[ Joyce Brite wrote: ]

> I was surprised when I saw that a change had been made.  I could
> understand if "alright" were changed to the more appropriate "all
> right," but the edited sentence read awkwardly.  I further noted that
> a paragraph break had been inserted at an inappropriate place in my
> article, adding to the obfuscation.

Joyce,  I, too, have been puzzled and at times frustrated by the nature
and degree of editing of my submissions to the Digest.  (Generally,
though, the most bizarre editing work is done with the formatting.)

Now, leaving aside the issue of whether it's right for editors to
change wordings as experienced by Joyce -- and I maintain from personal
(bitter) experience as an editor that it is *not* right to do so except
in exceptional cases, and then only sparingly -- I must reflect on the
amount of time required for these activities.

Bear in mind that all of us have been requested, however gently and
politely, to "chip in" monetarily to support this.  This is the first
opportunity for me to state it publicly, but I don't see any value in
this.  I *do* place a great amount of value on MMD as a whole, but
overall, its value would be diminished only slightly if it were
entirely unmoderated.

Friends, I subscribe to several mailing lists, and MMD is the only one
which is moderated.  Despite what you may have been lead to believe,
unmoderated mailing lists are not awash with "spam", are not one
endless flame-fest, and are not inundated with inappropriate or
off-topic postings.  I'd expect moderation to be a crucial tool for
managing a mailing list with highly charged political/religious
content, but such content is not to be found here.  (And if it is,
the individuals involved are taking their work (or hobby) *far* too
seriously.)

In summation, lighten up with the editing, Robbie and Jody, else you
do more harm than good.

Respectfully yours,

Colin Hinz * ASFi Music Works * asfi@interlog.com * (416) 516-8686 *

 [ Earlier tonight I sent Colin and Joyce the un-edited version of this
 [ Digest, for comparison with the published version.  Write to Jody
 [ at <rollreq@foxtail.com> if you wish a copy.  I invite replies to
 [ MMD concerning the contents and editing of the Digest.  -- Robbie