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

I know who you are, but I thought I'd still leave you a proper welcome.

I'm doing this in the 'old' skin, however, as < > tags are currently still causing major problems in the noohootoo (some now call it nohootoo).

Hello and welcome to the wonderful community of h2g2 , also called 'hootoo '
The site is currently undergoing major changes, and once 'noohootoo' is in place the links in the message below may not work any more, so you'd best take advantage of them now. smiley
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</.> 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

hey Bel,

I&#39;m actually not "new" to the site. I know it probably better than most as I&#39;ve been reading here for ages and the company I run (www.aerian.com) was responsible for the recent redesign and redevelopment (although not for the problems the site is undergoing I promise - they&#39;re internal DNA issues that we can&#39;t control)

I really appreciate the time it takes to welcome new people, and it&#39;s one of the things that makes H2G2 such a wonderful place and why I love it so much. Suffice to say, myself, the editors and the community are working hard as possible to secure a long term future for the project.

All the best, and thanks! :D

I should also say, that the problems, although coming from DNA&#39;s system, are not they&#39;re fault. Steve and the guys have been working their hearts out to get the site launched, with little or no external help and it really is a labour of love.

For that, they deserve a hell of a lot of credit, and I don&#39;t want to seem as if I&#39;m pointing fingers when in fact I&#39;m of the opinion they deserve a round of applause, despite the problems

Well, I wondered whether you might know the site better than I do, seeing as you&#39;ve designed the &#39;noohootoo&#39;.
But then I thought that maybe you&#39;d know the coding well, but not much of the rest, which is why I left my message.

I wholeheartedly agree about what you say about the team. (Thank goodness Natalie told us that Damnyoureyes&#39; name is Steve, or I wouldn&#39;t have had the foggiest idea whom you mean. )

I know there have been negative and very offending posts, and I am very sorry about that. On the whole, we love &#39;our&#39; italics. I have met many of them in person, and I&#39;ve been working very closely with Sam and Chris for more than a year now. (I&#39;m the current Editor of The h2g2 Post), and have worked with the former eds in my various positions as a volunteer (I think I have done everything except being a Guru and a curator).

So yes, I applaud you all for your efforts, and especially for going on regardless of what the future may bring.

I&#39;m torn, there are moments when I am pessimistic, then again I don&#39;t want to give up hope completely.

h2g2 has not only given me an outlet for creativity I never knew I had in me, but it taught me English and I&#39;ve met many friends from all corners of the world. No other place will be able to combine all this, so I really hope somebody nice will take it on.

I never knew you were so involved. I had heard your name mentioned before, but with so many other things flying around, I never delved too deeply (perhaps I should have )

Don&#39;t worry about the negative comments, I&#39;ve had worse Writing for TV and film tends to make you somewhat resilient to it

Thank you again for such a warm welcome (why isn&#39;t the rest of the web like this?) and it&#39;s great to hear that H2G2 has offered you such a great creative possibility.

As for the team - I love them all, Sam in particular I think will remain a friend for life. His turn of phrase and unique outlook on life made every trip to the BBC worthwhile!

It's easy to get involved in h2g2, I'm not special in that. I could name you at least 20 others off the top of my head.
And that's only for the time since I got more involved.
There have always been very many people who gave their time and skills for the site. And all of them felt/feel they were gaining more than they gave.
Mr 603 expressed it very aptly here:

http://unmemorablemusings.tumblr.com/post/2945364915/h2g2-a-missed-opportunity

There is a magic about h2g2 that is hard to describe but easy to experience.
Shame you are a little late, but who knows what will happen.