What I think

[Jen McGarrahan]

I just wanted to say this is a great site, alot of information can be found here. I did want to say though, that I am deathly afraid to ask a question. Others who have, have been ripped to shreads. I found this site through my husband, and at first I thought it was to be another source for research. From what I can gather you had better exhaust every other possible source known to man, before you ask a question, and then you had better be very careful how you word that question, or it will be perceived as you not having done enough research before daring to ask a question here. There are a few exceptions I have seen members kindly help in giving you other sources to check. But like I said I am very afraid to ask a question.

Jennifer McGarrahan

[huntdaw]

Hello Jennifer,

Welcome to the forum. You are right that there is a lot of information here but the forum is not intended to be a primer for the beginning reenactor or living historian.

I think that those that have been "torn to shreds" as you put it, are the folks who come on here and want people to spoon feed them information without putting out any effort of their own. Or they come on here and espouse a blatantly non-campaigner point of view when they know that is not how business is done here. Then there are those that just have a bone to pick with anyone that does not agree with them and come looking for a fight. These types will not fare well here.

I think the thing to remember is that this is a forum - a place where ideas and information can be discussed and exchanged. If you come here with no ideas or information you are wasting yours and everyone else's time.

You don't have to be an expert already to post here, you just need to have done some background work on your own and then post something that you have actually given some thought to.

You will find jerks on any forum you frequent - doesn't matter what subject. I have found that most people on this forum are very willing to help others and are pretty nice folks to boot.

So, don't be afraid to post, just do a little homework before you do.

So, what's your question?

[ElizabethClark]

Jennifer, hopefully I can set your mind at ease.

Questions ARE welcome.

In order to get the most useful information, it's a good idea to let other members know a few things, so they can pinpoint information you *don't* have, and spare duplicating, triplicating, and even quintupling information that's already been listed.

One of the best features of the AC is the search function. I've just spent about 15 minutes using it myself--I need to make a decision on new repro glasses, and did searches for "eyeglasses", "eyewear", "glasses", and a few other keywords, reviewed seven or eight older threads, followed some great links to articles on original eyeglasses, looked at images of originals that were shared in previous discussions, and then added my question to a somewhat recent (December 2006) discussion to see if I could get more input, which will bump that discussion back to "current" threads.

So, some tips:

Search First. Use a variety of keywords, and see what's been shared in previous discussions. Follow links, read articles, etc. Even with catastrophic crashes and database losses, there's a huge load of great information that's already been typed in, and is waiting to be enjoyed.

If there's an aspect of an older discussion you'd like to renew, either add your comment to the old thread (bumping it up), or start a new thread and put in a link to the old discussion so folks can come up to speed with it before continuing on with your aspect.

If it really does look like the question has never been touched on, start a new discussion! We'd never develop any research unless we ask questions. When posting that question, take some time on the post. The desirable aspects of basic literate English use are a given. :) You'll find folks are generally very receptive if you mention some of the places you've looked (because you may be finding a resource others have not seen yet, and we'd all appreciate the information), what you've found so far, and what you're hoping to clarify or find more information regarding. If you've had an unsuccessful time with the search feature, mention that you've done a search with "X" "Y" and "Z" keywords, and didn't find anything, and could anyone suggest additional terms to try for more focused information?

And I'll reiterate my standing offer: if any member of the forum wishes to ask a question, but is feeling iffy or worried about its reception, please feel perfectly free to send me a private message or email me at elizabethstewartclark@hotmail.com and I'll be very glad to help with wording suggestions to get the widest, most informative responses from members before you post it.

[TobiasJones]

Jennifer,

I want to let you know you are not the only one with this problem. I am new here as well so I feel your fears. However, based on all of my reading on the A-C, another trend you can find is that the people who have exhausted their available search options and find nothing and who then ask the knowledgeable folks of the A-C get decent friendly responses that are helpful. I hope this can be an enocuragement to you.

Evan O'Dell

[Chessa]

I can assure you as well. Though I never got my head bitten off, I did feel a sense of hostility. Now, I was quite excited when I first appeared on here, but as far as I can tell, I never asked very stupid questions. I'm still very much of a lurker, but I do post on occasion.