To my regret, a couple of people left the list because of
recent posts. Here's a repost of the list charter. Please
keep the posting policy ind mind, especially the first point,
and especially when discussing delicate subjects. Thank
you.
Welcome to RARA-AVIS, the mailing list devoted to the
discussion of hardboiled and noir writing!
| "And to you, Miss O'Shaughnessy, adieu. I leave you the
rara avis
| on the table as a little memento."
-- Caspar Gutman in Dashiell
Hammett's THE MALTESE FALCON
List mail should be addressed to rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com.
There are two versions of the list available: the regular
version, where you get each message as other subscribers send
them out, and the digest version, where you get all the mail
in a big lump once or twice a day.
Please read all of this, and save the instructions on how to
unsubscribe from the list.
(The following notes are adapted from the the XML4LIB mailing
list rules, at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/XML4Lib/.)
POSTING POLICY:
1. All messages must relate, even if only slightly, to
hardboiled and noir writing. Possible topics for discussion
include:
- Just what is hardboiled
fiction?
- How does it relate to film
noir and/or the pulps?
- Does Ross Macdonald belong in
the triumvirate with Chandler and Hammett?
- Who are the best modern
practitioners?
- Are there any truly
hardboiled women writers?
- How does the genre fit into
modern literature?
- Let me tell you about the new
Jason Starr book!
- Matt Helm: he's nothing like
Dean Martin.
- What's happening in
non-English noir writing?
Movies are best discussed in relation to the written word:
adaptations or screenplays by hardboiled/noir writers are all
right, but film noir in general is better discussed in other
mailing lists or newsgroups. RARA-AVIS is based on the
written word. Everything on the list should be about
hardboiled or noir writing, or directly related to it. That
won't make a shortage of topics of conversation.
2. Please introduce yourself to the list, but first lurk for
a couple of weeks to get a feel for how it works. Then speak
up! Note that new members are, by default, moderated, so your
first message will have to wait for approval. After that
you'll be able to post freely. This is done to prevent
spammers from sneaking on to the list.
3. The list isn't a forum for unpublished writers. Usenet
newsgroups such as misc.writing are more appropriate for
that. There isn't much talk by writers about themselves on
the list because it's a place for devotees to speak as
friends. A writer you like may be on the list! We're all
equal in our love for hardboiled and noir writing.
4. Trim as much quoted text as possible from your replies
(this definitely includes the footer added to the bottom of
each message).
5. Very small advertisements, from list members, of new
hardboiled or noir books they have written, edited, or
published, are welcome.
6. Do not send virus warnings. Please visit
Symantec Security Response: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
CIAC Hoaxbusters: http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
if you hear about a new one. If you think you received a
virus through the list, please mail the listowner. It has not
happened yet and measures are in place to make sure it never
will.
7, Insulting or baiting behaviour will not be tolerated. The
list is set so that replies go to the list, not the sender,
but you can change this. Off-topic mail should also be
directed to the sender, not the list as a whole.
8. Only plain text messages will be broadcast. No MIME
attachments are allowed (binaries, audio files, Word
documents, etc.) and HTML mail will be rejected. Please
see
Configuring Mail Clients to
Send Plain ASCII Text:
http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
for how to configure your mail program. 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.
LIST BEHAVIOUR:
This is taken directly from the introduction to the XML4LIB
mailing list (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/XML4Lib/)
and it is equally valid here:
* Say something substantial.
Simply saying "I agree" (in so many
words) or "I
disagree" (in so many words) does not meet this
guideline. Specific
technical questions are, however, quite
appropriate, as are
brief answers to such questions.
* Say something new. Mere
redundancy will not convince an opponent
of their error.
Explaining the same argument differently in an
attempt to make
them see the light has not been proven to be an
effective
strategy.
* "Getting the last word" is
for children. We're all beyond the
age when we should
be concerned with being the one to end the
argument. Just
because you are the last to speak doesn't mean
you won the
argument.
* Agree to disagree. The
likelihood of convincing someone to
change a strongly
held opinion is nil. State your case, but give
up on the idea of
converting the heathen.
* Take "conversations" off the
list. When list interaction becomes
two-sided (two
individuals trading comments or arguments) it is
a sign that you
should take the discussion off the list and
correspond with
that person directly. If the discussion was of
interest to the
general membership you will see others posting
on the topic as
well.
* Remember that you are being
judged by the quality of your
contributions. No
matter whether you are employed or not, or a
certain age, or
have a certain education, you can create a good
professional
reputation by how you contribute to a large
electronic
discussion like Web4Lib. On the other hand, you can
ruin your
reputation even faster and easier.
* NEVER send email in anger. Go
ahead and compose a message in
anger, since that
may help you work through what you're angry
about, but don't
send it. Sleep on it. You will nearly always
decide to not send
it or to recompose it. There's a reason for
that.
* Be civil. Treat others how
you wish to be treated. No matter how
insulting someone
is to you, you will always look better to the
bystanders (of
which there are many, I hasten to remind you) by
responding
politely.
* Respect the rights of others.
An electronic discussion is a
commons. Your right
to post ends at the right of others to not
be insulted,
badgered, or to have their time needlessly wasted.
HOME PAGE:
The list's web site is at:
http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
It has some bibliographies and information taken from the
list.
ARCHIVES:
The list is archived at
http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/archives/
There is no FAQ for the list, but the archives can be
searched. They are the best place to start for questions
about bibliographies, pseudonyms, publishing dates,
authorship and so on. They also contain reviews and opinions
on many writers and their works.
HISTORY:
The list began on 5 January 1997.
READING LIST/THEME OF THE MONTH:
We have a reading and discussion forum going, where we all
read a story or novel or author at the same time. All
comments are 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.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/reading.html
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 <wtd@pobox.com> The List-Owner
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : www.miskatonic.org : www.frbr.org
RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/ Yahoo! Groups Links
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 12 Jan 2006 EST