alright I have recently read the SPAM debates that have gone on.  I 
have one comment at first.  They in themselfs have devolved into SPAM 
in my mind.  I now do to them what I do to mail that I dont have time 
to read, controll-select-delete.  But as I stated this message is 
SPAM so I will go on.  I think that right now this list is hostile.  
It has only been this way a few short times in the last four months 
or so.  one other time it was on exesive SPAM and I didnt see the 
real argument, true there was  a lot, so when I didnt have the time 
or inclination I deleted them.  After a cry to stop the SPAM the list 
felt 'chilly' for about a week or so before finaly settleing down to 
a slightly lower level of SPAM  over all.  Once it was because of 
unfortunate coments back and forth.  That was just an unfortunate 
incident and took much longer to heal over than the SPAM problem.  
That was the first time that I stepped in to defend the mailing list, 
my friends, its purpose and the way I saw things.  This is the second 
time.  The first thing I will say is that I dont even know how this 
current line got started.  Just as the first crys of too much spam 
came in I was litteraly burried under a pile of fanfics.  I have over 
a hundered in my mailbox right now due to lack of time to read.  If 
it was the summer I would probably be able to cut it down to about 30 
if I had been quick about it.  Then came the switch in reply feilds.  
For a few days the list died, not figuratively literaly.  People 
didnt realize what had happend and came to find nothing in their 
mailboxes, this was very discouraging to me.  It was the true 
casualty that I have noticed.  Then after it was anounced what was 
happening things started to pick up.  However the one thing that 
people have missed is that the number of fanfics droped incredibly 
upon the start of the anti spam crusade.  perhaps it was because 
everyone had just put out their newest copys and parts.  I dont know 
but I think it had to do with the fact that suddenly this list was 
growing ugly again and writing was not as wonderful a passtime 
subconciously if not deliberatly.  Now the list is recovering, the 
tone is starting to lift.  I am much happyer in the context of this 
list now than I was a few days ago.  As far as I am concearned the 
number of letters that I delete out of hand has not realy changed 
drasticaly.  I dont have the time to read much c+c if I cant read the 
story first, and so generaly delete that unless the topic or story is 
very interesting.  as for spam, if its a huge list of the same topic 
Ill take a look at the lead message, if I dont like it gone.  for 
shorter lists i will take a glance at the subject line and decide 
what to do.  What the overall point I am trying to make is that this 
list is best when it is run freely, and let work naturaly.  Each time 
SPAM is brought up as a problem everyone gets unhappy.  A month 
afterword is perhaps the most productive I have seen.  I joined about 
3/4ths of a year ago during a high of spam, I didnt see any huge 
arguments, it just slowly disapated and only later during the summer 
when spam was much lower did the first incident I describe happen.  I 
am sorry to anyone who realy dislikes the spam but in my opinion 
regulating it certainly reduces spam wich can be a good thing but it 
also stiffles fealings of admitance and being part of a group that 
develop at other times.  For all of you who think that stopping spam 
is a terrible thing to do and that it is unconciousable to have the 
reply feild how it is.  Big deal, is it realy that big a problem now 
that you conciously know about it?  I have breifly joined a few other 
mailing groups and they dont have auto reply feilds but things work 
just fine.  (as an interesting side not, I have noticed that under 
the old system both I and windlilly somehow ocationaly had the reply 
feild automaticaly return it to the writer rather than the mailing 
list, I dont know why its just a strange thing)  For those of you who 
feel left out by people who spam early and often give it a try.  
(dont anyone yell at me for promoting spam Im not, Im promoting being 
part of a group, part of a whole and becoming integrated with the 
ffml as a whole)  Dont worry about the consequences, just through out 
an oppinion into a columb of spam and see what happens, you dont even 
have to state your own veiws just an oppinion.  I ocationaly do this, 
like right now.  If you are still reading then I have acheaved my 
goal, I will have participated in and with others on the ffml.  
hopefuly in a meaningful way that can help bring it back to my idea 
of what it should be like.  not spamfree, not allspam but friendly.  

Sincearly
      Kelly Conrad Davies Schultz
      a.k.a. Skywise