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

1100 years ago? Hmmm.... that's a little before my time. I'm having a hard enough time grasping the family tree of Eleanor of Acquitaine, a mere 800 years ago (our Shakespeare Festival is currently doing 'King John'), but I'm willing to bet that there's a scarcity of entries here on the 9th and 13th Earls of Oxford just waiting to be filled by you! Seriously, I'd be interested in reading any entries you create.

I'm not an official welcomer, but I'd be glad to help if you have any questions. If you need anything, or just want to say Hi , simply reply to this message, or feel free to visit me at my home by clicking on my name above.

There's a handy list of links at the Quick Reference Guide, http://www.h2g2.com/A344756 including links for help on putting together pages, writing guide entries and finding some interesting forums. (note: there's also a historical society listed there, but I don't know how active it is) There's a friendly group at the Newcomer's Welcome Page at http://www.h2g2.com/A5752 and a very helpful group of Assistant Community Editors (ACEs) -- one or more of them may drop by to say Hi sometime... or feel free to visit them first at http://www.h2g2.com/A214796

h2g2 is a wonderful, wacky, place and I think you'll really enjoy it. Have fun playing with your home page layout, write some interesting guide entries, comment on or contribute to other entries, and get involved in the amazing community of forums. If you'd like help finding a café, bar, or swimming pool here, let me know.

If all of this is confusing, just stick this fish in your ear

Redbeard

Hello Redbeard, and many many thanks for your warm welcome. Actually, I did say that the two de Veres had been dead for a total of 1100 years, but what I should have meant to say if I had given any further thought to it, which manifestly I did not, was that one had been dead for six hundred years and the other for five hundred years. They in fact both post-decease your marvellous Eleanor of Aquitaine: have you seen 'The Lion in Winter', in which Katherine Hepburn gives a tour de force performance as Eleanor, alongside Peter O'Toole's Henry?

I can't at this stage stick the babel fish in my ear owing to an excessive build-up of wax.

As to what to post, I haven't really quite understood the significance, if any, of having one's stuff formally approved by the board of editors or whether one should just chuck it in and live with the stigma of being unsanctioned. I remarked to Bran the Explorer, as one does, that one of his pieces was, well, you know, wombat poo, and he blamed the editorial desk. Personally, I think that was just an excuse for lobbing up with a underdone essay, but there is in me a strong desire to luxuriate in the feeling of well-being and swelled-headedness that would accompany something of mine appearing with the editorial seal of approval. I don't know if the fraternity is quite ready to be exposed in detail to the de Veres - I know that I am definitely not ready to be exposed to the fraternity (is fraternity politically correct; if it is not, please insert sorority as well) - so I might well take the initial plunge with something less obscure.

Talk with you again soon, I hope, but for now Redbeard, take care.

Walter of Colne.

And if I'd thought about it long enough, I should have known that those two gentlemen couldn't have pre-dated Eleanor! Whoops.

It's been years since I've seen The Lion in Winter, but I loved it. We have Tandy Cronyn (daughter of Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn) playing Eleanor in King John at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and she's quite wonderful.

As far as the approval process, you are welcome to write all the unapproved entries you wish, and they will show up in searches as 'Guide Entries' just like your home page will, but not as 'Approved Guide Entries' until you go back to edit it and hit the 'submit for approval' button. I must admit that it was a thrill when my first approved entry made it through the process (even if it was just an entry on my home town)... showed up on the front page for a day, and filled the empty spot on my home page Kind of like being published, but yes, there's always the disconcerting moment when you lose control and an editor starts mucking with it, but that's true in almost any publishing.

Unsurprisingly, one of the best ways to deal with that is to try to present it the way they like entries to be written. Here are a few pages with tips:

http://www.h2g2.com/A53209 Submitting Entries for the Approved Guide (basics)

http://www.h2g2.com/A264520 Sub-Editors Guide to Approved GuideML (not necessary, but indicates limits on code 'gadgets' and stuff that can be included.

http://www.h2g2.com/A266131 The style guide for sub-editors. h2g2 style... punctuation, footnotes, using British spellings, etc.

http://www.h2g2.com/A258112 Guidelines for writers and subeditors: a general 'here are some good ideas to follow' guide

Most of it is pretty much common sense.

Don't forget to take advantage of the community here as well. Couple of places I recommend: The Aroma Café http://www.h2g2.com/A202924 has good coffee, tea, pastries, and an interesting mix of veterans and newcomers. I also think you'd enjoy http://www.h2g2.com/A304354 Lil's Atelier, which has a friendly bunch that enjoy good conversation on a wide variety of subjects. Just tell Lil I sent you.

Redbeard

I can see Redbeard has already taken care of you, but in my never-ending attempt to look busy while doing very little, here's my hello:

**HELLO**

Mine too! 'Hello'