I really didn't like the idea of this board. I had two reasons:

1. Every other spin-off board on TMF from the REHP board has withered away and thus getting excited about this one would be foolish.

2. The ideas meant to be expressed her are applicable to the REHP board and a new board just fragments the community.

All the threads so far could easily have been posted (and would likely have the same quality responses) on the REHP Board. While the OT posts over there do not bother me (love reading the boards threaded, one click and I'm on to the next!) I understand that we "wannabes" do not have the time to read and keep up on all of them. Still, easy to ignore and they keep the successful FIREes around to answer our on-topic questions so that we can learn from them and their success.

You gave two good reasons for not liking the idea for this board. However, I'll give some reasons I like the idea for this board.

The REHP has been floundering. Sure, there are many, many great posts in the archives, but like many posters there say, it's all been talked about already. Yes, if someone asks a question, it will always get a good answer. However, I may go several days without checking the boards and when I check the REHP, there would be OT posts galore that I didn't have time to read.

The amount of posts here in the first few hours has surprised me, but I think it'll slow down over time. I hope the board survives and I expect it to as well. I consider this board to be a compliment to the REHP board.

The REHP board is what really got me thinking and planning about FIRE. However, I have seen so many good, quality posters leave the board in a bad way due to several reasons that I don't want to go into here.

I hope this board remains civil. I hope the OT posts are kept to a minimum. However, there is nothing wrong if my hopes don't hold true. This could become like a water fountain in a big company where us FIRE Wannabees gather and we chat about anything and everything, with relative FIRE posts thrown in occasionally.

The beauty of working towards FIRE is that everyday should bring something different. I work a job where each day is different from the one before me. I'll try relay some of my job experiences from time to time if there is an interest. I'm a police officer and one good thing amidst all of the bad things about this job is that we can retire semi-early. Of course, most police officers don't and can't take this option, but some do.

Let's see how the board evolves today and tomorrow. If it's still going good come September, we should really have a good idea where it's headed.

Hey, if nothing else, maybe txdUVA, Phantomdiver and mazske can all get together for a coffee one day. If a friendship or two is forged from this board, then all the better. Let's see, FMO and mssmith12, if I remember correctly, are all also in my somewhat neck of the woods. Is it too early to plan a pre-FIRE gathering one day? It may be, as I stay so busy working and enjoying the family, that I can't half find the time to visit my family that's a few hours away.