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

So, what have I learned in this rather strange initiation process that we call h2g2?
I think the main thing I've learned (without getting TOO warm and fuzzy) ts that you people who care about the site, giving it all your precious spare time and energy, really care.
A LOT.
The welcome over the last two days has been unbelievable. And I say this not as an ingenue who's not used to dealing with what web people rather unimaginatively call UGC. For years I dealt with BBC messageboards, comments on album reviews, feedback emails and such. But no community I ever worked with ever came close to this level of commitment.
It's pretty humbling I must say...
To be honest it's almost TOO humbling, struggling to keep up with numerous threads, whilst watching my original journal post transfor, chinese whisper style, into something totally OTHER. I really don't know where you guys find the stamina.
I have a million and one questions racing around my head now, but to curtail any lengthy digression, let's leave you with one simple question:
I've had a good old trawl arounf the place and find the sheer diversity and depth of knowledge staggering. But fundamentally, what is it that prompts you people to post aricles here? I gather that certain longtime hootooers have very specific areas of expertise, but on the whole what really motivates you guys to write? Is it a seeming lack of any other material on the subject? Is it a passion for the matter in hand? or is it the joy of knowing that your words are (via a charmingly rigorous system of peer reviewage) there in perpetuity for the community as a whole?
Or is it something else entirely?
before I sign off for a weekend of restful contemplation of having made hundreds of new friends in record time, I leave you with a final apology for not, still getting to grips with the smiley culture (hold on, wasn't he a reagge artist?).
As always bear with me. I'm still a newbie (at least until next week)
GJ

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Sounds like you've had a good initiation


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What's an "aricle"

First lesson (someone should have told you) PREVIEW is your friend

*cough*

I write articles for the kudos of being published, and feedback (especially from non-hootooers, which just happened to me and made my day)

I when people mention my articles YEARS on, like the Cane Toad, that PR thread was hilarious, and I'm very proud of the article itself

I also write obits, to immortalise the person passed. Other than that it's usually wanting to bring astronomy to others who wouldn't read astronomy books, but seem to like my (shorter) articles. I write music bios too, but I don't claim to be an expert in anything, just an enthusiastic amateur.



Oh I wonder if you know about the people here who have "teamed up" in the Biblical sense (some have even married and had babies!)

I wonder where that page is...

A827237

I enjoy writing about things that nobody else is likely to write about.

As GB says, the kudos of being published and the feedback from non-hootooers is a great feeling - as it is to spot your entry high up in a Google search. Many h2g2 articles have also been featured in the press or in scientific journals (I'm collecting a list of them - see my PS). I recently sold the rights for one of mine,and it will soon appear in an Engineering textbook (and no, it's not 'Ging Gang Goolie').

I'll probably think of more reasons in due course - oh yes - My writing skills have improved enormously through h2g2.

I like challenges

A21388494 = Dame Helen Mirren - Actress

A24145814 = Dudley Moore - Musician, Comedian, Actor

These two where Editors Challenges. I was a little reluctant to participate, then Bel tricked me into taking the Helen Mirren. As for Dudley Moore, I took it over so Roymondo (who loves Dudley Moore)could get his T-shirt.


A25734323 = Tea in Britain: A Social History
Fizzymouse did trick me into writing this one

A17090336 = St Chad: The Venerable Bishop of Lichfield
I couldn't resist such a polite request from ST when he was writing about Lichfield Cathredal

I also enjoy collabortive Entries too


lil xx

collaborative!!


lilitis bounds through the threads

hah somehow i suspecdt that staff have ahrder newbie weeks than those like myself, though i have found that h2g2 monopolises my online time
But then again, where else could i make friends and write on anything that i want

You can build a virtual world of your own here.
U197657

I hope you won't mind me adding you to my freinds list, but I very nearly missed your journal, and I'm nosey, I want to read what you have to say.

Why do I write?

I like a challenge. Writing guide entries, my Post column, the odd poem, and lately even some little stories for the AWW in a language that isn't mine is a challenge I can't resist.
Having the feedback in either PR or the AWW is great.
Knowing that tzhere are a few people who actually like to read what I write is awesome.

Oh, and writing is addictive. Once you've been beaten by the writing bug it's hard t stop.

I'd love to write some really geeky articles on stuff to do with computers but at the moment i don't now how to do what i want to write about (if that makes sense). Partly I think sharing knowledge comes into it and also the fact that you could be helping someone

The one solo entry I have on here (A641260) was originally a uni paper I'd written several years before, that came to mind when I saw someone comment that a child s/he knew (maybe his/her own?) had been diagnosed with epilepsy, and s/he wanted some information, but couldn't find any (I hadn't gotten in the habit of seeing who said what at that point, *plus* it was over 8 years ago...) PR about doubled the length of it I'm almost as proud of the credit Gnomon gave me on
A46273430 (Hm, Gnomon should really be answering this question!)

My Post articles are basically journal entries with footnotes, to bore a larger audience (seriously--most times, my footnote asides are the best bits)

What got me back writing again is the slow realisation, I've got something to offer.

My as yet unfinished and unpublished guide entries are on topics I have by various means built up some detailed knowledge of and I am desperate to share it in a fun and engaging way. h2g2 gives me that opportunity to divest my mind of these things.

I'm sure the thrill of being published and valued as a writer will be worth the effort.

I've spent too long just being active in the community, it's taken a good long while, but I've finally re-awoken the desire to write: what this site was intended for.


<---- my contribution to 'the blizzard'

I'm sure that no one person can speak for the entire hootoo community, even on as straightforward a subject as why do we post, but I can offer some insight.

Although I was relatively late to the party, I believe that a large faction of researchers post entries for some pretty basic reasons.

