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

Yes, of course But I thought pointing out problem areas would actually be helpful

There will always be problem areas.. That's what makes it so much fun!

"With the five entries shown, new one at the top system, you could publish an entry without a picture by leaving the picture unchanged, referring to the previous top entry."

If the picture used belongs to an Entry other than the new one at the top, we really would need captions with the pictures. I don't think it's a great idea, though - it would draw attention away from that day's featured Entry more than anything else.

As usual I was rambling around the BBC site, looking for something else entirely (btw its not just hootoo's search facility which needs sorting out) and I came across the BBC's Archive collection


http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/collections.shtml

I thought it was worth bookmarking it for a comparison with the size of photos/illustrations that are being used in this section of the Beeb.

Thanks lanzababy, I believe that archive is what Jimster left us to do, but I could be wrong

Teasswill: "perhaps there could be a 'round up of the week' page showing all the 'quote of the day', links to each day's new entries etc"

ie U230056
eg A55164864

AWESOME BLOB on today's FP

Yes, it is.

But it's another Entry that jumped the queue for no reason other than the fact that it had a picture

Don't get too attached to the notion of a 'queue'. We have to be flexible here. We're doing the best we can. There are some Entries still waiting because we haven't got pictures yet, and others may 'jump' ahead of them if they are easier to illustrate. The order in which the Entries appear on the front page is not such a big issue. The queue is more like a pool of Entries which will appear on the front page at some point. And today's entry and illustration are great - let's not lose sight of that. That's the main thing.

Well said, that man in the Tower!

You're doing a fine job, Sam

If you know some entries are plainly unillustratible (-able?), then make sure you don't leave these festering in the 'Coming Up' area for too long, as it will de-motivate the authors (as we have seen recently)

Icy

Good point, Icy.

I understand that there's no set order - but it seems that the sub-editors are pretty much superfluous these days. That's what's annoying me. We've had Entries ready to go since May that still haven't seen the light of day; they were written for the Stretcher and as such should showcase h2g2 writing at its best. That they are forgotten because there's no picture just gives the pictures too much significance. (And it demotivates the authors, too - I've had some of them complaining to me that I don't draw pictures for them; they take this as some kind of criticism.)

Oh dear, that's a bad attitude I never expect artwork, that phaser BLOB was a complete and utter delightful surprise.

Well, it's as if we artists are currently the ones deciding what even goes on the Front Page, regardless of the individual entry's merits. It's like we're suddenly *responsible*.

I think it's that which I'm trying to pin down and which makes me quite uncomfortable. I feel guilty over not currently having the time to do artwork, and that isn't the point of a volunteer scheme.

I'm sure that it does feel to many like their pieces just aren't good enough, otherwise, why would they go unpublished for so long? And that's unfair to the writers, the main stars of hootoo, or the other volunteer groups like the sub-editors, who usually improve a piece much more than a picture can. (And who are currently being skipped in the chain, but I've mentioned that...)

Though perhaps I'm just overinterpreting things, since I'm currently doing a lot of research involving the power of images and how they can confer authority. So perhaps it's wiser to just ignore me for the moment.

(I fully agree, though - great blob from the Penguin there, he's definitely an asset!)

<>

Feel the power we wield!

Mala,

Please don't take things so personally. It's not your fault there is a queue for pics of any sort. I know it can be upsetting when some researchers criticise the site. Just remember, without them this place could be too quiet

How is your thesis coming along?


lil x

Glad to see the existence of these, but how could I have found them? I was thinking of a link on the front page to the week's new items including quote of the day etc etc.

As regards entries 'queue jumping' it's the lack of adequate editing in some (because of the haste?) that bothers me as well as others having to wait longer.

It seems to be working! Every single Entry on the FP now has multiple comments, evidence that people are actually reading them if they stay up longer