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{{Short description|British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project}}
{{wrongtitle|title=h2g2}}
{{lowercase title|h2g2}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}
{{Update|date=December 2018}}


{{Infobox website
'''h2g2''' is an online community engaged in the construction of a guide to life, the universe, and everything. Much of it is encyclopedic, but the site also covers more idiosyncratic subjects, such as plastic bag bras, teaching your cat to fetch, or burying oneself in sand.
| name = h2g2
| logo =
| screenshot = H2G2 website.png
| screenshot_size = 220px
| caption = The h2g2 front page on 24 May 2015
| url = {{URL|https://H2G2.com}}
| type = [[Internet encyclopedia project]]
| language = English
| registration = open
| owner = Not Panicking Ltd
| author = [[Douglas Adams]]
| launch_date = {{Start date and years ago|df=yes|1999|4|28}}
| commercial =
| content_license = Authors retain copyright but grant NPL a non-exclusive licence to distribute
| current_status = Active
}}
The '''h2g2'''{{efn|h2g2 is an initialism for [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]].}} website is a British-based collaborative [[Internet encyclopedia project|online encyclopedia project]]. It describes itself as "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (fictional)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' from the [[comic science fiction|science fiction comedy]] series of [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|the same name]] by [[Douglas Adams]].<ref name=sydneyherald>{{Cite news | title = Web watch; New favourites | newspaper = Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) | pages = 5 | date = 7 May 2005 }}</ref> It was founded by Adams in 1999 and was run by the [[BBC]] between 2001 and 2011.<ref name=huddersfield>{{Cite news | last = Jackson |first = Andrew |title = Web wonder |newspaper = Huddersfield Daily Examiner |pages = 19 |date = May 2009 |url = http://www.examiner.co.uk/leisure-and-entertainment/whats-on-west-yorkshire/2009/05/15/forum-web-wonder-86081-23628073/ |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110920162212/http://www.examiner.co.uk/leisure-and-entertainment/whats-on-west-yorkshire/2009/05/15/forum-web-wonder-86081-23628073/ |archive-date = 20 September 2011}}</ref><ref name=telecomworldwire /><ref name=independent />


The intent is to create an Earth-focused guide that allows members to share information about their geographic area and the local sites, activities and businesses, to help people decide where they want to go and what they may find when they get there. It has grown to contain subjects from restaurants and recipes, to [[Quantum mechanics|quantum theory]] and history. Explicit advertising of businesses was forbidden when the site was run by the BBC, but customer reviews were permitted.<ref name=houserules>{{cite web | title = House Rules for h2g2 | date = 28 June 2013 | url = http://h2g2.com/entry/A87523211 | access-date = 21 April 2015 }} – ''No Spitting. The lawyers wanted to know what rules we needed, and we said 'The usual ones, plus "No spitting" please.' So there you go: no spitting. Many thanks. Oh, and beware of the Leopard.''</ref>
The site takes its name from ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', a fictional publication found in the book, radio and television series of the same name.


The content of the project is written by registered "Researchers" on its website.<ref name=campaign>{{Cite news | last = Hurrell | first = Nick | title = Nick Hurrell, the Chief Executive of M&C Saatchi and the Chairman of EMCSAATCHI, looks at the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Online | newspaper = Campaign | pages = 14 (Private Surf section) | date = 13 October 2000}}</ref> Articles written by Researchers form the "Guide" as a whole, with an "Edited Guide" being steadily created out of factual articles that have been [[peer review]]ed via the "Peer Review" system.{{citation needed| date=December 2016}} The Edited Guide includes both traditional encyclopaedic subjects and more [[idiosyncratic]] offerings, and articles in the Edited Guide sometimes aim for a slightly humorous style.<ref name=toronto>{{Cite news | last = McMurray | first = Sandy | title = Sites for Beginners, Students and Clones | newspaper = The Toronto Sun | pages = 53 (Connect section) | date = 15 August 2001}} – ''Another site, created by Douglas Adams, comes at the encyclopedia idea from a different, funnier angle.''</ref>
h2g2 has a strong [[community]] feel, with a largely helpful user base. The site is rich in graphics, which are designed by a volunteer team of community artists. The site is generally considered quite [[user-friendly]], particularly towards newbies who are usually welcomed by volunteers known as ACEs (see below). As in many such communities, discussion ranges from the friendly to the less friendly, but for the most part Researchers work together well.

