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Created: 1st October 2001
h2g2 Announcements



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Welcome to the h2g2 Announcements page, where the Editors announce important news, such as new versions of the site, or changes to official areas of h2g2.

If you'd like to stay informed of all announcements, then you can subscribe to this entry by clicking here. Whenever anything is added to this page we will post a new Conversation to the Forum below, and it will then pop up on your Personal Space.

Latest Announcements

Wednesday, 3 February, 2010: h2g2 to Upgrade to BBC iD on 9 February + Nicknames News

Dear all, we have another important announcement from Nick Reynolds. Please take the time to read it:

"Hello again, I've got two things to tell you today:

1.Upgrade of h2g2 to the New System of BBC iD

This will happen on Tuesday, 9 February, 2010.

When it happens you should see this new status bar on the site.

When you try and log in you'll be prompted to sign in via BBC iD. Please just fill in the same details you currently have for your h2g2 account, ie the same password and the same name you currently log in with (your Member Name). Remember, the iD User Name field is where you put the name you currently log in with, not your nickname. It should switch over your old account to your new one seamlessly and painlessly.

Gnomon has written an excellent step-by-step guide on how to upgrade your account to iD - please take the time to read it - and the BBC iD help pages are very useful as well.

If you've already upgraded there should be no change for you - you'll be able to use your BBC iD account on h2g2.

2.Length of Names in h2g2

In the autumn I said that for various reasons we want to restrict the length of names in BBC iD to 30 characters, but that I recognised that for some in the h2g2 community having a longer name was very important. I told you we were looking at finding a 'site specific' solution so this could continue to happen in h2g2.

The good news is we've found a way to do this. And we'll be implementing a new feature in h2g2 called 'site specific nickname' which means you'll be able to choose a separate and much longer nickname just for h2g2 (if you want one).The bad news is that that we won't be able to do this work before we change over to the new sign-in system.

So, in the meantime, we've changed BBC iD so that you can have names as long as 50 characters (this change has already happened). We may change this back to 30 once we have the 'site specific' name in place. I know that this will inconvenience some of you but it's a temporary measure until we can get the new feature in h2g2. I'm being told by our technical teams the new feature will be ready by the end of April and at that point you'll be able to have much longer names if you want to.

When the upgrade occurs in February you'll be directed to BBC iD to change your nickname, not your h2g2 settings.

As usual please do leave comments and myself and the team will respond.

All the best, Nick Reynolds."

Thursday, 14 January, 2010: h2g2 Moving to iD Soon: Very Important Information

Hello there, Nick Reynolds has a very important message for you all concerning our forthcoming move to the new registration system, BBC iD. Essentially, those users who haven't used the site in the last eight months or more need to sign in or post in the next three weeks otherwise they will lose access to their old accounts. Please read what Nick has to say:

"Hi everybody and a happy new year to you.

Before Xmas I told you we would be upgrading h2g2 to the new sign in system BBC iD.

The time to do this is coming very soon. We anticipate by the end of January/start of February. I'll be able to give you an exact date next week, after the technical team who are in charge have done all their tests and checks and have decided on a date.

However I want to ask you to do something which will benefit h2g2. After we’ve upgraded all the BBC sites to the new system the old one will be switched off by the end of February. There will be an interim period of six months after that where if you try and log in using your old names and password details you will be able to upgrade your old account to the new system. But this will ONLY apply (and this is the important bit) if you have used the old system since June 2009.

There are some members of the h2g2 community who have been absent for longer than that. For example the h2g2 editors tell me that one person who has been absent for many years has recently returned and starting writing entries again.

So if you know or have contact with anyone in the h2g2 community who hasn't used the site in the last eight months, try and contact them and ask them to come back and log in again as a matter of urgency.

It's important to note that no content will be lost and no Personal Spaces will disappear. However, if a User who hasn't visited the site for more than 8 months tries to access their Personal Space after we've switched over to BBC iD, they won't able to do so. They will have to register again, create a new Personal Space.

I'm expecting there won't be many people like this. But if you know of any let them know as soon as possible.

Remember, you can upgrade your account now: essentially, if you have an existing BBC membership (your h2g2 account), you can use your h2g2 LoginName (referred to as a 'username' in iD) and your h2g2 password to sign in to BBC iD. And you can do that here.

There are also some very useful FAQs about upgrading your account that I'd suggest you read as well:

•Useful BBC iD FAQs
I'll be making more announcements about the upgrade next week.

All the best, Nick Reynolds"

Thursday, 24 December, 2009: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Just a quick note from Zelmo and I wishing you all on h2g2 a very merry Xmas and hoping that 2010 is a happy, healthy and successful year for you. Thank you so much for all that you do on h2g2. It really is one of the great sites and that's simply down to you - the community who run it. You're a very special lot. Here's to next year!

Love from Sam and Zelmo.

Thursday, 03 December, 2009: Further Information About Display Names in BBC iD and h2g2

Good morning all, we have another announcement to make about display names in BBC iD (the new registration system) and h2g2. Here's a messgage from Nick Reynolds to explain more:

"Hello there,

Essentially, the top line is 'Don't Panic!'. Really, don't panic. If you notice any change to your h2g2 UserName (Nickname), just go in to your h2g2 Preferences and change it back the way you want it. Bascially, from today, BBC iD - the new pan-BBC registration system - will not allow nicknames to be over 30 characters long. (Here's my blog post about it.) On h2g2, DNA will start displaying the sub-30 character iD 'Names' (the equivalent to our h2g2 UserNames or Nicknames) of those folk who have already upgraded (migrated) their account over to the new iD registration system.

