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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A678350

Right, this is in the right format, i have the GuideML, and i'm pretty sure this is all but done. If anyone has any further comments to make, i'll check back here once a day or so.

You've changed the text again, and it's improved again.
One thing though, under the Travel Information section you have a list of things that appear quite confusing. You might by sick of guide ML by now, but have a look at the tag - it acts as a sort of bulleted list tag.
Frogbit.

I'm never sick of GuideML! Where would we be without the limiting and powerless system(just kidding ) we call GuideML??

*dons PR hat*

Hi Wizz,

Glad to see your entry in glorious GML.

I want to say something a bit negative, and I don't want you to take it too seriously. I probably ought to have got to this in WW, earlier, but I didn't. Never mind.

I think you need to bear in mind (especially when choosing a title) that irony does not automatically work as well in written language as in speech. Also, edited guide entries are primarily factual, even if they manage to funny along the way.

Your title might look like a very useful resource to an unwary 'internaut' (based on the wonderful French word for someone using the Internet) about to set forth on a voyage of discovery to Djbouti. Stumbling upon *this* instead of genuine tourist info probably won't permanently traumatise most readers; many would know better than to *assume* they would get nothing but a straight account of Djboutian tourist attractions from h2g2; nonetheless, you would accept, I think, that this is a comic piece, at the expense of a small African republic, rather than a 'tourist's guide to... '.

It could be said that the title is misleading and therefore unsuitable. That is my basic point.

It is a bit of a political issue about what exactly 'edited guide entries' should be like, so there is no hard and fast rule. This one has already earned some approval from other researchers, so don't think my voice is 'damnation'. Anyway, I like what you have written, in lots of ways.

I just wanted to bring up the concept of 'factual' vs 'funny' and the way these things are often treated in Peer Review. The edited guide can contain humour, but it is essentially factual.

There is plenty of scope on h2g2 for non-factual, comic, poetry, etc, (which I would be happy to point out if you're looking) but Peer Review is for getting entries into the edited guide and I don't think this is suited as it stands. That does not by any means indicate that it *could* not go in. Just that it is not *my* idea of an edited entry.

I'm quite sure those who don't agree with what I say will say otherwise, and you can too!

All said in good faith, to take or leave, with a pinch of salt

Seeya
Spiff

I guess i can understand what you are saying, so as a new researcher, i am unsure as to what i should do with my work.
Is there an alternate area in which to exhbit this, one not reserved for strictly factual entries?
Also, i would like to point out that the H2G2 was originally about being definatively *inaccurate* , but i can understand why the real one cannot afford that luxury

This came up in another thread recently, and I thought it was relevant: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F48874?thread=159967&latest=1#p1624504 :) Spiff

Ok, I finally got round to reading the article...

Comments:

Firstly, when I saw the title I immediately thought 'you have got to be joking' - ( I had the misfortune to visit Djibouti in 1987 ).

Secondly I liked the writing style, and believe me everyone, it's an accurate picture of the country.

Lastly, and this question is aimed at all ther other reviewers, rather than just dismiss this from PR, don't you think a title change to "A light-hearted look at Djibouti" would help, and then see if it could get past the editors, I personnally would recommend it (based on subject matter and a little touching up) if it had that as a title.

Whaddya think folks?

whisky

Oh by the way, you could always add the fact that the French Foreign Legion have a garrison there, and that a goodly percentage of the population earn their living by "entertaining" the troops. - If a good looking girl even looks at you in Djibouti, head for the nearest doctor!

PS, the nearest doctor will probably be in Cairo

I see no problem with this entry, as long as it is based on fact. I can only see two debatable points in the entry: it says the people are unfriendly (they will direct you into a ravine) and it says that the police have been known to stretch wire across roads. Are these statements true? If so, then the entry is a factual description of the country in a humorous style. That should be acceptable.

I believe that the normal spelling of the country's name in English is Djibouti with an i after the j.

The only typo I noticed was you've misspelled Eritrea as Entrea.

