From KimC:

"She wasn't seriously trying to advise me of anything - she made a flippant comment that was intended to be funny, but failed miserably. I called her on it..."

Ah, so KimC, you--a 36 year old--publicly chastised and humiliated a 15 year old girl who is trying to participate on an equal footing with the adults on your 'irreverent' Civil War enactor forum. You have described this girl as being very bright "but full of herself" which sounds very harsh and judgmental to me (I work with teenagers in an urban high school). Perhaps you would prefer it if teenagers weren't allowed to contribute to the forum at all?

At any rate, you attempted to 'put her in her place' and then are surprised she responded the way she did? It sounds to me as if you are the one who should be ashamed of the way you behaved so badly towards a 15 year old who is obviously making an effort to engage the adults on an equal footing. What on earth is the matter with that?