reactions to prior posts

[jwcpgh]

First, I echo the thanks of many posters-the admins have had a 
trying time of late, it appears, and I appreciate their willingness 
to hang in and try some new measures.  
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Second, I want to commend the listees, both those who have posted to 
this new list and those on the general list.  I joined after 
attending Nimbus and have so much enjoyed my time here.  As a rule, 
I think the quality of posts is very high and deliciously thought-
provoking.  Keep up the good work, y'all!

It sounds to me like those people with experience in these matters 
are discouraging election of admins.  Their arguments have been 
persuasive to me.  This list is not, in fact, a democracy.  I, for 
instance, didn't do any of the work to start it and I don't do 
anything to help maintain it.  I don't have to deal with Yahoo-
related problems or floods of emails from posters.  I can just fire 
up my computer and jump in.  Since I don't do any of the work and I 
don't even know exactly what is involved in being an admin, I don't 
think it's reasonable to want to tell those who do the work who they 
have to work with.  It's comparable to recruiting new members to a 
board of directors.  The current members decide among themselves 
whom to invite to join the board.  They know best what skills are 
required and who's likely to have them.  Just to keep the process 
from becoming completely closed, though, it might be reasonable to 
announce when it's time to replace and/or add new admins, in case 
anyone wants to volunteer.  I know how hard it is to find a good, 
reliable volunteer, believe me!  The admins would have to retain the 
right politely to turn down an offer of participation, of course.

The admins could write job descriptions that would be available for 
anyone to read who was interested in volunteering their time.  Once 
people see how much work is really involved (and I imagine it's 
considerable), some self-selection will take place.  I'm not sure 
that relying solely on the quality of posts is a great way to 
recruit new admins.  There may be listees who aren't superb writers 
but might be terrific editors.  

I liked Carolyn's ideas about how to sort and file posts.  If the 
admins decide to go with some or all of those ideas, I'll volunteer 
to work on a topic.  I also loved her idea about a book-that's so 
cool!  I'd help work on that project too, although I imagine it 
wouldn't be able to get rolling for real until after the last book 
comes out.  

Ignored posts: just because a post doesn't get a response doesn't 
mean no one read it.  Sometimes the post just says it all and the 
only possible response is "Yeah-what s/he said!".  Abigail's 
reminder that feeback works was most welcome to me-I don't do it as 
often as I should and I know I love getting off-list mail.  I'm 
corresponding with several listees regularly and enjoying it very 
much.  

Again, thanks to the admins for their hard work.  Please let me know 
if there's anything I can do to make that work easier.

Laura, emerging from a delightful haze of Two Towers-extended 
version joy...Aragorn...Legolas...life is good!