ADMIN: Re: New OT Group/response to Rita and some background

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 13972

A tired Rita said:

<<I saw the announcements that the Moderators are forcing us into HPfGU-OT
group. I'm not happy about that -- I expect that my responses to chapter and
character summaries will all be banished to the OT group -- but if the Mod
Squad is DEEPLY concerning with reducing the traffic on the main list, they
should exile ALL Harry/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione
shipping to a group of its own...<snip> >>

Dear Rita - I hope you had a good night's sleep!

GET THIS: NEIL IN SERIOUS MODE

Responses to chapter and character summaries would, by definition, be tied
to canon, so I doubt very much that your wonderfully informative posts would
be banished to OTChatter.   If a thread that started off relating to HP
generated a completely off topic branch, we might step in and suggest that
people move the discussion over to OTChatter, if they hadn't done so
voluntarily.  There are also a few borderline HP topics that we feel are
best posted on the OT list, including many that tend to be short and
personal (e.g. "I took the HP obsessiveness test and I'm 98% obssessed!").
These are listed in the ADMIN posts Penny has been making on a daily basis
and they are outlined in the homepage of the OTChatter club and in the Files
section here (with a link there from the VFAQ, whcih is also in the Files
section, and also at the end of this message).

As for the high traffic on the main list, the moderators' "deep" concern
stems from the deep concern of many of the list members (and we are list
members too, don't forget).  We received comments about the high volume on
the main list and heard useful suggestions on how we might handle this.  We
have discussed the matter at length and invested quite some time in managing
the situation and working on ways to ease the problem.  If anyone feels that
we have been too heavy handed, I would ask them to imagine what the list
would be like if we just folded our hands behind our heads and did nothing.

The problem of list volume was first raised after the Salon/CNN article was
published and we had a massive influx of new members.  As the membership
crept towards and beyond 1000, our aim was to do something that would make a
consistent impact on the the message volume.  Since most themes (such as
shipping) come and go in waves (ahem), it made more sense to remove OT
posts, which are multi-topic and featured more regularly.  The Announcements
list was created to be useful in its own right, but also for those people
who cannot keep up with the volume on the main list, but want to be kept
informed on the major news and events.

Shipping posts seem to be quite a bone of contention here, but this is
partly because relationships between certain book characters have ended up
under the label 'SHIP' and the topic has been somewhat enduring, due to
certain R/H and H/H supporters squaring up to each other (as is their
right).  Repetitive though some of the themes are to *some* of us, most
shipping posts are, undeniably, on topic.  There are other themes that come
and go in waves, such as HP movie discussions, and the best approach to
these seems to be clear labelling in the message headers, so that people can
skip or delete them if they wish.

Since I'm on my soapbox -  without the aid of a hairnet or other
accoutrements, note -  another way in which list members can help out is to
read and observe the ADMIN messages that we post from time to time and pay
attention to reminders on things such as use of correct message headers.
For example, if one wants to skip anything on H/H vs R/H, it's very annoying
if a post is labelled "Re: Digest Number #234".

Finally, new or confused members really should read the VFAQ, not because we
want to drown them in rules and regulations, but because we have spent time
putting together a 'package' of information on very frequently asked
questions.   It's meant to be helpful to you, not have you walking on
eggshells!

Neil (not even trying to be funny this time)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-Announcements

_____________________________________

Flying-Ford-Anglia
Mechanimagus Moderator (revving up)

"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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