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

Where are you? Are you still locked out like I was.Do you realise you can get back into hootoo?

Seems like the only place I can get an answer/reply is at Lil's Atlier on gulp Facebook.

Has this place finally died? I hope not.

I do wonder where 'the old guard' has gone. I can understand relative newcomers dipping in, going off to the latest fad social media, but there surely must be enough faithful members to keep it going?

Yeah, a few of us are still lingering and malingering.
Subscribing to Ask is the best place to find new posts. I noticed the Front Page "Recent Activity" widget is hosed. That little feature was a good place to find active conversations.

I drop by every week or so to see what's new. I think as long as there's something here, I'll visit... there's probably nothing internetty that I've been involved with for longer than h2g2, what with writing guide entries, reviewing, scouting (for a time), writing for the Post (briefly), arguing more or less constructively about stuff.

This site is a kind of constant companion, and every so often I'll read back over old journal entries, edited and non-edited (and half-finished) guide entries. I signed up on the 5th August 2001... over 20 years ago. I'm a different person now to the one I was then. It really helped me hone my writing skills and was a valuable outlet in good times and not so good times.

It's interesting how much things have changed... in those early days, most people guarded their real identity really carefully, the assumption being the internet is full of dangerous weirdos... and/or that even being part of an online community might be a kind of shameful secret to be kept private and the worlds kept separately.

Funny how I always-kind-of-wanted-to go to meetups, but didn't want to (a) de-anonymise myself; or (b) discover that people I liked online I didn't like in person, or (worse) the opposite! I kind of regret it now... there are quite a few people I'd really have liked to meet.

And now... I have a blog with my name on it... a twitter account with my name on it... my real name on Facebook and LinkedIn. Probably most/all of us do to a greater or lesser extent. And the whole online community thing has been completely normalised - whether anonymous, whether using real names, or somewhere in between.

I visit every day.

Sometimes I cross-post jokes or puns here and on facebook.

Right now I'm intrigued by the idea that Vladimir has a variation as Valdemar. It's not far from Valdemar to Voldemort. Is Putin a Voldemort figure?

I don't know. Are there any of those animated portraits of Voldemort riding horseback bare-chested?

Still drop in most days...
the info page still works for latest conversations.

That explains why you posted the same comment about Putin & Voldemort in more than one conversation

<BB<

Ah, thanks Bald Bloke.

Here's the link for whoever may want it.

http://h2g2.com/info

And here's a Ripley link that may work better.

http://www.h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/brunel/info?cmd=conv

Hi Incog,

I check in every now and then to keep the Deathlist Game going - that’s about it.

It would be nice to have a place to keep writing entries, but nobody reads them any more, and anyway these days I spend most of my spare time compiling puzzles.

Hope all’s well with you

I'm 'nobody'...

I keep writing Entries for h2g2 because 4 people read my PhD thesis but Entries are read by many more than that with the help of social media. I do worry about the trends in the stats, but they do vary at different times of the year and Easter/early May does tend to be quieter. I look forward to the problem on the Front Page being sorted out so that people can log in easily and the latest activity can be seen again

I have just managed to login for the first time in about 5 years. I have tried a few times but the moderator email exchange this week was fast and useful. So thank you to whoever that was.

The problem was my skin was set to something not-worky. Now it is back to Alabaster my relationship with the site is restored!

Welcome back!

Yes, I have found that if I get locked out, changing the skin may help. I think that's what I do, anyway. I do realise that you can't change the skin unless you're logged in so I'm not really sure. Perhaps I open another window. I just jab about till I get here. I'm not usually that vague, and I do follow some sort of logic, but persistence is the main ingredient.

I wonder why I never thought of subscribing to "Ask". Will do so right away. That way, I would have found this thread sooner!

I appear to be subscribed to PR, though, and am sorry I don't write more entries. I often have ideas for them. I don't read many either, even though Dimitri has lots of intriguing subjects. Grandchildren (who weren't here when I joined h2g2!), decluttering and life seem to take up my time, and I get tired more easily and sometimes have trouble concentrating.

I have an article in the flea market that has been praying on my mind for over a decade.

Now I can log in, I can writing it up (PC vs Mac) and get it into PR.

The big, next question will be how many peers are there these days. I have been away...

I keep forgetting to go back into peer review. Oh, well. I manage to read the Post every week, at least

You do - you regularly comment on stuff what I bung in and it is very much appreciated! I always read everything in Peer Review too, but don't always comment as I don't always know what to say.

<BB<

Still here!

I worry also about this ol' place. That said there's so much more to worry about in general, since I first signed up in 2001