Ask Alohomora!

Ali Wood · **Posted:** Tue May 22, 2012 3:04 pm

sda15 wrote:

Ali Wood wrote:

Randomly: why was the last podcast titled "Are you gonna eat that desk?" Maybe I missed something while listening, but I'm still curious as to why that title was chosen...

I feel like it was called in regards to the discussion of transfiguring the desk to a pig and then they jokingly said they wouldn't eat a pig made out of a desk.

Oh. Duh. Thank you for clearing that up, wow I think that went right over my head...haha

sda15 · **Posted:** Tue May 22, 2012 3:18 pm

Ali Wood wrote:

sda15 wrote:

Ali Wood wrote:

Randomly: why was the last podcast titled "Are you gonna eat that desk?" Maybe I missed something while listening, but I'm still curious as to why that title was chosen...

I feel like it was called in regards to the discussion of transfiguring the desk to a pig and then they jokingly said they wouldn't eat a pig made out of a desk.

Oh. Duh. Thank you for clearing that up, wow I think that went right over my head...haha

It's okay. Whenever I see an obscure title, I'm always like what?! :lol:

headmaster · **Posted:** Tue May 22, 2012 4:12 pm

RubyWizard24 wrote:

We ourselves have been toying with this idea for some time now. I think that it will happen eventually, but at the moment, seeing as we are so new, we want to give the forums time to grow and flesh out before dividing all of the posts. It has also been brought up that having individual chapter threads might be difficult, seeing as the discussion of one topic so very often leads to another, which may or not be within the same chapter. Thanks for the comment though! We are always happy you hear the members wants & needs!

I think that chapter by chapter organization wouldn't really constrict ideas from growing from topic to topic. Topics could be discussed based on where the idea originates.

RubyWizard24 · **Posted:** Tue May 22, 2012 10:50 pm

PhoenixQuest12 wrote:

A couple questions from the newbie:
1) Is this the "right" kind of forum (in general, not this thread, obviously!) to post those questions we've "always wondered about" (like the one about "where was harry all day") to have a group discussion on them? Or are these too abstract for a strictly academic "reading" forum?

2) If this IS the appropriate place to do this, is there any reason we have to stick to the book and chapter set that is currently on the most recent podcast? I've noticed that we can't post anything about book 2 or beyond, though as a total nerd who is always in the middle of at least ONE of the Potter books, questions like the above pretty constantly pop into my head - and not always about whatever section the podcast was about. (Like last night, I started getting deep in my own head about Crouch's character.) Does that make sense? Like, make it so that anyone can post anywhere as long as it is relevant to the book's forum they're posting in, even if it's got nothing to do with the chapters the podcast has covered so far. I really think it could open up discussion a lot more and give us a lot more to talk about - and I really think it would make it more fun. Or are we going to have to wait until the podcast has gotten through every book until we can have our choice of where and what we post?

I hope that made sense. And knowing me, I overlooked something that tells exactly why only the PS section is open for now. But I was curious, and couldn't help myself.

This forum is strictly for questions regarding the site, forums, or suggestions in general. All discussion threads so go into the appropraite book discussion forum.

As for why we only have Philosphers Stone open, well, it's because we are new, and trying to build an audience. We want the users to focus on the current chapters/book that we are discussing. Also, how awful would it be if you have this AMAZING conversation about Deathly Hallows, and it sits in the forums, on the last page for the next two years until the podcast hosts get to discussing that book? Keeping the other forums closed keeps the ideas fresh, current, and alive.

Thanks for joining!

RubyWizard24 · **Posted:** Tue May 22, 2012 10:51 pm

headmaster wrote:

RubyWizard24 wrote:

We ourselves have been toying with this idea for some time now. I think that it will happen eventually, but at the moment, seeing as we are so new, we want to give the forums time to grow and flesh out before dividing all of the posts. It has also been brought up that having individual chapter threads might be difficult, seeing as the discussion of one topic so very often leads to another, which may or not be within the same chapter. Thanks for the comment though! We are always happy you hear the members wants & needs!

I think that chapter by chapter organization wouldn't really constrict ideas from growing from topic to topic. Topics could be discussed based on where the idea originates.

Like I said, we are still toying with the idea. Thanks for your feedback though! It is important to us!

Tweak6 · **Posted:** Wed May 23, 2012 7:37 am

I was wondering if there could be some way created to recognize members of the forum when they come out with something paticularly insightful and thought-provoking. Maybe something along the lines of a 'thumbs up' button or even a member of the month. I would just like some way to recognize those users that make me go "Whoa! I never thought of that!"

Obviously the site is still pretty new, but just an idea for the future!

