Tami,

When the new forum opened up it seemed that there was a lot of resistance from those who had regularly used the "old" forum. It seems that the two forums have evolved in different directions. The new forum has become, in my view, the place where new sailors (along with those new to catsailor.com) are attracted. The discussions on this forum have names (and, in many cases, faces). There is a genuine attitude of support and respect. The old forum has, in my view, become further entrenched in an attitude of arrogance and flaming, anonymous posts. It is unfortunate that it also remains the place where many of the top ranked sailors choose to participate. Those of us who prefer the "new" forum do not gain from their input. More significantly, however, is the way that those sailors can become labeled with the same negative stereotypes as the anonymous flamers that frequent the site.