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

Yes Kerr, I suppose that there is the devil's advocate version of history in that if he spent most of his time in MiscChat. Then the creation of MiscChat hit its goals of keeping all of the drek in one place

Kerr, I think that is why I am largely unbothered by him. I don't really spend a lot of time in 'the place for random chatting'.

However it seems that some people do spend time there and were annoyed to find their chat disrupted by LW.

Did the WJH thread get moved from Ask?

MiscChat was pretty much dead until LW started a million 'what is your xyz doing now' threads there (or had them moved from Ask).

Were the other threads that are the source of all this rancour also moved from Ask?

Certainly 'What Just Happened?' started in Ask, but that was when MiscChat was dead.

Boring and Banal was moved. I don't know if it was in direct response though.

Commenting on some points made in an earlier post by Z Phantom:

"Through the advertising this site as recieved from the BBC, we have been attracting the wrong type of people, in my opinion the bbc have been treating us as a chatroom so that is what we are becoming,"

"1. WE ARE NOT A CHATROOM - we are a discusion site, that means if you have a well thought out opinion/point of view/theory then i'd love to read it. i dont have to agree with it, but then you dont have to agree with mine thats where the intelectual discusion starts."

h2g2 is a very big site, and most people have their own individual selection of areas within it. I've always concentrated on Peer Review: more recently, I've been keeping up with the Forum and Science Explained as well. These are serious discussion areas, and, as far as I'm concerned, they're in excellent health. (The Forum did have its own nuisance poster, but that has been dealt with, following the standard complaints procedure.)

What seems to have been disrupted lately are the threads on Ask and Misc Chat which were conversation and chat rather than serious discussion--for those concerned, they were entertaining and interesting chat rather than inane and boring chat, but it still doesn't count as serious discussion. I think it's a bit odd to say that we're becoming just a chat site when that's what a lot of Ask h2g2 has been for years.

In terms of the efforts being made by the italics, they've done a lot lately for the Edited Guide--they've re-opened the University, started and encouraged the whole "Counties of the UK" project; the Update Forum seems to be working well, and Editorial Feedback deals with small changes very efficiently.

So a lot depends on your perspective, and which area is "your" part of h2g2: as an example, I've been a member for more than 4 years, and while I've met EV a couple of times at London meets, I don't think I've ever interacted with him in any threads on site. I can understand that his friends will miss him, but there must be plenty of other researchers like me who've only noticed he's gone because they're trying to work out what all the fuss is about.

Azara

Misc Chat WASN"T dead before LW, and I really wish people who don't post there would stop pushing that inaccurate view

LW has had a wider influence than just Chat, he's also disrupted Ask. When he was on premod (which was extended a number of times) he posted ALOT in Ask and disrupted threads there too.


Blues, I agree that most of the power that LW has is power that is given him by others. But he still does have that power. The fact that you rarely come across his posts is both testament to the places he's not affecting, and testament to you probably not really understanding the chaos he's caused in the places he *is posting in.

And having seen collective reaction in a number of situations here I think any suggestion that the reactors stop is pissing in the wind.


One thing that's becoming more apparent to me is that the people saying the problem is the reaction to LW not LW himself tend to see Ask and Misc Chat as irrelevant or unimportant place on h2g2. There is no way that his behaviour would be tolerated in places like Peer Review or Announcements.

I say again


I like to read chat and ask, although I don't always post, as I don't have much to say


so yes I know how annoying LW is, and I will say again IGNORE HIM, if he spams YIKES HIM, and eventually he will have enough rop to HANG HIMSELF

how many times do I have to keep saying it?

No more times It's good advice Cal - I'll be trying my best to act on it.

But it's also an interesting discussion. Things are being gotten off peoples' chests that need to be.

sorry Trin I didn't mean to come across as harsh, but I am sick of saying it, and then having people say I don't know what I'm on about, or accuse me of lurking (how can you lurk an open thread?) or comparing me to LW himself.

I'm very tired of this. There are better things that I and all the researchers here can be doing with our time IMHO. I think it's a waste to keep harping on about LW especially since he hasn't been here so therefore should've been a time to relax and enjoy, and instead we seem to have a "them versues us" thing going on.

" I think it's a waste to keep harping on about LW especially since he hasn't been here"

I don't think any of us believe it's a coincidence that this has coincided with Wolfden letting us all know he's taking a week's holiday.

B

I didn't mean to put two coincidences in that sentence, but you know what I mean.

B

You're nicked! *grabs cal* go get some rest

You didn't come across as harsh, you came across as fed up, plain and simple - and there's a lot of that about. Me included, these last few days

And I agree about us all having better things to do: it's not as though any of what's going on at the moment is enjoyable.

But helpful - well, maybe: I am starting to see gleams of light round the site - things are being brought out into the open, people are starting to talk to each other in helpful ways, coming up with useful ideas (and not just about LW, but about other matters as well).

I'm sorry to hear anyone's accused you of anything so daft

ohhh trin no one has ever given me a loobrush before


*looks at Jack*


But the boss is right I should get some rest

shoo mr espanol *drags you bodily*

I can't believe Lord Wolfden is away for a week and every thread but one I've read tonight is about him.

He'll be well-chuffed when he returns, all this backlog and all about him!

Makes a change from him posting it himself anyway.

B

Quick take the Jelly Babies before Odo finds them again </>

"Misc Chat WASN"T dead before LW, and I really wish people who don't post there would stop pushing that inaccurate view"

I used to stick my head round the door there every now and again before the eds made an effort to revive it by moving a load of LW's threads, and some other random chat threads there from ask, and there were usually one or two active threads a week I'd call that pretty dead.

I think the timing possibly coincided with the re-organisation of things.
Ask, Misc, Games Room etc were all repromoted and linked to from each other around that time.

Threads were also moved from Ask to Misc on a regular basis by the Italics if suitable, as well as by request.

So one week Misc may have seemed dead but after the re-organisation then Aces and regular users could direct researchers to the appropriate place.

I am not denying that 'chat' threads still appeared in Ask - but the changes contributed to Misc being more well known and used more.