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First - I think the FAQ is an excellent idea and well worth pursuing, though I wonder who will bell the cat. Second - If, as has been suggested, the FAQ is expanded to become a one stop mini mart for PD information we will solve a problem I have faced for some time, but may well find that in the process the list will evolve in ways that make recent changes fade into insignificance. The problem solved is this. For some time now I have found myself starting a reply to a posting on the list only to stop after a few lines because I am repeating things I have said many times before. I know that there are newcomers for whom the information is new, but I am always aware of the bulk of our 1600 membership who will have heard it all before. The struggle to find new ways to say things, is one I find increasingly more taxing, especially in simple physical terms. It has taken me over half an hour just to write to this point in this message. It is not uncommon for some of my postings to take 9 or 10 hours to write (something like 'Terrible Beauty' is literally weeks in preparation). With that kind of investment in time I for one would like to be adding to my contribution, not repeating it in different words. An extended FAQ would resolve this by being able to refer the enquirer to some previous posting on the subject. Advantageous as this is it has, however, the potential to reduce the traffic on the list to a series of questions and FAQ references. The strength of the current system is that whilst I may be falling silent other voices with new viewpoints and insights are being raised. I believe the FAQ is a necessary and positive move -but I also believe we should think carefully before we extend it past the nuts and bolts of list membership. Thirdly - If there should be a discussion on the introduction of a FAQ and/or what the FAQ should cover, I hope it can be conducted in a less aggressive manner than has been our recent practice. The feeding frenzy that recently passed for discussion probably initiated more unsubscribes than any other source. Even if it didn't, it gave the lie to the much vaunted "family" aspect of the list. Any family has its disagreements, but any family that tears itself apart as this one does, for as long as this one has been, has to be described as dysfunctional. We can 'tweak' our format and services 'till doomsday, but if we "have not love" we are " ...as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal". I have become so tired of swimming against that tide, so aware that I am out of touch with the mood of the list that, in combination with my previously mentioned reluctance to repeat myself, I have fallen almost completely silent in recent weeks. This is hardly a matter of much importance in itself - but it is a pointer to another reason (other than list volume) why some people may be leaving us. Perhaps they simply don't like the way we treat each other. Dennis +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dennis Greene 49/dx 37/ onset 32 There's nothing wrong with me that a cure for PD won't fix! [log in to unmask] http://members.networx.net.au/~dennisg/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++