Terry Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 At one time I was a regular viewer and contributor to the aerodrome website but in recent times, it seems to me that it has become almost overwhelmingly dedicated to all things German. Now, I have as much respect for Voss, the Red Baron, et al as the next guy, but as my main interest has been the flyers of the RFC/RNAS/RAF, I have gradually lost interest. Has anyone else noticed this trend, or is it just me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 Terry My views exactly. There is much more about the Germans than anyone else. Regards Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 Terry, have you not noticed the "bias" of "Over The Front" vs "Cross & Cockade International"? The American market is mostly interested in two subjects, The Lafayette Escadrille, and all things German. As there are a lot more of them than us, those subjects tend to dominate and reflect the demographics of the web site. Nevertheless, items of interest relating to the RNAS, RFC, RAF, AFC and the French and Belgian air services are not entirely submerged. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted 12 March , 2005 Author Share Posted 12 March , 2005 Thanks, guys, at least I know now I am not alone. Mike, it has never ceased to amaze me the fuss made by American aviation enthusiasts (both then and now) of the Lafayette Escadrille, while the very courageous services of those American volunteers who served in the British air forces is forgotten, or at least overlooked. In reality just how much damage did the Lafayette actually inflict on Germany? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovetown Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 Hi Terry The Lafayette Escadrille amassed, I believe, 57 victories while under French command. I can't tell you how it did after coming under American control in February 1918. As there were in the region of 11,500 German air 'casualties' (ie inc. PoWs) according to CGAS (p. 8), it's contribution was relatively small as a %. That said, I can understand the (perhaps romantic, even sentimental) appeal of them to the US enthusiast. The undoubted bias of The Aerodrome means it doesn't exactly get a daily visit, but there are things of interest there - and it is a good place to cross-reference British and Empire activity/ aircraft performance etc against the Germans. And if there's anything you could conceivably want to know about the German air service, the odds are that someone there - like Dan San Abbott, Rick Duivens for example - can help. That said, it's Off Topic can be an eye-opener - not having the political/ religious bars we have on this forum - and some quite amazing discussions from highly disparate positions - red state/ blue state, creationism, gun control etc - take place. And, as far as I can tell, with out particularly breaking down into the bad tempered squabbling we were seeing here in the run up to Christmas. Regards, Grovetown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted 12 March , 2005 Share Posted 12 March , 2005 Terry, As you probably know, Over the Front has a different guest editor for each quarter's journal. Stewart Taylor told me that he was once asked to be the guest editor and he compliled a journal that was mostly packed full of information relating to Americans that served with the RFC, RNAS and RAF. He later found out that the general readership regarded "his" issue as being one of the worst ever. Grovetown hits the nail right on the head with his comment about the Lafayette - the romance. I once rashly queried the wisdom of Osprey including a book on the Lafayette in ther "Aviation Elite" series. Boy was I flamed that day Add access to Greg VanWyngarten, Mike O'Neal, Johan Rhyeul and Achim Engels as well as Rick Duiven and Dan-San Abbot for a compelling reason to stick with the Aerodrome. My apolgies to other undoubted experts but these are the guys that help me the most. The off-topic section is a real eye opener, quite astonishing at times. I gave up visting that section about 3 years ago! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovetown Posted 14 March , 2005 Share Posted 14 March , 2005 I also just noticed an amazing statistic on The Aerodrome: Most users ever online was 480, 18 February 2005 at 05:02 PM And that's with a third as many members as we have here, and we've managed 115. It also averages 82 posts per member compared with our 30. German-bias or not, it's very active. Regards, Grovetown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckman Posted 19 May , 2005 Share Posted 19 May , 2005 I also just noticed an amazing statistic on The Aerodrome: And that's with a third as many members as we have here, and we've managed 115. It also averages 82 posts per member compared with our 30. German-bias or not, it's very active. Regards, Grovetown. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> A bit dated I know, but I've just returned from a long sabbatical. A couple of thoughts from one on both fora. Their record was "set" artificially. I don't get the exact mechanics (their administrator explained it at the time) but it runs something like this: When a search engine indexes your site, the counter MAY record it as a visitor. When Scott rebuilt the Forum recently, all the web robots went scurrying around to reindex their pages, and recorded hundreds of "visitors" as they crawled around. Their visitors are more active. I've noticed lots of visitors come here, get their question answered and leave (which is fine). They tend to stay at the 'drome. Threads here tend to be shorter (and more relevant) than there. There are people with over 1000 posts who have said little in five years beyond "me too!". I mostly visit there to read, and post rarely in the On-topic area (with Greg, Dan-San, Achim, Regulus and all, what can I add?), but am a frequent participant in the "quite amazing discussions from highly disparate positions - red state/ blue state, creationism, gun control etc". I can assure you that those discussions were extremely bad tempered, with accusations of every sort of "thought-crime" imaginable, and at least half a dozen long term members leaving the forum (some have returned). I was amazed that people (probably including myself) weren't banned. If you didn't notice the angst, Grovetown, you were lucky. Generally their off topic a repository of abuse and hostility (with a little humour) and should only be visited by someone spoiling for a fight. As someone who put a lot of the aforementioned hostility there, I know whereof I speak... Keeping it nice over here, though Duckman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borden Battery Posted 19 May , 2005 Share Posted 19 May , 2005 The CEF Study Group is compiling a list of Recommended Great War websites ... here is how I have treated The Aerodrome - any comments on the abstract of this site? Would you still consider it a site worthy of visiting? I note that I will have to update the membership number of the GWF. Borden Battery Great War Discussion Forums - Part 15 Note: CEF Study Group member websites denoted with asterisk "*" ============================================== *Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group - Discussion Forum The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) and all aspects of its involvement in the Great War is the focus of this discussion forum. The CEF Study Group was formed in October 2004 - Revised on 8 April 2005. http://www.cefresearch.com/phpBB2/index.php The Great War Forum - The Long, Long Trail The story of the British Army of 1914-1918 edited by Chris Baker is a large, 6600+ member discussion forum with emphasis on the British Expeditionary Force. Some material on the CEF and AIF are discussed on this site. A companion website contains information the Great War. https://www.greatwarforum.org/ The Great War Society The Great War Society encourages discussion, learning, scholarship and independent research on the events surrounding the First World War. This site is designed to reach those of you who share our enthusiasm and interest in this historical era, to allow correspondence between us and to assist you in your investigations. http://www.worldwar1.com/tgws/ The Aerodrome The Aerodrome is a website dedicated to WWI aviation enthusiasts. http://www.theaerodrome.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovetown Posted 20 May , 2005 Share Posted 20 May , 2005 If you didn't notice the angst, Grovetown, you were lucky. Generally their off topic a repository of abuse and hostility (with a little humour) and should only be visited by someone spoiling for a fight. As someone who put a lot of the aforementioned hostility there, I know whereof I speak... Keeping it nice over here, though Duckman <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Duckman I hang out over there, and 'down there', more than I used to - I believe we are semi-acquainted (And the nominations are...) - and, as a result, I recant my feelings about the good temper completely. One just has to witnes the Craig & Mike Show for a day... There were a few rows here around Christmas too, but it has been most peaceable of late. Best wishes, Grovetown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 20 May , 2005 Share Posted 20 May , 2005 Well, I never had a problem with the forum, I just ignore the off topic-section completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckman Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Well, I never had a problem with the forum, I just ignore the off topic-section completely. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Jan, I didn't mean to imply that there was a "problem" there, just wanted to correct the suggestion that the Off-Topic section there was reserved and pleasant. It's been known to make brave men weep. The rest of the site, is by-and-large, outstanding (thanks to the central dozen or so like yourself), and there are many who take your sensible approach. My red-headed Irish genes prevent such self-discipline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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