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

Hi BDG,

It has been a long time....or so it seems! how are thngs? well, i hope! I hope you have a fantastic christmas and a better 2006 than the year we've just had!

How's Lucy?

Malc.

Hi Malc

Happy Christmas to you too have a good one

Lucy is ok at the moment many thanks and looking forward to tomorrow.

Speak to you again soon.

BDG

Hello I've got a problem editing my Guide entry page. I asked BDG and she suggested asking you. To save me explaining again please could you go to her page or mine and look for my post, "It's got me baffled." to see if you can figure out what I've done wrong. It's not a big problem but it's just annoying me . Pamela.

Travelle in Time on top
"As in < F2137009?thread=1951739 >
Think I get the drift, just a moment will come back on the other Thread

Great work of GuideML-Art "

Hi BDG.

I knew about H2G2 but didn't know about the Monty Python thing, so ta much for the link.

If you ever feel like writing to someone and can't think of anyone better, you can get me at [email protected]

I'm always reading my mail about twice a day so nothing should get past me.

I'm heading off to bed shortly so i'll mibbe get to chat with you on R2 tomorrow if i'm not called out on a job.

See ya laters.

Ian

Hi Ian

Good to see you here some of us from R2 land have been here for a couple of years or so....long story as to why we came originally.

Thanks for email addy will be in touch soon.

BDG

Yippeee! Someone who is also fuming about "carer" issues!

Too tired right now to say more, but get back to me; there are many of us on here battling the nonsense from one side or the other.

zdt

Hello Terri

to be so long getting back. My OH had a minor op a couple of days ago so not been online much.

Nice of you to pop by how did you come across me? I'm a bit of a lazy hootooer been around for a long while but never seem to get time to do anything you seem to have done a lot in your couple of years here and an ACE too

I see you live in South West France lovely place....do you care for someone there? Yes I keep fighting the cause mainly locally but it's an uphill struggle. My main bug bear is with Health and the lack of Physios and such but can't see it changing much.

I'm glad I am a carer though because it's given me an incite into life that I wouldn't have otherwise had and despite the traumas I've been through I've managed to keep going - you have to don't you? My OH have works in disability too, so we live, eat and breathe it sometimes Write more when you can.

Look forard to hearing from you. Bye for now.

BDG

Terri I didn't realise it was you with the disability problems, I should have read more before I posted. I was a Direct Payments Support Worker which is a scheme we have here now in the UK to help people employ their own carers. Unfortunately I had to give the job up last year when my daughter got more seriously ill.

Speak soon.



BDG

Hiya BDG!

Hmm; yes, it's me who has mobility problems; however i have a close friend who is physically fine, but emaotionally/socially has big issues & have been doing my best to try & help him with those; not with much success!

Finally he has accepted he needs professional help & is going into a psychiatric clinic for a few weeks; this is pretty well the equivalent of "respite care" for me; since i know where he is & that he's safe & hopefully people are talking to him in his own language about his problems.

I gave up on getting "official" care for myself eventually, kept being told "get friends & family to help out or pay for it"....er, unfortunately have no family & few friends with cars! So i put a notice in my window offering free English lessons in exchange for help & luckily it worked, nice student has taken me shopping & pops in regularly to see if i need anything.

But it strikes me as a bit daft; what if somebody doesn't have anything they can trade for aid? I suspect many people might just give up & become another lonely statistic.

How is your daughter now?

zdt

Hi Terri should I call you that or zdt?

You sound as though you are having to fight for everything, very lucky that you have found this student to help you. I often suspected that France is probably not as good on Social Care as here in the Uk but not having had direct experience it's hard to gauge. We moan but really it's not that bad here, compared to a lot of places. I have two fantastic young girls that we employ to help with my daughter, she's 24 hour dependent so we need it...but Social Services pay for it by means of a Direct Payment to us. I'm not sure we could cope now without them infact I know we couldn't

She's ok at the moment and for asking, we just live day to day and try and keep cheerful. She's got a great sense of humour despite not being able to talk puts a lot of people to shame.

A lot of people become statistics.....mainly those who are not able to speak for themselves or not articulate I'm very aware that being able to shout loudly gets services. But it shouldn't be like that, which is why I try and shout loudly for ALL. Sounds like you've been doing the same for your friend and they are lucky to have you to support them.


Hope you have a good weekend, I'm away next week so if I don't get back I will do when I return from hopefully sunny Devon.

