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

No, it doesn't work, but it certainly shouldn't be changed into something completely different. It just needs to be worked at so people use it more.

Tango

Well my best collaboratives have all come out of threads on 'Ask H2G2' - namely A613054, A753527 and A1053901. So my recommendation to anyone wanting to write a collaborative is to start a conversation there, and to put A LOT of thought into how to write it up. None of them came easy in the writing.

B

I agree the CWW, like the WW, is currently under utilised, but surely instead of just replacing it, it can be left, so that it _can_ become useful. Anyway, creating another review forum shouldn't be too hard (they're a modern feature, and so should have good tools), and reusing a page is often a bad idea as any links to it will then become 'broken' as they'll point to it for the wrong reason.

spelugx

The function that CWW is intended to perform is being performed now by askh2g2 and also in Peer Review. The function that WW is intended to perform is being performed now in PR. Why would people use another review forum when the job gets done where they're already subscribed?

Spelugx has a good point about broken links, of course.

You say the the job of the WW is now being done in PR, but I can't take my half-finished entry and submit it to PR, and expect everyone to wait while I continue working on it. PR is really for things the author thinks finished, so that the community isn't working on it while the author is still researching and writing.

spelugx

I don't see the precipitous decline in standards of entries in PR that some others do. I just think that there are more entries in PR: the sheer volume becomes overwhelming. Not a case so much of 'never mind the quality, feel the width', more a case of an embarrassment of both riches and dross.
Perhaps the situation could become more manageable if we had a categorised PR, in that when one submitted an entry, one had to specify its intended Guide category as well and then specialists could browse those areas of interest to them. Also, if authors had to choose a cetagory, it might help to get them to reflect upon whether the entry is fit for the EG in the first place.

FM
Scout

I don't see the precipitous decline in standards of entries in PR that some others do. I just think that there are more entries in PR: the sheer volume becomes overwhelming. Not a case so much of 'never mind the quality, feel the width', more a case of an embarrassment of both riches and dross.
Perhaps the situation could become more manageable if we had a categorised PR, in that when one submitted an entry, one had to specify its intended Guide category as well and then specialists could browse those areas of interest to them. Also, if authors had to choose a cetagory, it might help to get them to reflect upon whether the entry is fit for the EG in the first place.

FM
Scout

i try my best when i write my entries. they are not very sophistically laid out - because my knowledge of guideml is very limited. what does make a good entry - is it the subject matter or that it's very well laid out with guideml.

kat

i am also limited to what i can do because i am using a digibox.

kat

Nothing to do with guideml (although marking up a document can help to bring out its structure), it's about writing an article which has a clear structure, says something clearly (it doesn't just wander around aimlessly making bad jokes), and has nice readable prose. The last is the most important. Being able to write in paragraphs, sentences and words is of the utmost importants .

spelugx

spelugx but i am not educated like other reseachers who have a levels and degrees as i have not got any.

kat

Catagorised PR - bad idea, boring catagories will get ignored even more than WW is now.

Effect of poor GML knowledge - it doesn't matter, all you need to do is use s, s and aragraphs. Anything else can be done by a subeditor, or with careful instructions in PR.

Tango

Spelugx, you're right that people aren't supposed to submit half-finished entries to PR, but realistically, where are you going to get feedback? If a pragmatic researcher wants advice on a half-finished entry, they won't submit it to WW and grow old waiting for replies; they'll submit it to PR, claiming it's complete, a lot of people will tell them to finish it and how, and they'll do so. I've seen it happen.

Degree? Education? I've not got the former, and I'm still in schooling. It's possible for anyone to write, the basic priciple is really Keep It Simple.

For example my second edited entry on Hector Guimard (A673562) is quite short, but it's got a simple structure: it follows his life chronologically. One of today's entries, Corfu Town (A1084646) doesn't use any fancy language, it's just got a good structure (and a lot of information, good research can help to carry an entry) which means that all the words are really doing is carrying all the information.

spelugx

All you need is a secondery level education, probably not even as far a GCSE. The finer points can be done by a sub editor, that's their job.

Tango

i have put alot of effort in my entries and if feel like i am being critisced for not producing professional entries. i do my best.

kat

That's true GTBacchus, I've seen a lot of entries get major work done, and it probably means that entries are staying for longer in PR. The thing about my entry is that it's not just incomplete, it's unfinished which means that I know what I want to add to it, so I don't want to put it in PR where I can risk a scout picking it early (although this shouldn't happen right now, since this was discussed today).

spelugx

Education comes into play when you're choosing a topic, but after that, it's all about paragraphs, sentences and words, like Spelugx said. I don't have an advanced aeronautics degree, so I won't be writing any advanced aeronautics entries, but everyone's got hobbies they know more about than your average aeronautical engineer.

i did not have a good secondary edcuation.

kat

Yeah, you're right about half-finished entries. I have 3 or 4 of those, that I don't want to submit to PR until I've written specific other sections. One's languishing in CWW, where nothing's happening.

Collaborative writing isn't *hard* so much as unlikely, unless all the collaborators bring enough enthusiasm to the entry, especially the person editing it all together.