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

Welcome to h2g2!

I'm a ACE here which stands for Assistant Community Editor, a grand title for something which means that I'm a perfectly ordinary researcher who has volunteered for the job of welcoming people to the site and generally giving them a helping hand if need be.

So, again, welcome to this wonderful site.

If you need any hints on getting about, I've already noticed you asked for some help on emoticons and guideML then I have written a (possibly slightly out of date now ) help page of my own which you can visit by clicking on this link. http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A543791/

Of course you can just ask also

There are plenty of places to hang out and have fun here as well as places to be serious and debate stuff. Personally I reccomend just hanging about and chatting at first, then, if you feel like contributing your wisdom then new article for the guide are always welcome. I also act as a Scout here which is also a volutary position which entails picking which entries enter the hallowed ground of official entries. If I seem enthusiastic then bear in mind I was here well over a year before I wrote my first article

Anyway, just settle down and have sum and s on me. Or a if you like.

Bye for now,

Orcus

Hi,

Thanks Orcus! Your "discuss this entry" button on the page link you gave me doesn't work. It takes you back to the page. Didja know that?

I'm off to see about smileys. I can see where they'd come in useful.

Good to see more folk on line. I'm not an official greeter or anything, just came across your page and wanted to say hello.

There are a surprising number of folk from the states on h2g2. (I'm a Scot)

If you're looking for humour (look - I spell it right you don't OK ), try clicking on the "radio" button on the grey ifo bar at the top. Radio4 is doing a series on Peter Sellers just now. Try his name in the search. If you go to the News Quiz you may not recognise all the references (it's topical but UK topical) but the fun is there OK.

6.30pm GMT is a funnies slot on radio4 and you can get a "live" webcast of it. Have a fossick thru the tv too. Radio plays can be enthralling and they sometimes run Sherlock Holmes stuff.

Bye for now

Cheers for that comment about my help page Quincy.



Nothing to do with my GuideML that



Must be a bug.

*Heads of to report the bug to those in techieland*

If you use this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A543791

(ie. miss out the final / I initially gave you)

then it seems to work properly.



BTW, a quick way of going to the smiley help page is to simply click your mouse over a smiley in a conversation forum if you didn't already know.

Hi there Orcus,

Hey Tom,

My page got moderated. Does this happen a lot? I'm totally confused. What did I say? The email I got didn't tell me. It only said something about "potentially offensive to some users", which I guess being a Coroner could be... but so could being a Jew, or being from New York, or being divorced, all things I said. I asked for info on what I said.

Do they usually tell you?

You told it like it was.

Some folk might be frightened of that. Maybe they think you yourself might regret it in time. Whaddever. I'm so glad you had the courage to let me read it. Not many people have the courage to be that raw and can express it so coherently.

I don't know all the details but I think the mail you have got will be the equivalent of saying. "This is a difficult one. We want to think about it." You should get a fuller email in the next day or so. Try putting moderat* in the search field at the top. The process is explained and isn't secret. The page may go back but they may ask you to take something out or rephrase it. I don't know. I think part of the trouble is that the BBC worry about some of the legal consequences in what people say. That means they're overcautious at times.

Hey fellas, this guy's hurting. Don't keep him in suspense. Please.

Yeaay you're back on your home page!!

It doesn't look that different to my memory (better not detail it if it is )

Thanks guys

Hee - Remember that bit in the Muppets "Veterinarian's hospital" when the commentator would say something in the operating theatre and the Muppets would all look up and try to see where the voice was coming from

Hiya Tom,

Nice of you to drop in again. Hmm... . I just kinda let somebody have it. Really an earful. I think he deserved it, but now I'm having Obligatory Jewish Guilt about the whole thing. They might make the post disappear, but it's about equally offensive as the guy himself was, only kinder in the long run. See "Condolence Thread" and if the one after Looneytune's post about "amn-made tragedies" is missing, that was mine. Sometimes I think I should just shut up.

But maybe he needed to hear that. I'm an old guy, and I've been around a little. Whatever. I feel sad he's so bitter. I think it's a he. That kind of bitterness, I understand, but where and how he was showing it wasn't right.

ummm ..

Obligatory Jewish chicken soup?

(if you'll forgive a gentile for teasing?)

I think part of the problem was that the thread was supposed to be for condolences. By the time I got to it just now the moderation had clicked in. Your next post was there tho. I gather that you're on a kinda hair trigger just now. Given some of what I've seen on tv from NY that's not really surprising.

Some of the comments seem to be blaming Gordon Brown and his wife for daring to be upset when others are upset too. If you go up the condolence thread a bit you'll find a snippy comment of mine I'm not too proud of on reflection but somehow or other I got away with it.

tom

Yeah, well, I know I went overboard. I don't feel too bad now. It was a button-pushing thing, for sure, but also, I don't think the guy expressed what he meant at all well. I took him at face value. So, who knew? I do now.

to both of you. I started that thread. I titled it condolence thread for a reason.

Oh well, sometimes these things happen.

Oh sorry, I forgot you wanted to be cheerful

By the way, apparently that linky thing I did above is not a bug at all but 'exactly what you would expect to happen'. Must brush up on my computer file system knowledge me.

How are you getting on here anyhow?

Hi Quincy.

Posting in case you might be able to read if not reply.

I gather you might be able to confirm your identity to the powers that be. Why not?

You might be in a tiff with them and I appreciate that. Some of us enjoyed corresponding with you. Please don't deny us that chance just to spite the powers that be.