On Fri, 16 May 1997, Gary Kleppe wrote:

On Fri, 16 May 1997 09:20:09 -0700 (PDT), Damon Casale wrote:

Consider:  what would happen if we divided the FFML into four or five
separate lists?  Not based on content, but just to get the volume of
people down?  We could still archive the posts, and 100% Anime
Fanfiction could be the repository of the fics from *all* of those
separate lists, for those who aren't quite satisfied with the fanfics
being posted to whatever single list they're subbed to.

Everyone would be free to pick one (or two, or whatever) sublist to
subscribe to, and get to know people.  Granted, this might tend to make
things a little cliqueish, but I think the benefits GREATLY outweigh the
pitfalls.

Comments?

If you remember, this was sort of tried in March. There were, I think,
five different lists filling in for the FFML while it was down. I was on
three of them.

I was on two, and I unsubbed to one of them after a while.  It wasn't
tried, really, since people weren't told, "Hey, we're trying to
subdivide the list to reduce incoming mail; don't crosspost unless
*absolutely* necessary."  And there wasn't an archive for all of the
list generated fanfics back then, either.  Not one like 100% Anime
Fanfiction.

The only way this is going to work, methinks, is if it is based on
content. Otherwise you'll either get people posting to *all* the lists,
or else many posts won't reach the people who would be interested in
them. Therefore, if you really want to do this, allow me to make a
counter-proposal. We could have five seperate lists as follows:

[snip content-based separation proposal]

No, no, absolutely not.  You'd only subdivide the traffic on the FFML
into separate lists.  That wouldn't do anything to benefit us unless we
weren't interested in one or another topic.  You'd still have way too
much colume of incoming mail, as you do now, and you'd still have *no*
practical way to socialize, like used to happen back in late '95, and
early '96.  GO LOOK at Gopher's archives of this time period.  Read the
bounty hunts.  Read the poker game.  We knew each other back then, and
we simply don't, now.  There are just too many faces to keep track of.

Now, cliques are not generally a good thing, but in this case, I think
we really should start subdividing.  We can always switch lists if we
want to to see new faces, but we  need respite from the volume of mail
that this list is generating.  IMOHO.

Damon Casale, damoo@carmelnet.com
Spam, spam!  WONDERFUL spam!  ^_^