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

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But do you receive hundreds (possibly thousands) of e-mails every day?

Anyway, this isn't really the place for this discussion... I now return you to your scheduled program.

*Holds on tight while the Server Quake passes.*

Just had a thought: some sites have software in place which automatically censors certain words, thus negating the need to remove a whole post because of one misplaced expletive.

i dont get the last part of the message

(i now return you to your scheduled program

holds on tight while the server quake passes)??????

I'm not fond of automatic censors. If it takes out individual words that might not be too bad but we've all heard about the nannyware that prevents students from researching breast cancer.

Automatic censoring would probably make it hard to discuss rowing sprots and such.

"I now return you to your scheduled program" is a reference to a standard message given out on TV/Radio after an unscheduled interruption to a program.

"holds on tight while the Server Quake passes" - Server Quake is a nickname for the problems currently affecting the site. I attempted to post that message 6 times before I was able to.

Actually that is a good point.

I have often yikesed posts asking for a swear word to be **** out and the whole post has been hidden.

Indeed it does seem like the server problems are getting worse and worse.

Perhaps we need to invest in some new hampsters so we can get them working in shifts.

Yeah surely if it is an otherwise fine post but with one swear word an xxxxing out would be more appropriote.


Any chance of some official comment on this one Jimster?

Auto censoring can be a good thing if done properly. There's no point in censoring words like breast or cock because they both have several meanings, the reason why auto censoring gets such bad press is because there are sites which are completely over-zealous about it (I've seen one where *every* word which contained 'uck' was censored).

Ah, passing the buck to the bots.

It really irritates me when organisations use technology to duck out of their responsibilities. Then they have the nerve to pass it off as an advantage. The age of the huckster and hustler is not over - unluckily for us.

Mind you, it can be amusing when technology mucks things up in the waay that only technology can, if you have a Puckish sense of mischief of course, and like causing a ruckus. (Me do a thing like that? Aw... shucks, no!)

It just amuses me when organisations and technologies get stuck in a groove, refuse to acknowledge just how much they suck, and try to tuck us all up in bed with a warm sense of how nice they are.

Yeah.

Right.

Are you sure it's BBC Support Intern? I mean, with respect you've not had much luck with your email account either.

(By the way, there's no department called BBC Support. There's Membership and then there's h2g2Support, both of whom can be contacted via @bbc.co.uk email addresses. For registration / Account problems post 2002, you need to email Membership)

Hi jimster I want to go back n read these past posts , but I think think for me this time for me its 2 am is the triangle ie everybodys trying to catch up on their work now but Im to drunk to answer anything .Just want to go to bed again ok try to talk tomorrow n thanks for coming back

hi jimstermuch luck try non at all

when you e-mailed me i used the link within the e-mail for them at the top of the message

Hello Intern,

Thank you for your email. Please email [email protected]; they should be able to help you.

Kind regards,

h2g2 Support

Good points on the Ignore thing.

Wolfden's thread is interesting and heartbreaking.

I've been sifting around, trying to find out what kicked off this thread in the first place. B mentioned something sbout lighting torches and circling castles; yup, I'd agree with that! Every year we seem to get an incidence of this sort on h2g2, usually resulting in somebody leaving or getting kicked out. Ho hum.

Snailrind, Lord Wolfden was asked to do an EG on his condition, (this was before everything kicked off) He was promised help in putting it into Guide ML. I do believe this is what he is doing, only putting it as his life story.

Ferrettbadger asked:

> Any chance of some official comment on this one Jimster? <


The current policy is to edit swear words, unless the posting contains little more than a swear word in which case they might as well remove the posting. However, if someone is swearing as part of a more confrontational posting, the Mods maybe feel that the post would be better if it were removed.

Yes, that what I thought he was doing...

I thought you were wondering what he was upto.. sorry..

Oh, I see! No, I meant this thread that we are talking on, but I see why that was unclear!