On Thu, Jan 08, 1998 at 04:35:14PM -0500, Hapworth2 wrote: > << Do you see the problems with being an outsider??? >> > > Why are you an outsider? I think (from reading the previous messages) it involves feeling that when some people speak up, after having been quiet, they find themselves slapped down by some list members who have a particularly strong view of the world and of literature and of how those interact. And that act of slapping down anyone -- newcomer or not -- is never something to be encouraged here. An online service to which I subscribe, Echo (www.echonyc.com) has one interesting hard-and-fast rule: attack the idea, not the person. The only amendment I'd make is: there's no need for the kind of disagreement that leaves one person feeling shabby. Here we are on this list admiring and discussing the writing of a gentle, subtle, spiritual writer. Is it too much to ask people on the list itself to conduct themselves comparably? I don't think so. If you disagree with this, say so to the list -- but please don't feel compelled to direct withering remarks at me. I don't wither, and I have zero tolerance for nastiness directed my way. (I'm a nice guy, but my online bite is far worse than my quiet bark <*grin*>.) --tim P.S. For those people who dip into the Web site, it is now current as of about 2 pm EST, today.