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

I am sorry not to know the answer to this, and it may be written down somewhere in one of the already written texts.

I see and understand the need for an AGM for the legal body, or whatever it is called. But can you tell me how this will happen? In real life or cyber-space? With so many people coming from around the galaxy it will be hard to have a face-to-face meeting and will limit attendance to those with time and money, or those that live near the venue.

Would proxy votes be allowed at such a meeting?

Fantastically good question, that's not been answered yet, so far as I know.

It depends on what kind of Legal Entity we have. Sol's the best person to answer this one.

There is a document on Google Docs (which I can't link to beacause it is blocked from work) and the GBD will include it when it's updated but that'll not be until tonight. http://www.tinyurl.com/noohootoo

Er... this wasn't very helpful, was it?

Yup, Lanza, it's a good question and we don't know the answer yet. The Voting thread (which I know you're already a part of) is the most up-to-date thing that we have.

I am so trying to keep up. People who know me may just leave it after the word [trying].

I lacked proper access when my laptop died, so I was a bit out of the loop for a week or more.

I did not want to litter the voting thread with this question as it is so easy to derail a thread that way.

Lanza, all questions are good.

I honestly think no-one is following ALL the threads - I'm certainly not!

What I am trying to do is herd all the decisions into one place - ie the Great Big Document - so that people don't miss out just because they've got real lives with real friends and real jobs.

I last updated it two or three weeks ago, but Z and I were updating it last night, and I expect to have the current version up later tonight.

I think the key thing is that - whatever happens - we are going to have to cut our coat to suit our cloth, both in terms of making changes to what bells and whistle we have on the site (new ones need coding) and in terms of what changes are made to how h2g2 works (the changes have to have the support of most people on the site or they simply won't happen and people will leave).

Ben

You must feel you are walking a tight-rope Ben. Do not look down or you will lose your balance

I have lots of concerns, mainly because I am so fond of h2g2, but I sometimes wonder about some of the viewpoints made about the proposed processes, especially criticisms of how PR works, when they seem to be based on hearsay or how things may have happened once, a long while back. I really worry that we are jumping onto a band wagon to change things when it might be better to get the legal framework sorted, plus the actual go ahead with the new site. If it happens . . .

I know we have to have a proper tender and all that entails, but I would so like to advise caution in running to change things too quickly where they seem like a god sent opportunity for improvement but may really be making much more work for everyone. Baby and bathwater seems a good simile. If everyone is so keen to change the culture of PR why are there so few members who subscribe there and support our contributors now? Will it really change for the better when all the proposed new changes are in place? Will the existing volunteers want to volunteer for similar positions?

I think I need to go to the voting thread to ask a question about this

There' s a video games forum that runs itself. Legally you have to have a physical AGM, but proxy votes are allowed. They try and get all the issues sorted on line and do the legal minimum at the physical AGM.

Lanza - I do subscribe to PR and I do commentate. I am not as active as I could be but I have actively trying to be nice, to new researchers in PR for the best part of the last 10 years. The behaviours I comment on are ones that I observe.

The reason that I raise this is that I want to be able to make a plan about how we would handle a busier review forum. There is a specific reason I want to be able to do this, but I can't say why on site.

When PR was very very busy back in 2001-05 there were significant problems that I didn't like, they aren't there now but if we get busy again I don't want them to happen again. Hence the discussion. I was a scout during that time.

I think that Newbie researchers were seen as a pest and there wasn't a move to encourage new researchers to contribute to the guide, in fact there was even a thought that they should be prevented from contributing.

I am a scout and I do get my picks in on time

I appreciate that Z, I counted you as one of the four active Scouts

Ooh - that was odd, I thought there were four other than me..

Yourself, Vip, me, Pin and Mal, that's 5 isn't it?

well I was counting another one who actually makes picks. Vip tells me she has unsubbed from PR. so if you discount her, that really leaves three. Check the Scout recommendation page.

I am delighted to see Mala making comments though.

I haven't been on Scouts Recommendations for *ages*

Hides..

It's not the baby, it's not the bathwater, it's the soap that makes everything so damn slippery!

I was thinking about timescales today, not actually consulting anyone, just in the middle of a cup of at work, and I think that whatever happens, won't happen quickly. We've had very clear comments in other threads that things shouldn't move to fast. F127730?thread=8127145 F75018?thread=8151601 I think the advice they give is good.

And from a practical point of view, there's a lot to do before anything changes. We've been offered free server space by kind ISPs, but actually moving the site itself... well I'm not that sort of IT person, so I don't really know what's involved.

Then there's the fact that the Interim Committee has a very odd mandate - everyone who said they wanted to be involved is, so does it matter that none of us were elected? There are 17 of us altogether.

Our mission is to do what it takes to ensure the survival of the site on behalf of the Community, either working with appropriate new owners or enabling the Community to run it if that is how it works out. The problem is we can't know what the odds are on any particular outcome happening.

So the first thing we'll have to do is set up the Legal Entity, (in whatever form) and hold elections for the Business Team (to run the servers and count the beans) and for the Editorial and Community Team (to manage the Front Page, PR, and moderation). I've no plans to stand for any of that for a bunch of reasons, not least that I love setting things up and handing them over in good working order (it's what I do for a living) but the day-to-day stuff I'm not so good at. I've got form: Jordan used to call me the midwife of the UnderGuide, but once it was set up and ticking over nicely, I pulled out and it was Jordan, Spynxx and Waz who ran it.

Then, once the dust has settled, we need to think what needs changing. And by that time I, for one, will be on the outside ing in, not the inside ing out. I've got strong opinions on how I think the site should be, but I think my voice should be one among many. After all, my opinions may be wrong: F1599166?thread=8129289

The thing is, by the time the dust has settled, we'll have had 9 months, maybe a year, to think about it all.

Personally, I think we should start off with some quick and helpful bells and whistles - the Grim Reaper button in the other thread would be good. I also think (and this is a personal opinion) we should have a crack at implementing the Unified Guide Theory. But as I said, I want to be one of the community when that happens, not on any steeenkeeng committeeeeee.

Hey ho. It's a long old slog. Now I need to get the GBD ready for posting.

Ben

You should check it out. It is very revealing.

sorry that was a reply to Z regarding the Scout recommendation page

*can't remember what AGM means*

Annual General Meeting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_general_meeting