[HPFGU-Feedback] Re: Partly on Posting limits Plus Plenty of Rambling

[susiequsie23]

Valky replies:
I notice that in your [KathyK's] post you have mentioned that the tennis 
debates are your pet peeve. Well, as a frequent debater myself I 
would also like to add that a large number of my personal list 
contacts were made through someone writing me personally to tell me 
*they* were thoroughly enjoying reading the debate.
All I am saying is that in the past HPFGU has endeavoured to embrace 
everyone, and I credit a great deal of the HPFGU popularity to that 
optimism and fair treatment.
Should we know be telling these people that we once embraced into 
our fold those feelings have changed and that they are no longer 
welcome?


SSSusan:
If I may step in here?  I'm not positive I know how to phrase this so it's understandable, but I'll try.  I think there may be a bit of speaking at cross purposes going on here.

To me, there's a difference between "tennis exchanges" and debate.  Debate is good!  Sometimes a thread does end up being primarily a two-person exchange, and as long as some real, meaty content is being put forth, with *movement* in the exchange, it can be fascinating to watch.  [I think of recent Pippin-Renee or Nora-Becky exchanges as examples.]  

However, there *is* another type of two- or three-person exchange which gets tiresome and which serves primarily only to add to list volume, and that's Geoff's aptly-named "tennis exchange."  In these, we end up with people doing a lot of, "Well, like I said before, I really think..." or "I know you see it this way, but I see it this way...."  The problem is it tends to be simple repetition of the same argument, not a new perspective or additional canon evidence/support.  These can even happen in situations where the posters *agree!*  I can't tell you the number of times I've said [to my computer screen, my cat, or whomever happens to be around], "Why don't you take this offlist?"  

Since I'm not an elf, I've never felt comfortable contacting people and suggesting they take a discussion offlist, but I've hoped that the elves were doing that behind the scenes.  Some people don't care for offlist notes, and a discussion will simply end.  But that's the way it goes.  If the discussion isn't GETTING anywhere, if it's a poster's 3rd or 4th attempt to make the same point, it's not a debate, really.  Have I ever gotten involved in this kind of tennis exchange?  You bet, and I feel bad about that.  I'm attempting to avoid them now, because I sense that it's just adding to the overload. 

Or so that's my view.

Siriusly Snapey Susan







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