Random Ramblings
Created | Updated Nov 19, 2008
Flying through the air
side by side we dip bend and climb
[...]
you'll see that they'll wish they were you
right along here with me, you and me.
Now flying through the air isn't exactly what the Aviators do, or plan to do. It is all about creating Audio-visual content to accompany Edited Guide Entries as well as entries in The Post or UnderGuide. But the group is currently trying to get it 'off the ground', so it has seen quite some activity and changes recently, and where better to let the community know than in the Post.
First thing on Rich's list was a roll call with the result of a smaller group now, as quite a few members felt they didn't have the time to contribute in any way and left. However, we got 'fresh blood' the other day in the form of Beatrice.
The latest1 project is to 'syndicate' the Aviators. This means that we (ie the h2g2 Aviators) sign up to websites where we can host video clips and upload the clips we already have. So now I've never done this before, but I spontaneously decided to give it a go, and I had a few websites in mind where I had read or seen that private videos could be uploaded. Easier said than done. The first hurdle was the email address Rich had set up for the purpose: it wouldn't let me change the password. I tried again the next morning, and it worked immediately. Next problem was, that although I was able to download the clips in Internet Explorer, I had no option to say where I wanted them to be saved. A box popped up and started the download (which is something that I hate!), and then I wasn't able to locate where the PC had stored them. Running a search only resulted in my PC crashing, rebooting itself and my desktop gone.
Now I am not one to admit defeat that easily, especially since I had promised to do this. Fortunately, I remembered that Mozilla Firefox works differently, so I tried that - and I could tell which folder to save the downloads in. Success! On to creating an account. I chose a German website because I thought it would be easier to understand what to do if it was explained in my mother tongue. Oh my, all the things they wanted to know. Age, gender, home address... But once I had filled in all the forms, I could get started. Uploading the clips was surprisingly easy, putting a description wasn't. In the end, I decided to translate the Aviator bit into German, seeing as it's a purely German website. I have no idea how many members there are. The average number of users online seems to be about 4,000, but the clips proved to be quite successful right from the start with the Beeblecast being the most successful, having more than 550 views within the next 12 hours.
The other website I signed up for hasn't been successful so far as far as views are concerned. However, I had two people leaving messages, one just saying hello, another one inviting me to see his relaxing films. 
I'm not sure what sort of site that is, to be honest, I found the link on the first website I had signed up for and decided to give it a go. Seems there have more people viewed my 'profile' than have watched the clips. Meanwhile, TRiG has started uploading the clips to an English website. It is a slow process but will hopefully bring h2g2 some more publicity. So if you know about a (non-dodgy) website where we can host our Aviator videos for free, or if you are interested in contributing, please let us know below!
Apologies if this is a bit Aviator-centric, but I tend to ramble on and on if something is important to me. It had the advantage that I had something to write about in the first place, because hootoo has been remarkably quiet - either that, or I was too preoccupied with work, family, Aviating, writing and Post editing (not to forget chatting with my friends) to notice. We still don't have the promised new smileys, but we have a few new bugs in their place. You probably remember that a few Personal Spaces mysteriously vanished, telling all and sundry that their owner was under premoderation. This happened at random, but usually after people had edited their PS. Poor TRiG was hit by a mutated bug which not only hid his PS (the Eds re-installed it fairly quickly), but his complete message centre was gone. Not only had all conversations vanished, but it was even impossible to leave a new message for him. It took a few weeks until that was fixed. The latest bug seems related: it looks as if it removes people's volunteers badges2 and/or authors from their Edited Guide Entries. It makes me wonder what will happen next. If you can imagine, please post your suggestions below.