Is a title change really needed?
Let's face it, no-one is going to go there on the strength of this entry, and anyone that really wants to go is not going to be put off by the entry either. Whisky has been there and says it's a fairly accurate representation. Wizard has change the text a few times, and each time it has improved. He has also taken the trouble to go through the writing workshop and learn GML.

GNOMON wrote "it says the people are unfriendly (they will direct you into a ravine) and it says that the police have been known to stretch wire across roads. Are these statements true?"

This should be ascertained, certainly. If the allegations are baseless, they should be removed, and perhaps Wizard could contact Whisky so the allegations can be replaced with RL observations.

Afterwards, in it goes.
Frogbit.

I just wanted to make a few points over the debated issues in here.

The spelling of Djbouti in English is actually "Djibouti", which means i'll be doing a bit of editing after this.

The comment on the natives "offering to direct you into a ravine" has no basis in fact, and can be taken out easily enough. It was employed for humour alone.

The wire coil road block comment, is actually based on a fact from [URL Removed by Moderator], which also talks about mines being present in the roads as well, so i may well stick something about that in there as well!

Cheers,
The Wizzard

OK, so if the police employ wires across the road and ladmines in their law enforement duties, then leaving in the bit about being pointed to a ravine isn't so scandalou after all.

Scandalous. Scandalous.

Scandalou was of course Sauron's brother-in-law.

wizzard

(one point, you will shortly find out - external links aren't allowed in conversations, the problem being that the BBC check all links regularly and they just wouldn't be able to keep up with the work if we all kept stuffing links into our conversations, so you'll find that very shortly that link will disappear)

welcome to the world of H2G2/BBC rules.

Anyway in case I haven't already said it, a great little entry.

Oh, and as you can include links within entries, you might want to actually put that link into the entry itself, it'll probably get more hits from H2G2 readers in the next couple of weeks than it's had in the last five years.


whisky

... please ignore frogbit, he appears to have finally cracked up

<nahnah

why do I get the feeling you posted that to the wrong place?

No, maybe not, its me that's cracking up, I thought Frogbit was having a conversation about LotR in the middle of this thread.


* Note to self - read ALL the posts before opening mouth and inserting foot.*

What do you mean *finally* cracked up?

Anyway...back to the topic...

* at the Sauron's brother confusion*


Hi Wiz (if ever a wonderful wiz there woz!)

I like the improvements to your piece, it is looking good.

I do have a couple of specific questions, and a more general point:

>>The French however, firmly held onto their colony until official &#8220;prompting&#8221; from the United Nations. Hassan Goulod became the head of the country, and life moved onward for most of the population, who may not have known the difference anyway.>>

- You never specifically mention independence, here, yet I think I am right in understanding from other parts of the text that it was established. A date? Perhaps not necessary, but I just love dates (the number kind, of course ).

>>AeroFloat - Do you mean Russian airline company Aeroflot?


I like the point about the Sheraton top price rooms. I like it. It started me wondering about something else you said earlier:

>>became the &#8220;official outlet for Ethiopian commerce&#8221;, meaning whenever someone wanted to do things the proper way, instead of smuggling their goods, they had to come here.>>

Could it be that the former situation is now in some way reversed and that some the wealthier guests at the Sheraton are in Djibouti on 'unofficial' business trips?

This led to the question about why Aeroflot run flights there! Of course, I am not prejudiced enough to think that any wealthy, designer-suited russian business traveller visiting a tiny African republic surrounded by countries where there is a good market for illicit weapons shipments, *must* be some kind of mafia-backed international arms dealer. That would be silly.

As to the title, I see you have adapted the whole opening to avoid misunderstandings. I like the way you've handled it.

I also like the changes you've made in various places. I didn't see the 'point you into a ravine' passage and it now seems to have gone, but I saw it's predecessor, , I think (bit harsher, wasn't it? ), and I like the 'ravine' solution, for what it's worth. Perhaps you have decided it just isn't necessary.

Anyway, like others, I think this could now be picked as it is. Best of luck with the scouts!

He's cutting and pasting from MS WORD. We can tell, you know.