Reading the Guide
Created | Updated Jun 28, 2020

Reading the h2g2 Guide is a fantastic experience: nowhere else on the Internet will you find such a huge array of subjects covered in such a variety of ways. The h2g2 Guide is growing bigger and better every day, and every working day we add new entries to the Edited Guide1, so you'll always find something to entertain, educate and inform.
Here are just a few ways in which you can explore the h2g2 Guide - simply click on one of the following links:
- New Entries
- The Latest University Project
- The h2g2 Post
- The UnderGuide
- Searching the Guide
- Browsing the Guide
- How to Find Help
- Interesting h2g2 Links
New Entries
To keep in touch with the latest additions to the Edited Guide, keep your eyes on the following pages:
Front Page
Each working day, new entries enter the Edited Guide. If you missed a day, you can catch up by checking out the last Month of h2g2 entries.
University Projects
The h2g2 University sets no coursework, and there are no lectures to attend. It's a place where h2g2 Researchers can go that little bit deeper in their writing, collating projects on a variety of subjects.
The University is divided up into a number of faculties to help you focus on the area of research you're interested in. This way you'll be able to meet other Researchers who might know something about your particular area of research and can offer a little help, guidance or encouragement. You can also help other Researchers compile their projects, either by collaborating with them or by offering constructive feedback and criticism.
The University of Life currently includes the following Faculties:
The h2g2 Post
Hot off the press every Monday (early edition appears sometime Sunday), check out h2g2's very own
newspaper, The Post
It's written by the Community, for the world at large, and contains
photography, videos, features, stories, cartoons, and the occasional poem the Editor has been strong-armed into including. It's also the
best place to find out what's happening behind the scenes on h2g2, and to read Editorial rants.
The Post is run by Dmitri Gheorgheni under the banner of The Post Team, who is always pleased to welcome
contributors new and old - just use the email provided or leave a message. An extensive archive of previous publications can be accessed from the Back Issue Page. Why not browse through the Post Archive Pages to catch up with your favourite Post contributor - or discover a new one?
The UnderGuide
The UnderGuide (which had roots in the AGG/GAG) was once the Edited Guide's little cousin in that it promoted alternative writing - be it prose, poetry or just something that doesn't quite follow the writing guidelines. UnderGuide Miners and Gem Polishers worked diligently unearthing writing from the Alternative Writing Workshop to see light of day on the Front Page. There is a large archive of past literary gems discovered by the UnderGuide team, why not take a look? [And if you have creative writing to share, why not send it to the h2g2 Post?]
Searching the Guide
If you have something specific you'd like to look up in the Guide, then there are lots of ways to do it.
Normal Search - You can search the Guide at any time by entering your search terms in the search box at the top of every page, and pressing Return. This will search the whole Guide for you - both the Edited and the non-Edited Guide - and will show the results with the best matches at the top.
Advanced Search - If you click on the Advanced Search link next to the search button then you can choose which areas of the Guide to search (such as just the Edited Guide, and so on).
Searching for Friends - If you have a friend who's registered as an h2g2 Researcher, then you can use the Advanced Search to look for them. Simply enter their real name or h2g2 nickname, and the search engine will do the rest.
Browsing the Guide
We've categorised the whole Edited Guide in our own special categorisation system: we've split the sum knowledge of mankind into Life, the Universe and Everything. These three categories cover the whole spectrum of the Guide like this:
Life - This is where you can find entries about living, things like Food & Drink, Human Behaviour, Humour and Music.
The Universe - Search the whole universe, from Travel through to North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and more.
Everything - This is where everything else lives, such as Languages & Linguistics, Science & Technology, History & Politics, Cultures, Etiquette, Mythology & Folklore and All About h2g2.
How to Find Help
Take the h2g2 Tour for an introduction to h2g2, or find all the answers with the h2g2 FAQ.
Interesting h2g2 Links
Here's a selection of other interesting areas of the Guide that you might like to explore:
- Check out the New Researchers who've recently joined h2g2... why not say hello?
- Meet the h2g2 Team and the h2g2 Volunteers.
- Check out some interesting h2g2 Statistics.