On Tue, 10 Feb 2004, Bryan Newell wrote: @> I watched this list for about a month after joining before I posted my first @> message, trying to get a feel for the local etiquette. You, sir, are nothing short of a demigod. @> I have a few questions, if anyone cares to share an opinion: @> @> 1. When I reply to a message on this list, should I be replying to both the @> user and the mailing list, or just the list? I realize when I only want to @> reply to the user, but I'm talking about when I want my reply posted back to @> the list. Just the list if you mean the list, and just the person if you mean the person. The replies to both are mistakes. If you make mistakes occasionally, most people will not mind. @> 2. I recently sent in a couple of very large messages; they were large @> because they were attempts to "deduce" the geography of Dragaera by using a @> lot of text quotes from the novels, and explaining my subsequent deductions @> as clearly as possible without, hopefully, being pedantic. Should I limit @> my posts to a certain size (ie, break up long posts into shorter ones)? @> This is an important question, as I am preparing to post more such @> "geographical deductions"... As with the other folks who replied, I suggest keeping it as one long message rather than breaking it up. If we didn't like to read we probably wouldn't be here. @> 3. What is the proper way to refer to the author we're here for? I've been @> using "Mr. Brust", but I've seen "Steve" used quite a few times. I don't @> know the man, so I'm not entirely comfortable assuming it's okay to refer to @> him by his first-name (in the third-person, even). Has he previously @> expressed a preference? I called him Mr. Brust when I started, too. Then I looked further back in the archive than I had previously done, and discovered that he had indeed expressed a preference for Steve or, failing that, Brust (without the Mr.). The messages in question are here: http://dragaera.info/mailinglists/archive.cgi?1:mas:59:jmikhcjlblbeaehdleep http://dragaera.info/mailinglists/archive.cgi?1:mas:78:jmikhcjlblbeaehdleep