Two Responses to Tom and other stuff

[Tom Wall]

Tom wrote:
I know that this could another item to our 'to-do' list, but do you 
think that it'd be fun to seek out not just the Fantastic Posts, but 
the truly exceptional ones over the next year or so, and then give 
out some Net-Awards for them?

Abigail responded:
I don't think this is a good idea at all, and I think it falls quite 
outside our mandate.  The FAQ team's job is not to run a contest, or 
to pick out the best posts.  Our job is to help the group remember 
its past without drowning in it.  True, we try to identify the best 
posts on every subject, but the FPs are not a celebration of those 
posts.  They are informative articles.  The fact is that there might 
be messages better then the ones quoted in the FPs, but the FP 
references the messages that got there first - some of the message 
numbers there are under 10,000, for heavens' sake, that's before 
Elkins and everything.

I know that the FPs are our chance at posterity, guys, but we have 
to remember that that is not the point.  The point is providing 
information.

Tom replies:
I agree with that, actually. You make sense. Still, I like the idea, 
and maybe there's a better way to go around it...


I (Tom) asked earlier:
Someone told me that Hypothetic Alley is comprised mostly of posts 
in the TBAY format as a matter of choice. Is this accurate? There 
are many theories in there that got their start outside of the TBAY 
format; Magic Dishwasher, one of the most prestigious, comes to mind 
in this respect. Granted, many of them have been further discussed 
in that format, but, well, how are we going to handle that stuff now?

Abigail responded:
There is absolutely no requirement to present a theory in TBAY 
format. TBAY is a stylistic designation, nothing more and nothing 
less, and a theory is no more or less valid because it has been 
created within the TBAY environment.  I want to be especially clear 
on this because, like it or not, TBAY is a clique within HPfGU - a 
very open, inclusive clique, but a clique nonetheless.  To insist 
that HA theories can only come from TBAY posts is essentially to 
limit HA to a specific sub-group of HPfGU posters.

The only qualification for a theory to enter HA is for it to become 
popular enough to warrant the mention.  Again, the FPs and HA are 
meant as an informative service to group members.  If a theory gets 
mentioned often in discussions - such as MD or LOLLIPOPS - then it 
belongs in HA where new members can look it up and find out about 
it.  

Tom replies:
Phew. That's excellent. I can't remember exactly when I heard that - 
I think Porphyria told me that several months ago when I sent her 
some suggestions (she's the listed 'webmistress' for the FP site,) 
which, I think, actually, she forwarded to this list.

If that's the case, then I think we should definitely be adding some 
stuff that's not in there already, as well as some of the newer 
stuff that's come out on the main list post-OoP. I'm all for waiting 
on that until we've updated the basic stuff, though. Hypothetic 
Alley will need more tinkering, I think, and maybe it would be 
preferable to designate that to the veterans who originally wrote it?

Oh, and in the note I wrote Porphyria, I suggested that a section be 
added to HA outlining the proofs for some of the better ESE theories 
out there - a search for Elkins' original Evil!McGonagall, and 
Pippin's Evil!Lupin is very difficult and unfruitful, since those 
posts are so old and our search options so limited; heck, I can't 
find some of my OWN posts from a few months ago! 

Eventually I found them (the ESE theories) and saved the message 
numbers, but I think some of our newest members would be hard-
pressed to locate them without help. Maybe we could consider this 
when we get to HA?


Abagail commented:
A scant five hours after posting the request for contributions, it 
has already disappeared from webview, and there have been no new 
entries on the database or in the archive group.  I'm trying very 
hard not to read too much into this.

Tom adds:
I know you guys were considering sending this out once-a-month or 
something, but maybe <flinches> it would be better to send it out 
more like once-a-WEEK for a while, just so that people get the 
message? 

If others read the list like I do, and don't deal with digests, then 
very likely some will completely miss the announcement. I dunno what 
MEG would think about that, though? Do you think that would be 
overdoing it?

-Tom