radical remedy

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., naama_gat at h... wrote:
> Hi,
> So, what do you think? Would it be too drastic a measure to close 
the list to new members? 
> What does (do?) the MOD squad think?
> 
> 
> Naama, feeling like her favorite virtual place is sinking down in 
quicksand...

I'm in two minds about this.  I'm a relative newbie myself (only been 
on the list since March), but I feel as though it's much longer - 
particularly as I've now met some of the other members.  However, I 
have been posting less and less on the main list recently, because I 
am finding it difficult to find the time get through all the posts - 
I try to read all of them just to make sure I am not missing an 
interesting thread, but there is a huge amount of regurgitated stuff 
from newbies who obviously haven't even attempted to read anything in 
the files, and this is quite disheartening.   I know we all do this 
when we join - I was guilty of it just as everyone else, but the 
level it has reached has really got out of hand, and measures such as 
having our wonderful list elves hasn't really improved matters.

It is not true that there aren't very many interesting threads at the 
moment - there are - and an example I would use is Mike Gray's thread 
on Calvinism.  I think perhaps one of the problems could be more to 
do with the fact that many of the nitpicky factual discussions have 
been covered so many times that it is difficult to come at it from a 
fresh perspective, which is why I am feeling a little bit stale with 
it all.

I agree that there are probably too many members, but the majority of 
them lurk anyway which isn't doing anyone any harm.  I would also say 
that there are some new members who have added a great deal of value 
to the discussion in recent weeks, and it would have been a shame if 
they had been stopped from joining.

However, I would also say that I agree with you that the standard of 
many of the posts has gone down as far as grammar and spelling etc. 
are concerned.  I wish there was a way of moderating these posts - it 
would really cut down on volume, and it would put a stop to the 
agitated tone of some of the replies which even the mildest natured 
members of the list are guilty of (such as Amanda's recent plea for 
grammatical and sensible posts).

Overall, I don't know.  I think perhaps that we are all getting 
frustrated about the lack of Book 5.  I know I am.

Catherine