Sinister: now read this

[Honey]

I've been trying to write a response to all the destructive rubbish
that's been flying around on Sinister for two days now.  I've been
trying to be mummy, and soothe you all, and set off things in a nice
tone again.  I can't do it, so you will all be subjected to a rant and
an ultimatum - digest users will get a digest consisting of just this
too, if I can generate one.  Here's what will happen now:

* This is a mailing list for people who like Belle and Sebastian. Belle
and Sebastian haven't released anything for some time, nor have they
been committed to prison for drug trafficking recently. This means that
we as a community should use the list to be ourselves, and as such we
don't have to spend our time talking about B-sides if we don't want to.
It does NOT mean, however, that we can throw any old crap into everyone
else's mailbox. We have a reference point: Belle and Sebastian. It's
subtle; you have to use your brain and think about whether you'd want to
read what you yourself send, times 1000. Everyone can see who is
doing this and who is not, and some of you are making damn fools of
yourselves. It's quite clear who wants the list to flourish, and who
just wants to drown it with me-me-me. I will henceforth act on
this.

* At 8:00 pm GMT tonight, I will reopen the list.  I might send on a
*few* mails that have been bounced in the interim in due course when
I'm up to it, subject to what I said in my previous mail.  If I don't,
and you want yours sent on, and you're sure it's appropriate, and you
don't have a copy, you can mail me and I can try and dig it out when
the red mist clears. From that time forward, anyone who clearly
doesn't give a sod about the list rules will be removed from list
membership. Each of you agreed to abide by these rules when you joined
Sinister.

	http://www.majordomo.net/sinister/faq.html

* I expect no repetition of this tired, pointless, and destructive
thread about list content. Anyone who indulges themselves by digging it
all up will be shoved into the nursery or removed completely, forever,
with no court of appeal. This applies to ANY reference to the whole
thing, including talking about talking about list content. If you start
up again, individual people or even the whole list will go into
moderated mode, which means I check each mail and pass it on - at this
rate, every few days or so. The same applies to even the merest hint of
a flame or nasty comment aimed at any other list member, and you won't
have time to tell me "oh I was joking" - you'll just be gone. I won't
warn you individually if I do this, it'll just happen. If you think I'm
being a fascist, move on and find another list, or make one yourself.
That's what the Internet's about. I will not maintain this list to
watch it crash and burn.

* Any one-line smart-arse posts will be dealt with similarly, and no I
don't care if I sound like a school teacher. Anyone who's at the top of
the "I've posted more than anyone else this week" list should see this
as a negative rather than a positive: a squashing of list diversity by
shouting too loud to become some sort of list "personality". They
should henceforth shut up a bit if they care about the future of the
list. Right now, my favourite list members are the lurkers - why don't
a few of you de-lurk a bit and show the "top 10" how to really make a
list work?

* Anyone who wants to talk about list content can MAIL ME. My promise,
as ever, is to pass on to the list what people tell me. Anyone who
indulges their ego by spreading their unwarranted opinions on the list
itself - which are usually the same opinions as everyone else's but
with their name on the bottom - will be duly ignored, as they clearly
aren't trying to contribute to list coherence, but just want a bloody
great row. You can have that on many other lists without the irritating
intervention of a list mummy, so go off and do it. If you do mail me,
bear in mind that M.E. hasn't been kind to me recently, so you might
not get a reply, or you might get a general one a week later. But your
comments are all taken onboard.  Please use the Sinister comments form
on the Sinister site to do this where possible.

	http://www.majordomo.net/sinister/comments.html

Thank you for everyone who has mailed me with suggestions recently -
I'm sorry I don't have the resources to mail you all back right now.

* Anyone who's joined the list in the last few months, please stop and
take a look at the archives - go back a year or so - see when the
list thrives, what it thrives on, and go and do likewise. Those of you
who have been on the list for years: stop moaning about what the new
people are like and post something intelligent for god's sake.

* Those whose inclination is to write what's been called "dear diary"
posts should see this as a wakeup call to pull back and to think whether
what they're contributing is for the interest of others or because they
like an audience. Just because four people mail you and tell you they
like your posts doesn't mean everyone else does. Would you read 1140
other posts like yours? This applies equally well to those who think
that the list consists of the 10 people they see every week and that
everyone needs to know which shops they went to.

* Those whose inclination is to run to the list when they're sad or
miserable and mail 1140 people asking for a hug should think whether
they'd do the same in a pub, or whether they'd sit at a table with a
few friends and do it that way instead. If the answer's still the
former, then they'd better explicitly tell people to mail them
privately or the wrath of god will fall on them. Similarly, to anyone
who feels it's their place to mail back said 1140 people with a "hope
it goes ok, buddy" message: Mail them directly if you want to be their
friend. When you mail pointless things like this to the list, you just
fan the flames.

* Those for whom life generally swims along and who can't conceive of
how anyone could be so "pathetic" as to not just get off their butts,
stop whining, and "seize the day", have a little think about what a
horror life can be for some people. Have a bit of compassion and stop
flag-waving. If you have comments about the list, MAIL THEM TO ME, or
be brave enough to mail directly the people whose posts you're
referring to. Don't indulge yourself in displays of public
brow-beating. Just because four people mail you and tell you they agree
with you doesn't mean everyone else does.

* To people who've been on the list for a long time: you should know
damned well that this kind of action leads to List Death. The ONLY WAY
to make the list what you want it to be is to post to it what you'd like
to see from others. Fullstop. Criticising other people's posts on the
list is a negative and destructive act and will cause a pointless and
stupid escalating war like we've seen. Christ, haven't you been around
long enough to see this a hundred times?

* Finally: I don't buy the delete-key argument when pushed to its
limits.  The list will not survive if everyone's mailbox gets swamped
by over 30 mails a day.  This list will not stay a community if the
majority of you are only reading 10%, or 2% of the mails on it.  It
will fragment, and everyone will stop caring about everyone else -
you'll all be flying blind.  List history has taught us this.  So if
there's been a lot of mails today, SEE that and pull back - let things
settle. Let people catch up. If YOU don't have time to read the list,
don't send more crap on top of the pile. Everyone will be able to see
who's responding to this, and who doesn't care less. And I'll do
something about it, and you'll think I'm mean, and I'll just do it
anyway. And if you've posted more than a few times in a given week,
and you just keep sending more in, and people complain to me that
"someone" is dominating the list, as they do, I will do something
mean too. And you'll hate me for that, and I'll feel bad, and I'll
just stop the whole damn thing. I'm ill and I'm tired and I've
nearly had enough.

			- - - - - - -

I don't care if this mail sounds harsh, frankly, this time. I don't
care much if it reduces list traffic to a dribble for the next week or
so - it'd be a blessing. If it doesn't do the job, it's time for
something radical. If we get 60 mails consisting of "hello Sinister's
back!" and little else, or pointless rubbish that no-one cares about,
or little post-battle snipes, or anything that isn't thought out and of
interest to at least 50% of the list, I'll know it's past it's sell-by
date.  If you're thinking of posting right now, stop and think if you
really need to, and if you're contributing to Sinister's readability.
Sinister will only survive if YOU think carefully, and everyone will be
able to tell who's helping and who's not.  Everyone's eyes are on you.

Sinister is the Belle and Sebastian mailing list.  Think about it.

Several close friends suggested to me yesterday I should shut
down the list permanently before it gets any worse. It'd break my
heart.

Honey
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