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

Hiya, welcome to the Guide. I'm Bluebottle, I'd just like to welcome you.
I saw that you said that you live in the Southampton area? Well, I'm a student at Southampton University - for better or worse - so I just thought I'd pop round and say hi. So, what do you do in Southampton?

Put up with me a sec, as you are new, I'm supposed to help you out by letting you know about places you can go to help find out about the guide:

Such as the New user page:-
http://www.h2g2.com/A5752
and the Guide to H2G2
http://www.h2g2.com/A344756

But personally, I prefer the Beach - afterall, you can meet more researchers there:
http://www.h2g2.com/A208676

Hope to see you around!

<BB<

Hello yourself!

So I just click this button down here to reply do I?

I think I'll let you answer that one

So what's this guide then and why does everybody insist on pretending they are eating or drinking something while they are chatting?
No disrespect or anything, I'm just not used to this

What is the guide?
Well - it's a collection of completely insane people talking about things. There are really two ways of looking at the guide
1, as a place for information, where you can write about what you like, and find what you like, and then talk about it with various people.
2. as a community site. This is where the eating & drinking things bit comes in. Some parts of the guide exist just to promote discussion, and many of them are based around cafes etc, just to create an atmosphere of people talking, drinking etc. that just adds to the discussion and helps keep it going when you can't think of anything else to say.

<BB<

Ah huh. So what do you study at the Uni then?

Me? I'm doing History at the moment. I was doing Law, but I transferred.
So, what do you do? Are you at the uni at all?

Nah, the best I managed was 2 years of YTS (which gives away my age a bit) I run a web design company. Pretty much the reason for getting into this virtual space thing here - and since I loved HGTTG this seemed like the best one

oops - and I meant to ask, how do you get an entry in the guide?
I'm not ready yet but it looks like fun

This is very vaguely HGTTG related, but the good thing is everyone here knows what you're talking about if you quote it, and has a very similar sense of humour. So, is your web design company based in Southampton?

Company based in Basingstoke - desperate for coders and graphic designers (they come in separate packages I'm told. What aspect of History are you interested in and is it the one you're studying?
*slurps coffee and picks earwax*

I'm interested in local history - mainly the history of the Isle of Wight - but am also enjoying learning about the kingdom of Wessex, which I have always been interested in and am studying now.
I'm studying a general course at the moment - in Europe, the years:
900 - 1200
1400 - 1700
and 1870 - 2000
Plus the Industrial Revolution.

I've changed my nickname coz the last one was crap!
You're studying tons of history quite clearly, it's something I know little about apart from that new show on TV 'The History of Britain' or whatever. Good show, but I keep missing it....
I need to ask you (please don't be offended - it's not meant to be offensive)do many people who get involved with h2g2 places and the like, have a real life? I'm sure you do being a student with all that cheap beer etc, but I was just wondering - you know?
I mean, I could tell you I'm a millionaire (I'm not) or that I'm a four year old with advanced language skills (again no, but my girlfriend may take a contary view)
Again, please don't take this the wrong way - I'm enjoying being here, but a lttle perplexed.

This post has been removed.

Sorry to have taken a while to reply - I wasn't ignoring you, I was just having a life, and so wasn't here to reply

Don't worry, I'm not offended by your question - it's a valid point. I personally don't understand the stigma of being on the internet a lot, or why it exists. My girlfriend, and most of her friends watch at least about 2 hours a day of television, soaps like Coronation Street, East Enders etc., plus a lot of day time tv. I very rarely watch TV at all - only about an hour a week at the moment - I usually get bored. H2G2 is a similar form of entertainment to the TV as you can see what's going on, read forums and news etc - and you can interact. Instead of watching a soap opera about, say, people in a pub like East Enders is, you can pretend to be people in a pub, such as the Forum & Firkin on H2G2. I find it a lot more satisfying, and unpredictable - and more enjoyable - than watching a soap where you know everyone's cheating on everyone and the script for the next week's episodes can be predicted after 5 minutes of watching. I think it's true with most people here - they spend a couple hours a day on h2g2 instead of, say, watching TV. And then do all the stuff that people who watch TV a lot go out to do.

Most of the people on h2g2 are students, it seems, and they tend to be on for an hour or so between lectures, as going into a computer rom is easier than going home. Or people at work, when they're bored, spend 5 minutes here and there. There are probably a few people who h2g2 to the exclusion of everything else - just as there are people who watch tv to the exclusion of everyone else - but overall it's just something done when people are bored etc, just like watching TV or reading a book.

<BB<

Thanks BB. On that proviso I'll hang about.
Look forward to chatting again sometime.

Yep - hope so.

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