No list closure for the wrong reasons

[Amanda Geist]

Tammy:

>I think that, in all fairness, the ideas being polled should first 
> be explained to the list in general, in as glowing, advertising-
blitz terms as possible. 

I think you have just destroyed any possibility of fairness by 
stating your intent to influence the outcome.

> For 
> instance, in trying to 'sell' the two-week break,

Polls are not for "selling." Polls are for gathering information.

> we could emphasise the fact that people 
> could certainly use the time off from posting to read, RE-read, and 
digest the book, and that 
> they should take notes of interesting thoughts that strike them at 
first read, and again at 
> second read, and that they can use the time off to thoughtfully 
compose their impressions 
> into text files, ready to cut and paste to the list on re-opening 
day.

You can't legislate to people how they should enjoy their books. If 
that's the way you like to do it, be my guest, but what if it's not 
my style? That's not fair to others, who may experience the books, 
analyze them, build theories, etc., in an entirely different manner 
than you do. What sounds ideal to you, may sound like a horrible 
homework nightmare to them.

>  Also, and this would be 
> the MAJOR point, I think, it would level the playing field between 
fast readers and theorisors 
> and slow ones.  I know I was crushed, nay, DEVASTATED to log in, 
ready to send in my 
> wonderful theories after OOP, only to find that they'd all, *every* 
*single* *one* of them, 
> already been posted and picked to pieces before I'd even had the 
chance to finish my book.  
> That's just not right.  Three days into this HUGE book's release, 
NEW canon, EVERYBODY 
> is on unfamiliar ground, and I log in and already I'm a mere, 
worthless, 'me-too' wannabee?! 

<snip the rest of plaint>

Okay. By this logic, we should delay any discussion until the book 
has been made available in all the countries in which we have 
members. Because it's not *fair* if some countries' members get to 
read it before others.

Also Braille. We need to wait until any blind members of our list 
have had a chance to read it as well. Anyone know when the Braille 
edition comes out?

Oh, and audiobooks. Some blind members may prefer to listen rather 
than to go through the difficulty of obtaining a Braille edition.

Why not just go whole-hog and make a checklist of all 13,000+ 
members, and require they all log in and certify that they've 
finished reading, before we allow discussion?

So you didn't get to post something first. So the hell WHAT? With a 
very few exceptions, NOBODY currently on this list EVER posted 
anything first. It is a hallmark and standard of this list from as 
long as I can remember, that we allow new members to come in as 
excited as we were, bubbling over with enthusiasm, and post away 
about their discoveries. We prefer that they read things, sure, 
because after the first six or seven repeats of a theory, it's hard 
to respond politely, but the high road has always been to allow new 
members the same excitement and feeling of joy at finding a forum 
that we all experienced.

It has also been a hallmark of this list that it should remain open, 
which for all intents and purposes, guarantees varying levels of 
familiarity with the books. It's not an event, where someone shoots a 
gun and yells "start." It's an ongoing game, where people come in, 
play, drop out, etc., constantly and consistently.

Based on the nature of the list, and the desire to remain open and 
accessible above all, I categorically oppose any attempts to restrict 
posting on HBP for any reason related to "make it fair for everyone." 
The "fair" part would be spoilers, so nobody is ambushed before they 
finish. "Fair" to some--by making everyone wait--is manifestly 
*unfair* to others who prefer to jump in and start playing. 

If you read more slowly, enjoy the fact that you can savor, unlike 
people like me who are compelled to know what happens and must hold 
themselves back from skimming. If you are able to reread and make 
intelligent notes before you engage in verbal analysis with others, I 
applaud your restraint--but I don't share it. What you propose only 
makes it "fairer" for you.

I believe there should be a temporary list closure, much like there 
was for OoP, but a short one, and for only the reason there was 
before. At least some of the list elves needed to have finished 
reading the book themselves, so that they could read and approve 
posts and monitor the list without having the book spoiled for them. 
I'd give it 48 hours from British release. 

~Amanda