Hound Central 5.0 has asked the question, now it is your chance to answer.
Are Through-The-Mail, or TTM, requests really hounding? Post your answer here.
I think this can be debated in a million ways, especially because I do both in-person and TTM. So, let's make this a debate. Please post your "For" and "Against" debates here in the form of comments. I will take the results of the poll on HC5.0 and the comments posted here and through very non-scientific methods come to a conclusion for us all to see.
So there is no confusion as to the definition of hound. here is what the dictionary has to say:
hound n.
1. a. A domestic dog of any of various breeds commonly used for hunting, characteristically having drooping ears, a short coat, and a deep resonant voice.
b. A dog.
2. A contemptible person; a scoundrel.
3. a. One who eagerly pursues something: a gossip hound.
b. A devotee or an enthusiast: a coffee hound.
tr.v. hound·ed, hound·ing, hounds
1. To pursue relentlessly and tenaciously. See Synonyms at harass.
2. To urge insistently; nag: hounded me until I agreed to cut my hair.
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Okay, I'll kick off the comments.
ReplyDeleteNo, TTM isn't hounding. Both approaches, though useful, are different.
Any one can write or type a letter, address envelopes, drop requests in the mail and wait for the postal carrier to arrive. To me, TTM is a passive hobby.
It takes an active, deepened commitment, though, to be a hound. From the prep work (from gathering items to recognizing players to finding the teams) to the actual face-to-face interactions (which, unfortunately, means hearing "no" from time to time), there's nothing like it.
So, no, TTM is not hounding.
Hounding implies a face to face contact with the player, autographs are just an excuse, a token from the encounter, on contrary TTM is all about the autos, after all is the only thing it's been left, no memories, no funny stories, just the autograph. Definitely TTM is not hounding.
ReplyDeletePuckhound nailed it. TTM is something that can be very calculated, but also not be time sensitive.
ReplyDeleteHounding is all about timing. Being at the right place at the right time.
They can both garner similar results, but they are very different methods.