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

Good idea... hope it works out. I hope I'll be able to look into ask more often, now that it will (hopefully) be more actual questions

>> (whilst still maintaining the EG as a focal point) <<

Ah.

I see we are at crossed porpoises.

And unfortunately I have to be offline for some time while I relocate so I cannot presently engage the issue further. For reference sake I can only offer in its stead: <./>AggGag</.> And assure you I will and shall bee Bach.


~jwf~

<./>Talk</.> also needs updating.

"but over the last 5 years the site has grown and its needs from the users have grown"
Very true, but why should that mean that the needs of the new users elbow out the needs of the old? If there's a need for a new type of forum, then let's build it instead of changing an existing one - ie, letting Ask morph from an Enquire Within sort of forum where you could go for good information and be subscribed to without having your inbox clogged up with... well, let's be honest - froth. Let's build a place for the froth and anyone who wants to bathe in it can do so to their hearts content.

>>Let's build a place for the froth<<

It's called <./>Misc Chat</.>

>>
Welcome to the place where anything goes. If you want to have a Conversation without any specific purpose, this is the place for you. If you want to talk for the sake of talking, then again, this is the place for you. And if you love the sound of your own voice, then come on in - for this is the Miscellanous Chat Forum, where you can talk without worrying about relevance.

We may from time to time move Conversations from other Forums to here. If your Conversation has been moved, don't consider it an insult; rather, it's that we have appreciated the uncategorisable uniqueness of your discourse, and have placed it in a more comfortable home where it can be entertained and fueled by many like minds.
<<

Sorry, that should have been: <./>MiscChat</.>

I don't think the needs of the older users are being elbowed out for the newer ones. I think it is just one step to satisfy the newer (and some older) ones. Just as setting up the UG was something established researchers had desired for a long time.

But if the newer users demands on the site far outweigh the fewer older users then that has to be taken into consideration - a balance has to be found between avoiding turning the site into a BBC chatroom and retaining the original ideals of the site.

But if the site doesn't attract new researchers then the percentage of researchers to contribute to the EG will fall. There will always be those that never will, there will be those that can't wait, and those that have no idea about it but once they are here they will want to give it a try - possibly going on to write many entries.

The bigger the net then the more fish you will catch.

Isn't a promotion of misc chat a way to catch the 'froth'?

Seeing how the new set up works will be valuable feedback for the Eds on how 'sticky' the site is.

Simulpost Kea - but we seem to be thinking along the same lines anyway!

Misc Chat was always there for the froth but was never promoted as heavily as Ask, and until today it seemed as if the Eds had no intention of doing anything about it - their answer always seemed to be that Ask has evolved into whatever the Researchers want it to be (well, some of them did and some of them didn't). I'm glad that they have done something about it

The results will speak for themselves.

I for one think that at least giving the games a home of their own is a brilliant idea! There always was and probably always will be drift between "Ask" and "Misc" -- they kinda hint at one another, anyway. But I stopped going to "Ask" because it was getting hard to find anything other than games in the 20 convos listed (okay, maybe 3-5 out of 20!) So I'm for it. And when I want a game, I'll know where to find it!

SC

Oh I hope it works!
Good thinking to try something new.

Well, the Games Room is just after Ask on the 5 Busiest Conversations list right now, so it already seems to be working.

I personally found the games more disruptive to Ask than any sort of 'miscellaneous chat' threads. Nice to see them separate now.


az

Mort.


>>Misc Chat was always there for the froth but was never promoted as heavily as Ask, and until today it seemed as if the Eds had no intention of doing anything about it<<

Oojakapiv, I think it's been in the pipeline for awhile. Jimster was talking about it in another thread some time ago. And the Italics have been involved in the discussions in the past.


I get confused about all this old researcher/new researcher talk. Oldies like 2legs and Footbacon have long been traditional starters of silly threads in Ask. Sure there has been a big increase in such threads since the film release, but the idea of addressing the issue predates that so I don't think it's particularly valid to see this as predominantly about the recent influx of newbies.


To my list of things we can do to make this work I would add:

- use Ask to start new threads that are question or opinion based, or are about research. The more of those kind of threads the easier it will be for people to get used to using the other forums for chat or game convos. The culture of Ask will eventually change with the support of researchers.


It'd be good to see more discussion about how we can make this work.

<> (me)

Actually I take that back, having just remembered the recent increase in 'what is your cat eating right now?' type threads.

It would be nice to be subscribed to Ask (as I am to the Forum) so I do hope this continues to work.


az

Askh2g2 started to drift into a miscellaneous chat room about three years ago. Before that, I used to slap people across the knuckles if they posted something which wasn't a question to Askh2g2. But then I gave up and unsubscribed.

Well suppose will find out later when it appears on the carpet in a frothy ball of mucas Az .

Ask certainly does now seem to include almost anything..but of course when i was a newbie we were moderated left right and centre so things are very different now.Still even the best drivers can drift..

Well kea, the fact that there are 'old' Researchers who want to start chatty threads and 'new' ones who don't really shouldn't need to be pointed out - it goes without saying. And since I've been at the forefront of those people trying to get Ask back to its original purpose for at least a couple of years, then my points have nothing to do with the 'recent influx of newbies' - from the film, from Salmon of Doubt, or even from Leisure District. This goes back much further than the past few months.

If this has been in the pipeline for a while then I guess I'm not involved in the forums where those threads you mention took place, although as far as I'm aware I'm subscribed to all the feedback and announcement forums. If these conversations took place in Ask threads however, I wouldn't have seen them.

Emmily made the point that we'd left off the <./>HowDoI</.> forum, so...

Now there's a link to there on each of the forums, AND a little box in the right-hand margin on the Front Page.

Who says we don't listen?

No, really, who said it?

I didn't. I just said that lil ol' me said it.

*Prepares for someone to clasp their hand over his mouth again.*