Date:         Mon, 15 May 1995 12:04:23 EDT
From: "leaky faucet--tink, tink, tink" <mbarker@MIT.EDU>
Subject:      CHALLENGE: META-RHETORICAL BASH: Your Dream List!
Comments: To: the people time forgot <writers@mitvma.mit.edu>

Since we seem to be creeping about the topical forest laying traps,
sniping, and otherwise doing each other in, let me ask you to set
aside the individual nitpicking, minor badinage, and even the
incipient warmth of mutual stakeburning for a while and join in a
grander joust--a contest of wit and words!

Write an essay (story, perhaps even poem?) about your dream list.

Don't forget to consider your audience and use your best efforts to
convince, move, sway, and excite the audience to support your dreams
and schemes.  Think about what may be in the heads of the other 399
plus (400 plus minus you!), consider how to reach them, and then pour
your wisdom (and wit?) into those empty vessels.

Or you may try your writing fingers at teaching, organizing, writing
an introduction to "this old list", providing a "dream team" of
contests, begging the researchers to put together bigger and better
reports on markets, or...

Lay out the basics of posting etiquette...

Perhaps an essay on critiquing?  subbing?  getting off the dime and
putting your best finger forward, or how to answer the question "to
post, or not to post"?

Think about it.  Write up your best thoughts about what the compleat
writers' list should (*or could*) be doing--and how this imperfect
collaboration of strangers might develop towards that.  What are the
topics, the methods of interaction, the strains in the dance?

Revise it.

And when the post is ready, tell us all about it.

On your keyboards, think, polish, and post your best essay (story,
perhaps even poem?) about your dream list.

We'll all win.

as for why I think this might correctly be called a META-RHETORICAL BASH:

rhet.o.ric \'ret-*-rik\ n [ME rethorik, fr. MF rethorique, fr. L rhetorica,
   fr. Gk r]he-torike-, lit., art of oratory, fr. fem. of rhe-torikos of an
   orator, fr. rhe-to-r orator, rhetorician, fr. eirein to say, speak - more
   at WORD 1: the art of speaking or writing effectively; specif : the study
   of principles and rules of composition formulated by ancient critics 2a:
   skill in the effective use of speech 2b: insincere or grandiloquent
   language 3: verbal communication : DISCOURSE

(so a rhetorical question is one which is spoken or written
effectively?  specifically, using the principle and rules of
composition formulated by old farts?:-)

anyway, rhetoric can be used to refer to the art of writing
effectively, which seems like a fine, wholesome topic for our little
band of finger toilers to discuss.

meta-rhetoric, then, might be said to deal with the ways and means of
conducting such an orgy of effective writing... the bash of keys, the
clash of punctuation, the grand campaign of these troops gathered for
words and more words!

let me just say this about that.

Let us join in fine oratory and other rhetoric, avoiding the tedious
trappings of illogic and antipathy, cleaning away the mud and sludge
of hysteria and fear, striding forth on a glistening bridge of words
between peoples into the glorious sunshine of a bright tomorrow...

we are marching to a better list,
a better list,
a writers' list!
we are writing for a better list,
and our eyes are all quite red,
from the screens of light,
and the words so bright...

(sorry, I got carried away by the glint of military metaphors...)
tink