[FFML] The mailing list active!!!!!! shocking....

[Dennis Carr]

On Wed, 17 Oct 2018 22:21:07 -0600
Arthur Hansen <arthurh3535 at gmail.com> wrote:

> One of the great disadvantages of the FFML is that it's a TEXT only
> dinosaur that I basically quit using because it doesn't allow for any
> updated technology.

I think can address this.  Besides, it's about time I came in and
participated in a conversation. =^_^=;;

First off, Arthur, your point of view is valid.  You're not wrong, but I
gotta disagree with you on one point:  it's a cat, not a dinosaur.  I
named the server 'Bast' with intent, after all. =^_^= 

(Its next incarnation will be a fairy.  But that's for later, and I
digress.)

The objective problem here isn't so much the list in and of itself,
it's the end use technology.  The server and related software don't
care about the content - it's just a stream of packets to the network,
it's just a message to distribute to the list software, each email
message is one email message to be passed on to its destination, and
all these things must hold to a set of standards set forth by the
Internet Engineering Task Force - so it's entirely up to the email
client, from webmail to text based, to determine how to format a message
on arrival based on its content - and IETF doesn't standardize that
part.  Moreover, not all of us use a graphical or web-based email
client, and this is pretty much due to personal preference in this day
and age.  (I for one use Sylpheed here on my desktop and laptop, Alpine
(formerly Pine, still from UW) if I ssh into Bast, or K9 Mail on my
Android phone for a quick read and maybe reply if I'm not driving or
otherwise without my computer - and I don't really like using webmail
for various reasons.  All of this comes down to what brand of tools one
likes to use, and it'd be a hard sell to make me want to change
clients.)  And where many of the users here use Gmail, to cater to only
Gmail users would alienate those who don't use that for their own
reasons.

(This doesn't dismiss Aleh's complaint of formatting.  I'm still
working on sorting that out, because that's got me curious.  This also
doesn't dismiss your own complaint of it not being the desirable
platform for what you want to do.  Again, that's valid.)

The other part I see is historic to this list.  As long as I've been at
least lurking on the list in the mid 1990s (back when it was all
anime all the time), one could generally expect C&C on their fics if
they were so posted. There were certainly plenty of fics that were
posted here and nowhere else (Unfinished Fanfic^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Business
comes to mind =D ) - at least, as such by the author(s) - but there
would almost always be some sort of C&C by other readers.  But to this
end, I was left with the now long-standing impression that any
story published here would be varying degrees of rough - that is,
generally unformatted for anything but a straight 80-column text
interface since most users leaned on such things, would probably have
various errors (editorial, continuity, et cetera), and would generally
be of varying quality.  I saw fit to keep it this way when I took on
hosting duties eleven years ago.  I suppose those who've been around
longer than I have would know more of the thought behind the intent,
but the FAQ does an OK job of communicating this.  Or at least, I think
it does. =^^=;;

And for other options?  We saw this in this very thread.  Facebook's an
option - but there are people who avoid Facebook like the plague for
privacy reasons.  Twitter's an option...well, it's not really an option,
is it? =^^=  Webforums are an option, but they aren't really well built
for the in-line replies that are more conducive to inline comment and
critique.  Usenet *used* to be a good option, but where Usenet still
exists the major ISPs here in America don't offer it as an option any
longer because they don't want to spend money on disk storage for
Usenet (thus forcing those who want Usenet to look to third party sites
like Giganews); so where it's still an option, it's not a viable option.
For what we seek to do with FFML after over 20 years since its
creation, then, this really is the best option available at this time.

Sometimes, the old technology does what one wants it to do.  Even the
hammer hasn't changed very much over the centuries - it's still a
heavy object on the end of a stick, through which force is applied for
a given application.

For my end, though, I encourage the use of the list however one sees
fit - regardless of whether someone uses this as a sounding board for
their ideas, seeks C&C before it goes up on FFnet for instance, or makes
it the final publication point, - and quite literally anywhere in
between and beyond.  A lot of other people see this as such, which is
the largest part of why I still keep going.  (Granted, it's in spite of
the thankfully very rare notion that I should shut the whole server
down and let it go.)  If it means you want to lurk, it means you
want to lurk - and that's OK too, we're glad to have you here.  =^_^=

-Dennis