Jay,
You went the wrong way with the conversation. There is a thread where the question is how to reduce the average age. It starts out with an assumption that is suspect, but probably valid in concept.

However, the ARF may address one possible solution and has contributed greatly to the growth the AMA has seen in the last decade or so. At the same time it can reasonably be held that folks who never built their own airframes are prone to be here today and gone tomorrow, and THAT is the downside of the ARF.

I have been jumped before, but I find it difficult to call a guy who buys a ready built airframe and hangs a radio and engine in it a modeler. He may fly well, he may have LOTS and LOTS of 'stuff', but unless he can build (even with poor finishes) I don't think he represents a modeler. That is NOT a bad thing, just like having red hair is not a bad thing. If YOU choose to make it a bad thing, I know many ARF only folks who would be willing to argue the point with you.

The implied issue of the thread is should MA have articles on ARF's. I think that subject can be left for other magazines as I find it an ineffective use of OUR resources to reprint the assembly manual of many ARF's.