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

hmm...Big Things...
and i hardly ever use capitals...

^. .^
= ' =
Guru
CommunityArtist

My first thought was there goes 4 out of 6 jobs.
That does not sound good off the top.
I hear about more job losses everyday in the US.
The italics have done a wonderful job and I hope their talents will be put to (paid) use elsewhere. Hopefully they will be offered other positions or go onto better things

It does seem reasonable that more volunteers be enlisted.

I hope this has nothing to do with censorship of this site or in a larger sense with media. We are not an uninformed community here, maybe that is difficult for someone
That would be very distressing.

I will wait to see like everyone else.

*notices it says do not post here*

Call me cynical, but I think this could be good for the site.

Think about it...

At the moment (or until recently) we've got six Italics. Six people, working full time - doing what? Writing entries? Isn't that what the community is for? The BBC shouldn't be paying people to sit around writing little essays about their hobbies. Scouting entries? Isn't that what Scouts are for? Polishing entries? Isn't that what sub-eds are for (and, incidentally, better at, in my experience)? Welcoming and helping new users? Gurus and ACEs? What, at root, are the staff FOR?

Answer: Talking points. Collaborative entry subjects. Editorial Policy. Community Guidelines. Being the person in the Big Chair when a decision needs making. Any other suggestions welcome.

I know there's a sentimental attachment to the wonderful people who've made this site what it is, but is there really full time work for SIX adults doing what we really need staff for at h2g2? I don't think so.

I honestly think that two people - one community, and one editorially focussed - will serve the site better. For one thing, they won't have TIME not to.

And here's the other thing - all those people who won't be on the staff at h2g2 any more. Do you think they're going to forget the place? Or do you think they're going to take the skills they've picked up here, take them and employ them elsewhere, and spread the word about h2g2 to an ever wider audience? I know where my money is.

Call me Pollyanna (but only on weekends...) but this can be a very positive development, if you look at it right.

H.

Note also that this is an h2g2 announcement and not a dna one. The italics have already been seen spending time on other dna sites. It could just be that they think no-one reads announcements other than on h2g2 but I doubt it. With more sites becoming more active and h2g2 being relatively established, the staff are just being redeployed in these other areas as they stated.

It remains to be seen whether they are simply being spread around a bit to spread the dna message or are being spread too thinly. Someone in management has probably already plotted all this on a spread-sheet somewhere.

*bookmarks*

IMHO the outcome of the exercise will be an expansion of DNA Sites rather than a contraction of h2g2. Within BBCi the DNA sites will grow to encompass Life, The Universe and Everything. - A1074962

A550955

Ok.... AACK!!!

Ok... repeat mantra... Don't panic.... Don't panic.... Don't panic....


Ok. I'm not going to speculate. But I do find a couple of things disturbing about this announcement.

1. This process is going to take two weeks and
b. The italics seem to be forbidden to discuss this, or anything else, in anyway for that entire two weeks. They will be incommunicado.

Like I said, I'm not going to speculate, but I do find this distressing.

Count Zero, repeating "Don't panic.... Don't panic.... ...."

"The italics seem to be forbidden to discuss this, or anything else, in anyway for that entire two weeks. They will be incommunicado."

This seems important to me so I would like to see them get it right; even if it means we are sans italics for a couple of weeks.

What could be good is if we all collectivly show what a mature community we are and work perfectly with no real problems whilst we are away!

bookmarking

Polyanna, ooohps no, it's Monday - Hoo, that actually makes rather a lot of sense.

Mayebe this could work out to be postive in the long run, I have often wondering what the italics actualy do but not been able to ask onsite, I've just assumed that there must be more going on behind the scenes.

Then again there is no reason annouce in a huff that this spectulation is pointless and stay subscribed to a thread. So I shall anounce that whilst I may be subscribed to this thread I am not actually reading most of it, and feeling generally postive.

Lets show them we can manage on our own, we don't need to be baby sitted, lets get into Peer Review and make more entries.

"work perfectly with no real problems"

Well there's a bit of a problem with EG entries not being able to appear on the front page. That may give the Scouts and SubEds a chance to build up a backlog. However, I see no reason why ACEing and Guruing should be affected at all.

[hint: <./>NewUsers?TimeUnits=36&UnitType=month&Filter=noposting&thissite=1</.>]

My first reaction is to offer my best wishes to those italics, who may end up working in very different areas of BBCi...

Lookng at other implications of the decision, I wonder exactly what the specification of two 'full-time' italics means. If some of the other italics still have an hour or two a day, or a half-day a week, to work on h2g2, I think that with some streamlining the effects might not be as drastic as many people are afraid of.

I only joined h2g2 after it was taken over by the BBC, and as far as I am concerned in those 2+ years, there have been plenty of improvements. A return to reactive moderation (a big +) and links in posts; the artists' scheme; the UnderGuide - these are things that come to my mind immediately. A more general improvement is the overall standard of Edited Entries (with some blips!). I can think of at least ten authors whose entries, after Peer Review, really need only basic sub-editing. If some little programme was simply assigning them a random date to appear on the front page, the editors' workload could be seriously reduced...

Something else which could seriously reduce the work load is to drop the weekend collaborative entry - I know that up to now this has always been kept as one of DNAs original ideas for the site, and a way to bring in new writers. But if the staff workload has to be streamlined, I think this is definitely something that can go!

Azara

If anybody miss something to read while there aren't any edited entries on the frontpage, I'll suggest they take a look at the many interesting pages at the Hub. And if anyone can get BBC to read it, that would be great!

For a start, take a look at A786837 (Requirements for Running a DNA Site), A786846 (How Much Does DNA Cost?) and A786882 (Writing Editorial Propositions for DNA Sites).

It's interesting to see that people think we can run h2g2 (almost) without the staff, but to be honest I think you underrate the work they do if you think so. I will be glad to be proven wrong.

Funny. I was just reading those when I was explaining this to a friend

I'm in agreement with Hoo on this one. When I saw the announcement this morning I thought it was a great compliment to both the staff and the researchers that it appears this site has developed in such a manner that it needs less full-time direction from the italics. They've accomplished what so many governments (theoretically) strive for, and so few manage to pull off. It's wonderful if the BBC can use those skills and resources where they'll make more impact.

I imagine there will be some changes, and some of them we'll initially feel resistance to because they'll shake up the status quo, but that's evolution for ya. I'd far rather see the site evolve than go the way of the dinosaurs.

Naming of this hiatus was suggested very early in this thread. Since the announcement was done in very much the style suggested by Rowling in the latest Harry Potter book, and because it sounds close to the word 'abridge', I suggest we call it Umbrige.