Delving into the wonderful world of online forums

Not that I'm not totally grateful to my sister, (see her blog at http://summer-at-home.blogspot.com) but I thought it might be time to open up my blog to a broader, more numerous audience. Or at least, someone who may be interested in what I have to say (and not just in a loving, sibling way!)
So, I joined some online forums. I'm very excited about this, because there really are a LOT of forums out there, groups where people can talk about absolutely everything and anything. I found one that suited me to a tea called historical fiction online (http://www.historicalfictiononline.com) where people who are (obviously) fans of historical fiction can go and chat about what they have read, would like to read, recommend reading. I haven't actually posted anything yet but it's been very beneficial reading some of the comments and getting a feel for what people like to read about. There is a huge selection of topics from author, country/continent, historical romance, fantasy etc. There is also a thread for new members to post an introduction, which I fully intend to do as soon as my log in is activated.
Another site that I looked at is called Historum (http://www.historum.com) This is a site similar to the other one with lots of different topics to search and groups for discussion. I've introduced myself on there (probably sounded like a total loser too!) and I even contributed to a discussion about the knights templar. I feel so good! It's great to finally be online with people who are interested in the same things I am and I have to wonder why it took me so long to do this. Hmm...self-consciousness I s'pose.
The next task I have set for myself (once I've finished writing the next chapter of Orpheus) is to find a forum for creative writers who can post things that they have written. I'm a bit scared to do that, and I still have those quandries about copyright, but I want to look around anyway.
Anyhoo, the wonderful thing about online forums is that you can stay anonymous if you like but still get to meet some great people and have some interesting discussions. Do, however, try and avoid getting addicted or you may never get any writing done on that novel again!!

Bacci xx