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

Hmm, since Effers' passing on has come up I did some exploration in her backlog and you know what? I think she was one of Terry Pratchett's witches!!

Doesn't she just FIT into this group, then?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witches_(Discworld)

I had no idea there were so many! You Go, Terry!

Just seen this, an unwelcome surprise. One of the truly unique voices of hootoo.



Gif

Mol

For the record, lil, aka Auntie Giggles has prepared
an official h2g2 Post Memorial Page with some very kind
words, some quotes from this thread and a copy of Clive's
picture of Effers:

A87783169


~jwf~

Nice touch.

Can't say we always (or ever) agreed on things but it's sad that she's gone. One less thread in the hootoo tapestry

Oh. Wow. I've just seen this now.

A complex character, certainly. Hootoo is the poorer without her.

Heard a quote today that made me think of Effers:

"What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what
we do for others lives on."

She'd tear a strip off me for suggesting I could
endorse such 'sentimentalist drivel' and I'd end
up arguing that it is demonstrably true. Then she'd
go off in a huff. The irony that she is now part of
the proof of my argument would be a bitter pill.


~jwf~

Just heard/saw this. RIP Effers

I would like to post here some of my thoughts and experiences of the person I came to know as Effers. This is one of the things I feel compelled to do, before considering closing my H2G2 account, especially given my perspective hasn’t been represented elsewhere as far as I have seen.

I never met Effers in real life. I only knew her from H2G2, reading her comments and interacting with her through comments. I heard that before she was Effers she went under another H2G2 avatar – pseudonym, but that was before my time here. I should also add that during my time here I didn’t read all her comments and hence can only base my views on those that I did. A person is the sum of multiple perspectives and here I offer only one, my own, a necessarily incomplete view with no guarantee of infallibility.

I joined H2G2 in the spring of 2010 and was later drawn to a discussion thread that was already close to 30,000 comments old. Scanning through those comments I encountered Effers for the first time. A discussion has a flow to it and scanning through that thread I noticed places where the flow slowed and formed small islands of self-reflective and questioning thought. Quite often this was Effers. Whereas others bestowed facts with the weight of seemingly authoritative certainty, Effers was more speculative, more questioning: a person seeking the truth rather than a person claiming to be in possession of the truth. I also noted she had made a reference or two to William Blake and TS Eliot, two of my favourite poets.

Having scanned through the entirety of that thread I contributed a small post, finding opportunity to add four well known poetic lines from TS Eliot. This drew a response from Effers, I think it was my first direct communication with her. But it was not quite what I had expected. In her response she expressed disappointment in me. She wondered why I hadn’t continued on to the rose. With furrowed brow I checked out the full source of my extract, and indeed several lines beyond it lay a rose. Clearly, she was better versed in TS Eliot than I. She had a tendency to keep me on my toes.

A little later, whilst still a H2G2 newby, I contributed a few posts to another thread but found myself set upon by a H2G2 curmudgeon. It was Effers among one other that helped me out, engaging in what I had to say and offering advice. This seemed typical of Effers, showing a willingness to help others especially those less able to defend themselves.

Another example of this concerned a thread in which the appearance of H2G2 “phantom eyes” became the topic. Effers became a little animated and appeared to upset one or two others. If one traced back her concern however, it seemed to be for a laudable cause, that of a deceased member of H2G2 who had previously complained about it. Yes, it was perhaps an unfair complaint given it seemed to be impossible to deal with (embedded code etc) but the point I wanted to make was that she was in general well intentioned. Overall, I found Effers to be somewhat of a humanitarian, a caring and moral person that stood alongside those she felt unfairly treated and without a voice.

Of all the H2G2 members I came to know, Effers was the most open and transparent. I heard it said she was difficult to understand, but I found her anything but. For me perhaps she was a little too candid, as she was quite sensitive to certain barbs and criticism. However, her candour was an admirable trait.

Effers never hid the fact she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Many of her reactions could be directly attributed to this condition. I know she upset a few, appearing to be a little rude and childish from time to time, even to those that maybe thought they were trying to help. But someone with bipolar disorder has difficulty controlling their emotions and those giving help have to give freely with no expectation of return.

I found Effers to be smart, but she wasn’t one to advertise it. She had two university degrees: a degree in Biological Science and a degree in Fine Arts, taken later at Goldsmith College. She was always happy to discuss queries I may have had with regard the biological sciences. With regard the Arts, there was a thread where she posted two of her works submitted as part of her final year portfolio at college. Both were installation works: a coral sea made from paper and card and a wall without bricks. They were substantial, tactile and inspired from biology. The coral sea was immersive, one could walk around inside it. The wall was interesting, it was made from mortar and brick but the bricks had been removed to create a plant like cellular structure. She had talent and an interesting artistic perspective. I wondered why she hadn’t pursued this further. Maybe she had, though my impression was she hadn’t, but I never got round to asking her.

A few months before Effers was diagnosed with cancer she made some comments in a thread which surprised me. I had thought she held an ambivalent view of her parents. She had previously mentioned they were traditional with traditional British values. Effers certainly held traditional British values: she was proud to be British and all what that entailed, a supporter of British soldiers, although not necessarily supporting what they were sent out to do. But in other respects she was anything but traditional, when it came to certain traditional Christian values on personal relationships. Yet in that thread there was no ambivalence, she was suggesting life may not be worth living for her if her parents died before her, indicating she could not, would not, forsee a life without them. I didn’t know why she started thinking those thoughts. I and likely others tried to convince her otherwise but I couldn’t make much of an impression on her so let the matter rest.

It got me thinking. This deep affection she held for her parents, perhaps with a wish to make them proud of her, combined with a realisation as she was growing up that certain parts of her own constitution could, would, never be traditional, created within her certain conflicts – conflicts that may have been the cause of her own bipolar condition.

So these are my thoughts, my own personal view of someone I liked, Effers. It just remains for me to end where I began, with four lines but this time continuing on to .

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree

Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always--
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flames are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.


stone aart
ntoes tara
tarantoes

TARANTOES!

I knew I'd known you in an utter life.
If I get a chance later I'll look for some old tarantoes convos.
You sneaky devil.


And thank you for this well written and moving eulogy for a
friend I never really knew well, but well enough. I am tempted
to repost your thoughts somewhere others may see it. In fact
it should be an entry somewhere.

There's an obits entry somewhere.
At least here in my convo list I can find it again.

Thank you on behalf of Mother Effers everywear.


~jwf~

Nicely done, Tarantoes.

There's nothing I could say that you haven't.