h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well I came along for the ride and I'm still here nearly 10 years after signing up. I didn't know about this place till September 1999 and signed up after reading about it on slashdot. Yes I was one of those great internet hordes who brought the site to it's knees for a little while. Since then people have come and gone. Debates have been both civilised and somewhat more than heated. People have created things and then abandoned them. Friends have been made and friends have been lost. All of life is here. Word play, role play, serious questions for discussion, scientific enquiry, writing for pleasure everything.

What's been your most memorable moment on h2g2?
There have been many. A recent memorable moment was reading an announcement - F1599166?thread=6502662 and F78198?thread=6502661
That just made me

Another memorable moment is when the results of the great H2G2 researcher count were published A662474 . I got a special mention in the footnotes as a potential source of error. Of course it was decided that I'm no problem really.

What's the funniest thing you've read on h2g2?

Erm having been here this long some of the old stuff blurs away. Some of wowbaggers cartoons in the post were very good in the earlier days.

Who or what have you been most touched by?

Seeing people who I might never meet in real life going through bad times and people they might never meet in real life trying to help them through with compassion and empathy.

Has h2g2 affected your life?

Yes, very much so.

If so, in what ways? Have the changes been positive or negative?

I now live with someone I met through this site, a very positive change

Have you met many friends on h2g2? Do they still use the site?

Yes many friends I've met from here in real life still use this site. Some more than others.

If not, which characters do you remember most vividly and miss most

Looneytunes, Amy the Ant, Caerwyn, Felonius Monk, Nonnymouse, Granny Weatherwax, Peripatetic Warrior Monk, Eatsmice, Mike A and more besides.
Then there are the places, Peta's Library, Dragonqueens Court, Pegasus's Addicts club, the BOF Inn.

How long have you been using h2g2?

Since the week that The Digital Village got slashdotted.

If you're a long-time user, why do you still visit h2g2?

To hang out with friends at Lil's Atelier, to find out how they're doing and get opinions and ideas from places where they are. To see what people are blaming on 2Legs at any one time, to see some of the questions that are asked of H2G2. All sorts of timewasting reasons really
It's nice to see that the 98Xth (that's counting in Hex you realise) Conversation at Lil's is still there after all this time in the most popular conversations list on the front page.

Did you think you'd be using the site in 2009?

Did I think that the site would still be here in 2009, not when the great foop called Rupert happened. That was a sad day. Luckily many within the community had by then got to know each other and there was much passing of emails and setting up of alternative message boards during this time, as well as the obligatory wailing and gnashing of teeeth.

Do you think you'll be using the site in 2019?

Who knows. If the people I talk to here are still around, then I can't see why not.

Hi Phil glad to see some familiar old faces around here!

This is my first post for a few years...

I joined h2g2 soon after it was launched, but didn't get into it seriously for another year. (So sometime in 1999? Not sure)

My favourite memory was being a subeditor, before the peer review system. The greatest entertainment was in receiving truly inspired nutjob-submitted articles for inclusion in the guide; I always thought it was a shame that h2g2 tried to go all serious - it's strength hasn't been in the repository of knowledge that Wikipedia has become, but in the comedy and inspiration of the community.

Oh and another favourite memory was bumping into Douglas Adams at the h2g2 offices before they were swallowed by the beeb.

I met someone very special on h2g2 and lived with them for several years, but it wasn't to be forever Still, it was a great part of my life that I wouldn't have missed out for anything.

In a way it's nice returning to h2g2 and seeing it just as it was... but in another way I find it sad that it hasn't moved with the times. The community system was cutting edge when the initial team coded it (which I imagine was why the BBC gobbled it up), but it seems pretty dated now. If I ever become a multimillionnaire, I plan to buy it off the beeb again and start up redevelopment

Ah yes that evening at the Trafford Centre followed by a night in the student halls just over there *points*
I can now see those halls from my office window