Dave, Four points from a conservator and three cheers FOR him! Thank you for your rational, professional response. I certainly can understand your feelings about non-conservators applying "home remedies" to their artifacts without knowing what the end effect will be and then running to you when their brass turns green. I feel similarly when I see labels written by non-writers, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper and easier to replace a sign than it is to replace two-hundred-year-old artifacts! Mind you, I'm not saying I think we have a ghost of a chance of stopping people from using such remedies or from using the passive voice. What I DO think is that we can encourage people to seek our help before they make expensive, if not irreparable, errors by being available to those with questions and being professional in our replies. In agreement with your four points, Laura Laura H. Firth Interpretive Exhibits Writer [log in to unmask]