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

oops, indeed! You should have received an email with an explanation by now...

I haven't heard a dickybird yet.

This is not at all funny, and someone's in line for an ear-bashing..

you could give them a moment or two, then ask at the moderation helpdesk. 'referred' means that Peta is going to look at it, when she's back in the office tomorrow.

Hi Ploppy

The Bill Hicks entry hasn't been hidden because of the nature of the humour. I'm just checking out the copyright issues here. You've quoted a lot of Bill Hick's material in the entry. There's a possibility that he might not be too pleased about that, it may be copyright material. (As a stand-up comic yourself you may understand some of the issues here.) So I'm just checking this out with our copyright people.

I'll be back as soon as I can with an answer on this. Sorry for the delay, but it's important that I speak to the right people about this one.

Thanks for being patient.

Peta

Peta
Thanks for posting. I'm glad that the problem is copyright, not content. I was preparing myself for a row, but now I can ungird my loins.

These points may help:-
As I understand it, stand-up material can't be copyrighted. The act of performing it puts it into the public domain. Certainly the quotes I've got have come from public domain sources. I can let you know which if it will help.

Secondly, whatever Bill thinks of my posting is a matter of philosophy:- he's been dead seven years.

I stand to be corrected, but I think you'll find that copyight will not be a problem. I understand that you've got to check.

Thanks Ploppy

I'll let you know very soon.

Copyright on books extends for 70 years after the author's death. But I really don't know about performance material. I'll find out!

Back soon

Best wishes

Peta

Hi Ploppy

I wasn't sure if you've seen the page on Intellectual property law, it's here if you want to refer to it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A527267

Okay, I've talked to the copyright legal advisor. Apparently this kind of material is within copyright. We can't publish this amount of his stand-up material. I'm sorry. However, it would be possible to publish a very small number of quotes or jokes in order to demonstrate his style of humour. Three or four maximum, I'm told. It would help if you could also add some kind of explanation to the humour, i.e. Explain the style of humour, for each example, so that you're analysing and reviewing the quotes as well as giving a bio of the man. Sorry, I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but this is apparently the legal necessity.

So Ploppy, I've failed the entry on copyright, but just so that you can edit it. You'll still find the text on your page. (Look at all entries, check the box see more entries, see cancelled entries, and it'll be listed there. You can edit it, and it'll come back onto your entry list) If you have any problems or questions come back to me again.

Please do edit the entry and put it back up again, it's a great entry, even without the Bill Hicks' material.

Best wishes

Peta

Hi Peta

Message received. No hard feelings. I bow to the expertise of the legal advisor, (although I reserve the right to do some research and argue about it later)

I will rewrite and resubmit the article, probably over the next week or so.

Finally, thanks to everyone who posted an opinion on the article.

Thanks Ploppy. You've got a fab attitude.

Thanks

Just a small addition to this... in terms of describing Hicks' style, Brett Butler (a fellow southern standup comedian and star of Grace Under Fire) described Hicks as "a preacher" in a documentary about him made after his death. His style was quite reminiscent of the fire-and-brimstone evangelists the southern states of the US seems to be so good at producing. His material was pretty much diametrically opposed, of course...
Hoping the best stuff stays in...

"Hope the best stuff stays in" - not possible. It's the best stuff that's got to come out

What I've got to do now is explain Bill's humour, rather than just showing it. It'll end up as a much more subjective piece of work, which is what I wanted to avoid. You're right about the preacher thing; and it's an angle I'll be bringing into the rewrite. I just need to make time to write it.

This is Ploppy, signing off.

Ploppy,

As a fellow Hicks fan, I think you can still do a good job of explaining his appeal with even minimal direct use of his material. Ask yourself this: what are you hoping to achieve by writing an entry on Bill Hicks? If someone asked *me* this question, my answer would be: "I'd hope that what I had written would encourage the reader to go and *find* some Bill Hicks stuff, on video, on DVD, on the net or wherever, and hear his voice." If you can write an entry that will get even ONE person who has never heard of Bill Hicks to see him in action, to hear his words, and laugh at his stuff, then that entry will have been a success. I don't think you need to quote a great deal of his work to do this. I think you need to apply the love of his work you obviously have, and your talent. And of course all the quotes I suggested....


I hope however this entry ends up, it gets in. Good luck.

Ok, we have a rewrite. I'm open to suggestions and any kind of comment.
However, please don't ask me to include quotes. I'd love to, but I can't. It's a copyright thing, and I'm already pushing the limits with the quotes I've got.

Right, I'm NOT yikesing the entry - but I'm prepared to bet that someone will over the phrase "suck Satan's c**k". May I respectfully suggest you star out the relevant letters before somebody forces you to?
I hate to have to point this out. But I want this entry up and readable by as many people who've never heard of Hicks as possible.

Consider it done, and thanks

apart from that?

Apart from that... "controversy" has just the one "e".

Apart from *that* - Scouts? Scoooooooouts? Lookie here!

Aw shucks. Gone for moderation again.

I'm looking! I'm looking!

Hmm, doesn't help if it's not my turn to pick entries


Seems to suffer a similar fate to "Confusing Words between English and German", http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A596487 . See the big red letters on top there...


Bossel (Scout)

LOL!
It might come to something like that, if it ever gets approved...

The article now is probably less likely to offend than the previous incarnation, but I guess the copyright's in question again. Which is annoying, because this is an original piece of work with only a few select quotes.

From what I can remember of the updated version, there was still a fairly long quote at one point (memory playing tricks?). Maybe just more cuts?