Anniversary #3.

Monday, May 11, 2009 Filed in: Blog stuff

Yesterday was the third anniversary of the Revolver Liberation Alliance blog. It doesn't seem like I've been doing this for the last three years and five-hundred-some-odd posts!

At the beginning, the RLA was long on personal commentary on happenings in (and slightly outside of) the shooting world. Many of my early posts were links to other's articles, with my comments added. While this is the recipe that many other successful bloggers have used, for me it proved unfulfilling. Oh, I like to snark as much as the next guy (or gal), but that's not my raison d'ętre - I prefer the role of teacher to that of critic.

It's in that spirit that I started writing more original (and factual) content. My opinions still come through, of course, in the subject matter I choose and the way in which I approach it, but my goal is to bring solid information to my readers. Sometimes the information is from the side of the 'loyal opposition', sometimes it's unpopular, and sometimes it's based on analysis and theory, but it's always supported by evidence. I'm not a believer in snake oil!

Some entries are better than others, of course, and some prove vastly more popular. I'm particularly fond of certain articles: the failings of traditional safety rules; basics of aesthetics as applied to revolvers; myths about stopping power; and judging your abilities.

Along the way I've picked up many loyal readers. I've been fortunate to have some very knowledgeable and important industry members check in from time to time, and I've had the misfortune of being fooled by one of them. Still, I won't consider my work successful until it's been attributed to Major Caudill, a travesty to which I'm looking forward.

Sometimes what I write has profound effects on the reader. I got an email a while back from a fellow who said that my scribblings had helped him decide on the direction his life should take, and is now happily employed in an important position in the shooting community. I am humbled, and pledge to keep doing what I'm doing, to the best of my ability.

Now to the fourth year. I just hope I don't run out of things to say!

-=[ Grant ]=-
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