If you haven't upgraded (migrated) your h2g2 account yet, then you don't need to do anything at all. In fact. You can stop reading now. (Although do bear in mind you will have to upgrade your h2g2 account eventually.)

If you have previously upgraded your account, and you do notice that your h2g2 UserName (Nickname) has been clipped, just simply go to your h2g2 Preferences and change your Nickname back to the older long one - if that's what you want to do - and that will be the UserName (Nickname) that displays to everyone else.

This is a temporary measure we've set up for h2g2 users - those of you who want to use longer names - until a more permanent site-specific solution can be found.

An inside tip: Don't leave your BBC iD 'Name' field blank. Because if you do, all we'll have to identify you with on this site to other users will be your h2g2 LoginName which you might not want to display publically.

Any problems, post in the relevant conversation thread below and I will do my best to respond."

- Nick Reynolds

Wednesday, 11 November, 2009: Display names in BBC iD and h2g2

This is another important message from Nick Reynolds, BBC's Social Media Executive. Please take the time to read it as it may affect you. This time we have decided to keep the relevant conversation thread at the bottom of this page open so please do direct all your comments there. Many thanks indeed:

"In my last announcement I introduced you to the BBC's new sign on system BBC iD. And I'm pleased that some of you have upgraded your accounts without mishap. I also perhaps rashly said that unforeseen events might happen and that I would tell you about them if they did. So I'm now telling you about one change that is happening to BBC iD this week which will affect some of the h2g2 community.

From Thursday the number of characters allowed in a BBC iD display name will be limited to 30.

If you've already upgraded to BBC iD and have a name which is over 30 characters long, the next time you try to change it, you'll need to make sure it’s under 30 characters.

This change will only affect a small percentage of users. The vast majority of people of BBC Online have names which are comfortably under 30 characters. We're making this change to get better consistency in terms of look, feel and experience across the BBC's websites. People will still be able to change their display name when they want.

However I know that some people in h2g2 use very long names to tell others of their mood, status and history on the site. So we're working on a technical solution which will hopefully allow them to have a longer name when they are in h2g2 but a shorter one when they're on the rest of BBC Online. And we hope to introduce this before we move all of h2g2 over to the new system.

However if you have already moved your account over to BBC iD you will have to bring your name down to under thirty characters the next time you change your display name.

If you haven't upgraded your account yet, and it's vital to you to keep a long name I've got two suggestions.

1.Don't upgrade, stay on h2g2 and don't go on a BBC blog to leave a comment - as you'll be prompted to upgrade. Your account will still work on h2g2 until such time as we move h2g2 completely on to the new system and by then we hope to have a fix.

2.If you upgrade but leave the name field blank it will automatically pull in your name in h2g2 - whatever length it is. This is a temporary fix which we will reverse when we have found a better answer.

Of course if having a long name isn't that important, or you can find a creative way to express your status in under thirty characters, do please upgrade your current account to BBC iD.

My apologies for the inconvenience this will cause some of you. As an experiment we are going to leave comments open on this announcement and I will try and answer your questions, although as I’m very busy today I may not be able to talk until this evening.

- Nick Reynolds is Social Media Executive, BBC Online

Wednesday, 4 November, 2009: Please Welcome A New Member of Staff

Today we're delighted to announce a new member of staff to the h2g2 team, Chris, who will be working on all aspects of running the site and helping us ensure a better and brighter future for h2g2. Please drop by and make him feel welcome.

Friday, 30 October, 2009: Advanced Warning of a New Sign-in System

This is an important message from Nick Reynolds, BBC's Social Media Executive. Please take the time to read it as it will affect you all:

"Hello,

I wasn’t involved with h2g2 the last time the BBC changed its signing in system. But I’ve heard that for some of the h2g2 community it was a tricky experience and that a few of you have the scars (and the badges) to prove it.

Some of you may have noticed that the BBC is changing its signing in system again. (Here’s a blog post about this and some help pages.)

This seemed like a good point to update you about h2g2 in general and reassure you about the new sign in system.

Firstly the mood around h2g2 is good. Sam has done some sterling work on the new designs. Hopefully we should be able to tell you very soon about the new person who will be filling in for Natalie while she works in another part of the BBC.

Next: the new sign in system. It’s called BBC iD and it replaces the current sign-in system (SSO). It’s already being used in places like the iPlayer message board, and from Monday it will be switched on for all BBC blogs.

It is one of things driving the new design for h2g2. At some point before March we have to switch BBC iD on for h2g2. And to do that the site has to be in new format called 'Barlesque'.

But we won’t be implementing the new designs (which are in Barlesque) until after Xmas so for the moment h2g2 will not be directly affected by the changes as it will still be using the pre-existing sign-in system (SSO).

But – and there’s always a but – if you sometimes venture outside h2g2 to leave a comment on, for example, a BBC blog, from Monday your SSO log in won’t work, because the blogs will now be on the new system. You will have to upgrade your current sign-in account (SSO) to the new system if you want to comment.

There’s a lot of work involved to get h2g2 ready to switch on the new system. At the moment we’re estimating that we won’t be able to do that until the New Year. And so that means for a while you’ll potentially have two accounts and two log-ins.

There is a simple solution to this:

Upgrade your current BBC membership account, the pre-existing sign-in system (SSO), to BBC iD. You only need think about doing this now if you want to venture off h2g2 and post to those sites that are already using the new system.

