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

@Reefgirl

So what do we do?

F19585?thread=8018352

I certainly *won't* pay my Licence Fee next year...and I'm already working on something to explain why that is.

"The government's just cut the online budget by £35m, so BBC can't compete with Murdoch's empire. What exactly would you want them to do? Drop the more high profile, high traffic parts of the site?"

No, I'd rather they dropped half an hour a week of TV content to pay for h2g2. With the money left over they could afford to commission some decent comedy for Radio 4.

I find it funny that they talk about it coming as a shock.

...We know that certain sorts of people who don't fit into normal life and depend upon something like h2g2 are seen as not important.

They probably think we'll just take it....

Not at all. I think that we can get together and run h2g2 amoung us - Can you join our community consortium. http://www.bbc.co.uk/entry/A80173361

I know you, Effers care about h2g2 as much as I do: and I need your help. I need people with spare time, people with knowledge, and people with spare money.

Z

Hi Nick,

I understand that there's a lot that you can't tell us about this, and I understand the legal reason for it. However, as I'm sure you can see from the feeling of the community there is a want for some control over this.

Because of that, can you lets us know a couple of things?

1) Has the process of invitation to tender for taking h2g2 started?
2) How would a group/individual/concern/etc go about tendering for this?

Which version of hootoo is being sold off, the current, or new design?

Why is the (unpopular) redesign to fit in with BBC websites continuing, when h2g2 will not be part of BBC?

Sorry, bad night, my brain is not *with-it* not sure I am getting across what I mean.


Emmily

I've got a great idea:

Why not take to to Dragon's Den as a business proposition? I'm sure they'd leap at it!

Dr. Zen I'm 100% behind doing what I can for this. I went to your link on new hootoo and none of it worked.

Even though part of me guessed this was coming, another part was truly stunned. I can't believe the little caring the BBC now has.

(I'm not so well at present, and I find it difficult because of concentration problems to post something really analytically sensible. But I'm totally behind this.)

"Why is the (unpopular) redesign to fit in with BBC websites continuing, when h2g2 will not be part of BBC?"

My first question to Nick Reynolds on his other announcement thread was whether they would keep the "legacy" site running so anyone taking over would have the option of reverting to our beloved skins.

DB is on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/DuncanBannatyne

It kind of reminds me how my dad would put in new carpets and repaint the interior walls of our house to make it attractive to new buyers just before selling it.
Perhaps the BBC has that idea too.

"I can't believe the little caring the BBC now has."

Really? This is because it's trying to decide what it should be doing and what it shouldn't be doing. Decisions like this mean that radio stations such as 6 Music can remain open. I sympathise mostly with those people at the BBC who will lose their jobs (just as I am about to lose mine for much the same reason). But if canme down to a choice between something like BBC Four and h2g2, the former would get my vote any day of the week.

I would say it's far more likely that the rebrand was discussed and agreed a year or more ago. These new proposals are very new (which is why we have no information) and it's just appallingly bad luck that they happened to come about at the same time. The skin was supposed to have come in October last year.

I suspect that traffic is very heavy this afternoon.

Here's a link on old h2g2 - in goo ! http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A80173361

"But if canme down to a choice between something like BBC Four and h2g2, the former would get my vote any day of the week. "

Yet if BBC4 started half an hour later one day a week I believe there would be enough money saved to fund h2g2 with some left over. That's the problem - in the grand scheme of BBC expendature, h2g2 costs very little; it's just that no department wants to be the one who pays for it.

Just saw this on the BBC News website.

Count me in for those that will try to help.

Also, my sympathies to the Eds. Hopefully they can find you another job!

I feel sick.

"That's the problem - in the grand scheme of BBC expendature, h2g2 costs very little; it's just that no department wants to be the one who pays for it."

More like it's not really *broadcasting*, which is what the middle B stands for.