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

hey fords, i really like the new formatting for your wilderness survival skills article it's a great deal clearer now - plus i really love big bold subheaders.

i hope you didn't get rid of the original five-parter. (then again, nothing's ever lost forever at h2g2) it may never get into the eg in that format (i read the pr comments about there being too many jokes), but i thought it was an interesting - and humorous - little series anyway, that you could at least bung in your personal page (i still keep all the junk i wrote that never made it).

you *are* planning on resubmitting this, aren't you?

Farlander! Thanks for taking the time to stop back in.

Thanks for the compliments, I was rather fond of the series the way it was, and loved playing around with the GML and Photo Library.

In deference to the powers-that-be (that is to say, the powers-that-be-staid-and-humourless), I took out the humour, pictures, and anythings questionable in the way of GML, and made it a one-parter, solely that it might later be considered for EE status. I was told that a large one-parter was easier for a Sub to pick up than having to go through the process multiple times.

I kind of wonder about that 'nothing is ever lost' note. Do you have reason to believe that they keep every iteration of every entry, public and private? Interesting thought (big-brother-wise), but a scary waste of storage resources.

The last comment I thought I would address was beefing up the content, though I thought it was long enough, now. What do you think?

fords,

yeah, i found out for myself (and rather early on too) that ees were *not* to contain pictures unless an artist did them, and that you wouldn't get one unless it was a headline article. (and that was *after* i found that you couldn't do your own graphics - unless you cheat - and that the image library wasn't as extensive as one would have liked) ah well... i guess they *do* have to have some control over things.

i know it must be frustrating to have to take out the humorous bits out of one's articles, seeing as this *is* h2g2!!! interestingly, however, one guy managed to slip it all past the editors - go look for the article entitled 'doors', it's really a very good, humorous entry.(sadly, that was his one and only article, if memory serves) i can only surmise that one is not encouraged to write humour for the sake of humour, but the fun is all in slipping bits of humour in sideways.

as i have said earlier, the formatting makes the article really good and really organised. i think that all that's needed is a slightly longer intro (such as why modern, metropolitan, concrete-jungle man would even want to venture into the wilderness in the first place!!!), and then it would be ready for re-submission.

just a couple of typos i spotted:

1. 'handy requirements': 'local animals AND insects'

2. 'water': 'The rivers and streams may be populated which which makes of them a potentially source for food' might sound better as 'The rivers and streams may be populated, which makes them a potential source of food'

3. 'food': well, no typo here, but you may want to include mushrooms in your list of dangerous foods. hmm, that polka-dotted one looks delicious...ack

4. 'shelter': 'roop' - did you mean 'rope'? oh, and 'vegetation'. and 'secure them *on* level ground'.

5. 'tools': 'a stick'

6. (i like the bit about the oasis and the skeletons!!! )

7. i'm just curious about this one bit about the bucket-and-hose method of collecting water. the bucket goes in the hole, the hose goes in the bucket, the tarp goes over the bucket, right? er, how do you get the water out of the bucket using the hose, besides sucking on it? or is that the general idea?

8. the intro to the 'snow and ice regions' has no full stop.

9. 'shelter': 'beneath it'

10. 'fire': since this *is* a british website, i would suggest you spell 'feces' as 'faeces'

11. 'ocean' - 'water': 'suspending'

(you might want to add a note that wherever possible you should avoid bleeding into the water lest you attract *too much* attention from the wrong crowd... )

12. 'hunting' - 'mayan throwing stick': 'perpendicular'

(the truth be told, i rarely proof-read my own articles for typos anymore (ish) i just let the computer do it, and whatever it doesn't pick up, rhomunuq will!)

keep it up i look forward to seeing this on the front page. goodness knows, people like me (ie generally clueless about what lies outside of the city) should learn a thing or two about this kind of stuff...

Thanks, again, my friend!

This was a most thorough job of proofreading. It even forced me to look about and find a couple of others.

RE: "i know it must be frustrating to have to take out the humorous bits out of one's articles"
My first reaction would have been to say, 'You've no idea', except that you most obviously do.

RE: 'The Water-Still'. Yes; I'm afraid that, if the still is to be effective, the sheet (and the air beneath) should be disturbed as little as possible. In the absence of a small pump, sucking out the water is the only real way to get any of it.

I should probably amplify a couple of areas before resubmitting. It probably should be ready for resubmission before long.

re: humour - when you have the time, go to sir bossel's page. take a look at his article on 'autobahns' *before* and *after* editing. clue: look for the humour bits...

As always, the suggestion is highly appreciated.