You can only upgrade one account per email address – although you can have more than one account as long as it has a different email address. The intention behind BBC iD though is that users only have one account which they use for all BBC services so we’re trying to discourage users from having lots of different accounts with different emails. So try and avoid this if you can.

Choose which account you migrate carefully as all the data, comments and content you’ve created should follow you into the new system.

If you have lots of different accounts but they all have the same email address then you won’t be able to bring them all together.

We’ve had to take a decision for the whole BBC about this, and try as we might we weren’t able to find a simple and cost-effective way of doing it.

For me personally all this was relatively easy. I upgraded my account a while ago and all seems fine. All I did was use exactly the same name, email address and password as I used for my pre-existing account (SSO). This so far, touch wood, has worked fine for me.

So my tip would be while the pre-existing sign-in system (SSO) is still on h2g2 but not elsewhere, upgrade your current account using exactly the same name, and password. That way you’ll end up with two separate accounts during the transition but at least you won’t have to remember two different sets of information.

Incidentally, because I know this is important to h2g2 people, you should be able to change your display name when you want to under the new system.

Once h2g2 is safely in the new system then it will be linked up better with the rest of the BBC. This will enable us to hopefully improve the site and promote it more. We have some quite interesting ideas as we’ll be able to use some of the tools and services being developed for the whole BBC.

I’ve knocked around the BBC long enough to know that the best-laid plans sometimes go awry. So, although I’m confident everything will go smoothly, events can always intervene in unexpected ways.

But I will talk to you about what’s going on when I need to, and I know that Sam is going to start a thread about this on Ask h2g2, so I will respond to any questions you have. And we do have a fair amount of time to talk about it."

- Nick Reynolds (Social Media Executive, BBC Online)

As well as the blog you can discuss this announcement and raise questions in a dedicated Ask h2g2 Thread.

Tuesday, 09 September, 2009: Please Welcome 'GarudaJones'

For the next month or so, h2g2 welcomes 'GarudaJones' (real name Chris) who will be helping out around the site, trying to figure it all out, doing some proofing here, some subbing there, bits of writing and also generally breathing some extra new life in to Peer Review. If you've got a spare minute, please go over to Chris's Personal Space and say hello.

Thursday, 27 August, 2009: Front Page Changes

As we have mentioned on the site elsewhere, we've been having a think about the h2g2 Front Page recently.

A couple of factors have influenced this. There is a headcount issue at the moment which means that h2g2 will, at least temporarily, have just one member of staff at the helm. As well as running the site, Sam will have to oversee a lot of off-site stuff in order to ensure h2g2's long-term survival - in addition to training up a new member of staff. It is simply not possible to do all this and publish a new front page every day.

Secondly, the new designs - as sketched on the basic positional layout feature four large promos (which appear if you click on the tabs beneath the main promo picture – it's a bit like an index card system). We envisage using these to promote new Entries, but also other areas of the site, including the Post and the Underguide. Although we won't be shifting to the new designs for a while, it's now time to change the focus of the page.

As a result, from 7 September, 2009 we will be having a front page that changes weekly, rather than daily. Obviously there'll be more Entries on that page than there are currently - however, it'll mean that they (and the art) will get a longer exposure time. The redesigned version of the homepage is such an improvement in terms of general dynamism that we believe that the overall effect on h2g2 will be extremely positive. However, as with all periods of adjustment, it might be difficult to begin with.

Above all, we would like to stress again that this not any indication of our own Powers That Be making any decisions to scale back h2g2. As we have stated, the redesign process is ongoing and our MOT went extremely well: and we are expecting to see positive things coming from both in the future.

Wednesday, 19 August, 2009: Team Changes

Change is afoot! On 4 September Natalie is leaving h2g2 after seven years at the helm of the site. She is going to work elsewhere in the BBC on a project in the Navigation and Services division. She would like to thank everyone who has done so much marvellous work for h2g2 over the past seven years and made this time so enjoyable.

Though she may return at some point, from 7 September h2g2 will be left in the very capable hands of Sam Semple. Sam first worked on the site back in the Digital Village days, so he is an extremely experienced member of staff - however, while serious headcount issues are dealt with, h2g2 is going to be a staff-member short. Sam will have a lot of extra BBC/technical issues to deal with, on top of being a staff member short. So please do give him all the support you can, the same sort of support you've so generously given the other h2g2 team-members over the years.

We would like to stress at this point that this temporary shortage is not a sign of things to come – the MOT process went even better than we could have expected and the h2g2 redesign process is well underway.

Friday, 7 August, 2009: h2g2 MOT - Your Feedback Required

We've also posted this message in Ask h2g2 (apologies for the duplication), but we're also putting it here to ensure that as many people as possible see it.

In line with a wider editorial review of BBC Online as a whole, h2g2 is to go through an 'MOT process' next week. This involves assessing h2g2 while bearing broad themes in mind, in order to assess what is and isn't working. As the site owners, we'll be answering questions put to us by the MOT team.

Seetha Kumar, the Controller of BBC online, has made a post about it on the BBC Internet Blog. She's inviting users of BBC Online to make comments about h2g2, to include as part of the review.

So - if there are any comments you'd like to make, please do visit the BBC Internet Blog and share your thoughts.

Monday, 15 June, 2009: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Tuesday, 16 June, 2009, 0300 - 0700GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Tuesday, 16 June, 2009 in order to apply some changes to the DNA service. The downtime will begin at 0300GMT and should be complete by 0700GMT.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Friday, 12 June, 2009: New Permanent Italic

We're delighted to officially welcome back a new, permanent member of the h2g2 team, who may be familiar to those of you who have been on the site for a few years.

