Tsunam@aol.com wrote:

God U know this is just a fanfic , do we really have 2 go in 2 the laws of
physics just 2 explain what is happening?Stop sending these stupid arguments
2 the list I think they get enough w/o all this crap.  (I know this is
cluttering it up just as much!!!!!!!!!) 

I agree with Tsunami that the physics argument went on longer than it
should have, and lost its interest. Gary Kleppe is a physics professor;
he knows what he's talking about. For me, end of argument. I have also
said myself before, as Tsunami does, that spamming about spam is still
spam.
The rest of Tsunami's post is, however, less than optimal. To begin
with, the argument is fallacious.

I mean the people who write this
don't consider all this shit.

In the particular case under discussion, it was quite clear that the
author had been thinking about the issue under discussion as he wrote.
Tsunami is correct that thinking about such things is uncommon; but a
blanket assumption is almost always going to be wrong.

Who the hell cares also!?!?!?!?!?!? 

We can look at the spam posted to answer this question. Notwithstanding
that I am not obeying my own rule at the moment, the best way to deal
with unwanted spam is to delete it unread.

R your
lives that bleek that U have nothing better 2 do than analyze fanfics!!! Go out and do > something u only live once.

Why is Tsunami on the list then? Why did Tsunami read the spam that has
angered Tsunami so much? (I tend to make mistakes with the gender of
other list contributors, so I'm just repeating the handle here instead
of using he/she/him/her.)
On what basis can Tsunami assume that a person who analyzes fanfics does
nothing else? I could easily leave my computer after analyzing a fanfic
and go on to 1) perform valuable community service  2) spend quality
time with my family or friends  3) attend college classes  4) go to a
place of public entertainment (beach, nightclub, movie theater) 5)
perform research to cure a major disease or end world hunger, and
Tsunami would never know it. So it appears that Tsunami has created an
image of the people who analyze fanfics and has berated that image,
presuming the actual people match it; whether the image applies to those
people has not been established.

Don't waste it!!!!!!!!!! Even I do
more !!!!!!!

We can all use good role models.

At least I go out and make friends 'cause U ain't going 2 makem
staring at this box 24-7.

It is possible to make friends via FFML. Tsunami is correct to suppose
that spending all one's time in front of a computer does not constitute
a balanced lifestyle; it is incorrect to assume that anyone who analyzes
a fanfic is leading such an unbalanced lifestyle.

Sorry 4 the rant, just wanted 2 get my point across.

Ranting gets emotion out, but doesn't work as persuasion. When I was in
grad school at Florida State, I found myself getting angry all the time
because, as a white male, I was frequently accused of being responsible
for everything wrong with American society, with its oppression of
women, African-Americans, etc. I felt it wasn't fair to blame me for
those things, because 1) I wasn't doing so well myself,
socioeconomically; and 2)  I was accused of having attitudes I didn't
have. I complained and complained about this. Then a more mature scholar
and writer, who happened to be a black woman, gave me some good advice.
She said, "Whenever people are angry and shouting at you, don't shout
back, because that makes them more angry. Just sit quietly and listen.
When they realize you aren't fighting back, they'll stop attacking, and
then you can really start talking."
I think Tsunami has mounted a counterattack of sorts with the rant, when
a more quiet statement would have been more effective. Even if one
suspects (or KNOWS) it isn't true, one can still win more allies by
taking the attitude, "We're all on the same side here," followed by "Let
us work together to find a solution to our mutual problem." The problem
in this case:  excessive spam on a topic. The possible solutions:

1) Ignore it and eventually it will stop.
2) Email the participants privately asking them to take their debate to
private mail.
3) If you must post to the list, employ the advice above. Post a
statement that spam on this topic seems excessive to you, and offer a
constructive alternative:  Suggest moving on to something else, perhaps
mentioning for discussion another aspect of the fic that provoked the
spam in the first place.

Best wishes to all,

DRM



My signature file, attending all mails:

Neither titles nor eloquence do we require, he said, nor an insidious
tongue
nor familiarity with saffron myths on painted scrolls, but patience to
disengage difficulties until matters disclose their essence without
opposition, because the most subtle understanding outweighs mountains.
          -- from Evan S. Connell, _The Alchymist's Journal_