Thread by @seananmcguire

Today on useless pet peeves: lists.

We have officially entered the Season of Lists, that melancholy time of year when people are making their lists of Things I Liked Last Year, Things I Think Should Win Awards, and Things I Need To Do If I Want My Cat To Love Me.

...maybe that last one's just me.

Lists are good things! Yes, it can sting when Your Thing doesn't make any lists, but something isn't bad just because it stings. Lists are the jellyfish of the social media sea, floating where they will, doing what they want. Jellyfish don't care.

But every time I see someone make a list--and lists that aren't, say, "Things On My Desk" or "Insects My Venus Flytrap Is Currently Digesting" are always, always subjective--it's followed by a flood of one specific comment.

"You forgot..."

No, I didn't. My list of My Top Ten My Little Ponies didn't FORGET Twilight Sparkle, it's a list focused on G1 (my preferred generation) and she didn't exist in G1. My list of My Top Five Cat Breeds didn't FORGET the Munchkin, I don't like them.

Even lists that leave off the "My" at the beginning will usually have a paragraph at the start explaining selection criteria and why they picked the things they did. The "My" is read. Saying "You forgot..." doesn't help anything.

Which is not to say that lists can't be criticized. If I'm a reviewer for Top Genre Journal, and my list of The Best Books of 2018 is all straight white men, that's a problem; it shows a lack of breadth in my reading.

It's perfectly reasonable to consider and interrogate and yes, even critique lists. But "You forgot..." doesn't do any of those things.

Also:

MY TOP TEN MY LITTLE PONIES

10. Windwhistler
9. Ice Crystal
8. Posey
7. Moondancer
6. Dancing Butterflies
5. Mimic
4. Moonjumper (Argentina)
3. Seashells
2. Harvest Season (custom, don't care)
1. Little Flitter

MY TOP FIVE CAT BREEDS

5. Sphinx
4. Void
3. Classic Siamese
2. Ragdoll
1. Maine Coon