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

Well, I don't normally write journal entries, but with this new "Friends" thing I guess i probably should. With a little help from Jim (and an exercise in decryption) I now know I have 2 people reading my journals, so "Hi!".

I don't really have anything to say in this journal, which makes me wonder why I am even posting it, but I have better to do, so why not? Feel free to stop reading now, if I write much more it probably won't make a lot of sense anyway.

I have been thinking about the idea of making DNA open-source, and I guess I will tell you what I thought here, i won't post it to Jim's journal on the matter yet. Jim was worried about custom skins not including the legal waffle, do you think the disclamers could be included in the whatever-its-called that gets send to the parser-thingy? I probably should look up the real names for these things but I don't have the reference materials to hand. Although I like the idea of open-source software in general, I'm not sure I like the idea of lots of different DNAs. The whole point is to make one community with different sections with different uses (at least that's how I see it). Maybe there could be a way of allowing other people access to the database (there must be someway to share it between 2 servers and allow both to write and read from it, i guess the other users would have to put some hard drive space towards it as well.) Then there could be a whole community spread out over the whole web, something I think Douglas Adams would have been fasinated by. I wonder...

I think I will stop writing now, most of that i thought of as I was going along, which means if I don't stop going along I will start coming up with even more crazy ideas.

I like this journal, in fact. It gives me a chance to talk about nothing in particiular and just see what happens.

Tango

hey,

ur journal appeared in my conversation list. this new gadget thing is amazing! well, i'm exaggerrating, but it is good.

i only half get what everyone is meaning by open-source but i'm sure if it happens i'll think "oh, that's what u meant!'

keep up the journal entries!

open source just means giving everyone the source code for the application so they can make their own version of DNA on their own server.

Tango

u can get the dna source code for each page by simple going to 'View', 'Source'. right?

Wrong, that just gives you the HTML. When you click on a link (or type a URL) for a DNA page it goes to the server, the DNA software (written in C++) finds the page in the database, it then sends the GuideML to the parser which turns it into an HTML page with the correct skin. It is, of course, more complicated than that, but that's as much of an explanation as I'm giving you, go the http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/hub/help for more info.

Tango

oh, i get it now. the pages are written in html but the dna softwae itself is used to manage the whole website and bring up and create the correct ad new pages, so adding a new entry is like saving a new word document, so dna is the software and the software is used to create the web pages.

is that right?

Yep! That's it. The HTML is made again every time from the GuideML.

Tango

pretty smart. u know, i think i'd prefer working on a specific community that uses the dna system then for dna itself and being involed with the programming. although, i could probably learn the dna programming language. i hate all languages in the world apart from english, american englsh and computer languages.

u never know tango - in a few years we could be working together!

I worked out once what year i could start working for h2g2. Ok, I finish GCSEs in 2003, A-levels in 2005, 4 years at uni takes me to 2009. So by summer 2009 I can get a job at h2g2! Only 7 more years... I don't think they do summer jobs.

Tango

4 years at uni? u mut want to take a long course. most are just 3 years. of course, don't forget that by 2009 there will be way more communities and people will be coming and going and moving and loads of new communuties will be being created so we'll have more chances of a job with dna or h2g2!



ps. they don't do summer jobs?

"do you think the disclamers could be included in the whatever-its-called that gets send to the parser-thingy?"

Can't be done. Because the XSLT stylesheet can choose to display exactly what information it wants from the XML, you can simply ignore the disclaimer. As an example of this, think about the SITEFILTER tag, which chooses whether or not to display parts of a Personal Space depending on which site you're in. So even if we sent disclaimers in the XML feed, they would not necessarily get displayed by the stylesheet that processes them.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of lots of different DNAs. The whole point is to make one community with different sections with different uses (at least that's how I see it)."

I'd agree. Perhaps the open model we should employ is to simply set up the space on our servers, and let anyone set up shop. Like the old Geocities or tripod idea. Give people the ability not only to create their own pages in one of our sites, but to actually create their own site, with their own stylesheets and editorial proposition. After all, there are a lot of blog sites, and slashdot-like sites, but there are far fewer sites that do what h2g2 does, and aim to create richer content than just discussions about short news items.

There's lots of interesting possibilities.

"I don't think they do summer jobs."

Yes we do.

so u r saying we could create our own dna sites?

WOOHOO!

and more information u could provide about summer jobs?

"so u r saying we could create our own dna sites?"

Possibly, in the future, if the BBC adopted this model of giving away the tools to do this for free. But that is a *huge* step for the BBC to take, so I wouldn't hold your breath.

"and more information u could provide about summer jobs?"

The BBC runs work experience schemes, and h2g2 has had at least one person join us for a time in a scheme like that (who was and is a researcher) so it's happened once, there's nothing to stop it happening again.

cool!

i look forward to dna in the future!

So, who do I contact then? I have a 2 month summer holiday this year, and could use something to fill it.

Tango

i have a 2 month summer holiday also. maybe u should hire me and tango to work on some sort of special project for u on h2g2 in that time. maybe...

no maybe about it, do it or pay the consequences...

I'm not desperate, honest.

Tango

I also think that you have to consider that DNA sites are only really successful when there are a fair amount of resources spent on them (eg people time). In some ways it's better to keep a few well-supported sites going than be fragmented into a lot of almost-dead ones.

BTW, I have spoken with Natalie via email, and Work Exp is not possible atm due to H&S regs about numbers of people in the offices.

Tango