[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: No responses on the main list (Was: Wizarding Education )

[Lanthiriel S]

--- "(Mrs.) Lee Storm (God Is The Healing Force)"
<n2fgc at arrl.net> wrote:
> Now, I've got to admit, I joined the HPFGU Main List
> in--uh--hmm--April, I
> think?...well, anyway, I did *scan* the FAQ files
> and tried to absorb the
> acronyms with little success. :-) There's just sooo
> much info to read
> through fully.  But I at least felt pretty
> comfortable popping in.
> 
> When I posted, I tried to devote a great deal of
> care to my posts and did
> all I could to adhere to List Protocols, and had
> lots of fun.

Well, I'm definitely no authority on the workings of
the main list and I don't feel that I have the right
to criticize or complain, but I do have a few
thoughts. I joined only a few weeks back and I now
have about 500 unread daily digests sitting in my
newly expanded Yahoo inbox. The volume is part of what
has me so behind, but also the feeling that I rather
"missed the boat" - that the people on the list all
know one another, are familiar with each other's
personal theories, pet peeves, and interests and that
I as a new member have nothing to add - or, at least,
nothing that anyone will really care to read.

I know the rules are absolutely necessary, and they do
help familiarize new members to some extent. And I can
completely understand the frustration of having new
people pop up and ask the same old tired questions
that have been discussed a million times before. But
even with the ability to search the archives for
specific topics, the sheer amount of posts - and the
length of time over which they may be spread - makes
it very, very difficult to read everything that has
been said on a given subject.

In short, joining the main list can be a very daunting
proposition to some new members, and if there is a
lack of "new blood" as has been mentioned, that might
be a reason.
 
> As of late, however, some of the thrust of some of
> the threads makes me
> wonder if I've read the same books as some of the
> posters out there...no
> offense, but some of the stuff just totally eludes
> me.  Perhaps I'm
> too--uh--concrete in my thinking that not every line
> has to allude to or
> foreshadow something...

Yes, this may also be a bit off-putting to some new
members. I don't mean to say that everyone shouldn't
have the right to bring up such theories - that's part
of the fun of these books - but if some members have
theories which they'd like to share which are... a bit
less complex, they may feel they're going to get booed
off the stage by members who have studied the books
much more intently.

> [Lee]:
> A newby list might be a good idea or maybe if
> there's someone with all the
> information at hand who newbies can write to...who
> knows.  These,
> unfortunately, are situations which probably always
> arise when running
> lists.  <Sigh.> Like I say, been there, done that

I think the idea of having two lists is a great one.
One list for newer members who might be interested in
rehashing the old theories that - even though they're
adult fans - may be completely new to them. The second
list could be for the more established members, those
who have exhausted such topics and - after having made
a certain number of posts or being nominated by a mod?
- desire to join in different conversations. The idea
of having a moderator very familiar with the
discussions on the main list is also a very good one.
That way new members could e-mail them, run a topic by
them, and - if it were the vampire Snape theory, for
instance - the moderator could advise them not to
bring it up and perhaps where they could read about it
in the archive.

People are often pressed for time and, while it's
completely reasonable to search the archive and read a
few posts on a topic of interest, I don't think anyone
has time to wade through hundreds upon hundreds of
messages to familiarize themselves with the
intricacies of a particular theory or long-running
conversation. This is especially true when people are
excited and eager to express themselves. They're more
likely to end up not posting at all, too worried that
they might get a negative reception for broaching the
subject. Again, I understand that this has to be
weighed with the absolute need to avoid pointless
posts asking the same old questions - but it can also
be very intimidating.

Just my thoughts, Lanthiriel - who thinks the
"Fantastic Posts" page is also wonderful, but who
still feels rather lost


	
		
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