Entries typically aim for a slightly humorous, but correct and well-written treatment of their subject matter. Every entry has an associated discussion area, which allows for multiple threads, called Conversations.


==History==
==History==
{{anchor|The Digital Village}}
The Digital Village (TDV) was a digital media company based in [[Covent Garden]], London, United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tdv.com/|title=The Digital Village|website=www.tdv.com|accessdate=11 May 2023}}</ref> It was founded in 1992.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/34100/hitchhikers-guide-new-economy|title=The Hitchhikers Guide to the New Economy|date=31 May 1998}}</ref> The science fiction/comedy writer [[Douglas Adams]] was one of the founding members, along with [[Robbie Stamp]], executive producer of the [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' movie]] (2005).<ref>Botti, Nicolas (2009). [http://www.douglasadams.eu/en_adams_bio.php "Life, DNA & h2g2: Douglas Adams' Biography"] {{Webarchive | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901131941/http://www.douglasadams.eu/en_adams_bio.php |date=1 September 2014}} Accessed 9 July 2014</ref> TDV produced the video game ''[[Starship Titanic]]''. The h2g2 website was founded on 28 April 1999 as a community-site dedicated to producing the "Earth edition" of ''[[The Guide (character)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' by the author of the series, [[Douglas Adams]], and his friends and colleagues at [[The Digital Village]].<ref name=pressassoc>{{Cite news | last = Turnbull | first = Giles | title = Sci-fi Guide Could Become Fact | newspaper = Press Association | date = 22 September 1999}}</ref>


Digital Village was renamed in 2000 to "h2g2", an abbreviation for the title as well as part of the url. The site was a runner-up for Best Community Site in the [[Yell.com]] awards in 2000.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Kelly | first = Matt | title = The Yell.com Awards 2000 | newspaper = The Mirror (UK) | pages = 14 | date = 13 July 2000}}</ref> At its highest point (October 2000) the company had over 40 employees. Like other [[dot-com companies]], Adams' company ran into financial difficulties towards the end of 2000 and eventually ceased operations.<ref name="independent">{{Cite news |last=Tomlinson |first=Heather |date=4 March 2001 |title=Hitchhiker's Website Goes Home To Auntie |pages=3 (Business section) |newspaper=Independent (UK) |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/hitchhikers-website-goes-home-to-auntie-694491.html}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In January 2001, the management of the site was taken over by the [[BBC]], and moved to [[bbc.co.uk]] (then known as BBCi).<ref name=telecomworldwire>{{Cite news | title = Hitchhiker's Guide web site moves to BBC | newspaper = Telecomworldwire | date = 23 February 2001}}</ref> While many h2g2 staff continued to work without pay until the h2g2 site, brand and several staff moved to the [[BBC]]. The game division became a new company, Phase 3 Studios, which continued for several months under the ownership of PAN Interactive, but ultimately closed in 2002.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}
h2g2 was founded in April [[1999]] as the [[Earth]] edition of the ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by the author of the series, [[Douglas Adams]], and his friends and colleagues at [[The Digital Village]]. "h2g2" serves as a handy abbreviation for that rather lengthy title, with the advantage that most people are able to spell it.

Like many other [[dot-com]] companies, Adams's company [[The Digital Village|TDV]] ran into financial difficulties towards the end of 2000 and eventually ceased operations. In January [[2001]], the management of the site was taken over by the [[BBC]], and moved to [[bbc.co.uk]] (then part of [[BBCi]]). During this takeover there was a lengthy intermission during which the site was unavailable, which the community refers to as "Rupert" -- an obscure reference from one of Adams's books.

[[April 21]], [[2005]] marked the launch of h2g2 Mobile, an edition of the guide produced specifically for PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and some mobile phones that could access the internet, so that people could read h2g2 entries while on the move. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/mobile-info] This was done because people wanted h2g2 to be much like the ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' described in the books -- a mobile, electronic device that anyone could read from anywhere.

== Terms and Conditions ==

In order to contribute to the site, it is necessary to register and to agree to the h2g2 "House Rules" and the general BBC Terms and Conditions. Registered users are called ''Researchers''. Researchers retain the [[copyright]] to their articles, but grant the BBC a non-exclusive license to do pretty much whatever they like with them.

The House Rules prohibit various things, including [[racism]], [[profanity|"hard-core" swearing]], [[spamming]], languages other than [[English language|English]], and "otherwise objectionable" material. The Terms and Conditions are more legalistic, and prohibit material that is not the submitter's own and original work, [[defamation|defamatory]] material, etc.

When the site became part of BBCi, the BBC insisted on moderating all contributions to the site soon after they were made. However, they were eventually persuaded that the h2g2 Community could be trusted to a system of "Reactive Moderation", in which posts are not checked by moderators unless a complaint is made. Individual user accounts are sometimes put on "pre-moderation", meaning that any posts they make are not displayed until they have been reviewed by a moderator.

Occasionally, there has been an issue that is particularly contentious, or that makes the BBC's libel lawyers particularly nervous, and discussion of this issue may be moderated differently. For example:
* "Heavy politics" was forbidden during the [[United Kingdom general election, 2001]].
* During the [[U.S. invasion of Afghanistan|2001 invasion of Afghanistan]], extra rules were put in place and, for example, the username ''[[Osama bin Laden|OBL]]'' was deemed unacceptable.
* On [[17 March]] [[2003]], h2g2 issued guidelines for discussions during the [[2003 Iraq war]], including saying that "Postings and Entries on the subject of the conflict posted to h2g2 will be removed".

Additionally, several Entries have been deleted by the h2g2 Editors, at the behest of the BBC's "Editorial Policy" unit, headed by [[Stephen Wittle]].

== Editing process ==

h2g2 is really two separate but complementary Guides, one Edited and one Unedited. The Unedited Guide is described in a separate section below. The Edited Guide consists of articles (usually called 'Entries') which have passed through a [[peer review]] process, and then been checked and tidied up first by a volunteer sub-editor and then, more briefly, by an in-house editor. As of [[September 12]]th, [[2003]], the Edited Guide consisted of 5,832 Entries. The 7,000th entry was added to the Edited Guide on [[April 8]], 2005. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F77636?thread=628854]

=== Peer Review ===

On h2g2, entries are peer reviewed by any members of the community who feel like spending a little time reading and commenting. Some of these may be specialists on the topic, but generally most are not. Therefore it becomes obvious whether the average Researcher can understand an Entry, but does mean that mistakes can slip into the Edited Guide.

Once an entry has been picked by a Scout (see later) and leaves Peer Review, it can no longer be modified or updated by its author. However, the author can still update the unedited version, which remains in the wider unedited guide.

=== Sub-Editing ===

Sub-editors, likewise, are not generally experts on the material they are editing, which is assigned on a more or less random basis. Sub-editing is mainly limited to ensuring readability and conformance to the h2g2 house style, though the amount of changes made varies from one Entry to another.

Some sub-editors tend to discuss changes with the Researcher who wrote the Entry to make sure that they are correct in their information and written in the right way. However, this is entirely at the individual sub-editor's discretion. h2g2 lacks an effective change control system, and this often leads to errors creeping in at this stage.

The in-house editors make few changes - the most visible of which is appending a "Related BBC links" section to entries that includes a link for readers to search BBCi for other entries on the same subject.

=== Updating ===

After many years of discussion, h2g2 has now adopted a formal update system. This consists of an Update Forum, which works in the same way as Peer Review, allowing a new version of an existing entry to be submitted for full review. Small but important modifications can be fast-tracked with a posting on the relevant feedback page.

=== The Workshops ===

There are two workshops where help can be obtained in preparing an article for Peer Review. The Collaborative Writing Workshop is where people can collaborate to create an entry. At the Writing Workshop, entries that are not yet ready for Peer Review can be improved. Another review forum, the Flea Market, is where abandoned Entries that fall outside the writing guidelines and have been left in Peer Review are moved, so that other researchers can polish them up for Peer Review.

There is also an Alternative Writing Workshop, where entries that don't adhere to the Writing Guidelines can be worked on.

=== The Unedited Guide ===

The Edited Guide forms only a small part of h2g2 as a whole. Most of the site's 'cultural life' takes place in the far larger Unedited Guide, which contains, amongst other things, various clubs and societies, discussion areas, Researchers' h2g2 homepages (known as their 'Personal Spaces'), and writing workshops. The Unedited Guide can also contain fiction, although this cannot be submitted for inclusion to the Edited Guide, which only contains factual information.

If an article does not make it through the Peer Review process, the original (unedited) entry can still be viewed, as before, in the Unedited Guide. It can, of course, also be rewritten by the author(s) and submitted again at a later date.

=== The UnderGuide ===

The UnderGuide is h2g2's most ambitious attempt to bring the attention of the community's best entries that fall outside of the Edited Guide's [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/Writing-Guidelines Guidelines]. The UnderGuide and its volunteers have a similar structure to the Edited Guide's volunteers. They have scouts, but call them miners. They have sub editors, but their name is gem polishers. Miners inhabit the [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/RF5 Alternative Writing Workshop] to comment on entries and pick them for the UG.

== The community ==

The bulk of site activity takes place in [[United Kingdom]] ([[GMT]]/[[British Summer Time|BST]]) daytime, which is when the in-house [[London]] based team (known as 'The Italics', see below), is there. But at other times, the [[United States|US]], [[Canada|Canadian]] and [[Australia|Australian]] researchers are also very active.

=== The Italics ===

The Italics (technically 'the Editors'), the inhouse editors of h2g2, are the only people on the site who get paid (by the BBC) for what they do. They monitor the content of the Edited Guide and oversee the general development of community life. They are named for the way their names appear in conversations, in bold italics, to keep people from impersonating them. There are informal nicknames for the editors such as 'The Powers That Be', 'The Towers', 'The Powers in the Towers' and '[[Leaning Tower of Pisa|Pisa]] People'.

The core personnel have changed considerably since h2g2 started in 1999. The first editor, Mark Moxon, left in 2002, and many other Italics have also been replaced. Of the original TDV team, only Jim Lynn, the original Technical Lead, and Peta Haigh the Community Editor, remain working on the site, although most of their time is spent developing the DNA software base and community system for other uses within the BBC, as part of the DNA team.

=== Volunteers ===

There are five different kinds of volunteer on the site, with varying responsibilities. Any researcher can apply to become a volunteer; if accepted, they gain a badge for their personal space, advertising their status as a member of that particular group:

* '''Aces''' (the name is an [[acronym]] for Assistant Community Editor) are responsible for welcoming new users and assisting them in becoming active and experienced members of h2g2. No [[statistics]] are publicly available, but this approach ensures that a large proportion of initially active Researchers continue to contribute. Aces are also expected to take a responsible role within the community, encouraging discussion and debate.
* '''Gurus''' help Researchers later on with technical issues, such as with [[GuideML]], a custom markup language designed to allow additional features (such as formatting for headings and subheadings, and graphical [[emoticon]]s), whilst removing unwanted [[HTML]] tags (such as [[JavaScript]] and embedded images and sounds).
* '''Scouts''' are responsible for making sure that quality work does not languish in Peer Review for too long. They keep an eye open for entries that have received a favourable response from other Researchers, and pick a few each month to recommend for inclusion in the Edited Guide. The picks are reviewed by the "Italics" and then forwarded to a sub-editor.
* '''Sub-editors''' check and edit Entries to be added to the Edited Guide. After that is done, the new Edited Entry is posted to the front page for a day, and one in five articles is awarded its own professionally drawn picture. Once Edited, the original authors cannot change the articles anymore, although there is a small team of Sub-editors who continuously trawl old edited entries repairing broken links, making updates, and so forth. These were the first volunteers, originally hand picked, who used to do the jobs of scouts as well prior to the creation of Peer Review.
* '''Community Artists''' contribute the art that illustrates many of the entries. The team has to provide three graphics every day and an additional four every Wednesday. Their art is credited at the bottom of the page they have illustrated. Everyone on h2g2 has some respect for the artists.

* '''University Field Researchers''' wrote groups of entries based around a common theme, aiming to provide a comprehensive guide to a specific subject. These projects often became quite involved, and took several months to complete. Once finished, they were usually featured on the h2g2 home page for a week. This scheme was closed on [[June 25]], [[2003]], though previous Field Researchers retained their badges. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/F77636?thread=289496]

=== Clubs and societies ===

h2g2 is large enough to have many unofficial [[club|clubs]] and societies, set up and maintained by researchers. Examples include:

* '''The Musicians' Guild''' - self explanatory; this is a place for [[musician|musicians]] to gather and discuss [[music|musical]] topics.
* '''The Zaphodistas''' - Loosely based on [[Mexico]]'s [[Zapatista Army of National Liberation|Zapatista]] rebels, the Zaphodistas campaign for researcher rights, for example, to include external images on h2g2 pages.
* '''The Freedom from Faith Foundation''' - An organization of [[free-thinker|free-thinkers]], the FFFF is a forum for non-dogmatic discussion of [[philosophy|philosophical]] and [[religion|religious]] issues.
* '''The Society for the Addition of a Towel Smiley''' - This is a group that campaigned (successfully) to have a graphic representing a [[towel]] added to the extensive list of h2g2 [[smiley|smileys]].
* '''The Thingites''' - This is a group that campaigns (not yet successfully) to have the days of the [[week]] renamed (chiefly to rename '[[Thursday]]' as 'Thing'). The group is also attempting (as yet also unsuccessfully) to have one of their threads ('No no no!!') recognised by the [[Guinness Book of Records]] as the longest thread in any chat community in the world. (As of [[March 7]], [[2005]], that particular thread had over 73,300 posts, so maybe they have a point.)
* '''The Terranic Army''' - This virtual [[army]] used to have online battles on their own World War battlefield. The army is now in general disuse, although many copycat societies have emerged.
* '''United Friends of h2g2space''' - One of the largest clubs at the site, United Friends is simply a celebration of the friendliness of h2g2. Membership is open to any researcher.

=== The Post ===

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/ThePost The Post] is h2g2's own virtual [[broadsheet]] [[newspaper]], published weekly by a community member, and featuring articles, interviews and cartoons by h2g2 researchers. It is edited by a few dedicated h2g2 researchers, not paid in-house editors. The Post provides an outlet for comment and for sharing experiences, and often features content that is not intended to form a part of the Edited Guide.


21 April 2005 marked the re-launch of h2g2 Mobile, an edition of the guide produced for [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]]s (Personal Digital Assistants) and mobile phones that could access the internet, so that people could read h2g2 entries while on the move.<ref>{{cite web |title = h2g2 Mobile Information Centre |url = http://h2g2.com/entry/mobile-info |date = 17 October 2011 |access-date = 21 April 2015}}</ref> This was done because people wanted h2g2 to be much like the ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' described in the books – a mobile, electronic device that anyone could read from anywhere.<ref name=pressassoc /> An earlier incarnation of h2g2 Mobile was a [[Wireless Application Protocol|WAP]] phone based version of h2g2. Announced at First Tuesday in London on 14 December 1999, it became the most trafficked WAP site in Europe until it was closed down by the BBC when it took over the site in January 2001. h2g2 Mobile was closed by the BBC as it then believed that its license conditions did not allow it to deliver any service over a telephone system.<ref>{{cite web | title = Life, the Universe and Everything Mobile | publisher = The Digital Village | date = 22 December 1999 | url = http://www.tdv.com/html/news/19991222-0-n.html | access-date = 17 July 2009}}</ref>
The h2g2 community also investigates its own progress at times, for example in the h2g2 Reports, written by a varied group of Researchers on a relatively infrequent basis.


The site was redesigned for the BBC by Aerian Studios in 2011,<ref>{{cite web | title = H2G2 Refresh: design and technical challenges | date = 21 January 2011 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2011/01/h2g2_refresh_design_and_techni.html | access-date = 21 January 2011}} – ''this week the refreshed version of the BBC's long running community site H2G2 was launched.''</ref> bringing it in line with the general appearance of other BBC websites, while maintaining a degree of the site's old character.<ref>{{cite web | title = Talking Point – h2g2 Redesign | date = 24 August 2009 | url = http://h2g2.com/entry/A51277773 | access-date = 21 April 2015}} – ''As we've already mentioned we're now in the process of redesigning h2g2.''</ref>
== DNA ==


