I promised myself I would stay out of the discussion about 1 or 2 paragraph
messages being preferred, but (and I *know* I am a prime "offender") as
usual seem unable to keep quiet. I LIKE reading some of the longer messages;
I like the flavor of the writer that comes through, and I like learning bits
about people's personalities and their families and even their pets. As a
relative newcomer here, I have to say that the main thing I value is not
only the fact that here is a collaboration of truly excellent talent among
folks who care for women and babies, where solutions to almost any problems
or questions can be found, but that it is a place where we can share some of
the concerns and soul-searching issues and yes, even the little off-hand
remarks, that are often not well-understood in discussion with others.

It's unfortunately all-too-easy for LCs and their fellow travelers to be
kind of isolated from the kind of real peer exchange we are able to have on
this list. Many of us work in settings where our co-workers roll their
eyeballs when they see us coming ("Oh, here goes that breast fanatic
again"...), or where we have no regular contact with those who care as
passionately about the importance of BFing and its many related issues as we
do, or where we feel embattled in our struggle just to do the best we can in
downright unfriendly surroundings. Some of us are funny, some are eloquent,
some are right-to-the-point, and - just like in Real Life! - this is a place
where all the voices should be heard.

We are ALL busy, all pressed for time, all have many other things to tend to
in a day besides reading our e-mail. But I don't think it's unreasonable to
put the "burden of choice" about how to handle the lactnet posts on the
reader. If you're in a hurry and need to skim through the messages quickly,
skip the long ones, or the ones that don't interest you, and save them for
later, or bleep them out unread. When it comes right down to it, exercising
that choice about which messages you're going to read, which you're going to
skip, and which you feel like responding to is ALWAYS with the receiver - no
one is forcing anyone to read their mail, there's no test, and a poster who
is repeatedly out of line will receive guidance from others as a natural
consequence.

Some things only take a sentence or two, and some may take much more, and
IMHO there's plenty of room for both kinds. But, those of you who advocate
more paragraph breaks as a means of increasing readability, point well
taken!

Just what I think - now I'll shut up and go do something else (or, as my
kids say I'll go "get a life".)

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY