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

I'm all for saving the staff time and effort, so let's take a look, shall we, at how this proposal has been received in its first 24 hours?

A few people have posted and not expressed coherent opinions on it, or don't care, or posted on different subjects, or just posted bookmarks. However, nearly thirty people have posted identifiable opinions, so here's how it breaks down so far...

For/made a positive suggestion

Jimi X F114453?thread=299279
Shagbark F114453?thread=299219
Mother of God F114453?thread=299261
abcBen ditto

Against/sees it as pointless

Ottox F114453?thread=299253
Tube ditto
Count Zero F114453?thread=299219
Geoff Taylor F114453?thread=299282
Blues Shark F114453?thread=299218
Zarquon's Singing Fish ditto
Ormondroyd ditto
Kaz ditto
KerrAvon ditto
SEF ditto
Ferrettbadger ditto
fat Kelli F114453?thread=299397
Waz F114453?thread=299443
Lentilla F114453?thread=299562
Crescent F114453?thread=299252
Terri and Yoda ditto
Peet ditto
Analiese ditto
Cefpret ditto
warrior ranger ditto
Fnord Prefix ditto
Frumious Bandersnatch F114453?thread=299261 (among others...)
Bogie ditto
Marjin ditto

Taking the p1$$

Quite a few in the thread discussing smiley labelling...



So the running total after 24 hours is:

For: 4.
Against: 24.

85.7% against. So far.

As Peter Snow would say... just a bit of fun.

FB

Thank you Anthea. Isn't she lovely everyone? Five us a twirl then...

It's either an appallingly small number of people who actually care at all (even enough to post smiley suggestions) or most of the supposedly active community aren't even aware of the issue.

Perhaps there haven't been that many postings because people are not aware that this conversation is going on. I stumbled across it by accident.

Lets be honest, most don't care, even if they are aware. By far and away the biggest influx of new users recently has been LD users. By the very nature of their access, the Edited Guide is of no interest to them. It's hardly fair to ask them, for example, to care about something they can't see or access in any event.

And frankly who can blame them. This rings withe word 'fait accompli'. The grid is a done deal, somewhere in the bowels or ivory towels of the BeeB.

"ivory towels"

I care FM, and have watched with intrest since the start, just not good with words and a very slow typer

you guys have said it all before i could............. and said it better.........

but still here watching, with many others

we are letting you (and others) fight our battle, I think............

anyway
hel2

...and then there are those of us who don't live online, and don't hear about things the moment they happen, and may take a day or two or a few to catch up.

given the fact that it's mid (or late) july, many of us are on holiday and may not be around for a week to a month or more.

and still more of us when presented with an issue take the time to think about it before jumping on any bandwagons.

while i'm relatively sure the results against will remain true, i hardly think 24 hours is long enough to judge apathy in the community.

i care too, but like Helelou2 says those involved in the 'fight' have gotten there before the rest of us can - do you guy's not work? ... or sleep for that matter?

never one to let others fight my battles, FB you can definately put me in the against it and sees it as pointless camp. the grid feels like a knee-jerk reaction to "something beyond our control" well intented, but ultimately useless, if Ed Pol has decreed a change in policy - it appears there is very little we can do about. while i admire most people's dedication, respect and more importantly faith in the italics to be sorting it out behind the scenes, their silence on the matter concerns me. why are they keeping us out of whatever loop they maybe involved with? we don't need details, but at least a reassuring post to say they're doing something about it.

it seems to me that the gird will only serve to limit what researchers write for the guide and that can never be a good thing for an encyclopaedia purporting to be about life, the universe and everything.

certain subjects, especially those surrounding sex and sexuality need space for open debate and decreeing that these subjects cannot be discussed is extremely dangerous. an 'enter at your risk - this entry may offend' flashy, wizzy thingymajigg at the top of the page should be enough

right, had my tuppence worth ... i'm away to buy a jar of marmite and to unleash the gimp

"don't work, don't sleep, what DO you do?"

I am in the oddest camp of all. I know. I post. But I don't care.

