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

Hello and welcome to the wonderful community of h2g2 , also called 'hootoo '
I am your <./>ACE</.> and have come to meet you and to greet you and to help you with your first steps on this site.
First things first :
, there's always somebody near to help you with whatever your problem might be. For example you can reply to this message and/or ask me a question by simply pressing the reply button. Or you can click on the name above this message, which will bring you directly to my Personal Space ( recommended ), where you can leave a message for me.

Here is the Welcome Message from DNA, the founder of the site: A157349

h2g2 is all about writing entries for the edited guide, and I'm fairly sure there'll be a topic YOU could write about, so why not give it a try?
Go here for more info: A53209
In case that's not your cup of tea, there's still the <./>writing-alternative</.> and the <./>Underguide</.> for creative writing, as well as <./>ThePost</.>.

Things you should know before you start :
This is an open forum, so everything you post can be read by everybody else, and you cannot delete it, nor can you correct it once it is sent. This is where the 'preview' button below your answering box comes in handy.
The only thing you can edit or delete, is any guide entry you create, which includes the introduction on your Personal Space.
So why not read the Guide to Netiquette on h2g2 at A901838 before you put your foot in? You're much less likely to accidentally upset somebody if you're familiar with the site's Netiquette. To give you an impression of how you may feel if you posted before thinking, take a look here: A11284193
If you reply to this message and tell me a bit about your interests, I can most certainly point you directly to the best places to go.

For more tips and insight you can read these pages:

h2g2 in a nutshell: A8468742

Hints and Links: A719840

and don't miss to read the <./>FrontPage</.>, and the aforementioned forums.
Take your time, have a look around the site, and enjoy yourself .
P.S. I'm certainly prone to having forgotten something vital to you, so please don't be shy, hit the reply button below this message.

Bel

Is your reply a standard reply for a newcomer - no offence intended if I'm wrong. I've explored some links but its all a bit of a fog - e.g.is this a conversation? If so what are we talking about?
I've got the principle idea of the site and am wondering if I should add more to my profile e.g. "author of crime thrillers - unpublished!"
If you reply to this I suppose it must be a conversation of sorts, but it wont sort out the meaning of life and everything etc.
Where do I go to next?
Who might be reading this apart from you? i.e. Is this page open to all?
Are you part of the editorial team?
Can I visit Your Space and if so why should I need to do so?
I left a message of sorts and wonder what may happen now. Do I hope it produce a stream of comments if there is any interest in my idea and then is it honed for submission to Write an Entry?

Hello, this is not an automated message, so yes, I'd say we're having a conversation of sorts if you choose so.

Whether or not you visit my space is entirely up to you.
As I said in my welcome message, everything posted (written) here is open to everybody who happens to read it, and except for guide entries, nothing can be edited.

I have no idea who else might be reading this, there are very many people out there which we call 'lurkers' - we even have a smiley for this: , who read just about everything that for some reason attracts their attention.

I prefer not to think of that, though.

I see you have had a reply or two in the 'Talking Point' conversation you joined, and I hope one or more authors of the Guide entry you posted to are still subscribed to it and will get back to you.

Although 'ACE' is the abbreviation for 'Assistant Community Editor', I'm not part of the editorial team (which currently consists of one editor and whoever else from the BBC team is around to help). We aces are researchers like you, volunteering to welcome newbies and help them with any questions they may have.
The in formation on youre PS is quite nice, but then again, it's up to you what you want to add - aslong as it is within the <./>houserules</.> you agreed to when signing up here.

I hope I've answered all your questions for now.

Bel

Thanks for your help. I'm a little more relaxed now.

I sympathise, this can all be a bit daunting when you're new - it certainly was when I was a newbie.
Most people here are really nice and helpful (although there is the other sort of people, too).
And remember: any questions you have, just shout. I'lll try to answer them, or find somebody who can answer if I don't know it myself.

