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The following first appeared in the private email list IVy-subscribers,
which is available to all those who subscribe to the
printed magazine, International Viewpoints.
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Hooray!  It's here at last!
by Phil Spickler
9 May 1999


Dear Fellow-Listers,

      You may well ask, "What's here at last?"  So listen, my friends, and
you shall hear.

       In preamble, I should like to extend a hearty acknowledgment, a vote
of appreciation, and much admiration for all those who follow the course of
the IVy subscribers list and do not feel compelled, except perhaps very
occasionally, to actually post to the list.  Yes, it struck me like a
thunderclap that if all 80 or more souls who are tuned to this frequency were
to get the idea, like some of us, that it's essential to put our 2 or 3
cents, farthings or kopecks on line, that we'd then all be spending the
greater part of our time and lives reading all the mail and responding to it.
 And I gather that the Internet is so addictive that fair numbers of people
around this planet do that.  I myself do not have this much time to spare,
since I have a marvelous flock of hairless sheep that I must tend to, as well
as a pretty fair acreage of alfalfa that as we all know can take quite a bit
of work.  But since I like to shoot my own oversized mouth off on the IVy
list, and I certainly get a giant kick out of the other vocal few, I must
thank the rest of the list who have the good sense, the reserve, and the
willingness to let show-offs like myself, or by any other name entertainers,
hopefully keep a lively, interesting, entertaining, and above all humorous
forum in existence.

       I receive privately sufficient acknowledgments to have given me the
feeling that these efforts are generally appreciated by fellow listers, and
their love, warmth and acknowledgment is felt, as well as interest, without
the necessity of verbalizing.  In further support of this, in the months that
I have enjoyed freely communicating to the list, my own life and livingness
has definitely taken a turn for the better.  And so my sincere and humble
thanks to all who have created this list, and who continue to keep it mocked
up.

        Now back to what's here at last.  The other night, my constant
companion and I were chatting about one thing or another, and one of us got
the idea of "What about a list, or should I say a by-passed charge list, for
those who have communicated on Internet lists and have been communicated to?"
 And so was born the idea of the list's list.

          I have, over the months, witnessed plenty of comm cycles that
engendered by-passed charge that hardly ever got cleaned up, with plenty of
anger and hurt feelings and disgust and ARC breaks and all that sort of stuff
happening -- and this among people who in the main have quite a bit of
knowledge of the mechanics of good 2-way communication, and who have a good
sense of when it goes awry and ends in BPC; and many of them know what needs
to be done to repair it.  It is my belief that the majority, if not all, of
the folks on this list would like to see it maintained with lots of ARC and
with a general or average tone level well above the various hostilities.  In
order to help that intention, the following list to help the location and
indication of by-passed charge is humbly submitted.  Also, this list can be
used to provide relief from by-passed charge for other Internet lists that
one might interact with.

 THE ASSESSMENT:

1.  Has a communication not been fully understood?

2.  Has acknowledgment been withheld?

3.  Wasted time and energy on firefights?

4.  Insufficient pan-determinism to maintain in-ARC communication?

5. Feeling hurt, wounded, upset, enturbulated?

6. Failed to get as much recognition as was deserved?

7. Using the list for reasons other than its stated purpose?

8. Failed help?

     In conclusion: the above eight items suggest some hopeful possibiities
for this proposed list, and we ask that anyone and everyone that might like
to contribute to the formation of an excellent by-passed charge assessment
list will write in and add further suggested items, which should not only be
fun and illuminating but end up the IVy list with something that (as far as I
know) has not been done before, and that we can all, in the third dynamic
sense, be justifiably proud of.  So again, please contribute!  I'm certain
that there are numerous folks out there that will have some perfectly
wonderful selections to offer.

       In delighted and quivering anticipation, I remain, sincerely yours,
Phil  (and Julie too)