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

Hi,

I fully accept a whack from a reality stick now and then

It was a project on the length of time taken to perform cataract operations, and produced results that confirmed common sense, (the more experienced surgoens take less time ) But this came as a surprise to hospital managers, and meant that our supervisor won a petty argument he'd been having with with. Apparently other people have been having the same argument with their hospital managers as well.

He tried to submit it to the BMJ and was rather miffed when it was rejected!

Hi, Mikey! Ekaterin here again. May I ask you a couple of things?

The first thing is that a user calling himself "arsenal" has left several harassing messages on my Personal Space (and appears to be leaving messages for everyone online with a feminine handle). What is the accepted h2g2 procedure for dealing with this? Should I Yikes his posting as I did the first time, or should I tell him to stop harassing me immediately? If I tell him to stop and he doesn't, will his account be closed?

The other thing is that I was wondering how our Lois McMaster Bujold article was getting on. Isn't it supposed to take "between three weeks and two months" from being recommended to becoming part of the Edited Guide? It is now almost two months, and it is still at "accepted by the Scouts, but not sent to a Sub-Editor yet". I know this isn't your fault, but since I'm a newbie, I don't know whose fault it is.
Ekaterin.

Hi, I know your message was for Mickey but I would suggest that you yikes all the offensive posts. As they may not be offensive indivitually explain in the box that they're part of a harrassment campaign. You'll recieve an e mail from the mods accepting or rejecting each one, if they reject it then please reply to it. And it will go to Jim or Natile, at the towers, who are usually pretty hot on this sort of thing..

Hi there, Ekaterin!

Yup, Z is right that pressing the yikes! button is the best thing to do in these cases. Telling him clearly to stop is also a good idea, because that way he can't claim later that he was just "funning" and didn't know you didn't like it.

However, not *all* situations that seem like harassment to one user will actually break the house rules. Say for example, that someone I found really annoying started posting every day in all of my threads and on my personal space. As long as he wasn't saying anything offensive, and as long as he wasn't flooding (using the same message over and over), he wouldn't be breaking any rules, even though I would find it incredibly annoying. If someone isn't technically violating the house rules, they aren't going to be booted from the site for not going away, even if you ask them to.

On the other hand, since this arsenal person's postings do seem to be sexual in nature, I would bet that they would be considered in violation of the house rules. If someone keeps breaking the house rules, they don't immediately get tossed off the site in most cases, though. Let's see if I can remember the usual sequence of events:

1) They get a warning email from the italics, explaining what they're doing wrong and that they need to stop it. Having a warning is a bit like being put on probation, because if you break the house rules again soon, you are in even more trouble.

2) Next, they can be put on pre-moderation. When this happens, their posts don't get shown right away, a moderator always has to read and check them first.

3) If they keep getting in trouble, they can be temporarily tossed of the site, like for a week or a month.

4) And if that doesn't do it, then they can be permanently kicked out.

Does that help explain?

As far as the entry goes, I know you're not going to like this, but it's not actually anyone's fault, nor is it out of the normal around here -- that's just how long things take to happen in the editing process, especially during the holiday season. There's a long queue of entries, all waiting to be assigned to a sub-editor. If you want to keep an eye on the editing process, here's where the version of the entry that will be edited is, in case you didn't know: A2026964. Right now, Sam's name shows up in the Edited By box, but that's just because he was the italic who processed the pick. When that name changes to someone else, that new person will be the sub. In some cases, however, the italics do the sub-editing themselves, to speed the process along. And when the top of the entry says "pending" instead of "recommended", that means the sub is finished, and the entry will be going into the guide soon, and its a good time to make any comments you have about any errors that might have crept in during the editing process.

You're a very good writer, have you ever thought about volunteering to be a sub-editor? It does take a chunk of time, but it is gratifying.

Happy New Year!

I don't suppose h2g2 has anything like killfiles, does it? On Usenet, a killfile is a way to ensure that you don't see a certain user's postings. They're still there for everyone else to see, just rendered invisible by your newsreading software. I'd like to put arsenal in my killfile until he's dealt with.

I have yikes!ed his most recent offensive posting (and put in the box that this was the second harassing message he sent me, and that he has been bothering other women as well) and left a reply telling him not to bother me again. I hope I was suitably assertive with him - I wanted to be able to threaten that if he didn't stop I would have him permanently banned, but it sounds as if it takes a very long time to get that far.

