Hi all,

Thanks Ferrara for starting this thread and for the idea of starting notebook style threads for the book.

I haven't started toa get my thoughts in order yet about which threads I'd really like to see included. I agree about Shula's Women's Circle thread, and also I'd like to see some of the many threads which cater for the diversity of interests and viewpoints at Mudcat.

I'd also like to see some of the responses to the more negative side of the net - e.g. flaming and also attempts by outsiders to start pornographic topics. Hell, we don't need outsiders to start that, just mention any topic in any thread which has the capability of reminding Art about condoms and we can generate our own interesting conversations **BG**

Let me explain about why I'd like to see these threads (probably judiciously edited, but not completely Disney-fied). It's when we have something negative intruding on our community that we all rally around and try to proactively bring the community back into a more harmonious balance and that is when the sense of community here becomes most obvious to me.

I particularly remember a thread within the last year when someone, presumably a newcomer or outsider - not yet a member of the community) tried to start a topic on lesbian sex, but we turned it, quietly, deftly, and neatly into a discussion on music for and by gay people.

So, I'd like to see the crisis points as well as the happy healthy caring stuff.

Night Owl, I think you are on to something with that title. I'm sure that there are lots of possible variations on that theme and I'd like to see the ideas we could all come up with.

I read a review of a non-fiction book about 10 years ago. I never did find the book and now I have no idea of the title or the authors. It was the record of an e-mail friendship which started between 2 women scientists, one stationed at the north or south pole (I think) and the other one somewhere else in the world. They started e-mailing each other because of a mutual interest in a scientific topic but became e-mail friends and talked about everything important in their lives. At the time that I read the review I thought it would make fascinating reading because of the way their friendship started and how it lasted over a long period even though they didn't meet until a long time after their correspondence first began. I can see something of that scenario in the Mudcat forum, and I'd like to see if reflected in the book.

I'll keep thinking about my choices for threads to include.

Helen