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

I know that the Artists are very, VERY at the moment, but could I make a special request?

could we have a 'cripple' or 'disabled' , so places or events could be labelled as good or bad for people like me who have a disability, mine being mobility. It would save having to scour other sites which may, or may not, give an indication, and shouldn't be too difficult to include.

For example, my Kew Gardens entry, A80841413, could include an to indicate that it is friendly, although that doesn't fully work!

in anticipation.



MMF

You'd probably be better off asking for this here: A388343

Also, on the subject of Edited Entries I think a blob would be preferable to a smiley.

Mr. D. for that!

MMF

I'm afraid use in entries isn't really a reason to make a smiley, as they're generally not accepted in EGEs anyway. A symbol is much more easily done as a blob. But even then, can't you just, er, write it?

But MMF tends toward a more...Ancient Egyptian writing style.

Mind you, a *series* of symbols - accessible for wheelchairs and prams, pet-friendly, steep climbs, good views, hot food, etc - might be useful at some stage for the more travel-guidey bits of the guide. But we'd have to agree on a more or less standard format first...

I was thinking along those lines, actually. Yes, they'd need to be pretty standardised. It's the kind of thing that's useful in a guide to facilities because you can see at a glance what's going to have what you want - rather than reading twenty different hotel descriptions, only to find they'll be no good to you anyway...

Then you'd need a carer blob as well, to show carers go free...

That's an interesting idea. At the moment we have some more urgent things to do, I'm afraid. But we could just go on talking about it and I can propose it for discussion at the next committee meeting?

I just think if we do it we should decide on a collection of a few basic symbols and not overdo it. Too many gets confusing for everyone.

Also if we do it the writers have to be made aware of this because *they* will have to provide this information. If a writer does not know for instance if a location is wheelchair friendly or not and so we don't add the symbol, will readers automatically suspect the location is not wheelchair friendly although we simply have no idea? Would it do any harm?

Something similar to the smileys but separate that go in the title bar for the Entry... with ticky boxes in the Edit Entry window...

"will readers automatically suspect the location is not wheelchair friendly although we simply have no idea? Would it do any harm?"

I imagine most would do their own checking to make sure. Some won't because they'll assume that the Entry is definitive. Some will politely let us know one way or t'other. Some might get a bit cross that we don't know. A very few will think we're the incarnate and are staunchly anti-disability.

I think this is a great idea, too. Will one of the Senior Volunteers be tabling it for discussion?

*caugh*

I think you need to be careful not to choose images that can be confusing. There's a whole range of Disability signs that meet an international standard and instantly recogniseable. For example:-
http://www.disabilityjobboard.com/International_Symbol_of_Access.html

There's no copywrite issues in using these signs for EG articles or anywhere else for that matter.

Can they (smilies, blobs, pictograms) be searched for? Wouldn't some kind of a tag system be better? (Would save making a whole separate catalogue of entries for disabled-suited travel guide entries.

Tagging is being considered for all Entries, once we get the new technology, so that's a good idea too.

I like the symbol idea.

I liked the symbol first time MMF suggested it, I like it now.

As for the objection that "no smileys are allowed in the EG" - don't we make the rules now? Would people really be against adding useful icons, just because we don't allow winekeys?

I'm not against adding useful symbols, but I repeat, there is no good reason to make them smileys rather than blobs.

I'd like a banana.

Also...a banana smiley.

(preferably peeled)