This article is from the soc.history.what-if FAQ, by Anthony Mayer anthonyemayer@yahoo.co.uk with numerous contributions by others.
A "double-blind" WI is one that pretends to be posted from an alternative
history. Frequently, but not always, this takes the form of asking "what
if" about something from real history, treating it as if it hadn't
happened, e.g. "What if England had resisted Napoleon successfully?"
Sometimes it will be clear what the author wants to pretend happened
instead, sometimes not.
Preferred style for responses is to pretend to be from the same
alternative history as the initial post. Feel free to add details to the
fictitious history in your response, but try not to contradict anything
someone has already said, unless you can do it in character ("The idea
that the Empire nearly fell apart under Napoleon VI is a vicious lie
spread by Francophobe neo-radicals!").
Note that the existence of double-blinds means you should hesitate before
correcting a post which seems to be making a really flagrant error about
history -- while theoretically possible that an author really doesn't know
that Napoleon never invaded Britain, it is much more likely to be a
double-blind what-if, in which case "correcting the error" will just make
you look silly.
One regular appearance on SHWI is the "West Wing", a thread discussing
contemporary events as if they were from the television drama of the same
name. This is not an invitation to discuss contemporary political issues,
but rather a running joke regarding the dramatic implausibilites of real
history.
 
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