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

http://www.h2g2.com/A435863
I've written this article because I hear complaints from every side about being terrorized at night by mosquitos. Because I found out how to deal best with this problem without killing them, I just want to tell others what to do when trouble begins.

cu

Trickstar

Here's my nit-picking.

There's some good advice there, amongst all your story-telling...

I'm afraid you're making it too fictional - you've got a little tale in there, with lots of irrelevant information. You must keep your entry to the point, so if you want to put that Introductory Story bit in (and I like the idea of the introductory Story as it puts the reader in that position), you should remove most of the waffle and extra detail, so that it can apply to people.

Also your grammar is a little slangy, but that would be rectified during the Editorial Process.

Since the Entry is called How To Deal With Mosquitos, you really should put more in about how to deal with mozzies. There are many other methods, eg putting up mosquito screens on doors and windows during the day, bathing in Mozzie Repelent, etc.


Lisa

OK, second round to go. It's a completely non-fictional text now (it was beforehand, too, imho ) and I added some more aspects about techniques how to defend. My grammatical skills aren't too good, just because I've never been in an english-speaking country
I'm just happy that I can speak and write that good even without some real experience besides, music, books and else.
Well, why isn't there a section for some fictional text? I think that nearly everyone in this community loves fictional stories, so why don't find out how to write some good stories himself? Well, sure it has nothing to do with the hitchhikers guide, but some entertaining for the researchers and editors would be good, too.
Hmm, maybe I better choose the features feddback for this...
cu
and thx for all the

Actually Trickstar, there IS a section for fictional text! Try http://www.h2g2.com/A294833 - hope it helps!

There is: H2G2 Fiction. It can be found at http://www.h2g2.com/A294833 .

The entry is much much much better now!! Brilliant!!! *claps*

So English isn't your first language then? Woah! I bow down to you. Note, I never said it was bad, just slangy it's very good !

Damn you Mr T

Wha?
Sorry, because of my cache I don't get the new site, so I didn't notice you've answered already )
So, what is the next step for getting some place in the edited guide with this article?

Well you wait, really. And you make changes to the article according to suggestions people make. As you have done.

Then you wait for a Scout, like Big mad Mr T here or myself, to choose your article and show it to the PTB. If they agree that your entry is great, we will inform you, and then it will go into the Queue and then after it has been edited, will go into the Edited Guide.

Note the word "wait"

Oh and bribery doesn't work.

It doesn't?

Hmm. I think I owe a lot of people money...

Well, it's always the phenomen of the small difference in the opinion on bribery between an official forum posture and a privat message )
Everyone has two opinions on that topic, I think

Hi Trickstar,

I hope you're still around to get this message!

I really enjoyed reading your entry. It's not in a conventional style like an encycolpedia, but this is no conventional encyclopedia, and I think there's room for the humour and drama you draw out of this situation.

====

INTERLUDE
One reminiscence, one recommendation:

I remember camping in Canada, when after being rained out of our tent (which suddenly turned out to have been pitched in the path of a small impromptu river), we tried sleeping in the car. The mosquitos were vicious that night. We woke in the morning to find the windows of the car littered in squashed bodies from our flailings in the dark, and down the glass from most of them there dribbled a tiny drop of blood. It looked like a very small scale war.

If you haven't already read Douglas Adams' non-fiction book 'Last Chance To See...', you should. Not just because this is 'his' site, or even because it's a good book (it is), but for his description of how to deal with a mosquito net which already has mozzies on the inside of it. One of his very finest pieces of comic writing.

====

But back to you. The killing method is crude but not rude - a subtle distinction, but very important! I'm afraid I don't believe the glass/paper method - it works with spiders, but I reckon two mosquitos will come in every time you expel one.

There's an entry on insect repellant http://www.h2g2.com/A283015 which you could reference. That will score you extra points because it was written by Mark Moxon, our Editor .

Basically, though, it's a nice little entry which we can only hope that someone will one day put forward. In the meantime, if you think of anything to add, put it in. Don't lose heart!

GVI

This is a great entry... as far as it goes. I do feel though that more needs to be added before it could be recc'd - so I'm in disagreement with GVI here. I'd like to hear more about mossie coils, sprays, and suchlike. I'd like to hear about how to recognise mossie hotspots. I'd like to see malaria briefly mentioned.

On a side note, before checking the walls for mossies, it's always good to check your skin - when they bite they inject a little local painkiller - so they may already be sucking your blood - and the sooner you get them off the less they can suck and the less bad stuff gets into your blood stream.

Because of all this, I'd think this entry should go to the workshop for the author or someone else to finish off. What does anyone else think?

I should have mentioned - I think the story at the start *is* very good. There's nothing wrong with such personal experience - I think they really add to such entries. The sub-ed will probably put it in s to emphasise that it is personal, and all will be well...

three nit-picky little details: 3 instances of 1st person.

1. " I think nearly everyone succeeded at least once in his life to deadlock himself in his own bed..."

maybe could be changed to "probably everyone has..."

2." Once I have even heard of some noise that makes mosquitos flee, but that cannot be heard by humans."

could be changed to "there is even some noise..."

3. "Long years of studying defense tactics showed me, that they even can teleport through closed windows and solid stone walls as it seems."

could be changed to "...defense tactics shows that..."

just to get rid of the 1st person. you don't have to use these specificlly, but at least now you know they're there.

I like this a lot.
But I would definetly like to see a section on anti-mosquito protection: nets, spray etc. Perhaps put a subheader after what you've got there.

You might want to check out Insect Repellant http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A283015 by our fearless leader Mr. Mark Moxon.

I too think more time should be spent on interdiction of the critters than on dealing with them after they get in.

For one thing (and not being an entomologist I can't swear this is true,) I have been told that the buzzing insect is the male who is trying to attract a female. It seems that this male truly only has one purpose in life, he doesn't eat at all.

The female, however, requires the blood. The only problem is that she doesn't buzz.

So, if you hear buzzing relax a bit, but if you don't hear anything . . .

Don't let this stop you with what you have written, though. If you can hear a male buzzing, he probably knows better than you if he has a chance to fulfill his destiny.

Barton

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

If they have not been along already, the Scout who recommended your entry will post here soon, to let you know what happens next. Meanwhile you can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

Well done!
All us Scouts agree that this is a great entry and it has now gone into the Editorial Process for future inclusion in the Edited Guide. Nice one! When it does get into the Edited Guide, we will email to let you know, but please bear in mind it can take a while for entries to go through the sub-editing system.
Check out the link in the above posting if you want to find out more about what the Sub-Editors will do.
Congratulations once again,
Kenrick