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

Just to clarify,

It’s true that new development has stopped on Ripley; no new features are being added. It’s not true that the Tech Team are not fixing Ripley. The Tech Team fixes any part affecting Ripley's security or stability is fixed as soon as possible after it’s been found. This includes any part necessary to build up the Guide until editorial functions can be built to stand alone from any individual skin.

The Tech Team's main focus is developing Pliny, I've included a bit about Pliny in the h2g2 Announcements over the past several months. For more details, please read Pastey's interview: A87754990

Strictly speaking, it's true that "... there are a number of behind-the-scenes editorial tools which the BBC never put into Pliny ..." But only because the BBC never put anything into Pliny. Pliny's development, a work in progress, is being done entirely by the Tech Team under NPL ownership.

I am perfectly happy to not get underfoot as the work on Pliny.

Just to clarify my POV - I've been around for eons, but had been a bit off the scene for a while, and had taken a back seat from editing entries, writing entries, and my work as Post sub-ed.

So when I started back into some of that activity this week I was enormously frustrated by the difficulties I encountered. Difficulties that - frankly - I'd expected (assumed maybe?) would have been sorted out by now (how long is it since the split from the BBC?)

Previous techniques such has hitting preview - check everything's OK, then hit back button before saving - now no longer work. The getting stuck in Pliny every time you go the FP is just not acceptable. Changing user details (as Post eds or other sub-group admins need to do) is fraught with pitfalls.

I'm using Gnomon's suggestion of working in Alabaster, but it's a skin I'm not familiar with and don't particularly like - a very poor workaround.

All the changes may well have been communicated via the announcements. But have we seen them? Understood them? What on Earth do newbies experience?

This is, I know, probably not the right forum to be airing my frustrations. But I have been in tears of despair this week trying to navigate round a website that previously I knew well.

Not sure where I go next.

Hi Beatrice

I am so sorry you're having a struggle. I think Gnomon mistakenly told you to 'stay in Alabaster' when, re-reading your earlier posts, Brunel is the version you usually use. So, please use Brunel.

If you like - Dmitri can give you my email address and I would be very willing to help you in any way I can.

Lanzababy

It wasn't a mistake, Lanza. My comment was that the Front Page button in Alabaster brings you to the Alabaster front page, while the Front page button in Brunel brings you to the Pliny front page.

If you like to use Brunel, you should bookmark the Brunel front page, which is http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/brunel/home and put it on a button on your button bar (which is easy to do in Mozilla and Chrome, but I'm not sure how to do it in Internet Explorer. Then stay in Brunel and use your own button to get to the front page rather than clicking on the h2g2's Front Page link/button.

Or, do the one or two extra steps and be glad it's not more than that. Some websites make you click on several things before you can get to where you want. Before I retired, I was in charge of a bank of public-access library computers. I couldn't believe how impatient many of the users were. Ironically, most of them were far younger than I, and had the prospect of long stretches of living ahead of them. Computers can be fast, or they can be free, but they can't be both. Sorry, that's the reality of publicly-funded services.

Just click on [Preferences] + [update] from any page in Pliny, and you will be magically transported to your personal space in whatever version of h2g2 you've chosen.

Talking Point on the FP - in Alabaster it says the talking point is musical favourites, but the blurb is still about holidays. In Pliny there's no heading but it still talks about holidays. I can't see a Brunel version.

Thanks, Beatrice, for spotting that. We've fixed it now.

I have logged the issue of fp links not consistently linking to fp in the respective skin.

It's only in the Brunel skin, Milla. The Front Page links work ok in Classic Goo and in Alabaster.

Got that. Do you already know if plain works? Or I will check.

Yes, Plain works too.

"Just click on [Preferences] + [update] from any page in Pliny, and you will be magically transported to your personal space in whatever version of h2g2 you've chosen" [Lanzababy]

That's exactly what I've been doing. It doesn't seem like rocket science to me.

Unless you're working on a different page and don't particularly want to be transported to your PS!

I did list out all the keystrokes I had to make to do one specific not-very-complicated task today. They're in the office - I may repeat them here tomorrow. Or not, I suspect it wont make much difference either way.

So, what's with the Front Page Today?
Went there with the tab from Alabaster, as I normally do to hit the button to switch to Pliny



it is now 2004

F S

Oh my word!

this is what happens when we let Pastey away from the keyboard!

I have *no* idea at all how that has occurred.



I'll alert people. It may be a while before we can bring this under control.

No problem

Just a bit of a shock

I actually found an interesting Entry there

F S

Well spotted though. I hardly ever look at the old Ripley Front page. There was a good link to the last's month's worth of Entries though which I sometimes checked.