Sam Semple originally worked on h2g2 when it was part of the Digital Village, a company set up by h2g2's founder Douglas Adams alongside Richard Creasey and Robbie Stamp.

More recently he returned to the BBC, working on h2g2 and other sites, and so used the Derek account - an account that was originally set up for temporary/part-time/casual staff to use. Increasingly he's been doing more and more h2g2 stuff and is now back full-time helping Natalie with the general running of the site, the redesign, and generally working with her on how we can best position h2g2 within the BBC and the Future Media and Technology department.

We hope you'll join us in welcoming back Sam to h2g2!

Thursday, 4 June, 2009: Polling Day, Thursday, 4 June, 2009

Please note that in line with the political parties and other UK broadcasters, the BBC will not be reporting the election campaign or offering discussion about the campaign while the polls are open on 4 June on any of its outlets. Our messageboards will remain open on Polling Day; we're just asking all users to refrain from discussing the election while the polls are open. Usual BBC House Rules will resume once the polls are closed after 10pm.

For more information please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/messageboards/newguide/elections.shtml

Thursday, 14 May, 2009: h2g2 Talking Point on Start of Redesign Process

As we mentioned last month, h2g2 is going to be given a sympathetic refresh. The process has already begun and we have been given a positional layout by our designers (NB this is not a design!). We especially like the fact that the new proposed layout gives new front page prominence to active Community areas such as Ask h2g2 - but we'd like to know what you think. Please do give us your feedback at this week's Talking Point.

Thursday, 7 May, 2009: Embedded Video on h2g2

Thanks to the DNA team and the work of our amazing h2g2 Aviators, we're delighted to announce that we now have embedded video on some h2g2 Entries.

Currently, you can see it in action on the following Entries:


•A Beginner's Guide to Cricketing Terminology


•A New Forest Walk - Ashurst to Brockenhurst


•Attaya - West African Green Tea


•Games You Can Play in the Office


•How to Draw a Cartoon Bird


•How to Use Rubber Gloves Properly


•The Great Bacon Sandwich


•The South West Coast Path: Sidmouth to Beer

Due to moderation issues, so far it can only be added in actual Edited Entries or Help Pages by the h2g2 Editors in actual Entries. However, this may change - we have to get past a few problems, first.

Secondly, some graphics may have disappeared - we can reinstate them later, we just wanted to see what everyone thought of this format first.

Finally, this also means that if an Edited Entry has an accompanying clip, then we can make the large main promo link on the front page an embedded link. So...if you wish to make a clip for future consideration for an Edited Entry or even a forthcoming one, then do join the h2g2 Aviators now!

Special thanks to Skankyrich and TRiG.

Tuesday, 5 May, 2009: Guidelines for Elections, 4 June, 2009

Elections for the European Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and local government in England will take place on Thursday, 4 June, 2009. The standard election guidelines are now in force.

In order to enable balanced and interesting debates, messageboards and discussion forums across the BBC will be operating under the BBC's agreed policies. This means there will be additional guidelines for members to abide by if they intend to discuss election issues.

In addition to the existing House Rules you must:

•Declare if you are a candidate
•Discuss the issues, not the personalities
•Avoid sloganeering
•Avoid campaigning
From time to time during the campaign it may be necessary to restrict or close certain discussions. More information on the BBC's guidelines during local elections can be found in the BBC Editorial Guidelines.

If you wish to discuss the election guidelines with other Researchers, please use the 2009 Elections Forum. More information on the elections can be found on the BBC News Website.

Tuesday, 28 April, 2009: Secret Smiley/Edited Guide

Now that the other ones are up and running (mainly), the search is on for the Secret Smiley... We've got some h2g2 merchandise for the first person who guesses what it is and uses it in this thread: F19585?thread=6528090

We don't expect that search to last too long, so we'll also send a little parcel of h2g2 merchandise (Woolly hat! Shopping Bag! Bookmark! Badges!) to any Reseacher creating an Entry dated today, 28 April, 2009 (did we mention that it was our tenth birthday?) that makes its way into the Edited Guide.1

Good luck!

Tuesday, 28 April, 2009: h2g2 is Ten!

We can't believe it...ten years! Ten years! How did it go so fast? Happy Birthday, h2g2!

First of all, we want to thank you all for making this the fantastic and special place it is. We really do appreciate everything you do for h2g2 - your Entries, your chatting, your subbing, your Scouting, all the people you welcome and help and the artwork you provide - but regrettably we can't always show it. We're especially indebted to our incredible volunteer groups who work so hard, purely for the love of h2g2. Thank you!

...which brings us onto our new smileys. Yes - the eagerly-awaited new smileys are here. You can see them at our smiley page. At this point, we'd like to thank our tremendous Community Artists, who made the smileys possible. Special mentions must go to Dr Anthea, King Bomba, Fluffylump, but most of all, to Malabarista, who really has pulled out all the stops in order to create the most incredible new smileys under great pressure. They're brilliant! So, if you get a minute today, please do say thanks to them!

(And expect a bit more news about smileys today, once we get our initial technical difficulties sorted out...)

Secondly: at one stage this year, as evidenced by the 1-2-1 with Antelia in the Post this year, things seemed to be looking up.

