Defining FPs

[a_reader2003]

--- In HPFGU-Catalogue at yahoogroups.com, Barry Arrowsmith 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
> >
> >  Carolyn:
> >  If I were pulling all our contributions together to present to 
JKR, actually, I think I would want to include it. Its extreme, but 
not necessarily any more wrong than anything else..
> >

> 
Barry:
 > He is not a fan, more a fanatic, and unfortunately it's not in his 
> regard of the Potterverse. HP is just grist for his mill.
> 
> Some may  consider him plausible, even entertaining, and yes, he 
does delve into  minutiae (when it supports his case), but a 
candidate for inclusion amongst the best that we can provide? Never.
> 

Carolyn:
Well, I agree with you mostly, as you know. Its just that, looking at 
it dispassionately as an editor, it is difficult to distinguish 
between what he is doing, and what other posts are doing. Erm, he 
wouldn't be the first person to selectively quote from canon to 
support his argument. Nor the first to see support for his theory at 
every twist and turn of the book [coughs, ESE!Lupin].

And, looking back at my own self-imposed criteria, I have to say his 
posts have made me think, if only to conclude that I don't agree. 

There is no doubt, though, that he is coming at HP from a 
particularly personal evangelical viewpoint. However, plenty of other 
people on the list have strongly-held religious beliefs, and insist 
on reading HP through those lenses, and allow no real argument about 
the fundamentals of those beliefs. 

The strongest argument I can think of for not considering him for FP 
status is that his posts generate almost no responses. Clearly there 
is a silent consensus that he is too batty to debate with. But that 
introduces another criteria - should Fantastic Posts be characterised 
by the amount of response they get?

It is noticeable that Peg Kerr's essays get very few responses, yet 
they are generally considered FP's. And I would consider Iris_ft's 
recent thoughts on HP & Cain worthy of FP-dom, yet almost no one has 
responded to her.

Thoughts anyone?
Carolyn