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

Entry: UK DIVORCE INCLUDING THE ROLE OF MEDIATION - A31321720
Author: courteousoptimist - U10815507

I have endeavoured to set out as simply as possible the basic information needed to enter the realm of divorce. By adding a note on mediation I would hope to encourage separating couples to try this method of alternative dispute resolution before rushing to expensive lawyers and harrowing lengthy .ourt processes

This could become a good Entry. The main problem will probably be of duplication.

Closest ground is probably this one: A680843 (though there's also an older and less substantial Edited Entry entitled simply 'Divorce' that's written from a US perspective)

Anyway, take a read of these others and start to think about how you can make yours distinctive and complementary. We'll get second opinions here in PR soon as to whether there's too much overlap as it stands.

Thanks for the reference A68.... I was not overly impressed although it contained good practical steps. A68.... and the refernces to Mediation are a little dated. The law has moved on to cover Civil Partnerships and their dissolution. The section on Mediation is too trunkated and inaccurate to be of help. I could construct a much longer article devoted to Mediation. My wife runs a mediation pratice and I am a trained family and commercial mediator with 6 years experience.
Could you help me get into my current article or is that not possible while in Peer Review? Alternatively I can revamp it in Word and copy and paste when it is felt right to do so. Any more help/advice would be gratefully recieved as a newbie etc.

Editing your Entry is easy. The only trouble is that there are different skins on the site, and the screen configuration is different in each.

Specifically there are 3 skins. The first is called Alabaster, and it's the default one - so you're probably using it. If there's a fish on a bicycle at the top of the page, and things are predominantly white and blue-green, you're in Alabaster. There'll then be a field down the left edge of your Personal Space titled 'My Recent Guide entries' (or similar. I'm going by memory from another skin). You should see your UK Divorce Entry title there and there'll be a hotspot labelled 'edit' alongside. Click on that and change whatever you like.

In you're in one of the other skins, ie Goo (blue and melted-looking) or Brunel (green and black, unless you've changed it, with 'rivets' in the corners of the panels) then tell me which applies and I can give you the equivalent info for that skin.

As I said before, though, it might be a good idea to await further comment here before changing too much. For example, there's a system in h2g2 for updating Edited Guide Entries, for when something happens to make the original one inaccurate. Changes in the law with the coming of civil partnerships will surely be considered a valid reason for an update in this case.

I don't actually know how the updating system works, though. That's a terrible admission for a Scout, but I never claimed to be a good one. You could try asking B'Elana (aka Bel), who I see is your ACE. She's knowledgeable, friendly and diligent.

Very important - the Researcher who contributed the original Entry (John the Gardener = U33262) is still active on the site, so as a courtesy you should contact him and let him know that you've written an Entry and then realised that it covers similar territory to one of his. John is a nice guy, and a very long-standing member of our community.

You can contact John by clicking the U-number link above. This will take you to his Personal Space. If you then scroll down it, you'll find a hotspot in the form of a blue-green round-ended bar that says ‘Discuss this Entry’ on it. (I’m assuming you’re in Alabaster again, note. Also there are lots of similar bars once you get to the Journal area, but you’re looking for the single one above where it says ‘Journal Entries’).

If you click on the ‘Discuss this Entry’ bar, it will open up a text box and from there you already know what to do. The procedure thereafter is the same as posting to a Conversation.

OK? Try it out. And welcome to hootoo!

Pin

(Actually, Pinniped, Brunel is now standard, as far as I know - that's what comes up when you just enter the url without specifying a skin and aren't logged in)

Don't have much to contribute to the entry, sorry.

OK. If the skin is Brunel, there'll be a field near the bottom of your Personal Space (immediately above the 'About Me' area) titled 'My Guide Entries'. It's in yellow text on black. At the side of each of your editable Entries you'll see a pencil icon. Click on that, and edit away. Editing in Brunel is particularly easy because all the main GuideML tags are nicely set out on keys.

When you get to John's PS via the U-number link, look for a similar field slightly higher up titled 'Messages', and click the hotspot 'Leave a Message'. Then proceed as before.

(Thanks Malabarista. You live and learn, though not all that much of either in my case)

( I just got to this site so late that Brunel was already standard)

Another way to edit the entry is to open it and then click "Edit Entry" on the top right. (Blue on white, over the black bar)

If the GuideML buttons aren't working properly, it may be a problem with your browser - they work fine in IE, but not in Opera, for example. Good luck!

Some of the GuideML buttons don't work in Firefox either

Thanks for the helpful info. I've contacted John the Gardener (I think) and will see what developes. I'll take your advice and wait before any final editing if it is worthwhile. In the meantime I'll explore your pointers to editing tools - just in case.
In my article on Defence Lawyers I need to change some stuff from first person to third - but again I suppose its best to wait until the editors(?) have finished commenting.

Thanks pinniped. Have tweeked entry slightly. It was easy once I knew how.
Is it tactless to ask what pinniped means? I know there are strange names out there but wondered what reaction I would get if I asked. If that's taboo please just tell me!
Just noticed in this conversation the title hasn't changed yet. I altered the caps to the more conventional.

Pinnipeds are animals with fins or flippers for feet, like seals or walruses

We live and learn.

Yep. You can do a lot of things in h2g2, and being a seal is one of them.

The Conversation title doesn't change even if you retitle the Entry. It's a 'feature'.

Looks like JtheG didn't write that other Entry then, only sub-edited it. The name of the author isn't shown, which is odd. Maybe a passing Scout can explain?

If the Entry was written by an Elvised Researcher (meaning one who's left the site) then the Update procedure presumably applies?

As you can probably tell, I don't know what I'm talking about...

The author of that Entry was U148580 - a familiar name now reduced to a blank. I only found that out by using my magical Curator's powers.

Yes, of course. At least as noble as Gnomon, and a sight hotter...

Oh, sorry. I was daydreaming. So what do we do now?

It appears that most of Entries we have on divorce are quite nichey, with the exception of A152326 which serves as quite a nice introduction. So I think there is certainly space for another, and I think the best solution would be if this one were to concentrate on mediation alone - perhaps with a short, general intro. The problem is that the first half repeats a lot of information in A680843. If there are factual errors or small additions to be made to that one, the Curators could take care of them.

<>

The title of this thread won't change unless you physically alter it in the "Post to a conversation" (as I am doing now) and change it, then when you "post message" it will be the new title, and everyone else who clicks reply after that (so long as they click on the changed thread title reply) will keep the new thread subject. Unfortunately the original title will still be as you posted it in posting one on your message centre and everyone else's message centre who is still subscribed.

GB

Thanks for all your help. I will converse with my wife on the mediation point. Dont forget Civil partnerships need to be mentioned if the original is updated and there should be a greater emphasis on Mediation as it is a growing feature of separating partners - married, civil partnership or simply cohab. these days.
Do I prepare another Entry for Peer Review or add a section for the original Entry you wish to update/modify?

Just edit the entry here. When you've made your changes, shout up and we'll have another look.

If you want to make any suggestion to another entry, let us know here and we'll point you in the right direction

I have added quite a bit more on mediation but left the first part on the divorce process so people have both concepts together. If you want to extract the mediation part alone it should now be easy to cut and paste as a whole. Dont know what to do next (if anything)!