As ever, I'm not able to say anything definite but it genuinely does feel as if things are picking up a bit for h2g2 in terms of how we are perceived by those who make decisions regarding funding.
At that stage, we'd been promised resources for a redesign of h2g2. Great, we thought. Pirate games! Text speak!2 but we held back on making any sort of announcement. We ended up being quite glad that we did...

Sadly, shortly after that, the funding we had been allocated (that had encouraged the optimism of that statement) failed to materialise. It looked as if we were going to have to send you all a slightly risqué novelty card come April.

More happily, later some funding was confirmed. The brief is for a 'sympathetic refresh' of h2g2. This will bring h2g2 more in line with other BBC sites visually, while ensuring that h2g2 still has the widest functionality of all the DNA websites and that the character of the Community is respected - as well as enabling us to be at the forefront of any new technology developed by DNA. We don't have any more details than that, currently, but we hope you will share our optimism about the changes. We will be consulting you all as we get to know more.

We'd also like you to reminisce about the past ten years on h2g2 in an unashamedly nostalgic Talking Point.

Finally...did we say thank you? I'm not sure we did! Thank you, h2g2 Researchers, past and present. You really do mean the world to us. Here's to the next decade! Happy Birthday to all of us!

Monday, 6 April, 2009: Some changes to the h2g2 Front Page

You may have noticed that we've altered the front page a bit. We're very pleased that we can now offer direct links to sites hosting content by the AViators and we've done so in one of the main promo boxes. They have produced lots of great content enhancing h2g2 Entries, and we look forward to promoting it much more often and directly (especially their extensive collection of audio clips) in future.

Some of the links, however, may be more controversial - especially the 'External Links' and 'h2g2 on the Web' section, further down the page. Here, we've linked to non-BBC sites that may be of interest to users of h2g2, in addition to sites which feature h2g2 in one way or another, such as Wikipedia, or newer social networking sites.

Ever since the 2004 Graf report, BBC sites have been encouraged to provide hypertext linking to other external, non-BBC, websites and content, and this policy has moved on a bit with the increased popularity of other social networking sites. However, importantly, these links strengthen us all. Although we can't give out detailed statistical information, we can say that Wikipedia, for example, is one of our biggest referrers in terms of web traffic. So it's in the interests of all sites to link freely to one another.

If you have any suggestions for links of this type we might feature in future, then they would be greatly appreciated.

Monday, 16 March, 2009: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Tuesday, 17 March, 2009, 0400 - 0700GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Tuesday, 17 March, 2009 in order to apply some 'under-the-bonnet' changes to the DNA service. The downtime will begin at 0400GMT and should be complete by 0700GMT.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Wednesday, 11 February, 2009: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Thursday, 12 February, 2009, 0630 - 0700GMT

There will be a very brief period of scheduled downtime on Thursday, 12 February, 2009 in order to complete an essential DNA maintenance. The downtime will begin at 0630GMT and should be complete by 0730GMT.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Monday, 22 December, 2008: Staff Coverage Over Christmas and New Year

As usual, the h2g2 offices will be closed over the festive period, from 23 December - 2 January. We'll still be able to monitor the site and help out where possible, but messages sent to any of our feedback addresses may not be answered until 2 January.

Moderation will continue as normal, but if you email us directly during this time we'll get back to you on our return.

All that's left to say is thank you for all your help during 2008. Your continued enthusiasm and feedback is h2g2's special magical ingredient and we don't take it for granted! Hope you all have the most amazing 2009 - we're sure it's going to be a belter!

Wednesday, 3 December, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Thursday, 4 December, 2008, 0400 - 0600GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Thursday, 4 December, 2008 in order to complete an essential update to the DNA servers. The downtime will begin at 0400GMT and should be complete by 0600GMT.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Monday, 17 November, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Tuesday, 18 November, 2008, 0700 - 1000GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Tuesday, 18 November, 2008 (tomorrow) in order to enable DNA maintenance work to be carried out. The downtime will begin at 0700GMT and should be complete by 1000GMT.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Monday, 1 December, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Friday, 5 December, 2008, 0700 - 0730GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Friday, 5 December, 2008 in order to enable DNA maintenance work to be carried out. The downtime will begin at 0700GMT and should be complete by 0730GMT.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Monday, 17 November, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Tuesday, 18 November, 2008, 0700 - 1000GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Tuesday, 18 November, 2008 (tomorrow) in order to enable DNA maintenance work to be carried out. The downtime will begin at 0700GMT and should be complete by 1000GMT.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Thursday, 16 October, 2008: Guidelines for Elections, 6 November, 2008

It has been confirmed that the Glenrothes By-Election will take place on Thursday, 6 November 2008. The standard election guidelines are now in force.

In order to enable balanced and interesting debates, messageboards and discussion forums across the BBC will be operating under the BBC's agreed policies. This means there will be additional guidelines for members to abide by if they intend to discuss election issues.

In addition to the existing House Rules you must:

•Declare if you are a candidate
•Discuss the issues, not the personalities
•Avoid sloganeering
•Avoid campaigning
From time to time during the campaign it may be necessary to restrict or close certain discussions. More information on the BBC's guidelines during local elections can be found in the BBC Editorial Guidelines.

If you wish to discuss the election guidelines with other Researchers, please use the 2008 Elections Forum. More information on the by-election can be found on the BBC News Website.

Wednesday, 15 October, 2008: Today's Unexpected DNA Downtime

We'd like to apologise for the fact that, for a period of about an hour today, DNA services were inaccessible.

This was caused by the failure of a server that DNA relies upon. The problem is now resolved.

