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

Yes, I've seen the news about h2g2 being 'disposed of'.

No, I haven't yet had a chance to read all the threads about this news - and as luck would have it I don't have enough time right now. I'm packing my bags for a week away (part fun, part w*rk). I'll have to catch up on what everyone thinks when I get back - by which time anything could have happened here.

If there's anything you think I particularly need to know, please tell me.

I have caught glimpses of people putting together plans for a post-BBC h2g2, owned, operated and supported by users. This is encouraging. I'll be looking into this more closely when I get a chance, but that might not be for a couple of weeks yet.

I find it encouraging that the Beeb is looking to offload us as a going concern. They could have taken the easier path of simply closing us down; don't forget that.

I hope nobody's seeing anything underhand or Machiavellian in the current barlesque muddle coinciding with this news. Remember - the 'refresh'/'MOT'/newH2G2 thing has been going on for quite a while, but it's only in the last 12 months or thereabouts that the UK has really hit the budgetary skids (to the extent that foreigners like me can notice) and the BBC has been obliged to economise.

If the worst happens I will miss this place - but mostly I'll miss the people. Well, some of them, there are some I wouldn't give you a dead gerbil for, but most of the people here are good people. I intend to make more of an effort to be in touch with individuals - so often lately I've just read posts, nodded and moved on, rather than actually *communicating*.

If anyone particularly wants to be in touch with me, there's an email address on my PS. Write to me there and you'll get a response from my RL persona in due course (noting that I'll be away for a week).

One last thing - if we're to be offloaded as a going concern, we need to *be* a going concern. Please, everyone, starch your upper lips and keep on posting until we can't post anymore. If we stop using the site before we are obliged to do so, then it's *us* administering the lethal injection.

Ivan.

Whatever happens, we'll still be here.... somewhere... (probably Facebook)...

Like you, I nod too often. You rarely realise what you've got until too late!

Have a good time!

Facebook?

*shrug*

Needs must, I suppose; if it comes to that I'll have to just grit my teeth and join. But let's hope there's an alternative.

Aye, I suspect that if hootoo does go the way of the dodo, facebook will become my internet home.

Ed the Bonobo has used a good feature of it, where you can create Friends groups and post to that. No-one outside the group can read it and the group is invite only. I suspect I'd use that for hootoo journals and my Being Human reviews.

That *does* sound like a good feature. I'd use that, certainly, if I were there, which I'm not.

Gosh but it's hard to type with an icecream in one hand.

I think yesterday was the first time I used my facebook account to actually say anything. Normally I am just replying to the messages of others, or playing Bejewelled Blitz

Ivan, mind me Matt!

Did someone mentione ice-cream?

Will you be offline all that time Ivan?

Kea! Stop dribbling on me Matt!


Ivan might have gone offline to pack. He will be back next Tuesday </>

"Hard to type with an ice cream in your hands"

- it's funny how quick you can learn to dislike someone!

Hi, Ivan.

They have made it clear that what they (whoever they are) wish is to find another home for h2g2, not to turn it off. And there is a lot of interest in doing that. I have even offered to help contribute if I can (I would be thrilled if it became like some other internet communities, free for all to view but with subscription schemes that offer premium access). In fact, it might even be a blessing for those of us who have never had the option of being license payers.

There are any number of positive things that could result from this (which I will not get into here). So keep your chin up, for now.

Personally, while I enjoy using FB for playing generic Scrabble games and for keeping in touch with family and "RL" friends, I do enjoy at least following conversations here (even if I have to apply my internal Ignore Filter to avoid three or four individuals while I'm doing it), and keeping in touch with you and others I met here. So even if I don't use h2g2 all day, every day... I still want to see it survive, and will see what I can do to help.

Good for you psychocandy
Hello again everybody

I was just about to nod and move on after reading this thread ... and then realised what I'd just been nodding at

It'll be interesting to hear more from the BBC/Eds about the options for the future of h2g2, but I'm glad that they're talking about it as an active site and community, rather than abandoning us completely.

Gnomon's done some interesting research into the actual size of the site, which gives me hope... and there are a lot of very active threads discussing the future in a constructive way (as well as some less helpful threads).

If the beeb has decided this is what will happen, we have to look at all the opportunities available to us to keep h2g2 going. The facebook option is just one of many, I'm sure.

Is there anybody in the community who is orchestrating the debate?

Nice to be back, but I wish the circumstances weren't quite so difficult.

Fb

<<>>

I second that wholeheartedly Ivan, and I have said as much elsewhere. Heaven forbid we hasten the demise of h2g2 by our own apathy.

Stay tuned folks.

Websailor

OK everyone, I'm back.

What did I miss?

The backlog is appalling, it'll be the weekend before I get all the way through it...

Hello Ivan!

Blimey! Lady P! How have you been?



The gang's all here...

Yeah, bunch of old online-eyes opening up again, lately.
I've been doing well. Got some updates in a journal post, which you'll probably see at some point as you trudge through the backlog...


It's nice to be back. A lot is different, but the spirit of h2g2 is still firmly in place.

The backlog. There are about 240 threads I'm subscribed to with new posts on them... I'll be here for ages.

Here's to the spirit of h2g2.

*giggles*

Welcome home, Ivan

You have a lot of reading to do!



Hey!!! Lady P!

Welcome back too!



lil xx

as for the refurbishing of hootoo coinciding with auntie beeb wishing us to move somewhere else:

"The BBC's plan to slash 25% of its online budget and cut the number of its websites in half was particularly unfortunate timing for the corporation's Wikipedia-style knowledge base, h2g2. The interactive web encyclopedia was the brainchild of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams, and was bought by the BBC 10 years ago. Its long-awaited redesign was finally unveiled on 20 January – "This redesign marks the end of months of hard work from lots of dedicated people so we thank you all for your patience and hope you are [as] pleased with the result as we are," announced the team behind it. Four days later, the BBC's outgoing director of future media and technology, Erik Huggers, announced it would be disposed of or closed."