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

Can someoone explain what the latest BBC email means please?

NO. I don't think I can.

I think* that it means, we still do nothing, if we want to be carried over to the new site, but, I think it also means, nope. the bbc have outdone themselves with poor language and lack of clarity this time.

I've just read it three times and I still don't understand it

Me neither.... I think we still do nothing* if we want our details passed over to the new owners, and do* somethimne (I guess there is a link), if we want to opt out... but I mgiht be wrong...

I read it as being that they won't now be passing personal details from existing accounts over to the new site's owners. They will pass encrypted details allowing the new site to verify people against their existing accounts, but this will only be available for the transition period.

If Nighthoover doesn't return by then, he will never return.

My guess is they are legally covering themselves against possible ramifications of the transfer of information.

OK, this is not just me then. I have just read this and didn't really fully understand it.


I personally think it means that if you do nothing you will be given the opportunity to register with the new site and your details will be moved across and kept the same. You can at this point also choose not to register with the new site and then your details will remain encrypted.
You can also choose to opt out now by emailing them.


That is what I *think* it means. But yes, it's as clear as mud.

What did I miss?

I'm at my w**k computational device but this morning (two hours ago) at home I didn't have an email. Is it just to UK addys?

I agree. We'd better send it to the Plain English Society.

Here you go..

BBC logo

Dear H2G2 User,

We wrote to you recently asking if you were willing for your email address to be passed to the new owners of H2G2. You were invited to opt out of this process if you did not want this to happen.

Our analysis tells us that less than ten percent of those contacted have so far opened the email, perhaps because they do not trust that it came from the BBC. This suggests that many of our users will not be able to make an informed decision and we have therefore decided to modify our approach. Where a user tells us not to, their details will not be passed on. Otherwise, we propose to provide the new owners with an encrypted list of email addresses and user IDs. If you choose to register with the new H2G2 website and you enter the email address we have used here, this will enable the new owners to link your BBC user ID with your username and your email address. This means that if you were a contributor to H2G2, the new owners will be able to link your past activity/posts with any future activity on the new website.

This means that anyone who has not opted out of the process will receive an email after the sale has been concluded with a link to the new H2G2 website and its terms and conditions of use. They can then choose whether or not to register with the new H2G2 website. If they use the same email address as they used for their BBC ID this will unlock the email address and user ID in the encrypted list we have provided.

If you do not choose to register with the new H2G2 your personal information will remain encrypted and therefore inaccessible to the new owners, and will be deleted at the end of the transition process.

If, however, you would prefer not to be part of this process and would like us to remove your email address and ID from the encrypted list, then please email us at [email protected].

All the best ,

H2G2 Editors


What's worrying me is that I'm only getting these to ONE email address, and should have two registered - one for U290 & one for U94986

I've checked my email at the site- no messages.

And yet, I'm here.

You have to register with the "new H2G2" site. If you use the same
email that you used for "H2G2" to register with "new H2G2" then all
your details will be transferred to the "new H2G2" site. You have
to register with the "new H2G2" site within a transfer period for
this to happen.

>>Our analysis tells us that less than ten percent of those contacted have so far opened the email<<

How do they know that?

The New Site (Barflesque) or the New, New Site (where we are going)?

My head hurts.

Basically, it won't be an automatic swap any more because 90% of people they sent the email to either don't believe it's from the BBC or they haven't bothered to open it, probably because (unlike the BBC) most people only check their email about once a month these days as any one they actually want to speak to will use twitter or Facebook and 99% of emails are irrelevant corporate drivel and not worth the effort of looking at.

So if we want to be on New h2g2 we will now have to make an active decision to sign up for the site instead of just having our details smoothly moved across without any fuss. The email address we use to sign up to NewHooToo will have to be the one the BBC used to send us the email or the new powers that be will not be able reunite us with our accounts and we'll have to start over again.

That's how I read it.

I&#39;ve only just found thi site.
Thank goodness I did, I thought it was me!

That doesn't explain why I haven't received either email.

Or why I am only getting them to one address.

But what about individuals who have lost their original email account. 10 years is a long time to keep an email address.

What if noohootoo requires email verification?

Or will we be able to give them an up to date email address, and have that verified instead.

I think most people didn't open the message because it landed in their spambox. Or in the spambox of a long dead email account.

mini

I haven't had one either...