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

It's my understanding that those of you who reside in the UK help pay for the maintenance of this web site through payment of licenses to the BBC. Is that correct?

If so, I probably have no right to complain, because I'm utilizing this site for free. When it's functioning. Which is precisely my grumble. Over the past four or five days, I have yet to read or enter a single posting without some kind of internal server error.

There's so much interesting reading and debate here, so it's well worthwhile, but if it's frustrating to me, and I'm not paying for the service, isn't it terribly annoying to those of you who are?

*joins in grumble then signs off*

And now you can only post one line at a time.

Can't say that I had noticed any problems today, other than being a bit slow. I had just put that down to heavy traffic on the BBC sites in general, so not really given it much thought. Managed to post long-winded, multi-paragraph message earlier today, so don't know what's going on at the moment. Hope they hurry up and sort it though because blocks of text more than half-a-dozen lines makes my eyes swim.

I've been having lots of trouble with it today! But am also getting it free

Well as someone who does pay the licence fee I agree that it is annoying. But still we do get this site free at the point of use so musn't grumble.

I see what you mean. I had to save this post elsewhere and come back to it...

I gather that hootoo is regarded as something of a training ground for people who will later be involved in the main bits of the BBC site.

As a licence payer...it's an interesting concept. BBC.co.uk is, essentially, the world's biggest online news provider. But only UK residents pay for it. I don't have a real problem with that, though. Think of it as an Open Source website (except without the obvious advantages of open source, obviously).

btw...When I next buy a PC, I am *definitely* going with The Penguin. Sure, I've never paid for software in my life, but The Penguin will surely save a lot of bother.

now I can get in also


its still better than writing on bits of paper and putting them in a letterbox



but I agree with the moan, we need a super computer, anyone know where a cheap one is going

I dunno, but I haven't been able to make a single posting in the past week without an internal server error.

I get mine slowing down in up-loading posts etc and the odd time out, server busy

I wonder if they're hoping to reduce their user base by leaving all the problems alone for a while? Some people are bound to get so frustrated that they don't bother any more.

It's a real shame when I can't even read a well-written guide entry because it takes a half hour or more for the page to load properly.

Can't say I've found it *quite* so busy today. Slowed once or twice, and a couple of server errors - but nothing that Refresh can't fix.

Reboot your PC, PC?

It's been going on constantly for a little over two weeks- and it doesn't matter if I'm on my work PC, my home PC, K's iMac, or my laptop.

But I really probably shouldn't get my undies in a bunch about it, it's hardly life or death. I'm such a grouch!

So mostly it is all of us that get it for free having troubles?

Hmmmm
For the first time there were extra cookies or something that I refused under a spyware/adware program since I changed computers. I have blocked some things but never sure about some and how a person is to know ahead of time what it is blocking. Some programs get really messed up with one seemingly unrelated cookie removed.
Sure they point them out but they do not totally inform you of who they are from. Maybe there are new cookies for the BBC that help out?

*oh gets grip*
Sorry spyware?adware rant oozed out.

I noticed some software someplace of course I forget where....It made blogs easier to load and post offline and I wondered why? Perhaps it's advertising or something they were eliminating.