8th August 2008, 12:24 PM
Both are useful - but I admit that after having been sucked into both the mad fish-face-slapping ravings of the anti/pro collecting & Metal detecting groups and the head in the sand lunacy of the "global warming isn't real" fanatics I may have to resort to lurking instead.
I tried reasoned comments but have given up - informed sensible debate isn't possible if every comment and example is then pedantically verbally fire bombed until the actual issue being "discussed" is so buried in side arguments and obfiscation that no-one actually knows what the premise of the debate is any more!
Having said that Britarch does provide useful info outside these two issues (those and the insessant posts about bonekickers not being factually accurate) - you do get genuinely helpful answers to questions and requests for help on there (and on here I might add).
Not sure it's for academics though - I guess there are a few of us but I suspect they have already taken to lurking in the background and ignoring the ranting fanatics. E.g. Certain friends and colleagues say they just delete anything with Mr Barford as the author on the basis that nothing they've seen him write was worth reading.
I tried reasoned comments but have given up - informed sensible debate isn't possible if every comment and example is then pedantically verbally fire bombed until the actual issue being "discussed" is so buried in side arguments and obfiscation that no-one actually knows what the premise of the debate is any more!
Having said that Britarch does provide useful info outside these two issues (those and the insessant posts about bonekickers not being factually accurate) - you do get genuinely helpful answers to questions and requests for help on there (and on here I might add).
Not sure it's for academics though - I guess there are a few of us but I suspect they have already taken to lurking in the background and ignoring the ranting fanatics. E.g. Certain friends and colleagues say they just delete anything with Mr Barford as the author on the basis that nothing they've seen him write was worth reading.