Request for contributions and other stuff

[abigailnus]

I was going to ask for a progress report on the request for 
contributions - what did MEG think about it?  But it seem that we 
have permission to post.

As for the letter itself, Heidi suggested that we add a template so 
that people will know exactly what kind of information to include.  
Frankly, I think just a message number is sufficient, but I guess 
having a template might not be a bad idea, so I'll add that to the 
letter.

I'm less crazy about the idea of adding a database to HPfGU, 
because I think people will add themselves or check to see that 
they've been added, but the consensus seems to be in favor of it.  
I assume the same fields included in Heidi's template should go in 
the database - post number, author, topic and date.  If no one 
objects, I'll create the database - unless I need permission from 
MEG to do that too.

So, the letter requesting submissions will look something like this:

 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.
 
There are three simple ways to let us know about a Fantastic Post:

1. A database has been created on the HPfGU homepage.  To get 
there, simply go to the homepage and click on the 'Database' link 
in the sidebar on the left-hand side of the screen.  Scroll down the 
list until you find a database entitled 'Fantastic Posts'.  Click on the 
title and you will be transferred to the database page.  From there 
you can simply click on the 'add record' link at the top of the table 
to make your suggestion.  You don't need to fill out all the fields, 
but you must include a message number - finding a message in any 
other way is all but impossible.

2. We've also opened the FAQ archive group to posting by the 
general public.  You can e-mail us at

(e-mail of archive group should go here)

Please use the following template when sending us a 
recommendation e-mail

 Fantastic Post number:
 Author of Fantastic Post:
 Topic of Fantastic Post:
 Date of Fantastic Post:

Again, not all fields have to be filled, but we must have the 
message number.

3. You can also reach the archive group homepage the same way 
you might go to the HPfGU homepage and post a message from 
there - simply use the 'Post' link on the sidebar.  Again, use the 
template above, and be sure to include the message number.

 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

What do you think?  Idiot-proof enough?  By the way, no one's posted 
the URL or e-mail of the archive group, and I need them.

I was going to say some stuff about what's been going on over the 
last 24 hours - the Michelle debacle and the entire governance 
issue, but I see that most of what I wanted to say has already been 
said.  I'll just echo several other posters and say that I want to get 
to work.

In that spirit, I would greatly like to hear from as many of you as 
possible on the following questions:

1. When should we start writing the new FPs?  Should we wait a while, 
and if so, how long?  Should we set a date on which we'll start our 
work or just wait until we feel that the group has produced enough 
posts of a sufficient caliber?  

2. Should we attempt to comb the 15,000 posts since the publication 
of OOP for Fantastic Posts?  I know we're going to deputize the group, 
but I doubt that many people will remember more then a few days 
back.  I also know that we set up our own FP database, but 
something tells me that most of us haven't been very conscientious 
about adding to it - I *know* there have been more then 20 
Fantastic Posts in the last two months.

3. Should we attempt to complete the Full Enchilada?  There are 
10,000 posts between the last catalogued one and the publication 
of OOP, and there are certainly some truly wonderful posts during 
that period.

My own answers to these questions are:

1. I think we should wait - say three months - and then take a look 
at the tone of the list.  In the discussion that's been going on on OTC 
there's been a lot of the repeating of the notion that once summer 
ends we'll see a rapid decrease in volume and increase in quality on 
the list (both of these things are already happening), and hopefully by 
December there should be stuff worth putting in an FP.  However, I 
don't know about the other houses, but the Harry FP does have sections 
that could probably be compiled now without referring too heavily to 
OOP - see my updated outline from a few days ago.  It might not be a 
bad idea to get started on these segments right now - this is something 
I'd like to hear about from my other house members - Penny, Dicey, Ali 
and Phyllis.

2. I'm not sure there's a point in combing the list for FPs, although I'd 
be happier if we had more posts in our own database - it seems like a 
great deal of work for what will probably be slim returns.

3. This idea I like better.  I made a cursory review of 5000 of the 
uncatalogued messages and found several dozen gems - I can't imagine 
what a proper review will uncover.  Since we might have some time on 
our hands, we might as well finish the job and have a truly Full Enchilada 
for when we want to start working.

I really want to hear some opinions on these topics.  I get the feeling 
that many members are staying out of this discussion - some out of 
shock at what's been going on.  A few members have actually left.  I 
think we need to refocus ourselves on the task at hand, and in order 
for that to happen all of us need to start offering our input.

Abigail