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

I just had to register my Mum on the site, it's fairly simple. However, once I finished doing that for her, curiousity got the better of me. I sought out MY class of 2000...and there were people there. None of them doing anything particularly exciting with themselves. Temptation is arising for me to go and register and begin phase one of revenge on them all for making my school life a living hell : showing them what is happening for me (as well as what will), and how s**t their life is in comparison (yes I know it is childish, but hell, it has to be done). However, I know that if I do (and it won't be a blatent thing, but a sickly sweet, "hi everyone" type approach) I will be swamped under with emails, as I was, for some remarkable reason, someone that will always be remembered.

Is anyone else registered on the site? Thoughts, experiences, memories, whatever. Discuss, with the side question of "should I register?"...

My brother registered, wrote a totally fictional story about himself in the details bit, then wrote himself up as a famous pupil of the school. It is one of the funniest things I've seen for a long while. The thing is, his sense of humour is probably what most people remember him for so it is just about what everyone expected of him

I'd been out of school a long time before I registered and have managed to get in contact with a few people that were important to me then that I had managed to lose contact with. We haven't had big reunions or anything, but it is nice to get the occasional email about their lives. I don't know how honest everyone is being, but most sound happy and busy It is funny how some of the really nasty girls in my scool have ended up in exactly the kind of careers I would have expected, I guess some people are life's natural bullies.

It is start to get scary just how many of them are marrying and producing offspring now though

Register if you want, lie if you want or just put in an 'I'm not dead yet' message, or don't put in a message at all (although it is really annoying when people do that). It is just a bit of fun - set yourself up a new email account for the purpose if you are convinced that hundreds of messages will come flooding in.

"I'm not dead yet" I like that.

Someone in my tutor group has a one year old now. Which is terrible, because she was thick as two short planks, and ugly with it. But it happens, and you can't really do much about it.

It's the unstoppable amounts of email that I will no doubt get. I want everyone to be grinding their teeth in envy, but I'm not sure whether I want them to hunt me down.

Oh decisions decisions...

You seem to be assuming that because people remember you, they will want to get in touch!

I joined & have been pleased to renew contact with some old friends, even to the extent of going to a school reunion. Some of us discussed the blandness & brevity of many entries. Someone deliberately chose to give little detail on the basis that if anyone really wanted to find out more they could get in touch. Those who have written anything exciting sound a bit boastful. So we concluded probably best to stick to simplicity, albeit boring.

From 2002, your class hasn't had much time to do anything yet! Why don't you join & say what you really think? Is there anyone you'd want to renew contact with?

Yeah, that's also what I plan on doing. One day when I become highly succesful and an international sexsymbol, I will go to a high-school reunion and make them all so bloody envious

Actually, we all left school in 2000...not 2002...

We've all had plenty of time to do things in...3 years is a long time. Long enough to lose touch, and long enough to change completely!

And I'm not sure why I would register, aside from the viewpoint that I mentioned. Hence why I started the thread...

I don't think they've included Denmark yet. There is one I would like to get in touch with.

I signed up a while ago. I've only had three or four emails, mostly because I've kept in touch with most of the people I wanted to keep in touch with. What I like about it is just knowing how people are doing. I'm not sure I want to email my friend David from primary school (who's probably a Dave these days), but he was a good friend and I'm glad to read the the man he's grown into is doing well and is happy.
I don't know what we would have in common any more, other than that we used to be ten year olds who were friends. Perhaps we'd have loads in common, who knows?

There's stuff posted by people that I didn't like back then, but I wish them no harm. There's a good chance that they're different people now, that perhaps they were less at fault than my child's memory tells me, or perhaps they were dealing with things that I knew nothing about. But then I left school in 1992, and sixth form in 1994, so I've got a little distance.

I suppose it all depends upon your experiences....

I registered, and as a result a Certain H2G2 researcher and I realised that we knew each other - beware!

I have been contacted by (among many others):
My teenage 'best friend' - we exchange occasional emails but no big deal
My French teacher, who was great and who I have enjoyed talking to - are you prepared tobe cntacted by teachers?
The world's most boring man - who shared a flat with my then boyfriend/now hubby at uni - he didn't get a response

If you put a reasonable biog up, then that will fill most people's curiosities and cut down on the emails, or do I get just the teeniest feeling that you would enjoy the emails?

Most of the people who 'made my life a living hell' are noit registered, and, at a distance of 15 years, I now find I can't remember most of their names -

I signed up when the site started, but I was already in contact with those I wanted to see anyway.

My entry is pretty dull, but then I don't want the whole world to know about the bits that might be interesting

Like Cloviscat, the people I would like to hear about:, the bullies and bitches (a few were both) are not registered. I suspect most of them are leading quiet, contented lives now and are quite unaware of how miserable they made other people.

Or maybe they are in jail

There you go saturnine, write your message as though you are in the IT resource centre of some prison somewhere exotic. Imply some sort of daring crime. It'll make everyone think you are dangerous and interesting and they'll be talking about you for ages.

I rather think that many of them are too braindead to use something as literate as the internet...

Start it out "Greetings from Death Row..."

Oh you guys are geniuses...

I will definitely think about it now.

I signed up quite early on, mainly in the hope of getting back in touch with a particular school friend, and some college pals. Also to be findable - there are people all over the place it would be interesting to hear from.

My friend hasn't materialised, but I was able to put another friend in touch with her college pal. It's also nice to read that old acquaintances have been getting on OK, including people I didn't like at the time - some people do lose unlikeable traits they had at school.
I'm interested in people, not school reunions (never having seen much point in School Spirit, or getting attached to a school).


I haven't had that flood of emails; nil, in fact, but then I was hardly the type to stand out in a crowd at school! I emailed one person though, who now works in my field, and had a nice & interesting reply.

I think the site's a great idea; fun and harmless (but I suppose that depends on people's motives).

Any contact is initially through Freinds Reunited so nobody gets your email address unless you want them to.
Anyone who has paid the five quid to join can send you a message but only via F.R. You only need pay the money if you want to contact someone, if you're sure people will want to get in touch with you then save your money.
I put my name on there hoping to find two specific people and paid the membership fee only when I saw the name of someone who I knew for certain would be able to put me in touch with them. It worked for me.


At least you're not going to discover your "first crush" is now a grandmother

TSF

er that would be Friends....

I'm on there.

I posted half a dozen different stories about myself, one of them the truth, the other five fictions (e.g. I won the lottery last year and I now live in Hawaii where I fly helicopters for fun and profit; I sell the Big Issue since redundancy and my slide into alcoholism), and invited readers to guess which is the right one.

I've had various answers - one said "probably all of them", several guessed specific (wrong) ones, and one or two got the right one. Try it.

H.

They aren't that smart...