Greetings,

Hopefully, this won't come across as too ingratiating or cloying, but I'll take the risk to express it:

I'm an occasional visitor to a lot of forums (Backpacker Magazine, CandlePower, BladeForums, MartialArtsPlanet). I enjoy all those forums, but it occurs to me that the group of folks that post on ETS are perhaps the most mature, thoughtful, and articulate group I encounter. Perhaps this is reflective of the type of folks who value the philosophy of preparedness.