First of all, although the Underguide is a volunteer project, Miners are not official h2g2 volunteers, but are no less valued for that. Second, as you are helping out in your spare time for absolutely no return at all, you are not of course tied down to any specific obligations.That would go against the nature of h2g2. The Underguide [link to Underguide page] is alternative but not that alternative. Your fellow Miners hope that you like the Underguide enough to want to help it thrive. They don't mind how much or how little you do. ¹

We will never force you to do anything. Well we can't, so we have to make do with just asking nicely. Everything you do should be because you want to help h2g2 develop and because you love the Underguide style entries. We hope for official recognition for the scheme, ² but at the moment it is completely unofficial. If you ever think your fellow-volunteers are expecting too much, let us know, and we'll apologise and hide under agcBen's eiderdown ³.

So what do Miners do?

Everything!

In the dim and distant past of the great and glorious Edited Guide, h2g2's Editors chose and edited all its entries. This became too time-consuming even for these dedicated individuals, so the official volunteer schemes were formed. Scouts identified suitable entries, and the Sub-Editors tidied them up putting them into GML if necessary and generally preparing them for the editors to sprinkle their own official fairy-dust over them before they went to the Front Page for their day in the sun. After which they went to rest on their laurels in the upper "edited" ranks of the archives.

The Underguide has no Editors or archivists. The Miners do everything but the bulk of the work is searching for and showcasing⁴ the entries so Miners cover the duties of both an Edited Guide Scout and Sub-Editor. They search out good pieces, mainly from Alternative Peer Review(APR) which don't fit the Edited Guide requirements, give them a light polish and display them in a way which makes them easy to identify and easy to find. They also, as Scouts do in the Peer Review forum, tidy up the APR forum as they mine.

Searching and Nominating Underguide entries

In order to choose gems for the Underguide, you need to know what makes a suitable Edited Guide entry because if that is where it belongs then that is where it should be. Obviously you also need to know what makes a gem quality Underguide entry. So it would be very useful to read both the page on Writing Guidelines for the Edited Guide and the Underguide Guidelines page.

It takes time to learn what makes a good Edited Entry, and arguably it takes as much time if not more to learn what makes a good Underguide Entry. It is also worth learning how to make comments on what can be intensely personal pieces without saying something inappropriate and we hope Miners will all help each other with that. If you are unsure about this, or anything else Miner related, the Miners' homepage is there for questions and discussions with fellow Miners.

Miners search the APR forum, Peer Review (for great entries which do not conform to the Edited Guidelines but which they think would be of interest to a wider audience), and the rest of h2g2, unsubmitted entries, journals, and even forum postings.

The basics of searching and commenting

The main process for writers to submit work for consideration for the Underguide, the Post, CAC or just to look for comment, will be APR. As part of searching for Underguide entries Miners are asked to frequent this forum and encourage writers who submit to it by giving constructive feedback. There is some very good advice on commenting on entries on the APR page. The more activity there is in APR, the more the Underguide has to choose from.

• If an entry in APR needs only a few changes to make it suitable for the Edited Guide, then you can suggest that the author make those changes, and point them in the direction of Peer Review. If however it is a good entry which would lose too much by being rewritten, or if the author does not want to re-write it, then the you can recommend it for inclusion in the Underguide.
• If you find a piece that you think could be Underguide material but needs some changes ask the author if they'd like to try for the Underguide and would like any constructive comment.
• In giving constructive comments be positive. Say what is good and suggest ways in which the entry can be improved. If something doesn't work for you in the writing say that, not that it's wrong. Too much criticism will harm the process by scaring people off.
• There is no requirement for authors to use GML but if they do it makes the sub-editors job easier. Also, some authors may prefer to do their own presentation so Miners can offer advice and help with GML and Underguide presentation (??) but there is no problem if the author chooses not to use it.

The tunnels outside APR are unchartered - tread carefully. Writers who submit pieces to APR expect a response, writers who haven't submitted their work may be taken aback by the sudden appearance of a Miner.

• If you find a piece that you think could be Underguide material but needs some changes ask the author if they'd like to try for the Underguide and would like any constructive comment. If they do, point them to APR.
• If you think an entry could be Underguide material but needs some changes and the author appears to be missing you can send the entry to APR yourself by clicking on the submit for review button. Then ask other Miners' opinions and make the changes yourself, aknowledging the originating author's contribution appropriately.
• If you find something in a journal or a conversation that you would like to mine for the Underguide then tell the author and encourage them to submit it to APR. If the author appears to be absent then you will need to use your own judgement. It may be best to leave it, treating it the same way as an entry an author has marked as 'not for review'.
• Don't make any promises that a piece will get into the Underguide.

Choosing Entries to Nominate for the Underguide

You can nominate an entry that is suitable for the Underguide and of Underguide quality that list to be agreed - these are the Scout's ones
:

• Has been in APR for at least a week.
• Isn't still being worked on by the author.
• Hasn't been written by you!
• Is ready to go into the Underguide with little or no editing beyond adding/amending GuideML. With creative pieces it's important to keep the writer's voice and the bulk of gem cutting and polishing should be done in the APR before the gem is brought to the surface and nominated.
• Has had a good response from the Community.
• That you are certain is of Underguide quality and really appeals to you even if it hasn't had much response from the Community. But bear in mind it will need other miners' support.
• Is not closely duplicated by an entry already in the Underguide. does duplication matter?
• Hasn't been copied from another source; you can check this by running a key phrase between " marks through a search engine such as Google. ⁵

The Nomination Process

• The first step is to go to the Offsite Group and see whether the piece has already been nominated. If not, begin a thread to nominate it. The opening post in this thread counts as one 'yes' vote. The title of the thread should be the A-number and title of the entry. The first post should include your reasons for nomination.
  
