Bill, I never accused anyone, least of all recent graduates of anything. My post was in reply to one by Susan Hamson, who is not one of those who took the most recent ACA exam. If you had read the thread with more care, you might have realized that. I usually take care NOT to post extreme messages to this listserv because I wish to avoid the conflicts of personality that discussions of these 'professional' issues often engender. When I have an extreme reaction to a post, I usually email the sender directly, rather than posting to the listserv. Regarding the posts by those who sat for the most recent exam, many of their observations were legitimate and should be considered by both ACA and SAA in future plans. I also believe that if you read the posts by myself and Ms. Hamson, although they may not be cordial, at no time did they descend to personal name calling. Sharon A. Pullen, C.A. Archivist Office of the County Clerk Historic Documents Library 310 Center Drive Riverhead, NY 11901-3392 Email: [log in to unmask] Phone: (631) 852-2000 extn. 700 Fax: (631) 852-2004 -----Original Message----- From: Bill Landis [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, August 07, 2006 9:59 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CA Exam Yikes, Sharon Pullen's post is a bit draconian, IMHO! It is one thing to honestly state your opinion, but to accuse recent grads of endangering th e profession because they try to generate a healthy debate about an issue, like archival certification, about which reasonable people might disagree ? Lighten up! I think having a certification exam that recent graduate prog ram graduates don't see the value of having studied for and sat through is * at least* as dangerous to the profession as airing reasonable negative commentary on the exam. Certification works for some and not for others (myself included among th e latter, in the interests of fair disclosure), but it surely won't make on e a better archivist and in my experience has never even remotely been a fact or in applying for and interviewing for archival positions. Just my $0.02, Bill Landis Metadata Coordinator (not currently working as an archivist, but using my uncertified archival knowledge, graduate degree, training, and experience on a daily basis in my job) California Digital Library University of California Office of the President Oakland, CA A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>