Well, well, well. It seems like the Iain thing has all blown over now, and everything can return to how it was, hopefully with everyone feeling more content and fulfilled after the storm. The reason I haven't posted in the last couple of days ISN'T because I've been sitting here laughing maniacally at the erupting maelstrom as some of you may think (Certain accusations of me attempting to stir up trouble and 'enjoy the fallout' have been bandied about ... perhaps understandably, but it's woefully inaccurate). I've had a lot of personal messages from people who agreed with what I was trying to point out (by the way, I'm now sacrificing babies in honour of anyone who called me 'eloquent' - cheers!) but I think things may have got a little out of hand. I'm not some kind of confrontation enthusiast, and my intention was definitely NOT to turn a friendly, vibrant and (for want of a better word) cool list such as this into the WWF Super-Corduroyweight championships ... to be honest, most of the inspiration came from a misguided need to express myself. I'm also a creative writing student who's fully aware of the fact that I write more fluently and expressively when I'm trying to argue. There's no need for anyone to post anything else defending the list and its subscribers - just look through the archives and you'll find that everything posted in the last two days does that itself. There was no better proof of the maturity, insight and intelligence of the majority of the list than the way the brief carry-on was dealt with. Yes, some folk hastily grabbed their pitchforks, mounted their soapbox and revealed themselves to be a little too close to Iain's stereotype for comfort, but that was only a minority. Nobody ever said that there was a HUGE 'problem' on this list, and hopefully there never will be. As long as there's never any snobbery and elitism, that is. Something slightly worrying did arise however ; the word 'fake' was used on more than one occasion. Although the label was never directed towards anyone in particular, there's no need to use that word. It's a Manics fans' word, that. Remember that when the lines are drawn between fans there's always some kind of trouble. I was actually attacked once at a Manics gig (two girls almost gave me a solid kicking - mock if you will) for allegedly being a 'Richeyphile fake'. Does anyone want to see that kind of self-righteous piffle appearing here? Of course not. Just make sure it doesn't. P.S - I don't seriously use 'Suave And Elegant' as a description of myself. As anyone who has encountered my photo yet will testify, 'Rough and Unremarkable would be more accurate! A whole lot more love Ciarán -- ------------ Ciarán Lynch elu488@bangor.ac.uk +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+