Is It Just Me? (Cont.)

[abigailnus]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Wendy St John" <hebrideanblack at e...> 
wrote: 
> Yesterday, I gave it a bit of thought and realised that I'm probably only
> actually enjoying about 4 out of every 100 or so posts. I've taken to just
> deleting posts on topics that don't interest me (SHIPs, plus a whole bunch
> of other things). Most of this I would read if the overall volume was
> lower, but I don't have unlimited time (who does?), so I'm mostly following
> Snape stuff and a few others. So, after deleting about 70 percent of the
> posts unopened, I'm STILL finding an overwhelming majority of posts with
> six pages of unsnipped stuff to scroll down through, just to find "Me Too!"
> ARGH!!!! As someone already mentioned, these people CAN NOT have read the
> FAQ. Well, when I joined this group a year and a half ago, I was actually
> rather intimidated - it was obvious that the rules were taken very
> seriously and that one had better follow them or risk being hated by
> everyone and getting lots of howlers. <G>

I've been having the same experience, but frankly, I think 
there's something that we can all do to help reduce this kind 
of clutter.  We can post.  When I first joined HPfGU it was with 
a rather snobbish feeling.  I didn't really believe that the 
group produced material of the kind of caliber that warranted 
all the fuss - the Humongous Bigfile, Moderated Status, etc.  
It was only after I read some posts that I realized just what an 
intelligent and talented bunch of people make up HPfGU, and 
those posts made me want to contribute something of that 
quality.  The newbies on the group right now don't have too 
many older members offering examples, and it shows.

So post.  Don't be afraid that someone's said the same thing 
already - they have.  And not just over the last seven weeks but 
over the last three years.  How many times have we told 
newbies that they shouldn't be afraid to suggest an oft-repeated 
topic, because there are always new angles and new readers?  
That's still the case.  I'm sure everyone on this thread has a lot to 
say, and I know that I'm looking forward to reading it.  I can't be 
the only one who scans the list for her favorite posters, because 
I know that those posters can be relied on to provide consistently 
high quality.  If you post, others will respond, and some of them 
will be inspired to raise the quality of their discussion.

What makes HPfGU a great place to discuss Harry Potter is not 
that there are moderators around to discourage low-brow 
discussions, but that there are great people who encourage 
high-brow ones.

Post, people.

Abigail