We're sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Thursday, 9 October, 2008: Unexpected Thread Closures

The boards are currently experiencing problems with threads closing unexpectedly. This is not being done by the mods or hosts - there was a major software upgrade this morning and we are working hard to rectify the thread closure problem and hope to resolve it as soon as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

UPDATED: Wednesday, 8 October, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Thursday, 9 October, 2008, 0400 - 0700BST

The downtime scheduled tomorrow (Thursday, 9 October, 2008) in order to enable maintenance work to be completed on the DNA platform will now begin at 0400BST and should be complete by 0700BST.

Apologies for any confusion.

Wednesday, 8 October, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Thursday, 9 October, 2008, 0700 - 1000BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Thursday, 9 October, 2008 in order to enable maintenance work to be completed on the DNA platform. The downtime will begin at 0700BST and should be complete by 1000BST.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Thursday, 2 October, 2008: h2g2 on BBC homepage

We're pleased to announce that the BBC homepage have established a new 'widget', available to users who wish to customise their view of the homepage. It's called 'Weird & Wonderful', and we're delighted to say that it carries h2g2 content - three Entries every day.

To see the widget, please visit the BBC homepage at www.bbc.co.uk and click on the button beneath the top banner which reads 'Customise your homepage.' This will then present you with a form that will enable you to view the 'Weird & Wonderful' widget every time you visit the homepage.

And finally, thanks to you all for your wonderful content that has made this possible!

Thursday, 18 September, 2008: Change to h2g2 Age Policy

In order to bring our policy in line with that of the BBC as a whole, some changes have been applied to h2g2. From today all users of h2g2 must be 16 years old or more to register or post to the discussions. We apologise for the inconvenience to the small number of members who are under 16, however, this is an important and necessary measure to improve the safety of younger users and to bring h2g2 in line with the policies in place on other BBC social media services.

If you are one of the members who can no longer use h2g2, there are many topics to visit on the CBBC, Blast and Newsround websites:

•CBBC
•Blast
•CBBC News
If you want help with your GCSE studies, please visit the GCSE bitesize boards:

•GCSE History
•GCSE Religious Studies
For more information on keeping safe online, please visit the chatguide at:

•Chatguide
or the CBBC safesurfing guide at:

•Safesurfing
If you have any questions about this change, please email us at h2g2teamatbbcdotcodotuk (symbols removed so as to avoid being targeted by online spidering).

Thursday, 7 August, 2008: Smileys and Surveys

A couple of announcements today - we were overwhelmed by the response to the smileys talking point, so thanks for your continuing contributions to that discussion. We'll be going through them, as promised, on 2 September, so there is still plenty of time to get your suggestions in at A38860987.

Secondly, just a point about the pop-up surveys that you might see now and again when you visit h2g2. Many of you have probably filled them in several times (there was initially a very high uptake), but we just want to ask if you can take the time to fill them in if possible. Respondent feedback from these surveys is recorded centrally, and so it's important to us to have enough feedback to make an appearance on their charts. Please do let them know where we're going right or wrong! We know it must be repetitive, but we'd be really grateful if you could fill them in when you see them. Thanks!

Tuesday, 17 June, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Wednesday, 18 June, 2008, 0700 - 1000BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Wednesday, 17 June, 2008 in order to enable a new release of DNA. The downtime will begin at 0700BST and should be complete by 1000BST.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Thursday, 15 May, 2008: Personal Spaces Bug

We have become aware of a bug that seems to have developed on some Personal Spaces. It manifests itself by hiding a Researcher's Personal Space when they save changes, and informs the Researcher that their space is 'pending moderation.'

We don't currently know why this is happening, but we have the tech team looking into it and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. In the meantime, if your Personal Space has been affected by this, please let us know and we will restore your page.

Wednesday, 30 April, 2008: Polling Day, Thursday, 1 May, 2008

Please note that in line with the political parties and other UK broadcasters, the BBC will not be reporting the election campaign or offering discussion about the campaign while the polls are open on 1 May on any of its outlets. Our messageboards will remain open on Polling Day; we're just asking all users to refrain from discussing the election while the polls are open. Usual BBC House Rules will resume once the polls are closed after 10pm on 1 May.

For more information please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/messageboards/newguide/elections.shtml

Friday, 28 March, 2008: Guidelines for Elections, 1 May, 2008

It has been confirmed that local elections for England and Wales, as well as the Greater London Authority elections (London Mayor and London Assembly) will take place on 1 May, 2008. The standard election guidelines are now in force.

In order to enable balanced and interesting debates, messageboards and discussion forums across the BBC will be operating under the BBC's agreed policies. This means there will be additional guidelines for members to abide by if they intend to discuss election issues.

In addition to the existing House Rules you must:

•Declare if you are a candidate
•Discuss the issues, not the personalities
•Avoid sloganeering
•Avoid campaigning
From time to time during the campaign it may be necessary to restrict or close certain discussions. More information on the BBC's guidelines during local elections can be found in the BBC's Editorial Guidelines.

If you wish to discuss the election guidelines with other Researchers, please use the 2008 Elections Forum.

Thursday, 13 March, 2008: Introducing the h2g2 Beeblecast

As a welcome break from a series of h2g2 Downtime Advance Warnings, it brings us great pleasure to announce the arrival of the h2g2 Beeblecast.

The Beeblecast is a selection of AViator video clips that compliment already-existing h2g2 Edited Guide Entries. It has been described as 'a bit like a podcast, but with h2g2's unique style.'

