I have received a number of complaints (over the past several weeks) from
some LACTNETters who feel that all replies to inquiries posted on LACTNET
should be sent to all who that everyone who read the original question can
also read the reply.

As a co-mother, let me reiterate that both public and private posts are
legitimate. In some cases, a private post is to be preferred--as in
avoiding flaming and/or the perpetuation of same.  We (KB and I) trust that
you all are sufficiently sensitive to this that you will know yourself when
to reply privately rather than to the entire list.  And if you are not
sure, ask us and we will share our opinion with you, privately, in advance
of your planned post.

As an individual, I must tell you that I far more frequently reply to
individuals privately than publicly.  Why?  Because I am not always sure my
replies NEEDS to be read by all (in other words, how useful to everyone is
it likely to be?).  In other cases, my posts may include information that I
would prefer NOT to be seen by anyone other than the original poster.  And,
if I provide the name and/or address, phone, fax, or email of someone I am
referring this person to, and I have not received permission to post that
information publicly, then I will ONLY send that information to the person
whose question has generated my reply.

I hope that the above explanation makes clear that NOT ALL POSTS NEED GO TO
LACTNET. And that those of us who choose to post privately are not denying
LACTNETters information that they would not otherwise receive.  In fact,
most of the time the subject-matter of my private posts have been mirrored
in posts by others who provided a public response.  With more than 1500
people on LACTNET, it seems unlikely that only one person will reply to a
given question and that all such posts will not (at least to a degree)
overlap in the information provided.

Thank you ALL for reading this.

     mailto:[log in to unmask]

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly
disguised as impossible situations."
Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC (Ferndale, WA USA) [log in to unmask]
WEB PAGE: http://www.telcomplus.net/~kga/lactation.html
LACTNET archives http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html