Take care

BDG

Hi BDG I've been busy reading the Radio 2 messageboard conversations about Chris Evans taking over Drivetime. Phew. It's so busy there I thought I'd give you my opinion here , for wat it's worth.

I haven't had chance to read all the messages, but I see you mentioned a petition that got taken off. Have you thought about putting one on here . You cold start another page with a different name if you don't want certain people to find your page. I know you came in here originally to avoid someone.


I haven't heard Chris Evans on the radio, but I have seen his T.V. shows. I would think he was more suited to Radio 1 than Radio 2 . Radio 2 seems to want younger presenters now.
I've been listening to J. W. since 1967 so I'm biased . No one is good enough to replace him as far a I'm cocerned.
I know someone suggested that Ed Stewart could swap with J.W.instead of leaving .Yhat might be a good idea, though he is a bit quieter, and maybe he wouldn't want a weekly show.


I'm not a big fan of Stuart Machonie. but I did like Richard Allinson. I also liked Noel Edmonds presenting the show ,But I didn't like the way he seemed to want to get his feet under the table too quickly when Johnnie was ill. Stuart always said he was sitting in for Johnnie, but Noel had a "Welcome to MY show " attitude from the first day.


Maybe Chris won't be around too long , if he decides he wants Friday off,like he did before. The Daily Mirror says 'A Radio 2 source says he could be a favorite for Wogan's job.' I thought Jonathan Ross was still planned for that. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Anyway,I just thought I'd let you know my thoughts.
All the Best.
Pamela

Hi Pamela

Good to see you I was getting a bit worried about you not having heard from you for quite a few weeks so I'm glad you are back .

Re CE I think the issue has become not so much that he is replacing JW but how it's been handled by the BBC and the censorship and the way the BBC boards are moderated and run. I'm sure you know that feeling after what happened with the Chris Need's board.

When I first came to the message boards years ago, the main difference was that the Hosts actively interacted with the boarders. In R2 land there was a list of 6 with a little bit about them, which show they worked on etc. Now we don't have any. The only ones that appear from time to time work for 6 Music. That's the nub of it really that Lesley Douglas controls both stations, no resources are properly allocated to Hosting the boards generally. Yet they have the money to employ some celeb with not a very good work history (an understandment) to work at R2!

I think everyone has different ideas on presenters etc and you can't please all of the people all of the time, personally I can stand Noel Edmunds at the end of the day it was still Johnnie's show after all. Plus I worked for his agent for a shortwhile and had dealings with him!

Yes I guess we could start a petitiion page but the press have in effect done it for us, my concern is how the boards are run rather than Chris Evans, it's not a hard decision for me because I shall tune into Jason Reynolds at Drivetime .

Helen's original thread still remains modded and that's what is annoying us - take a look we fail to see how it breaks house rules?

http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,,1722930,00.html except they don't like JY mentioned because he said what he thought when he was pushed out. Stewpot announced on air Sunday he was leaving and Johnnie was taking over, we get the impression he didn't have a choice. Seems a bad way to treat someone doesn't it after so many years loyal service to the BBC?

As you know abusive posters get away with all sorts! Last night on guy changed his name to "S**k me Off" charming I'm sure, yet he's not in premod and has been causing chaos on the boards for years! They really need to rethink how they run and moderate the boards and put in place a fair system with Hosts that have the time to get involved.

Glad your back hope you are well.

BDG

Hi, BDG, hope you don't mind me dropping by unannounced but I have just seen your messages in the DNA Hub thread about Moderation. The Mods were outsourced a while back (can't remember quite when but I think it was when the old MBs were 'reversioned')

Do you remember for a while that there was a conspiracy theory on R2 Music MB that the Mods were in fact the Trolls? All those messages posted by SC and The Brits, etc? I wonder who in fact they employ because I have had simple Latin phrases such as Ipso Facto modded for being 'text speak' plus one message which included Happy Christmas in Welsh. And I'm not the only one.

I hardly ever look in on R2 MBs anymore they got so bad with the trolls being allowed to post anything plus the bad language, but that it not the only board, S & N for example, where moderation has gone haywire.

I have only just re-registered because I got so fed up with the whole thing. Anyway, hope you didn't mind me popping in!

Bws.

Traveller in Time searching for a list of Hosts
"Actually, not.

