I propose... & Message to OTC (and Main list, I think)

[abigailnus]

--- In HP4GU-FAQ at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> wrote:
> Tom:
> 
> How come you wasted all this time and energy to do this divisive thing,
> instead of focusing on the valid FAQ questions and issues at hand?

Hear, hear, Amanda.  I see no meaning in claiming that FAQ is or 
is not independant from MEG.  Ignoring the fact that half our 
members are MEGs, what control does that list exert over us?  
Really?  What meaning would our so-called independance have?  

And Tom, please don't quote me in support of this idea.  When I 
wrote that writing FAQs is my job at the back of my mind was the 
recognition that that job was given to me by the leadership of 
HPfGU.  Who am I working for if we set ourselves apart from them?  
What would our mandate be?  

Finally, if you feel so strongly about doing our job, maybe you 
wouldn't mind addressing the actual questions plaguing this list 
- such as when and how we should begin our work - instead of 
pouring fuel on the fire of what is quickly becoming Modgate 2.

This is not what I signed on for.  I don't understand the internal 
politics of MEG and I don't want to understand them.  I want to 
write FAQs and I wish this group would stop being distracted by 
outside matters.  This is exactly why we don't need to know what's 
going on in MEG.  

As for this poll, I'm not entirely certain whether I should dignify 
it with a vote.  What will you do, Tom, if not the entire group votes?  
If you have ten voters against seven in favor of seperating, will you 
do it?  Will you have either the right or the authority?  For that 
matter, what significance will the decision have, except for 
annoying people?

Just so this post isn't entirely a rant, and to remind you all that we 
do have business to attend to, how about this language for a 
request for submissions to OTC and, I think, the main list as well:

Dear HPfGU Members,

Hello from the FAQ team!  We're in charge of writing the Fantastic 
Posts essays, which can be found at

http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/

These essays collect posts on a variety of different subjects, 
ranging from The Weasley Family to Justice in the Wizarding World.  
They also provide summaries of important and popular theories 
such as LOLLIPOPS or George.  The Fantastic Posts are a great 
asset to group members old and new, providing a coherent 
perspective on the ideas that came before us.  They also allow us 
to save from Yahoo! oblivion those posts which are truly 
remarkable and worth remembering.

We on the FAQ team are eager to get to work on updating the old 
FPs and writing new ones in the wake of OOP, but we'd like you 
all to help us.  Have you read a post recently that really made you 
think?  A well-written post, that offered a new perspective or 
submitted a new thoery?  In short, have you read a Fantastic Post 
recently?  If you have, we'd like to hear about it.

We've opened the archive group for the FAQs for posting by anyone.  
You can reach it at 

(URL of homepage would go here)

or email it at

(email of archive group would go here)

Please send us a brief note about any post that you think is truly 
fantastic.  A message number in the subject line will suffice, but you 
can give a short summary or a reason why you think the post is 
fantastic if you like.

Before you get going, a few words on what makes a post Fantastic.  
You might want to check out some of the posts referenced in the old 
FPs to get an idea of the kind of quality we're looking for.  Also, bear 
in mind that a a Fantastic Post should:

1. Be well written and coherent
2. Present new ideas or offer a good overview of old ones
3. Have good formatting - good grammar and spelling, capitalization 
and punctuation where appropriate, more then one paragraph, etc.

Finally, any post you send is only a suggestion.  If you look at the 
old Fantastic Posts you might notice how few messages they actually 
reference.  This isn't because these are the only good messages in 
over 70,000 posts, but because if we were to include all the fantastic 
posts ever made to the group we would drown, and the very purpose 
of the FPs is to provide brief and concise overviews of ideas on the list.  
We can't promise to use every post you send us, but we do promise 
to read and consider every one with all due gravity, no matter who the 
author is.

Wishing you happy hunting,

The FAQ team

Any thoughts?  I'm not so sure about that last 'no matter who the 
author is', but I wanted to stress that we don't discriminate against 
newbies if they write good stuff.  By the way, could someone post 
the URL of the archive list?  I'd like to join it.

Abigail