Re: Efforts to Archive WX Threads

[Lady Arabella]

**waves to Mona**

I would be glad to email you the Snape threads I have - thank you for offering to post them!!!

I think Julia did threads 1 and 2, so I can email 3-5. (They may not get sent to until after Easter, though).

As to how they can be linked to what's already posted, I'm not sure. Maybe they could be left as is? (Snape 1, Snape 2, etc.). Each thread is already quite long, so combining them might make a thread that is almost too long to search through (??). But whatever people decide is fine with me

[Potteraholic]

Hi Mona and LA (LA, you can call me PAH; everyone else does and it's shorter to type ), thanks for your questions about how to post the Snape threads. I'm working on an idea that I'm going to post in the Practice forum, but it's not quite ready yet. It involves a bit of reposting, tho'. But since there are a total of 7 screen pages involved (a good HP #) I hope you don't mind, Mona (or whoever decides they'd like to be in charge of the Snape threads.)

Okay, before I go any further, I just need to ask... does anyone mind that I'm pulling a Hermione and sort of organizing things around here? In my defense, I have some experience doing so, being a Moderator on WX (and not a Host on WX; I was only responsible for/interested in doing practical things, not monitoring forumers' comments). I also am on Spring Break, with some extra time on my hands, and I like doing this sort of thing. If anyone feels like I'm stepping on anyone's toes, please let me know. I say that because I've gone and edited in some post titles on some of your posts; you might have wondered why. I only titled the posts where updates were given about archived threads: ____'s Update #_. I did this so that's it easier to distinguish between posts when scrolling down a page when looking for specific info. I find it helpful when posts are titled and hopefully, when the 'Search' function works a bit better, it will be easier to find specific posts later on.

I've changed some of the contents in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. Hopefully, they're self-explanatory as well.

I'm going to go off and work on creating some threads in the Practice Forum to try out my idea for reposting multi-volume WX threads in fewer threads here. From what I can tell about the post capacity (# of replies) in these threads, it seems to be just under 1,000, with about 15 posts/replies per page (1,000 ÷ 15 = 66 pages). Mona was able to post 530 posts on the first page in the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. But the comments in the Snape threads tended to be longer than in most other threads , and you might be able to fit twice as many posts from another thread. In any case, 65 to 67 pages seems to be the max. length a thread/topic can hold, so you need to keep track of the pages you've used while reposting so that it doesn't just split the thread and start another one without you realizing, like what happened in the Chat thread recently. It's good to plan when you end the thread, so you can start another with an explanatory header post, re: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. I'll be back later after I've tried a few things out in the Practice forum, and hopefully, my next post will be shorter because the threads and links I create will be self-explanatory. :fingers crossed:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Potteraholic]

Phew! I have posted just over half of the first page of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] that Mona posted last month. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is my idea for how to post lots of pages, and possibly 2 or more volumes in one topic/thread, with an index in the header page for easy access and navigation.

I will say it took a little time to set-up, since I was figuring things out as I was going along, but a blueprint Word doc. could easily be created that would make things go more efficiently.

If folks think that set-up is doable, the Practice Snape thread could easily become the real Snape thread. It would just involve a few changes, mostly retitling page titles.

My process was:
- copy and paste Mona's posts into a Word doc (which I have saved)
- to reduce some of the spaces between posts in my Word doc, I found all the return spaces and dashes (^p^p^p^p--------------------------------------------------------------------------------^p) using that handy option in Word and replaced them all with (^p^p[*hr]^p^p) [no *] and got less spaces between posts with that nifty white line that John told us about. Added; that's what [*hr] (no *) does.
- copy and paste this revised info. into an empty post
- insert any additional info. (intro. paragraph, index code, etc.)
- press Send
- update header index with link
- repeat previous steps

It might sound complicated, but you'll get the hang of it with repetition, trust me.

Any thoughts? *gulp*

EDIT: Thank goodness for that FIND ALL/REPLACE ALL option, right Elanor?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Elanor]

No hurt toes here!

PaH:

does anyone mind that I'm pulling a Hermione and sort of organizing things around here?

Ts,ts,ts PaH... Hermione is our hero! We do need some organization and you have the skills for it, so I say, way to go!

