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

Mark me down for boxers.

Black cotton M&S high-legs, zoomer.

And my cats are about to go on a serious diet - new and very expensive diet food for them this month!


az

Is it warm in here? (Don't even start, Anhaga!)

I wish your cats well, I have a close friend with a very sickly cat that needs expensive food.

In order to stop a total topic drift, I would like to say here as I said elsewhere that the *Ask* moves are a good idea, well done and difficult decisions.

Have a nice day (or evening ATCMB) all.

Well, one suggestion I'd like to make is that on the newly revamped Games and Misc Chat forums that the italics remove the bit that says "BY the way, if your conversation has been moved to here, please don't consider it an insult"

This, to me, assumes that people might be insulted and - perhaps - might even give people a reason to feel insulted? Why should a move be insulting?

The changes are all about having certain threads 'belong' in places where they are most fitting. A chat thread is not something *less* than a 'serious debate thread' - they are just different types of threads. All are equally valid for their own particular, um, 'market'?

I'm not big on games myself, but I can see myself checking into the Misc Chat space from time to time to see what sort of silliness is going on there, much like I used to check in on Ask (I've never subscribed to Ask simply because of the massive amount of stuff there that I have no interest in). So I'd check in on Misc Chat to see if there was something lighthearted I wanted to partake of.

Ask the h2g2 community is its own thing - asking other researchers about something or other, wanting some opinions, some answers. I doubt we'll ever be totally rid of 'what underwear are you wearing now?' type threads there, but they are becoming less frequent. And I think once researchers become more aware of the Misc Chat option - that it is really the best place for light and silly stuff - that it will eventually work itself out.


az

Ok, Paully has indicated in Feedback that they're ready for more threads to move. So shall we try and do the choosing here?

Here's a list from Ask of the threads I am nominating to be moved. I've read the first post and scanned the first and last pages of these threads. Any that get seconded *and don't get an objection I'll post on the Feedback thread to be shifted.


5 Personal Questions F19585?thread=650020

Where are you going this afternoon? F19585?thread=640877

What are you eating for your evening meal? F19585?thread=638577

What is your hair doing at the moment? F19585?thread=652635

How long can these Researchers talk in the third person? F19585?thread=428555

What did you eat for Breakfast today? F19585?thread=640777

what did you have for lunch today? F19585?thread=548687

What is/are your pet or pets doing at the moment? F19585?thread=652908

What shaped glasses has the nearest bearded bloke to you got on? F19585?thread=668743

What tune do you have stuck in your head right now? F19585?thread=400405


Incidentally most of these are threads that have been resurrected from the backlog. They're from the first 100 threads (none are from the first 25). Nothing too controversial in terms of shifting.

Sorry, I'll repost the list:


5 Personal Questions F19585?thread=650020

Where are you going this afternoon? F19585?thread=640877

What are you eating for your evening meal? F19585?thread=638577

What is your hair doing at the moment? F19585?thread=652635

How long can these Researchers talk in the third person? F19585?thread=428555

What did you eat for Breakfast today? F19585?thread=640777

what did you have for lunch today? F19585?thread=548687

What is/are your pet or pets doing at the moment? F19585?thread=652908

What shaped glasses has the nearest bearded bloke to you got on? F19585?thread=668743

What tune do you have stuck in your head right now? F19585?thread=400405

Seconded. All of them.


az

They all seem to be questions, although the one about talking in the third person seems to be a game, so I'll second that one to move to Games.

The others are questions, and I don't think they should be moved.

I think personally despite the fact that they are framed as questions. The nature of the thread type means IMO they ought to be in misc-chat.

The threads are about having a silly chat not trying to find the answer to a question see

In that case, these should also be moved. Despite the fact that they are around 4 years old, they aren't about trying to get a question answered. They are just chat.

(The Return of) What book are you reading at this time?
The Return of "What Music Are You Listening To At This Precise Moment?

Ask h2g2 has traditionally been used for this sort of thing since it started - both of these threads were started because the pre-BBC threads were awaiting moderation. I don't see why all of a sudden we've got the Ask h2g2 police coming along and changing 5/6 years of history because *they* don't like it.

As I recall, Mina, awhile back you objected when people on the Forum suggested that the occasional 'silly question' thread started there be moved to Ask.

The 'silly question' thread links that kea posted here seem quite active and so they will always tend to appear on the first few pages of Ask. And lordWolfden, the begatter of many of them, has already said he doesn't mind them being moved to Misc Chat so I don't see any problems there.

It isn't a case of people becoming 'Ask h2g2 police' as it will ultimately be the italics decision to move a thread. What we are doing here is suggesting some moves and having them seconded and then putting forth these suggestions to the italics. And, as has already be seen, the person who started a thread can disagree with the decision and have the thread moved back.

It really seems more a question of appropriateness, that light chat and games threads be put where people looking for that sort of thing can easily find them. And that Ask h2g2 be used for genuine questions to the community.

I second your motion to have the 'What book...' and 'What music...' threads moved to Misc Chat. I do think it's unfortunate that some people having threads moved might consider it as some sort of 'demotion', especially as the new Talk Forum list on the front page now makes Ask, Misc Chat and Games equally accessible.


az

I think the time is ripe for a revival of the Blu-tak thread.

B

az

"As I recall, Mina, awhile back you objected when people on the Forum suggested that the occasional 'silly question' thread started there be moved to Ask."

What I objected to wasn't the move of a specific thread, but the suggestion that if something wasn't 'good enough' for the Forum, it should be dumped on Ask h2g2 without putting any thought into whether it belonged there.

I still think that if it's a question, no matter how trivial some people think it is, it belongs in 'Ask the h2g2 Community'. It's not called 'Ask the h2g2 Community if they think this thread deerves to be here'.

That suggests that you think a move to MiscChat is a demotion though, rather than finding an appropriate audience. Those question threads (many recent ones started by the same researcher) are really about chatting. If miscChat is revitalised (saw it in the busiest convos list the other day) then those sorts of threads could expect the best response there.

Interestingly, LW has requested the move to MiscChat in a few of the threads but I doubt that the italics are reading them so won't see the requests...

Misc Chat is for chat that doesn't 'match' anything else, that's why it's Misc. I don't think it's a demotion to be moved there, I think it's wrong to move questions out of the question area of the site.

Ideally I'd move anything that was out of place where it had been posted to an EG entry, so that we start getting more activity on those, but that's going to take up too much time.

As I'm probably the one who's going to do the moves, this is how I see it:

If someone is asking for help or information, polling opinions or raising topics for debate, then I'll be looking towards <./>AskH2G2</.>

If someone asks a question that's more aimless - what are you doing right now, what colour socks do you have on - then I'd be thinking of <./>MiscChat</.>. The exception is things like 'What book are you reading?' as, to my mind, that looks more like a request for recommendations. As Mina pointed out, it's Miscellaneous if it doesn't fit elsewhere - if it's not really a game and doesn't have a clear aim, it's miscellaneous.

If someone asks a question that's geared towards *sequential* replies - 'Can we create conversations one word at a time?' 'Answer the question of the person above you' - then that's probably a game, so it goes to the <./>GamesRoom</.>


If the people in the conversation disagree, then they can *politely* request to be moved elsewhere. We don't think in terms of promotion or demotion - it's just a move. Anyone ranting or making demands will probably find themselves ignored.

Jimster. That's very clear.

Agreed , very clear and simple.
I like it Jimster

Jimster, not sure if you already took that list but I'll post it in the Feedback thread just in case:

Ask, Misc Chat, Thread moves etc.

F615?thread=669114?thread=&post=7409686