I have only been here a week. I accidentally stumbled on the site while checking my search engine placement and finding that active rain was supplying hits for a number of inspectors, and pretty high placement too. So I was pleased to see it was a free membership. And I was doubly pleased to see that it is a well thought out site with loads of information and lots of conversation and viewpoints. But what I like best, so far, is that people seem to leave thoughtful comments. I have been to a number of similarly conceived sites where it ends up being screaming matches, so to speak, between egotistical windbags. So far, I have not seen that here. Even with realtors and inspectors, who can at times have different ideas on things, the conversation is brisk but courteous. We are really able to get the other side's viewpoint and that is great. When actually working with a realtor, or a realtor with an inspector, the day of the inspection is not the greatest time to debate perspectives. I find it worthwhile to do so here, in a less frenzied environment. Certainly, I do not expect everyone to agree, but the realtors and members of AR who have replied to my blog comments have been great. I was a bit concerned about that at first. I have posted pretty tame comments at some of the home inspection sites and the replies were out of the realm of reasonable or normal. In summary, active rain is like a breath of fresh air with all of us in the real estate field discussing matters and sharing ideas to increase understanding.
Thanks for reading,
Steven L. Smith




Hello Steven,
I am also very new. Like 3 days. I am also not a big web person so I am learning both at the same time. Good Luck and Have Fun!
Welcome, there is a lot of useful information on this site.
Welcome, this a great place to get questions figured out.
Hi Steve-
Welcome to AR. You're right, the members here are really great! This is hands down the best network on the net : )
Hi Steven: I started blogging the first of the year and specifically Active Rain the end of January. I had also been on other forums that were very negative. This has been a breathe of fresh air. I have noticed a few negative people but very few and I have also noticed that they usually disappear after awhile. I think negative breeds negative and positive breeds positive and this has been a very positive experience for me.
Thanks all for the comments. Just goes to prove my point!
Steve