The typical list never reaches 2 years of age and never reaches 1,000
members. The FML has actually been studied by internet sociologists
and internet psychologists because of being so unusual!

At its peak the FML had over 3,000 addresses it went to; that was
before a lot of people started their own sites. For the last few
years it has been usually in the 2,500 member range.

Didn't know you read one of the most successful and longest lasting
lists on the internet did you, Petunia?

The origin of the FML: Steve and I guess it was as early as very early
1982 that a few ferret people began talking on the internet. At first
it was part of net.pets, and all of net.pets for a week could be read
in 10 to 20 minutes. About that time was also when a person in the
Holmdale NJ branch of AT&T began the use of "carpet shark" (per Steve's
recollection). Steve used to print it and bring it home since our first
home computer was early '84 and even then it took a couple of years to
get reliable net access at home.

When net.pets got pretty big net.pets.alt began but someone there began
harassing the ferret people. Then we had net.pets.alt.ferrets but the
worst harasser followed us so the FML began and net.pets.alt.ferrets
died. A few years later net.pets.alt.ferrets began again but it died
out, then again and died, and then at least once more. So, the FML is
the oldest continuous ferret list on the internet.

Some of the early people included ShuJu Wong (who does not now have
ferrets)
http://www.fingerstothebone.com/

Mark Burgess, who treats them
http://www.swanimalhospital.com/

Buckaroo Bianca who used to take ferrets on a motorcycle side car and
in a canoe
Here are originals taken from an earlier document:
Chris Lewis and Pat Paley who had Nicia and Mocha
>Steve & Sukie Crandall who had Hjalmar and Fritter and had just
>recently lost elderly Haleakala
>
>Tom Danisavich who had an albino
>
>Susan A. Musil who was in California and wanted a ferret in her future
>
>Timothy J. Spires who was also hoping for one in his future
>
>Gary A. Davis who had Gumby
>
>Alan Gardiner who had Nick
>
>Leonard Bottleman who had Fenchurch and Bobbi Dyer sharing the first
>emails who had Farli, Menolli, and Tris living on a sailboat with her
>and who said "Tomato bowling is God's gift to ferrets."
>
>Shu-Ju Wang-Burgess who had two
>
>Janet L. Crow who had Alvin
>
>someone w Scott in the address who I strongly feel like i should 
>place but it's been a long time.  I wonder if it was Scott G.
>
>and one anonymous person in an FFZ who had Rascal and Shadow

We were all really, really ignorant compared to now!  LOL!

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5808]