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| | | Subject: Monday 24 January, 2011: The future of H2G2 - Latest official news
Posted Jan 24, 2011 by The H2G2 Editors
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1
 | | Hi.
I'm Social Media Executive for BBC Online and I have responsibility for H2G2.
By now some of you may have read the announcements about the review of BBC Online, so I wanted to tell you as soon as I could about how this will affect H2G2.
If you haven't seen the announcements, the big news is that BBC Online is having to cut its budget by 25% and is being reorganised. Part of this reorganisation will see the BBC moving away from stand alone communities and message boards. Last year some message boards were closed, more will close this year. The BBC's other big community 606 is scheduled for closure. (You can read about why we're moving in this direction on this blog post from Ian Hunter: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinter...delivering_quality_first_on_bb.html )
The review is part of the BBC's Putting Quality First strategy which you can read about here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthe...1/01/delivering-quality-first.shtml . BBC Online will be reorganised into five portfolios of "products". All parts of BBC Online have to fit with these. Over the past year all areas of the site have been reviewed to see where, and if, they fit. Sadly the conclusion myself and my colleagues have come to is that H2G2 does not fit in the new shape of BBC Online.
However, H2G2 is unusual. It is a pre-existing community that the BBC brought into its fold, not a community that the BBC set up from scratch. So rather than closing it, we've decided to explore another option.
This process has been referred to elsewhere as the "disposal" of H2G2. I'll admit this is not a great choices of words, but what is means is that we'll be looking for proposals from others to take on the running of H2G2.
I'll be involved in this process. For me an important part of it will be how any prospective new owner of H2G2 intends to deal with the H2G2 community and safeguard the community's interests as we try to find a new home for the site. H2G2 is the community and without the community the site would die. If it is to have a future outside the BBC the community needs to be maintained and nurtured and I'll be doing my best to see that happens.
I'll be trying to tell you everything I can about this process as it happens, although some of the details will have to be confidential for legal reasons.
I know this news will come as a shock to you. So ask me any questions you like in comments and I'll respond.
Regards
Nick Reynolds
Social Media Executive for BBC Online
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| | | Subject: Monday 24 January, 2011: The future of H2G2 - Official news
Posted Jan 24, 2011 by BMT
This is a reply to this Posting
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11
 | | Well, for me, if the BBC 'disposes' of H2G2 then it'll be the end of the road. There is no way any outside organisation will take on the running of this site without introducing advertising or other ways of producing revenue. Frankly I'm disgusted by the fact we went through a fairly comprehensive MOT and we were all assured we'd passed the test and met all the criteria for the BBC's online content. Based on this we then start the progress of having H2G2 'upgraded', (currently ongoing) to ensure we met even more the online content/look across the whole of the BBC online. Now, out of the blue we're to be dumped?
I for one would NOT be prepared to pay for access nor will I stay on if we end up with annoying adverts all over the place in order to raise revenue for whoever takes on the site. I think the manner in which this has come about stinks frankly.
I'll watch and see what happens but I have a deep foreboding that this is the end of a worthwhile project in which the BBC should have been proud to have and to maintain. H2G2 is unique, there isn't anywhere else on the web like it and if we end up in 'private' hands it'll destroy what we've built.
If it goes outside the BBC then I would want all my work removing especially Eg's. I wrote them for the BBC and this community, not for some money making mongrels that'll end up with the site.
BMT
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| | | Subject: Monday 24 January, 2011: The future of H2G2 - Official news
Posted Jan 24, 2011 by Nick Reynolds
This is a reply to this Posting
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16
| | It's a bit tricky at this point to give you more information about money and timings. For example I can't tell you how much you might need to run H2G2. If I did the lawyers and corporate communications people would treat me in the same way as I treat a slice of bread and jam (i.e gobble me up), and rightly so as it might affect any deal we might put together.
I think one thing that the BBC does recognise is that the H2G2 community is all important to the running of the site. Whoever takes it on would have to respect that.
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| | | Subject: Monday 24 January, 2011: The future of H2G2 - Official news
Posted Jan 24, 2011 by BMT
This is a reply to this Posting
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18
| | Nick, you need to stop with the bull"""", you know full well there's no way, outside of the BBC, that anyone would take on this site without making money from it. That, by it's very nature, means H2G2 ceases to be anything more than another online commercial operation and the community and all it stands for goes out the window.
Talk about how to lose trust, the BBC have shown today that they cannot and never will be, trusted ever again. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.
BMT
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