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

Hi ESSEXSTUDD

I thought it best to have a fresh thread. Let's hope that everyone will respect the convention that threads named in this way are considered to be 'private' threads even though technically this is not the case.

By 'private' I mean that everyone is free to read the thread - and are most welcome to do so - but only you and I should post here.

If anyone wants to talk to me - even about what I'm writing here - they're welcome to start a new thread in my Message Centre.

The point has been made elsewhere that you posted in the Question!! thread even though I'd advised you not to. I think perhaps there was the expectation in some quarters that I'd enforce my advice in some way but that isn't my role. Idon't have a policing role.

I'm not upset by you deciding not to take my advice - you can take it or leave it as you wish. However, I'm still offering the same advice - I think it would be best if you didn't post in any of the threads where the current flame war is being carried out.

I will be posting a similar message in someone else's message centre shortly.

Amy

AMY if i had read ur msg first i may not have put a msg on the question thread but i tend to read the replies to threads i am already on b4 new ones i had already replied on the hiya n question thread b4 i saw ur advice lol sorrryyyyy

amy hun do u have to type all the advice u give or is the page already done it must take u ages if u do lol sorry for being a pain xx

hey congrats for doing the sport relief mile run is it the first time u have done it ? im going to do the next one must be very rewarding knowing that u have helped all those people x

Hi ESSEXSTUDD

I'm sorry I didn't get back to you over the weekend. I'm afraid the online list is deceptive - I may appear to be online but I'm often not really here. I forget to log out of my computer.

Yes, it was the first time I'd done the Sport Relief mile but I'll certainly do it again. I've done a few 5k races though (3.1 miles) so the distance wasn't a problem. Did you do the mile this year?



To answer your other question, the advice I give is specially written for you. Whenever you ask a Guru for help you'll get individual assistance until the problem is resolved. No cutting and pasting for us .

So far I've concentrated on advising the separate parties in this flame war not to post in each other's threads. I'm giving this advice because I think it's the quickest way to calm things down but of course it doesn't really address the underlying issues.



I hope you agree with me that, even if someone is very upset, it's unfair and unnecessary to take the argument into every thread their opponent has on the go. I hope you'll continue to bear in mind my advice to exercise some mature judgement before interrupting threads which have innocent participants. A good rule is: if in doubt, start a new thread.



One of the problems with giving advice is that it's easy to read into people's actions motives that aren't really there. So it's with some caution that I'm going to suggest that some of the 'flaming' going on is in fact a genuine, if misguided, attempt to 'set the record straight'.

I think both parties are worried that 'neutral' people reading the threads will believe what is being written and so they are posting quickly, and perhaps without proper thought, to put over their side of the argument.

Do you think I'm right in thinking this?

Here's something to think about: Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing in the House Rules to say that a posting must be true.

I don't believe everything I read on h2g2. In particular, I don't believe every nasty personal comment. I certainly don't think: "Oh, that post hasn't been pulled so it must be true."

There are plenty of posts on h2g2 which aren't 'true'. For example, there are posts stating that the Editors of this site are evil and stupid. However, the Editors have allowed the posts to stand, even though they're not something they'd like to have said about themselves, because the posts say far more about the person posting than they do about the staff.

So I'd argue that it really isn't necessary (or wise) to post in order to 'set the record straight.' It's by no means certain that any nastiness will be believed by neutral readers and, in any case, anything questionable can usually be hidden within an hour by using the Yikes button. If everyone yikesed and resisted the temptation to post, all flame wars would die out within two or three posts and a whole lot of valuable staff time would be saved.

Amy

I cant believe i just read all that lol but yeah i agree with u totally i wish i could just enjoy talking to the peeps i do without all this some threads are ok its just stupid and like u said the majority of people take no notice . i didnt do the mile run but want to next year i would love to run the marathon one yeah to it was ion my list of things to do b4 im 30 but as i will be in 3 months i think i.ll change it to 40 lol you must be quite a fit young lady lol i like to go for a jog now n then its good for the head nyway more msgs to answer speak to u soon i hope tc x