Assuming they have a job to do already, creating a list with their accounts would generate even more work.
I do not know why most of the Hosts are so quiet on the boards, but I have the idea there are only very few Hosts who have to split their time over several boards. . .
When I look at the Team on HooToo, that will give some idea of the workload for the Hosts on the boards. We have three full HooToo Editors, on average they all spend five or six hours each day online. Reading, editing, and less then an hour for all three together posting and replying to posts. They have meetings to visit other departments, and I assure you they have dozens of emails each day from the community alone. To wich they reply if needed !

Any idea how many hosts and can you find out what they do ? Are they the same Hosts as on the old messageboards ? "

Hi

Lovely to see you again long time no talk

As far as I'm aware only two and both now work for 6 music not R2 that's the problem the BBC does not allocate resources to Hosts. One previously worked for R2 and was regular host on R2 JV old board posting as the Dalek, but she has only appeared for the first time since change over yesterday and made at most two posts.

BTW the Controller of R2 also controls 6music some believe this is a conflict of interest and affecting R2.

When I first came to the boards there were 6 hosts on R2 boards all with a name and a bit about them and they worked on the shows as well Those were the days when we interacted with R2 bit like Hootoo does with it's hosts. As far as I'm aware no one I know has had a reply from a host after quering a moderation or anything else for must be at least a year.

I think it's cutbacks that are to blame

Shame isn't it when they have money to pay out vast salaries to so called celebrities, that no one wants to listen to?

Speak soon.

BDG

Hi Jacandra I missed your message last night ! No of course I don't mind you popping in everyone welcome I think many of us have questioned the moderation standards for a long time, the recent episode with CE has just bought it all it a head! I never believed Scott was anything else but himself, but I may be one of the few who believed that. Handled in the right way he's ok and he has calmed down a lot. I think the Trolls were a response to Scott and yes I wouldn't rule out that because he got moderated a lot, particularly in the beginning that someone from the moderation company is involved with some of the counter characters that have appeared. Clearly one of the people in this thread has had problems with someone from the moderation company : http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio2/F2142831?thread=2433191 they had a name yesterday but are now U2577496. I've seen it said on other boards too :-) Something is not right when a poster who changed his name to something obscene gets his account deleted and is back the next day with a new account, claiming he didn't do it and it was all because of censorship. The think is I clocked it and recorded the U no. The problem is there was geninue censorship in the first couple of threads after the announcement by respected posters (one of whom is a close friend of mine thats the post that was subsequently published in the Media-Guardian by Helen May) Now the trolls are jumping on the bandwagon and playing to it :-( Why the BBC are being stubborn about not reinstating the original posts I have no idea because it's just making things worse!? We feel why should we back down over it, when they did not break houserules? I've rarely posted on R2 S&M board in three years because of what goes on. It really is appalling how the BBC runs the boards personally if they haven't got the resources to run them properly is there much point in having them at all? Having said that the R2 S&M Board is by far the worst makes N&CA seem like a holiday camp! What tends to happy there though is someone keeps complaining about off topic threads which are subsequently moved but they are not off topic and have been discussed on the JV show that day! Just shows how out of touch the mods and hosts are with the show! Good hosting is at the heart of it because then any bad moderation would be overuled by the hosts. I'm not happy about some outside company having access to my email addy either or though I'm not sure whether this is the case or not I shall have to ask Peta. We just want a return to Boards that were run properly with Hosts that were allocated to them as part of their job, not sent over once in a blue moon from another station ie 6music! Is that too much to ask? BDG

Hi Jacandra

I've just had a response from Peta as you will probably see.

I'm now reassured that it is very unlikely that the moderation company could be involved in any conspiracy unless in the unlightly event an employee stumbled across the R2 board and recognised some of the posts and made the connection which I suppose is remotely feasible but a bit far fetched. Not sure now what the other poster in my thread above was really referring to.

It's down to the Host issue or lack of them

BDG

Hi BDG There is a petition on the board now.Started by 'made in Surrey'. Is that the same one that was taken off, or is it a new one. Pamela

Hi again BDG Have a look at post 25 on this thread . the page starts on post 21 http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbpointsofview/F27107879?thread=744789&skip=20&show=20~p8502073 It explains about the moderators, the qualifications needed and how they are employed. It was posted by Peta , so you may have already had the same infomation. but maybe others would be interested in reading it. Best wishes. Pamela