W.O.M.B.A.T.S

[Talisman]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "rebecca" <dontask2much at ...> 
wrote:
> Marketing surveys, as you point out for the one you've been 
>approached with in the mall, are all collectively analyzed this 
way - >it's mathematically how you measure behaviors and market 
trends or >interest on subjective answers. 

While I wouldn't mind Rowling correcting errors or oversights caught 
via feedback, I would be disgusted to find she had modified the 
behavior of her characters--and so the argument of her series--to 
pander to market tastes.  

In an early interview she vowed not to do such a thing, and I'm 
holding her to it.

But this thread reflects some of my thought process in answering. 
 
For instance, in the Law section:

I'm not a big fan of the police state and it is not my first 
instinct to run to the gendarmes or government officials to solve 
problems with other people--especially family and neighbors.  

Is she looking for that sort of reasoning? Or just for someone who 
can use deductive reasoning + canon knowledge to come to the *legal* 
answer?

I wonder about her expectations regarding test-takers, her goals, 
etc.

Because, if you answer by what you would actually do, you risk 
seeming ignorant of the stated WW standards.  Especially if you are 
me.

As to the importance of the information gathered:

It may be comparatively expensive to handle the intractives, but I 
have no idea what sort of deal she may have in that regard. 

I do know she has cash, and if it's a matter of publicity / fan 
managment may be subsidized by the other interested parties. 

It could just be a way to keep the howling fans busy and at bay 
without risking any eleventh-hour revelations.

If it is also a market survey, let's hope she's fielding it for the 
publisher's future considerations, and that there's no relevance to 
Book 7.

In that case, no doubt the cost is being covered as publishers' 
business expenses, and answers aren't as likely to be relevant to 
our HP investigations.

Talisman, who, in the event the *right* answers are *nonconforming* 
and clearly products of *subjective* factors, is much more 
interested in Rowling's own answers than anyone's test score.