One last post and then I promise to shut up.
Crazy idea: why not create an additional forum, called The Sharing Forum, or Forum X, or The Making Mark Happy Forum, or something like that? Now before you yell at me, I don't know how much work that would entail. Alex and the moderators (sounds like a doo wop group) may well be overworked as it is. But if not, here are some things to consider.
1) It's obvious Mark really, really, really wants it. And we like Mark. We may think he's a little kookles, but he's a nice person, a knowledgeable reader, a fine poet, an independent thinker, and a brilliant essayist. Why not humor him in this one thing, which would take nothing away from the existing forums?
2) No more of these "deja vu" threads started by Mark or others who are more interested in "sharing" or light critique than heavy-duty workshopping. Just refer them to the new forum.
3) It's easy to say "Go post to your blog" or the Pink Palace or whatever, but we all know that's not the same. We know that most of the people who post here are receptive to formal verse. And we know there are people here whose opinions we respect. So-and-so probably isn't going to google my blog, but he might peek into Forum X while he's here. So a forum here wouldn't actually duplicate something that's available elsewhere.
I'm not going to lobby for this, since I'm not the one it would create work for, nor am I all that interested in the thing. I'm just humbly, meekly, naively throwing the question out there.
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