Prospect-L FAQ

Welcome to your regularly scheduled broadcast of the Prospect-L
Frequently Asked Questions list. We attempted to make this brief and
concise, but failed utterly, in the interest of full disclosure.

1. What is Prospect-L?

Prospect-L is an open Sentinel Slash discussion list. This means that
the bulk of our conversation will center around slash-related Sentinel
topics and fiction. Discussion of gen topics and gen fiction is
allowed because your Admins are completists, but the slant of
Prospect-L is slash-centric, gen-friendly.

Any topic related to the television show The Sentinel is welcome. 
This includes discussion of the characters, the episodes, the writing,
the production, the cast and crew, the fandom, etc. We also include in
this any discussion or commentary on Sentinel fan fiction, at whatever
level of complexity, silliness, or venting our members so desire.
You're free to talk about what you liked, what you didn't like, why
you liked or disliked it, trends you've noticed, what you hate, what
you love, whatever. And you can discuss it to whatever degree you
want, from a casual "I loved/hated/liked/disliked/didn't care
for/didn't read that new story that dropped today on
JoeSentinelFictionList" to an in- depth critique.

Our basic philosophy: Limiting discussion topics in a discussion group
tends to limit discussion. People get nervous about posting, they get
quiet, and really cool things fail to get said.

We feel that allowing people to discuss only those stories whose
writers approve of such discussion is inherently limiting, and accords
to the writers a degree of control over readers' activities that is
unprecedented in reality. We also feel that fanfic discussion should
be part of overall discussion of The Sentinel, rather than something
subversive that must be kept separate (like your crazy old aunt in the
attic).

2. Aha! This is why some folks call you guys the Mean List!

Well, yes.

3. Does this mean I can finally tell Jane Q. Fanwriter that she sucks
like a Hoover and should be drummed out of the fandom?

Well, no.

You can say Jane Q. Fanwriter's *fiction* sucks like a Hoover, though,
if you like. If that's your honest opinion, no one is going to stop
you from expressing it, least of all the Admins. We're also not going
to stop anybody from disagreeing with you. Basic rule of thumb: Don't
insult anything that might conceivably insult you back. Works of
fiction, in our experience, rarely make a fuss about how maligned they
are.

4. So what does Prospect-L do that other lists don't do?

Prospect-L arose from a perceived need on the part of the Admins and
many others for a truly open forum for the slash-related discussion of
The Sentinel and of the slash fan fiction based on the show.

At the time of its creation, though gen lists with more liberal
policies existed, other slash lists within the fandom restricted
discussion of fiction according to the preferences of the writers.  In
other words, a writer could forbid discussion of her writing on those
lists if she chose to.

This is not the case on Prospect-L. Here, all Sentinel fan fiction is
fair game for discussion; permission from the writer is not required.

One of the basic ideas behind Prospect-L is that readers are as vital
to fandom as writers, and in fact, that most writers *are* also
readers. Therefore, to limit readers in the scope of their discussions
is damaging to the fandom as a whole.

4. Are there any limits to this freedom of discussion, this wild
bacchanalia of conversation you promise us?

In the interests of full disclosure -- yes. We're a little
off-the-wall, but we don't claim to be an anarchy. Our basic
philosophy doesn't mean there are no rules. It just means the rules
are a little bit different than you may be used to. See "The Rules" at
the end of this FAQ.

We're also pretty firm on the whole "on topic" thing. On-topic means
The Sentinel. That's pretty much it. No other shows/fandoms (unless
you're talking about a crossover), no "what's your favorite book?",
etc. And if you do post about another show, and you spoil that show
for someone, we will come down on you so fast your head will spin.
Seriously. DO NOT SPOIL SHOWS OR MOVIES FOR PEOPLE.

5. Is Prospect-L an active list?

Pretty active, in spurts. The crazy insane mad activity of our first
few months has settled down to a reasonable, fairly steady rate.  We
also have a digest option, if that should prove too much for you.

6. Is anybody in charge around here?

Yes. That would be us -- Margie and Merry, Co- Admins for Prospect-L.
Don't call us "mom", lest we be forced to harm you severely.

You can reach Margie at margieg@trickster.org, and Merry at
merryish@gmail.com. We also jointly answer to
prospect-l-owner@yahoogroups.com.

7. Do I need to send in an age statement?

Nope. Prospect-L is an adult list. Members are required to be at or
over the age of majority for their region in order to remain
subscribed to Prospect-L. Remaining subscribed to Prospect-L after
receiving this FAQ will be seen as a statement that you are aware of
this rule and meet this criterion for membership.

8. Do I need to write an Ob-Prospect if I send an off-topic post?

No. In fact, we insist that you don't. Off-topic posts, if you have to
send them, should be short and sweet and not extended by adding story
bits at the end. All replies to off-topic posts should be sent
privately.

9. Can I send my new TS story to Prospect-L?

No again. There are two fantastic fiction-only lists (SXF and TLAD)
that you can use to post your fiction. Subscription info is here:

SXF: http://populli.org/mailman/listinfo/sxf_populli.org

TLAD: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tlad/

7. Is there anything else I should know?

Only that during an early vote, and in a fit of abject strangeness,
several members of Prospect-L chose Cthulhu (sometimes referred to as
"the Great Squid") as List Mascot. Those members are very weird. Try
not to make direct eye contact with them if at all possible.

