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

In case anyone's wondering where the UG is this weekend, it's been shoved down into 20-words or less hell below its old space, below a Message from our Founder, below Go Mobile with H2G2 and below Community Activities. We are above... um, Related BBC Links.

We're allowed 20 words to describe our UG entry/entries of the week. Can someone figure out how I can fit in Supercalifragilisticexpiallydocious or Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis to the next blurb? Maybe I'll write an entry, cheat it into the UG and entitled it 'Which Word Do I Like Better? Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis or Supercalifragilisticexpiallydocious'. That's only nine words! We'd have eleven left to play around with.

Yeah, I don't like this. Feels like a demotion. I suppose, though, that it is only natural that something called the UnderGuide be buried, but I don't have to like it.

Or you could fit in: methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanyla lanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalany lphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspa rtylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleu cylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspar tylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylser ylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonyliso leucylglutaminylaspfraginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylpheny lalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcyste inylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylargin ylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylgl ycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylpheny lalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalany ltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylva lylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglu taminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalan ylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucy lphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartyl aspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryl tyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylseryl arginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparag inylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucy lvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalany lprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylser ylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylas partylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylser ylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhi stidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethio nylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylp rolylmethion yllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine.
which just happens to be the longest word I have ever come across in this universe. Know idea what it is though sorry.

Adib

A chemical formula of something, I think.

I think the editors might be a bit angry with me if I tried to fit that in. Might have to try though

ARRRGGHHH!!! Finally got round to looking at the <./>FrontPage</.> for today and I was made peeved all over again by where we are. We should be right under "Write for the EG", not at the bottom beneath DNA's message, which frankly, whilst lovely and important, isn't a "key location" of h2g2 or anything.

*stumbles off very slowly muttering and grumbling*

Yeah...
The Post probably isn't very happy with it either.

Also note that we are both under "COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES"...isn't the EG a community activity??? Oh it's all bloody stupid! And what happens when we politely ask why it can't be moved up the page? They get hacked off and sarcy...


Any italics please note that we do love you very much and think you're wonderful...but the UG and The Post both need the same publicity as the EG. They're all important parts of h2g2 and a lot of people put a lot of work into all of them.

Well, I'm not sure how many italics read my journal Kat
I think I got their attention though.

I'm going to try to talk to Reefgirl.

Oh, I'm glad it's not just me, I was beginning to feel I was being ungateful and grumpy. I *do* like the new logo, and the permanent (but unguaranteed) feature, but...

Oh, and twenty words will be a real problem when we have two entries to promote. I was going to leave commenting on that until we had two entries to promote, perhaps two with long names .

Hey, new UG Guideline? One word titles only!

I imagine the editors are a bit frustrated with you anyway for whining and seeming ungrateful. I realize that you are a preemptive strike sort of person, but this is one time you should have left it alone for a while. There are ways of checking the number if hits. If the readership dropped because of the location, then you would have something tangible to take to them.

You know that old saying about a person not being happy if they hung him with a new rope?

Just get rid of the spaces. HelloReaderWeAtTheUnderGuideLookForGems...
At least the mid-word capitalization in UnderGuide will look natural

"I realize that you are a preemptive strike sort of person, but this is one time you should have left it alone for a while."

Don't you think that's a bit unfair to the authors whose entries are shoved below an advertisement for h2g2 mobile?
No, I don't think so, H. I don't care if I look ungrateful. It's not about me.

And how much good will you be doing the authors when the eds say that since we don't like the location they'll just take us off altogether?

Those folks who are regular readers are the ones you need to mobilize. Complaints from the public are always more successful than complaints from staff.

They're not going to take the UG off altogether. Jims is probably just frustrated with me because I gave him a nickname. He's Jed

Who's the staff?
I'm from the public. I just happen to be on a soapbox with a megaphone.

In this case you're definitely staff. UG staff.

I'm really pleased with the recognition the UG has received. I just don't see any benefit in creating ill will at this point.

It would look with no gaps .

Interesting point about readers H, made me realise it's not readers I'm thinking of. Just like the EG, it's more good entries I'm thinking of.

Is that right or is that wrong? Lots of good entries will keep readers.

It'll be in submissions to the AWW that we'll see any difference.

I told you, Jims is only upset with me because I nicknamed him Jed/Josiah and my nickname (I am the Pooh-Bah!) is much better.

Of course there's no benefit in creating ill will. When is there ever a benefit to creating ill will? I ain't a-scared of looking ungrateful to try to get things done. I'm not ungrateful. I *CARE* about the UG. We all spent a lot of time on it, and the end result is a new blurb and a link every week, so that is important to me - and many others, I suspect. The Post eds and contributors spend an incredible amount of time churning out issues, and that blurb on the FP is the end result. It's important to them, I think.

Well, the UG serves many masters. The readers, the authors, the volunteers, the h2g2 eds, but mostly, my ego. So we have to think about all sides, Waz

We were born from a thread called 'Why is the AWW Still Such a Dead-End?' after all. The UG was more or less created to get the AWW going. Plus, with more submissions to the AWW, we'll get better entries and more readers, and it all works out in the end

You're worrying me H, but that's also reassuring. I do see this as less recognition but you've probably got more perspective.

It is upsetting though that there's a pressure not to comment unless favourably - I mean as UG Eds, it goes with the label that we put the UG's case. And you have to comment just to talk it through, you know?

Anyway, I shouldn't be here
later,
Waz

Your ego! I forgot. How *could* I forget!



Really this time. (Though I've done enough hous at home just lately .)
Waz

I have no idea how you could forget that, Waz. It's right there in front of you. In fact, it always is.

"It is upsetting though that there's a pressure not to comment unless favourably - I mean as UG Eds, it goes with the label that we put the UG's case."

Yup. That's what we're here for as much as anything else. I tend to battle with Jimster 'cos I'm just so durned good at it

By the way, there seems to be a rather excellent entry in the AWW on Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE COINCIDENCE!

Sorry, but I'm not going to change my opinion that the readers are what the UG is all about, just like readers are what any other form of publishing is about. Libraries don't exist for authors. They exist for readers.

The AWW and the UG should be there for those researchers who enjoy reading fiction, poetry, memoirs and other prose forms that are not suitable for the Edited Guide. They should not exist to stroke some writer's ego. If that is what it's all about, then start a writer's club, exchange your pieces and tell each other how brilliant you all are. Unless the general membership supports the UG, unless people actually read the stuff, it's a waste of bandwidth.

The location of the Post and UG announcements is unfortunate. But I have spent a lot of years walking the tightrope of public opinion and dealing with self-important politicians and petty issues that somehow turned into monsters that haunted my dreams at night. I have as a result developed a sixth sense of sorts about when and where to pick a fight. There are times when a cause is best served by keeping your mouth shut. So, taking my own advise, that is what I intend to do here in the future.