[HPFGU-Feedback] Re: From OTC: List-volume discussion (way long)

[Shaun Hately]

On 12 Aug 2004 at 23:12, estrilda_wolfegg wrote:

> I think the problem on the main list is not the number of posts, but 
> the length of the posts.  It is fun to read a give and take 
> discussion on a topic between several people.  It is overwhelming to 
> wade through one person's three-foot essay on their position when 
> you are just trying to catch up on the current topics. It is even 
> more annoying to see the same three-foot essay reappear five times 
> in its entirety as other members comment on it. 
> Old text that is not needed to put the new post in context should be 
> deleted in replies. Too often, posters copy the old argument to 
> contradict it or they are just too lazy or unknowledgeable to delete 
> old text after they hit reply.  Readers can read the old argument in 
> the original post. Please let them. 
> The second problem, in my view, is that the "very large posts" 
> with "a lot of research" make the list very unwelcome to anyone with 
> less than several hours to spend reading. It would be optimal if 
> there were an archive, preferably one where the authors would have 
> to figure out what category their dissertation fell into and store 
> it with the other treatises on similar subjects.  Then, a short 
> summary could be posted on the main list and folks could go read 
> it.  It might also eliminate some of the re-hashes of themes that 
> have already been extensively researched and presented on the list 
> if new essays were posted with the similar old ones.  
> I vote for a maximum 300-word limit for each post on the main list.  
> Maybe it would even encourage self-editing.  

OK, let me say a couple of things.

(1) The idea of a message board that has been suggested again - 
once again, just to point out that a *lot* of people don't like 
message board formats and HPFGU has probably flourished in large 
part because it's not a message board format which requires people 
to be online all the time they are using it. If HPFGU was a message 
board, I would not bother with it, and I suspect there are a lot of 
other people who wouldn't either. I'm also on a dial up connection 
which makes a huge difference as well.

(2) I find the suggestion that 'very large posts' with a 'lot of 
research' making the list unwelcome to some people rather 
offensive.

If people don't want to read a long post, that's entirely their 
right and their choice. But I find it rather hard to see how the 
existence of such a post, and the hours and hours of work that went 
into it intended to try and give something back to the fan 
community can somehow be unwelcome.

(3) If HPFGU had a 300 word limit on posts, then frankly, it would 
become just another insipid, juvenile forum. Sure, often you can 
say something relevant, and meaningful in a few words. But if 
you're dealing with something fairly complex, it often takes a 
while to discuss it - and one of the major strengths of HPFGU has 
been that it's a place that allows for discussions of complex 
issues.

(4) I'd like to point out that the list is supposed to be: "a 
friendly, thought-provoking place for adults to enjoy discussion of 
the Harry Potter books". Note that word - *discussion*. The idea of 
posting long essays for example to somewhere else and just posting 
a summary to the list might be fine - if all a person wanted to do 
was pontificate and have people read their opinions. However, 
that's not the purpose of most posts to the list, and it wasn't the 
purpose of the long post I sent. The idea was for people, if they 
wanted to, to read it, and *discuss* it on list. Point out errors 
if they saw them. Ask questions if they had them. Seek 
clarification, add details... all of that becomes much less likely, 
and much more awkward, if the post itself is not on the list. The 
idea is to have *vibrant* discussion, I would have thought. Not 
just 'hey, read this.'


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at ... | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia