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

Or, even, a seperate 'click here to delete multiple conversatons', button; then to a page, where there is a list, say, fifty most recenty PS convos; each with a check box, radious button whatever, next to it; check/uncheck those one desires, then hit the 'delete all checked' button... bang... and move onto the next fifty entrys; mgiht also be useful, as pliny doesn't seem to go back that* far, into ones history....

h2g2 Participation Brainstorm Summary

(with some questions, comments and kibitzing)

Make it easier to find the places where there ~is~ activity going on. - Asteroid Lil

In the Pliny footer, Information http://h2g2.com/info links to the 20 most recently created entries and 20 most recently updated conversations. Is this the sort of thing you meant, Asteroid Lil? What would make finding activity easier? And is 20 conversations enough, especially for folks in timezones well away from GMT?

Make the Latest Activity list a page like my conversations - Bald Bloke

Bald Bloke, do you mean, an automatically updated list like the my conversations feature in one of the older skins?

Maybe a little "do you want to leave this conversation without subscribing?" pop-up?-TC

Perhaps a sort of PR-kindergarten, where smaller projects can be presented, nurtured, and gently criticised, written by newbies, beginners and anyone who has just a "little idea”. - TC

Like a writing workshop, TC? Or more like Create?

How about a "recently read" list of conversations on our user pages which would remind us forgetful ones of where we have been? Could make it only visible to the user? - BaldBloke

Bring in metrics, show that people are using the Guide? Mr603

To "clear up" Ask, I think there are also at least two ways to do it - one is to move out everything that doesn't have a question mark in the title, or suchlike, and the other is for threads to be brought back on topic by someone asking a related question, or stating the "what do you think?" question. SashaQ

Mass deletions where a user could delete more than one thread at a time - MMF (Milla already logged a mass deletion request.)

Having another visible area on the homepage - SashaQ

Yes, maybe like a list of active organizations, such as the h2g2 running club?

Could we have a couple pages of 'boiler-plate' introductions one for plain and anther for Guide ML. Basic instructions could be included on the page itself (do we have a 'remark' function in the code? I never looked.) Florida Sailor 

There have been a few stabs at that over the years, but I don't know what kind of shape they're in. We do have a remark/ comment function in HTML/GuideML, like this but without the spaces < !--This is the remark aka comment here.-- >

Is there something we can do to help with the situation in which most newbies do nothing more than register? - Amy P

What do you have in mind, Amy?

Not fully coming to grips with GuideML, needing an idiots guide to Trello MMF

Trello does have a help guide, and a welcome board. What you say about GuideML is really important though. Not that many people are going to want to learn what’s basically an off-brand of HTML just so they can express themselves on one site.

Smartphone beeps with twittery, facebooky and other sms updates, and not with h2g2 updates.

When I was participating in Facebook and twitter, I too noticed that a lot of h2g2’s chat had moved to those and other services.

We used to have role-playing subgroups. Icy

So true. And we also used to have them on BBSs and in person around kitchen tables and in person at events where we would all dress up and online in MUDs and …

I do see a problem here, in that the Guide is not flourishing … while it certainly has the potential, and by rights should flourish.  There are sites that do certain things much better.We can’t compete with all that, but there are some things we can do better.  Willem

Indeed

As with everything the more you become involved, the more you'll get out of life. Freewayriding

Agreed

How to Make a Plastic Bag Bra is a great antidote to the perception of stuffiness.

Okay that wasn’t exactly what Baron Grim said, but perhaps it holds a C-cup's worth of his meaning.

people a lot more likely to stick round, if they've actually 'done something', or 'put something', (however or whatever it might be), onto a site, say, by writing a few words on their PS, or 'personalising' it, through this in some way - 2legs

Is that true? I’ve never been very invested in my profiles. I probably have abandoned dozens of them across the internet. But if it is true, then finding the aforementioned boilerplate becomes a higher priority.

I've often wondered about whether it was possible to subscribe to ps by email automatically so people would know when the ace greater them. - woolly mammoth

Me too. At the time I asked, it was one of those features that a lot of infrastructure had to be built first. it may still be. But I'd really like to subscribe to some convos by email.

I dunno. I'm new here. A more user-friendly, for dummies like me website perhaps? - murphy snowfractal

I'd like that too.

Incidentally, I like that you can scroll through the smileys in Pliny now, so much easier.

" Make the Latest Activity list a page like my conversations - Bald Bloke

Bald Bloke, do you mean, an automatically updated list like the my conversations feature in one of the older skins? "

Like the bottom half of /info, except it should open threads in a new tab (as happens in my conversations). whether it should be auto-upated needs some thought, it might be better left as manual update.
Might also be worth increasing it's length to 40 most recent or posts within the last 12 / 24 hrs.

