(from OT List ) RE: "No responses on the main list"

[meidbh]

Gosh what a tangled route this thread has taken.

And I'm going to start by breaking the rules and not copying, 
pasting and attributing my sources – it would just get too 
cumbersome. Please could we just consider this is a response to all 
who've gone before on `RE: No responses on the main list (Was: 
Wizarding Education)"? 

As a newbie I read the comments on this thread with interest. And to 
some extent I agree with the main complaints
*The standard of posts is sometimes poor (writing, editing, 
referencing) 
*The subject matter often deviates far from canon and there are time 
wasting resurrections of theories that have been sunk 
But at the same time I have also been astounded at the time, thought 
and skill that has gone into some of the posts and essays. My 
interpretation of the books is constantly changing now because of 
what I've read on HPFGU. It has been an eye opener.     

The most stimulating posts are often, but not always, from the 
oldies. Understandable, they've spent more time pondering Potter. 
But I like to think that they were once new members bandying about 
old ideas too. And I'd like to ask them not to blame the naive and 
enthusiastic (like me) for thinking they're making discoveries, but 
please pull us up if we can't follow the list guidelines.

The solutions suggested so far on the thread leave me rather cold.
* The Newbie list:
As an option perhaps, but not to be enforced please. I don't want to 
spend time reinventing the wheel. Far better to listen to and build 
on the ideas that have been carefully developed before. To be honest 
it's the voices of experience on the list (whether I agree with them 
or not) that make this group interesting. 
* Raising the age:
As Shaun pointed out age is no indication of maturity. And there is 
no way to enforce it – A member could tell us they are 15 or 50 and 
we would have to take them at their word. 

So instead? 
Well I think there is a pretty good system in place – posting 
guidelines, reference materials (FAQ etc), moderatorship for new 
posters BUT it shouldn't really be solely the list elves 
responsibility to keep this common room tidy.  If the older members 
see a post that has lost touch with printed Potterverse could theya 
habit of requesting the canon please? Or if a thread is resurrecting 
dead theories how about politely directing to the canon ("sorry she 
really did say he's not a vampire"). If certain posters just aren't 
following the guidelines maybe ADMIN reminders or another period of 
moderatorship are an option. Perhaps this way the quality of the 
posts might improve (and the quantity decrease?!).

The whole structure of the list is very cumbersome too (is Yahoo the 
best option there is?). 

Finally, could some of the most popular subjects perhaps have their 
own sublists perhaps(eg Snape; HBP theories; stalactite 
discussions :-))

The natural evolution here will probably be that some oldies will 
move away (HPFVVGU perhaps?). But some will continue to influence 
this group and hopefully earn themselves some rich and stimulating 
discussions as a reward.

Just MHO.

Meidbh