After the short real-life-enforced break, we now return to our regularly-scheduled interviews with ShazzPRME, co-founder and first editor of The Post¹.

When did you join h2g2?

I think it was June 1999.

All my sources point to July 2, 1999.

How did you hear of/find h2g2?

I saw an interview with DNA about it on BBC Breakfast Time.

Why did you join h2g2?

I had always enjoyed the radio series, books and TV series so seemed a fun site to join.

Did you jump right in, or did you lurk awhile first?

I lurked and probably drove Mark M mad by messaging him a lot in the early days.

Have you written an Edited Entry?

I have indeed.

How many?

Erm, at least 10 I believe.

What was your first Entry?

How to Make Perfect Pickled Onions. For a while it was the number one hit on Google when searching for Pickled Onions! Haven't tried it recently though, especially as the BBC and others now have huge cookery web sites.

What is your favorite Entry (of the ones you've written, if any)?

I think my University Entry
Traditional Christmas Fayre was fun to do and attracted a lot of visitors.

What is your favorite Entry by someone else?

McMurdo Station, Antarctica. At the time it was so cool to be in contact with someone stuck at the south pole. We persuaded him to write it for The Post and it later became an Edited Entry. The Post seemed to do a lot of encouraging writing.

Do you belong to/have you started any clubs/societies/what-have-you on h2g2?

I was a co-founder of The BFGs which was an irreverent group of space and time travelling misfits. I also co-founded The Post.

Is that/are those club(s)/society(ies)/what-have-you(s) still active?

The occasional passer by drops in at the BFGs. I think the Post is still going...

Have you held any volunteer positions in the past?

I was an original ACE, a Sub Editor, a Field Researcher, a Post Reporter and Editor of The Post from December 1999 to June 2005.

Are you a current volunteer?

Technically no, but do still keep a friendly eye on The Post from afar.

Which elvised researcher do you miss most?

Greebo T Cat. Such a great friend and colleague, we spent many hours working late into the night on TP when we were the only staff.

Have you been an elvised researcher?

Only during Rupert during the move from h2g2.com to the BBC.

What brought you back?

The mountain of work moving all The Post over from the .com site to the BBC. I was in there long before I should have been.

Have you been known by other names on h2g2 (not necessarily other accounts)?

Only as 'The Post Team' and I was, for the first few months, just 'shazz' as there was no 'Post', 'Reporter' or 'Managing Editor' to add on.

So that's what PRME means? I've been pronouncing it as "prime" in my head all these years...

Is there anything from h2g2's past that you miss?

I guess just the excitement of the very early days when you knew everyone and it was a big adventure.

Is there anything from h2g2's past that you wish you hadn't witnessed?

There was a particularly difficult time when there was a very verbose lady of multiple accounts who seemed to enjoy trolling for the sake of it.

What aspect of current h2g2 do you wish had been extant when you joined?

It was all new when I joined. I feel lucky for so many reasons. It was on h2g2 I met TM, who is the reason I now live in The Netherlands. It was through h2g2 and The Post I met so many talented people who have gone on to great things.

Like everyone's favorite cad and bounder, spimcoot?

Have you been to any meets, of any size, whether "official" or not (meet=over a dozen, minimeet=6-12, micromeet=less than a half dozen)?

All of the above.

How many?

At least 3 London Meets, all the Dutch Meets and one or two micro meets.

Was my self portrait there?

But of course... I was the proud 'keeper of the Amy' for a time.

How many copies?

You did share a table with Wowbagger at one of the Dutch Meets.

If you've been to multiple meets, what's the farthest you've traveled to one?

Tricky - when I lived in the UK it would have been Netherlands but since I moved here it would have to be the London ones.

So they're all equally far?

If you've never been to a meet, why not?

Not relevant.

Am I asking too many questions?

Not so far.

Is this getting annoying?

Slightly.

How about now?

Running out of steam Amy?

Maybe...

If I were to give you a mufflewhump, what would it turn into, keeping in mind that they can't turn into anything sapient nor anything that can act against the giver's (ie, my) interest, and that they only work on h2g2?

Had you even heard of mufflewhumps before the previous question?

I have most certainly.

Have I given you one before?

I think so.

Did you know me before this interview?

I did.

Do you have a question for me (fair's fair, after all) (not one answered on my PS)?

Nope.

Thanks, shazz!

Next time, we'll be hearing from Phil.

The Venerable Researchers Archive

Amy

29.07.13 Front Page

Back Issue Page

¹So I suppose you could say that these interviews are partially her fault, as well, since if The Post didn't exist, I would never have thought of interviews in the first place!²²The blame for my doing them, however, can be split between Dmitri and myself