Comments to Neil & Rita about Shippers, and wondering if anyone else agrees with me

Fri Mar 9 15:39:39 UTC 2001

No: HPFGUIDX 13976

Rita,
I also agree with you about the shippers.  I have even set up my email to
"catch" ship headings, and plop them into a folder.  In the beginning, I had
an "auto-delete" message rule, but I lost a few "real" posts too.

It's not that I don't have a preference.  Perhaps, it can be best said that
after almost a year of hearing about it, I'm not wanting to listen to it any
more?

(Hopes that makes sense?)

I second Rita's motion for a SHIP-list.  (Don't know if it works that way,
but it's a start?)

Neil, I do hope you understand?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Neil Ward" <neilward at dircon.co.uk>
To: <HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 6:21 AM
Subject: [HPforGrownups] ADMIN: Re: New OT Group/response to Rita and some
background

> 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]
>
> Check out Very Frequently Asked Questions for everything
> to do with this club:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/VFAQ.htm
>
>
>
>
> _______ADMIN________ADMIN_______ADMIN__________
>
> From Monday 12th March, all OT (Off-Topic) messages must be posted to the
HPFGU-OTChatter YahooGroup, to make it easier for everyone to sort through
the messages they want to read and those they don't.
>
> Therefore...if you want to be able to post and read OT messages, point
your cyberbroomstick at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter to
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>
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