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Welcome to Peer Review, the area of h2g2 where you help us to decide which entries go into the Edited Guide. You can comment on any of the entries in here, and if the comments on an entry are generally positive, one of the Scouts may pick it for inclusion in the Edited Guide.

For a detailed explanation of the Review Forums system, including how to submit one of your own entries (or someone else's) to Peer Review, please read the Review Forums FAQ.

If you would like to put your entry into Peer Review, please read (link)this page(link) which covers writing for the Edited guide and the Writing Guidelines which edited entries usually need to follow.

How to comment in Peer Review

To comment on an entry in Peer Review, the first thing you need to do is read the entry. Sounds obvious, but people have been known to comment on entries without reading them, which is, if nothing else, rude to the author who has spent their time writing it. Click on the title, or the number, in the list below¹, and read on!

Once you've read the entry, don't click "Discuss this entry" - comments about should be made in the Peer Review thread, not below the entry itself. Instead, click "Back", then click on the number under "Last Posted" - this will take you to the Peer Review comment thread. You can add your comments there, as with any other conversation on h2g2, by clicking "Reply" to the last posting and typing your comment in the box.

Important Notes

Before you comment on an entry in Peer Review, consider the following points:

• Is it the author's first entry? (You can check their personal space to find out). If so, be gentle in your criticism - if they're really going wrong you may wish to direct them to the Writing Guidelines for Edited Entries. Remember, everyone wrote their first entry once!
• Have a read of the Peer Review backlog - if you spotted a mistake or omission, it might already have been pointed out and dealt with.
• If you like the entry - say so! Everyone likes compliments.
• If you don't like it, try to make your criticism specific. Simply posting "I hated this, it's rubbish", doesn't give the author much of a clue what they may be doing wrong.
• Don't be too obsessive about typos - if the entry is picked, the subeditor should sort these out. Concentrate on commenting on the content.
• Ask yourself if you actually understand the entry? Guide Entries are aimed, in the main, at the educated layman, so if you didn't understand it, it may be a failing of the author. On the other hand, it might be YOU - so ask for an explanation. Be tactful - at least at first...
• Stay subscribed to the thread. Once you've commented, keep an eye on what others are saying. It may be the start of an interesting conversation...
• If the entry gets picked, and particularly if it is the authors first, pop back and congratulate them!