Where possible an appropriate link has been provided for further information. To return to this page; click 'Back' on your browser.

42 ~ The meaning of life, the universe and everything

The following is a brief A ~ Z guide of h2g2

A

• ACEs (Assistant Community Editors) ~ volunteers Researchers who welcome and offer helpful links and advice to new Researchers.

• ACEd ~ a term referring to being welcomed by an ACE. Also called welcomed or greeted.

• Alternative Writing Workshop (AWW) ~ one of the places, the other being The Post, where you can submit fiction or Poetry.

• Aviators ~ The Aviators are a motley bunch of Researchers dedicated to providing audio and audio-visual content for h2g2. Some of us are musicians, some film-makers, others have nice voices. Together we aim to complement h2g2 content with our collaborations.

B

• Backlog ~ older postings of a conversation thread, which can run to many pages.

• Blob ~ any picture/graphic that appears on h2g2, not including the smileys.

C

• Clubs and Societies ~ a variety of clubs, associations and societies any Researcher can join.

• Community Artists ~ volunteer Researchers who create graphics for the Edited Guide, The Post and community groups. They also create the Smileys.

• Curators ~ specially selected volunteer Researchers who help the Editors correct errors and broken links in Edited Entries.

D

• Default ~ automated original setting that can be manually changed. (h2g2's default skin is Brunel)

• DNA ~ (Douglas Noel Adams 1952 - 2001) ~ well known author and founder of h2g2.

E

• Edited Guide (EG) ~ a collection of articles that have gone through the Editorial process and are known as Edited Entries.

• Edited Guide Writing Workshop (WW or EGWW) ~ where you can submit fact based entries that are not ready enough to submit to Peer Review for help and advice to complete them.

• Editors ~ employed staff; also known as Italics (due to their names appearing in italic), the powers that be (TPTB) and the team.

• Edit page ~ a link located on your Personal Space for adding an introduction.

• Elton h2g2's Ham(p)ster ~ Elton is in charge of keeping the h2g2 engines running, and when the site stalls or crashes, Elton gets the blame.

• Elvised ~ a term used for a Researcher who hasn't posted for more than two months. From the saying 'Elvis has left the building'. Most likely to be seen in Peer Review.

• Entries ~ articles written by the h2g2 Community; people like you and me. (This page is an entry)

F

• Flame War ~ an online argument between two or more Researchers.

• Flea Market (FM) ~ where you can adopt partially written Entries, abandoned by Elvised Researchers.

• The Forum ~ the place for serious discussions and debates.

• Front Page (FP) ~ the front page or home page of h2g2.

• FrontPage Archive ~ unofficial page of listings of Edited Entries that have appeared on the Front Page since 1999.

G

• Glossary ~ Official h2g2 Glossary; has some words not included here. (Some of the information on this page has been copied from the Glossary)

• Guide Entry ~ another term for an Entry.

• GuideML (GML) ~ the mark up language of the Guide, based on XML.

• Guru ~ volunteer Researchers who have a wide knowledge of GuideML and can advise with GuideML problems. There are also many non-Gurus who can offer advice.

H

• Hints and Links for New Researchers ~ one of the most useful pages for New Researchers.

• Hootoo ~ affectionate name for h2g2.

• House Rules ~ the terms and conditions for using and contributing to h2g2.

I

• Italics ~ see Editors above.

• Infinite Improbability Drive ~ goes to a random Edited Entry.

J

• Journal ~ an online public diary located on every Researcher's Personal Space. (often known as a blog elsewhere) Journal postings will show on the Personal Spaces of those on the Researchers Friends List.

• h2Jargon ~ a more in depth information page, which includes abbreviations and acronyms.

K

L

• Lurkers ~ Researchers who read other peoples conversation posts, but don't post to them.

M

• Moderators ~ external staff who review complaints made by Researchers to see if the content breaks the House Rules.

• Month ~ the newest Edited Entries that have been on the Front Page in the last month.