If you need to experiment with more threads, feel free to experiment on the two Alchemy threads I have reposted. I used the 25 old posts per new post format for reposting because of the length of most of the posts (and indeed, once, a post could not fit the 25 old ones).

I did more formatting today but my eyes are now crying for mercy (I'm still dealing with the side effects of an eye examination I underwent this morning, those were nasty eyedrops I tell you) so, no more experience for me today. Have fun everybody!

EDIT: We crossposted PaH! That sounds very promising! I'm sorry my eyes don't want to cooperate anymore for today but I'll have a look at it first thing tomorrow morning.

re-EDIT to asnwer PaH's edit :

Thank goodness for that FIND ALL/REPLACE ALL option, right Elanor

Definitely!!! I'll try your trick about the spaces too. I had not found how to enter them in that so far, so THANKS!!!!

[Potteraholic]

No hurt toes here!

PaH:

does anyone mind that I'm pulling a Hermione and sort of organizing things around here?

Ts,ts,ts PaH... Hermione is our hero! We do need some organization and you have the skills for it, so I say, way to go!

If you need to experiment with more threads, feel free to experiment on the two Alchemy threads I have reposted. I used the 25 old posts per new post format for reposting because of the length of most of the posts (and indeed, once, a post could not fit the 25 old ones).

Elanor, thanks!

Re: Experimenting on further threads, I think I'm good. Besides, I've got lots of Five Words and Potty Games stuff to do yet.

I think the system I've come up with, which is a similar one I've used on the Five Words Archive thread on WX, and plan to use here for the Potty Games Archives, is a pretty good one. It takes a little time to set-up, admittedly, with a fair bit of going back and forth between different documents and different windows open to get link addresses. But I think, in the long run, it will make for easier access of all these threads we've archived. It won't matter if everything that's been archived is reposted in any sort of way resulting in lots of threads that end up being maze-like, like someone on the Chat thread mentioned recently when she noticed the changes in the Main Page, because then they won't get read as often, right?

But, there could always be a different way. So if someone's got an idea brewing, like one of Snape's potions, please don't hesitate to share it.

Okay, it is really high time I updated the Table of Archived threads. Thanks, again, for all your hard work and careful recording. Wish me luck!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Lady Arabella]

No toes stepped on here - I am always glad when someone else takes on the task of organizing.

Although, it may take me awhile to get my head wrapped around the formatting instructions. I'll have to go look at the threads to see what everyone is talking about.

[Mona]

PAH, I think it's great that you're doing the organizing here! It's takes a lot of work and skill and your efforts are very much appreciated!

I just skimmed through your recent posts and haven't understood the technical stuff. I'll get back to it sometime today.

LA, after Easter is fine. I'll be busy too, until then.

[Potteraholic]

Thanks Elanor, LA, and Mona.

I hope you get a chance to look at the Snape Practice thread over in the Practice Forum. Hopefully you'll be able to navigate easily through it. Once your Word doc is formatted the way you want, and ready for copying and pasting, the only other thing you've got to do, is make links. I suggest making an index of something, like the closed Chat thread or the Introduction/Reintroduction thread, or anything really, to get the hang of how to make links.

I'll see if I can make one now, a short one. Now that you have moderator status, you'll be able to click on the EDIT button of my post there and see what the formatting looks like. If anyone wants, I'll email the Word doc of this mini-thread. Just let me know: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. Wow! A relatively short post for me!

---

Edit: The mini-thread I made, complete with an index in the header post, is ready! Please take a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] * I see... after merging this thread to another, the original url address has been renamed, rendering this link inactive.

Edit: I just realized, if I make a code box, the formatting will be automatically revealed. I appreciate this forum more and more every day!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Elanor]

All right... I think I need a Pensieve-like post...
Let's see if I got it right...

1) First, there's the formatting the old posts, easy enough with the Find function of Word.

2) After the formatting is done, when reposting, the archivist creates an index in the header post of the archived thread that contains the links to all the posts of the new thread.

3) A link to the index in the header post is provided at the end of each of the new posts of the thread.

Is that right?

Now, my question is, would "Name of thread - Post #x to Post #y", or maybe just "Post #x to Post #y" be enough to name the link to each post? I fear it might take ages to repost everything if we give more information (like dates or names of forumers) than that. What do you think?

[Potteraholic]

Elanor,

Tres bien! Steps 1, 2, and 3 are exactly right!