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank those involved for all their enthusiasm and effort. It's really heartening to see that our Community is as inventive and inspiring as ever.

Well done and a massive thanks to all involved. And do be sure to take a look at the Beeblecast!

Tuesday, 4 March, 2008: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Wednesday, 5 March, 2008, 0700 - 1000GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Wednesday, 5 March, 2008 in order to enable a new release of DNA. The downtime will begin at 0700GMT and should be complete by 1000GMT.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

30 January, 2008: New 'Bookmarking' Feature

We're pleased to announce a new feature that is available to Edited Guide contributors. Users now have the ability to bookmark Edited Entries of interest to them.

In the right-hand margin of Entries (above the Entry Data box) you will now be able to choose the option 'Clip/Bookmark This Page'. If you click this link, the page will be added to your Bookmarks.

To see your bookmarks, please scroll down your Personal Space. On the 'My Friends' grey bar you will see an option that reads 'My Bookmarks'. Clicking this link will show which Entries you have bookmarked.

Please note: The feature will also show how many times a particular page has been bookmarked, but this will not update immediately (it's cached daily).

This feature was launched rather more prematurely than expected (hence the late notice!) and so it will not be perfect. However, please do post with your comments, positive or negative, at our Feedback area.

Thursday, 20 December, 2007: Staff Coverage Over Christmas and New Year

As usual, the h2g2 offices will be closed over the festive period, from 22 December - 2 January. We'll still be able to monitor the site and help out where possible, but messages sent to any of our feedback addresses may not be answered until 2 January.

Moderation will continue as normal, but if you email us directly during this time we'll get back to you on our return.

As ever, at the Towers we'd like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful h2g2 community for all its support this past year. Best wishes to you all for 2008 - hope it's the best year yet!

6 November, 2007: New 'Subscribed Articles' Feature

We're pleased to announce a new feature that is available to Edited Guide contributors. Users now have the ability to subscribe to others' Edited Entries. This enables them to keep informed of the work of other people on the site.

To see this feature, please scroll down your Personal Space. You'll see a new grey bar between 'My Friends' and 'My Guide Entries', entitled 'Subscribed Articles.'

For more information on the new feature, please visit A28647642

This feature was launched rather more prematurely than expected (hence the late notice!) and so it will not be perfect. However, please do post with your comments, positive or negative, at our Feedback area.

Monday, 5 November, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Tuesday, 6 November, 2007, 0700 - 1000GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Tuesday, 6 November, 2007 in order to enable a new release of DNA, mainly involving under-the-bonnet changes, to be carried out. The downtime will begin at 0700GMT and should be complete by 1000GMT.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

Wednesday, 24 October, 2007: Yesterday's Disruption to BBC Internet Services

We'd like to apologise for the disruption to a number of BBC online services yesterday.

The technical issues experienced were caused by network issues across data centres in Docklands.

Areas affected were the message boards and community sites and the Single Sign On registration system, as well as search, iPlayer, radio streams and a number of database applications. The BBC homepage was also affected; visitors to the front page experienced a slow service.

Normal service was resumed just before midnight last night. We'd like to apologise for any inconvience and disruption caused.

Friday, 28 September, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Monday, 1 October, 2007, 0030 - 0330BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Monday, 1 October, 2007 in order to enable maintenance work to be completed on the SSO database. The downtime will begin at 0030BST and should be complete by 0330BST.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

Wednesday, 15 August, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Thursday, 16 August, 2007, 0400 - 0500BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Thursday, 16 August, 2007 in order to enable maintenance work to be completed on the SSO database. The downtime will begin at 0400BST and should be complete by 0500BST.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

Friday, 20 July, 2007: Server Problems and Delays

You may be experiencing problems accessing BBC website services, including the message boards.

There was a major power outage in Maidenhead, where the BBC servers are based - apparently because of extensive electrical storms and flooding in the area. See BBC News for more information.

The servers appear to be working normally right now, but further interruptions may be possible during the day. We'll do everything we can to attempt to keep the services running normally, but you may experience intermittent problems.

Tuesday, 10 July, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Wednesday, 11 July, 2007, 0700 - 1000BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Wednesday, 13 June, 2007 in order to enable a DNA upgrade. This will involve mainly 'under-the-bonnet' changes. The downtime will begin at 0700BST should be complete by 1000BST.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Monday, 11 June, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Wednesday, 13 June, 2007, 0700-0900BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Wednesday, 13 June, 2007 in order to enable a DNA upgrade. This will involve mainly 'under-the-bonnet' changes. The downtime will begin at 0700BST should be complete by 0900BST.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Friday, 8 June, 2007: Possible Server Downtime Advance Warning: Throughout June, 2007, 0200-0700BST

Due to load-testing taking place throughout June, it is possible that there will be downtime across DNA communities.

Testing will occur between 0200-0700 BST on the following dates:

•11-15 June, 2007
•18-21 June, 2007
h2g2 and other DNA communities may be unavailable during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Tuesday, 8 May, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Wednesday, 9 May, 2007, 0700-0900BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Wednesday, 9 May, 2007 in order to enable a DNA upgrade. This will involve mainly 'under-the-bonnet' changes. The downtime will begin at 0700BST should be complete by 0900BST.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Wednesday, 2 May, 2007: Polling Day, Thursday, 3 May, 2007

Please note that in line with the political parties and other UK broadcasters, the BBC will not be reporting the election campaign or offering discussion about the campaign while the polls are open on May 3rd on any of its outlets.