On 24 January 2011, the BBC announced cuts of 25% to its online budget, resulting in a £34 million less investment into the site. A number of sites were to be closed, including [[BBC Switch]], [[BBC Blast]] and [[6-0-6]]. As part of this exercise, the BBC chose to sell h2g2.<ref name="Cutback">{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12265173 | title = BBC News – BBC to cut online budget by 25% | work = [[BBC Online]] | access-date= 24 January 2011 | date = 24 January 2011}}</ref> On 21 June 2011, it was announced the winning bid was a joint bid put together by three parties: [[Robbie Stamp]], h2g2c2 ("The h2g2 Community Consortium"), and the owners of Lycos Chat (Brian Larholm and Alyson Larholm).<ref>{{cite web |title = Tuesday 21 June 2011: The future of H2G2 – the Successful Bid |url = http://h2g2.com/entry/A639056/conversation/view/77636/8243991/page/1/ |date = 21 June 2011 |access-date = 15 April 2015}}</ref> On 31 August 2011, it was announced h2g2 was sold to [[Not Panicking Ltd]], a company founded by Robbie Stamp, Brian Larholm, and Alyson Larholm, as well as The h2g2 Community Consortium.<ref>{{cite web |title = Wednesday 31 June 2011: H2G2 Leaving The BBC Soon! |url = http://h2g2.com/entry/A86945827 |date = 31 August 2011 |access-date = 21 April 2015}}</ref>
The engine for h2g2 - and all of its related 'sister' communities in the BBC, such as "360", "Get Writing" and "Peoples War" - is affectionately known as DNA, after the initials of Douglas (Noel) Adams. The DNA technology was introduced a few months after the BBC takeover. Before this technology, there was 'Ripley' which was named after the character from the film ''[[Aliens (movie)|Aliens]]'', in homage to the quote "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Before that there was a technology with no particular name, which subsequently gained the [[retronym]] Llama. All of the BBC messageboards are currently in the process of being moved onto the DNA engine.


On 3 October 2011, the BBC incarnation of h2g2 closed, leaving only an announcement reading "H2G2 has now left the BBC. The new owners of H2G2 are currently preparing the site for relaunch. Soon you will find The Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything at www.h2g2.com"<ref>{{Cite web|title = BBC - H2G2|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/maintenance/h2g2_move2.shtml|access-date = 2015-11-19}}</ref> The post-BBC version of the site went live on 16 October 2011.
Adams himself was rather involved in the website in its early days. His account name (of course) was DNA, and his user number was 42, a reference to the famous joke in ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' that the answer to the big question of Life, the Universe and Everything is 42. When Adams died, in May 2001, his personal space was the focus for a huge reaction from the community. Tributes and messages poured in at a rate of about one every two minutes.


== Terms and conditions ==
Adams' legacy is still felt on h2g2, and naturally the site is peppered with references to the Hitchhiker books; it is, however, not a fan site, and was never intended as such.
To contribute to the site it is necessary to register and to agree to the h2g2 "House Rules" and the general Not Panicking Ltd Terms and Conditions. Registered users are called ''Researchers''. Researchers retain the [[copyright]] to their articles, but grant Not Panicking Ltd a non-exclusive license to reproduce their work in all formats.


== The skins ==
== Software ==
=== DNA ===
Part of the [[software]] for h2g2 is known as DNA, after the initials of author and site founder [[Douglas Adams]]. The DNA technology was introduced a few months after the BBC takeover and is still used for BBC blogs, messageboards and commenting systems. Before that there was a technology which was written mostly in [[Perl]]. Adams was involved in the website in its early days.<ref>{{cite web | title = Douglas Adams 1952 – 2001 | date = 28 April 1999 | url = http://www.h2g2.com/user/U42 | access-date = 15 April 2015}}</ref> His account name was DNA, and his user number was 42, a reference to the joke in ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' that [[Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything|the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything]] is 42. Adams's legacy is still felt on h2g2, though it is not a fan site.<ref name=huddersfield/>


=== GuideML ===
h2g2 has four different 'skins' which are different ways of viewing the site. Users can set their options menu to view the site in one or other of the skins when they are logged in. Some skins are more popular than others; some even have fanclubs. It is possible to switch between skins while not logged in by altering the URL, for example changing http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A918434 to http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A918434 would alter the skin from Classic Goo to Alabaster.
GuideML (Guide Markup Language) is a [[document markup language]].


