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

This is long. Sorry but I wanted to have a good think about all the questions and I don't do long posts very often.

'What would make more people write for the Edited Guide?'

Hmm. It does get flagged up a lot and there were good pieces on it in The Post recently. It does get a lot of plugging and it's hard to see how you could advertise it more,short of dropping into people's Personal Spaces (in case they never go anywhere else!).

People say that PR is scary but I've never found that and I was new last year. I think it's only 'difficult' if people don't read up on it before they post to it. As I've said elsewhere today, having more intros and rules wouldn't help those people as they'd still ignore them.

You'll always have people on hootoo who aren't involved with PR, that's life. I do feel slightly sad when I see more long term hootooers saying they feel PR is too threatening and wouldn't join in - hopefully they aren't just listening to rumours as I really don't feel it merits this current thinking. As a Scout I find it sad and try my best to be balanced and friendly at all times, taking into account the newness of the poster.

'What do you think should or shouldn't be on the h2g2 front page? Do you think the front page represents h2g2 as a whole?'

I think there should be a permanent link to The Post and Peer Review and occasional links to the many clubs (on a rolling programme).

Personally I don't really use the 'recently updated' list and only occasionally look at the '5 most busiest convos' (when I'm lonely and need to find Someone to talk to!)

'What does h2g2 mean to you? Which areas form the most important parts of your h2g2 experience?'

H2G2 gives me the chance to feel a part of a huge online project, have my writing seen and commented on by others and to meet a wide range of people and form online friendships.

The important areas for me are the journals of friends, the journals of people I find interesting but daren't talk to so lurk about in, Peer Review, The Post, The Forum.

'Where do you spend most of your time on the site?'

Friends' Journals, Peer Review, Ask, Aceing newbies, The Forum

I used to frequent a couple of the more chatty places (pubs etc) but despite my best efforts found them too cliquey and left. People do tend to skip over the posts of people they don't know in order to talk to their pals, many of whom they've met in RL or are talking to offsite via email etc. It's a shame but I've got over it and find that people in the debate/review threads do read and respond to all posters much more.

'How can we improve our existing forums?'

I think they work well, it's always good to see them flagged up on the Front Page and the new SEx seems to be very popular (and useful).

'How can we best plug the gaps in the Guide?'

Erm, this is tricky as you have to know what they are first. Maybe a plug for PR could mention a few topics to nudge people into thinking about Entries, ie 'why not write something about where you live, your favourite hobby, your professional specialism', making sure to remind people to check what's already there and read the guidelines.



There you are, then. I know this contains more comments than new ideas but hopefully it has given you a feel for what one particular hootooer thinks, around 16 months into her hootooship.

The odd thing is that I didn't come here to write Entries, which I now feel is one of my important areas here, I arrived due to a link from a page about DNA (dunno what that was now)and liked the fact that I could write an Entry and have it accepted The rest grew from there. Others perhaps have no interest in creating Entries and that's personal and fair too

Jules

Funny you mention that, because I didn't come here to write entries either. I came after I read about h2g2 in the Salmon of Doubt - I was figuring that anything DNA-inspired would probably be pretty cool. I stayed on because I, too, liked the idea of getting an entry accepted and 'published', so I carefully read all the documentation before I did anything - and before long I was hooked by Sub-editorship, still my favourite of my volunteer positions.

It was only later that I got somewhat involved in the community, an involvement I've had to cut down on, since I don't have enough time to devote to everything here. But I've always loved the way that this community allows me, as a teenager, to talk to adults normally without that awkward social barrier that one encounters when trying to do that face to face, because I'm shorter than they are, clumsy and have acne.

Eurgh. That's the last time I talk to you, EMR...



Paully

It's OK, EMR. He's chubby and wears glasses.

B

Oi, you! What's wrong with being chubby and wearing glasses then?

Don't wear glasses any more - I got zapped a couple of weeks back. Now if I can just win the lottery and get all of the spare poundage hoovered out...

P

Eurr...and you think acne is digusting?

B

Well I guess having an italic going off-topic and bantering in yer thread is better than being ignored

When's the last time anyone met an italic who could actually restrain themselves from wandering off-topic

Well Natalie does a good job by not actually posting very much....

B

OI!

You're just saying that to try and get her to respond. I've warned Nat not to rise to your transparent ploy!

P

Er...too late, I think.

B

Oh BEHAVE, you euphemism-happy scampster.

Best topic drift I've seen all week!

No point mentioning I'd probably be a 'large', then,