I admit I may be biased, but I think that one of the easiest ways to
control the length of the FML would be to encourage use of the FAQ.
For instance, the FAQ has detailed information on heartworms and a
pretty thorough discussion of litter pan training, both of which took
up a fair bit of space in the last issue.  I know the FAQ is long for
someone to read end-to-end, but it does have a table of contents!
 
People have questions, and they certainly deserve answers.  What I'm
suggesting is this: If you see a question which you know is in the FAQ,
email the person directly and tell them so (if it's Anon, I'll try to
send a short "see the FAQ" note to the FML -- or perhaps Bill could send
such a reply directly?).  If you see a question which you think ought to
be in the FAQ, look and see before replying to the whole list.  Finally,
if you see a question which you know isn't in the FAQ, but you think a
lot of other people will answer, wait a day or two, then see if you have
anything to add.
 
No flame is intended.  I'm not addressing these remarks to anyone in
particular, but to the list as a whole.
 
- Pam Greene         ==> Ferret Central has moved! <==
       <http://www.optics.rochester.edu:8080/users/pgreene/central.html>
[Posted in FML issue 1159]