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

Hi Ben - sorry, I know I keep going on and on, and really having withdrawn from the mod team it really isn't my place to keep going on about titles, roles & responsibilities but I just like to meddle.

my the mods are just being asked to do donkey work and not really have a role, the CEs seem to be all singing all dancing and two few. (aside of the fact that I really really can't abide the name...). IMO what could fix it a little is to give the mods more of the interesting work, talking in threads in general terms when it looks as though it's going in a bad direction. But then that is about being identified as being a mod and I know not everyone is on board with that.

Then there is my firmly held conviction that any member of the community, "junior", "senior", "newbie", or "oldbie" should be allowed (encouraged even) to nudge threads back on track.

I am seeing a worrying amount of navel gazing and introspection which may have a basis in truth that some researchers are looking at those with titles and thinking "they're too uppity" or whtever. This should be ignored, of course, but then if you take that kind of thing to heart it could be that there is a particle of truth in it... (sorry, worded that very clumsily)

You can tell me to shut up and butt out now.
but I am in possession of the best Coffee & Walnut in the universe and Yorkshire-

Ah,

*slurp*

You'd expect introspection right now, it's a time of change and a time of changing *identity* - for a lot of people h2g2's always been part of the BBC and being cut loose is hugely scary.

>>IMO what could fix it a little is to give the mods more of the interesting work, talking in threads in general terms when it looks as though it's going in a bad direction. But then that is about being identified as being a mod and I know not everyone is on board with that.

I agree and I think that will come as their confidence increases. They have had an astonishingly rough and painful ride. And that's all I can say on that one really.


>> it really isn't my place to keep going on about titles, roles & responsibilities

Go for it. Some people call it consultation and others call it getting other people to do the hard work and all the thinking. Seriously, this is important, it's hard to get right, and the community is an intelligent source of informed opinion.


>> that is about being identified as being a mod and I know not everyone is on board with that.

There are no secret mods.





I really appreciate your thoughts and experience and advice. I suspect we'll end up with something which is like a lot of other Mods set-ups elsewhere in most ways, but which is unique to h2g2 it some ways.

thanks for answering. But you really do have a billion other things you should be doing.

Am I right in thinking your dissertation is done and dusted? My new course started today and the website is down so I can't really get to grips with it. Hence me being a PITA

(it really is very good cake)

Oh, go on then.

Yep. Dis was posted on Wednesday, final day was yesterday. But I tumbled straight in to desiging tools and processes for h2g2, which is why I am REALLY interested in what you are saying.

We'll get there, and the goodwill is so encouraging. But oy vey, the software bugs....

Thanks for the time you've spent today.

Ben

I'm really quite sad I don't have more time for this place, but the Gruesome Twosome are really starting to need me more (I thought small children ate up time, Teenagers... oy!)

And now I'm off to watch a DVD about how the coal industry built and then destroyed a community...

Our course sounds good. I am deliberately not signing up for anything this year, but I fancy some OU. Not sure what though.

the fees are going up horribly - I'm not even sure if I can do my next one overseas fees are triple the UK ones as it is and for next year they're not yet fixed. I shall be very - mostly with myself for not having got my backside into gear to do this before now.

Oh well. We have enough PPE graduates anyway, according to all the papers