Excerpts from mail.fanfic: 24-Apr-96 Re: [FanFic] Spam & Overrea.. by
Aaron Stolz@direct.ca 

Why not just delete the spam.

That right there is the heart of the problem. We shouldn't have to 
delete spam in the first place.

I was the one that said "If you don't want SPAM you're goin to have to
make this a trictly moderated list, like RAAC is a strictly moderated
newsgroup"  And I really till don't see any difference between
SkyKnights 400K+ BGZone 9 and 400 1K spamms spread over some 4-5 days...
if someone's got a 500K mailbox, what are they doing on a Mailing last
this busy, really?  No matter WHAT is kept to this list, people with
500K Mailboxes are GOING to get them overfilled, let's face it, most
'fics are rather large! 

Two comments:  there is a BIG difference between a 400K fanfic and 400 1K
spams spread out over 4-5 days.  The spams take longer to filter and
delete.  Lots of people don't have facilities to sort email by topic.
Myself, the program that does my sorting barely works, and it's VERY slow,
so I try to avoid putting too many search strings in it.  And second,
the people with the 500K inboxes have every right to be on this mailing
list.  READ THE NAME OF THE LIST.  It says "fan fiction", right?  Yes,
they might be in for mailbox overflows on a regular basis.  But if that's
going to happen, then it should be from the fanfics, not the spam.

Answer me this question truthfully:  would you rather spend ten seconds
deleting a 400k fic you're not interested in reading, or 15 minutes
deleting 400 1K spams that you have to *look* at to be sure that you don't
want them?

Next question:  is it too much to ask to just keep it manageable for those
people who don't like a huge amount of spam, even if you don't mind?  It
all boils down to a matter of common courtesy.

Wolf asked nicely. Roy asked bluntly. I'll plead. Please stop.

This list is supposed to be a place for authors to post thier fics and 
get C&C. Maybe and eigth of the posts I've gotten from here in the last 
week have been Fic or C&C. It's degenerated into a chat line, sorry to 
say.

I agree with Damon in that a little spam is fun and good for the soul, 
but when it reaches these levels it just becomes tedious.

What levels?  Sure, I've only been here since the 16th but I really
haven't noticed much diffrence between what we're getting now and what
we got 5 months ago except that we seem to have more people with small
mailboxes now.

Perhaps it's because soon after you left, WWolf asked for the levels of
spam to be curbed because of the volume.  It was right around then,
anyway.  Again, see above.  If you've been keeping track of the replies,
you will have seen that a lot of the people here do not hold the same
appreciation of the level of spamming as you.  Please be courteous, and
keep it manageable.  Is that too much to ask?

I think we have lost a lot of valuable voices, blown out out cyberspace 
by the sheer volume of noise generated here. Hell, I know we have. Many 
have unsubbed and just hit the re-mailer.

How many of them posted something?

It might surprise you to know that *I* unsubbed for a little over half a
month because I couldn't handle the volume of email I was getting from
this list.  It got that bad.  I decided it wasn't worth it to take time
away from schoolwork, work work, and sleep to deal with the level of
spamming.  And I had a six meg inbox.  (it's nine, now; someone in
computer accounts likes me, I guess)

It occurs to me that not everyone is aware of the definition of spam. If 
it isn't Fic, C&C or about writing in gerneral, it is considered spam 
for this list. If your reply doesn't fit into that definition, please 
take it to private mail. Or for all you .sig warriors, go to IRC. You'll 
prob. have more fun writing it there anyway.

I feel I must break in here and say this: When Damon was writing this
they WERE on IRC! or about 5 *HOURS* straight at *LEAST!* We finally
wound down (VERY quickly) after Damon came in and told us he was writing
this!

Yes, it was on IRC, I have no problem admitting that.  As you may have
already noticed, it was after WWolf posted his request to cool the spam
that the levels started dropping.  I never said they hadn't, I only added
my own request.

Shannon had the same idea you did, then.  That should only impress upon
you that we're not out to stomp on your fun.  We enjoy some spam, too.

"I like the fanfics!  I like the spam.  It's what made the ML fun!"

The spam is fun for maybe 10 percent of the list. Sorry, but it's true. 
When people start complaining, then it is safe to assume that they are 
no longer having fun. This list had over 200 people on it last time I 
asked. We see maybe thirty of them posting regularly. That's a big 
silent majority that has been complaining.

How many of those people are actually posting and not just lurking?

How many of those *would* be posting if it weren't for the spam??

So again.  I'm not asking for the spam to cease.  I'm asking for a
little common courtesy and respect.  I'm sure that's not too much to
ask.

No, it's not. At least I hope it's not.

Shannon

Well, there are my replies to that...and I maintain that people with 500K

mailboxes *really* shouldn't be subscribed to places this busy in the first
place, unless they're actually writing somthing.  If what they're writing
needs work, for a time THAT will be what is talked about th most on the
ML...that's how it was 5 months ago and I don't see any reason why it
should be any different now.

Are you saying that, because you enjoy the spam and will likely keep on
spamming regardless of how other people feel about it, you'll not have
any qualms denying this list to people with small inboxes who can't cope
with that level of spamming?  THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.

Heck, for about a half-month most of what we talked
about once upon a time was "What color should Sylvies suit be in BGZ?"
(I love what ya finally chose BTW SkyKnight!)

Ever thought about how easy it would have been to take that to private
email?  Ever take the time to think how much of the list would actually
*care*??  Really, I'm being quite serious.  The less people on the list
who would be interested in whatever you're considering posting, the more
you should consider restricting it to private email.

Actually, not that I think about it, the only thing really different now
than 5 months ago is that there aren't that many "works in progress"
really being posted, it's (mostly!)all simply pre-edited, pre-RAAC-
release stuff, so there really isn't much TO talk about!

You'd be surprised.  And besides, I've asked for C&C on *all* of my works
so far, even if I think they're ready for RAAC!!  It's my readers' opinions
I'm interested in.

*sigh*  Since the nicknames are being passed around, I think "bonehead"
would be appropriate...

Damon Casale, scyth@andrew.cmu.edu

				* Love *
                 Between two people, there is nothing that
                      can draw them closer together