To all lurkers and newbies ... you know who you are :)

[nera at rconnect.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 17191

> 
>   Please don't be paranoid!  I'm just kidding!  I was actually on a 
list once on which a few members expressed concern about lurkers, 
fearing that they were there to spy on the discussions.
*********************
Haha ... No, I am not paranoid. (looks over her shoulder) It is just 
that (was that something moving in the corner?) I know that there are 
about 1200 people on this list and (what was that noise?) I do NOT 
see posts from anyone but people whose names have become very 
familiar. I almost know what some of them are going to say before I 
read it. I would like to see more people participate. (so would the 
moderators)
*********************

>   I lurk mostly for two reasons: 1) I love Harry Potter and love to 
read discussion by other adults about the books...and 2)I, for a lot 
of reasons (chronic illnesses, not enough time to spend online) 
cannot participate in a lot of discussions.  So I do the next best 
thing, I "listen" to what other people are saying.
*********************
Those are some unquestionably good reasons for you to lurk. If you 
ever feel the urge to toss your two cents in, please do so. We all 
love Harry Potter too and we also love to read discussion by other 
adults, including yourself. :)
*********************
>   I think that it is made reasonably clear that, for us, there are 
very few new topics anymore, and so newbies are certain that their 
question has already discussed and are afraid of the impatience and 
exasperation it may cause.  I've been here for several months and I 
still worry about bringing up a topic that has already been discussed.
*********************
Well, the way that I look at it is this: 
1) "Goblet of Fire" has been out since July 2000. That is almost a 
year. 
2)The next book is not coming out until next year. Another year.
3)The movie is not coming out until November. That is 7 months away.

If we do NOT discuss ANYthing which has possibly been discussed EVER 
before, then what WILL we do for the next 7 months? Sit here and 
twiddle our collective thumbs?

Somebody please jump right in and correct me if I am wrong, but is 
this NOT a discussion group? Does that not mean to talk with others, 
to express our opinions, to hear the other person's views, to agree, 
disagree, or not respond at all?

I think that it is a really handy tool to have the FAQ list. If a 
person just simply wants to know the answer to a question, pure and 
simple, they can go to the FAQ list or type in their key word in the 
search engine.

If, however, the person would like a personal answer to their own 
question, even if it has been asked before, then they should be able 
to post that question and not be intimidated by anyone in the group, 
even if that person spent six weeks discussing that very topic last 
July or whenever. 

Is there a limit as to how many times a specific question *may* be 
asked or answered? It is not as though we are limited by space, is 
it? We are not compiling material for a research paper or something 
similar, are we? 

When I first came to this group, I tried very hard to *conform* to 
the standards. If I had a question or an idea, I first went to the 
FAQ to see if it was there. If not, I would try to search the 
thousands of letters to find it. Do you veterans realize what a job 
that is? At the moment, there are 17189 letters in this group's 
files. (not iincluding those IN the archives) By the time I got done 
doing all of that, if I had not completely forgotten what my question 
was, or had not been bored to death, or bleary eyed, I would come 
back to ask my question and find that I was now behind about 30 
posts. It was sort of like chasing a train to catch a ride! I gave up 
and just started asking questions and stating my ideas.

I figure that if there are people who  do not want to answer it 
because they have tired of the subject, then they don't have to 
answer it. That is also an option.

If they know where to send me to read letters on exactly my question, 
I hope that they will do so, but do it kindly, not rudely.

There have been times when I thought about answering a newbie's 
question, but then I didn't because someone told them that it had 
been hashed & rehashed back in letter #342 or such. Now, I regret not 
speaking up. I may have missed a chance to make a new friend.

Doreen, who likes hashing & rehashing and finds it a curious thing 
that the same people who dislike hashing & rehashing, are the same 
people who have read Harry Potter dozens of times.