A Conversation for Ask h2g2
Name Rank and Number
Lanzababy - Guide Editor Posted Nov 12, 2011
"Whatever h2g2 is, it isn't a dating agency."
It's not? Now you tell me.... that would explain everything then.
Name Rank and Number
lil ~ Auntie Giggles with added login ~ returned Posted Nov 12, 2011
At some point my life has been on full display in here, in dribs and drabs
My daughter announced my 50th Birthday which fell on the weekend of a London Meet and my paaarrrtttaaayyy was the busiest thread for 4 days! *hic*
I have given details of my life, health and family in replies or journals. And yet I won't give all the details in full. I don't think anyone wants to know about me in particular, nor do they need to know more. A girl needs to keep some things to herself
lil x
Name Rank and Number
Rod Posted Nov 12, 2011
- - - on the other hand, PS intro & journal can provide some interesting sidelights on personalities. I've just had a through one member's space & think it's given me some insight into the whys & wherefores of style & content of the postings.
Name Rank and Number
HonestIago Posted Nov 12, 2011
>>Whatever h2g2 is, it isn't a dating agency.<<
I think someone should tell that to Z and Zen*.
I'm absolutely opposed to the idea of mandatory bits of information in our PS or anywhere else. Whilst these days I've given enough information for people to know my name, know where I work and pin down my home to within a few miles if they were inclined to look for it, the anonymity is one of the reasons I initially signed up.
Perhaps hootoo's most unique feature and the reason its so damn sticky is that it's paradoxically anonymous and very personal. People are anonymous but their personas tend to be very consistent and real: there's very little of the trolling that anonymity seems to create across the interwebs. Ivan might be very different to the RL him (who I've decided to call Billy Bobberton) and while I'll never know Billy I know Ivan very well. I really love that.
*And Noggin and az. And Ged and Seraphina. And Dai and Beatrice and there's probably more. In fact the more I think about it we do seem to function really well as a dating agency.
Name Rank and Number
U14993989 Posted Nov 12, 2011
I would just like to add I think the Original Post is perfectly reasonable and seems more in the line of asking if there is a minimal level of personal information that members would be willing to put somewhere on their personal space, and whether this minimal level of information might be conducive to better interactions / understanding between different H2G2 members.
What the thread has revealed is that there is a certain level of sensitivity concerning this subject and that a number of current members value there complete "anonymity" more than having a continued presence on H2G2. On my part I would value H2G2 (i.e. the community) more highly than my complete anonymity - so I would settle for a partial anonymity.
In anycase since everyone has access to everyones personal space (as far as I know), there is already a lack of complete anonymity because we can see members other conversation etc. I think this may or may not have been AB's point in his yikesed comment.
So could we go the other way and ask whether there should be greater restrictions on people accessing other members personal space. For example on some other "discussion sites" you have to become a "friend" of the other member to access their personal space.
Name Rank and Number
Peanut Posted Nov 12, 2011
On my part I would value H2G2 (i.e. the community) more highly than my complete anonymity - so I would settle for a partial anonymity.
Says the person who has nothing on their personal space
Name Rank and Number
Peanut Posted Nov 13, 2011
If people want to put their photos they I see no reaon why they shouldn't be able to *if they so choose*
The only pictures I really struggled with is the moving ones on Noesis. They make reading difficult for me and just made me want to click away, so if people want those I would want an off button as it would seriously hinder my ability to use the site
Name Rank and Number
Effers;England. Posted Nov 13, 2011
I spoke to some real life folk this evening and explained what had happened on this thread ie what was said on post 6 to me..and the whole change over from BBC professional staff at h2g2 to a new company 'Not Panicking Ltd' h2g2 which appears to be staffed by unpaid, untrained, volunteers, who are posters of h2g2.
I explained the email account I used for BBC h2g2 contact had my real name attached. I always felt totally safe about that..and when it changed to the new company staffed by volunteers, I hadn't changed the email account.
Most of them said I must be barmy, (I said yes I am, you already know that), and to change that immediately to an account where my real life name isn't attached.
I shall now..but it's a bit late. And real life people said, if they had had that post 6 said to them, knowing their real life name was attached to the h2g2 email account they'd feel pretty freaked as well.
I'm now off to set up a new email account for h2g2 as advised by them.
Name Rank and Number
TRiG (Ireland) A dog, so bade in office Posted Nov 13, 2011
Effers, I agree that what AB said could have come across as "I'm stalking you", but I don't think that's what he meant. I think what he meant is "I'm an inveterate lurker". I don't think he was stalking you specifically. He was just saying that conversations he'd read but not participated in helped him to understand you (and others) better. At least, that's how I understood it. And I could say the same myself. In any case, he's not a volunteer here, and would have no access to your e-mail address (no harm changing it, though: I use a bunch of different addresses for different things).
