[TheForge] criminal bkgnd, 1st, 2nd amend's etc-OT

[Rob Fertner]

It's cyclical. I've been on theforge list for 15 years (God, has it been
that long?) and there is an ebb and flow to it. Right now the tide is out,
but it will come back in to blacksmithing. Theforge got pretty raucous in
the 90's. It was rather tame compared to the rest of the internet, but
amongst comrades in metal there were bruised feelings. By theforge
standards, it was the closest thing to a flamewar. Since then, we've been
more mellow, but the off-topic stuff comes and goes. It's human nature.
One way of steering the conversation back to blacksmithing, is to be
proactive. Start with a question, an observation, an opinion, or a request
that has to with metalworking. Don't passively wait until someone comes
along to drop a tidbit into your lap. Use your delete key for the stuff you
don't want.  Theforge is a great resource and I've learned a lot from it.
Plus, I've made friends through theforge that I'd otherwise wouldn't of had
the opportunity. But it's not like a textbook with every page about
blacksmithing. That's my 2 bits. And if you got to blame someone, blame
Bruce. He started it. :-)

Rob
Wichita, KS

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jack Elliott
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:54 AM
To: adveniam at att.net; Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] criminal bkgnd, 1st, 2nd amend's etc

"out side of blacksmithing"
Funny you should use this wording. Because I was just saying to  
myself as I opened this latest string of drivel that I've been a  
member of this list for about a month and haven't seen a damned word  
about blacksmithing yet. So, at this point, I'm guessing this whole  
group is "outside of blacksmithing."