The index in the ¡Practice Snape Thread! thread in the Practice Forum is pretty bare bones when it comes to a name; I think posts #s are sufficient when it comes to organizing and compartmentalizing a whole thread. I just use names and dates for the Potty Games Archives since there are far less finished games than there are total posts in a thread.

I've copied and pasted the index here: (BTW, I love using the [*hr] (no*) code to make that subtle white line break and use it every chance I get!

---

Index of different posts in Severus Snape (July 24, 2008 to February 28, 2010):

• [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] • [url=]posts #351 - #400[/url] • [url=]posts #401 - #450[/url]	row 1, column 2 • [url=]posts #___ - #___[/url] etc.	row 1, column 3 • [url=]posts #___ - #___[/url] etc.
row 2, column 1 • [url=]posts #___ - #___[/url] etc.	row 2, column 2 • [url=]posts #___ - #___[/url] etc.	row 2, column 3 • [url=]posts #___ - #___[/url] etc.

---

Here's the code for this index:

Code:

Index of different posts in Severus Snape (July 24, 2008 to February 28, 2010):

[table border="1"][tr][td]• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2608][b][color=green]posts #1 - #25[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2609][b][color=green]posts #26 - #60[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2610][b][color=green]posts #61 - #110[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2612][b][color=green]posts #111 - #150[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2613][b][color=green]posts #151 - #175[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2615][b][color=green]posts #176 - #210[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2616][b][color=green]posts #211 - #230[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2618][b][color=green]posts #231 - #260[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=http://hplf.forumotion.com/t70-practice-only-archived-snape-thread-july-24-2008-to-february-28-2010#2619][b][color=green]posts #261 - #300[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=][b][color=green]posts #351 - #400[/color][/b][/url]
• [url=][b][color=green]posts #401 - #450[/color][/b][/url]
[/td][td]row 1, column 2
• [url=][b][color=green]posts #___ - #___[/color][/b][/url]
etc. [/td][td]row 1, column 3
• [url=][b][color=green]posts #___ - #___[/color][/b][/url]
etc.[/td][/tr][tr][td]row 2, column 1
• [url=][b][color=green]posts #___ - #___[/color][/b][/url]
etc.[/td][td]row 2, column 2
• [url=][b][color=green]posts #___ - #___[/color][/b][/url]
etc.[/td][td]row 2, column 3
• [url=][b][color=green]posts #___ - #___[/color][/b][/url]
etc.[/td][/tr][/table]

---

Edit: I realized that with a page limit of 65 - 67 pages per topic, the index table should only have 11 rows in in box (11 rows x 6 boxes = 66 rows) rather than the 12 I had originally, which would mean there was room for 72 pages. And there aren't.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Elanor]

PaH:

I think posts #s are sufficient when it comes to organizing and compartmentalizing a whole thread

That sounds perfect to me!

Well, I'm very happy to say that I have finished the formatting of 150 threads or so! (I haven't done the vote threads yet) and

I'll start reposting tomorrow (maybe I'll first edit the alchemy threads though, creating the index missing in them).

As for now, there's a little walking tornado of almost 2 that keeps calling "Auda!!!!" in my Mom's phone thinking I'm going to Apparate there this instant so I'd better run.

[Potteraholic]

Elanor,

Wow... 150! That's a lot! is right! And I know how you feel, tho' I don't have that many threads to think about.

Looking forward to seeing your Archived threads in the next few days. Remember, temporarily disable your signature before you start reposting. It's a pain to go back and edit it out later.

Speedy reposting to you!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Potteraholic]

Fellow archivists, the post title says it all!

I was thinking, there had to be a way to avoid reposting the archived threads that have been posted here already, so I started rooting around and clicking on the different buttons, icons, etc, in each page to see what happened.

And I wondered what that bowtie looking icon was at the bottom right-hand corner of the page, 2 icons over from the lock icon. When I clicked it, a merge topics option popped up. Eureka!

So I thought I'd try merging the 2 practice threads I made yesterday. I unlocked them both, cause I wasn't sure you could merge or split topics if they were locked, then followed the prompts. I figured out/saw that it matters which order you merge topics in, and I picked the right one by accident. (If I hadn't. I'd have to practice using the 'Split topic' option. Phew! I wanted to put the contents of the 'Misc. Potty Games' thread into the contents of the 'Snape Practice thread'. I figured that the 'Potty Games' posts would be stuck behind the 'Snape' ones. And they were!

