11-16-2012, 04:22 AM
I for one hope that it will remain possible in the future for RAT members to point out inaccuracies in replicas offered for sale.
If the person who is reviewing an item that is advertised as authentic does this in an objective, polite and scientific manner I think this is of incredible value to the worldwide community. I think Robert did this and he quoted several good sources to back up his arguments. He never attacked a peron or a bussiness, he just questioned the claim of accuracy.
A lot of people come to RAT to learn more about Roman history and material culture. Standards are different from group to group. And it is to every group to set their minimum standard. It should however be allowed to be critical about what is offered for sale as authentical.
A spatha like the one that caused this discussion would not be allowed in my group because there are off the shelf items (same price more or less) that corespond more to the current idea archaeological science has about what a good 1st century spatha looked.
If a person bought this spatha and afterwards was told that he can not use it he would feel bad and have lost money, no matter how cheap the price of the sword he bought.
It might be nicer to throw flowers and praise all the time, but this would not help people increase their knowledge about roman military equipment.
About seven years ago I started out with Roman reenactment and discovered RAT. I must say that I have learned a lot on this forum and from the immensly valuable and often critical and severe contributions of some of it's members. I hope this will not change by heavy censorship!
Valete
If the person who is reviewing an item that is advertised as authentic does this in an objective, polite and scientific manner I think this is of incredible value to the worldwide community. I think Robert did this and he quoted several good sources to back up his arguments. He never attacked a peron or a bussiness, he just questioned the claim of accuracy.
A lot of people come to RAT to learn more about Roman history and material culture. Standards are different from group to group. And it is to every group to set their minimum standard. It should however be allowed to be critical about what is offered for sale as authentical.
A spatha like the one that caused this discussion would not be allowed in my group because there are off the shelf items (same price more or less) that corespond more to the current idea archaeological science has about what a good 1st century spatha looked.
If a person bought this spatha and afterwards was told that he can not use it he would feel bad and have lost money, no matter how cheap the price of the sword he bought.
It might be nicer to throw flowers and praise all the time, but this would not help people increase their knowledge about roman military equipment.
About seven years ago I started out with Roman reenactment and discovered RAT. I must say that I have learned a lot on this forum and from the immensly valuable and often critical and severe contributions of some of it's members. I hope this will not change by heavy censorship!
Valete
