The other side of that coin is, I believe, that people see the list as
non-responsive. Certainly not the person who receives the private answers.
But the rest of the list, particularly newer members, who may be looking for
the same information end up feeling that there was no answer at all.
Recent events have made at least some of us, myself included, a bit shy of
opening ourselves to controversy. I believe this is to detriment of the
list community. I've received comments from others that lead me to believe
that it's happening with increasing frequency.
So: when asking a question, take an few seconds and ask for answers to the
list, rather than privately. When answering questions, please make every
effort to post to the list.
(BTW - *please* don't answer to the person and to the list. If you don't
understand why, post the question to the list . . . . . . .)
Thanks -- dwf (still Potter Mailing List maintainer for a while)