ADMIN Re: Nitpicking/Yes, it's another 'be nice' post

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 15772

Oooooh!    Two ADMIN posts from different moderators in one night?  Don't
say we never give you anything.<g>

****

Echo wrote:

"Harry grew up in a wealthy household, yet had very little in the way of
materialistic objects. Therefor, he puts very little
value on such things, and is generous with the small fortune his parents
left him."

Catlady replied:

"1 NOT 'therefore'. DESPITE or NONETHELESS
2. Wealthy? The Dursleys? In their little house and owning only one car? I
think they are very middle-middle.
3. Small fortune? Maybe it is a large fortune -- JKR said in a chat that
James had inherited enough money that he and Lily didn't need to work for a
living. They worked for a good cause instead."

Echo, perhaps understandably, took offence to Catlady's nitpicking on point
1 (and let's face it, Rita plays Kicker for the San Francisco Nitpickers).

Echo, a belated welcome to the group and thanks for some interesting
thoughts.   My moderating hairnet was giving off sparks, which not only
threatened to set fire to my new hairdo, but warned me that the heat was
rising somewhere.

Hmmmm.  Perhaps Rita could have phrased her response in point 1, above, a
*little* more gently.  As John has just said, text can't always put across
the nuances of speech, so we need to phrase things very carefully when
writing messages.  We should, of course, bear in mind the same restrictions
when reading what others have said.

Part of our netiquette file reads thus:

"***BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHER MEMBERS' FEELINGS:  If you disagree with
someone's message, no matter how strongly, remember to respect the other
person's right to his or her own opinion. If you do wish to refute the post,
do so gently, by building up your own case, rather than just knocking down
the other person's. And never attack your fellow club members (name calling,
personal remarks, etc). "

All members should take note of this.

It's also important, as we've said before, that people indicate when they
are stating their own opinion, as it is then implicit that other opinions
are possible.  Otherwise, we could end up with more situations where one
member feels they are being corrected, in unqualified fashion, by another.

Whether we choose 'therefore' or 'nonetheless' in the case of Harry's
apparent lack of materialism, we can only offer an opinion, based on his
behaviour and our own experiences.  It is possible to debate this question
(not for the first time) without attacking each other and it would be
interesting to hear other views.

Okay, now I have to work out how I can feel cold and heat at the same
time...

Neil
_____________________________________

Flying-Ford-Anglia
Mechanimagus Moderator

"Krum, his red robes shining with blood from his nose,
was rising gently into the air, his fist held high, a glint
of gold in his hand." ["The Quidditch World Cup", GoF]

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