Oh my stars! Quite a thread this has turned into. I can't believe I read the whole thing!
The truth is often best arrived at through debate (so Plato said). From this collection of carefully-written letters the audience can develop sympathy with all sides, and in the end acquire a well-rounded understanding.
I think everyone kept their cool. The debate was respectful compared to many I've seen. A general eccentricity of the Internet is that surprisingly childish flame wars might erupt between mature and professional people (it's apparently an effect of the medium of communication). But in this case, my impression is all parties maintained remarkable civility.
I've only been observing a year and a half now, and I have limited experience at either Coe or FP, but thanks to this thread I now have the full details about how to make the best of either. I conclude they are both first-class, and I look forward to observing at each with equal enthusiasm.
Honestly, I feel a gush of gratitude. Many good observing sites have been developed through other people's hard work. There are probably few (or no) other metropolitan areas in the USA featuring as many nearby dark sites, where cordial relationships with the authorities are built-in.
TAC itself seems to operate like a well-oiled machine, too. I wouldn't change a thing. See how easy it is for a guy like me. I'm not a "member", I just use TAC to discover where people are observing, then show up as though I were "old hat", and just mooch. What am I mooching? The effort of others before me -- diplomatic and organizational effort that established the TAC web page and the observing sites.
Gratitude! Makes me want to pay dues to TAC! But there's no treasurer to collect dues, huh? Maybe some volunteer work ...
Salutations from Dan
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