Andy Kent wrote in response to askuse@lonet.ca (I believe):

Okay, so we know that's not what happens, right? 900+ people on this
list, and yet how often do we see C&C posted directly to the list?
Very seldom.Sure, posting publicly can produce spam when the thread
drifts away from the story, but it's our responsibility to remember
why we're here. The fics.

I dunno about others, but I'm not comfortable posting C&C directly to
the list.  If my only comment is, "I like it," I really don't see how
that is going to help the 900+ people on this list.  I'm sorry but
sometimes those are the only kind of comments I have.  

I'm curious.  Do the authors want public C&C, or are they satisfied with
private comments?  Public C&C is good for getting interest in a 'fic and
starting up discussion, but I think it really depends on what is
written. 

I think that maybe the idea of having pre-readers seems a lot like
washing your dishes before putting them in a dishwasher to me. But
hey, *this* dishwasher (the FFML) does actually work! But the power >of

this dishwasher is wasted if you put dishes in it that have the >sticky
gooey cruddy bits taken off already ;)

Uhm, you must have a super dishwasher.  We always rinse off the dishes
before we put them in the dishwasher--that way, we can be sure that the
dishes will be clean afterwards.  (It's amazing how stubbornly the
sticky goo clings to the dishes if you don't do a little prewashing.)

*snip*

There's a big hole in this argument, you know.

A lot of people do follow your advice, and post an unedited copy of
their fic to the FFML. Of course, they don't spell-check it, either. So,
when I open the message up to read the fic, it's an ugly mess. (You know
it's bad when the Critic rips into it and you find yourself nodding
along.) What's my response?

Ewww.

I don't want to read that! All I want to do is delete the thing. There's
a lot of fic out there, and the lousy stuff just can't compete with good
fics.

*nod* *nod*  I don't have the time to go through every single message I
get, not even if they're fanfics.  (The last time I tried, I ended up
with a very big mailbox filled with unread fanfics.)  If it doesn't
catch my attention, if it's messy, if it takes a lot of effort to read,
well, I don't read it.

*snip*

Moral: Even the most kind-hearted of us does NOT want to be used as the
lazy author's personal spellchecker. If I've got to wade through thirty
mistakes that should have been picked up on with a single scan before I
can find something to "constructively" C&C, I won't bother. I have more
respect than THAT for my own work and I expect a similar effort from
other fanfic authors.

Well, I'm not an author, but I would agree.  I think that sending a
clean, somewhat polished 'fic out to the FFML will make it even better
because people will be focusing on the real problems rather than picking
at sloppy mistakes.  I'm just hoping that those authors with pre-readers
are still sending their work to the FFML.  

Besides, my little brothers can look for dumb errors. If somebody from
the FFML comments, I expect useful writing advice.

Lucky.  My little brother has a long way to go.  And sorry, I can't
promise useful writing advice.  I'll try to comment more often, though.

Venkarel
(who really needs to find the time to read more fanfics)