Dublin, fandom, smoking, uk places and fanfic

[Simon]

Al: <<<...thanks (offlist, really) to Simon for calming me down, re. cash at
the meet the other weekend.>>>

That is ok Al. Glad to hear you had a good time over in Dublin.


Al: <<<Good to see the fandom hasn't imploded in my absence.>>>

No it is when I am away from my computer that problems seem to occur. So I
warn everyone else here that I am away next week. Fun and games must surely
ensue in the fandom while I am away.


--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., Rita Winston <catlady at w...> wrote:
> Simon's sig said:
> >  "... smoking causes early morality..." - BBC news
> > coverage of a recent report into the effects of smoking.
>
> Is that a new way of publicizing that smoking causes impotence?
>

Joy: <<<Philip Morris (the tobacco company) just put out a report about the
financial advantages of cigarette smoking which points out that cigarette
smoking SAVES the government money, because people who smoke tend to die
sooner than people who dont, so the government doesnt have to support as many
retirees (pensioners in the UK).>>>

My sig line comes from the BBC news coverage of the above-mentioned report. I
would guess that it was a simple mistype - but you never can tell.


Amy: <<<So I am wondering:  are there other such assumptions that you Brits
carry about the characters that you might not even think to mention because to
you they're obvious, if you follow me?>>>

I am replying to this here because it is not really at all on topic. It is to
do with assumptions made when reading a book and then realising that they are
probably, if not definitely, wrong.

When I first read PS my first impression was that Ron, and his family, were
from Manchester/Liverpool or somewhere else in the North West. I am still not
sure why I thought this, but it is still there in the back of my mind.


Amanda, crusty old battleaxe, wrote: <<<The people who read, write, and
otherwise adore fanfic on this list have heard this from me before. Lots. They
regard me, I think, as a still-likable person who clearly spent too much time
in the sun, laugh to themselves tolerantly at my eccentricity, and go on
merrily reading, writing, and otherwise adoring fanfic. Neither I nor they are
hurt.

... and I can understand him feeling *just* a hair outnumbered.>>>

Well I am sure we can all relate. Many of us seem to have ideas that mean we
are greatly outnumbered. I know that I feel like that anytime a shipper debate
starts up.


Eb: <<<After much contemplation, I've decided not to can TiP because of its
glaring inaccuracies and Americanisms (thanks to Scott, Michelle, and the rest
of the folks at the July 8 meet for their encouragement!).  I'm having too
much fun writing it.  I'm learning this summer that many other fanfics that
I've read and love are just as inaccurate.  TiP's last chapter and the sequel
will be a bit more accurate than the previous, but can't be fully
on-target--after all, you can take the writer out of America, but you can't
take America out of the writer.

Hats off to all the Brits in the fandom, who are kind enough not to nitpick us
fan writers who are from elsewhere and who are gracious enough to have fun
along with us!>>>

Most stuff that is wrong just is not important enough for any of us to bother
nitpicking over. I always look for a decent story and something called a plot
when reading fanfic. Worrying about British accuracy, when we are writing
about the wizarding world that none of us know fully, is not worth it.

I have a couple of exceptions to this. One is the use of mom. The other has
some relevance to a recent conversation. Using math for maths always annoys
me.



Simon

PS: There is no PS

--
"Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb --
they're often students, for heaven's sake." - Terry Pratchett
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