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

The bbc.co.uk website has been rebranded as BBCi, and a part of this rebranding includes the addition of a global navigation toolbar at the top of every single page on the bbc.co.uk website. As a consequence of adding this toolbar to h2g2, we have removed the BBC Online branding from the top-left corner of h2g2, and have replaced it with the pre-BBC h2g2 logo. (Please note that in Goo the logo doesn't yet rollover in yellow, as we are halfway through developing the next release and would rather include the rollover code as part of a proper release schedule.)

These changes may take a little getting used to, but the advantages to h2g2 are great:

* If you click on the 'Categories' link in the BBCi toolbar, you will see that h2g2 is listed as a category in its own right. This section, aimed at people who haven't been to h2g2 before, links to the most important areas of h2g2 for new visitors.

* Similarly, if you click on the 'Communicate' link on the BBCi toolbar, you will see that h2g2 has its own section on this page too. Here we will be listing three of the five latest Edited Entries every working day, demonstrating the breadth of entries on h2g2.

* The BBC homepage has also been redesigned, and as always we'll be putting in our requests for a weekly appearance here (though space is a premium on the homepage, so nothing is guaranteed!).

* The upshot of this is that h2g2 is only two clicks away from every page on the BBC website.

In short, this is very good news for h2g2.

Er... it's not at the top of this page.

It is on mine.

It is on the 'post to a conversation' page but not the forum page.

I see it on article pages, but not on forum pages.

Your browser has probably cached the page. try hitting Shift-F5.

Oops. Hang on - frames.

Oh well, I'll have to fix that, I guess.

It's not at the top of forum pages (at least not in Goo)

While it can't let Alabaster look worse, it's really bad in Goo!
Well, at least the logo looks much better now!!!

Interesting that the three pages mentioned at the communicate page isn't the ones from the front page!
Has this something to do with the top5 "problem"?
And has the server problems the last days anything to do with it?
If not - is it a good thing to get more people to h2g2 if the servers can't handle it?

So many questions...

*Goes off to ask for a emoticon.*

The three pages are going up on the front page later today. That page is done by hand from a list we supply to the 'communicate' team (I believe).

No, it's nothing to do with the top 5 problem.

And it's *always* a good thing to get more people to h2g2.

And I'll probably address the toolbar on framed forums tomorrow. If I try and fix it now I'll just make matters worse.

You're right, Ottox. The colours really don't go with Goo!

Tube
... wondering whether the bigger influx of researchers will strengthen the need for some new volunteer schemes...

Is the tool bar a step to the (AFAIK) impending removal of the PR bar?

What PR Bar?

Yep, I've seen it. Its on the "post to a conversation" page. Frankly it gave me the willies the first time around as it was unexpected and not Goo coloured

It's supposed to merge with your browser's toolbar and not be too distracting. Look on the bright side - we get the big h2g2 logos back

The animated click-here-to-join-the-fun-of-h2g2's-peer-review bar. (Sorry, the PR stands for PeerReview)

Bland,man Bland!!

Any chance of making the Goo version a nice, relaxing dark blue? It won't matter much that it's different from the other BBC pages, as the positioning is radically different anyway so the buttons jump from left to right as you navigate between Goo and other BBC pages...

Tube, that's not a 'bar' that's a banner ad, and will always be likely to change to advertise other things happening on h2g2. When we relaunched it linked to a page about the changes.

I was tempted to change it tonight to an ad saying 'What the heck is that ugly grey bar at the top of my nice blue Goo?' but I decided against that.

I know how to get another banner!