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

I think this is a good idea... although as voluntary users, we have no rights at all... but then again the beeb should want to keep people here so its a fine balance....

*bookmark*

Excellent, Colonel. Between this and Telephone Sanitizers, I think something really good will happen. I haven't any suggestions yet, but I'm off to read some backlogs...

Actually, we do have rights - The Human Rights Act has been used against the BBC in the past. Not sure of the details, but it was in the Sunday Times, so... I reckon all official reprimands should be given by 'The h2g2 moderation team' - the same ones who send us emails. That'd remove a lot of the perceived 'personality' that can get involved, and make it all a bit more formal. I mentioned this in a thread here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F55683?thread=129409

Groovy... Everything seems to be falling right into place! Rob's Telephone Sanitizers scheme fits right in with your Magna Carta; I really like the idea of having a panel of volunteers to dispense punishments, bans, and reprimands. This is what we've been needing all along!

Now let's see what the big bananas do with all these great ideas...

Seems fair enough to me, and to judge from some of the threads over the past few weeks, necessary as well.

The general sentiments seem decent enough. The arbitration system sounds like a workable way of lessening the likelihood of any more sordid suspensions. For now I'll just grunt approvingly and leave a bookmark, so I remember to come back and read into this in more depth when I've got the time...

I thought this might interest people here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A610390

I'm making an unofficial guide to the house rules - collecting together all the rulings and such that have been made, and trying to give my interpretation of why decisions are made and on what basis. It's massively incomplete, but I hope to expand it over the next few days, to cover most things.

Clear rules, clear punishments - something of a utopian dream, eh?

Wow, you've been pretty thorough! Should there be some notes on 'methods of critique in Peer Review?' It looks good to me - I'm eager to see the finished product.

Lentilla

Thanks!

I don't think critique in Peer Review is part of the house rules, really, though it's difficult to say. I'll add some stuff on 'appropriateness' under flames and trolls, though, to respect local rules and customs, which kind of includes this.

I don't think it'll ever be finished though - I'll just add stuff as it comes up, and remove stuff as it is clarified in the official house rules. Once I have the entry up for stuff so far, maintenance should be pretty simple. I hope!

Could anybody please convince me that we have any more rights than a guest has when visiting a friend? House rules aren't overly specific anywhere, just in order to leave room for interpretation.

If my own house rules (provided they were written down) don't exclude some action x and upon first encounter of said action x I find it doesn't meet my taste, what am I supposed to do?

Bossel: We don't have any rights, and that's a shame. The relationship of H2G2 to its users should more rightly resemble that between employers and employees. We provide content to the Guide, free of charge. Many of us provide in other ways, as well (just as you do). We're not asking to be paid for it, we're just asking to be respected. Employees have rights. The Arbiters would function as our trade union.

Leaving room for interpretation? Why is it a good thing that the current Terms & Conditions leave so much room for interpretation that you could be banned for the above posting? After all, *everything* is offensive to *somebody*.

hey, I'm not saying that it's good to have unspecific house rules - as the owner of the house yes, as the guest I'd like to know precisely where the limits are. Problem is that we're only the guests here, and this closes the loop

Bossel - the BBC has been prosecuted under the Human Rights Act of the UK. They were forced to put a link in to the BNP's website as this was part of the right to free expression of the BNP. Hence we do have at least some rights. Not that they are relevant, because I doubt that anything h2g2 are doing is in contravention of the relevant EU convention. But it's nice to know...

So I guess the International Year of Language is not covered by EU legislation

BNP?

British natinalist party, a bunch a racists basically, isnt it great to have the law protecting the people who really dont deserve it, I have had encounters with at least one meber of that place on a differant site who basically thretant me becase I was moving to israil (well actully I have moved) to live with a jewish women

There does seem to eb something intrinsicly wrong with a law that protects the BNP, but then... if we discriminated against racists then we would be just like them.

Israel - nice country, been a couple of times... Although I dont know if I would go there right at this point in time...

Why not??
like most things the news has got it ompleatly out of proportain, I mean most people would baleve that there are bombs goin off evry other minet and that most of the people are walking round with weopons or somthing, it isnt that bad, it is no worse than dublin is even when the pece prosess hadent colapsed there was still beatins and other such things going on.

I wouldnt want to go there either

I try to avoid political unrest anywhere, even if the risks are small

Like that tragic story just recently of the Jewish couple that was visiting Israel with their daughter. The daughter was killed while in a pizza parlor; the opposition decided to bomb it. Sure, the odds are small of being hurt - but I'd rather not chance it.