why people go quiet

[Amy Z]

Eileen wrote:

> I'd like to reassure you about the disappearance of familiar 
posters 
> post-OotP. While indeed there was The Old Crowd, and some posters 
did 
> go there, a lot of the regular posters simply vanished overnight 
> *because* of the behind-scenes problems (and you can see now how 
> extensive they were!) We haven't been posting anywhere. We've been 
> numb, and often very, very busy. I think this goes for the majority 
> of us who have had a connection to HPFGU MEG and FAQ. 

Add, in my case, that I went to a conference the day after the book 
came out and returned to hundreds of posts; was disappointed with OoP 
(I'm not any longer, but now there are thousands of posts over the 
dam); was moving and starting a new job last summer; and just maybe, 
had just reached the other side of the peak of my interest in HP, 
much as I still love it.

IOW, there are lots of reasons the active list membership changes.  
Leaders of HPfGU frequently shift some of their attention to movie 
stuff or fanfiction or RPGs or FAQ-writing or a different HP list.  

In my experience, the number one reason elves post less once they 
become elves is that it takes hours a day to administer the list, 
especially if you're always fighting fires.  Easy to say "elves, get 
over this stupid debate already," but if someone keeps on throwing 
bombs, you either have to ban them (STALINIST!), ignore them (RUDE!) 
or deal with them.

Amy Z