View From the Queue
Created | Updated Jun 22, 2003
This week's View continues its analysis of h2g2's progress at processing entries for the Edited Guide, and looks at methods to make the h2g2 staffers happy.
This Week's View
As I write this week's View, there are 340 entries left in the old queue. That's down from 378 entries a week ago, which totals a reduction of 38. This pace has remained basically unchanged for the past month or so.
Researchers have submitted 361 entries to the new Peer Review process so far, compared to 311 last week. And there are 24 entries on the What's Coming Up page, up from 17 last week.
The total number of entries submitted for review to both the old system and the new Peer Review is 651, which shows little change overall since this column started. But in a sense, no news is good news. Before Peer Review was introduced, the number of entries waiting for review was rising steadily. Now things are levelling off, and this signals to me that they may get better once the old Queue is cleared out.
However, there is a valid argument that the Peer Review process discourages authors by being more complicated. Where a handy "Submit" button made it easy for authors to plug into the old process, they must now click a link from their entry page, wade through a set of instructions, and then post their submission to a forum. This is pretty daunting for new writers.
h2g2 may someday return a modified "Submit" button to us, but will the trade-off be a longer wait to have entries edited again? Only time will tell.
Satisfying the Staffers
The Peer Review process is basically run by volunteers. These are regular researchers like you and I who have agreed to contribute their time to help all the h2g2 authors out, and their salary for this contribution is zero. For this reason, it is in everyone's best interests to keep the volunteers happy.
You can think of this as partly an unselfish act. After all, if your action serves as a staffer's last straw and causes them to quit, all the h2g2 authors will suffer. But it is partly selfish as well. The staffers are more likely to look kindly upon your future submissions if they have good memories of working with you in the past. So let's look at how you can accomplish this sense of good will.
Helping the Scouts
The Scouts decide which entries will make it to the Edited Guide. From the massive confusion that is the current Peer Review page, they must pick the best entries on various topics to be featured on h2g2's main page.
The most important way to help the Scouts is to properly submit your entry to the Peer Review page. I wrote about how to do this on August 14th, and you can read the article here.
You can also help the Scouts by organizing your entry in a sensical manner, with section headers that are easy to understand. This will help the Scout scan your entry quickly to determine the general gist of your subject, so they can form a quick first opinion before diving down into the entry's specifics.
You should avoid using unusual background and text colors for your entry, because different Scouts will have their skin preferences set differently. You wouldn't want your entry to be unreadable because it is the wrong color, would you?
You can also do the Scouts a huge favor by making sure your entry follows the guidelines set forth by h2g2. Your entry should definitely fulfill everything set forth in the Writing Guidelines page. Ideally, it should also match the rules of thumb in the Guidelines for Writers and Sub-Editors page.
Finally, do yourself and the Scouts a favor by making sure you are not duplicating a subject someone else has already covered. Use h2g2's Power Search function.1 Filter for the Edited Guide Entries and the Recommended Guide Entries. Then type your entry's subject in and click on the "Search the Guide" button.
If someone else has already registered your subject, you should read the other person's entry. If you feel it is better than yours, it is best not to bother the Scouts with your version. If you think your version is better or both versions have merit, reference the competing entry in your submission to the Peer Review page and make your recommendation. It is possible that the two entries could be combined, and you might both get credit for the final version.
Helping the Sub-Editors
Once your entry has been selected for inclusion in the Edited Guide, it will be forwarded to the Sub-Editors for a little extra polishing up. The Sub-Editors are notoriously overworked, so they really appreciate it when an entry passes their desk that needs little or no effort on their part.
Put your entry through a spelling checker2 to eliminate annoying typos and foibles. Read over your own entry a last time too, paying particular attention to any incomplete sentences3 and run-on sentences.4
Eliminate first-person references. The temptation is often high to include your personal perspective on your topic, but h2g2 is primarily about information, and this requires the more distant third-person perspective. Scan your entry for use of the words 'I,' 'we,' and 'us.' Then remove them. There have been very few exceptions allowed on this rule, and you certainly shouldn't include such words in a entry you don't want subtitled 'A Personal Perspective.'
Code your page with GuideML, but keep the code clean and simple. Don't include pictures and photographs. h2g2 must worry about copyright infringement, and it currently prefers to utilize its own art team. Also, avoid Javascript add-ons at all costs. They may look nice or do nifty things, but the editors will be hard-pressed to approve an entry that includes Javascript. We'll take a closer look at proper use of GuideML next week.
Link from your entry to other related entries in the Edited Guide where appropriate. One good trick is to scan your entry for nouns and consider each one as a possible link. Discard any that don't relate cleanly to the topic at hand. Then search the Guide if you are unsure whether any of the related topics have been covered.
A Final Note
Don't forget to thank the Scouts and Sub-Editors who aid your entry's progress on its journey to h2g2's main page. Remember that their services have been both necessary and free. If you feel they did a good job with your entry, pop by their user page to give them a thanks and a compliment. Sometimes the difference between a happy staffer and an unhappy one is a simple matter of getting recognition where it is due.
Next Week's View
Next week, we'll take a look at GuideML. What is it for? Why did h2g2 design its own coding standard, instead of using the HTML standard that is common throughout the web? And most importantly, how can you avoid the most common GuideML errors? I'll run through a series of tips and tricks that will set you straight next week.
Written by Fragilis the Melodical
Click here to see previous weeks' Views from the Queue.
Opinions expressed in this column are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of h2g2 or the Post.
