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

I've just seen the news about h2g2 being disposed of by the bbc. I suspect I am going to be very angry soon, right now I'm in shock.

What I don't undersand is how we've had no warning of this. There will have been meetings, and people that have been reassuring us about the redesign will have known about those meetings.

And why now in the middle of the Great Redesign Cockup?

. Or should I be

Anyway, I'm not sure I've got the time to keep up with the explosion of conversations about this today, so if anyone feels like giving me the juicy bits I'd appreciate it.

I see Z has a project going looking at buying the place, so will pop over there when I get the chance.

It's true, kea. It seems from what they are saying that we'll have a couple of months left - and that the BBC will actively help us try to find somewhere else to go.

But yes, it's true.

The good news is that the community response has been fantastically constructive and united about trying to make sure it doesn't all go down the pipes.

You might want to have a look at https://groups.google.com/group/h2g2communityconsortium too.

Yep no worries..we'll get the job done.

>What I don't undersand is how we've had no warning of this.<

What like an early warning of, 'there are bombers approaching your vicinity..make sure you have everything safely protected first'?

I don't understand what you don't understand?

(I've got my hard hat on...but it's not really working.)

I mean that in past week we've had posts from the Eds, Nick, Dye, anyone else? You can't tell me they had no inkling of the possibility of this announcement. Why they wouldn't/couldn't give us a heads up is another matter.


Found the googlegroup saving thingy KB Looks good.

Eyup

Why there's been no warning - The BBC being what it is, those closest to us have probably been kept furthest away from this particular development. Since it's their jobs on the line

Why in the middle of the redevelopment - I suspect the redevelopment will have something to do with whatever it is that happens next (though the BBC being what it is, I doubt anyone planned it). In much the same way that when you sell your clapped-out old car, you polish it to within an inch of its life and make it look much younger and fresher than it actually is.

The thing is you'd have to be an half witted cr*tin of the highest degree to not see how wonderful h2g2 is, and what fantastic potential it has as new hootoo. But that requires *RISK* - the thing the BBC was always famous for.

The people running it now just think in terms of numbers. They look at the figures and just think right we'll conn those lower level duffers at the beeb, who in turn are too stupid to not know what's coming...and they'll then conn the public.

Yep it's an end of an era as a way of thinking.

Nick Reynolds said the redesign wasn't for sprucing up for a sale, and I tend to believe him, not least because the redesign was planned quite a long time ago.

I'm staving off grief by reading the plans for a community buyout. I'm also feeling stupid because I didn't see this coming. I assumed that the MoT and redesign indicated that the bbc did actually want to keep the site and had made a decision to keep it (not just keeping it by default as in the past). Still I generally prefer being naive and hopeful and getting disappointed sometimes to being cynical or seeing conspiracies everywhere.

Hey ho.

I really don't think it was sprucing up for a buyout. Why bother making it conform to the rest of the BBC Online if they knew they were going to get rid of it? It just wouldn't make sense.

...although what I don't get is why they are still continuing with it, fixing bugs and so on. I'm hoping if we move elsewhere and aren't bound by BBC house design style, we can forget about Barlesque. Making it fit in with the BBC was really it's purpose.

I suspect they started out a project to streamline us and make us easier to keep an eye on and maintain, but halfway through someone else decided they needed to save money and decided that online content would be the best bet as a starter for ten. Instead of scrapping 'Hole in the wall'.

I still dont understand where they are so short of cash. I *still* cant believe that millions of people in the UK have suddenly cancelled their TV licences. Pish and piffle.

I think the Eds genuinely believe that the redesign is the best thing for the site, wherever it goes next, so they're committed to finishing it. I'm sure its resale value is part of that now too.

But so much of it is just relevant to making it fit into the BBC....