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

I wasn't accusing you of crying. I was crying. It's one of those male menopausal things. I still cry while watching "Rudolf the Rednose Reindeer."
I was just being sarcastic.
They tell me there's a medication for it, but we're waiting for the health plan to kick in.

I see. Miscommunication seems to be the most common form of communication over the net. My apologies.

Blatherskite, to me you are sounding just the least pompous. I deplore badly written entries that have very little worthwhile content, but if that is the best that that writer can produce, then I applaud their effort in taking part.
I don't want h2g2 to be so elitist that only articles worthy of literature prizes are accepted.
Yes, I would like to encourage high quality of entries, but we have to accept the standards of those who are willing to perform the task of editing and so on.

H2g2 is now more than the guide, it has evolved through the input of those who are active on site. A pity though, the number of researchers who put nothing on their personal spaces. It's also such an enormous site, there are many corners of it I have not yet explored.

Flake99, why did you join? Had you browsed before registering, or did you come with certain expectations?
I don't see how you can have conversation/debate without getting to know the other participants in some way. One of the aspects I find interesting is coming across the same people in different conversations.

No problem, BtM, I didn't have my teeth in.
Must learn to enunciate more carefully.

Hi, Teasswill!

Teasswill,

I joined because I was reading The Salmon of Doubt and DNA asked a question. I can't remember it now but afterwards he said 'answers to H2G2 please.'

I wish I could remember what he asked but I thought a website where people contibute ideas like that must by my cup of tea. I joined without browsing through and the first thing I did was post a conversation called 'Why do we do what we do?'

Like I said, I don't mind getting to know people through the course of events. Indeed, it is almost unavoidable. But it was certainly not the reason I joined.

Aha!
But we've got you now!

I'm one of the illiterate, non-genius's/genii who has never completed an entry - never mind got one through PR. However my u-space say's I've contributed to 13 edited entries through PR comments, talking points and a couple of random comments made in askh2g2. I am quite pleased that at least 13 of the daft comments I've made at various times have been worthwhile adding to the EG...and I seriously doubt that my only work in progress A944075 (currently weighing in at 63 words) will get anywhere in the next few months/years.

I joined h2g2 as a step up from the debate offered on Yahoo chat - the main drawback of which was that anyone could state anything without backing up their claims, and the way it was possible for one person to literally shout down any opponents.

I also found I'd outgrown the place - when I first started using the chatrooms that is what they were - rooms where everyone chatted together, however changes to the software were gradually changing into a one-on-one communication device (something I find I'm bad at) and then the introduction of voice-chat removed the need to even type in comments.

I didn't join to write - I'm not a writer I'm a science student...I find writing quite difficult because I have difficulty getting my meaning across. I didn't join to make friends, I'd made all the friends I wanted over the net (ie my husband) and my life really doesn't have any room in it at the moment to invest in friendship. I did want communication, and companionship, and humour...and I've found all three. Plus I've been able to read the postings by some very intelligent and articulate people who've been able to put my own thoughts/opinions/feelings into words far better than I am able to. I spend about 95% of my time here lurking and reading general threads and only about 5% on personal threads/posting.

And seeing as this is about the longest posting I've ever written I'm going to stop before I put people off with the shear size

Miscommunication - ah yes, so common. Difficult sometimes to know if people are serious or tongue-in-cheek, winding you up with an outrageous statement or deadly earnest, even with the use of smileys.

Flake99, I dipped into your 'Why do we do what we do?' conversation, it sounded interesting. It didn't seem long ago though, that I was in a similar one about free will & didn't feel I had anything new to say. That's the trouble, the same topics do seem to roll round.

Do stick with it and put in your two penn'th.

Nothing I've written is worthy of a literature prize, so why would I expect that from anyone else?

You say you would like to encourage high quality entries... in that you are no different from me. But when high quality entries are ruined in the editorial process, it's not worth it. When trying to coax a writer to take their piece in PR that is merely acceptable and turn it into something better earns scorn rather than applause, it's not worth it. When articles that aren't even acceptable make it to the front page, it's not worth it.

If an author writes an entry, and it's not very good, but it's the best that author can do, that's fine... just by trying, they've learned something, and in learning they can improve their craft over time. But if we take that article as is and put it in the Edited Guide, we've given them no reason to try to do better. The person suffers, the community suffers, and the Edited Guide suffers. The same principle applies to shoddy editing.

Said my bit earlier. Still reading.

Is that common?

Teuchter: Your cryptic comment forced me to dig back in the backlog to see what you had said, and this bit caught my attention -

"I find this medium difficult to use for heavier debates. Give me a face to face conversation or a pen and paper though and I'm more than capable."

Personally, I find that this medium is ideal for heavy debates. You can get out everything you mean to say without interruption. You also get the chance to check your sources, find some statistics, or recall that name or detail that's eluding you... or you can verify the veracity of your oppositions' claims. And you can post references that people can check for themselves. The result a debate that is much more productive than through any other means. You can get the facts right the first time, and focus on how they should be interpreted.

Anyway, that's my opinion, for what it's worth.

Blatherskite
What I meant - and I did say it was a personal thing - was that I think better with a pen in my hand than a keyboard in front of me. Possibly a generational thing.
I'm glad you find the medium suits you. (The large would swamp you - )

To be honest, I've also noticed that the "level of debate" on h2g2 seems to have dropped a bit. When I first came here, in July of 2001, I used to regularly visit the "ask..." forums and post to lots of threads. Nowadays, I usually just post to threads I'm already on and only occasionally visit "ask...". Sadly, most of the threads that have started there these days don't really make me want to post to them.

Of course, serious threads can turn shit quite quickly. The "War with Iraq" thread I started God-knows how long ago decended into bickering and personal insults ages ago and, since the new censorship rules, appears to have turned into a whimsical free-for-all. Of course, I've been largely responsible for much of the childish and stupid stuff on that thread but what the hey, I've had a "rough" last few months .

I don't think this should really be about "heavyweights", I think it should be about us, the community, pulling our collective trousers up, spitting on our collective hands, and making this place a wee bit more challenging and interesting again.

Zagreb

good point. well put.

sounds great...

One thing I'd like to see is a science & technology/futurology discussion section.. but I don't know how to go about doing it..

So help!!

Flint: This ought to help you get started... just disregard the part about the Overwhelmingly Huge Guide to H2G2 Clubs, as that is no longer a going concern. Post your links to the Post Team instead.

I suppose the link would help: A414721

I don't understand the problem - just don't read threads you decide are too "light" for you. It's not as if somebody is standing next to you forcing you to read every word of a "how many spots are there on your keyboard?"-thread.

And it's not only the bbc-rules limiting our freedom of speech but also the way people on h2g2 talk to eachother. I left the guide after September, 11th because I didn't think it was the time to flame eachother - and yes, some people did exactly that.

Methos