TRiG.
Name Rank and Number
Peanut Posted Nov 13, 2011
Effers post 6 has been removed. It is just not on to keep on bringing up in conversation again and again.
If it is comfort to you then volutunteers are expected to handle confidental information to professional standards.
They are screened at application level, so for example the senior volunteers had any doubts about the trustworthiness of someone who volunteered who would have access to personal information they wouldn't allow them to volunteer in that capacity
Volunteers like mods etc have to verify their rl life details so if any abuse of such information should occur they know where to find them
Name Rank and Number
kea ~ Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded but very well read blue and white website Posted Nov 13, 2011
>>>I would just like to add I think the Original Post is perfectly reasonable and seems more in the line of asking if there is a minimal level of personal information that members would be willing to put somewhere on their personal space, and whether this minimal level of information might be conducive to better interactions / understanding between different H2G2 members.
What the thread has revealed is that there is a certain level of sensitivity concerning this subject and that a number of current members value there complete "anonymity" more than having a continued presence on H2G2. On my part I would value H2G2 (i.e. the community) more highly than my complete anonymity - so I would settle for a partial anonymity.
In anycase since everyone has access to everyones personal space (as far as I know), there is already a lack of complete anonymity because we can see members other conversation etc. I think this may or may not have been AB's point in his yikesed comment.
So could we go the other way and ask whether there should be greater restrictions on people accessing other members personal space. For example on some other "discussion sites" you have to become a "friend" of the other member to access their personal space.
<<<
I can't see any reason to even consider changing the status quo. There are enough people here who have said no to compulsory sharing of personal details to make it a no brainer. Even for those people who say they're comfortable with sharing some information, the actual point is that you have a choice. If you want to, then go ahead. But please don't entertain the idea that making everyone do this would be useful to h2g2. It would be such a fundamental change to our culture, that I'm surprised to see the idea being taken seriously.
I'm in a bad mood about the site. I find it annoying seeing people talking about more fundamental site changes when I think we haven't gotten to grips yet with the changes that were necessary by the sale and move.
Name Rank and Number
anhaga Posted Nov 13, 2011
for kea!
Yes, the first post was entirely reasonable . . .
. . . as was a great degree of upset at the idea of a *mandatory* end to anonymity.
Name Rank and Number
Mrs Zen Posted Nov 13, 2011
If it ain't broke, as they say, don't fix it.
There are so many places where gender is treated as a binary, I think it is impotant to have somewhere still available where it is irrelevant.
People have used h2g2 as a safe, intelligent place to explore other ways of being. I assumed Martin Harper was a politicised and rather stroppy lesbian for months because he posted a Lucinda; he was certainly politicisd and stroppy, but not a lesbian. And my photographs of Feisor are blurred because of their desire to be gender-free on site. We've had more than one trans person here, and it's a refreshing change from trans-only sites which, while undeniably supportive, are inevitably predominanly about trans issues (or on topic, as you might say).
I'd like us to be LESS interested in personal details and tranparncy, not more.
Key: Complain about this post
Name Rank and Number
- 41: Lanzababy - Guide Editor (Nov 12, 2011)
- 42: lil ~ Auntie Giggles with added login ~ returned (Nov 12, 2011)
- 43: Rod (Nov 12, 2011)
- 44: lil ~ Auntie Giggles with added login ~ returned (Nov 12, 2011)
- 45: HonestIago (Nov 12, 2011)
- 46: U14993989 (Nov 12, 2011)
- 47: Peanut (Nov 12, 2011)
- 48: lil ~ Auntie Giggles with added login ~ returned (Nov 12, 2011)
- 49: U14993989 (Nov 12, 2011)
- 50: Peanut (Nov 13, 2011)
- 51: lil ~ Auntie Giggles with added login ~ returned (Nov 13, 2011)
- 52: Ancient Brit (Nov 13, 2011)
- 53: Peanut (Nov 13, 2011)
- 54: Effers;England. (Nov 13, 2011)
- 55: TRiG (Ireland) A dog, so bade in office (Nov 13, 2011)
- 56: Peanut (Nov 13, 2011)
- 57: Effers;England. (Nov 13, 2011)
- 58: kea ~ Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded but very well read blue and white website (Nov 13, 2011)
- 59: anhaga (Nov 13, 2011)
- 60: Mrs Zen (Nov 13, 2011)
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