Bel

Thanks for ongoing info.
I would like to copy some work I've done in the law from "My Docs" and paste it into a discussion/guide entry or whatever is appropriate if I can find the right area (law presumably or the Guide to Life).
1a) Is this possible - I mean the copy and paste and 1b) where should I put it?
One item is a little esoteric but I have some good info on HIP's which would be for general consumption. I posted this as a guide entry but it may be I'm in the wrong place.
2. What's the difference between a)giving information of general use and b)starting a conversation?

I've joined in a conversation on recycling but I find it is just that - a chat. It wont change the world!! Are we looking to create some work that is peer reviewed and edited so it forms part of an approved text for others to digest? That seems a little more constructive than a chat.

I guess I haven't grasped the fundamentals of the site yet, let alone the mechanics. I see quite old articles 2002, 2006 and yet there are 1500+ people at times in conversation. Why aren't there lots of 2007 articles? I'm still trying to smile

The online list shows members from all DNA messageboards, the one showing just those who are logged into h2g2 is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/online?orderby=name&thissite=1

You can copy and paste, but make sure you don't break any copyright laws if you do: this means it is fine to copy and paste your own work, but if you have published it elsewhere, you have to be able to prove that it is indeed your work.

What you have written about HIP may be a good question for <./>Askh2g2</.>, as a starter.
I don't know anything about it, but I'm sure other people will know more.

>> What's the difference between a)giving information of general use and b)starting a conversation?<<

I would recommend that you read the <./>writing-guidelines</.>, then you can decide whether what you have in mind would be suited as an edited guide entry, or whether it's better suited as a point of discussion in aq place like Ask h2g2 or even the Forum A1146917.

A few words of warning: On Ask, you may get some very silly replies, and it may not take long until the whole conversation drifts completely off topic.

In the Forum, you're very likely to encounter extremely opinionated, arrogant and rude people - they droen out the voices of the moderate people who'll you find there, too.
I would strongly recommend that you to the forum first before posting there.

Oh, and if you go to the <./>FrontPage</.> you'll find three brand new guide entries this weekend. We usually have two new and one old article on the Front Page.
<./>month</.> will show you all the new entries that have been published this last month, whereas <./>comingup</.> will show you all the entries that await their publication.

I do hope this helps you.

Bel

Hi.
Thanks again.
Posted HIP's to Ask H2G2.
I create my own work so no copywrite problems. But I dont know how to paste from my PC to these Conversations. I can 'select all' in Word and then Copy. But I cant find an equivalent Paste in the conversation box or this web site. Its that technical bit I'm lacking.
Out to sunday lunch now. Will call back this evening.

Oh, I'm sorry, I failed to understand that you were asking about the technical side of the copy & paste thing.
Once you have copied, just click into the box you want to paste your text into, then press ctrl v - well, I am on a Germa<n keyboard, so it's ctrl v here. I think it's the same on an English keyboard, too, though.

Bel

At long last I've got back into the site. Dont know why I couldn't before - must not be pressing the right buttons!
Any way , there has been no movement on my entries and I am now feeling I had better sign out. I'm contributing nothing. The family look up everything on wikipedia and I am currently designing my own web site to sell property as well as writing/revising 2 novels at the same time for publication.
So where does H2G2 fit in to all this? I dont get it
Cheers

Don't go, please stay. You have contributed, but this is something which is typical for the site: if people don't post for such a long time, reviewers think they have left and don't go on reviewing.
And even if your entry would for some reason not become edited (and I'm sure it should if you worked on it etc), you'll still have contributed, and your entries will still be part of the site, just not edited (maybe).
I don't know where h2g2 fits into your life, but I think it is nice talking to you, and I hope you can find the time to make the effort getting to know the site and its researchers and its possibilities.

Please, don't leave.

Bel

After almost 18months nothing much seems to have changed. I see an MOT coming up for the site. It will be interesting to see what the BBC think of this site. I dont think I will "unsubscribe" yet, but I dont feel that I have the time to invest in a site that wants a form of total committment and many hours to understand what why and how. I guess I am just not a blogger!
- But its great for those who need a "community".