Random Ramblings
Created | Updated Apr 29, 2009
Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die,
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
[...]
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
Last week we got the sad news that my/our friend pheloxi had passed away. He was one of the first Researchers I talked to on here when I was new to the site. Interestingly, many of his friends said that he was the one who talked to them first when they were new. He created the United Friends of h2g2space, which is the oldest entry on my PS. I remember that I was confused when it popped up on my space after pheloxi had added me as a member. If you go and have a look, you'll find that it's the society with the highest number of members, at least as far as I know. Lots of Researchers posted to the various journals which were written all across hootoo. Many friends lit a candle for his funeral, and some even sent flowers. I think it was a worthy response for a very worthy friend and Researcher, and it showed hootoo from its best side once again.
Bearing this in mind, it doesn't come as a surprise that h2g2 is celebrating its 10th! birthday this year! Which other website can boast such a caring and active community like we have here? Which other website is so old, and yet so young? I had intended to do some research about the very beginnings, but I never made it. So can I just point you to our excellent All About h2g2 Archive instead?
Many authors followed our call for submissions for this special occasion, which is marvellous! We even have two more 10th in this issue: Anarchy Gordon, and the Caravan Tour of the United States – how very timely. Now this isn't my 10th Random Ramblings, but it is my 42nd. Coincidence? Whatever, I think it is very convenient and very much hootoo-ish.
I'm afraid to say that most other things which happened in the community recently more or less passed me by unnoticed. I was absorbed in my own little world, preparing a special feature for this issue, and doubting the value of my contributions to the Edited Guide. The latter was because my Uni project, which I had eventually finished, didn't seem to raise much interest with anybody, so I concluded it just wasn't good – which is probably silly, because I know that most people shy away from Uni projects, fearing they have to read gazillions of entries on a related subject. Which is a shame, really. I have read various Uni projects while they were in PR, and I have enjoyed every single one of them. Maybe, if people didn't feel like they had to read five or more entries in one go, so to say, they would comment more?
Each entry within a Uni project is supposed to stand on its own, so there really is no obligation to read them all. Just pick the ones whose titles attract you most, then take it from there. I now know from own experience just how disheartening it is if you have only 3.5 reviewers1 for a project you've worked on for several months; but the feedback I got once they were published indicates that the Entries are indeed of interest to a variety of people. To cut a long story short: it seemed to me that my UP wasn't exactly under a lucky star right from the beginning through to the very end – and I added to that. And this brings me to my LotD: not only did I manage to confuse a very important ingredient, but I then managed to post to the wrong Feedback area.
I'm quite glad about this outcome, though, as it made me laugh at myself.
