: It's amazing that a web list who claims to be fans of
hard-boiled
: fiction would rather worry about what can and can't be
posted rather
: than taking a look at a preview of the latest best
seller.
Whatever. I've never heard of you, you didn't identify the
author or
anything else, and for all I know this will be a best-seller
in
Podunk, Saskatchewan, and a flop everywhere else.
I'm not sorry we failed your test of open-mindedness. You
have failed
our test of proper list behaviour.
There can be good reasons for a list to decide what kinds of
messages
are appropriate. It can be dull, and it's best to get it over
with
quickly, but it's often good for people to see some public
discussion.
In this matter, I've seen one person who didn't mind if
fiction was
posted, and a half-dozen who are opposed. I can think of no
good
arguments in favour of posting fiction. Therefore, posting of
fiction
will not be allowed. I'll add this to the welcome message of
the
list. (It will join the binaries and flames on the forbidden
list.)
If anyone does have fiction they'd like to make available -
especially
on-line excerpts from new books - then I don't think anyone
would mind
a short message with a pointer to the excerpt. Just don't
post the
piece itself.
Now, I hope we can get back to regular discussions about how
many
hardboiled women writers there really are, if Ross Macdonald
is
talented, and other questions that cause arguments in our
little
world.
Bill, who's on Block's _The Sins of the Fathers_ right
now
--
William Denton | Toronto, Canada | http://www.vex.net/~buff/ | Caveat lector.
"Let's keep the party polite."
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