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

If you do not like the Editorial decisions, if you think they have it wrong why not complain

The BBC has a well established official complaints system which IF you are right and the ED's wrong would get results unlike this petition.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/bbc/complaints.shtml

Peta spelled out exactly where we should mail the petitions to, and Mark Moxon took the time to correct the address on the petition page. I took her at her word when Peta wrote, "I'm totally up for being supplied with the tools for change."

Why would a standard BBC complaint form be *more* effective than a list of supporters of the pre-BBC rules, in the hands of the people who crafted and enforced and constantly hint that they would prefer the pre-BBC rules?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/bbc/complaints.shtml
The above page says, "The PCU will investigate your complaint if it is about a licence-funded public service in the UK and suggests a specific and serious breach in programme standards as set out in the BBC Producers' Guidelines."

The restrictions we're complaining about in the Petition are problems established by the Producers' Guidelines, not *breaches* of the Producers' Guidelines.

"If the complaint fulfils these conditions the PCU investigates it impartially and recommends appropriate redress. If you are unhappy with its findings you can appeal to the BBC Governors. If the complaint falls outside the PCU's remit (or covers subjects such as policy, schedule changes, technical standards or issues of personal preference) the PCU asks the relevant area of the BBC to respond."

The complaints outlined in the petition do not meet those conditions, so the PCU will just forward it to "the relevant area of the BBC" -- either the h2g2 Staff or Ashley Highfield, Director New Media. So it turns out that we were already sending the petitions to the right place anyway.

but were you apealing to the govenors

As you wern't following established proceeda, I guess not ...

Please Note, I'm not suggesting you should complain - It just stikes me that if you thought you had a leg to stand on you would of done something positive about the situation and not just set up a page where every one can have an ignorred (by the powers that be) whinge.

This must be the slow class.

Established proceeda [sic] is to send complaints by snail-mail to the address in the petition. This proceeda [sic] was established when we created the petition and asked the Italics how and where they'd like us to send petitions, and they were very helpful about it.

No, we aren't appealing to the governors. That's because to appeal to the governors we'd need to first make a complaint to the PCU that fulfills the appropriate conditions. Our complaint does not fulfill those conditions, as Subcomm has already pointed out, and you apparently failed to understand.

I'm dying to hear what brilliant idea you have of something 'positive' to do about the situation, if a petition doesn't meet your criteria of 'positive'. C'mon - don't keep your ideas secret - share them with the rest of the class!


-Xanthia

I'm not the one wiv the problem - if ya need a briliant idea your on your own. I'd just thought I'd do the public service bit and make sure you were aware of all the options available to you.

It's ironic. Presumably people who signed this petition have disagreements with the restrictions that BBC imposed on h2g2, but we have shown trust in Mark and Peta by bothering to sign and mail these things to them, in the hopes they'll do something about it.

HappyDude is Happy with the restrictions, but thinks Mark and Peta will only ignore complaints, in spite of their reassurances to the contrary, and that we'll only have a positive effect if we go over their heads to the governors!

Meanwhile, I don't know if any petitioners have independently contacted the governors, but I recall someone saying they had emailed Ashley Highfield (Director New Media) because they disagree with the restrictions. I don't recall hearing that there had been any response.