[HPFGU-OTChatter] I Think We Need To Talk

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

I'm not sure exactly where I stand on all of this, but I'm going to add 
my 2 knuts anyway. ^_^

I have yet to see any blatant signs of power abuse among the elves 
manifesting themselves on the main list.  I did see signs of the 
moderating team being severely undermanned post-OotP, and although I 
commend the elves for their work during this period, I do wonder why 
they didn't pad their ranks before the release of OotP.

As far as I know, the elf involved in the Rush incident was enforcing 
rules that didn't actually exist.  However, I understand (if not 
support) her attempt to nip a potentially explosive topic in the bud, 
and I do not hold the rest of the admin team responsible for her 
actions.

I am concerned by the topics discussed in Cindy's post and by the 
reaction of the mod team to it (although the fact that Cindy posted a 
personal email to the list bothers me -- I can see why she did it, but 
*still*).  I am especially bothered by the rumor of this "no list 
policies" rule, especially as a) I had never noticed it before, much 
less ever seen it enforced OR b) it is relatively new and potentially a 
reactionary measure in response to recent events.  Either way, it 
*really* bugs me.  I understand that list policy is an *extremely* 
volatile subject, and I appreciate the mod team's efforts to keep 
discourse on this list as civil as possible.  That said, I think the 
benefits of *courteous* discussion of list policy (when it is 
necessary) by list members far outweigh the possibility of unpleasant 
posts.  We are all adults here, right? ^_~

*takes a deep breath*

Okay.  Despite all that, I do not think open election of the admin team 
is the answer.  The participation level of most members is far too 
erratic within their first year (at least) of membership to risk 
electing a frequent poster of, say, four months' membership to office, 
only to lose her completely two months later when she loses interest in 
the group (this happens *all* the time, trust me).  The *last* thing we 
need is an unstable admin team, IMHO.  The things that would attract 
the average list member to vote for a candidate are *not*, necessarily, 
the qualities that would make a good list elf.  I fear that, given open 
election, only very frequent posters would be elected by virtue of 
their high profile, whereas the posters who showed exemplary posting 
habits and knowledge of list rules would be passed over entirely.

Please understand that I am not trying to say that "older" posters are 
in any way more law-abiding/dedicated/better/etc.  I will be the first 
to say that after almost two years of membership, I'm *still* getting 
howlers (honestly, I just don't know when to shut up).  Furthermore, my 
participation in the list is erratic as any newbie's.  Clearly, I would 
not be a wise choice for list administration.  ^_~  It's just that I 
don't think the admin team, much less the membership of HPFGU as a 
whole, can tell much about the long-term qualities of a potential elf 
without, at the *very* least, a year of posting habits to go by.

Furthermore, the idea of facing dramatic changes in the admin team on a 
yearly basis seems like a horrible idea to me.  Perhaps some compromise 
could be reached by which any replacements/new positions in the admin 
team could be filled by election by HPFGU membership from a list of 
candidates approved by the existing elves.  (There should also be a 
mechanism in place by which members could indicate their interest in 
becoming an elf to the admin team, I think.) Or something of a similar 
nature.  Like Cindy, I am concerned that the list elves have been 
drifting away from the HPFGU community -- many of them rarely posting 
or participating in the list.  I understand that being an elf takes up 
a lot of time, but if those duties are preventing elves from engaging 
in normal list participation -- well, that's just not fair, is it?

I would also appreciate any responses that elves (either as individuals 
or as a group) could make to the list as a whole, as I would hope that 
we could all discuss this issue in a constructive manner.

Laura (who hasn't written a post this long in ages and ages.)