[markm3]

Here are a few thoughts, from a very new member. For a while, I was skittish about posting, because of my relative ignorance. I finally took the plunge, and began posting. To my relief, I survived the experience and am no longer afraid to show what I don't know (and I do it daily). A lot of people, I suspect, are intimidated by the wealth of cumulative knowledge a number of you have, as well as by your, shall we say, crusty (but oh so lovable) demeanors, in a few cases?

Seriously, we have decorated war veterans here, experts of all stripes, published authors in the field, and some plain old collectors and students who have been immersed in the fascinating world of the Pistole Parabellum for longer than some of us have been alive. It takes some measure of gumption to step into that fray. To be honest, after seeing some of the pitched battles on the old site, I almost backed out myself. What I suspect many do is lurk long enough to find a comfort zone (sometimes it involves reading enough just so you are better able to phrase a question that will elicit an answer without wasting people's time)and then decide how involved to become. Inevitably, some will stay and some won't, and some are just looking for pricing ideas for a one-off sale or purchase they want to make. Nothing can, or should be done about that.

Whatever the reason, I think that the true measure of the forum is how many active participants there are, ultimately, because that is your core group. There are several dozen folks here who I can count on hearing and learning from on a daily basis. As people learn more, provided they have an abiding interest in the area, they will post more. Those who don't probably are either interested on a more superficial level, or are lurkers by nature.

The trick is to involve the newbies in an untimidating manner. One suggestion I have is a welcome message to new members on the opening screen, emphasizing the new members forum as a place to start. It was by spending most of my time there that I reached the stage of knowing enough to be dangerous and feeling capable of posting something reasonably comprehensible.

Most people, if they immediately leap into one of the more esoteric sites, are likely to feel as though they stumbled into a fairly tight private club, and that can be intimidating. It is certainly no fault of any of you fellows, but it is the impression one gets at times when stumbling onto some of the strings. One way to help with that is for some of the old timers (duration in the P08 field, not age--calm down guys) to post responses to questions from newbies, even if it is simply encouragement.

Often, it is my guess, people will leave a post, never see a response, feel as though they don't belong, and quietly slip away. There is a tendency, natural of course, for those of you who know each other to carry on protracted personal dialogues, which can make some other folks feel like they are interrupting a private conversation.

Again, I am not sure there is an easy way to do this, but if one must name names, I've noticed that Big Norm, Ed Tinker, John Sabato, Thor and Lugerdoc (I know I am leaving a few out) all do a great job of responding when time and circumstances permit, perhaps more than others are able to do. The more of you old timers who are able to weigh in and welcome newbies, the more of them will hang around.

The great thing is that this incarnation of the site is much more hospitable than the last. Some of those debates on the old site were pretty uninspiring and disheartening for people who wanted to learn and get to know other collectors. This is a great group, and I encourage you to keep at it.

Sorry for the long-winded discourse. I'm on a boring conference call, and this is a heck of a lot more fun.

Regards to all,

Mark