[Jim McDougall]

Jens, a very well posed question, and I think interesting to see the wide diversity here, not only in fields of study, but in the degree of study and research into the arms and armour we all collect, study and cherish.

When I first began in these forums, one of my foremost goals was to learn, and to do that by talking with others who were often more experienced and who had collected many more weapons than I. For many years here, there was a great deal of camaraderie, and genuine sharing of information and discussion as new examples were acquired by members. Each new item brought often profound observations by those participating, and considerable advances were made in our knowledge of many weapon forms.

Among our membership and these pages, many weapon forms long either misidentified or relatively unknown became at last distinctively classified and our collective knowledge became a growing and valuable resource.

It does seem that in recent years, many changes have become apparent in the demeanor of participants in many threads with unfortunate results. Too often differences in opinion or personal matters have caused a great deal of friction and conflict. This has often diminished the potential of threads which might have offered the discussion needed to constructively analyze examples, data and observations.

The numbers seen in a thread as far as the number of posts versus the number of views or hits is staggering. Clearly many people are viewing and find the material useful, but obviously most simply watch the dialogue of participants without offering what could be key to advancing the discussion.

Often someone simply posts an item, without offering any information about it, asking participants here to completely pour information into their query, and in many cases, these slide away without even a thank you, let alone any reciprocal dialogue.
On one hand, it is often useful that we have an opportunity to discuss and learn from an item. On the other, it is annoying that the initiator of the query has not bothered to even seek the slightest information on the item in many cases.

The 'show and tell' texture of things, while entertaining, by the same token is disappointing, at least in my opinion. It is of course wonderful to show a new acquisition and have a host of people green with envy, but it hardly offers much to those who deeply wish to learn more on that form or weapon itself.
Naturally, the often heard refrain is, I don't know anything about those, so I couldn't really add anything. If one is unfamiliar with something, why not just look into a reference (nowadays online sources are incredible) and get an overview, then ask a tangible question?
There are so many weapons discussed in our pages, it is impossible to know everything (obviously), but it is incredibly exciting to seek more on the topic, jot some notes, and read the posts and interaction.

I have always believed, there are no 'experts', just a wide scope of students, and learning together in their shared interests.

I think Rick said it best........who knows when a fire my be lit by a simple inquiry. We've had lots of pretty good blazes here!! where intense and exciting discussion focused on sharing and learning, and anyone who sees our archives will know how much was accomplished here by many who have come and gone, and many still here. Our discussions and studies are constantly tapped by others seeking information to learn on arms in online searches.

I cannot go without noting our own Michael, Matchlock, researcher and scholar extraordinaire, who spent his life in the study of medieval and renaissance arms. ....and who we lost just days ago.
Now THERE was a researcher!
His quintessence in that, and his passion for learning and sharing will stand always as an inspiration .

I cannot think of a better note with which to close,

Jim