In a message dated 3/6/01 8:32:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, tavia@btinternet.com writes:
<< It might be worth pointing out that there are B7 fans not on Lysator (shock horror) and indeed there are fans on Freedom City who deliberately haven't joined Lysator (or who mainly lurk on Lysator) for a range of reasons, including, I think, that they find the habitual mode of discourse frightening, exclusive or just plain dull.
As an ex-molecular biologist-cum-virologist, who hasn't written an essay since she left school and knows precisely no politics, sociology, or the like, 'you' sure frighten me at times...
Thank you, Tavia. That was basically my point. Of course, the list exists for talking about B7 the series and B7 the fandom. I was not advocating not talking about the series or even advocating that those who want to "write essays" stop doing so. I say, let 'em have it. It is the apparent insistence that anyone else who dares to join in the conversation must be willing to submit to "grading" and being told they must "make a case" as if they are in a court of law that I find silly. Hey, that's me. If others think it's okay to have people on a mailing list tell them that they aren't allowed to give their opinion on the series or make a comment on a thread unless they can submit an essay on the subject, that's they're own business. For myself, I find that kind of pomposity deadly dull.
Annie