PhoenixQuest12 · **Posted:** Wed May 23, 2012 9:02 am

Just wanted to clarify - I meant this forum in general, not this "Information" section of the forum. The Alohomora forum itself

Also, I do think it would be something to keep in mind to consider opening the other forums for anyone who DOES want to discuss other sections. As it stands currently, I'm seeing a few instances of people trying to discuss something that isn't strictly related to the first few chapters of book 1, and being told by other users that they should not do that because the podcast isn't there yet. But it does bring up the idea that obviously some people would like to discuss things past what's going on in the first few chapters of PS.

I guess it brings up the question, for me: Is this an in-depth reading forum, or is it a "read along with us" forum (sort of going along with Pottermore, like how they only open one book at a time and all)? Because they're a little bit different IMO, since several users at any given time could be in any random place in the series (and then while reading, say, HBP, come up with something they want to discuss). I would argue that it would also be awful to get this great idea about HBP and Tom Riddle's character or something, and not even have the option of posting about it for 2 years, you know?

(I would like to add that everything I'm saying is just my opinion as a user and is not meant in any way to sound like I'm being pushy or rude. Mainly I'm questioning this because sometimes - ok, a LOT of times! - in the past, I've had a really intriguing question that I would LOVE other fans' answers to, and have very much longed for a forum in which I could participate that way. CoS doesn't really fit the bill for me, and it really looked like this one would, but I'm just wondering if I misjudged, and would like to know for sure, you know?)

RubyWizard24 · **Posted:** Wed May 23, 2012 12:08 pm

PhoenixQuest12 wrote:

Just wanted to clarify - I meant this forum in general, not this "Information" section of the forum. The Alohomora forum itself

Also, I do think it would be something to keep in mind to consider opening the other forums for anyone who DOES want to discuss other sections. As it stands currently, I'm seeing a few instances of people trying to discuss something that isn't strictly related to the first few chapters of book 1, and being told by other users that they should not do that because the podcast isn't there yet. But it does bring up the idea that obviously some people would like to discuss things past what's going on in the first few chapters of PS.

I guess it brings up the question, for me: Is this an in-depth reading forum, or is it a "read along with us" forum (sort of going along with Pottermore, like how they only open one book at a time and all)? Because they're a little bit different IMO, since several users at any given time could be in any random place in the series (and then while reading, say, HBP, come up with something they want to discuss). I would argue that it would also be awful to get this great idea about HBP and Tom Riddle's character or something, and not even have the option of posting about it for 2 years, you know?

Yes, this is the place to post theories, questions, etc. As far as what the forums are for, "in-depth reading" or "read along with us" - the answer is both. Users can post anything having to do with Book 1. It does not need to pertain to the first few chapters. The podcast hosts constantly read these forums, use and take ideas for discussion on future episodes. The point of the podcast is to "read along with MuggleNet in a GLOBAL re-read of the series". Then, you come to the forums and talk about what we discussed, or things that came up while you were reading. Opening the other forums negates the purpose of the GLOBAL re-read. We don't want people skipping too far ahead. So at this point, we will not be opening the other books until the podcast gets closer to covering those topics.

Tweak6 wrote:

I was wondering if there could be some way created to recognize members of the forum when they come out with something paticularly insightful and thought-provoking. Maybe something along the lines of a 'thumbs up' button or even a member of the month. I would just like some way to recognize those users that make me go "Whoa! I never thought of that!"

Obviously the site is still pretty new, but just an idea for the future!

Great idea! I am not sure if our forums allow for this, but it's absolutely something to look into! Member of month sounds good to me...!

headmaster · **Posted:** Wed May 23, 2012 2:31 pm

RubyWizard24 wrote:

Tweak6 wrote:

I was wondering if there could be some way created to recognize members of the forum when they come out with something paticularly insightful and thought-provoking. Maybe something along the lines of a 'thumbs up' button or even a member of the month. I would just like some way to recognize those users that make me go "Whoa! I never thought of that!"

Obviously the site is still pretty new, but just an idea for the future!

Great idea! I am not sure if our forums allow for this, but it's absolutely something to look into! Member of month sounds good to me...!

I think that this is a great idea -- this might be able to work along those lines http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/thanks_for_posts/

Also, as per dividing the forums into chapters, it's just one suggestion for organizing the forums. Surely, there are other ways that are probably much better! Anyway, the forum content is great, so that's what matters most

Ajna · **Posted:** Thu May 31, 2012 3:21 am

I haven't read each post in this thread, but I wanted to discuss an essay that is on the masthead page somewhere in the forum....but I don't know how to post a topic. How do we reply to these essays? and can we post topics?

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