• Once an entry is nominated, other Miners may cast votes in its thread as well. Miners each are allotted X votes per week, which may be cast as 'yes' votes (including nominations), or as 'no' votes, or as any combination of the two, the total votes per week not exceeding X. Casting fewer than X votes is.... Quoting GTB; "what? Acceptable, not cool, grounds for immediate flaying, downright saintly in a beat-poetry/pro-golf kind of way? Discuss. "
• When a Miner casts a 'yes' vote, they may, if no one already has, make it a 'yes+subbing' vote. This vote indicates that, not only do they agree that it should be included in the UnderGuide, but that they'd also be willing to Subedit it.
• When an entry has received three MORE 'yes' votes than 'no' votes, including one 'yes+subbing' vote, it has been officially picked by the Miners.
• Miners shouldn't vote for their own entries.
• The UG Persona now takes over and Scouts the entry officially and sends it to the Towers. The author will receive a congratulatory message which will include a request to take their entry out of APR.

So that's that bit done. Still got time on your hands? Not a problem - read on!

Sub-Editing for the Underguide

One of the Underguide's plus points is that if a Miner really likes an entry they can not only vote for it but can then volunteer to work with the author subbing it and, together, see it all the way to the finished version. But there is no requirement to do this if subbing is not what lights your miner's candle. Nor does a Miner have to search as well as sub. The subbing duties are similar to the duties of the official h2g2 Subs, but the Miners who sub Underguide entries will need to work more closely with the author where they can. These are more personal pieces of work than many Edited Entries, and the author, if around, should give their final approval to the final version.

How the Subbing Process Works

There will be much less work in subbing Underguide entries simply because one of the basic tenets of the Underguide is to allow for more personal, creative pieces of work. It follows that entries should be as close as possible to the author's original entry. For this reason all changes should be made in consultation with the author.

• If you cast the yes+subbing vote you will be notified where you can access the 'test123456' version of the now Officially Recommended Copy of the entry. You then copy this into your own subbing copy and you are ready to start on some light gem polishing
• You should then contact the author, giving them a link to the subbing copy of the entry and advising that they subscribe to the entry page.
• Use a thread attached to the subbing copy to let them know what, if any changes you feel are needed for Underguide status and ask for their comments. Remember that the article is the writer's baby in responding to their comments and in your decision on how to proceed from there. It would be normal to defer to the author's preference in questions of style, word choice, spelling... basically everything except for approved GuideML ⁷ and any issue relating to the House Rules. Ask advice at the Miners homepage or mailing list before any difficulties, not that there should be any, arise.
• Read the entry closely. Try to clarify any points that don't make sense. The entry needs to be reasonably understandable to the reader - imagine reading the entry as if you knew absolutely nothing about the topic, and see if you can understand it. It's important, too, not to assume that people know what you mean - just because a product is a household name in one country doesn't mean it is everywhere else. Where adding explanation will spoil the style and flow of a piece ask the author about adding notes at the end of it to allow everyone to be able to appreciate it.
• As a double check, check again that the entry hasn't been copied from another source; you can check this by running a key phrase between " marks through a search engine such as Google [link]. ⁸
• Put in any links to other Underguide or Edited Guide Entries that add to the piece.
• How about the sub ed adding a keywords list to the end of the entry for search purposes? These type of pieces may often not contain keywords in content or title. Alternatively the subbing Miner could decide on the Underguide title leaving the author's own title as a header.
• On completion, and final approval by the author, the much acclaimed, very desirable Underguide prefix is added to the entry title (or is that later, when it gets to the front page) and the UG Persona is told that the entry is ready.
• Add in the UGPersona's check of discussion thread and entry???
• The now-polished Recommended Copy is returned to the Towers by the UG Persona, using the standard subbing tools. Once received, its status goes from 'Recommended' to 'Pending', and it goes into the Front Page queue.
• any more?more discussion needed again, the above fits with GTB's UG processes page and my understanding of current discussions being held.

Cleaning Alternative Peer Review

This is based on, and cribbed from, the current set up for cleaning the AWW, which may or may not be appropriate.

One the jobs of a Miner is to keep the APR mine tidy. Clutter in the tunnels could trip up your colleages or obscure hidden gems. So please minesweep as you go. When you come across pieces that are clearly in the wrong place do what you can to have them moved to where they belong. But carefully, don't start something that could bring the roof down on you - gentle persuasion is what's needed.

• Please bear in mind that authors of entries may be sensitive to you removing them, so ask first by posting to the APR thread. Tact and kindness are needed even where the author appears to be absent.
• If the author is present suggest to them that it should be moved and say why.
• If the author appears to be absent, post to the APR thread proposing a move, saying why and where it might be moved to.
• Wait for another Miner to come along and second your proposal.
• When it has been seconded you post a request for a move to the appropriate thread on Cleaning Out the Alternative Writing Workshop. The appropriate thread being the one headed by the current week. If there isn't one you need to start one. Post the entry's 'A' number, rather than the complete url, give the proposer and seconder's name and state where the entry should be moved to.
• APR entries might be moved to the Flea Market if they are adaptable for the Edited Guide (or the Underguide???), back to the original entry, or to .........?????????

And That's All??

You want more!? You've got prospecting, digging, pitpropping, motherlode nurturing, gem cutting , gem polishing, gem displaying, and minesweeping and you want more? You could always try writing - see what it's like being on the receiving end of the Miner's pick!

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