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

...when I read the books, I got the impression that an entry in the Earth Edition of the Guide would look something like this:

UPPER OUTER NIMRODIA

Don’t go there – it’s a wasteland. In fact, don't even bother with the whole planet. The native species is ugly, noisy and tastes bad, even after cookin' 'em for several hours.

>I think so too.<

>>Aw, yer nuts. Heres what you do:
(incredibly involved recipe for Stewed Human follows)<<

>>>!!!! &#61550;&#61539;#&&#61545;&&&#61553;&#61472;&#61549;~~&#61542;&#61472;
&#61552;&#61472;&#61554;*!^)%&#61547;&#61543;*!&#61553;&#61472;&#61547;
###&#61550;&#61472;@@@*!!** !!!! <<<

>>Oh yeah?<<

>>>>Hey, duz ennybody no how 2 fix ther starboard ailertooter?? Mine be busted.<<<<

>>>&#61529;@+!. <<<

>>...and the ship you rode in on!... <<




On a serious note, I don't get too upset about newbies imitating Douglas Adams' style or about others trying to carry out his 'vision'. It takes a while to get the hang of this place, and most new writers don't have style of their own and learn by imitation. As for the 'vision', we probably each have our own ideas of what that is (see nonsense above ) and we won't agree. But I view the attempt as an expression of respect and admiration for a man who left us much too soon.

Way too , huh?

Traveller in Time roosting a ford perfectly brown on the grill
"Well, I do not argue about the taste, but I have the idea it is even a good thing some are sparked by the imagination of this illustre man.

And more as the mentioned < <./>/cult/hitchhikers/</.> > site is to be redundant .

Perhaps there is a nyce in the categorisation for these kind of entries. As we have seen on the < <./>/radio4/hitchhikers/</.> > site after the tertiary phase went on air, the 'Earth in exactly 264 words' is a challenging and popular topic. "

DNA's style is so unlike everybody elses, surly the best was of writing in his style is writing in your own !?"!@@%^

I guess being a Scout and hanging around in PR all the time just makes one cynical. That and the fact that no one reads the writing guidelines. It especially mentions therein that we're not just here to imitate DNA's writing. There are other places for that. I read the bloody guidelines when I came here, it seems like other people could too.

But again, maybe I'm just overly cynical.

Maybe not cynical, just tired of having the same discussion over and over with an ever-changing cast of characters? Peer Review seems to lend itself to that sort of thing, probably because there are guidellines that need to be followed (unlike at or other places on h2g2 where we can be a bit more freewheeling).

Precisely.