So those 'Snape' threads can be left 'as is' for now, Mona (or whoever's in charge of the 'Snape' thread), if you want, to be merged later. But the thing is, when they do evetually get merged, it would be good if the reposted threads could be assigned a Volume #, so that they could be merged in successive order, from oldest to most recent. Does that make sense? Which Volume #s are the ones on here now? Maybe their titles should be revised to reflect that info.?

In any case, YAY for the 'merge topics' option.

---

EDIT: I just checked my link for the 'Misc. Potty Games' practice thread I made yesterday. It goes to the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] one. Amazing the computer programming that makes all this possible!

---

EDIT 2: One more thought about the Snape thread. Whoever posts the 1st one should leave a few empty posts after the header post, just in case.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Elanor]

After much struggling with tables, I have finally posted the index(es?) of both alchemy threads and edited each post of these threads to include a link to the index (that was a long work, it should be much easier to do that when including the link when at first reposting the thread though).

Here's for the Alchemy thread I: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And for the Alchemy thread II: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

They'll be ready to me moved in the right folder when these are created (I was thinking that the second alchemy thread could be used as the "current" one in due course).

That's great news about merging threads PaH! I haven't dared venturing there yet. I'm still insanely proud I managed to create a table (which I would have never succeeded in making without your help), so... one step at a time will be fast enough...

I'll start reposting threads later today.

[Elanor]

I have just reposted the "Forum meeting in Europe/Accio 2005" thread.

Adding the link to the index while posting and copying the links as soon as one post is posted indeed make things faster. Creating the table in the end was fast too. I would have never believed it after so much hair pulling with the first tries but I've actually enjoyed creating the table.

Here's the link to the reposted thread: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Edit: I've just thought of something: once the threads are reposted in the right folder, like the Accio one, should we lock them?

[Potteraholic]

Hi folks,

A few of you have already started archiving, and I was wondering what your thoughts were about organizing all the threads that are eventually going to be reposted over the next few months... (and year?)

From being on the Forum a lot this week during my break, this is what I've figured out about organizing topics/threads, etc..

HPLF WX Forum
  • Current Discussion Between Members
    - Chat
    - Tell About Yourself
    - Questions
    - Calendar, etc.
  • Potty Games
    - 20 Questions
    - Hangman
    - Five Words
    - Potty Games Archives, etc.

---

The Main Forum (in purple) can be broken down into smaller forums (in blue), and then topics (in black) are started in them. It doesn't seem that you can start a topic within a topic, as Lady A found out when she created lots of topics in the Archiving Threads form World Crossing mini-forum. So as handy as it would be to have a folder, within a folder, within a folder, within a folder, etc., I don't think we can do that here.

So this is what I'm thinking... that the Archiving (shouldn't it be called Archived?) Threads From World Crossing NOT be the final destination for all the reposted threads because it will get very crowded in there. (I know.. this has been said by others, as well as myself, before. ) To me, this Archiving Threads folder just seems to be a temporary holding place anyway, for reposted threads awaiting a more permanent location. I'm thinking that we need more general categories of topics (in blue) where subcategories (in black) could be placed, with an Archived folder and a Current folder for each in that subcategory section. I will try to show what I mean including the list above (how I imagine the Main Page would look with a combination of new threads and old.)

HPLF WX Forum
  • Current Discussion Between Members
    - Chat
    - Tell About Yourself
    - Questions
    - Calendar, etc.
  • Potty Games
    - 20 Questions
    - Hangman
    - Five Words
    - Potty Games Archives, etc.
  • Hogwarts students (Current discussions and WX Archives*)
    - Harry Potter
    - Harry Potter: WX Archives*
    - Hermione Granger
    - Hermione Granger: WX Archives*, etc. for all Hogwarts students threads
  • Hogwarts staff (Current discussions and WX Archives*)
    - Albus Dumbledore
    - Albus Dumbledore: WX Archives*
    - Severus Snape
    - Severus Snape: WX Archives*, etc.
(These titles of forums in this section are just quick things I came up with now, simply to illustrate my point.)
  • Harry Potter Books (Current discussions and WX Archives*)
    - HP 1 Read-Along: WX Archives*
    - HP 2 Read-Along: WX Archives*
    - HP 3 Read-Along: WX Archives*, etc.
  • Harry Potter Movies (Current discussions and WX Archives*)
    - HP 1
    - HP 1: WX Archives*
    - HP 2
    - HP 2: WX Archives*, etc., etc, etc, (until 600+ threads are all reposted)

* Revised title, Previous suggestion: 'Current discussions and Archived from WX' or 'Archived from WX'

You'd have to click on the blue forums on the Main Page to see the subcategories (in black) in the next window. The Archived threads would be locked and be READ ONLY, and the current ones would remain open. Did that make sense?

