external scholarly societies.

Networks rest on a digital platform, the H-Net Commons. The Commons provides the ability to publish diverse kinds of academic content including essays, discussion series, blog posts, timelines, GIS-indexed maps, and image libraries. It also gives H-Net networks a broad reach and a deep scholarly impact. H-Net networks publish all of their content online using an open-access model. Anyone on the internet can read all of a network's content for free. Some of our most active networks receive tens of thousands of web visits each year. Networks also use an email notifications system to send content and updates directly to the inboxes of their subscribers. Since H-Net does not charge any fees to its users, our networks have lots of subscribers, providing a concentrated daily audience.

What makes H-Net Networks special?

H-Net networks provide digital and intellectual infrastructure for our users to develop robust academic forums and digital projects, all while informed by editorial best practices.

  • Editorial Moderation: Since all network content—from reviews, to queries, to comments—is subject to pre-publication oversight by certified individuals who have relevant expertise, our networks are largely free from spam, trolls, and other malicious or narrowly promotional behaviors. Our networks in turn operate under explicit guidelines and within an overarching governing structure. You should aim to circulate information only if you believe it is reliable and helpful to your network’s subscribers.
     
  • Public Mindedness: H-Net legally owns its networks but does not treat them as a source of revenue. H-Net does not sell user data or subscriber roles, make its support for a network contingent on financial conditions, or otherwise harness them for gain. H-Net invests its limited resources into its networks. We ask that our editors understand and uphold this sense of public mission. Your network exists to enrich its field of study and allows you to focus on work of intrinsic academic value. 
     
  • Support: H-Net provides support to its editorial teams so that they can receive guidance about how to handle difficult posts, manage contentious subscribers, and technical support for developing academic content and digital projects. Details about who to contact for different issues appear below, but you can always start with the Help Desk (help@mail.h-net.org). 
     
  • Durability: H-Net is committed to preserving its networks as forums that double as public archives of their fields’ activities and debates. With few exceptions, we treat networks as permanent and seek to restaff those where outgoing editors have been unable to recruit new team members. To maintain the integrity of the written record, we do not allow subscribers or editors to delete content or edit it after publication (with the narrow exception of a few specialized content types as well as a few specific and rare situations).