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

Peta you say,

That's just the point. The DNA engine must surely develop to meet the demands of http://www.bbc.co.uk/communicate/. as the BBC online community evolves to embody the whole of Life the Universe and Eveything. The name must never change.
Glad you see h2g2 remaining as blood stock.
Mina - Message Boards still have a shelf life but don't you think they will slip into obscurity and become archives ?
Ancient Brit

I take it from the BBC news report that what has been announced today is just the begining of the review. When do we know what the full extend of the changes are going to be?

Z - still not totally reassured!

> When do we know what the full extend of the changes are going to be?

Probably when they've finalised the new charter, so sometime before 2006

**muses**

7 years is quite a decent lifetime for a website, by current standards

B

Now you're depressing me!

I think this is a very significant couple of paragraphs:

"One of his [Graf's] favourite sites was Digital Storytelling on the BBC Wales site.

"It is a really interesting use of BBC skills and resources. I enjoyed it - it encourages people who are not normally internet users to create their own content digitally, how to tell a story about themselves, and put it on to the net."

This is not a million miles away from what h2g2 does, n'est pas? And that's before you even contemplate the EG.

B

Hi Z
Development and changes will go on ad infinitum, that's the nature of things. Just remember your pleasure is someone elses bread and butter.
DNA and h2g2 are recent acquisitions of the BBC and they seem to have got their feet firmly under the table.
Take a look at F94020?thread=441839&post=5532967#p5532967.
Ancient Brit.

*recovers from threatened heart-attack*

Thanks for the reassuring words, Jim, Peta, Mina

AGB *still a bit*

>>
However, he added: "Importantly, he (Mr Graf) also says it cannot be proven that our online services have had a negative impact on the market and that it's unlikely that bbc.co.uk has eliminated effective competition across any large areas of online content." <<

from the BBCi article linked in Post 1.

Can someone please explain to a non-Brit what the commercial concern there is?

Blimey!! Logged in and went into panic mode,the end of h2!? Had I been paying it enough attention? Hadnt I treated it right? Had it felt rejected as Summer came and there were more exciting things to do.....

The BBC is a publicly funded broadcaster. Because we're not a commercial organisation have to take care that we don't run services that run to the detriment of the commercial market.

So, for instance, we couldn't run a service offering people the opportunity to sell their unwanted goods via the bbc.co.uk website, because that would be in direct competition with companies like ebay, who are in this market commercially.

Why should the BBC's involvement in the Interenet be any different to it's involvement in Television and Radio ? If the Great British Public are prepared to pay a general Licence fee that allows them to become shareholders in an organisation who's motto is (or was ) 'Let Nation to speak peace onto Nation', then so be it.
It has to be said that the BBC needs the British Government and a Royal Charter to maintain and run it effectively, but it is a long established practice. A practice that has to move on and evolve like anything else.
The BBC has lived with and played a huge part in the development of communication. It's latest move into the digital area has brought FreeView. Surely its next step has to be FreeView Plus a system that lets us enjoy the full benefits of technical developments in the field of communication through one device. Moves in that direction must surely support and generate commercial interests. There is money to be made but commercial interest should not be allowed to sully a commercial entertainment and communication system in order to achieve their own ends.
Long live BBC/communication - Powered by DNA the BBC's community website engine.
Make this your home page. http://www.bbc.co.uk

Hi AB,

It's all down to the BBC Charter. We can't have the licence fee money *and* be commercial at the same time, because we then have an unfair advantage in the market.

Good Morning Peta,
The BBC has to raise money like any commercial enterprise.
They have a shop and sell their products and programmes. There are commercial benefits from BBC activities. Why not get into bed with a set top box maker to develop FreeView Plus and exploit DNA. It's been done before eg the BBC 'B'/Acorn computer connection, for BBC Basic substitute DNA. Freeview gives BBCi, a digital interactive TV service, to licence payers, a service that presumably Satellite and Cable companies have to pay for. Why not a boxed interenet service on similar lines ?