A topic for discussion

	Well, since the amount of activity in this newsgroup has 
	increased dramatically in the past couple of weeks, I'm 
	going to bring up a topic for discussion and see where 
	it leads us.

				FILK ETIQUETTE

	This is a subject I've given some amount of thought to in 
	the past year.  In part because I've been taking more of a 
	leadership role in organizing filk activities at the cons,
	which has lead me to be even more attentive to the dynamics
	in a given circle, and to my responsibility in helping the 
	newcomers to our hobby integrate themselves successfully.
	Also partially because the themes of interpersonal 
	communication and social regulation have been recurring
	ones in my life recently.  After some of the difficulties
	we had at Norwescon last month, I thought that this might
	be an interesting, and hopefully productive, discussion 
	for some of us to engage in; particularly as we make up
	a good representation of the leading figures in NW filk
	activities.

reply	Therefore, the questions I am proposing are:


	-- Is there such a thing as "filk etiquette"?  
reply
	-- If so, what are its commonly agreed upon rules?  


reply	-- Do these strictures vary between circles and concerts, 


		between different kinds of circles, and/or by region 
		of the country?  


reply	-- How are they currently communicated to newcomers?


reply	-- Are there points which could use some refinement?  


		(Either in the rules themselves, and/or in how 
		they are communicated to newcomers.)


reply	-- How do we (or even should we) deal with individuals 


		who violate the rules?


reply	-- Any other relevant points you wish to bring up.




	As you can probably guess, I have some thoughts of my own
	on this topic, but I will withold them for awhile until I
	see if there is actually sufficient interest among you to
	hold this discussion.  Replies meant for group consumption
	should be sent to the main mailing list address, while 
	private questions / comments should be sent to my personal
	address.  

		[Filk mailing list = filk at dragoncat.net]
		[My personal email = quarong at eskimo.com]

	Thanks for your time.  I look forward to your comments.

				Quarong