Okay, I guess before I go any further, I should wait to hear some feedback from you folks. Also, what do folks think about merging multi-volume threads to conserve space? It would mean you'd need to create an index in the header post of that thread. Elanor, how did that go for you?

I'd be interested in what you all think. Thanks!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[Elanor]

I like your idea PaH! It should be handy to have the forum set that way in the long run.

I'm a bit puzzled however on the reposting process. Currently there are four folders on the main page for the archived threads: the "Archiving Threads from WC" (and the threads already posted there I gather will be moved in due course to their right folder) and the three already created "Archived WC threads" folders, the "Current discussions between members", "Hogwarts students" and "Hogwarts Staff" ones. I assumed there would be more folders for archived threads created for our reposting (for the categories listed [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]).

So my question is: where and when should we post the archived threads? Should we wait for the folders you suggest to be created? Or should the next "Archived WC threads" folders be created for our reposting efforts and then merged with the "current" folders when the archiving is done? For the time being can we continue posting in the three already created "Archived WC threads" folders? Every option's fine with me but we'd better decide of our course of action before working more on reposting, don't you think?

It would mean you'd need to create an index in the header post of that thread. Elanor, how did that go for you?

My first tries were tough but once you get the hang of it and with a bit of practice it's not that tough. I actually enjoyed creating the one for the Accio thread (it only took two tries and less than 5 minutes to get it right once I had all the links!).

[Potteraholic]

I like your idea PaH! It should be handy to have the forum set that way in the long run.

Thanks Elanor!

Re: your other Q’s… I had a vague memory of Denise saying somewhere that new forums could be opened on the Main Page (only she can do that as Administrator) and we just needed to let her know and give her the names of the threads. It was either in this thread or the ‘Questions to the Staff’ one. Let me go check…

Phew, it’s so much easier to find stuff when posts are titled with specific content info. But many were not.

This is what Denise wrote on [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: Yes, I can create more folders to put things in. I created the ones you suggested. If you need more, let me know. Folders can also be renamed, as Denise wrote [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

---

So, just to sum up:
• only Denise can create folders (called ‘forums’ on here)
• more forums can be created and named within the main forum; just put in a request in the ‘Questions to Staff’ thread to Denise
• many topics can be created within a forum
• BUT topics can NOT be created within topics

---

So Elanor, the existing forums labeled ‘Archiving…’ can be renamed easily, once we have some consensus amongst all of us who have archived WX threads as to how we are organizing it all.

More organizing thoughts…

As of today, Wed. April 27th, on the Main Page, there are the following threads/topics/folders:

• Joining The HLPF WX Forum
• Current Discussions Between Members
    - Chat
    - Questions
    - Recipes
• Harry Potter Books and Characters
• Harry Potter Movies
• The World and the Harry Potter Phenomenon
• Potty Games
    - 20 Qs
    - Hangman
    - Five Words
• Polls
• Archiving Threads From World Crossing
• Archived WX Threads: Hogwarts Students During the Harry Potter Years
• Archived WX Threads: Current Discussions Between Members
• Archived WX Threads: Hogwarts Staff Members - Past and Present
    - Snape Vol. # ?
    - Snape Vol. # ?
• Twilight Series
• Mainly Jane
• Practice Forum

Many of these folders have a topic/thread/folder within them (  - topic, etc.)

---

Here’s an idea of some of the name changes we could make: original names in blue on the 1st list and red in the 2nd list.

