Aces' Home Page | Why be an Ace? | What do the Aces do? | Aces' Code of Conduct | Volunteer to be an Ace

Here's a quick introduction to the Aces scheme. It summarises the advantages of being a Ace, what we get out of the scheme, and finishes off with details of the Aces' mailing list.

What You Get Out of Being an h2g2 Ace

We sincerely hope that you get as much out of being a Ace as the other Aces do. Always bear in mind that you should be doing the work of a Ace because you want to: we very much hope that you enjoy being one, but we will never question you if you decide that it isn't really for you. Just let us know if you change your mind, or would prefer to join one of our other volunteer schemes instead.

That said, there are lots of benefits of being a Ace. Here are the main ones:

• You get direct access to the in-house team, who will provide their community and editorial expertise for free. Feel free to use it.

• You get access to the Aces' mailing list (see below).

• We're constantly developing future versions of h2g2, and every time a new release goes up on our test site, we will let you know via the mailing list, so you can play with and comment on what we're adding to the site. We do take volunteers' comments very seriously, so this is a real opportunity to influence what happens on h2g2.

• You get a Ace badge on your Personal Space, and get listed in the Aces drop-down list (an example is on the Aces' Home Page).

• You get a considerable amount of kudos within the h2g2 Community.

What We Get Out of You Being an h2g2 Ace

In short, we need the Aces to grow the Community, and to help maintain and enhance the exceptionally friendly atmosphere that pervades the site as a whole.

The relationship between h2g2 and our volunteers is definitely two-way: the site couldn't exist in its current form without them, and the Aces are absolutely key to the continuing success of the Community. One of the most important aspects of h2g2 is that it is 'sticky' - people come to visit and end up staying for quite a while - and the Aces are a vital part of that process.

As well as having the undoubted benefit of a team who are helping us to grow the Community, we also get to discuss our development ideas with you before they become reality. Often we've changed an idea because, after debate with the volunteers, we've realised that things would be better if done differently.

The Aces' Mailing List

The Aces and internal staff currently communicate private material via a private mailing list, to which all Aces are subscribed.

This is a private mailing list and is available to invited members only, so you can be perfectly candid here. Indeed, that's the point: it's for discussions about onsite issues that might be too sensitive for a public forum, and for announcements about new versions of the test site and suggested changes to the scheme. General Ace conversations, though, should be conducted on the Aces' Home Page, so please don't immediately jump onto the mailing list and start filling it up with lots of friendly greeting messages - please do that on h2g2.

That said, any questions can be fired at the mailing list, and you'll find the other Aces very happy to help you out. We like to let discussions develop before diving in with any official standpoint, as you are very much involved in the development of the site and the scheme, and discussion aids that. It's also a lot of fun.

When we subscribe you to the mailing list you receive an email detailing the URL and the various ways of accessing the mailing list. It's worth having a quick tour round the site, if only to discover who the other members of the list are.