I don't think anybody has ever called me a very good writer before, so THANK YOU . As for being a sub-editor, I hardly think I'm ready for that yet - I'm still a h2g2 newbie. Ask me again when I've managed to get a few entries into the Edited Guide. (Current edited entries: none. One, the Bujold entry, stuck waiting for a sub-editor to do something about it, and several others that seem to have fallen into limbo in Peer Review.)

Happy New Year to you too.
Ekaterin.

I seen your name online an Thought I'd Drop by and say GoodMorning And how are you This Cold Day where's me manners I'm HilaryMarie 26 female Liverpool,
Take care
spk soon
Princess*of*Hearts

Hi, Mikey! I just wanted to drop you a note to say...wow!

Hi there, all!

Welcome aboard to h2g2, merrikat!


Mikey

Hi, Mikey! I just wanted to drop you a note to say...It might be a very interesting Hello!
I love the Pacific Northwest. Have been there several times.
I am a painter and I paint the images from electron-microscope.
I know Watson,-- you with the DNA,---but don't ask.
So much for a hello. I live on Long Island east of the City. Reply if you care. Gecko

Hi, Mikey! I just wanted to drop you a note to say...

Epidemiology is weird, isn't it?

Good luck with the PhD,

I hope it all goes well,

Cheers

G

Hi, Mikey! I just wanted to drop you a note to say...That I finally am getting another job interview tomorrow. Yeah! At a former employer no less (different division though). Rockwell Collins Flight Dymanics in Portland. I am hoping to finally get back to work Yeah whoopee!!!!

Woo hoo! Let me know how it goes!

The interview went fine it was like "old home week". I'll know on Monday if it went great (meaning I got the job). I have been fooled before though and at this time I'm not making any predictions.

This company makes and services the heads up displays on mostly commercial jets. I will be in the returns department for awhile at least. (again if I get the job) I've done all of this before so it wont hardly be a stretch for me with a period of trainning of course at the beginning. I would do this almost for nothing if I ddin't have bills and other needs for money.

Wish me luck!

I'm wishing you LOADS and LOADS of luck!

well who'd of thunk it but they just didn't see it the same way I did and I am not hired

Boo hoo I'm depressed

I still have other interviews in the near term so everything is not lost 1)Tokyo Electron: an Intel vendor (they make the machines Intel uses to make chips)
2) Electro Scientific: they make equipment for the circuit board manufacturing industry.

Since I am driving about 50 miles each way for these interviews I get paid for the miles at the least.

I must find a job soon though and I dont want some flipping basic no future job but a good one that will cover my expenses.

Seeya in H2G2

By the by: I have downloaded "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish"
"Life The universe and Everything" and "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" off of the Internet with Douglas Adams reading the text. While I read these books a long time ago I thought it might be interesting to revisit them in this format. Dont hate me for it.

Finished Dirk Gently's but still haven't found work, no one will call me!!!!!
I just dont understand it?????

Its not like the interviews have gone poorly, that I could understand. Maybe I'm so disconnected with the rest of humanity that I dont know when both people in a conversation are having a good time.

Boy it is a hard thing to find work here in the Northwest area!!

The hard thing about judging how interviews go, in my opinion, is that:

* quite often these days, the person doing the interview is not the same as the person making the hiring decision

* it's also increasingly common for places to interview for a position when they already know who the job is going to. however, these interviews are definitely not a lost cause, as making a good impression at an interview for an already locked-up job can land you in the favored spot for a subsequent job -- that's certainly how it happens here, anyway.

Hope things look up for you soon!


Mikey

The other thing about interviews is how does a company figure out how well a candidate will fit into the "corporate culture". How critical is this concept of corporate culture anyway, I must base my way of "living at work" on my experience of it not on some abstract ideal and that requires time to build relationships. The only ting they can tel from what I say is maybe some of my "preconceived notions" that I might bring into the situation but I dont operate that way.

When I interviewed at Intel they asked me questions of how I dealt with failure and cite an example, and how I would deal with dis-agreement lots of questions about "teamwork". Well I've only had one job where teamwork even existed, everyplace else it was always do the best you can and hope the others do also.

The last two interviews were not quite that bad. Neither asked any technical questions and didn't belabor the "soft questions" either. The company called Garmin, the boss was going on vacation this week and wouldn't make a decision until late in the week call it in etc.

That is the latest update from Salem Oregon goodnite.

Have you done any mock interviews, lately? I ask, because I had a friend who was incredibly good at what he did, but just wasn't ever getting past the interview stage. It wasn't until we did some mock interviews that we realized he was unintentionally sending up some "red flags" that were turning off potential employers.


Mikey