> -----Original Message----- > From: Randi128 at aol.com [mailto:Randi128 at aol.com] > >We allready have a readalong and rpg sublist; might it be time for a > >"forum" > list for mostly off topic threads, so they don't bother the > people who are > here only for the books? > > I came for the books. I stay for the witty and stimulating > conversation.------Allright, allright, I stay just to argue. > I love the off > topic threads. They are the thing that 'greases' the > conversation between > 'legitamate' topics. I regard the off-topic topics as target practice for my well-used delete key. It's mildly annoying, but as long as I can successfully ignore the off-topic threads, it's not a big problem. Something one might consider: One of the reasons I read fiction is that it is a form of escape from the "real world" (and no...let's not veer off into a discussion of what is real), so when the "real world" intrudes on to a mailing list (in theory) devoted to a particular author/book/series/etc. it can be annoying. Especially *cough* religion, right now, anyway. I have a coworker who has..."renewed his faith" (I'm not sure what the right phrase is), which in itself is not a problem...but he's pushing his values on the rest of us (here at work), which I find _very_ annoying. To compound the pain, he's effectively done the same thing with his politics (I have no idea what the right labels are for his politics), so l get to listen to that too. So as you can imagine, I'm not particularly enthusiastic about hearing about politics and religion in a community I joined for the discussion of the fiction. As a side note, this does not mean I think anyone on this list is even remotely like my co-worker. I'm just explaining why the off-topic messages have sometimes been annoying to me. Doesn't mean the list has to change to make me happy, though, I can continue using my delete key. :) Iain