KE>At 12:41 AM 8/26/97 +0100, Alpha Centauri wrote:

---< Snip about Authors old and New squabbling,
       comments becoming flames >---

KE>To tell you the truth, I have been thinking of leaving, too. Maybe I should
KE>just post directly to the RAAC. I don't know why I'm still here.

I did that for a while, but I missed the feel of the old FFML
(the days prior to the FFML going down.) Now, after a long
sojourn, I'm finally back, only to find...

KE>All I know is that our sense of community is almost gone. We're not one big
KE>happy family anymore, we're a damn fraternity of the worst kind now (no
KE>reactions from fraternities in general, okay? I said of the worst kind). The
KE>established authors who have become cynical about the fanfic world in
KE>general give the new ones the 'trial by fire', alienating them. The new
KE>ones, in turn, who refuse to take the advice (and who can blame them,
KE>sometimes?) either leave or sulk.

KE>>Ironically enough, the list was at it's most cohesive, the sense of
KE>>community strongest when there WAS no list.

I wasn't around during those days, since I sorta dropped out
and was unable to catch wind of these two temporary lists
you two are talking about. I was still at CORML as Keener
might attest, but I was completely absent from the FFML.

I can only imagine of the splendor you people had during
those days, perhaps greater than the pleasures I had when
I was part of the list prior to the breakup.

However, now that I am back, I can only say what
I've seen the 3 days since I returned. It seems that I haven't 
seen too many of the friendly old discussions we used to have 
regarding fanfics, both our own and those that just flit across 
the list. Instead I'm seeing discussions about earthquakes and
headstrong newbies and furious old timers. 

KE>>And we're falling apart.
KE>>Why?

KE>During its heyday, Chantry Doissetep was a powerful force against the other
KE>factions of the Ascension War. Everyone was united against a common threat,
KE>and only by holding together could they overcome them. 

A similar scenario is presented in the Ultima saga, a popular
Computer Role Playing Game for the PC (which was ported
to many other platforms). 

In the 1st six Ultimas, there was a great menace to which the
people of Britannia were united in order to fight against. 
However, in the 7th installment, it was a corruption from
within that was the plot, a stirring discontent which was
born of 200 years of complacency and peace.

This atmosphere was taken advantage of by a great
outerworld presence, but that is no longer our concern.
The point is as Keiichi said: there was something that
the members of this list were fighting for to strive for
cohesion, now there is nothing but squabbling with
each other.

KE>My friends in the FFML, we are in our Winter because we have forgotten why
KE>we are together.

I'm hoping to discover what it is that you people
have been at, being together for all this time.
Maybe I should have lurked around for a while,
just to get a feel of what's changed in the list
for the long months that I was gone. But, true
to form, I charged right in, expecting the same
old messages and the same old good-natured
atmosphere that was a joy to breathe in.

I can't really say if something's changed, since
I haven't been back long enough, but I can
only hope that what I will see now is a thriving
community, the Vanguard of Fanficdom, and not
a bunch of writers who have lost their purpose
as a community.