Certainly one of the phenomena of the modern era is the online collector forum. For those who are not familiar with these, they are virtual gatherings of collectors who share knowledge about their collections. Some are incredibly scholarly with museum curators and academic scholars as regular contributors. Others are a bit of a free-for-all with anyone from collectors to internet trolls having a say on the sites. For me, the forums are excellent places to learn from those with the practical knowledge of having looked at hundreds or even thousands of objects. This is particularly true when it comes to subjects where there are relatively few books. I follow two forums where coin silver is the topic. As someone who loves coin silver, these are wonderful places to learn both the correct terminology for things as well as the latest information on who made it. For example, on a recent post, a collector showed a spoon with an unknown mark. They had used various online tools and some of the better-known books on makers marks, all to no avail. Going online and posting a picture of the mark, they discovered that it was a piece of French-Canadian silver. That was very cool, and Im pretty sure everyone following the thread learned something. Those posts are fascinating to read and follow. But then there are the forums where we all get to see the psychology of collecting laid bare. These are usually militaria forums as that is a subject area where fakes outnumber the real items. On a daily basis, one will find lots of new postings showing discoveries made by collectors. Some are already in collections, but many others are screen grabbed from pending auctions. And with those, the dance begins! It starts with the original poster showing the item to those on the forum, usually without any reference to the auction where it is being sold. This results in a host of folks (lets call them internet scouts) with a lot of time on their hands who run around and identify the auction. Sometimes, these internet scouts will find the item and post the auction so that everyone can see it. This usually happens when the consensus is that the piece is a fake. If no one posts the source of the auction online, then the consensus is that the item is genuine and could be a bargain if no one else figures it out. This strategy never works, and so when the hammer falls and the price is high, everyone is online screaming about how someone was crazy to have spent that much. Its all great drama! Finally, and almost like a background roar in all forum posts, there are the trolls that will discredit every item offered for sale. Some do it because they are self-proclaimed experts. Others do it because, well, they need to get a life. Inevitably there is a debate, often ending in name calling and someone getting thrown off the forum. Does it end there? Nope, there are enough forums that the loser of the verbal veracity fight goes to another site, and it all starts again. My advice is skip reality television and enjoy the online collector forums! Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.