N

• Named Entries ~ where you can find out how to do nifty links for use in conversations and journals in plain text.

• Nighthoover ~ a Researcher who posted to ask how to cancel his/her h2g2 account. Due to the question and of the catchy nickname he/she became a hootoo legend.
  
  

O

• Who's Online ~ shows who is online on h2g2 & the BBC message boards. Who's Online ~ shows who is online on h2g2 only.

P

• Peer Review (PR) ~ the first stage in the Editorial process where you can submit fact based entries, which are then reviewed by Scouts and other Researchers.

• The Post ~ h2g2's bi-weekly newspaper.

• Post or Posting ~ a message in a conversation thread.

• Personal Space(PS) ~ an individual Researcher's home page.

• The h2g2 Photographers ~ A voluntary run group, established in September 2006, who work with the Editors to produce photos for Edited Entries.

• Picture Library ~ contains blobs available for use with GuideML.

• Plain Text ~ the text in conversations, journals and the default text of Personal Spaces and Entries.

Q

• Frequently Asked Questions ~ Questions and answers about almost every aspect of hootoo.

R

• Researcher ~ a member of the online community who helps to build the h2g2 Guide. That's you, me and everyone registered with h2g2.

• Researcher Code ~ seen on some Personal Spaces; a cult thing based on the original Geek Code. (If you're not familiar with the Geek Code, you may find the Researcher Code confusing)

S

• SEx - Science Explained Forum ~ not to be confused with sex, is the place for discovering everything you ever wanted to know about Science.

• Scout ~ volunteer Researchers who review and advise on entries in Peer review, Edited Entry Writing Workshop and Update Forum, along with non-Scouts. Scouts pick the Entries in Peer Review when they are ready to begin the editing process to the Front Page.

• Simpost/Simulpost ~ two or more people posting at the same time to a conversation thread.

• Skins ~ different backgrounds that changes the layout and the functionality of h2g2.

• Smileys ~ small icons available to use in Plain Text or GuideML. View all our Smileys on one page.

• Sock puppet ~ a Researcher who registers in another name to boost their ego; either by agreeing with themselves, encouraging others to agree with them, or by arguing with themselves, either way, they win.

• Statistics ~ Most recent posts and Entries on h2g2.

• Sub Editor ~ volunteer Researchers who edit and correct entries according to the style of the Guide, after they have been picked (recommended) by a Scout, and accepted by the Editors.

T

• Thingites ~ a cult group of Researchers campaigning to rename the days of the week.

• Thread ~ a collection of postings which form a Conversation.

• The Towers ~ nickname for the office the Editors work in.

• Typo ~ a typing error.

U

• The UnderGuide ~ a voluntary run section of hootoo which specialises in fiction, poetry and personal experiences.

• The h2g2 University ~ where Researchers can write groups of entries for the Edited Guide on specific subjects.

• U Number ~ Researcher number located in the right-hand column under 'Researcher Data' on your Personal Space. When typed in Plain Text, with a U in front, it transforms into a link to your PS.

• Update Forum ~ where new information is added to out of date Edited Entries.

V

• VIEWER Tag ~ a GuideML tag which allows the viewer, and only the viewer to see their own username on a page.

• Volunteers ~ Researchers who give up their time to help with different aspects of hootoo. As well as the official volunteers, there are those who help with The Post and the Underguide.

W

• Web Safe Colours ~ coding for colours available for use with GuideML

• Writing Guidelines ~ a page offering advice on writing for the Edited Guide.

X

• X ~ can be used to remove a Guide Entry submitted to one of the writing forums. (Peer Review, Edited Guide Writing Workshop, Alternative Wriing Workshop)

Y

• Yikes ~ to click the Complaints button and make an official complaint about a Post, Entry, Journal or Personal Space which breaks the House Rules.

Z

If you have any questions about any of the above it is suggested that you either ask on the relevant entry, or on the ACES' Home Page.