• Harry Potter Books
• Hogwarts Students (Current discussions and WX Archives*)
  - Harry Potter
  - Harry Potter: WX Archives*
  - Hermione Granger
  - Hermione Granger: WX Archives*, etc. for all Hogwarts students threads
• Current Discussions Between Members (WX Archives*) [this would be in a separate forum from the current Chat thread
• Hogwarts Staff Members (Current discussions and WX Archives*)
  - Albus Dumbledore
  - Albus Dumbledore: WX Archives*
  - Severus Snape
  - Severus Snape: WX Archives*

Okay, this post has gotten VERY L-O-N-G and I have to get to work… the first day back after the holidays!

Hopefully, folks have a chance to look at the last few posts on this thread (Thanks, again, Elanor) and post some of your thoughts. I know posts about formatting take a few reads to really understand, and I hope the list structure and color coding help. But I would find it really helpful to read your feedback, esp. as it takes me a wee while to think about and write these posts. Thanks!

[Julia H.]

Merlin's pants, I did not get any notification about the new posts here for days! Now I see everyone else has been busy posting and I've thought the thread has gone on holiday! OK, I need some time to read and understand all the suggestions. I'll come back later. Mona, I'll be glad to send the Snape threads to you. Even if the plan has changed since this suggestion (I have no idea yet), it won't hurt if several of us have the threads.

[Potteraholic]

Thanks for your response, Julia.

Merlin's pants, I did not get any notification about the new posts here for days! Now I see everyone else has been busy posting and I've thought the thread has gone on holiday!

Hehe, quite the contrary, Julia. I was off this past week for Easter, so took advantage of the time off and did some reposting. Yay... the 20 Qs Archive is done and the HP Trivia Quizzes Archives are nearly finished... just the index left! With the school year here winding down, with state tests coming up next week and the week after, as well as end-of-year reports to start writing soon, I knew I'd have less time to think about the Forum in the months of May and June. So I grabbed the bull by the horns and starting making some suggestions for how to organize our reposting efforts.

When I get home tonight, I'm going to have a reread of my last 10 or so posts, and come up with a summary (with links to the relevant posts) of things you should consider. When I say you, I mean Elanor, John, Julia, Lady A, and Mona, as you 5 are the only ones that I know of who will be reposting archived threads. (Again, many thanks to Verity for archiving more than half of the Five Words Stories Volumes.) I know Josephine and Anne are working on the Calendar, and I think Denise has some threads, too. I am reposting Potty Games, which are a separate thing which I'm taking care of, replicating the same system I set-up over on WX, so they do not need to be part of the discussion. I am just a self-appointed supervisor of the reposting process, cause I can't help but want to organize stuff, who also thinks that our methods should be consistent.

So for that to happen, we all need to understand various points, and come to some agreement about them.

Which is why I will summarize what I think they are and post them later on this evening. If anyone's got any ideas they'd like to be considered, please share them with all of us here at your earliest convenience. I realize folks were busy last week due to the holidays and other family considerations, but hopefully, more folks will be able to pop-in more frequently from now on, so that those who have time to do some reposting in the next few weeks can get started, with a clear plan in mind.

Mea culpa, I have not finished updating the 'Archived Threads' table... I am working on breaking it up into 5 or 5 6 smaller, more manageable parts. Who would have thought so many threads would be saved? Certainly not me, back in February, when we got the word that WX was closing. John, I'm assuming that the list you posted prior to the 15th reflect your most complete lists of what's been archived by you,and will be using that info. when I update later.

Okay, time for lunch!

[Julia H.]

PAH wrote:

I am just a self-appointed supervisor of the reposting process, cause I can't help but want to organize stuff...

PAH, I'm very glad you have appointed yourself supervisor and organizer for the reposting process. As a technologically challenged person, I greatly appreciate someone understanding and analysing the possibilities and organizing the process. I don't think I could do it! Thanks!

[John Bumbledore]

John, I'm assuming that the list you posted prior to the 15th reflect your most complete lists of what's been archived by you,and will be using that info. when I update later.

Yes, I edited my previously posted list with my update as though that would help keep this topic more steam lined.

Didn't expect confusion as it was the post you linked to in your first post/request, guess I was confused.

Now as I this thread I have questions.

Is there a limit to the number of posts per topic (because we see the chat thread now has part 2 open).

[Potteraholic]

Didn't expect confusion as it was the post you linked to in your first post/request, guess I was confused.

Is there a limit to the number of posts per topic (because we see the chat thread now has part 2 open).

