Pam, I know what you mean. Some posters have an obvious agenda they're pushing, others are little more subtle about it. When we're lucky, a new poster just enjoys discussing issues that he or she has thought a lot about. I think John is in that category.

On the other hand, do you remember several months ago a discussion thread about General Hood's record as commander of the Army of Tennessee? A new poster jumped in and was vigorously defending Hood's actions, even to the point of playing fast and loose with some known historical facts. I thought I smelled a rat, and sure enough, the guy turned out to be a descendent of Hood who had a website whose purpose was to "rehabilitate" the legacy of John Bell Hood. I didn't have a problem with that per se, but what I did have a problem with was his posting under a pseudonym and not disclosing the fact that he had personal reasons for "tweaking" the facts. That thread lasted for weeks, until everyone finally wised up to him.

Sometimes, but by no means always, you can sniff those guys out.