1) What is the ferret mailing list?
The ferret mailing list (FML) is a group of people interested in
ferrets, Mustela Putorius Furo as pets. All aspects of ferrets
are discussed, advocacy (Mocha for president! ;-) (see question
6), funny stories, health, training, ferret parties and so on.
The FML is "home" on the UUCP network and Internet. It is
forwarded by some people to other networks such as GEnie
(by Jeb Weissman) and CompuServe (by Chip Gallo).
ferret.ocunix.on.ca is a tiny little single-user machine situated
in the countryside north and west of Ottawa (the capital of Canada
in case you didn't know), Ontario, Canada. If you look at
a map, just find the border of Quebec and Ontario where it hits
the St. Lawrence River (at New York State). Run your finger up the
border (actually, the Ottawa River), and just past Ottawa you'll
squish our house ;-) We're about 3 miles in from the river on
the Ontario side.
Ferret.ocunix.on.ca is UUCP connected to the Internet, and has
an MX record at uunet.ca. As such it isn't really on the Internet,
but is for email purposes.
2) How does it work?
Chris Lewis (me) is the moderator of the FML. Articles are sent to
me via electronic mail, and I produce a digest of whatever I
receive, and then email it out to each of the subscribers.
3) What addresses do I send the articles to?
[log in to unmask] is for articles.
[log in to unmask] is for subscription requests
and information.
If you're on BITNET, or some other braindamaged network that doesn't
support MX records, the above addresses can be expressed as:
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
I can be reached a little more directly at:
[log in to unmask]
I make no claims to understand the wierd addressing formats
of proprietary/commercial networks such as CompuServe or
GEnie.
4) How many members are there?
Currently 117. Not including people who receive it by mail2news
gateways (eg: Duke), or by rebroadcast on CompuServe or GEnie.
5) How long has this mailing list been active?
Since December 1987. *1987*! Even I didn't realize it was
that long. Same moderator, 3 or 4 different "home" machines.
Averaging about 50 issues a year. We're up over 200 now.
6) Aren't ferrets wild and dangerous animals?
That's the funniest thing I've ever heard about ferrets.
Nonsense. Ferrets have a long history of domestication.
As long, in fact, as cats do. Pet ferrets are quite gentle
and are good with children - though, like *any* other animal,
ferrets and small children should be supervised by adults.
However, through hysteria fomented by certain people (often
who have a financial interest in the matter), ferrets have
been banned in several places. For example, California.
However, concerted effort in presenting the truth about these
animals has often resulted in the bans being lifted (eg:
Alaska)
[Posted in FML issue 0263]
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