Harry Potter: final(?) report

Tue Jan 3 01:08:35 UTC 2006

*Anne staggers in, dragging a machete worn down almost to a nub*

On or about June 20, 2005 there were a total of 2,481 posts in all
Harry Potter categories combined; 2,376 of which were in 2.5.1 Harry
Potter.  As I began reviewing, a number of others were added as the
coders brought us up to the release of OoP.

Today, there are a total of 1,398 posts in all Harry categories; a net
reduction of 978.

Today the Harry categories stand thus:

2.5.1 Harry Potter -- 134
2.5.1.0 ANOTHER HARRY -- 0
2.5.1.1 BIC LIGHTER -- 0
2.5.1.2 HARD SHIPWRECK -- 2
2.5.1.3 SHARK ATTACK -- 1
2.5.1.4 Harry's character traits/maturation -- 444
 2.5.1.4.1 ASTONISHED -- 1
 2.5.1.4.2 CHIMPANZEE -- 1
 2.5.1.4.3 PASHMINAS -- 1
2.5.1.5 Harry's training, protection, powers -- 312
 2.5.1.5.1 Harry's eyes -- 42
 2.5.1.5.2 Harry's scar -- 50
 2.5.1.5.3 Harry's dreams -- 49
 2.5.1.5.4 Stoned!Harry -- 50
 2.5.1.5.5 PHILOSOPHER'S STONE -- 2
 2.5.1.5.6 DRIBBLE -- 0
2.5.1.6 Harry versus LV & DEs -- 158
 2.5.1.6.1 BALDERDASH -- 11
 2.5.1.6.2 HELP & LACERATE -- 1
 2.5.1.6.3 TIME TURNER -- 0
 2.5.1.6.4 Time turner!Harry theories -- 6
2.5.1.7 Harry's parentage/ancestry -- 128
 2.5.1.7.1 HIS SWORD -- 5

RECOMMENDATIONS:
-----------------

2.5.1 Harry Potter:
We need to get these out of here because we can't have posts in third
level categories.  Today, when I looked at what was left in here, I
noticed they do seem to have somthing in common (but I'm having
trouble putting it into words).  They all seem to look at Harry as a
literary construct, or from "outside" the story, in contrast to the
other categories.  This also holds true for the acronyms just below
(2.5.1.0 to 2.5.1.4).  They examine the character of Harry Potter from
the point of view of literary archetypes, or his astrological
chart/Meyers Briggs letters or Enneagram.  They examine his behavior
in terms of whether rule-breaking is good for the kiddies to read, or
in terms of what's needed for plot construction, or look for symbolism
in his name, wand or handwriting.  They look at him from the point of
view of the author or a literary critic.

Er... to sum up, I think we can empty 2.5.1 into a new level 4
category called "Harry as literary construct/type."  What do people
think, am I making sense?  Can anyone think up a better name?

2.5.1.4 Harry's character traits/maturation:
I'm worried about the fact that there are 444 posts in here and OoP
still to be coded.  I could go through these again and look for
repetition (it was hard to remember what was in here after a while). I
could look for some subcategories I could pull out (though I had
trouble trying to do this before as I seemed to get loads of overlap).
 I am actually planning on giving this a second look anyway, but I
wanted to get this report out first, unless Carolyn has another
assignment for me. ;)  I also recommend adding a subcategory called
"Harry in OoP" to catch all the debate about his crankiness in that book.

2.5.1.5 Harry's training, protection, powers:
At 312 posts, this might also be a little full; however, there is
probably much less repetition here.  Actually, for OoP, Harry's scar
and Harry's dreams will take up a lot of what's new.  I recommend
adding a category for Occlumency before beginning OoP.

2.5.1.6.4 Time turner!Harry theories:
There are only six posts in here.  As I recall, Carolyn created this
category to quarantine these becaue they irked her.  Sorry, Miss, but
I don't think they really deserve a category of their own -- it only
draws *more* attention to them, anyway.  Recommend folding them back
into 2.5.1.6.

**All category numbers above refer to the categories as they now
stand.** However, they do need to be changed because we can't have any
posts in 2.5.1 at all.  Here is what I think they should be changed to:

RECOMMENDED NEW CAT. NUMBERS:

2.5.1 Harry Potter *[to be emptied into 2.5.1.1]*
2.5.1.1 Harry as literary construct/type *[or -- suggestions?]*
 2.5.1.1.1 ANOTHER HARRY
 2.5.1.1.2 BIC LIGHTER
 2.5.1.1.3 HARD SHIPWRECK
 2.5.1.1.4 SHARK ATTACK
2.5.1.2 Harry's character traits/maturation
 2.5.1.2.1 ASTONISHED
 2.5.1.2.2 CHIMPANZEE
 2.5.1.2.3 PASHMINAS
 2.5.1.2.4 Harry in OoP
 *[possibly more subcategories here?]*
2.5.1.3 Harry's training, protection, powers
 2.5.1.3.1 Harry's eyes
 2.5.1.3.2 Harry's scar
 2.5.1.3.3 Harry's dreams
 2.5.1.3.4 Stoned!Harry
 2.5.1.3.5 PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
 2.5.1.3.6 DRIBBLE
 2.5.1.3.7 Occlumency
2.5.1.4 Harry versus LV & DEs
 2.5.1.4.1 BALDERDASH
 2.5.1.4.2 HELP & LACERATE
 2.5.1.4.3 TIME TURNER
 *[Time turner!Harry theories folded back into 2.5.1.4]*
2.5.1.5 Harry's parents/ancestry  <--changed "parentage;" it was :P
 2.5.1.5.1 HIS SWORD

So, Carolyn -- shall I do some more work on Harry's character
traits/maturation before you change any category numbers, or shall I
do something else?

Anne
off to the liquor cabinet; this wine glass is almost empty and I
missed the Christmas party *pout*