Message boards will remain open on Polling Day, but we're just asking all users to refrain from discussing the election while the polls are open. Usual BBC House Rules will resume once the polls are closed after 10pm on May 3rd. For more information please see message board election information.

Friday, 13 April, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Saturday, 14 April, 2007, 2100 BST - Sunday, 15 April, 2007 1330 BST

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Saturday, 14 April, 2007 in order for the SSO team to carry out essential maintenance. The downtime will last 15 hours, but should be complete by 1330BST on Sunday, 15 April.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience, especially considering this is such a lengthy period of downtime.

Friday, 30 March, 2007: Guidelines for Elections, 3 May, 2007

It has been confirmed that elections for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and local government in England and Scotland will take place on 3 May, 2007. The standard election guidelines are now in force.

In order to enable balanced and interesting debates, messageboards and discussion forums across the BBC will be operating under the BBC's agreed policies. This means there will be additional guidelines for members to abide by if they intend to discuss election issues.

In addition to the existing House Rules you must:

•Declare if you are a candidate
•Discuss the issues, not the personalities
•Avoid sloganeering
•Avoid campaigning
From time to time during the campaign it may be necessary to restrict or close certain discussions. More information on the BBC's guidelines during local elections can be found in the BBC's Editorial Guidelines.

If you wish to discuss the election guidelines with other Researchers, please use the 2007 Elections Forum.

Wednesday, 21 March, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Thursday, 22 March, 2007, 0700-0900 GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Thursday, 22 March, 2007 in order for testing to take place on the SSO database (the registration system on all DNA sites).

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable from approximately 7am to 9am.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Thursday, 1 February, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Sunday, 4 February, 2007, 0600-0700 GMT

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Sunday, 4 February, 2007 for testing on the user database.

h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable from approximately 6am to 7am.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Thursday, 1 February, 2007: Guidelines for Elections, 2007

It has been confirmed that the election to the Northern Ireland Assembly will take place on 7 March, 2007 and as a consequence the standard election guidelines are now in force.

In order to enable balanced and interesting debates, messageboards and discussion forums across the BBC will be operating under the BBC's agreed policies. This means there will be additional guidelines for members to abide by if they intend to discuss election issues.

In addition to the existing House Rules you must:

•Declare if you are a candidate
•Discuss the issues, not the personalities
•Avoid sloganeering
•Avoid campaigning
From time to time during the campaign it may be necessary to restrict or close certain discussions. More information on the BBC's guidelines during local elections can be found in the BBC's Editorial Guidelines.

If you wish to discuss the election guidelines with other Researchers, please use the 2007 Elections Forum.

Thursday, 18 January, 2007: Server Downtime Advance Warning: Wednesday, 24 January, 2007, 0700-1000 GMT*

There will be a period of scheduled downtime on Wednesday, 24 January, 2007 for a DNA upgrade.

This concerns mainly under-the-bonnet changes. h2g2 and other DNA communities will be unavailable from approximately 7am to 10am.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

*NB: This is an estimate; we are hoping the site will be up and running again by 0900 GMT.

Older Announcements

If you want to see previous announcements, we've now created an Announcements Index, sorted by year.

•2006
•2005
•2004
•2003
•2002
•2001

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Just in case this takes off, we're limiting it to the first 50 Researchers whose '28 April 2009'-dated Entries make it to the front page when they make it to the front page!
2 JOKE. Not a good one but still...joke.



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ENTRY DATA


Edited by:

h2g2Editors



Referenced Entries:

The Great Bacon Sandwich

Old Announcements: 2001

Old Announcements: 2002

Old Announcements: 2003

Old Announcements: 2004

The Community Artists Home Page

Old Announcements: 2005

Old Announcements: 2006

Games You Can Play in the Office

Gnomon's Guide to Upgrading to BBC iD

Douglas Adams

How to Draw a Cartoon Bird

Bails, Ducks and Yorkers - A Beginner's Guide to Cricketing Terminology

The Aviators Home Page

The South West Coast Path: Sidmouth to Beer

h2g2 and the 2007 Elections

Attaya - West African Green Tea

Subscribing to Users

A New Forest Walk - Ashurst to Brockenhurst

How to Use Rubber Gloves Properly

Producer's Notes

h2g2 and the 2008 Elections

Talking Point: New Smileys

1-2-1 with Antelia

Talking Point - h2g2 Redesign




Referenced Researchers:

Richard

Natalie

Dr Anthea - ACE Artist Assassin

TRiG (Ireland) ~ Now with added wings ~



King Bomba

Rich

Malabarista - I'm a ghostsitter. No, really!

Sam Semple

GarudaJones

This Is Zelmo Zale




Related BBC Pages:

The New iD Sign-in Bar

BBC iD FAQs

Upgrade to iD

Useful BBC iD FAQs

BBC Internet Blogs

blog post about this

blog

Ask h2g2 Thread

BBC Internet Blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mess...

BBC Editorial Guidelines

BBC News Website

BBC Editorial Guidelines

BBC News Website

www.bbc.co.uk

CBBC

Blast

CBBC News

GCSE History

GCSE Religious Studies

Chatguide

Safesurfing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mess...

BBC News

message board election in...

Editorial Guidelines

Editorial Guidelines




Referenced Sites:

some help pages


Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites listed.

Hi Cathay,

Unfortunately as this is only about article *about* the BBC, the BBC staff aren't subscribed here (I think!).

Where is the Romany chat room? I can't find it. If you could post a link I could have a look for you.