It surprises me how people think that going to college automatically gives you a useful amount of creditability.  The act of passing a test via memorization is a very unimpressive accomplishment in my field of work (software development.)  Since I am in a senior level position, I work with my boss to sort though resumes.  Anyone who lists programming as a hobby goes to the top of the list, even if they lack any kind of college education.

Far too often, I have witnessed the effects of what happens when you hire someone based on credentials alone.  Programming requires a high degree of logic, creativity, and problem solving.  Unfortunately, colleges and certifications tend to only help with that logic part.  Programmers who do not have the creativity and problem solving skills tend to write programs that are buggy, difficult to maintain, and difficult to expand upon without ripping out sections of code.  And as an annoying side effect, to get any complex coding done they tend to take up the time of more senior programmers.

For these reasons and many others, we find that experience is far more valuable.  When we see a resume from someone who says that they also program as a hobby, we know that they did not just memorize a bunch of syntax and programming patterns and are much more likely to have experience  to write good code that they have not seen in a text book before.

I suspect that being a historian has some similarities.  There are many insights that you gain when you have to figure things out for yourself.  Having read your work, I know that you are past the point of needing college education.  Your peer review validates this.  Your book will be a much more valuable credential than what any college has to offer.

It is a shame that this troll (Ishmael) is now polluting richarddawkins.net with their ignorance, but it seems that the regulars there are very capable of recognizing this troll's bullshit.  I think it is funny that the troll posted links to their other forum for "net drama" and warned that the posters there (including himself) are not as dignified.  I am reminded of this quote when visiting that site:

Although for the "net drama" folks, "small minds" is quite an understatement.  I agree with your tact (and Brian Sapient's words) regarding these trolls.  Let them play in their place of retardation.  We have more important things to do than address the "small minds," and continuing to address those who are serious about discussing ideas is advantageous (although not greater than our primary goals at the RRS).