To restate something I said in the summer of 2001, "It is the BBC's sandpit, they can do what they like with it". And to quote Mr Moxie from around the same time. "It's only a website".

I care about the wellbeing of the community, and the continued existance of the site. But that's about it.

B

I'm sure this isn't only me:


If I don't contribute to the discussion it's because

- others are faster and more eloquent at it

- I'm not sure I know enough to comment (what does it take to get through PeerReview in the first place, what was the deal with BBC etc.)

- I agree with others who don't see the point in asking the community to work out new rules or criteria that it doesn't feel any need for in the first place and that will or will not get applied


So I'm convinced that the number of people actually being angry (or whatever) and ready to take a position is much bigger than the number of people posting about it.

The sad part being that we can't be sure that'll make any difference.


But if it helps to find out who / how many we are, there certainly would be quite simple ways to do so.

I care a lot, but recognise that tha bbc will ultimately do what they want. I wish I could share the 'its only a website' view, but its more than that to me. Here I am in a group of survivors, who support each other and are of more use than any counsellor or psychotherapist. This group helps me to live and are somewhere to go to when everything has turned s**t. That maybe sad, but there are some things in life which are difficult to live with. Now that freedom of discussion is perhaps being threatened, where do I go to now.

I care a lot, but sometimes find it easier to give up.

I'm sure that only a tiny minority of people on the site know this is going on, and of them only a minority care, and of them only a minority will post, and of them not all will have a strong opinion. And I was careful to point out that this is only the reaction in the first 24 hours.

The POINT is - is it a *representative* reaction?

I think so. This is partly because one might expect those with the time and inclination and ability to comment within the first 24 hours are by definition those with the strongest opinions about how the site works, and since they're by definition paying close attention to the issues (otherwise they wouldn't be here), then by definition they're holding the best-informed opinions. So in many ways, the first reactions from the community are the most valuable in terms of indications.

Put another way - if we wait longer, or get more comments, I don't think we'll see the result move far from that 85% against, unless the new commenters are garnered in some less than fair way - e.g. all the Italics and their families weigh in on the "For" side.

So, caveats about small sample size and short sample time notwithstanding, I think that this exercise in psephology was worthwhile.

I for one was frankly surprised that the "For"s turned out to be as high as 15%...

Afternoon all.

I've been following this issue since FB's original post in Ask H2G2, and would like to formally register myself as an 'Against the Grid' member as it is IMHO an irrelevance.

Blues said it best - we are subject to the capricious whims of a higher power. I think it is important to contiune to lobby for a statement from Editorial Policy on this, and congrats to Peet and others that have been able to fire messages that have reached somewhere near their target. I hope we can see some sort of response before we all die of old age.

The great thing about this site is the freedom of expression and conversation that bloom within it. I wish I had more time to fight for it but economics and other demands prevail! In the meantime, I'm siding with those who want to keep the flexibility that makes this site so interesting! and to you all.

Jim re-engaing lurk mode and going back to work....

I may never have posted to survivors Kaz, but it means a lot to me, one reason I like this place........

nice place, but shame about the ed pol....don't want to take my bat and ball and go home, just yet...........

Some people get something from h2g2 which they don't get anywhere else, its important and we are tired of continually seeing it threatened.

Us survivors group are just one of those groups here, which make peoples lives better. Hi Helelou, you are right we must keep fighting, or take it elsewhere where we won't be censored all the time.

as always an interesting read:

a broad called Ben in 'What are Ed Pol trying to achieve?'

F114453?thread=299261&skip=33&show=1

trying to think of something appropriate here, but failing


I may be a silent majority

just because my words fail me, doesn't mean I am not watching, and supporting what is going on

but what can can I do from the other side of the world?, we are not so small after all



I want to howl at the moon, but what would that achieve, except to make me look ?

If we're interested in keeping 'score', I should really be put down in the strongly opposed camp.

However, since the decision has been made, I felt it was important to contribute to making the best of a bad decision rather than wail that the decision itself was wrong-headed (which I believe it was!).


- Jimi X

For what it's worth I'm
Against/sees it as pointless / Taking the p1$$

TSF