[Artycarl]

I followed Bill from the early Serpo days and so eagerly joined this new forum of like-minded individuals eager for knowledge. It felt like we were in at the start of something special, a family or fellowship, from all corners of the globe and all walks of life, drawn together by a thirst for more information.

Then, as often happens to forums, it attracted individuals who like to see their names up in type, and petty jealousies, in-fighting and hidden power struggles ensued. So I left it alone and so did a few others I had been in contact with. I decided not to join when it became a paid forum. How could this information be forbidden to people who could not afford it, it just wasn't right but at the same time I totally accepted Bill and Kerry's position, being unsponsored and unsupported.

Now it is free again I am saddened at what it has become. I have little doubt that the troublemakers are rubbing their hands together at the mayhem and disharmony they have caused, but making Avalon 2 and making it invite-only is another form of elitism that I am unhappy with.

Maybe it would be better to have no forum at all. There really is not enough information filtering through to make the forum fresh and exciting again. It is perhaps a victim of its own success.