Godwin's Law Aboard the HMS Harmony
HMS Harmony is open to the public again! And gleefully breaking Godwin's Law, among other things.

Little Illy starts up a thread to ask about the origin of the ship name 'Heron' and it's discovered that there are actually R/Hers who call themselves Herons, God help us.

Civility exits the scene when Vanceone posts: Heron, as far as I know, is just HErmione+RON, equal Heron. I Believe it was quite popular until our own Mystic Knight started quoting just what a heron was, at which point most R/Hr shippers ran from it, I recall.

Mystic Knight: Heron
(Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18), ranked among the unclean birds. The
Hebrew name is _'anaphah_, and indicates that the bird so named
is remarkable for its angry disposition. "The herons are
wading-birds, peculiarly irritable, remarkable for their
voracity, frequenting marshes and oozy rivers.

From there, on to the really important stuff.

Mystic Knight: What I've always been curious of is was naming the R/Hr ship "The Good Ship" asserting that the H/Hr ship was "The Bad Ship"? I think quite a few people got the impression that was implied, even if not completely intentional.

Little Illy: It’s definitely the nautical term thing. Just how some British ships are called “HMS…[ship name]” (Her Majesty’s Ship), “The Good Ship…[Ship name]” is a prefix for some ships.

Mystic Knight: The funniest part was that the ill-temperment was something R/Hr shippers were really known for on the COS Love Thread. H/Hr and other various shippers were not the only targets of attackes, but non-shippers and people shipping off the wall couples were attacked relentlessly. One guy was shipping Crookshanks/Mrs Norris, (for fun) and was absolutely ridiculed by Heron shippers for it.

Instances like that made the bible heron reference seem fitting to those who referred to themselves as Herons on that thread (and there was quite a few who did).

Corbin Dallas: So Mystic Knight, you basically like calling us Herons, though according to Daveydee the preferred reference is actually "Heronian", cause you reference anyone who ships R/Hr to a cranky bird(oh and I was told that orgionally, Harmony was actually Harmione because of the way the names came together, is that true???).

Also it's really a bit much that you say this about my fellow shippers: ... when the very same can be said and has been said by people outside of the shipping circles about many Harmonians and some on this very board. I'm not here to throw accussations or rehash old insults and it would be nice if the members here had a good example from their modding team with that concept too. It only takes one bad apple MK...

Mystic Knight: So? The same thing can be said about several R/Hr shipping boards or FAP. Besides, I'm too entrenched in reality or circles of people outside of Harry Potter fandom to actually care what certain circles of Harry Potter fandom think of this board. Especially when this board is not dedicated specifically to Harry Potter but other forms of Literature and entertainment. We moved on (something I recall Herons telling us to do over and over again post HBP). We've moved on, yet much of the opposition doesn't seem to have, IMO.

In case you didn't read it in my post, I posted the Heron definition as a reference for others to read if they didn't know what Vanceone was talking about. I've never known anyone to consider theological writing about an animal to be insulting. Do you find my humorous perception of how R/Hr shippers acted on the CoS thread in conjunction with a name that they used so often whose definition that I found to be quite fitting (I'm sure it was a mere coincidence that so many people agreed) so insulting? Sorry, can't help you if you do. :)

antigone bungs: Whatever its nautical origins, "The Good Ship" constantly makes me think of the "Grand Old Party" (i.e., the Republican Party in the U.S.) . . . depending on your views and affiliations, this could be either positive or negative. I can see how either would be quite a jolly prefix to a name or nickname with only mild connotations about being "the good one", as opposed to other ships, but for me . . . *shudders*. . .Republicans. :( *grabs cash savings and hides in the cellar*

Mystic Knight: To me, "The Good Ship" (aka HMS Heron) made me think of Socialism. A group totally against any other conflicting idea. I only say that from spending quite a bit of time watching them attack H/Hr and just about any other shipper group that wasn't R/Hr or H/G. Which was quite often.

Also, the labeling of oneself as "Good" (despite the intended origins of the word in regards to British nautical terms) reminds me of socialism, as socialist will usually spend a good deal of time trying to convice the masses (and themselves) that itself only is "Good" and everything else is not.
Socialism doesn't lift up the masses, it only reduces everyone to an equal level of misery.

This perception to me is reinforced by the R/Hr wankers and by Mugglenet in general. There you have a website that is now basically dedicated to the pursuit and attack on free thinkers who don't wish to the follow "canon".

For some odd reason, when I think of Mugglenet, a vision of Goose-stepping soldiers come to mind.

So, to avoid turning this thread into a political debate, please refrain from intertwining political beliefs into the thread. There are places elsewhere in the forum for this type of discussion.

Jamie G: Wow. I think you're reading ... WAY too much into a simple nickname. And I'm not sure it's a good idea to compare your opponents to Socialists. Just a thought.

You do realize that this term did not originate with R/Hers, don't you? That it's a term of tradition in nautical culture that's been around for like hundreds of years? That there are two things you can call a ship in Britain - "HMS" or "Good Ship" (the former is a military ship, the latter a merchant ship - read into our respective uses of those terms what you will)? That there was a very popular song about half a century ago called "The Good Ship Lollipop" where Shirley Temple sung about going to the candy store? Was little Shirley sending people a secret Socialist message?

Mystic Knight: The comparison is only drawn from their own actions.
Perhaps back in its heyday, but much like British naval superiority today, it is simply irrevelant now.

ETA: Is it just me or have they locked the place down again?