Provide cross links between latest conversations / My Conversations / Who's on line.

You could also provide recently created entries in the same manner

" 'Is there something we can do to help with the situation in which most newbies do nothing more than register?' - Amy P

"What do you have in mind, Amy?"

I have no idea. I'm pretty sure it's a problem that's existed for longer than I've been around. I was more just putting the question out there for other people to mull over. Of course, those that know why someone does nothing more than register aren't going be around to answer...

There's a running club?

How did I not know this! How could or should I have been aware of it?

I can think of a few tech ideas. Give people the option to sign up Facebook if they want so people don't have to have to remember another login. Obviously keep none fb option too.
Subscribe to conservation via e mail and have people autos inscribed to their ps and to any pr threads.

That way when you get aced you get an e mail.

At the side of every edited entry have a link about how to sign up and add an entry or update the entry.

I thought there used to be a photo club and this in an ideal forum

I think the lack of an overall "map" may put off newbies - it can get very confusing finding your way around.

It still can be difficult to find something you don't use regularly

About people who register and no more, let me mention another site I'm involved in: http://www.oedilf.com

I came upon it through a mention on a conversation here; it's a project to write a complete English dictionary in limericks.

The stats are revealing of how people in general behave in a group. In OEDILF, there are 990 contributors listed; the list is broken up into 33 screen-sized bites of thirty. Of these, the top 30 have each had between 673 and 10767 limericks approved by peer vote. (Yes, the top contributor has 10,767 approved limericks.)

The second thirty have between 306 and 672 approved.

The third thirty (where I appear) between 206 and 297
Then 123-201
77-122
48-76
39-48
26-38
15-26
10-15
6-10
5-6
4-5
3-4
2-3
2
1-2
Then four pages, that's 120 contributors, who have had one limerick approved
Then over 12 pages (360) who have sent in limericks but not had any approved.

The criteria are clearly different, but it gives an indication of how the activity on a site varies from the few extremely involved to the many little-involved. Only one has over ten thousand accepted, then the next top contributors have: one over 6,000, one over 5,000, one over 2,000, then 11 over 1,000 each. Fascinating the way it spreads out.

The log-in-through-Facebook-so-there's-not-another-login-to-remember idea is a good one--last time I talked to someone I know who would love it here, she said the only thing keeping her was that she wasn't sure she could remember another login. I'll admit I was waiting for her to say she was too old, so I could mention AlsoRan, who was older when she joined h2g2 the same year I did than my friend will be for about a decade

Anyone heard anything from AlsoRan lately?

A Facebook connection may have the opposite effect, are there many on face book who are interested in the goals of this site

AlsoRan 83 last posted around June 2011

*clears throat* http://openid.net/

Sorry for being thick here, but what is that and how does it relate to h2g2?

It goes with the less-logins-to-remember theme I seem to remember TRiG mentioning Open ID yonks ago.

I think, the Open ID thing, is the thing which lets you log into sites, using your ID/registered credentials from other sites; hence I can log into various blog things, using my google account, or twitter accountm, or facebook account, to post a reply to a blog, etc., without having to register on each one of ten million differnt blog sites that I may come across... (think thats a sort of open ID thing)

Its not only the new sign ups and never come back that bother me as much as some of the old longstanding members who are dissapering.

Since 5th February 2006 when I created my PS I have seen what was a happy and frendily site loose a large ammount of its social interaction. The question about AlsoRan started this thought its 2 years since her last post and no one has reported any contact or may not noticed her silence and asked until today.

This appears to show some of the life and community sprit appears to have gone it is difficult to explane perhaps others like Lil who have been here longer might be able to. I guess that 50% of those I used to often talk to or seen on site almost daily have dissapered.

Has the site changed so much that they have become uncomfortable and visit no longer. Is it going to become a site where if you are not writing entries no one will talk to you.

Regarding BS's post, did we ever create the 'In Memoriam' site?

Gnomon is probably best to contact regarding Alsoran, as he regularly had to reset her password.

Since I've been here, I've ben unfortunate to see the loss of T.B.Falsename and Terri, both of whom I met, as well as Peregrine, Pheloxi etc.

Would be really good to have a page for those contributors that are no longer with us.

With Nighthoover heading the list.

All hail Nighhoover. Lettuce spray.


MMF

I agree that it is appropriate to discuss death on a site dedicated to Life the Universe and everything. As researchers we are touched by the passing of family and friends, fellow researchers, public figures, celebrities, our pets.

And I agree that creativity can grow out of what may seem to be morbid thoughts or discussions. A couple of my entries were written in memoriam: A29019369 and A87734965

Some of our late researchers have memorial pages or an obit in the Post.