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

I wish to object to the representation of one of the two major legal entertainment drugs commonly in use with a category, and the relegation of the other to a category defining itself by not being the former.
Specifically, Alcohol has a Guide category, while the 24 articles referencing caffeine are relegated to sharing a category with the 7 general non-alcoholic beverage categories.
i would continue by adding that a category for this much-enjoyed alkaloid may also cause the writing of new and interesting articles on it's use, it's various forms, and it's place in the social world.

But under that type of categorization system, regular coffee and decaffeinated coffee would have to be in different categories -- and you wouldn't find all types of tea in one category, as some have caffeine and some don't -- the same thing with soda/pop/colas.

I would find that most inefficient, myself, as important as I do find caffeine (being the author of one of the Edited Guide's entries on the world's best caffeinated beverage - A907454).


Mikey

We'd also be approaching a grey area with all the chocolate entries (A177059 A1010043A857667A591293A644591 etc), all of which contain slight amounts of caffeine.

Personally, I think caffeine is a mind-altering drug and should be banned under EP.



B

Except, it does make seem to sense to separate coffee and decaf - with a proper cross-reference between the two entries, so that a user wishing to read about coffee will end up first at the caffinated entry, but through that can easily be redirected to the decaf entry, and the user specifically looking for decaf, knowing it to be an (almost) caffeine-free drink, will look outside the caffinated section.

And, on the matter of tea, there is generally quite a difference between the various forms of caffinated teas and non-caffinated teas.

There also is the matter i've noticed of multiple-reference entries in the guide. So it's not exactly proper to think of where an entry is in the guide like you would it's physical location in a book, but rather as the location(s) in the index where you can find it.

and, being the programmer i am, i can say that in general, anything above the completely superfluous increase in complexity of a directory structure (Such as the Guide) will provide an increase in effeciency, both for the people involved in navigating it and the programs using it, because it will decrease the amount of element-by-element searching in favor of simply following the tree structure.

The direcotry structure is way above the average Researcher's concern - you'll have to wait for the Editors to get back on Monday to do anything about that.

You sound like a Researcher with a good concern to change things around here - we like that.

Can I advise writing an introduction to your Personal Space - you then get 'officially' introduced to the site by one of our Assistant Community Editors, and will hopefully become much involved in the community aspect of the site as a result.

B

I also like another user worrying about categorization

By the way, shouldn't today's editor's choice be in C20 - Etiquette

So, you would have it that coffee, tea, chocolate, wine, beer, distilled spirits, many kinds of mustard, pasta sauce, mouthwash, etc. should be banned? (because of the mind-altering compounds in them or their ingredients)?
seeing as both caffeine and alcohol are mildly and (given proper use) harmlessly mind-altering.



and i certainly will write an introduction, thank you.

Sorry, 231456 (get a better name by hitting the 'Preferences' button on your Personal Space ), I was having a little joke at your expense:

There has been a certain amount of uproar onsite recently about what constitutes acceptable content in the Guide. The practical upshot is that two or three people have had a good rant, 50% of everyone else has groaned at them and the other 50% has had a good laugh at the expense of the BBC.

B

Ah, okay. and i've gained a better name, one of my usual pseudonyms.

So people were ranting about entries concerned with such things, which were in good taste and well-made?
amusing. i've been too occupied by school & work to check back here much, but i really like the idea behind this place. it's on my personal links page now, so i'll end up checking back here more.

I warn you - it's horribly addictive.

B