More About TBAY

[Doriane]

"davewitley" wrote:

> So I wondered if it was intended as a subtle shot across the bows 
> of those who want to restrict TBAY on the main list in some way: 
> that they are bitter and twisted like Snape, or dull and lifeless 
> like Binns.

I, Del, grimly answer :

And after that we're going to wonder why some people get paranoid and 
feel attacked when the original poster didn't mean anything bad...

> It seems I was wrong (perhaps fortunately), but I think this does 
> illustrate how material which is apparently 'fluff' on a first 
> reading may in fact be an integral part of a canon post.  It also 
> illustrates how a sophisticated poster might want to use this sort 
> of format to introduce ambiguity into their message, so that two 
> people might come away from the same post with diametrically 
> opposed conclusions.  (I think the ability to generate that sort of 
> ambiguity is a good thing, myself.)

And I, Del, think it's a very dangerous thing. You used the 
terms "subtle", "sophisticated" and "ambiguity". Those terms are 
awfully dangerous terms when they refer to posts and posters. They 
are wonderful when they refer to the canon : I just love the way JKR 
has us thinking everything and its opposite. But when it comes to 
posts, to what people say and do on this list, I think that "clearer 
is better". We have enough misunderstandings, enough bruised egos and 
hurt feelings, without people *intentionally* making ambiguous 
statements and subtle irony.

Del, who's not sure she likes being compared to either a "bitter and 
twisted Snape" or a "dull and lifeless" Binns