Here you can find information on the way Conversation and Review Forums work on H2G2. If you have any questions that aren't addressed here then please send them to us via our Feedback pages.

1. What are Forums on H2G2?

2. What are the Review Forums and why would I want to use them?

3. How do I comment on Entries in a Review Forum?

4. How do I put an Entry into a Review Forum?

5. How do I stop people putting my Entries into Review Forums?

6. How do I remove an Entry from a Review Forum?

7. How do I move an Entry from one Review Forum to another?

1 What are Forums on H2G2?

On H2G2 a Forum is defined as being anywhere Conversations are grouped together. You will find Conversations attached to Entries and Approved Entries (see our Entry FAQs for more information on this), but there are also separate discussion areas where specific types of Conversations not relating to Entries have been grouped. These can be found on our Forums index, and include:

• Ask H2G2: This is a place where you can ask other users any question you like and have a go at answering the questions of others yourself.

• SEx - Science Explained: This is the forum to pose tricky questions about the way the world works, and to put forward some theories of your own.

• Games Room: This is exactly what it sounds like - a place for playing puzzles and word games with other H2G2 Researchers.

• Miscellaneous Chat: A page where you can simply chat with other users about anything you like.

The Forums index also includes a link to the Flea Market, which is a Review Forum and therefore operates in slightly different way from a normal Forum. See the next question for more information about this.

2 What are the Review Forums and why would I want to use them?

Central to H2G2 are its Approved Entries. These are Entries that have been reviewed by users, edited to a suitable standard and categorised by the H2G2 Editors. You can get your writing into the Approved version of H2G2 by following our editorial process (you can find out more about this in our Entry FAQs). This is where the Review Forums come in.

Review Forums are basically areas on H2G2 where users can read and comment on Entries, helping the author to improve their Entries, often with a view to getting them Approved. The Review Forums incude:

• Peer Review: This is a crucial part of the Entry Approval process. It is the place where members of the community can comment and collaborate on Entries specifically earmarked to be considered for Approval, and so therefore is one of the most important parts of the site. So important, in fact, that there is a whole Peer Review FAQs page dedicated to questions about it.

• Writing Workshop: A place for Entries that could do with a little help before they're ready to be submitted to Peer Review. Here you can get helpful ideas and pointers from the rest of the Community that will help improve your Entry.

• Alternative Writing Workshop: This is for Entries that don't fit the Writing Guidelines but which the author would still like comments on. This might include Entries that are pure humour, mainly fiction, or otherwise not eligible for the Approved version of the site.

• Flea Market: This is where the Editors move entries from other Review Forums if the author leaves H2G2 for a sustained period or abandons their Entry for some other reason. Here other users can volunteer to pick them up and finish them off. Please do not submit Entries directly to the Flea Market, as it is only for Entries that have been languishing in the other Review Forums after grinding to a premature halt.

• Update an Edited Entry: If an Entry is incorrect, out of date, or there is new information that should be included, it can be updated by an Editor via Editorial Feedback or the H2G2 Curators. But if it needs an extensive rewrite, then follow the procedure in Updating an Edited Entry.

You can also subscribe to Review Forums in the same way that you can with Conversations, by clicking on the 'Subscribe' link at the bottom of the appropriate page. Entries submitted to that Review Forum will automatically appear in the Conversations section of your Personal Space.

3 How do I comment on Entries in a Review Forum?

Every Entry in a Review Forum has an associated Conversation, which acts just like any other Conversation on H2G2. If you think that an Entry in a Review Forum is wonderful, feel free to sign in and add your comments (see our Registration and Moderation FAQs for details on how to do this). If you see something you disagree with, or think that more information needs to be added, again please say so - but try to do so politely as criticism is always a tricky balancing act to pull off.

4 How do I put an Entry into a Review Forum?

It's quite simple. Make sure you are signed in (see our Registration and Moderation FAQs) and navigate to the page that the Entry is on. If it is possible to submit the Entry into review (the author may have previously marked it 'Not for Review', or it may already be in a Review Forum), you will see a blue SUBMIT FOR REVIEW button in the right-hand column of the page. Click on that button, choose the relevant Review Forum from the drop-down menu, add a comment explaining your reasons for putting it into review and then hit SUBMIT (this is also the way to submit your own Entry to Peer Review - just remember to select Peer Review in the drop-down menu). This will create a Review Conversation that will be attached to the Entry and accessible via a link on the right-hand column of the Entry page. Please be aware that you cannot submit Approved Entries, Personal Spaces, Entries Picked by Scouts or Help Pages to Review Forums.

5 How do I stop people putting my Entries into Review Forums?

If you do not wish an Entry of yours to be submitted to any Review Forum simply tick 'Not for Review' on the Write/Edit an Entry CMS page for that Entry and click SAVE. The SUBMIT FOR REVIEW button will not be visible on the saved page.

6 How do I remove an Entry from a Review Forum?

If you are the author of an Entry, or the person who put that Entry into a Review Forum, then you will see a blue X button next to that Entry when you look at the relevant Conversation Forum for that Review Forum. To find the Conversation Forum go to the relevent Review Forum page and click 'XX More Entries in Review' at the bottom of the page. When you find it, clicking the X next to the title of the Entry in that list will remove it from the Review Forum.

7 How do I move an Entry from one Review Forum to another?

You have to remove your Entry from the first Review Forum and then resubmit your Entry to a different Review Forum. This in turn will create a new Review Conversation that will be attached to the Entry (see question 4).

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