Gah that brand of geeky arrogance can be very hard to bear. I come across it in history fora as well. "Well obviously Varangian helmets cheekguards are shaped differently *eye roll* any fool would know that!" It's the downside of the internet. People with specialised knowledge and no social skills let their inner-pricks out to play.
The railway enthusiasts are the worst IRL. I have a friend who paints murals, she does her research very carefully within the time frame she's allowed to get the job done. When she was doing a depiction of the local railway station as it was in 1943 she had 2 elderly men come and watch her paint everyday. They talked to her a lot about what she was doing, but they waited until the job was finished to tell her with great relish that the bridge, which she had correctly painted GWR maroon and cream, had been rust brown primer all through 1943 [something he knew because he remembered it] so her painting was 'incorrect and misleading'. "Bloody women," one of them said, "just can't be bothered to do their homework."
Remembering that kind of thing is useful. No matter how much research one does when writing there will always be someone who either has done that little bit more, or has read more up to date material or who was THERE who can pick a hole in what one thought was whole cloth.
no subject
The railway enthusiasts are the worst IRL. I have a friend who paints murals, she does her research very carefully within the time frame she's allowed to get the job done. When she was doing a depiction of the local railway station as it was in 1943 she had 2 elderly men come and watch her paint everyday. They talked to her a lot about what she was doing, but they waited until the job was finished to tell her with great relish that the bridge, which she had correctly painted GWR maroon and cream, had been rust brown primer all through 1943 [something he knew because he remembered it] so her painting was 'incorrect and misleading'. "Bloody women," one of them said, "just can't be bothered to do their homework."
Remembering that kind of thing is useful. No matter how much research one does when writing there will always be someone who either has done that little bit more, or has read more up to date material or who was THERE who can pick a hole in what one thought was whole cloth.