Limits On Military Discussions

[Elizabeth]

Dear Friends,

We're glad to have so much interest in men's clothing.  It's exciting to see an upswing in men wanting to dress well! 

Please keep in mind that the primary focus of this forum is to discuss non-military life, and non-military clothing.  Many of the construction techniques overlap (and Mr Ruley's tutorials are wonderful for showing them in full color.)  I would like to limit the discussion of military clothing to these construction techniques, as they relate to having been adapted from non-military tailoring and sewing.

For discussions of "what military men wore, ate, did, etc", please consider visiting the Authentic Campaigner website for some great research offerings and topics: http://www.authentic-campaigner.com

Also keep in mind that the board spans the full range of 1840-1865... for military fellows wanting to know more about life pre-military, the Sewing Academy forum is a great spot.  We have several gentlemen who are not only excellent sewists, but who specialize in pre-war eras and have contributed some great direction for pre-military-life research.

(Please also understand that this message is just a general one--no one has overstepped bounds, and I'm not looking cross-eyed at anyone, I promise. )

[Jim_Ruley]

Ma'am,

With the utmost respect, may I suggest an alternative?  How about a separate military clothing section within the "Men's Clothing" area?  That way it could be effectively monitored and kept from swamping out the civilian discussions.

Most of the men and boys involved in this hobby either have, or will have, portrayed soldiers at some point.  And most of the women and girls have, or will have husbands, fathers, sons and significant others involved in the military hobby who will require clothing.  It's not called "Civil War reenacting" for nothing.  And making, repairing, and altering military clothing are all perfectly credible civilian activities within the proper context.

Furthermore, military people, and their tailors and seamstresses, need a place to gather where they can talk about sewing that is free from the attitudes, egos, and narrow-minded visions that pervade the military discussion boards.  There have been some "frank exchanges of views" and sparring on this forum but it is largely civil.  By contrast, I can't picture any of the current military boards giving a fair reception to this thread:

http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=2405.0

This forum is starting to serve as an example of what may be achieved when ladies and gentlemen gather in good faith.  I hope the others may eventually profit by the example.  Don't take it away from us.

Respectfully yours,

Jim Ruley

[Elizabeth]

Jim, that's a good suggestion, and it would help with the overwhelm/swamping that could otherwise happen.

Once we get the software upgraded, I can move things around.