Sorry, going to do some cut and paste.  I know not everybody likes it;
it's not my absolute favorite way to write a post, but it's necessary
when you would like to respond in a relevant way:
 
>"Wasn't someone going to start a separate List for the MF (and other
>farms)debate?  The FML is quickly becoming the MF List.  And, don't tell
>me to skip the MF posts.  They make up a large majority of the list!!!
 
I respect your thought on this, but I would like to disagree because
there's evidence to the contrary.  Even when the MF debate is quite
heated, the MF posts are always grouped at the bottom of the subject list,
and I have never seen them take up more then a fifth or so of the list.
Even during the last few weeks of ongoing debate and discussion, there
have never been more than 6 or 7 posts on the FML debate (sometimes as
few as 3 or 4 out of 16 posts).  BIG is kind enough to group the MF posts
together, so that the ferret stories, health and behavior tips, and
questions are separate.  I've always appreciated this and I personally
feel that this method DOES allow people to look at what interests them
and skip anything they'd rather not read.
 
As far as starting a separate list, that was done.  However one fantastic
element of the FML is that new people arrive here every day.  This is
beneficial to shelters, because many people advertise get-togethers,
fund-raisers, and adoptable ferrets here.  New people can hear about new
ferret groups, new vets, new toys, new tricks, etc.  We share jokes and
poems.  Likewise, people who are new to the FML may discover that the MF
controversy is something they would like to agree or disagree with, or
maybe they're interested in being part of it.  I personally have seen the
debate run its course several times, but never bothered with it until this
time, when I read some of Danielle's posts and saw that she was interested
in doing more than just bandying about old facts and past exchanges with
MF; she was going to work on making new contact with them and finding
someone there to forge a working relationship with.  Which brings me to:
 
>So far, nothing new has been said that hasn't been covered over and over
>in the past.  The interview with the MF person revealed nothing new (of
>any substance) that I could see.  FML members have posted this same
>information many times.
 
(more cutting and pasting...a thousand apologies...!)
 
I would have to disagree with this statement, as well as point out that
Danielle went to a lot of trouble not only to make the contact, but also
to share it with those of us on this list.  To suggest that it was a
useless effort is not only unfair but also really dismissive of something
that was a personal effort and a large amount of work on her part.  I have
been subscribing to the FML for a year, and I have never seen anyone post
an actual conversation with someone from MF (and certainly not one that
they had just had the night before).  I know there are quite a few ferret
people who have had contact with MF that had yielded a lot of good things,
but I also remember reading that their contact no longer worked for MF.
 
I got a lot out of the experience Danielle shared, and I suspect others
might have appreciated the effort as well.  In some aspects, it IMPROVED
my opinion of MF because Peter Reid honestly answered some questions that
I was curious about, and it came from an actual MF person and not from a
website or someone who spoke to someone at MF last year.  Some have
contacted Danielle (and myself for that matter) privately expressing their
interest in participating and communicating some of these concerns to MF.
They may not have posted, but they still appreciated it and were glad to
be able to read about it.
 
People have posted about what is the best ferret food frequently,
sometimes turning it into a debate.  Well, I already feed my ferrets a
certain type of food, I don't really care to hear about other types, and
I don't particularly care what anyone else feeds their ferret or why they
think it's better.  Should I skip the posts on food and allow that someone
else might find it interesting, or should I lobby to get the food posts
kicked off the FML?
 
YES, I know that other ferret groups, shelters, and individuals have
expressed concern to MF and that MF has made changes accordingly.  But
it's not necessarily a closed case for everyone.  There seems to be an
implication in general that since previous contact has been made,
previously there were relationships with MF that yielded information, and
that previously concerns were shared, we should just leave it at that and
be quiet.  Why?  Why should there be an end to efforts at communicating
and sharing concerns with MF just because it was done before?  Why should
the FML never again feature MF debates, or banish it to a separate list,
just because it's already been discussed?  If you really want to, I
suppose you could have a separate list for every controversy and issue
that comes up in the ferret community; but reading the FML would be pretty
dull if that was the case.  The adrenal disease issue has also been
discussed ad infinitum; should we stop talking about it?  What if someone
new joins and never gets to see anyone's opinions or experences with
adrenal disease because a few months ago people declared a moratorium on
adrenal disease, and we never speak of it again?  To deprive people of the
right to discuss it because it is an "old" controversy would be too bad,
and "de-listing" things that some people decide they're tired of smacks
of censorship.
 
-Heather
[Posted in FML issue 3634]