Laurie,
 
Your mail message to me seems to indicate that you're a little unsure
of how this mailing list works.  I've included your mail in a mailing
list issue (what you're reading right now) and put this response in so
that everyone is aware how the ferret-list works.
 
Everybody is supposed to mail their messages to me (via "ferret-list"
userid), whether or not they are in response to something they've seen
in the ferret-list.
 
I collect groups of these messages together, edit them down slightly to
a consistent format, and put them into one "issue" of the mailing list.
The issue is mailed to *everyone* registered in the mailing list.
Thus, *everyone* on the mailing list sees *everything* sent to ferret-list.
 
And, if they wish to respond to an item, they send their message to
ferret-list, I encorporate it into the next issue, and *everyone*
sees the response.  Therefore, everything you get will be mailed by *me*
- even if someone else originated it.
 
(PS: *everything* I get via ferret-list goes into the next issue.
I'm not censoring anything.  Even flames...)
 
Now one of the things I do, which may be an annoyance to some people,
is stick my own editorial comments directly into the articles that
other people have sent to the ferret-list.  Whereas, everyone else
has to respond by sending me a new message which I include in the next
issue I send out.
 
Your questions went out in issues 17 and 20.  I threw some editorial
comments in.  Nobody else responded.  The reasons they didn't
could be any one of the following:
 
        - They thought I had answered it as best as they could.
        - They didn't have a response
        - the mailer screwed up and they didn't get the issue.
        - the mailer screwed up and I never saw their response
        - they're on vacation.
        - "That idiot know-it-all Chris guy has jumped in first
          again - I'll keep my trap shut" (half smiley here...)
 
I fear that a predominent reason could actually be the last one listed
and I'm unintentionally stifling discussion from other people.  I'd much
rather that this be a forum for discussions between everyone on he
mailing list, rather than between me and everyone else.
 
In all seriousness, I ask everybody:
 
        Do you want me to editorialize inline?
 
What I could do instead is delay my editorializing one issue.  Depending
on what I get before the next issue, *I* could shut up.  I really
mean this.  What this hopefully would tend to do is get more people to
jump into discussions, and turn it more of a general free-for-all.
What I could even to is simply rearrange the aliases, so that everything
comeing to "ferret-list" gets automatically reposted - I wouldn't
have a chance to comment - and the turn-around would be quicker - even
if I'm on vacation things would bounce back out really quick.
[Though, the anon-list members would have to rely on my manual intervention
to ensure that their names didn't get broadcast]
 
I'll send out all discussion I get into the mailing list.
 
Thanks,
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0027]