Evidently there are still some knowledgeable people answering 
   HistoNet questions directly to the askers, depriving the rest
   of us of the benefit of their wisdom and expertise. I didn't
   see a single reply to the question about the Machiavello stain
   (and still don't know what it is), but Renee did receive
   answers. The whole idea of a listserver like this one is to
   share our ignorance by asking, and to share our knowledge by
   answering to everyone. It says so in the bumph we receive
   every time we type "subscribe" on the Subject line!

   Often there is more than one answer to a question, and there
   can be requests for clarification, added hints, and even
   occasional arguments. Open discussions are the life & soul
   of a forum such as this one, for people with common interests
   in a science that will never be fully understood, partly
   because it's also both a craft and an art. Please reply to
   HistoNet, not just to individuals.

   Thanks to Linda and Herb for getting a better server. The delays
   in posting messages are already noticeably shorter.

On Tue, 25 Apr 2000, Renee Escalona wrote:

> Thanks to all of you who responded to my question about the Machiavello
> stain.  I've got enough info to go on and I think I'm ready to tackle this
> stain.