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

##a clearly marked area where everyone who goes there knows what to expect.##

wouldn't that lead to fragmentation and the development of cliques??

no, I don't think so

... if you talk to someone on your PS it doesn't lead to fragmentation or cliques less than talking in a different language

you do get different groups building up around PS's, but anyone can join in due to the nature of hootoo and a common language, it would be a lot more difficult to engage in the swahili group if you don't speak swahili!!!

Yes, right... and people would come to h2g2 only for the purpose to talk swahili in The Language Thing and not get engaged in any other activities?

>>Is there any reason *other* than possible legal issues not to have a multilingual hootoo?<< Mal


Mal, maybe can you present the case *for* h2g2 being multilingual? How do you see that happening? Not so much how we would manage things like moderation, but how you would see non-English speakers using the site, why they would want to speak other languages etc. I know some of this is self evident, but I think it would be good to be explicit on the value of the site being multilingual.


Reasons so far to be cautious:

1. legal issues

2. resource issues - having enough polyglots to run PR/EG and to moderate

3. some researchers are worried about exclusion or h2 being disrupted


The first two bear some more discussion IMO, the last one I'm not personally worried about but I think it's good people express their concerns at this point.

Legal issues we probably can't discuss more until we know who buys the site, or we find a lawyer onsite (is a lawyer one of the few skills not in the consortium?). In NZ we've had cases of people being charges with contempt of court for publishing things they weren't supposed to, but it's pretty much always been when the publishing was a deliberate flouting of the law.

Resource issues depends on what might happen. What if we had a group of people arrive suddenly who are all speaking in Fijian? We've had groups of people arrive suddenly and use h2 as a networking tool/place to hang out. So would we need to 'approve' languages depending on how many volunteers we had at the time? eg at the start we might be able to say the primary language is English. German is also allowed at this stage. If you want to speak other languages here as a matter of course please apply to x to have the language approved.

I'm talking about major use of a language here. Site linkage and one off phrases and quotes etc should just be allowed as a matter of course.

I don't know what the Language Thing is. Can someone please post a link?

i know of 3 or so english cliques with hardly any crossover with the rest of the comunite already

but thats by the by

so i'll just drop it.......

back on subject.....as you were

The Language Thing: A1145477
I think at first people there could post in different languages without giving translations, but that was before I was here.

##, or we find a lawyer onsite (is a lawyer one of the few skills not in the consortium?). ##

HI had a bit of a ding dong a while back and ended up getting some legal advice on hear, if i remember correctly, you might ask him!!!?

Copyright and corporate law is quite a specialised field though, I've asked some friends who are solicitors and they haven't been able to help.

If anyone knows a good lawyer then point him in our direction... (h2g2communityconsortium @ gmail.com )

>> can we ask ?? if the comunity win the bid, where will noohootoo be hosted??

You can ask, Taff, but that information is not already in the public domain, unlike the other information that has been repeated in this thread, so I won't tell.



>> It might be good to go with Scotland. You and Ben live there don't you?"

What's that got to do with the price of fish? It's a matter of what's best for h2g2. The Interim Committee has three members in the US plus ones in Switzerland, Austria and Sweden as well as the UK.



My view on having foreign languages in conversations is that it worked perfectly amicably in the days before the BBC, so why not now?

Ben

a straight answer!!!!

thanks Ben

>What's that got to do with the price of fish? It's a matter of what's best for h2g2.<

It was meant vaguely humorously, semi seriously..shall I go on with the vagueries? in *context* of a slightly ridiculous passage of posts concerning the complicated way Law works in the United Kingdom, and the fact that the Giggs super injunction information was published in a Scottish newspaper. As two people in the consortium who are intimately involved with the consortium lived in Scotland..I mentioned it.

YEs I agree what's best for h2g2 is best which is why I said we need to get advice from a Lawyer.

As I made abundantly clear I'm not a lawyer, so I was just pointing out very obvious things that any lay person might forsee as something to be looked into.

And I think Taff's question about where we might host nootoo seemed perfectly reasonable. It didn't occur to me either that that might be covered by 'confidentiality'

I expect a few other things might come up that not all of us will realise are confidential.

I also suggested the Law of Outer Mongolia

Any time Taff. If I can tell you something, I will. If I can't tell you, I'll say so. You know where my user space is, but I'm off to bed in a minute.

B

>> And I think Taff's question about where we might host nootoo seemed perfectly reasonable. It didn't occur to me either that that might be covered by 'confidentiality'.

It's entirely reasonable. It just happens not to be in the public domain already. You weren't to know that, and neither was he.

B

##It's entirely reasonable. It just happens not to be in the public domain already.##

then why did happy nerd seem to think it was ok to deride me for it???

Probably because she's human and she's tired, Taff. I dunno.

Maybe she prefers threads to stay on topic. Maybe you've spammed so many threads so often she didn't spot that this post wasn't spam. Who knows? Am I my sister's keeper?

None of us are perfect. None of us are saints. Let he who is without sin throw the first stone. And sim'lar.

B

Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.

MOTHER!!!! for a virgin you can be a right B*tch!!

>My view on having foreign languages in conversations is that it worked perfectly amicably in the days before the BBC, so why not now?<

I didn't know that. But I've seen plenty of stuff that was far far from amicable in English. But it seems that it doesn't occur in non English conversations. But I wonder how you know unless you're multi lingual. But yes I suppose if we don't have a clue what people are saying it might appear to be amicable.