Sinister: please read

[honey at xxx.org]

Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep,

I've had a few private comments from people about mails to the list
recently.  Nothing nasty, as polite and gentle and tentative as
anything, and entirely proper: I'm always looking for people to tell me
if the list is how they want it to be and do a bit of gentle steering.
I hope this is gentle :)

The comments add up to a general consensus from a few, which is that
the list is becoming just a little unwieldy to keep up with as a reader
again.  History teaches us that Sinister starts to roll downhill when
not enough people can keep up, and start posting stuff without
reading.  I'd therefore crave your indulgence to please remember the
following:

* One or two-line emails aren't generally appreciated by people on the
receiving end.  Please put a bit of content and a bit of you into your
emails.  "A bit of you" doesn't necessarily mean a bodypart, but
sometimes it excites primitive stirrings.

* "Dear diary" emails, where someone is telling the list what they did
today (sometimes every day :) ) get a bit much for a lot of people.
Remember the list is a dialogue between you and the.. 1000 people
you're talking to.  Please don't post something you wouldn't happily
read from 100 other people.  Alright, 50.

* We've had a few duplicate posts recently: I've checked back, nervous
as I am to ascribe blame to someone that my software actually caused,
but all these have been separately sent emails.  Blame isn't being
acribed to anyone actually, but could those using WWW mail interfaces
like hotmail please be extra careful.  These are nearly always the
result of clicking the "Send" button twice when it's slow.

* Please do try and be aware if you're posting very frequently, and
pull back to give some others a chance.  My biggest fear with the list
is that it starts to appear as a clique, with a few people talking for
a lot of others.  I don't think it's ever quite got this way, but
sometimes people are intimidated by a lot of posts from a few, and
don't post themselves.  Likewise please try and package up your replies
into a single mail, rather than a lot of individual small ones.

All this can be summed up with usual plea for people to think twice
before they post to the list please and slow down just a bit now.  I'm
SO sorry to those who've heard this a million times before.  But it's a
very big list, and we need to all do our bit to keep it from
fragmenting, as has happened so often on other lists.  This is a
fabulous and special place to be, and it's down to all of you.

I'll do my usual job of begging no-one to take this personally.  No
matter how much I say this someone always mails me and says "oh god,
you meant me, I feel so bad".  Please remember that all I'm doing is
reflecting what people say to me they like and don't like on the list,
and you're welcome to mail me privately and tell me too - I just try
and reflect the majority opinion.  Oh and please don't hate me or I'll
break down and cry, I'm a great cryer.

Besides, my body has done it's usual trick of succumbing to a virus
after a trip away and I'm stuck in bed with a brain full of glue
feeling pretty awful: so I'm not thinking of anyone in particular
because I'm not thinking of anything at all.  And lots of people have
sent me things like photos for the galleries: please (eek) bear with me
as I have only a few compus mentus hours a day, and yesterday I spent
them in the chatroom boring everyone to death with a rather
solemn-faced rant.  Sorry chatters :)  I feel suitably embarrassed now,
just like I said I would.

Mail from me without my apron on and rolling pin out to follow.

Just being mummy.
Mummy x


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