1) It's hard to imagine that more than a small percentage find themselves visiting because of their affection for Douglas Noel Adams' works and his public personna. He had a sideways view of the universe that have helped many of us feel 'Well, it's all right then that I don't understand much of what the universe throws at me.'

2) Most of us felt that his concept of a galaxy travel guide was awe-inspiring, and yearn to be some small part of his vision. And, the idea of creating a real and useful one for earth to be absolutely epiphaniacal (if that's a word)!

3) We can offer what we know, or research things we find of interest, without judgement; write in our own style; keep entries in our PS or go for the EG as we wish. And, if we take our stuff through Peer Review, we're assured of generating a much more useful and reliable entry than many of those found on the wiki sites.

4) Much of it boils down to self expression and self esteem. There are many good things one experiences in life, and one of those is receiving a hearty 'well done' from a peer!

For me, I've enjoyed sharing less than common knowledge with anyone who is interested in reading it, often in the alleged style of DNA (words in a hopefully entertaining order). I've enjoyed the variety of subject I've covered, from medical issues, to physics, to cooking, to hobbies or writing reviews and how-tos.

I've also written a few not for publication, if you ever wonder why pyramids are 'that shape' or what 'Cinco de Mayo' celebrates mayonnaise.

For additional information on the subject, push this button...

I tested it! That button definitely works!

Hmmm - for me, as for a lot of users, hootoo is my online support group - not support for anything in particular, but it's a large circle of friends I can take with me wherever there's web access, and there's always someone online and willing to talk

And while I'm here, I might as well make myself useful, so I've joined a number of volunteer schemes.

A large and central part of the site is, of course, writing Edited Guide Entries. I tend to sort of specialise in entries that clear up misconceptions, or that tell you something you won't find elsewhere on the internet, or won't find elsewhere in English. (Why I'm writing a lot of German-centric ones at the moment, though I've had to do some research in French, too which is at least a good opportunity to practise what I forgot almost immediately after school.)

I do try not to simply recylce Uni papers - the style is totally different, as is the audience - but hootoo is a good outlet for the things I come across in the course of research for Uni that I can't get into as far as I'd like in my papers, or just generally interesting things I run across.

I just wrote my bachelor thesis about curiosity cabinets, and that's kind of what my brain looks like, too, a repository of disparate things that often don't have much bearing on everyday life

lil, thanks for verifying the functionality of the button!

Hi Mal:

I'm so very happy that you've found this circle of friends, and are receiving such positive support. There's a lot of that going on here!

However, the question was what motivates us to contribute. What got you going here before you realised the support and friendship you've found?

Perhaps you could elaborate.

Er, I did it all backwards, really - I was a member for a good while before I ever wrote anything for the Guide. (Partly because I assumed submitting your own Entry to PR was a faux pas, and was waiting for someone to find and submit mine )

And I didn't even join it for the people - to be entirely honest, I was looking for a game to play late one night, stumbled upon the old text adventure H2G2 game (the guess-my-parser one. I never finished it) and was told that I could sign up to this site to save my progress. So I did. And then someone ACEd me.

It was my main means of socialising for a while. I'd just moved out from home, had 80-hour weeks at Uni plus a part-time job, and lived in a house full of drug-using, jobless-by-choice neonazis so I was grateful for any chance to talk to people that didn't involve the effort of going out I only really started writing entries after my workload was a bit more reasonable and I'd moved into my own flat.

In part, what started me writing was the realisation that the Edited Guide is the heart of the entire project, and that no more guide entries meant no more hootoo. Also, it was a good chance to practise writing and researching and putting my thoughts down in an orderly manner. And the simple enjoyment of having something I've done out there for the world to see. Same reason I draw webcomics, really.

It's still a thrill to be on the FP, have people read your entries, and perhaps even start a discussion. Another reason I keep writing is that it gives me a purpose for researching, for reading about things. I've always enjoyed reading encyclopaedias for fun, so this gives it more direction

(My first EGE was the one on Romanian vampire myths. A26353677 I'd researched that for a presentation before our field trip to Romania, and thought "This stuff is too fascinating not to share with more people!" )

just found this

I'm a very lazy writer. I'd have many ideas for gaps I'd like to fill, for things that are missing, but then I sit there with a blank Word sheet and... ah well... and then I get stuck and I'm never satisfied with what I write anyhow.
I only wrote 3 Edited Entries in 4 years (is it really 4 years already? ), and one in the Underguide. My first one was in Peer Review for a whole year. It always takes me a long time obviously.
I kind of feel bad for not writing enough.

Originally I got here when I searched for news about the h2g2-movie, they had a link here on the homepage. It was December or so, it took until February to make me finally join, after 2 months of lurking and weeks of searching for a good name.
I mainly joined because the people seemed interesting and I found funny conversations, but it also took me a long time until I really dared to post in conversations. I think the first one was about newbies and there I was picked up by B'Elana.

I really must say I'm impressed by people who manage to write so many Entries.

Mal:

Strange that it never even occurred to me to repurpose a uni paper. But, you've been active far beyond that, to be sure!

I also felt that your vampire piece was far too interesting not to be included. It really does put a historical spin on the modern legends; although it should probably be updated to point out that, historically, vampires did not 'sparkle'.

That said, and with all the methods you pointed out that create vampires, it's surprising that all of Romania weren't out nights flashing their fangs!

Mal:

It just occurred to me to ask, where might we find these webcomics of which you speak?

Tavaron:

You have me equally curious about which Underguide Entry is yours. Like some researchers, I post links to my EG and UG entries on my PS.

Your PS could use some jazzing up! (actually, I've rarely seen one so... active!)