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

Dear Mr Sangster,

Are my suspicions correct? Is h2g2 really becoming an internally-controlled and self-regulated community site?

Perhaps a few pointers are necessary in order to explain why I have come to this conclusion.

When I joined the site in mid-2001, we had 7 members of staff who regularly took part in conversation threads and organised Meet-ups. Now we have but two-and-a-half; they being merely a half-glimpsed entity. Members of the community start Talking Points, and other community members organise Meet-ups. Would I be right in thinking that the ex-post of 'Community Editor' was merely there in order to establish a sufficient guard of 'old hands', which would slowly regenerate through an established 'clique' mechanism?

The Edited portion of the Guide used to be very much under control of the staff team. Now it seems that very little takes place between the Sub-editor and the Front Page, and if anything does slip through, we have a group of Curators to deal with it. All that seems to be missing is a Front Page Generating line of code. Having said that, mind, was there not a thread recently saying that Entries seemed to be selected randomly?

We now have a posting scanner which will automatically remove any known naughty bits from our posts. Again, seemingly without the Editorial Team's involvement.

It seems to me that this site could have been something special under the auspices of a dedicated editorial team. However, without full-time staff, surely it will degenerate to the standing of messageboards and ill-thought-out Wikis. The reason this site was so special around the turn of the Millennium was because it had a dedicated team of staff willing to make DNA's vision (and I apologise completely and utterly for using his name in vain) a reality. Without that, we become little more than a wordlist.

I would have sent this to your personal email address, Jimster, but in the latest act of personification you have made this impossible. I only hope that it reaches the eyes for which it is intended.

Yours, etc.

B

Of course, it's not actually particularly jimster that you want to see this, it's relevant to all of the italics. And had you wished to send jimster a private message, you could've gone to U292 to ask about this. So, what are your motives for putting it here?

, surely?

RF

You're forgetting who authored this thread.

B

jimsters space Can be found here U292

If you would like to e-mail them you can do so here [email protected]

Or we could politely wait for a reply as open as the query ...

"So, what are your motives for putting it here?"

Are you not familiar with the concept of an open letter? Yeah, it's designed for an Italic to answer, but it's also designed to stir up thought and debate amongst the community.

But after reading it I feel dirty, could I really be agreeing with bits of what Master B's saying? *shudder*

Interesting that you chose to address your open letter to Jimster - he is the more visible on site certainly - but isn't Natalie actually in charge? I know we seldom hear from her, but I got the impression she was in fact the boss.

Could be wrong though

Really? I've never seen any indications as to which of the current 3 is considered uppermost.

For myself, with all that has shaken h2g2 in this past 8 or so months. Absorption of all the other BBCi services under the DNA umbrella, the technical congestions and failures that resulted, the automation of things, the devolutions that Master B described, the suspensions and voluntary departures, ... Maybe with less Researchers about at this time of the year, an open thread of discussion and answers might be a good thing.

Does it make any difference who is in charge?

The Italics are not here to be abused. Current theories seem to have made Jimster the target for all ills.

Seems to me he has broad shoulders

He is human too.. keep knocking and you could lose the biggest advocate for this site we have ever had since DNA.

I'm not knocking

Seems to me that Jimster is being made a scapegoat

So it seems..

I'm a nobody on here

Everyone is somebody in Hootoo.. even the Italics. It is against the house rules to be abusive to anyone.. surely the Italics are granted that courtesy too?

I am always polite to everyone

In the great scheme of things I am nobody

Is there a problem for you ?

lil, I am with you. They are employees, and are employed to do certain jobs.

If they elect to pay a visit to a Meet that is their choice.

Like any employee of any Company, I would only expect them to do what they are contracted to do!

So don't give them a hard time, as they turn up because they want to, not because they have to, which I prefer.

It is for us to manage the community, because that is what community means. Self managed, not run by official organisation.

But then I am only one voice that works within the only truly Democratic (brainwashed) organisation in the UK, John Lewis, but I believe in it.

Use it or lose it!

It is own to you!

*and Jimster, it is not down to you, no matter how personal this is, because you are sn employee, not the Controller, so please don't take this personally!!!!

o\~

Chips we used to have a researcher on site called nobody..

Everyone is somebody.. You are no problem to me love, and this isn't personal to you.

MMF knows what I am saying..