words from the labyrinth

[Dedalus]

s~Z wrote:

>  It won't do a lick of good unless you all pipe up and say it yourselves
> along with me.

I, for one, am a lowly preterite lurker like most on this list, who reads
Pynchon for pleasure and subscribes to this list for the same reason.  But
it continually baffles me why certain parties feel it necessary to
flamebait and bitch on-list, rather than sending their prissy bullshit to
the concerned parties off-list.  My only conclusion is that these parties
need to feel the rush of one-up-man-ship in full view of everyone;
probably makes 'em feel like they have the balls to bounce back in play.
You flamebaiters may say, "But, Dedalus, if you don't want to read my
posts, delete them."  True enough, and I do (which most of us do), but
that should only indicate to you the futility of trying to cast your
fellow listers down in cyberpublic ignominy.  No one gives a shit about
you people and your hairsplitting. The flamebaiters may likewise say,
"Well, uh, Dedalus, uh, *you* flamebaited *me* in your post on
anti-flamebaiting!"  I didn't.  And I haven't.  Although perhaps I should
have. The flamebaiters may finally say, "Hey, Dedalus, you're a tight
ass!  This stuff adds to the colour and flavour of what make the P-List
unique."  No, it doesn't.  It makes us all look like shitheads. And I
would prefer to be a shithead on my own terms (which are often enough)
than on someone else's . . .

Some people are on this list to engage in intellectual discourse about
Pynchon and related matters.  Others are on it to dick around.  I
subscribe to other lists, in which posts go through a central mailbox for
filtering relevance before posting en masse (nanny).  Although I dislike
the notion of such online fascism, at least the discourse is more
intellectually stimulating than some of the finger-pointing, hair-pulling,
arm-biting, and bitch-slapping that goes on here.

If the flamebaters wish to respond to this post with the usual drivel,
please do so on-list and I will delete it accordingly.  If, however,
someone wishes to discuss this sensibly, direct your post to,

Dedalus