No responses on the main list (Was: Wizarding Education )

arrowsmithbt arrowsmithbt at btconnect.com
Thu Jul 22 18:57:12 UTC 2004


--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "davewitley" <dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> 
> It is a longstanding summer HPFGU tradition to whine about how the 
> list is going downhill.  The fact that people have crawled out of 
> the woodwork bang on cue says to me that the continuity in all this 
> far outweighs what is new.  In 2000, there was oldbie eye-rolling by 
> August about how newbies would ask about Dumbledore's gleam - less 
> than two months after GOF was published.
> 
> There was no golden age.


Possibly, but that's no reason to not aspire to one.

And yes, although I've been a member for little over a year I too think the
standard of the average post has declined. I was part of the big influx in 
response to the forthcoming publication of OoP - more numerous than 
the current intake, I think. But there's a not-so-subtle difference this time
- they're (mostly) not a response to the books, but to the release of the 
film. And judging by some of the posts a proportion of them have never 
bothered to read the books properly. Doesn't stop 'em posting, though.

I've had mails querying my posts - "because it didn't happen that way in
the film" and "the clues in the film say different." Since I've not seen the film
and have no intention of doing so, I'm not able to comment except to point
out that the films aren't canon. To which I received replies - "canon is 
boring"; "canon doesn't matter"; "forget canon, the film is more fun."
OK, they might be exceptions (I hope), but it doesn't give me a great deal 
of confidence for the future if more than a handful with this attitude post 
with any regularity. Makes you wonder if it's worthwhile grafting to put a 
reasoned post together if make believe, adolescent fantasy and the view 
through Warner Bros. story filter are seen as more desirable. 

Never had that sort of mail previous to the past month. Could well be 
straws in the wind.

So call me a whiner - better to my mind than airily dismissing concerns 
from the lofty eminence of 4 years on site. One stance is concerned about 
maintaining reasonably adult standards; the other sees no cause to worry.
Sorry, I think you're wrong. The complexion of the membership is changing,
and not in a way I  feel comfortable with.

Kneasy 





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