User talk:Writerdude1962

RAEBNC: Stands for Read And Enjoyed But No Comment. Pronounced Ray Bink; those two words often were substituted for the abbreviation. This abbreviation was used widely in publications from amateur press alliances (APAs), or amateur press associations, which flourished in the mid-20th century. These groups, mostly active in the pre-Internet years, were important means of connection among members of groups who often were widely dispersed geographically. Members of an APA (who all usually belonged to a larger common-interest group) wrote newsletters to be exchanged with other members and sent them to a central contact person, who then sent one copy of each contribution back to each member. Thus, in exchange for contributing a newsletter, a member would receive a newsletter from each other member. Comment on other newsletters was encouraged, but often a member would have nothing to say about a particular newsletter. In such cases, RAEBNC was a common response. Because APA newsletters most often were photocopies (or, in the earliest history, copied by some other means) and most often were sent by mail, contributors tried to keep expenses down by using abbreviations, as well as by filling pages completely and using single-spaced type. (Because members had to pay mailing costs of receiving newsletters, a member whose contributions wasted space and added pages could be censured by other members.) “Newbies” (new members, often unfamiliar with conventions) quickly were informed of standard abbreviations and usage. APAs largely died out with the advent of e-mail and Web postings, which are much cheaper, are much faster, and can reach a broader audience.A. J. Sobczak (talk) 17:45, 16 June 2008 (UTC)