Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 14:55:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Fwd: Hellboy set visit with MTV
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

Elspeth Kovar <ekovar at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> Perhaps she hoped that you'd both post it to the list and put it up
> on the website, taking care of both at once?

It's moot, since it turns out I had already posted the same
announcement here after receiving it directly.  (Judy didn't
know, since she doesn't subscribe to this list.)  See
http://www.wsfa.org/list/03/8/03165220.htm

> As webmaster and the person hosting this list you'd be in the best
> position to do so,

I'm very reluctant to forward email, since some might construe it as a
violation of privacy.  When someone outside WSFA emails me something
that's obviously intended for all of WSFA, I'll forward it (unless
there's a good reason not to, e.g. it's an offer to enlarge one of
WSFA's body parts).  But when a WSFA member emails me something that
appears to be intended for all of WSFA, I'll remind them of how they
can post to this list.  I'll only post it for them if they ask me to
directly.

It's not just me, and it's not just email.  I've been working on
getting the 1989 WSFA Journals online.  One of them contains a letter
addressed to "the Disclave committee" complaining about Disclave.  The
letter, and Joe's reply (explaining that there's no permanent Disclave
committee, but that each year's chair solicits help from the whole
membership) appeared in a Journal.  A later Journal contained a
vehement complaint from the same person about his letter appearing in
the Journal with his name and address on it.  I guess he only wanted
it to be seen by the nonexistent Disclave committee.

That gave me a moment's pause.  I already censor all home addresses
from the online Journals.  I decided to censor the guy's last name,
mostly so he can't Google himself and complain to us again.  But his
name can be found easily enough by any sufficiently curious reader.
(Hint: either look at the HTML source code for that Journal, or Google
on his first name together with his claim to fame.)

Actually, I don't always censor all home addresses.  Removing them
implies also removing directions which describe how to get to them.
And some of those directions contain humor.  So if it's an address
which I know is no longer valid, I may leave it in.  Similarly with
email addresses.  It's a constant balancing act between doing too
little and doing too much.  Either will offend someone.  Hopefully,
there's little overlap.

> and you've been wanting people to add to the list of current events.

Yes.  The vast majority of events are ones I learned about on my own,
from source such as con fliers, The City Paper, Locus online, etc.
And by checking on events I listed a year ago, to see if they're
happening again this year.

Ironically, when someone does email me to announce an upcoming event,
much of the time it's *already* on our calendar.  Then I have to waste
time carefully cross-checking the details to see if maybe there was
some subtle change in the event they intended to alert me to.

> As for the other, I was curious as to your reasoning.

What other?
--
Keith F. Lynch - kfl at keithlynch.net - http://keithlynch.net/
I always welcome replies to my e-mail, postings, and web pages, but
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