{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/6570", "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 6570, "subject": "Memento Mori", "messages": 3, "voices": 3, "first": "2014-07-14T05:25:11+00:00", "last": "2014-07-14T15:17:03+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Charles Gillingham", "address": "charlesgillingham at gmail.com" }, "date": "2014-07-14T05:25:11+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Memento Mori", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I'm not a regular contributor here, I've made one post. But I would like to\nbe a full contributor. I understand how the subject of this post is\ninappropriate, and for the most part everyone here has been for quite some\ntime, and understand each others sensitivities.\n\nI'm very offended by this post, concerned with Wolfe's age and/or health.\nAnd starting off with \"get autographs while you can\" is absurd. Anyone that\nreads Wolfe knows it was a changing point in their life. Lets show more\nrespect for Wolfe, who's changed each of our lives so much. Whether or not\nhe reads this list doesn't matter.\n\nCertainly, we should be mature about the realities of mortality. Wolfe's\nlife is his own, and that of his God. We profit off his work, not his\npersonal life. I wish he has a long and healthy. But for his own enjoyment,\nnot so I can get an autograph or send fan mail.\n\nIf I interpreted the meaning or tone of the first post I'm sorry. Either\nway, should we really use this list to gossip about Wolfe?\n\nCharles Gillingham" } ] }, { "message_id": "<53C3B893.1060104@bindweed.com>", "from": { "name": "Gerry Quinn", "address": "gerry at bindweed.com" }, "date": "2014-07-14T11:01:39+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Memento Mori", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On 14/07/2014 06:25, Charles Gillingham wrote:\nI'm not a regular contributor here, I've made one post. But I would \nlike to be a full contributor. I understand how the subject of this \npost is inappropriate, and for the most part everyone here has been \nfor quite some time, and understand each others sensitivities.\n\nI'm very offended by this post, concerned with Wolfe's age and/or \nhealth. And starting off with \"get autographs while you can\" is \nabsurd. Anyone that reads Wolfe knows it was a changing point in their \nlife. Lets show more respect for Wolfe, who's changed each of our \nlives so much. Whether or not he reads this list doesn't matter.\n\nCertainly, we should be mature about the realities of mortality. \nWolfe's life is his own, and that of his God. We profit off his work, \nnot his personal life. I wish he has a long and healthy. But for his \nown enjoyment, not so I can get an autograph or send fan mail.\n\nIf I interpreted the meaning or tone of the first post I'm sorry. \nEither way, should we really use this list to gossip about Wolfe?" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Everybody on the list is interested in discussing the work, and many are \nfans as well. Perhaps this thread is a case of well-intended \nfannishness overstepping the mark - it will happen now and again \nanywhere there are fans. I guess a 'slow down' reminder does no harm, \nbut I am also certain all the intentions involved were good.\n\nSometimes elements of an author's life will be relevant to the work \n(here one must decide how personal and how relevant the individual \nmatters are, and not everyone will come to the same decision every \ntime), but you are quite right in that this is not such a case,\n\n- Gerry Quinn" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Gwern Branwen", "address": "gwern at gwern.net" }, "date": "2014-07-14T15:17:03+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Memento Mori", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 1:25 AM, Charles Gillingham\n wrote:\nI'm very offended by this post, concerned with Wolfe's age and/or health.\nAnd starting off with \"get autographs while you can\" is absurd. Anyone that\nreads Wolfe knows it was a changing point in their life. Lets show more\nrespect for Wolfe, who's changed each of our lives so much. Whether or not\nhe reads this list doesn't matter.\n\nCertainly, we should be mature about the realities of mortality. Wolfe's\nlife is his own, and that of his God. We profit off his work, not his\npersonal life. I wish he has a long and healthy. But for his own enjoyment,\nnot so I can get an autograph or send fan mail.\n\nIf I interpreted the meaning or tone of the first post I'm sorry. Either\nway, should we really use this list to gossip about Wolfe?" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I don't recognize any actual argument in your email. All I see is\nventing about how 'offended' you are. So what.\n\nWhy is it off-limits to discuss Wolfe's impending death? That is of\nserious concern to a mailing list devoted to Wolfe's work: it means no\nmore novels, no more short stories, no more interviews or\nclarifications of mistakes, no more conventions, it means anyone who\nwished to meet Wolfe or get his autograph - and why are you so\ncontemptuous of autographs, anyway? some people really like\nautographs! - and so it is a useful service to a lot of people who\ndon't realize the odds are *really high* and *getting higher every\nyear* (counterintuitive & little appreciated by young people who have\nnever looked at life tables or read up on aging) to alert them of\nthese facts. These concerns are part of why Wolfe has been getting\naccolades the past few years, even though most of his recent work like\n_An Evil Guest_ hasn't really amazed the mailing list - the higherups\nrealize that if they want to honor Wolfe while it'll be most\nmeaningful, they had better do so as soon as they can arrange it.\n\nInteraction with authors has always been a key part of SF fandom; for\nexample, didn't you read Marc's emails in this very thread? Why do you\nthink Wolfe goes to conventions in the first place? Why do conventions\nexist? Because a lot of people do not seem to share your views that\nauthors are demigods best embalmed and up on a shelf." }, { "kind": "sig", "depth": 0, "text": "gwern\nhttp://www.gwern.net" } ] } ] }