My pleasure.

I absolutely agree with you about running a successful forum. After a couple of years of doing so, I think I’ve got a handle on it. Fortunately, my group is good enough that it requires very little in the way of maintenance or a lot of supervision. My group knows the rules and largely abides by it, which makes life easier.

Being a contrarian myself, I certainly understand your point.

Eric

My problem with good, successful forums is in the number of postings per day/week. Very hard to keep up with the info or sustain a thread.

Being the contrarian in a group will trigger a separate response to a single post from every active poster in the forum and each of these then becomes its own thread – a huge burden for the conscientious responder.

Success in setting up a forum or joining one can work against you. – D

Now that you mention it, you’re absolutely right. I’d forgotten all about Henry’s char room. And you’re also right about Mike.

As for the view in the rearview mirror, in my case, it was never all that pretty to begin with. 🙂

But, you’re absolutely right. We are the sum total of our experiences. It is, of course, a cliche to to say that, but it’s true.

Eric

Just one little correction – you and I actually “met” on an older chat forum by a fella named Henry – if you recall that. I guess when you go back that many years, the memory fades! 🙂 I introduced you to Mike when I got an email from him through my website, asking about the 6th US Cavalry and your first book “Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions” which mentioned Mike’s ggrandfather. I passed Mike on to you, and the rest is history…

I’ve been with Eric over the years through all of the boards, sites, etc, that he mentioned in the blog. To say a lot of “frogs” were kissed is an understatement. But I guess life is life – you have to go through a lot to grow up, learn lessons, and finally find the place you’re comfortable.

And I think we’re there. Thank goodness, too – sometimes the view in the rearview mirror is a little ugly, eh Eric? 🙂

J.D.

Thanks for the link. I hope that folks check out your forums.

Eric

Know what you mean about GDG — it’s a good list, but the focus on a single battle invariably leads to lots of rehashing, as you said, and a micro-focus on certain aspects that gets to be a bit much (particularly when it deals with issues that can never be solved, only speculated about until the end of time).

Some people make a hobby about studying nothing but Gettysburg, which I find very odd. It’s strikes me as strange that someone would be interested only in studying one theater, too, but restricting all reading to one battle really skews the overall picture. I tend to agree with Richard McMurry’s comments on the significance of Gettysburg. Not that it isn’t a fascinating battle, and a hauntingly powerful place to visit.

Speaking of online groups, I feel compelled to put in a pitch for the Civil War Forum. It started as a section within CompuServe’s Military Forum about 15 years ago, or so, then became it’s own venue in the early 90’s. For ten years running, about 40 of us meet at a different battlefield each March, and we’ve maintained a pretty steady group of regulars for all those years. Several years ago CompuServe ditched the proprietary subscription requirement, and put their forums on the web with free access. We were happy to be kept separate when AOL bought CompuServe, and now it’s branded under Netscape.

Our regulars stay on because of the cordial atmosphere (a well moderated lack of flaming), and for the input of knowledgeable members from casual buffs to historians. There’s lots of crossover, of course — we have many regulars from GDG, and also counted Brian among our core membership.

I’ve checked out your discussion group — nicely done. It’s the first I’d heard of it, other than passing mention by Teej in our forum. Wasn’t sure what she was referring to until now.

People can visit the CW Forum at http://community.netscape.com/civilwar
Our annual conference is at Franklin & Nashville this March (with a side trip to Stones River). We still have seats open on the bus, but not for long.

Dave Woodbury

That’s a very accurate description of how I reacted, too. 🙂

Eric

I hear you loud & clear on this one!

Because of the involvement of Barksdale’s boy vs. the 114th PA, in & around the Sherfy Farm, I have always wanted to read/study more re: the Mississippi regiments involved. This person, with her “out-of-leftfield” remarks & her constant reminder that her ancestor(s) fought with a certain Mississippi outfit, made me leery, as well as nauseous. Reading her inappropriate postings were like fingernails on a chalkboard. Made my glad that all personal computers come equipped with a delte key.

Mike