I suspect the reason History was spared is similar to why Biblical Hermeneutics is still allowed to remain open. Shog9 posted in our meta that high-quality content and strong participation among core users were the primary factors for letting the site continue. Like hermeneutics, history is somewhat of a niche topic (though not quite as esoteric) and somewhat removed from the Stack Exchange core audience of technical people.

It also appears that the SE management takes into account subject matter when they evaluate a site. Literature seemed to have a lot of cross-over with the Science Fiction site, but I'm not sure there's much competition in the history space.

Finally, Shog9 encouraged us to find more people like us to participate. The problem is that if too many people stop participating, the site will cease to be viable. So leaving the site open is a risk for the SE folks. Growth (even slow growth) is probably more important than the Area 51 targets, from what I understand.

I suspect the reason History was spared is similar to why Biblical Hermeneutics is still allowed to remain open. Shog9 posted in our meta that high-quality content and strong participation among core users were the primary factors for letting the site continue. Like hermeneutics, history is somewhat of a niche topic (though not quite as esoteric) and somewhat removed from the Stack Exchange core audience of technical people.

It also appears that the SE management takes into account subject matter when they evaluate a site. Literature seemed to have a lot of cross-over with the Science Fiction site, but I'm not sure there's much competition in the history space.

Finally, Shog9 encouraged us to find more people like us to participate. The problem is that if too many people stop participating, the site will cease to be viable. So leaving the site open is a risk for the SE folks. Growth (even slow growth) is probably more important than the Area 51 targets, from what I understand.