I Just Don't Get This. Seriously, I Don't.

[Tim Regan]

Hi All,

I'd completely ignored this thread since American Football leaves me 
cold (but baseball is amazing – like cricket but minus the boredom) 
and now it turns out to have been a maelstrom of group intrigue. 
Bah, how's a guy supposed to choose what to read?

Steering posters away from potentially derisive subjects on this 
list seems a mistake. One of my favourite threads here (13086) 
started with someone questioning the interest in slash and then went 
all over the place, with accusations of homophobia and all sorts. 
But though each `side' got heated, I got the impression that there 
was an underlying layer of concern and civility. And we've had some 
really informative religious debates, another dangerous subject.

I think part of what makes this list so great is the tough 
apprentiship. People seem to only start posting on OTChatter once 
they've been around on the main list for a while. Being on the main 
list for a while implies some posting, and probably some wrist 
slapping by admins off the list. But all done in a very welcoming 
way (that's how it felt to me). So we end up with a group of people 
with a slightly mad common interest, and well groomed posting 
habits. Now this summer was crazy – all forms of list management 
(what to read, what to write, who to mentor, etc) broke down as the 
flood gates opened. Hopefully we're only feeling the aftershocks now.

Referring to one's admin duties in a post contributing to a thread 
does seem wrong though. But who knows – if I was ever an admin I'd 
probably have it emblazoned on my shirt!

Cheers,

Dumbledad.