From: dac@prolix.pub.uu.oz.au (Andrew Clayton)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.movies
Subject: Re: Brin: Writers should be read and not heard
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 92 11:02:17 GMT
Reply-To: munnari!labtam!eyrie!prolix!dac
FollowUp-To: rec.arts.sf.movies
Keywords: 
Organization: More like Dis~, really.

In article <1992Jul19.144715.137@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>, Pete Nofel writes:

> Two posts so far by someone alleged to be David Brin (with much
> hearsay as evidence it is indeed Brin), and both convince me that
> I don't much like him.

How thrilling for readers of r.a.sf.written to know this face!

> He posts through a third party for fear of exposing himself to
> flamers or the seduction of Usenet. 

You have no proof of this allegation, other than your own
infertile imagination.  There are billions of reasons for not
wanting to post messages.  Bar bs gurz jbhyq or univat gb qrny
jvgu qbeznag trrxf jvgu tbng-purrfr sbe oenvaf yvxr lbhefrys!

> In other words, Brin is a snob locked away in his ivory tower who

What bilge you spout!  How many SF authors do you see posting in
Usenet using their own names, Pete?  About two.  How many SF
authors are there out there?  Scads.

Authors are just people; and my guess is that most authors get
*tired* of being praised/razzed instead of being treated as
anyone else gets treated.

Who would want several hundred/thousand emails from
adoring/hating fans, filling up their mailbox, and generally
being a VAST waster of time?

When you get to be a famous SF author [reminds me about that poll
on books set 'billions of years in the future'] then you can see
what it's like to post messages and deal with cloying fan
letters, and acidic diatribes against your efforts. Until then
you have no reasonable position from which to lob your vacuous
claims, and I, for one, would prefer it if you stuck your
opinions in a killfile instead of posting them, thus saving
several thousand readers from having to do so themselves.

I'd prefer that Brin wrote some more pretty damned readable
books, rather than read a few messages from him, and skip several
gigabytes of 'lets talk to a famous person' garbology directed at
him!

If you really want to talk to authors, check out the SF echo on
Fidonet - Quite a few post there:

[Taken from some stats]
                                               Average        Max    Min Ori
                      Total          No            Msg        Msg    Msg gina
                      Bytes Rnk    Msgs Rnk       Size Rnk   Size   Size lity
                     ====== ===    ==== ===     ====== === ====== ====== ====

Pamela Dean          573697   2  3% 650   3  3%    882 162   4147     80  60%
John Dechancie       372115   6  2% 812   2  4%    458 532   5115    107  55%
Raymond E. Feist     114816  42  0% 102  57  0%   1125  77   3017    214  52%
Lawrence Evans       109903  47  0% 191  33  0%    575 423   2325     79  98%
Steven Brust          99036  49  0% 237  21  1%    417 568   1607     84  49%
Joel Rosenberg        67717  68  0%  50  95  0%   1354  34   5822    105  47%
John E. Stith         22763 122  0%  34 116  0%    669 329   3183    201  60%
Pat Cadigan           12662 160  0%  34 117  0%    372 603    853    115 100%

> I've purchased, read, and enjoyed Brin's SF, but if there's ever

What more do you want, Pete? That authors should write
scintillating and energetic articles just to please you?

Sheesh.

> Don't bother to answer, Brin. I wouldn't want you to take any of
> your precious working time away from you.

Go and read Heinlein's _Grumbles from Beyond the Grave_ - he
explains 'fans' far more objectively and authoritatively than I!

Dac
munnari!labtam!eyrie!prolix!dac      David Andrew Clayton.           // _| _  _
  prolix!dac%eyrie@labtam.oz.au      Canberra, Australia           \X/ (_](_](_
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prolix!dac@sserve.cc.adfa.oz.au            . . I am.             +61 6 290 2215