Which post is it linked in? Sorry, John, but I've looked at so many posts lately, mine and others, that I can't keep stuff straight anymore:

From what I can gather from that 1st Chat thread, a topic has a max. of 67 pages with 15 replies per page, totalling 1,000 or so replies. The 1st Chat thread had 990, so folks must have deleted or something.

Other questions... great!

Edit: If we call everything Archived WX Thread, etc., will it be a locked thread? Even if it's got loads of room left? And a new version started to house current discussions, if folks want to continue froom where the old thread left off? I think the actual forums themselves should not have 'Archived' in the title, just individual posts that contain archived info., which are then linked to an index of these 'Archive' posts in the header for easy access. That way, new conversations can continue in whatever remaining posts there are. Otherwise, there are going to be lots of double for things, unnecessarily cluttering up the place, IMHO.

---

Edit: This is what I mean. John, Denise has just opened a forum/folder that you requested, called (with all the topics it will house listed underneath):

Archived WX Threads: JKR's Interviews and Website and Their Effects on Our Ideas
  - JK Rowling Official Site
  - Jo's Dream
  - JKR Volkskrant interview
  - J.K. Rowling on Pottercast
  - JKR's interview on "60 Minutes"
  - Why did Dumbledore have James's cloak?
  - Book 7 (HP and the Deathly Hallows)
  - 'Chambers' Clues for Books Six and Seven
  - WOMBAT exams - general discussion
  - WOMBAT grade 1 questions and commentary
  - WOMBAT grade 2 questions and commentary
  - JKR Interview with Melissa & Emerson
  - The Black Family Tree and Tapestry
  - Harry's shortest stay in Privet Drive so far
  - HBP & Nicolas Flamel
  - Conflicts with JKR's Answer Concerning Marauder's Map
  - JK Rowling Official Site (14 Jul 2005 - 1 Nov 2007)
  - JK Rowling Official Site (9 Nov 2004 - 14 Jul 2005)
  - JK Rowling Official Site (15 May 2004 - 9 Nov 2004)
  - HBP Chapter Titles
  - JKR Chat Transcript


Now, what if someone wants to revive the discussion on the 'J.K. Rowling on Pottercast' topic. Will they start it there, in the 'Archived WX threads' folder? I think the 'Archived' part of the title might discourage someone from posting anything new there. So, do we then have an Unarchived section, too, like this:

JKR's Interviews and Website and Their Effects on Our Ideas
  - JK Rowling Official Site
  - Jo's Dream
  - JKR Volkskrant interview
  - J.K. Rowling on Pottercast
  - JKR's interview on "60 Minutes"
  - Why did Dumbledore have James's cloak?
  - Book 7 (HP and the Deathly Hallows)
  - 'Chambers' Clues for Books Six and Seven
  - WOMBAT exams - general discussion
  - WOMBAT grade 1 questions and commentary
  - WOMBAT grade 2 questions and commentary
  - JKR Interview with Melissa & Emerson
  - The Black Family Tree and Tapestry
  - Harry's shortest stay in Privet Drive so far
  - HBP & Nicolas Flamel
  - Conflicts with JKR's Answer Concerning Marauder's Map
  - JK Rowling Official Site (14 Jul 2005 - 1 Nov 2007)
  - JK Rowling Official Site (9 Nov 2004 - 14 Jul 2005)
  - JK Rowling Official Site (15 May 2004 - 9 Nov 2004)
  - HBP Chapter Titles
  - JKR Chat Transcript

That's a lot of things to look at on the main page, and that's just one of approx. 20 categories Hence my suggestion to use post titles to distinguish between archived posts in a forum/folder, and later, newer ones, written here on forumotion. Elanor, this is why I suggested merging the 2 Alchemy threads, to have 1 thread instead of 2, and to use any remaining posts availabe for current, forumotion (FM) discusssions.

I know the probability of folks starting lots of new discussions in this particular topic are pretty slim, realistically speaking, but there are other threads where there is a higher potential for new discussion as the last movie nears, like Snape, DH (book), DH (movies, both parts).

---

Edit 2: D'oh! I just realized something... if we had 2 separate forums/folders like this Archived and Current/Unarchived, we wouldn't see all those lists on the Main Page at all. Those lists would only be visible when you clicked on that forum, just like when you click on Potty Games, the list of topics within that forum shows up. Okay, I'm glad I cleared that up for myself.

