ADMIN: House lights up for a run through the list rules...

[Neil Ward]

Hi everyone,

It's your mechanimagus moderator here...with the handbrake off.

I've dropped in with a humungous reminder to check that you're posting to
the correct HPfGU list and to observe our list rules before posting.  If
you're not familiar with the rules we've set on the book discussion list
(some of you may not be members there), please have a read of the highlights
below.

Cheers!

Neil/Flying Ford Anglia
HPfGU Magical Moderators

**********
A FEW BASIC RULES...

Firstly, please note that we have separate club areas for off topic posts
and Announcements:

**If you want to discuss things other than the Harry Potter movies, please
go to OT Chatter where you will receive a warm welcome:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter

**If you're posting something that's purely information on something new
(news items, websites, merchandise etc), it might be better posted (or
copied) to our Announcements list.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Announcements

If you are posting/commenting on news, please don't include the full text,
and do include a link and source if you have it.

Okay, now some posting tips that I just dug out of the filing cabinet ...

KEEP THE SUBJECT LINE RELEVANT TO THE CONTENT OF THE POST

Message board conversations, like "real life" ones, will often drift from
one subject to another.
If the subject line does not change to fit the direction of the
conversation, it can frustrate
the reader.

When replying to a message, please take the time to check the subject line
and make sure it
still matches your post.  It isn't very helpful if your post is headed, for
example, "Digest #345" or "A question."


KEEP YOUR POSTS ON TOPIC

In such a large and active group, it's easy for discussions to go off on a
tangent. If a couple
of you find something in common other than the Harry Potter movies,
wonderful! Getting to know people is, perhaps, the best thing about clubs.
But if you find your discussion getting away from the main
point of the club, please continue it off-list.


TRY TO AVOID ONE-LINE AND ULTRA-SHORT POSTS

-- Consider combining your shorter points/responses with a few others in a
multi-topic post, making
sure the topic line indicates this. However, if your point is substantive
(or just plain lengthy),
it is best to give it space on its own to make the thread easier to follow.

-- Avoid "me too!" and "LOL!" posts that have absolutely no other content.
Agreeing that "Sean Biggerstaff is seriously hot" would also qualify.  We
know this now.


TAKE CARE WHEN RESPONDING TO POSTS

If you are replying to a message, please indicate the name of the person who
wrote the original
and include any relevant segments of their post, or a brief summary of their
point(s). At the
same time, please try to delete any parts of the original post that are not
relevant to your
point(s), especially if the original was really long!

Please avoid putting your reply at the end of a very long quoted segment
unless absolutely necessary. In most cases, it will be easy enough to delete
some or all of the quoted material.


PLEASE SIGN YOUR POSTS!

Even if you are pretending to be someone called Snapejowls, please put a
signature of some sort at the end of your post.


TAKE THE TIME TO PROOFREAD YOUR POSTS

If you're used to forums where speed is important (chat rooms, role playing
games, etc.), it's
easy to fall out of the habit of proofreading. Here, however, your post will
be as relevant in
five minutes (or, usually, even in five hours) as it is now.

Before hitting the 'send' button, please take a few minutes to look over
your post and correct any
typos, spelling/punctuation errors, or problems with sentence structure or
capitalization. This
will make it much easier to read and help in getting across your point.

Please avoid using all lower case letters or, worse still, all CAPITAL
LETTERS.


BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHER MEMBERS' FEELINGS

If you disagree with someone's message, no matter how strongly, remember to
respect the other
person's right to his or her own opinion. If you do wish to refute the post,
do so gently, by
building up your own case, rather than just knocking down the other
person's. And never attack
your fellow club members (name calling, personal remarks, etc).

Thanks!!

>From your Magical Moderators
HPforGrownups-owner at yahoogroups.com