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

Hi RE!

I've been meaning to ask you for ages - have you ever thought of volunteering as a sub-editor? It's just that you have a particularly keen eye when it comes to Peer Review.

I'm not a sub myself, so I can't say much more about it, but if you were interested, they would probably snap you up very quickly. The subs' page is at Subeditors

Icy

Hello Icy!

I must apologise for not responding earlier; it seems that the first posting to one's Message Centre does not appear on the Most Recent Conversations list, and I failed to notice yours until late last night.

What can I say? Well, coming from you, the suggestion is both welcome and flattering , but, having skimmed through one or two of the Sub's pages, it also makes me wonder whether I might have been stepping on a few toes...

Frankly, if the Subs/Eds don't mind my meddling, I am happy to continue spotting the easy slips and the most glaring lapses in punctuation (my own is far from perfect), comfortable in the knowledge that further editing - professional editing - will follow.

I have a great deal of respect for those who take the time to research and prepare entries for the Guide, and I like to think that my involvement does something to speed the process.

Now *you* would make a great Sub-Ed......though not at the expense of your writing .

Must get some work done.

Well - there is no professional editing in this place. The BBC is running this site on a shoestring budget, and the only editing function the Editors seem to perform is checking things against BBC guidelines, legality, etc. The volunteer subs do all the rest. All the updates and curatorship is also done by volunteers - like Gnomon and Danny B.

As for what you're currently doing in PR, it's essential. Many articles are written by people whose first language isn't English (or at least UK English) and sometimes it shows. At some point the material needs to be corrected. It could all be left to the Sub, but I think the author should do it and the Sub should be proof-reading an almost-perfect article. After all, they have other things to do, like adding links. So long as the content is fairly stable, peer reviewers should post spelling/grammatical corrections too, as apart from other things it resolves ambiguity.

I'm not naming names, but once or twice the stuff I have written has come out of the sub-editing process in a worse state than it entered it, and I thought that someone with your skills could only improve the process.

When I first dabbled in PR I thought I was treading on the toes of established Scouts, but after I became a Scout, I found that this wasn't the case, and that the volunteers are very appreciative and supportive of each other and anyone else who helps out. A lot of it you don't see, as they have their own Yahoo forums where they discuss volunteer-related things. There's quite a high turnaround of volunteers, so they're regularly looking for new ones. But if you're happy doing what you do, then that's great too.

Icy

Actually, Icy, I should be calling you a whole bunch of names for leaving a constant reminder on my Personal Space that I really ought to be doing more...much more...for h2g2, the BBC and my country.

I'll shut up now, then.

Just 'yikes' them if it becomes too intrusive.

If you have the time, you'd both be superb Scouts *and* Subs, if you don't mind me butting in. RE, you do as much as a Scout would be expected to anyway - all you're not doing is having the 'Recommend' button with which to pick your favourites every month. The Sub-editing takes a little more time, but you're only committed to two a month - any extra you do is a bonus.

I wouldn't pressurise anyone into doing either, but if you're inclined towards taking on official duties, I'd certainly be happy to recommend you both. Have a think about it, at least - we need more volunteers

Et tu, Skankyrich?

Let's see; power and responsibility: well, I think I could probably handle the responsibility alright, but the power would almost certainly go to my head.

Sure, I'd settle, at first, for a tad more 'respec' on the PR threads. Pretty soon, though, I'd be returning entire entries unemended, with the single suggestion that the author might try reading their work, at least once, before submitting it to PR.

And if that isn't bad enough, how long do you think it would be before I started offering to overlook the occasional solecism in exchange for sexual favours...eh?

So, until such time as I *really* upset one of our many talented authors, I think it's safer to leave things as they are. Don't you?

Rich - I'll drop you a note on your PS on the subject...

Icy

RE, I don't like 'safer'. If you think you'd cause a riot, I suggest you sign up right now

Seriously, I don't like being pressured into doing things myself, and certainly wouldn't want to pressure anyone else. You've obviously thought about it already, so I'll leave it there.

The occasional sexual favours do make it worth it, though.

Notwithstanding post nine, I reckon you'd make a great Scout, though. All you'd have to do is go to <./>Scouts-Recruit</.>. I'm not going to bang on about it, of course...

You do realise how free people are with the old favours, don't you? I still remember the day all those Playboy models got accepted with their Entry on bananas, they were very grateful. Funny, though, I haven't seen them since.

Icy - Hearty congratulations on joining the Sub-editors' ranks (somewhat late, I know, but no less hearty).

Your name doesn't seem to be listed on the The Sub-editors' Home Page A395697 (Help Page)*. Would you like me to fix that (via Editorial Feedback) or would you prefer to keep a low profile?

*[I have no idea whether or not other amendments need to be made to that page.]

Hi RE,

I never really look at that page, to be honest. We have a Yahoo forum and I get the messages e-mailed to me, so I tend to know who's a sub-ed. I suppose it would be handy for others to know, as they can always approach us directly for advice, or if they need a university project subedited. Yes, I'll get it fixed.

Two of my subedited efforts are on the front page today, if you're interested.

I don't know if you've seen, but we've lost a couple of good scouts recently. Is this something you've ever considered? Not much work, to be honest - just spend a bit of time in Peer Review, and then recommend 2 or 3 articles to the Eds every 4 weeks...

Icy

I've just realised that we already tried to press-gang you earlier in this thread

There's no harm in asking, Icy, and of course I'm flattened.



p.s. I'm pleased that Skankyrich isn't planning to 'leave the building', or at least I hope not.

I don't think we can get rid of him that easily!

Sadly, Rich is not the only one - Wyatt resigned at the same time, and Galaxy Babe has also threatened to resign. If it's not your thing, then is there anyone else on your Friends list who you think might be a good candidate? It would be a shame to see the site shrink as a result of fewer volunteers.

Gatecrashing

Hi Rudi, Icy mentioned his efforts to recruit you for the worthy cause of scouting. I agree with what has been said by him and Skankyrich so far.
Please consider volunteering?

(We would still be allowed to disagree every now and again )

Bel

No we wouldn't.

Sure, we would - in a civilised manner.