At 05:53 PM 20-02-97 -0500, Quek, Kwang-Ee wrote:
Can everybody just keep their C&C to the authours themselves and not
send it to the mailing list? I have to delete about 60% of the mail
because of that. of couse I skim through it first but it's more
courtious that way.
Heh :) If we all did that, it wouldn't be the Fanfic Mailing List now would it?
The foundation of any mailing list is communication and sharing of ideas by
those subscribed to it. There are various mailing lists that are setup as a
one sided connection, with the subscriber getting whatever is sent to them
without the option of replying or discussing what they receieved, but this
has never been one, and that is its greatest attribute. While sending C&C
directly to the author is the perogitive of the poster's, sending C&C to the
list inspires discussion and sharing of ideas in an open forum that often
helps the author to improve their story, which in the end benefits the reader.
If C&C is sent directly to the author, the author gets a single point of
view that he alone must process. Not a bad thing by any standard, but when
someone posts their views to the ML on a story, others can add their views
and the author gets a richer and broader scope of feedback to work with than
if they just received C&C from separate readers. No two people think exactly
alike, and another person's view on someone's C&C might very well be the key
to freeing an author from writer's block. It is the mingling of ideas that
makes this list so valuable to author and reader alike.
I *can* understand your frustration with trying to sort through the many
posts for stories, but this is the nature of the FFML and has been ever
since it was begun. It is a meeting place for readers *and* authors, and
without the public forum, this list would lose its heart and soul.
A suggestion: Perhaps someone on this list could suggest some methods for
filtering your email if the stories are all your after. All you have to do is
ask :)
Panda
-----------------------------------
"BG Cross", "Dark Traveler", "The Dragon's Tower"
http://execulink.com/~askuse/bgcross/
Raven's Garage: http://execulink.com/~askuse/ravengar.html
Co-Maintainer FFML FAQ