The Mirror Can Do Nothing But Reflect
Once upon a time, there was one HP fic named The Mirror of Maybe that has remained unfinished for about ages. But some people (over 4000 of us, actualy), remain faithful and hopeful members of the mailing list.
The list has very strict rules about OT posts that anybody can read on the files section, but a few days ago, dark_lillie wanted to find a Harry Potter/Lucius Malfoy fic and, defying all logic and reason, makes an OT post and someone else answers.

The mod anwsers:

1. This *isn't* a Lucius/Harry pairing fic list.

2. It is specifically written in the list rules that asking about other
fics or regular HP things is off-topic.

Do *NOT* do this again, or you will be summarily removed from the list.

And answers:

And you compound the first person's error by reply to an off-topic message
on the list, instead of directly to the poster.

Same warning for you - obey the rules or be removed from the list.

dark_lillie feels offended:

Sorry, but I havn't been active on this list for awhile, so I wasn't
aware of the rules. I have never posted here, except for this once,
and I think your rule is a bit harsh. For one measly post you would
remove me from this list.

1: Are you having a bad day?

2: I can remove myself from this list, thank you.


I would suggest if you want this to be a friendly place to be
friendly yourself. I was just posting in all my harry potter slash
groups, so that I would have a better chance in finding the fic. I
didn't know that I would get shot down by just looking for a
harmless fic.

I will not be posting here again, however, I will stay on this list
just incase the author does update sometime in the future.

I have other things I want to say, but I choose not too.

Thank you,
Lil~


The mod tries to reason with her:

Do we need to go through this yet again?

Let me explain it to you. This list has over 4000 members. If only 10% of
them decided to post an off-topic message each day, then that would be 400
messages in everybody's mailbox - each day. That's over 12 000 (yes,
that's twelve *thousand*) off-topic messages each month from this list
alone. I don't want that, the other moderators don't want it and I'd
hazard a guess that you don't either.

Unfortunately, that's what this group used to be like. I was brought in to
clean it up and stop it getting that way again. I don't care what you were
'just doing' - what you did was against the list rules. So, no, I'm not
having a bad day. I'm deliberately that way here, because that's what it
takes to keep people like you who think that the rules apply to everyone
except them in line.

In the real world, you don't get a second chance - if you commit a crime
(breaking the rules of society) you are arrested and punished. Here you at
least get a warning first. And your logic is flawed as well. You would not
be removed for 'one measly post', but for 2 posts - the second one after
having been warned. At that point you're not being removed for making a
mistake, but for *deliberately* flouting the rules, because you can no
longer claim ignorance of them.

Whether or not you are active on the list, it is *your* responsibility to
make yourself familiar with the rules that govern it, the same as with
every other place. It is also your resposibility to abide by those rules,
or to cease participation. That's just common courtesy (and common sense.)
But obviously you lack both, especially given that I posted the above
explanation here less than a month ago.

In short, obey the list rules or get out.

Sadly, someone else had sended another answer to the original OT post as well and the mod, fed up, says:


Are you really so stupid that you would post this to the list after all
the warnings that everyone else got? *Especially* when the original poster
asked specifically that replies go directly to her (the only right thing
they did in that post - she at least tried to spare the list from the
consequences of her mistake. Though I suspect that that was due to
laziness rather than design - she just didn't want to wade through all the
lists she spammed with her question to find the answers.)

And it's not as if you could claim to have posted this before the warnings
went out - that was a week ago.

Absolute last warning. Do *NOT* reply to the original post (or any post on
this topic) on-list.

(And BTW - if you want your communications to be understood, then learn to
write coherent sentences, with punctuation and capitalisation. And full
words too - 'u' is not a word, it's a letter. You may not *be* stupid, but
your writing gives you the image of someone who is. And that's all we have
to judge you on here.)

And, then, rayvendancer, who had nothing to do with the above, speaks her mind:

You are an odious little man SS. She didn't insult you but you suddenly
decided it would be okay to insult her by calling her stupid and several other
choice names. I certainly don't want to be on a list where a *horrible* little
troll like you is a moderator, she made a mistake,. yes ..but that was hardly a
call to be so hateful. I'm canceling my membership, I certainly don't need your
brand of self rightious venom in my mailbox.

The mod answers:

Then why are you still on the list of members? Either leave (as you've
said you will) or be branded a liar.

Either way, isn't it interesting that you think it's OK for you to abuse
me in far worse terms than I have ever used on anyone here. Can anyone say
'double standard'? As I said the first time this flared - THIS WAS NONE OF
YOUR BUSINESS! So butt out.

Anyway, I might suggest that you re-read my message. At no point did I
call *anyone* stupid. I asked if they were, based on their actions, but
*never* did I call anyone anything. Unlike you, who seems to think that
because I am doing the job that I was specifically asked to do that I am a
legitimate target for your own arrogant and self-righteous venom. (And at
least I can spell it correctly.)

That's all so far.
I hope it's all finished, but on the other hand, it's been fun to have all of this delivered at home :D


ETA: The mod decides to leave us.


(To the people who have supported me and actually understood what I've
been trying to achieve, thank you. It's just a pity that no-one else
realised you were there. None of this is directed at you.)

OK you bunch of ingrates.

You want abuse - you can have it. I'm sick and tired of wearing your
pathetic whining and crap because I dare to do the job that I was asked
to. There are a number of other moderators here, and none of them do squat
to deal with anything. They just sit back and let me do their dirty work,
let me take the abuse and and then they take all the credit. Thanks for
nothing, all of you.

Some of you might remember what this list used to be like, before I came
along and sorted it out. Well, when you're all drowning in floods of
off-topic messages and spam again then don't come whinging to me - I don't
give a flying fuck about you anymore. I hope you all choke on your own
self-righteous arrogance.

The lot of you are drooling, whining, pewling, puking scum, with no more
right to exist than a rabid rat. The vast majority of you are functionally
illiterate, unable to form a coherent sentence if your life depended on it
- mainly because a coherent thought has never considered the remotest
possibility of ever crossing what passes for your minds. I pray to
whatever gods may still exist that none of you ever breed, or that if you
have already done so that you do us and it the mercy of immediately
euthanising it to save us the horror and it the embarrassment of its
continued existence. Would that your parents had had the same level of
foresight.

The temptation to go to MidnightBlue and ask her to not waste her time,
energy and creativity on such a pack of selfish vermin is extremely high.
And since I've known her personally for over 20 years, my opinion does
actually count for something with her. All I'd have to do would be to show
her a few examples of your treatment of me and she would be horrified -
perhaps enough to stop posting here. It would be no trouble to set up an
invite only list for her to post the remainder of the story on.


Don't bother replying. Unlike the last whining maggot, when I say I'm
unsubscribing, I actually do it.