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

Hello Bob, and welcome to this The Guide. The ubiquitous, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniverous magnum opus of our time. More exciting than rubbing to llamas together and more fun than the timpani section of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

I am an ACE (Assistant Community Editor), and in such a capacity I go haring round the guide with the brainless enthusiasm of a Dalmatian, welcoming newbies such as yourself; pointing them in the right direction at times, the wrong direction at others and generally confusing them should they wish to be confused.

The best way of getting to know the place is by loitering sureptitiously on corners, earwigging on conversations, joining in when you feel like it. Alternatively you can peer-review other peoples work or even submit your own - we don't mind, just as long as you enjoy - and that's an order ... .

If you have any questions just raise a paw and one of us will come running. You can either reply to this or ask another ACE (a list can be found on my home page (click on my name)). None of us bite and we're all here for the same reasons (ish).

As I've said before, so I'll say it again, enjoy and we'll see you around.

Ekki

A question about exiting articles...

I was looking at http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A502561

and saw what I consider inaccuracies in the article. To give you a flavour, the opening line says "UML is an object-oriented method for drawing pretty pictures to represent systems". UML is a notation. A method is notation + process. I know, because there are at least two different methods that use the same notation, and I earn my living from using one of them.

How do I go about making my observations without winding up anyone? Do I contact the author (not listed), editor, write my comments at the foot of the article, or submit a suggested replacement article to peer review?

/Bob

Hi Bob.

This whole thing is a two way process and there are a lot of people who know a great deal about a great many things. If you spot an error, there's nothing wrong with either starting a conversation on the entry page highlighting the mistake or by contacting the editor direct.

If the editor is still an active researcher, then they should be able to make any corrections. If they're not (ie you don't hear anything from them) you could always write an alternative entry on the same theme.

I can't tell whether the entry to which you refer is an Edited Guide Entry (ie official) or whether it's just someone contributing because they feel like it. If you leave a message on their home page, saying what you told me, then they should get back to you.

The decision is yours, but as I said, don't be afraid to point out errors - you're not treading on peoples toes, The Guide is symbiotic and is all about give and take. Most people actually appreciate it and feel flattered that you even read their article!

Ekki