Out of a desire to make the list a more educational, enjoyable, and efficient experience for everyone, and at the risk of sounding like a priggish schoolmarm, I will presume to suggest a few points to consider before posting an article to the mailing list. This is an unmoderated group, so it is incumbent upon us to moderate ourselves by observing consideration to our fellow readers.
The Articles of Mail
Warp & Weave
Try to maintain the integrity of "threads". When someone asks a question about a subject, please continue to use the original subject line, preceded with a "Re:" in your response to that question (to distinguish the responses from the original article.) Most e-mail programs will perform this function automatically when "replying" to a message. This courtesy helps those who are not interested in the question, or it's responses, from having to wade through further messages - which can a real time saver.If the thread meanders onto a tangent with a life of its own, it may be appropriate to re-cast the subject line, with a tip-of-the-hat to the former subject. For example, if a raging debate emerges in the "Re: Casting Couch" thread on the merits and demerits of the perfect actress for Diana, the convention would be to change the subject line to read something like "Hunting Diana (was: Casting Couch)". Which raises a new topic...
And now, a word from our sponsor
Please don't use the list as a billboard for commercial enterprises.
Casting an Aubrey/Maturin Movie
The Casting Thread is a perennial topic on the list which emerges into full bloom from a dormant period when there reaches a critical mass of new listswains who have not been innoculated by previous exposure to the discussion. The topic has been banished from the list to general assent, but for the curious, there is a web page which lists all the suggestions made to date for actors to play the various roles in the hypothetical movie adaptation.
Keep away from open flame
Resist the urge to respond to sociopaths who find perverse amusement in causing others discomfort and offence by posting deliberately objectionable posts a.k.a. trolls. These cretins actually thrive on and enjoy the raging followups to their public defecation; the retorts actually justify and encourage them to more of the same. If you feel a moral compunction to vent your spleen, do so privately to the troller; don't CC the list. Above all, for heaven's sake, avoid giving the troll further airtime by quoting the objectionable material! A social cut (refusing to acknowledge a blackguard's existence, or refusing to receive them into polite company) is a more powerful moral weapon than ineffectual taunts and jeers.
Hear him! Hear him!
Avoid posting a message that contains a 50 line recapitulation of an earlier message with a one-line rejoinder at the bottom, the substance of which is can be distilled down to "Me too!". (Unless, of course, you are either P.O'B. himself, or God.)
Would you, please, repeat the question?
Please don't assume, if there was no response to your brilliant essay, ripping argument or searching question, that your post went unread, requiring you to re-post it. We heard you the first time - it is quite possible you have either stumped the band, or stunned us into stupefied silence.
Who promoted Major Domo?
If you find you must unsubscribe, there is no need to broadcast this fact to the group - nor will doing so effect your purpose. As a reminder, in case you didn't save the list's welcome message: To unsubscribe, send an email message, not to the list, but to the automated list server, an efficient, but underpaid, mechanical functionary known as majordomo:The message body should contain the following:majordomo@norton2.wwnorton.comunsubscribe patrickobrian
These suggestions are not the Articles of War (though you can re-read them once a month, on Sunday, if you like); trangressions hereto will result in neither flogging nor death - but adhering to them can go a long way to reducing the amount of muck-wading a reader of the list must do. In general "Welcome to patrickobrian" message asks "that participants observe the usual standards of courtesy that apply to other forms of discourse on the Internet." Many of the standards of courtesy pertain to reducing clutter, noise, and making the Internet less of a time sink than it already is.Thank you for your time and consideration.