Oh, and you might want to know what the rules are.

THE RULES:

Rule the First: The axing of a thread is the business of the Admins
only, and will occur very rarely. The List Admins have no intention of
stopping any conversation unless it has turned into an ad hominem
attack or a metadiscussion - discussion of the value of discussion.

The following are our two most important rules, so we're gonna be VERY
SPECIFIC:

Rule the Second: No metadiscussion. This means we do not allow
discussion about what we should discuss, whether we should discuss, or
how we should discuss. In our experience, discussion of how people
*should* discuss stories in public is the kiss of death for the
actual, real discussion of said stories. Therefore, we do not and will
not allow metadiscussion on Prospect-L.

To clarify, a few examples of story discussion:

Good: "How can you not like stories by Writer X? Are you nuts?"

Good: "What makes you like this story/a story or not like it?"

Good: "You're so wrong I don't even know where to start."

Good: "HA! As if!"

(Note that the above examples pertain directly to fiction and the
poster's opinions about fiction, rather than to the *discussion* of
fiction.)

And then there's metadiscussion...

Bad: "You shouldn't be so negative -- can't you find anything *nice*
to say?"

Bad: "We shouldn't be so hard/soft on writers because they're _________."

Bad: "Criticism should only be constructive."

(Note that the above examples all pertain directly to the *way* people
discuss fiction, rather than to fiction itself.)

Metadiscussion also includes discussing the conversation itself,
instead of the conversational topic:

Bad: "I'm entitled to an opinion."

Bad: "The list's rules let me say this."

Bad: "You can't say that, it's against the list rules."

(Note that the above examples are all about justifying a post's
existence, rather than contributing to the actual conversation at
hand.)

This is not a comprehensive list of all comments that may fall under
the heading of metadiscussion; rather, it's just a few examples to
give those who are confused some idea of what metadiscussion actually
is.

In instances of confusion about what is or is not metadiscussion, the
List Admins will make the final decision.

Furthermore, anyone who tries to stop discussion by saying "you have a
delete key, use it if you don't like a story" will be tossed to the
rest of the list while the Admins sit back with snacks to watch the
destruction.

Rule the Third: No ad hominem attacks. An ad hominem attack is marked
by an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to
the contentions made in the debate.

Examples:

Good: "That story sucked!"

Bad: "YOU suck!"

Good: "You're wrong!"

Bad: "You're stupid!"

(Note that the "good" examples refer only to fiction or opinions,
while the "bad" examples refer to actual living people.)

In instances of confusion about what is or is not an ad hominem
attack, the List Admins will make the final decision.

Rule the Fourth: You are expected to make allowances for people of
different backgrounds.

Rule the Fifth: You are expected not to take offense if someone
forgets to make allowances for you being of a different background.

Rule the Sixth: Flames will be handled by the Admins. The Admins read
the list. Don't whine to the Admins that you've been flamed on the
list - if you've been flamed, we'll know it. This means that the
Admins will decide what constitutes a flame. (Be advised that we
consider anything short of "You just *suck!*" to be non-flammable.
Discussion is allowed. Venting is allowed, too.  We like snarky people
and snarky posts.)

Rule the Seventh: Don't whine to the Admins that you've been flamed in
private email. The Admins neither have nor want any control over what
anybody does in private email.

Rule the Eighth: This isn't actually a rule, as such; more of a Notice:

We would like to inform you that all posts to Prospect-L are
completely private and will never be passed on to any non-list member.
However, our powers are not that extensive (damn it).  There is no
practical way to enforce a rule against forwarding posts from
Prospect-L to other lists or individuals, and it would be
irresponsible of us to pretend otherwise. That being the case, we want
to make this perfectly clear:

Prospect-L is a public list. Once you post to Prospect-L, it is
entirely possible that your posts will find their way to unexpected
places. Privacy is not something any Admin can promise you; anyone who
says different is selling something.

*But.* If you are a member of this list, and you publicly put someone
else's post on the web -- e.g, on a Livejournal, to MySpace, etc. --
and we find out about it, you're banned. No exceptions. We can't stop
private forwarding to lists, individuals, or locked LJ posts, but we
won't stand for publicly republishing someone else's posts.

Rule the Ninth: With regard to the forwarding of posts *to* Prospect-L
from non-members or from other lists: The list member who forwards any
post to Prospect-L will be held responsible for the contents of that
post. This means that the head- smack for any forwarded post that
violates the list rules will fall with lightning speed upon the list
member who forwarded it.

Rule the Tenth: With regard to the forwarding of private email to
Prospect-L without permission from the person who sent it to you: 
Don't do it. If you want to refer to something on-topic from your
private email, feel free to paraphrase.

The Basics:

Subbing: Send an email to Prospect-L-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Unsubbing: Send an email to Prospect-L-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Posting: Send email to Prospect-L@yahoogroups.com

And that's it for the FAQ. If you have any other questions, please let
us know. This FAQ will be posted automatically once a month by the
Prospect-L list software, and can be found as a text file in the Rules
& FAQ folder located at: 
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/Prospect-L/files/.

--Merry and Margie Admins, Prospect-L