BTW, this is not the summary I mentioned in an earlier post.

[Elanor]

PaH:

Elanor, this is why I suggested merging the 2 Alchemy threads, to have 1 thread instead of 2, and to use any remaining posts availabe for current, forumotion (FM) discusssions.

Oh, that's certainly okay with me! I think I'll like to continue discussing the alchemical symbolism in HP in due course (we haven't finished the DH reread there and I certainly hope I'll get back to it, maybe this summer when I have more time).

I like very much the way the forum looks like for now, with the "Archived WC Threads" folder divided into categories folders. At least for the time being, while we're reposting, this should make things clearer. (Although I have noticed a thread has been created in the "Hogwarts Students" folder by Gerald Costales which holds the trailer to the DH part 2 movie ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]).

Looking forward to reading your summary PaH!

[Potteraholic]

PaH:

Elanor, this is why I suggested merging the 2 Alchemy threads, to have 1 thread instead of 2, and to use any remaining posts availabe for current, forumotion (FM) discusssions.

Oh, that's certainly okay with me! I think I'll like to continue....

I like very much the way the forum looks like for now, with the "Archived WC Threads" folder divided into categories folders. At least for the time being, while we're reposting, this should make things clearer. (Although I have noticed a thread has been created in the "Hogwarts Students" folder by Gerald Costales which holds the trailer to the DH part 2 movie ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]).

Looking forward to reading your summary PaH!

Hi Elanor,

Last night, while I was rereading over the posts here post-April 15 to help me write out a summary of salient points, I saw that John had made a request to Denise to start a new Archived folder, which she did quickly, and then noticed a short time later that she had subdivided the 'Archived Threads' folder, which is a nifty option on here! And that John's folder was already nestled there! So I decided to wait and see if any new things would develop before I wrote my summary. Good thing I waited because I noticed that post of Gerald's when I checked the Main Page this morning. I immediately sent him a private message explaining that that particular folder is not for new discussions. I cc'd this message to Denise, who suggested that I lock all the Archived topics. I was one step ahead of her and was already doing that while she was replying to me.

I locked most topics, event the ones with nothing in them, so new members would get the idea not to post there. (I guess 'Archived from WX' is not that much of an indicator that the discussions are not new ones. ) I kept 'Remembering timrew', 'Sirius Black', DIGS, and 'Slytherin Should be Disbanded' unlocked because the archiving seemed to be finished on those, and if folks want to continue the discussions, why not continue there rather than starting new threads elsewhere, and cluttering up the place? See, this is why I think each post within a topic should be titled specifically with 'Archived' so it's easy to distinguish which posts are from WX and which are new ones from forumotion (FM). If 'Archived' was NOT be in the whole topic's title, it could be multifunctional: the first part pages of the topic would be the old (WX) and then then remaining pages would be the new (FM). But more about that in a later post.

And even though some topics in that folder are done, I locked them in case some merging gets done later. I'm not 100% sure, Elanor, that if the Alchemy threads were merged now, any cross-linking you have between the 2 topics would remain intact. Mona, since there are no cross-links between the 2 Snape threads as yet, it would be easy to merge those 2, which is why I locked them, to prevent new posts from being added on there by non-archivists. And I locked all of John's posts because, well, I know he's got some ideas about merging some topics, etc., but I'm not sure exactly what his thoughts are, so I thought I'd be best to keep them locked, and inaccessible to non-archivists.

In any case, I'd also like to hear more substantive comments from more folks (Thanks, again, Elanor) before I write any more posts here. (I wish we could have a group phone/video chat on Skype, or something, with all of us being able to discuss things at the same time. But, "Alas, earwax!" all our different schedules and timezones would make that difficult.) I realize everyone's busy. I am, as well, but I make time to check here everyday since things change here, everyday. Case in point, the post above that Elanor linked. I know there's a lot to think about, but as new members register, things are going to crop up all the time. I feel like that little Dutch boy in that story i heard as a kid. He was standing in front of a dike, and noticing a leak spilling through the wall, he ran over and plugged it up with his finger, only to notice another leak spilling out elsewhere along the wall, and then running over there to stop that one. And then, before he knew it, leaks were springing up everywhere and he was trying to deal with them all at the same time!

Thanks.

[Sponsored content]