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

What I don't mind is that have a 'niche' identity. If we try to be all things to all people..it'll just get foxified, ie bland.

I suppose its about whether or not we have a 'brand' that will appeal to enough to be worthwhile..or that that can't happen.

If that happens and h2g2 changes so much I won't have any interest in it. Maybe a few of us will just go off somewhere else?

Darwin's a heck of a lot more complicated than 'red in tooth and claw' Taff.

It'll be an adventure though whatever happns. Im tring t2 B ls -ve @ nw

i blm 2lgs!!!!

Taff, for crying out loud. The BBC owns h2g2, that is why they are the ones who put it up for sale. How many times and how many threads to you have to try to push your insane little conspiracy theories?

Taff I agree it'll depend on new ownership. But I'm arguing from the position of assuming it'll be us or someone sympathetic to our culture.

(And hey man this is 2.43am ..like you have these idealistic discussions at this time..at least we did when I've been a student..)

But tomorrow I might be back on the grumps about it all. Tomorrow's another day.

>>
as i keep pointing out, its all down to the new owner,

if we keep telling off the txtspkrs, they could complain to the owners that they were being bullied,

untill we know who owns h2g2 and what the new rules are, we may as well be arguing with smoke
<<

You're certainly entitled to that view Taff. I just don't see the evidence for it. h2g2 has always been an intensely strong and proactive site when it comes to changes and resistance. We've lost some battles for sure (eg the profanity filter), but equally the site was damaged by that and the mishandling of it by TPTB. It's possible that any new owner will want to learn from the community about how the place works, and Nick Reynolds has said that the community wellbeing is a criteria for the sale. It's also possible that the new onwers could make the mistake of ignoring us and what already exists here and try and impose a whole bunch of stuff. In which case they'd find themselves with a bloody big fight and/or mass exodus.

The community *IS* the site. Not the new owners. Without us they're just buying some dodgy software. And even if they can replace us with lots of newbies, they can't replace the level of expertise about the EG and the community that currently exists.

Don't we all sort of recognize that *not* engaging with the rest of the web and having an opaque culture unfriendly to change could hamper our growth?

Where's the line between protecting our culture and making ourselves accessible? I think that's a very important discussion, probably one without an answer (which are always the best kinds).

##How many times and how many threads to you have to try to push your insane little conspiracy theories? ##

what are you on about HN???

if the new owners allow txtspk, then txtspk will be allowed!!!!

as i say, it all depends on the new owners, whoever they may be, and untill we know we can only speculate what will happen, we have no information so we cannot make any acurate predictions, far all we know, the new owners might asset strip us and dump us in a year!!!

HOW DARE YOU, TAFF!

Yes I am shouting at you. You deserve a lot worse than a good loud shouting, Taff

Here is what you said, Taff!

>>> untill we know who owns h2g2 and what the new rules are, we may as well be arguing with smoke

You have tried this absolute elsewhere. You know very well it is false. Knock it off. NOW.

>Where's the line between protecting our culture and making ourselves accessible? <

Well that'll be the adventure that happens in *reality* And yeah sometimes things die...but I'm feeling more hopeful about the reality of the adventure now.

We can only talk and talk these things a certain amount. We can't have total control even if we knew who will own us. And I actually hate the idea of being able to control everything..I like the ride. But I just wish the ride would hurry up.

##Don't we all sort of recognize that *not* engaging with the rest of the web and having an opaque culture unfriendly to change could hamper our growth?##

a lot of the new web is sucessfull due to its apeal to the lowest common denominator, if the new owners want to make h2g2 a sucess and probably turn a profit, be prepared for some wide ranging changes

at the end of the day its the owners $£$£$ and i don't think they are going to run this place as a charity for the couple of hundred(max)users

we were stagnating under the beeb, some of you might have a pretty harsh reality check coming!!!!

>>> untill we know who owns h2g2 and what the new rules are, we may as well be arguing with smoke

You have tried this absolute elsewhere. You know very well it is false. Knock it off. NOW.##

i know nothing

no one will tell us anything

its all confidential

so untill we know who the new owners are, everything we are doing is purest speculation.....!!!!

for all we know the buyer might just want the H2G2 brand and once they have bought it we could all find the place boarded up, and a new shiney H2G2 with who knows what in it

Yeah and you are starting to sound like an embarassing surrender monkey Taff.

We'll give it our best shot.

I personally think there is a place for 'niche products'..(Watch last week's Apprentice? The product that got panned was the one that tried to be universal..)

YES WE DON"T KNOW WHO"LL OWN US YET. I AGREE. BUT REMINDING EVERYONE OF THAT CONSTANTLY IS BORING.

Haven't you noticed that lately he's a bit less conspiracy bound (here, anyway)?

Yes, that is what Taff said - is it true or is it true? Maybe he should say it in Welsh?

##Taff, for crying out loud. The BBC owns h2g2, that is why they are the ones who put it up for sale.##

i never denied this

i am mearly pointing out that once its sold.....all bets are off

unless you know something i don't?????

>>>Where's the line between protecting our culture and making ourselves accessible? <

I agree, very important conversation to have.

I find it hard to judge because while it's certainly true that h2g2 has lost vitality to FB, twitter, blogging etc, I'm not sure how much of that is due to the problems the bbc created for us insite, rather than just a natural exodus off to play with the new toys. I know hootooers who started blogging for instance because they were hacked off with what was happening here. And they took 'traffic' with them.

Finding a way to engage with the rest of the web and

I don't think what I'm talking about is being opaque and unfriendly to change though. It's more about us being conscious about the change that is happening and making choices amongst that.

Someone said earlier that we can't be all things to all people, or that we can't be FB, wiki etc. To use txt as an example again, it could be argued that we'd get many more teenagers here if we allowed txtspeak. But is that one of our aims 'many more teenagers'? Or do we want to find ways to encourage young writers/researchers to become involved in *this* h2g2 culture? In that sense I could imagine a general frowning upon of txt speak onsite, but that there could exists subcultures within h2g2 where it was acceptable eg A page groups where teens are hanging out, or on their journals.

With technologies that create links between h2 and other places on the internet, I think the onus is on people who use those other places to explain to those that don't how it all works. I don't use FB for instance, and so haven't quite figured out how the connection is useful for FBers and how it affect h2.

Taff, I am going to ask you very politely to step over to your own ps so I can talk to you without you derailing the threads kea has started in attempting to ask the community some important questions.

NOW!

i was told to grow up!!!

so i am looking at the problem as an adult

its all about the £$£$£$ at the end of the day in the real world.

"surrender monkey"

More fatalistic surrender monkey I think.

I just don't see the point in being fatalistic like that when we have a lot of choices and still quite alot of power. If you want to be powerless Taff that's up to you. But I'm also getting bored with the whole repetitive thing when we're trying to have a creative discussion. Bring something new to the table, man!

(and I appreciate you are bored at work and this is one of the few very active convos right now. But still, find something new to say please )

HN

Nah!!!

lets keep it nice and public,

anyway my PS is till a public forum, and anyone who wanted to could on what we are saying

i am taking part in the debate

if you don't like my position you can try to change it with active debate or information and facts, or you could censor me

last i saw this was a public forum run by the BBC

Actually Taff this thread isn't a debate in the way that you mean. I have no interest in arguing about whether the bogeymen are going to buy the site. Please go and start your own thread if you want to do that. This thread is to look at language and what h2g2 culture is. If you feel this is pointless because we are being sold, you've made your point so now kindly spiss off. Otherwise, bring something new and constructive to the table.

I'm off to liberate some apples from the neighbours paddock