ADMIN: We'd Like to Pick Your Brains About TBAY

[a_reader2003]

--- In HPFGU-Feedback at yahoogroups.com, "abigailnus" <abigailnus at y...> 
wrote:

> 1. We'd like to know how you perceive TBAY. How would you describe
> TBAY messages? What do you feel is the most important aspect of a 
TBAY
> message? What does the term 'TBAY theory' mean to you? What, if 
any, is
> the difference between a TBAY theory and a regular HPfGU theory? 
>  

I will readily admit to being mystified when I first encountered 
TBays, but then looked out for them with increasing amusement, and 
made a point of digging out the Humungous Bigfile notes to try and 
follow what was going on.

I really think that the best of them are very funny and extremely 
clever. They enable a dialogue between the various theories that 
brings the ideas alive and allows an entertaining point counter-point 
discussion which is so much more interesting than the paragraph-by-
paragraph argument & refutation that normally happens on the list.

That said, IMNVHO the worst of them are, well verbal, er..garbage. 
Some get very self-indulgent I think, and then I just skip to the end 
to see what, if any, conclusion they are coming to.


> 2. Do you read TBAY messages? Have you ever posted a TBAY message? 
If
> you have, what prompted you to do so? Have you ever wanted to 
respond
> to a TBAY thread but chose not to because of the format? What about 
the
> TBAY format made you reluctant to post?

Yes, I read most of them, and no, I haven't dared to post in the 
style. It is partly because they are written in a form I haven't 
personally experimented with before, but more to the point, I would 
feel diffident putting up a dialogue that I had not discussed in some 
detail with the other characters first. Otherwise, you are putting 
words into their mouths which they might (violently !) disagree with -
 especially on long-standing theory positions. As I don't have the 
flame-retardant properties of Wendelin the Weird, this is kind of 
scary !

> 3. How accessible do you find the TBAY format? Do you find 
discussions
> of older theories (such as MAGIC DISHWASHER) on TBAY more or less
> accessible then discussions of older theories in regular posts 
(such as
> Evil!Lupin)? Do Hypothetic Alley (home of several major TBAY 
theories)
> and Fantastic Posts help to make TBAY posts more accessible? What 
can
> veteran TBAY-ers do to make newbies feel more welcome?

Aha.. I launch yet again onto my hobby horse - see my post no.11 on 
this board. No to all your points here - its very difficult to catch 
up with all the permutations of the theories, but if all the relevant 
posts were arranged nicely and tidily in one place, how much easier 
it would all be to find out how a theory was evolving ! Hypothetic 
Alley and Fantastic Posts are just not up to date enough..

Not sure what veteran TBay-ers could do to welcome people; its not a 
format which is reducible to simple rules, and the ferocity of the 
arguments is part of the fun. Maybe people could be encouraged to try 
a post out offlist with one of the veterans before going live ?

Another idea might be to create a fictional noticeboard, which non-
TBay posters could attach points to, which the more experienced 
characters in TBay could then have fun discussing and incorporating, 
or not as they wished.

> 4. What do you find confusing about TBAY? What would you like to 
know
> before posting? What would make you more likely to post in a TBAY 
style?

I'm not sure you should go overboard (no pun intended) to make it 
that much easier for newbies. I think there is a difference between 
making TBay more understandable (which is a good idea) and making it 
easier for everyone to post on. I would prefer to read only good 
stuff in TBay formats, not encourage loads of poor quality attempts !!

Cheers
Carolyn