21^st June 2011 - We interrupt your browsing with some welcome news:

The BBC have confirmed the success of the three-way bid by Robbie Stamp, the Community Consortium and Noesis.

When you read what's on the Magrathea pages and the conversations here, please remember that they were written while the bid was being worked on, so some things have changed.

We now return you to your original programming

No time for fancy headings, I'm afriad - this is getting urgent!

The current Googledoc is here at: http://docs.google.com/document/d/1T_lxIk3W1toYtmeAd307qnJgzr8wErf2WlchuaHodwA/edit?hl=en&authkey=CND_lbIN#

For those who aren't able to read that (although I recommend it as it has a nice layout and everything) I will replicate the text here.

Unless there are any glaring errors please suggest new ideas - the text can be polished later. This isn't an area of my speciality but I bet there have been conversations aplenty about this: please provide a link if possible.

Many, many thanks for commenting and keeping this alive. The deadline is first thing Saturday morning GMT, so if you could try your hardest to leave your comments on Friday - that's tomorrow as I write this - it greatly increases the odds of me getting this done.

Thanks again,

Vip

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Engaging with the Community

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The Guide doesn't write itself. It needs writers, reviewers and Volunteers to produce high standard writing to keep the Guide moving. This doesn't necessarily mean that we need hundreds or thousands of active Researchers, but it does mean that the ones we have need to feel a part of the site, engaged in the process and that they are valued.

Through the Change

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Managing the change from BBC to post-BBC is going to be a huge challenge. Keeping morale high has already been difficult, which several Researchers already declaring that it wasn't worth investing their energy into h2g2 now that the BBC were pulling out. Thankfully most have remained.

Communication

One of the most important things is communication. We saw a frantic Community after the launch of Barlesque and again after the decision to dispose of h2g2. The fear that these changes invoked were only calmed by clear, empathic communication from those who knew what was going on. We can learn from those recent experiences to make sure that when we know, the Community knows, and if we don't, they know that we don't and we're working on it.

Planning for another Rupert

At some point, h2g2 will have to move away from the BBC onto the new platform. This will be difficult. There's no way to sugar coat it. It will also likely take some down time. This could be several months, as it did from the move from TDV to the BBC. In this period of downtime - Rupert 2, if you like - there needs to be some continuity. Some groups of Researchers, like the Atelier, have already set up a contingency group on Facebook that is rarely used but ready in case of an extended downtime. n2g2, a yahoo group set up during the original Rupert is still going, but is unlikely to be able to cope with the volume of users this time.

If possible, one united forum for h2g2ers to go to would help fragmentation of the Community. It would also make passing on information much easier.

Having a clear idea of just how long any downtime will be and communicating regularly within this time is crucial. It almost goes without saying that the longer the site is down the more users will drift away.

Into the Future

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Once we have stepped onto our new platform and ironed out the inevitable bugs, we will have to make sure that we keep our current members while integrating those who sign up seamlessly into the group.

A Sense of Purpose

We want the Guide to be a useful tool. It also needs to be able to be sell-able to keep us on our feet financially. There needs to be two-way dialogue between those who are trying to sell h2g2 content and those who are providing it. The vision needs to be known by those who are enabling it, but conversely a vision is more likely to be realised if the writers are the drivers of the process and are engaged with what they are creating. We need a sense of purpose that is both financially viable and supported by the writers.

Us and Them

If someone signed up pre-BBC they have automatic 'cool status' among other Researchers. Although by and large they are grown up enough not to throw their weight around and cause problems, we are going to encounter this kind of divide when we move over. There will be a lot of talking about the changes, how things were better/worse under the BBC and potentially this could alienate the new users who have signed up to be part of the Guide, not a discussion on the merits of where h2g2 is today.

This threat of a BBC-era status could spill over into the Editorial Process, where an older member demands that changes are made to an Entry simply because they have been on the site for longer. This needs to be discouraged from the bottom up, and a close eye needs to be kept on the Writing Workshop to make sure that this behaviour is dealt with rapidly if it surfaces.

Being Made To Feel Welcome

As a new user we all found h2g2 daunting. It's huge, it's complex, and where ever you go there seem to be intelligent people writing or talking about many, many subjects. The current ACE system, designed to be a helping hand to new sign-ups, is hampered by technology problems and lack of numbers at the moment. A radical shake up, supported by technology changes, could make this process far more effective and is discussed in more detail elsewhere i this document. In summary, information will be sent by technology, freeing up the ACEs to have a more personal involvement with the newbies.

So far there is a good sense of encouraging newbies on-site both in conversations and in the Editorial Process. It is important that that sense is continued and carried on from all levels, not just Volunteers or just fellow Researchers but from everyone as a whole.

Keeping People Interested

Writers need to be inspired, encouraged, and made aware of how they are valued. Often it might only be a kind word, or it could be a competition or challenge that makes them view their writing from a different angle. In short, we can't let things just run themselves. We need to keep the writers excited about writing, otherwise they will lose interest, focus, and eventually leave the site.

Supporting in the Down Times

Writers can also have down patches where they just can't seem to get anything down in words. This is where Community spirit is the natural support structure; you can still be a part of h2g2 even if you aren't writing right now. By not pressuring people to write but by giving them the opportunity to do so when they are ready that can be reassuring that they are not being left out. So, in a manner similar to now, there need to be social forums, games and discussions so when you're not writing, you still have a part to play.