LIVING UP TO ACADEMIC STANDARDS

[David]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

At any rate it is not my intention to drag it screaming and digging in its heels, therefor, I leave my thoughts on this subject to provide a beacon of light should the discussion be re examined (by some passing space ship in the 21 century?)

Frankly Ibrahiim, i am finding your condescending tone here just a bit annoying. Your idea that we are all somehow resisting such an obviously brilliant beacon of light shining so brightly that only the ignorant can, well, ignore it, is really quite obnoxious.
I am not going to step too far into the many reasons why this will never happen on this forum, though a few obviously come to mind. Since there are clearly no pre-existing degree programs in this field, who will be the professors of this new school? Who is fully qualified to create the curriculum, who will devise the rubrics, who will grade the work and grant the "degrees"? What will these "degrees" mean in the world at large? To carry any weight at all in the academic world the program would need to be officially accredited. Without that the "degrees" would be meaningless beyond the "walls" of these fora. Do you have any idea what that would take to accomplish? Finally, do you intent on us having a program that covers all ethnographic weapons or just your own area of interest? Just the study of keris alone is a lifetime's endeavor. How would you ever expect to create a comprehensive learning center here that can cover all aspects of this vast and diverse subject?
I respectfully suggest that you shop this idea somewhere else or perhaps consider starting your own website to accommodate it, because as i believe you have already heard from a number of the moderators on this forum, it not going to happen here...

[ariel]

Folks,
I would not beat on Ibrahim THAT hard. I did not detect anything obnoxious, condescending or annoying in his comments. Just a bit too far out in left field:-)

He means well, he is obviously passionate about old weapons and wants to make this Forum better. The idea is obviously cockamamie :-), but don't we all have crazy ( at least in retrospect) ideas? That's the beauty of this Forum!

Ibrahim, I salute your creativity and passion, but this idea ain't gonna fly.

Best wishes!

[M ELEY]

I say, when posting information and comments, if you can support them with references and facts, please do. Otherwise, this forum exists to elicit questions and answers from both novices and academics alike. Other forums that have divided their threads down to the level of "Pre-1800 Guns", "1800 to 1850 Guns", "Beginners Section", "Garage Sale Finds", etc, etc, seem to fizzle as their area becomes too broad. No one is following all of them at the same time and valuable insight is often lost. Please keep the Forum EXACTLY as it is. I have loved and followed this forum site since the very beginning and would hate to see it change-

[David]

Originally Posted by ariel

Folks,
I would not beat on Ibrahim THAT hard. I did not detect anything obnoxious, condescending or annoying in his comments. Just a bit too far out in left field:-)

He means well, he is obviously passionate about old weapons and wants to make this Forum better. The idea is obviously cockamamie :-), but don't we all have crazy ( at least in retrospect) ideas? That's the beauty of this Forum!

Ibrahim, I salute your creativity and passion, but this idea ain't gonna fly.

Best wishes!

Frankly Ariel, i'm not "beating" on Ibrahiim at all. I merely let it be known that i found his comment (the one i cited) obnoxious and condescending and i am not alone on that take. If you did not that is just fine, but it does nothing to change how i feel about the comment.
Actually gentlemen, i'd say that this thread is not going anywhere productive and i have a feeling that it will be closing soon. So if you have any comments to share pro or con on this issue i would suggest that you get it out quickly and civilly.