RARA-AVIS: New intro message for the list

William Denton (buff@pobox.com)
Sun, 28 Feb 1999 01:55:42 -0500 (EST) I updated the intro message that's sent to all new subscribers to the list
and the digest. The only important thing added were the prohibition
against MIME attachments (none of which have ever been sent to the list,
actually, but there's no point in starting) and the reminder to trim
replies as much as possible.

Here it is:

[Last updated on: Sun Feb 28 1:49:34 1999]

Welcome to RARA-AVIS, the mailing list devoted to the discussion of
hardboiled fiction.

Send your messages to rara-avis@icomm.ca.

Please follow these four rules of conduct:

- No flames.
- No binaries.
- No MIME attachments.
- Trim as much quoted text as possible from your replies
(this definitely includes the footer added to the bottom
of each message).

If you want to insult someone, do it in private e-mail. If you have a
photograph, drawing, sound clip or video clip you'd like to share, please
put it in an FTP site or on a web page, and announce it. If you can't do
this, either offer to send it to people upon private request, or ask if
someone would be kind enough to make it publicly available. These rules
will be enforced.

Possible topics for discussion include:

- Just what is hardboiled fiction?
- How does it relate to film noir and/or the pulps?
- Who's better, Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett?
- Who are the best modern practitioners? Do they in fact exist?
- Are there any truly hardboiled women writers?
- How does the genre fit into modern literature?
- Let me tell you about this great book I just read!
- etc., etc.

There is no FAQ for the list, but lots of information is available by
browsing the list archives. See URL below.

Everyone is welcome to join, no matter what their specific interest in the
topic: fans, academics, collectors, film noir buffs and people searching
for the Maltese Falcon. It would be nice if you sent out a brief message
saying hello, introducing yourself and perhaps outlining your interest in
hardboiled fiction.

Both a regular version of the list (rara-avis) and a digested version
(rara-avis-digest) are available.

The web page for the list can be found at

http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/

We have a reading and discussion forum going, where we all read a story or
novel at the same time, then disucss it. Any range of comments is welcome
- list members range from interested fans of the genre to people doing
their Ph.D. on a particular writer. You can find out what story we're on
at

http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/reading.html

Please take a moment to browse iComm's web site. It's at

http://www.icomm.ca/

iComm provides free Internet services to non-profit and charity groups and
has donated the resources necessary to run this list.

Some quotes:

----------

It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the
sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the
foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie
and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue
clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care
who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to
be. I was calling on four million dollars.
- opening lines to _The Big Sleep_, by Raymond Chandler

"How c-could you?" she gasped.
I only had a moment before talking to a corpse, but I got it in.
"It was easy," I said.
- closing lines to _I, The Jury_, by Mickey Spillane

----------

Signed,

William Denton <buff@pobox.com>
The List-owner

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