Necro Threads
 

Seeing Jim's positive reaction to Bill's old Tibetan sword reanimation made want to share some thoughts. I've been reading the forum (new forum from 2005 onwards - the loss of old forum is tragic) from the beginning (focused on SE Asian topics). One of the more enjoyable aspects of this is seeing the learning arc of individual members, many of the current experts started out pretty green on the forum. This gives me hope. Also watching the evolution of this groups knowledge of weapons first hand has been very exciting. There are a number of thrilling discoveries to be found in those old threads. One disappointment for me recently has been how seasoned members rarely do "show and tell" of new pieces in their collection. I would love to see more of this but understand that collectors go through different phases and that relationships to the forum evolve. Being able to go back in time to threads when certain members were frequently sharing additions to their collections has been great. Also, there are many important voices that are deceased or no longer participating that were key in building this groups knowledge of and enthusiasm for ethnographic weapons, hearing their voices in the old threads has greatly enhanced my appreciation of this hobby. I guess what I am trying to say is that the body of posts of this forum are not just a source of data but also a window into a community. I hope to see old threads continue to be resurrected and for novice members to join in and grow with the community and perhaps for seasoned members to consider sharing more of their passion instead of mostly focusing on the very important and appreciated work of answering questions.

Oh I started out knowing cock-a-doodle-squat! But the more I researched both here and on my own, the more I learned.

So the idea behind this forum is for all of us to learn. No one knows it all. No one.

So like in life, we should keep learning and growing.............I am anyway. :D