List members are moderated initially in this group; this means that your post
will not immediately go through to the group, but will be pending until an elf
sends it through.  The reason we do this here is because the Movie list gets
an unusually high amount of spam and by moderating posts we can keep it from
reaching the group.

NETIQUETTE TIPS FOR HPfGU-Movie

Members of Harry Potter for Grown Ups' Movie list are requested to observe certain rules of 'netiquette' and good practice, as outlined below.  These rules were established for our book discussion list, and they apply equally 
to the Movie list.

If you wish to discuss the Harry Potter books, please join our main list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups
 

ATTENTION! 

Please note that we have separate club areas for OT posts and Announcements:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Announcements

Bear in mind that the Moderators will be standing over you, flexing their wands and eyeing up that box of Howlers sitting in the corner of the cyber-office. You may get the odd advisory e-owl from us if we think you're getting a bit unruly, and if you're really, really naughty, you may end up being turned into a ferret and getting bounced. Consider yourselves warned! 

[Moderators exit, stage left, cackling...]
 

IF YOU HAVEN'T POSTED HERE BEFORE...

It is worth reading a few days' worth of messages before posting your own. 
You can do this either by "lurking" (reading messages, but not writing them) for a few days, or by going back through the most recent messages. This way, you'll get a "feel" for the group, and you can make sure you're not repeating something that has been posted recently by someone else. 


KEEP THE SUBJECT LINE RELEVANT TO THE CONTENT OF THE POST 

Message board conversations, like "real life" ones, will often drift from one subject to another. If the subject line does not change to fit the direction of the conversation, it can frustrate the reader.
 
When replying to a message, please take the time to check the subject line 
and make sure it still matches your post.  It isn't very helpful if your post is headed, for example, "Digest #345" or "A question."


CLEARLY DISTINGUISH YOUR OPINIONS/THEORIES FROM FACTS

If you are expressing an opinion or espousing a pet theory, be sure that the other readers will recognize it as an opinion or theory. Using phrases such 
as IMO (in my opinion), "I believe," "This is all speculation but I think ....," etc. will make it clear that your statements are not necessarily based on facts from the books (canon) or movie (movie-canon). It can be very confusing for everyone if someone puts forth a theory without any qualifying language.

 
KEEP YOUR POSTS ON TOPIC
 
In such a large and active group, it's easy for discussions to go off on a tangent. If a couple of you find something in common other than Harry Potter, wonderful! Getting to know people is, perhaps, the best thing about clubs. 
But if you find your discussion getting away from the main point of the club, please continue it off-list.


TRY TO AVOID ONE-LINE AND ULTRA-SHORT POSTS

Please take a moment to think about the following guidelines on short posts:-

-- Consider expanding on your point. For example, if you are posing a question about the HP movies ("What about so-and-so?"), could you add some thoughts of your own to lead off any discussion?

-- Consider combining your shorter points/responses with a few others in a multi-topic post, making sure the topic line indicates this. However, if your point is substantive (or just plain lengthy), it is best to give it space on its own to make the thread easier to follow.

-- Avoid "me too!" and "LOL!" posts that have absolutely no other content.

Sometimes a brief response is perfectly acceptable; for example, if you are correcting an error someone has made that might be of general interest.


TAKE CARE WHEN RESPONDING TO POSTS

If you are replying to a message, please indicate the name of the person who wrote the original and delete any parts of the original post that are not relevant to your point(s), including the 'footer' added by Yahoo, especially if the original was really long! In most cases, it will be easy enough to delete some or all of the quoted material.

Remember, also, that if you respond in a fresh post rather than using the 'reply' button, your response will not appear in the "replies to this message" in any search. In general, if someone asks a question that has a unique answer, please try to check through the message headers to see 
if anyone else has responded to it before posting the answer. It's understandable that several people may dash off a response just after the original message, but there should be no need for further posts after that. 

 
TAKE THE TIME TO PROOFREAD YOUR POSTS 

If you're used to forums where speed is important (chat rooms, role playing games, etc.), it's easy to fall out of the habit of proofreading. Here, however, your post will be as relevant in five minutes (or, usually, even in five hours) as it is now. 

Before hitting the 'send' button, please take a few minutes to look over your post and correct any typos, spelling/punctuation errors, or problems with sentence structure or capitalization. This will make it much easier to read and help in getting across your point.

Please avoid using all lower case letters or, worse still, all CAPITAL LETTERS. 

 
BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHER MEMBERS' FEELINGS 

If you disagree with someone's message, no matter how strongly, remember to respect the other person's right to his or her own opinion. If you do wish to refute the post, do so gently, by building up your own case, rather than just knocking down the other person's. And never attack your fellow club members (name calling, personal remarks, etc). 

Thanks!! 

From your Magical Moderators
HPforGrownups-owner@yahoogroups.com