No offense taken Poocho... this is what a forum is for. Thanks for taking the time to respond so eloquently ;) I think I understand what you're saying in your convention example and it's absolutely valid - individuality is the soul of the 7C - but I have to disagree with your analogies of [b]convention = chapter[/b] and [b]booths = databases/forums/etc.[/b]. As I see it, a convention is a gathering of people who share the same interest (i.e. Star Trek), and each exhibitor sets up his/her booth because he/she feels they have something unique to offer those attending the convention. So for my purposes, I'll say [color=green][b]convention = 7th Column[/b][/color] and [color=green][b]booths = chapters[/b][/color]. With that in mind... You and your friends hear about a convention and you all agree to meet there when it opens. Everyone is excited because this convention is about something they really enjoy and know a lot about. In fact, you decide that you would like to set up your own booth at the convention so you can share you enjoyment and knowledge with others. This will be even better because now you and your friends will be able to hang out at your booth and talk to eachother. The big day finally arrives and you're setting up your booth at the convention and watching for your friends arrival (you've worked hard preparing your booth and you can't wait for them to see it). As you see one of your friends approaching, you notice that he has brought stuff for a booth of his own that he starts setting up a few spaces over. The same thing happens for each of your other friends. "No problem." you say to each other, "We'll visit eachother during the convention." But each of you is so busy putting finishing touches on his booth and waiting for visitors that you just can't find the time. About an hour goes by, and you wonder why nobody has come over to see you even though you have a great booth. Looking around, you realize that everyone at the convention has a booth of their own, and that they're all so busy tweeking things and waiting for visitors that they're not going to visit anyone else. [i]** Insert music from Twilight Zone here **[/i] I suppose my initial post was more of a "thinking-out-loud" thing than an actual suggestion (yes, I'm back-pedaling a little) - because disbanding active chapters is pretty much contrary to what the 7th Column is about. I hope I didn't cheese off any senior members with that suggestion. I'm all for individuality and freedom of expression in the 7C, but I don't think it should come at the cost of the community it is intended to nurture. Maybe it would be enough to do something like limit each member to founding only one chapter ( I have 2 and I'm embarrassed to say neither one is doing well - but I'm working on that), or having prospective founders "apprentice" with a learned elder for a while before being given a chapter. I may be making a mountain out of a mole hill, but it seems to me that something needs to be done about [b]excessively[/b] fragmented membership if the 7th Column is to realize its full potential.