No, it's not about the 500th Random Ramblings – I think I wrote about one tenth of that amount. It's the 500th issue of the h2g2 Post we celebrate.

If you have a look at the first issue of the h2g2 Post you'll see that they had a Managing Editor, two Lead Editors, Thing, an Art Director, and.... 499 issues later and we still have three Editors,but we lack an Art Director, and I'm not entirely sure I qualify as a Lead Editor. Be that as it may, the h2g2 Post is still going strong, and so I'd like you to celebrate the 500th Issue with us.

I tried to get in touch with former Post Editors and others who've shaped the h2g2 Post to coax them into writing a few lines, but the idea occurred to me too late, so I didn't reach all. However, the following lovely people were quick to respond and sent me this:

As a place to write and get that writing out to an audience, the Post came along at exactly the right time for me. So it only seemed right to step up and have a go at co-editing it when circumstances left the previous incumbent (the wonderful Shazz) unable to continue, and the Post itself in danger of ceasing to be.



Even co-editing a bi-weekly Post felt like a trial most of the time – looking back, I made a lot of bad decisions – but it was also very rewarding and, if nothing else, I'm glad I was able to do my bit in keeping it ticking over until more capable people could step in.



The Post has been a big part of my life over the last decade and, to my mind, it's one of the best things about Hootoo. I suspect I will probably go down in history as the George Lazenby of Post Editors, but that's still something I'm proud of.

The thing with anniversaries, is that they keep happening.



If you're lucky.



And I think that over the years we've been very lucky indeed. Almost every week for the quite a few years now there's been an issue of the Post, and that's not an easy achievement. Writing good, readable content is not the easiest thing to do. Writing it week after week is even harder. Yet week after week there's another issue of the community newspaper.




And this means so much more now that we're all settling down into the idea that members of the community help run the site itself. h2g2 has in a way always been run by the community, the entries are written by the community, the forums are populated by the community, the direction of the site has, in a way, always been guided by the community. Don't believe me? When h2g2 first started out the structure was slightly different. It was more focussed on edited entries and the forums attached to them. Yet, as the community settled in and the forums and unedited entries started to take on more and more life, a lot of focus started to shift. Askh2g2 is a prime example of this.




In this community site of ours, there are some absolute gems of wit and wisdom, experience and expertise that aren't in the edited Guide, they're all over the place wherever researcher has put finger to keyboard, and the Post has been a shining example of that for the last 500 issues. A sheer wealth of good reading that is absolutely indispensable.




We have been very lucky indeed, and I hope we continue to be so.

Congratulations to The Post on the 500th issue. Originally the brainwave of vegiman as a means of keeping h2g2ers up to date with activities and entries, The Post soon expanded as it encouraged poetry, story telling – both fact and fiction, cartoons, travelogues and much much more. Over the years it has moved house twice, changed Editor-In-Chief 7 times and published more articles than I would care to count. I see that way back in the 300th edition I estimated that there had been at least 6,000 articles but probably nearer 7,000. 200 editions later I wouldn't even like to take a guess at the number, but it would certainly be impressive.

After 13 years membership of h2g2 it is wonderful to see that both the site and The Post is going from strength to strength. I personally steered The Post through the sad loss of DNA and the horror of the twin towers which were difficult times, but also had all the fun of attending and covering meets, seeing the cartoons before anyone else, working with some great friends such as Pastey, Monsy and Greebo and even producing an actual printed version of The Post. I don't think that any of us founding members envisaged a 500th h2g2 Post, so kudos to all those editors and contributors who came after and have kept The Post and h2g2 very much alive and thriving.

Back at the beginning of h2g2 time , I came up with the notion of a HooToo newspaper. It was given the name "The h2g2 Post", because it blended in with what happens on site - everybody posting all over the place. I gathered some enthusiastic Researchers as the project was too big for one person.



Peta was Community, Mark Moxon was Editor with Peta being Community Editor; both loved the Idea. It was hosted on a different site which Pastey set up so it could offer more than h2g2 could offer at that time but Mark Moxon soon gave many concessions to The Post to allow it to move to its present home on HooToo.



As the first h2g2 editor I still take pride in seeing today's Post as I often pop in to have a look around.



You can see all the founders by looking at the first issue, some of those names often pop up on the who's online but do not seem to post messages, perhaps they will in the near future and if reading this please contact me on HooToo old codgers re-union area.
Much appreciation goes to those early researchers, otherwise the Post would had never got off the ground.



all the best

LivLuv&Bhappy

Thanks for your email and for inviting me to contribute! I'm a bit rushed—it's my university graduation this weekend and things are slightly mad—but congratulations on your 500th issue!
Even these years later, I'm so proud to have been a part of making at least a few of those issues possible. I edited The Post for a year when I was in high school, and I can't think of anywhere but the Internet that would allow a teenager enough responsibility that it was possible to actually learn something from it. Because of my work with The Post, I've gone on to do a number of odd writing and editing jobs throughout university, which has been delightful.


Three cheers to the current editorial team and to all the past members who have made this milestone possible!

Wow, the Post is 500 eh? What a remarkable achievement. My involvement with The Post coincided with my two happiest and most productive years on h2g2, and I look back at my time as Editor with pride and fondness. I wish The Post and h2g2 every success in the future.

As somebody who was the Post editor for nearly two years, I guess I should add a few lines, too. Working for the h2g2 Post has been the best and most rewarding thing I've done on h2g2 over the years. I made lots of friends, conversed with lots of people and even though we shipped through rough waters at times, it was always fun. I'm very proud and grateful that I had the chance to be part of this wonderful weekly magazine, be it as writer, sub-editor or editor. Here's to the next 500 issues! —Bel

Random Ramblings Archive

Pastey, shazzPRME, vegiman, Awix,echomikeromeo, Dmitri Gheorgheni, Skankyrich and Bel

04.06.12 Front Page

Back Issue Page