Manifesto

[Barry Arrowsmith]

Members of The Legion of the Not-Too-Tightly-Wrapped can be found 
everywhere. IMO there's not much point in arguing that their view of HP 
is skewed, partial or partisan, because their view of HP is a 
reflection of their world-view. Commenting on HP is just another way of 
expressing it.

And if others dissent, by some weird logic it's seen as some sort of 
validation of the idea that the misguided or ignorant are there to be 
persuaded and opposers to an obvious truth are to be shouted down. 
Fiction is real life with the names changed to protect the guilty. From 
what I've seen it's not quite at that stage yet on the other site, 
though there have been times in the past when it teetered on the edge.

Certainly from personal experience I can confirm that while frank 
insults and denigration may not appear on the other board they weren't 
uncommon in emails from persons who considered my attitudes and 
opinions (deduced from posts) reprehensible to say the least. Not being 
a shy, sensitive type, it didn't bother me in the slightest.  Probably 
coincidence, but after a couple of these exchanges, for the next few 
days there was a barrage of mail viruses addressed to me - that's not a 
problem either, my provider automatically checks all mail and strips 
them out. It's probably also coincidental that I haven't had *any* in 
my mail since I've been posting exclusively on toc.
Paranoid? Who, me?

Of course, this is a result of accepting that any opinion is equally 
valid to any other -  and in a large discussion group dissecting a work 
of fiction this is the raison d'etre of the whole enterprise. The 
problems surface when for some the books cease to be entertainment and 
become seen as a vehicle for an agenda not their own.

Niven's Law - "No cause is so noble that it doesn't attract some 
dickheads."

Kneasy