MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER

[plinsenmayer]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C2237
From: plinsenmayer
Subject: MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER
Date: 6/18/00 11:09 pm  (ET)

Hi:

The subject heading was not meant to be shouting but rather an attention
grabber. <g> A few housekeeping matters (review of etiquette, purpose
of this club, etc.) seem to be in order:

1. SPOILERS FOR BOOK 4: It will be in everyone's best interest if we
all agree to use ***SPOILER*** in the subject heading of any post that
has any details relating to Book 4 throughout July (or until most of us
agree it's no longer needed). Also, VERY IMPORTANT -- as you can see, the
first sentence or 2 of your post will appear plainly to anyone reading
the recent messages on the homepage. Use some spoiler space in the text
of your message please.

It is rumored to be a long book. Many of us (myself included) have set
aside the weekend of 8-9 July with the intent of reading more or less
non-stop, but it may take other people several weeks to finish it. So,
let's all agree to be considerate.

2. PURPOSE OF THE LIST: I am planning to revise the Founder's Message to
be more specific that this club is for adult fans of the HP books who
want to have adult-level (literate) discussions. I don't know yet how
the space constraints of that message will affect my ability to clearly
communicate this purpose. I have searched Yahoo Clubs to no avail --
does anyone know how I might go about setting up an introductory message
to go out to all new members when they join?

Ideally I would like an intro message to new members so that new members
can be clear that:

a) We are all fans of the HP books. This does not mean that I would want
free speech to be squelched, but I'd also rather avoid frequent messages
from people who are anti-HP and trying to stir everyone up. This detracts
from the purpose of the club: enjoyable discussion of the many great
points of the HP series.

b) This club is intended for adults. I don't think this requires an age
litmus test (i.e. that members must be over a certain age), but I do want
to be clear that the intent is for there to be a forum for "grown-ups"
to engage in literate, adult-level, in-depth discussions of the books,
character development, comparisons to other literature, mythology,
fanfic, etc. (and tangential issues like casting the movie).

There are literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of listserves, bbs, chat
groups, RPGs, etc. geared toward children, teenagers & a combination of
children & teenagers. I have only found a handful of groups with active
adult membership. My point in emphasizing this is that this forum may
not be the most ideal forum for teenage fans. I was messengered by one
person who was trying to join our club and who was surprised to learn
that it was *not* the *only* HP club on Yahoo.

Okay, so anyone who knows how I might best communicate our purpose and
our membership -- please let me know. If you're still listening -- thanks.

Penny