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

A37788952

GB


*ever hopeful*

Good reminder. I have one entry in PR.

Hmmmm - one in PR and one coming up, I think.

Very timely, actually, because I've been thinking about this group. I don't think it serves any useful purpose at all.

The basic premise was that we'd get occasional writers and reviewers involved regularly. That hasn't happened at all. A lot of people signed up, then gave up. Most of the people who are active were writing regularly before I started the group. So what have we actually achieved? Perhaps a few more Entries got written in the first couple of months, but in the long term there has been no discernible impact on the EG, or the Front Page, whatsoever. I don't even see any more people joining the volunteer schemes, and the EGWW is still an unloved backwater.

There is probably a place on h2g2 for writers to come together in a more inspirational way; to share ideas, encourage one another and give new writers some tips. A1355195 used to do that very well, I think. But this idea has pretty much run its course, and I'm moved to shut the idea down.

Any dissenters? Anyone see anything useful in this group that I'm missing?

*raises hand*

Before I came here I'd only ever written one solo entry - that's become a lot more, and I've also joined the Community Artists and Subeditors...

Hi all
I was never involved in this group. It seemed like a noble idea, something that would probably do no harm, but I didn't think it would make a big, positive difference either.

I'd like to see a group which is formed on the basis of helping or encouraging other researchers to write excellent, high quality entries, rather than something which focuses more on the number of entries. I'm not sure what that would look like yet, but I'd be happy to get involved in something like that.

That sounds a bit like what the scouts are supposed to be doing for the EG, and the -what's the name - miners? for the UG, no?

That's wonderful to hear, Mal, but unfortunately I think you're probably the only one. If you look at the other members (sorry, I missed you signing up ) you'll see that almost everyone on the list would have either been writing anyway or has lapsed. I'd count myself in the latter group, even though I've done more that it appears when you consider the Uni project that's about to go in.

The only time I've really felt this group was helping me was when I got that bout of writers' block, and a good chat helped me to overcome it. I could have talked about that in a journal, though, and a less formal group concentrating on how to write well would have inspired me more.

If anyone cares enough to want to take over this page, I'm quite happy to hand over the keys, but, as I said, I don't think it's served its intended purpose.

I think I'd get a lot out of something like that, J.

"That sounds a bit like what the scouts are supposed to be doing for the EG, and the -what's the name - miners? for the UG, no?"

Someone better tell the scouts! Leaving aside the issue of the UnderGuide, the role of scouts is really only officially in Peer Review and it always has been. If we've been expecting them to encourage their fellow writers and to help them put the entry together (which is a separate thing from what PR actually does, which is critiquing a finished, or nearly-finished entry) then no wonder we're having problems in the EG.

A writing group sounds good to me, but like I said, I'm not sure what it would look like yet.

I guess you could put it up for discussion in the scouts group, Jordan. I think there are not enough active scouts. The few we have are busy enough with PR as it is. I try to help in the EGWW, but I'm often just very tied up with other voluntary work here, which, to be honest, currently gives me far more than EG related things.

I'm not on the scout's group, so I couldn't do that. I'm not a scout anymore, the red badge notwithstanding. Wouldn't want to involve the scouts, or any volunteer groups, in a writing group anyways. In fact, if I was starting a writing group on h2g2, the very last thing I would do would be to bring in the scouts en masse.