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

I got this idea to create an entry with 'the ways of a newbie', sort of... let's see if I can explain what I mean...

The ACEs (my other self is one) sometimes get questions from new researchers about things they've come across when creating a researcher ID. The trouble is that the ACEs won't see the same things, because you'll see different versions depending on whether you're logged on or not.

And some things you can't even see unless you are in the process of creating a new researcher ID, and I'm sure there are more ACEs out there besides me who already have quite enough IDs...

So I thought I'd create an entry with links to the pages as seen by someone who's not logged on or on the way of becoming a researcher - viewable also by those who are already logged on.

Like the h2g2 front page - does the version you see when not logged on have a specific A-number? Or would it be possible to twiddle with the link to make it show up even if you *are* logged on?

Oh - and a Happy New Year to you and your family!

[bouncing in]

The front page is the same one whether logged in or not. The display of it changes according to your logged in status - just as other pages and links check whether you are logged in or subscribed to certain things. Skin settings also change it of course.

People with more than one browser (or with IE process separation) can see both logged in and non-logged in versions at once or be logged in as multiple people. Test (while logged in or not) can show the code but not the effect.

PS I'm with you on the not wanting more IDs just to test things!

Hmmm... really?

I've tried looking at the front page - if I arrive there from the http://www.bbc.co.uk/communicate page I end up on this page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/

If I look at it in IE without being logged on and compare with the (brunel) version I see in Opera when logged on there is a box in IE (but not in Opera) just over the 'Welcome to h2g2, the earth edition...' box titled:

'Write an entry for our online encyclopedia - and read what others have written...' and the text:

'Welcome to h2g2! If you'd like to know what h2g2 is all about, please take the h2g2 Tour.

If you'd like to help build the Guide, then read all about creating a free h2g2 account, and if you've already registered with h2g2, then click here to login.'

Eh - did that make any sense? I'm not very good at explaining what I mean...

Well I would use http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/ and can't check what Opera sees from here but...

Logged out (unregistered) sections (IE + brunel):
- WRITE AN ENTRY etc + h2g2 lizard
- WELCOME TO H2G2 etc + EG entries (new + old)
- TALK & CONTRIBUTE etc + advert and new TP

Logged in (registered) sections (IE + brunel):
- WELCOME TO H2G2 etc + EG entries (new + old)
- TALK & CONTRIBUTE etc + advert and new TP
- IF YOU'VE JUST REGISTERED... + Don't Panic + silly comment of the day

Each of those sections has a subject heading and body container and the display style of those varies between skins. I would have thought that even unregistered people might want to see the last section but that and the register/login is clearly the distinction being made. Perhaps they didn't want the page too full. The stuff round the edge looks about the same in each case (apart from SSO).

I was thinking of a very step-by-step entry, like...

1) This is what the h2g2 front page will look like if you're not logged on

2) If you decide to sign up, this will be the first page of the registering process

...and so on... I rarely see the front page myself without being logged on, because I always go straight to my MP-page

Well you might have to reproduce/fake some bits of it in an article since I don't know of a "link" method of being logged in/out other than actually being logged in/out! It isn't even anything I had tried to find (which is probably Jim's cue to enter ). Somehow getting people to delete their cookies manually and reinstate them, just to see this sort of thing, sounds like a bad idea to me.

Well, I was hoping that there would actually be separate entries existing, with individual A-numbers for each of the options - logged on, not logged on, registering for the first time, and so on...

The general idea behind the entry would be to give the ACEs the possibility to ask 'exactly where in the process are you' and a new confused researcher checking the entry replying 'right here'!

Because sometimes new researchers ask questions about things that already established researchers have long forgotten about... not quite sure of what the newbie is referring to, and thus, unable to give adequate advice

There are definitely not separate entries for registered/logged-in status - just for days (or minutes!) and sites.

I know what you mean about forgetting what it is to be new - especially if the site is no longer remotely the same as when they joined. Some of it could be fixed by having better Help/FAQ pages though. There have been occasional suggestions along those lines. The rate of improvement is another matter though.