Members of this list have different degrees of patience and different
attitudes toward what they expect out of this list.  I expect INFORMATION.  I
find it easy to ignore the cranks and delete the mass quantities of their
posts and all of the responses to them.  In a year and a half, I have made a
single request for info on glass insulators yet managed to respond to
numerous requests for info when I have it and time permits.  Like many people
I am in an area where library facilities are virtually non existant.  I rely
on my personal library for a starting point.  In 20 years working in
historical archaeology, I have amased considerable information and scrounge
up bibliographies on anything.
 
Many people keep saying "use local resources first". In response to that let
me say that the LOCAL RESOURCES ARE USELESS!!!!!!  I have worked for the
forst service over Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Arkansas.
Guess what, all of the LOCAL RESOURCES WERE USELESS!!!! Our city/county
libray here does indeed have a card catalog. It costs S4.00 to submit an
interlibrary loan request and golly gee whilikes, you get S2.00 back if they
can't find it. Well I am now S20.00 in the hole and they have gotten me
NOTHING. They can not even get me dissertations from University Microfilms
when I gave them the address!!!!!  I have requested articles from old issues
of AMERICAN ANTIQUITY from the local Tech college library.  A 1940's article
TOOK 5 MONTHS!!!!!  Their card catlog had NOTHING on the FIVE subjects I was
researching.  Their card catalog was USELESS!!!!  When I was a grad student
at the University of Idaho we had full library privelages at the U. of I. and
at Washing State University 8 miles away.  Well, the rest of the world is not
like that!!!
 
They do not call the internet the information highway for nothing.  As far as
I am concerned, I will help the rankest newbee or the experience old hand
with whatever I can WITHOUT grilling them first with "have you checked your
local resources?"
 
I have found my BEST resource to be the hundreds of professionals, amateurs,
and students who work in the field and NOT an institution.
 
Keep those questions rolling onto the list folks!  I will try to answer any
that time and my expertise permit and I hope you will offer a hand on the
rare occasions I am stuck!
 
Smoke Pfeiffer
[log in to unmask]