From OTC: List-volume discussion (way long)

[KathyK]

Hello,

Wow.  It's been five months since I've looked at any of the HPFGU 
lists.  As a result I am suffering major Potter withdrawl.  Before 
heading back into the main list, though, I thought I'd check out 
some of the less voluminous lists, as I used to do before I left.  

And here the first thing I stumble across is this "what's wrong or 
not wrong with the main list" discussion. I was reminded strongly of 
the Post-OOP debate on OTC last summer.  At the time I was still 
quite new, having only been a listmember for a few months and felt 
somewhat offended, I later realised unnecessarily so, by the 
suggestions of several listmembers of a creation of a 
separate "newbie" list.  

A few months later, the newness of the list wearing off, I began to 
understand the perspective of those who had been around for a 
while.  I rolled my eyes at topics brought up repeatedly.  Not once 
every few weeks or months, but every few days.  I got sick of 
reading about certain topics.  At the time I still read nearly all 
the posts put out there and it was beginning to feel like a chore.  

I felt people were ignoring my own posts and then bringing up the 
same point.  People often built off these posts rather than mine and 
I would wonder what it was about that other post that members liked 
better than my posts.  Especially because I put a lot of time and 
effort into what I write.  If I have a point to make, I've probably 
searched through at least three of the books looking for relevant 
canon and making sure I don't make errors.  I've also re-read any 
posts in the thread I'm playing with and often taken time to go back 
through the archives if I remember seeing the topic come up before 
and recall something that might be helpful.  

These various things annoyed me.  And I understood the annoyance of 
some members.  But I also think there isn't much that can be done.  
Many of the suggestions put forth both in this recent discussion and 
the one I saw last summer were unfair and seemed elitist to Kathy 
the Newbie and Kathy the Annoyed, and still seem so to Kathy the 
Long-absent.  Suggestions such as a newbie list.  While nice in 
theory for listees who've been around, it is immensely off-putting 
to new members.  In addition, as has been pointed out, this list 
would lose out.  New members bring new ideas.  Subjects may be 
rehashed until we can no longer stand to read another word but every 
so often someone will pop out a new gem no one has voiced (at least 
since you've been a member of this list).  Suddenly the same-old is 
new and exciting again.  This is much less likely to happen with 
less new blood.  

I decided that I like Harry Potter and HPFGU too much to let 
thoughtless, inaccurate, and unsnipped posts put me off.  There are 
still good posts, new ideas to be explored, and people who will 
respond to something I've written (at least this is what I found 
five months ago).  What I'm saying is that I found it's best to ride 
it out.  I read fewer posts.  I spent more time on OTC.  There will 
be times when posting is crazy or listmembers are careless about 
canon.  I think the fantastic folks on this list as well as the 
quality discussion that does take place more than make up for these 
irritations.  

Oh, and I want to point out the reason I haven't been around for so 
long has nothing at all to do with my being tired of or annoyed with 
this list.  I've just been on holiday with no internet access except 
that which I paid for by the hour.  Much too expensive to be hanging 
out here.

Glad to be back,

KathyK, who thinks theories that appear unlikely are a lot of fun to 
discuss-like Lupin killed Sirius or Time-traveling Ron being 
Dumbledore