[HPforGrownups] Re: Unfirendly group? Was re:re: ADMIN:re:...

Thu Apr 12 14:41:09 UTC 2001

No: HPFGUIDX 16528

Hello All!!!

Okey Dokey, time for a newbie to voice his opinion.

I find everyone on the group to be quite friendly, actually. I had been a member of a Bjork group at one point, and every time I posted, I was told I "didn't love Bjork enough, so why are you posting?" and other such nonsense.

When I first joined HP4GU, I was a little bit hessitant to post anything. But that is a natural feeling. Heres a group with 1000 plus members and I'm just one guy (cute though I may be <g>) why would these people listen? Would they respond?
All that kind of stuff.

So I posted stuff, and went to chat, and read the fanfic on the site. Penny even directed me towards the obsession test (thanx Penny! ::hugs Penny::) even though it was on the FAQ. I had just not seen it before when I read it. I've found
everyone helpful and welcoming, especially during chat.

I've been betaing, joining in discussions, etc. If someone points out a grammar/spelling error, I don't mind too much. Matter of fact, I just take it in stride, and fix the error. I've learnt more about grammar/spelling on this group than in
school. <g> go figure.

Everyone here has their own opinions, their own lives, and their own views on things. It's obvious that some people are going to clash with ideas and opinions. With so many people having so many different opinions, why not listen to them than
view them as a slash against yourself?

The whole point of the group is discussion. If someone responds to your posting, don't take it in a bad way, just accept it for someone elses opinion, and perhaps try to see it from their side. By doing so, you're opening yourself up to new
ideas and thoughts.

So, to sum up, (yes, this posting does have a poing) I thank you all for being so open and friendly towards me. I'm not sucking up, I'm just stating the truth. You've all been wonderful, ready to share opinions and joke around. I think it's
wonderful that a group this large can be so nice to newbies.

Hugs to all,
Jamieson ::who stated his opinion and nothing more::

heidi.h.tandy.c92 at alumni.upenn.edu wrote:

> We're friendly! We're fun! We like Newbies! We were all newbies
> ourselves once! Want to see proof? Go to
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ParadigmOfUncertainty/files/041101DP.htm
>  (or, in the interest of self-embarrassment, go to
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups-Archives/message/3523)
>
> If you're a newbie and you're finding it hard to get into the swim of
> things here, come to a chat - they start at 3pm on sundays (eastern
> daylight time) in our chatroom. Don't be paranoid about posting - and
> if someone either points out a bit of canon that disagrees with your
> conclusion then take that for what it is - a different opinion or a
> clarification of "fact", or if someone gives you a gentle nudge to
> the list's Very Frequently Asked Questions page or the Welcoming
> Message, then go read it. It's very enlightening, even to someone
> like me who'se been here for months!
> And if someone gives you a  not-so-gentle nudge, onlist or offlist,
> let the moderators know, offlist.
>
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., meckelburg at f... wrote:
> > I was only on the list for 3hours!, had my 3rd Post out, when I got
> my
> > first ruffle, about the topic being discussed in Length before.
> > Shocked, I tried to search through the thread and I actually found
> it
> > 3 weeks back, 1100 messages before I entered. I wanted to
> unsubscribe
> > immediatly, but I waited one day, and I got a few really friendly
> > answers to my questions, so I just ignored the unfriendly ones.
>
> I really hope you didn't feel that any posts directed to you were
> unfriendly - that is certainly not the attitude that this list is
> projecting, I hope! Although between your comments and Andrea's, I'm
> afraid that it might be the sensation some people are getting.
> >
> > Anyway, the Newbies need support as much as they can get. So
> perhaps
> > if we remember sometimes, that a couple of weeks mean a lot of
> > messages to catch up to, they wouldn't get so harsch answers.
> The group *does* have a lot of ways for Newbies to get support - all
> the things which are discussed in the Welcoming Message are there
> specifically to enable Newbies to get a grounding in what's going on
> before they jump into the lake and get thrown back into the boat by
> the Giant Squid.
> EVERYONE who joins a mailing list should ALWAYS read that list's
> welcoming message. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm not saying it
> to attack anyone. I'm saying it because after about 10 years of
> participation on internet mailing lists/online clubs, I have realized
> that no two lists have the exact same rules/guidelines/standards/what-
> have-yous. And at this list, anyone who asks a question that's
> answered on the Very Frequently Asked Questions List is asking an
> unnecessary question (or if they have absolutely no webview, they
> should email the moderators offlist and ask for the VFAQ to be sent
> to them (and if you haven't read it yet, read it now, or email the
> mods and ask them to send it to you now. They will! They're nice
> people!)) - for your convenience, the VFAQ is at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/VFAQ.htm.
> I agree - there are a lot of messages on this list, and reading back
> over a few weeks' worth is VERY VERY time consuming. But reading over
> the past 24-36 hours worth won't take *as* much time. And searching
> the message files to see if a *particular* subject has been discussed
> in the past week or two doesn't either.
>
> > The nitpicking on grammar and spelling really scared me though. I
> > thought I'd never be able to post anything again.I'm German and my
> > English is far from being perfect.
>
> > I starteded checking through the messages, and if the tone is very
> > harsch or nitpicking, I just don't answer, even if what I have to
> say,
> > might be interesting!
>
> I want to point out that in some of our recent discussions, including
> the Ron Character Discussion we've been having this week, the exact
> choice of words made by JKR, and to some extent the exact words used
> by the person posting, are reasonable subjects for discussion,
> definitions and all. If we're going to make conclusions about the
> characters in the books based on certain, specific words chosen by
> JKR (like the use of the words "angry" and "satisfied" to describe
> Ron at the Yule Ball (not to start the thread again! just giving an
> example!)) then thos e*exact* words do matter and can and should be
> picked at.
>
> Andrea wrote:
> > Same day, same moderator barely
> > acknowledges vicious
> > ridiculing of member for her grammar.  Says play nice, but,
> > heh-heh, she's
> > always like that, now we get a cute little acronym.
> Andrea, I am really really honestly confused. I went back to John's
> BE NICE post from that day at Message 15770 and I *cannot* find
> anything in there which I can construe as a bare acknowledgement, or
> any "cute little acronym" created therefrom. If you're still around,
> can you point me to what you're refering to? Maybe I just am not
> searching correctly. I do wish - I *really* wish - that when the
> incident had happened that so troubled you, you had emailed the
> moderators (offlist?) and said so, instead of stewing in silence for
> 11 days.
> To be honest, I checked over the archives, and I haven't found a
> mention of the large number of people who joined after we were
> mentioned in Salon all month, although I do acknowledge that when a
> subject that's been discussed ad infinitum AND is mentioned in the
> VFAQ, there are some of us who do a collective sigh, although as I
> understand it, such posts are almost always acknowledged on or off
> list, in some capacity. I know this because I've been the
> acknowledger & pointer myself on many occasions.
>
>
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>
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>
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