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

Hello, oh great BBCi communities and messageboards type person... oh, it's you. It's 11:30 pm, I'm listening to the Mark Radcliffe show on Radio 2, and I want to know why the messageboard isn't open when the show is on. Seems a bit odd to me.

Oh that's an easy question. It's because Radio is 24/7, and messageboards aren't.

Radio has been around for years (300 or 400 I believe), so it's had time to build up lots of experts, and has lots of people who seem perfectly happy to work overnight. Messageboards are still quite new, and we don't have enough experts who fancy working overnight. Plus all sorts of other reasons.

And before anyone reminds me that the DNA sites are open 24 hours and that works well - there are vast differences in the number of people using DNA, and using messageboards at any one time. You know that number of registered Researchers on the info page (currently at 204513)? You'll find more (*lots* more) unique users have a message on the boards at any one time than have ever registered with DNA. We're talking mind-bogglingly huge numbers here.

Mind you, I've never seen anyone on the messageboards with the ridiculously high post counts that h2g2 Researchers seem to reach.

You've had that response ready for ages just in case somebody asked, haven't you?

You don't know how true that is! The person who did this job before me wrote a 'set email' to send out to people who asked. You got the personalised version!

Here's the one that was written before I joined the team.

Messageboards raise issues of taste and decency which the BBC can't ignore in the way that boards created by private individuals can, so we have to a reasonable degree of moderation on these communities. With a set budget, it has been deemed fairer to provide a large range of messageboards for a wide variety of licence fee payers, rather than a smaller number which could stay open for longer, for fewer licence payers. We hope you can understand our reasoning in this.

Some users have suggested a system whereby the users who've proven themselves to be responsible can be given powers to moderate the boards, thereby spreading the load of moderating and allowing an all-night service. This ideal works wonderfully on many fan sites, but with a publicly-funded body like the BBC there are issues involved which make this trickier to achieve - issues of privacy, employment law etc.

However, just as television didn't broadcast 24/7 for many years, but eventually got to broadcast around-the-clock, the messageboards *may* in future see developments where these editorial issues are resolved. We can't, therefore, rule out entirely the possibility of a self-moderating, 24/7 community here at the BBC - it's just that at the moment, we can't promise it.

For now then, we hope you?ll remember that you can still post as many messages as you like before closing time.

Oh dear. Still, I feel really special now that I got the personalised version.

So the best idea is to tape the show and listen to it next day so I can post to the messageboard while listening to the show?

You can use the 'listen again' feature. It's marvellous. Really.

Why aren't you at work?

Listen again! I never thought of that.

D'you know, you're the first person in two weeks who's noticed I've been online during the day. I'm resting between engagements at the moment.

I would have noticed earlier, if you'd spoken to me. Show you who your friends are though.

I speak to you all the time!

Well, yes. But not during the day.

What time of night do you call this then?

Er, well, that's today. I might have not noticed the time you posted, if I didn't get the site until I got home.

Look, stop trying to pick a fight.