Volunteer to be a Sub-editor
Created | Updated Oct 28, 2005
Sub-editors' Home Page | Why be a Sub-editor? | What do the Sub-editors do? | Sub-editors' Code of Conduct | Volunteer to be a Sub-editor
If your heart skips a beat when you hone prose into a polished gem, then you're probably the kind of person who will get a lot out of the Sub-editors' scheme. Don't be put off if you haven't got much experience of this sort of thing - it would be great to hear from you anyway. Many of our current Subs didn't have any experience to begin with, and they do a corking job. However, do remember that going through a batch of entries does take up some of your free time (not too much, we ask our volunteer Subs to edit a minimum of just two entries a month).
How to Join the Sub-editors
Does this sound like the kind of scheme that you would be interested in joining? If you'd like to join this volunteer scheme, you can apply by starting a new Conversation below. Please give us details of your h2g2 Researcher number and your h2g2 nickname in the title so that we can find your details quickly.
Note: Please make sure you've already read the following pages before you volunteer: Why be a Sub-editor?, What do the Sub-editors do? and Sub-editors' Code of Conduct
What You Will Need
There are a number of requirements essential to become a sub-editor. These include:
At least a couple of hours of free time every month.
A good command of the English Language.
Access to a computer of some sort - ie PC or MAC. Sadly, due to the limitations of the editing tools, we currently cannot accept volunteers who only have access through digital cable/satellite boxes (such as Digiboxes) or handheld devices (such as PDAs or mobile phones).
Though not essential, it would be useful for you to have some kind of word processing or text editing software, such as Word, Notepad or UltraEdit.
Please try to keep the threads below free of chatting, otherwise your application might be missed.
Other Schemes
Don't forget that there are five volunteer schemes in total - pick the one that's right for you!
The Scouts run the Peer Review scheme and pick the best entries that come through it, ready for the Sub-editors.
The Sub-editors take the recommended entries from the Scouts and turn them into beautiful, flowing prose, for inclusion in the Edited Guide.
The Aces are the upstanding members of the h2g2 Community, greeting new Researchers, helping to keep everyone happy, and generally being wonderful people.
The Gurus help to run the Feedback areas, answering any questions people might have about h2g2.
The visually creative and marvellously talented Community Artists illustrate entries, design new smileys and generally bring beauty and glamour to h2g2.