Dear Anonymous_ There is a reason why I put "OT" at the end of my subject headings for the silly posts I sent about Jules being an alien, and the Earth being flat. It is so that you can see right off that they are "off-topic", or not really about ferrets, and you needn't bother with them. If I forget, BIG kindly puts the "OT" at the end. I send silly posts sometimes when the FML gets dreary, or dogmatic. Believe it or not, some people actually enjoy them. I do not drive people off of the FML by means of deliberate cruelty, although I have seen more and more of this on the FML over the last year. The majority of those cruel posts are signed "Anonymous". Your post was absolutely, positively not about "constructive criticism", or you would have felt comfortable signing your name at the end of it, or even e-mailed me privately. It was all about making me feel bad, which you have done.. I could just sulk, and announce that I am leaving the FML in a fit of self-righteousness, but the simple fact is that I enjoy the FML very much, and don't want to deprive myself of it. I enjoy being silly with my friends sometimes, and learning how to be a better ferret slave. I consider myself warned by BIG that I have gone "too far" and he has to work to keep posts like mine from "snowballing". Fair enough. That did surprise me, but at least he put his *name* to his criticism, unlike you. Guess which one of the two of you I have respect for? Alexandra in MA [Moderator's note: My apologies -- No criticism was intended. When I feel we have a run of posts which have substantially "run their course" I do say something, either in private or on the list, depending on the circumstances. That's not to say that the comments of readers, such as the one in yesterday's FML, don't play a part in my decision -- they do. But as far as I'm concerned it wasn't yet time for a "hand slap". BIG] [Posted in FML issue 4712]