GuideML is an application of [[XML]] standards. It consists of a safe subset of [[XHTML]] with added tags for specific features of the software. The objective is to provide something that resembles HTML but is simpler to learn, and allows basic textual content to be formatted in a [[skin (computing)|skinnable]] way. Early versions of the h2g2 software offered full HTML markup as an option, but this was removed for security reasons; thus only parts of HTML which are considered to exist in GuideML can now be used, with things such as [[JavaScript]] and externally hosted images being removed by the parser.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://h2g2.com/entry/A957107 | title=H2g2 - an Introduction to GuideML | date=5 February 2003 }}</ref>
*'''Classic Goo''' was the first skin. It has large white text on a blue background. The first programmers of h2g2 nicknamed it 'Goo' but it appears as /classic in the URL.
*'''Alabaster''' was the second skin. Its layout is most like the rest of the internet, with small black text on a white background. The look of the skin is generally described as orange and green. This skin was considered necessary to help attract people who are used to the rest of the internet. One of the programmers behind h2g2, Jim Lynn, apparently chose between the names Porcelain and Alabaster, chosen because he compared the skin to a toilet.
*'''Brunel''' is the newest official skin, and consequently it is the default format for visitors who are not logged in. It has black text on white backgrounds, and was designed to look more like the rest of the BBC. The border colours vary depending on what type of Entry is being viewed, and can be determined by creators of Entries by using special [[GuideML]] tags; the h2g2 Front Page changes its colour scheme with its content. This skin is generally considered as having the best layout, as it has several useful buttons that are not on the other skins.
*'''Plain''' was designed for [[Digibox]], [[Palm_Pilot|Palm]] and [[Pocket_PC|Pocket PC]] users who can't load the more graphic alabaster, brunel or classic. The Plain skin is not officially supported on the site, so it has not undergone the same level of testing as the other skins and has a few small problems. Unlike the other site skins, plain allows registered site users to define and use their own [[Cascading_Style_Sheets|Style Sheet]] if they so wish.


== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[List of online encyclopedias]]


== Notes ==
* [[Internet encyclopedia project]] - for similar online projects
{{notelist}}
* [[Wikipedia:Guide for h2g2 Researchers]] - an introduction for participants from h2g2


== External links ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}


== Further reading ==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/ h2g2 homepage]
*[http://www.h2g2.com h2g2 Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011110355/https://h2g2.com/ |date=11 October 2020 }}
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A918434 h2g2 Edited Article on wikipedia]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121127142944/http://notpanicking.com/ Not Panicking Ltd]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/team h2g2 Team]


{{HitchhikerMiscellanea}}
[[Category:Online encyclopedias]]
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Internet properties established in 1999]]
[[de:H2G2]]
[[Category:BBC New Media]]
[[ja:H2G2]]
[[Category:British online encyclopedias]]
[[nl:H2G2]]
[[Category:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]
[[Category:1999 establishments in the United Kingdom]]

Latest revision as of 04:46, 3 July 2024

h2g2
The h2g2 front page on 24 May 2015
Type of site
Internet encyclopedia project
Available inEnglish
OwnerNot Panicking Ltd
Created byDouglas Adams
URLh2g2.com
Registrationopen
Launched28 April 1999; 25 years ago (1999-04-28)
Current statusActive
Content license
Authors retain copyright but grant NPL a non-exclusive licence to distribute

The h2g2[a] website is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project. It describes itself as "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the science fiction comedy series of the same name by Douglas Adams.[1] It was founded by Adams in 1999 and was run by the BBC between 2001 and 2011.[2][3][4]

The intent is to create an Earth-focused guide that allows members to share information about their geographic area and the local sites, activities and businesses, to help people decide where they want to go and what they may find when they get there. It has grown to contain subjects from restaurants and recipes, to quantum theory and history. Explicit advertising of businesses was forbidden when the site was run by the BBC, but customer reviews were permitted.[5]

The content of the project is written by registered "Researchers" on its website.[6] Articles written by Researchers form the "Guide" as a whole, with an "Edited Guide" being steadily created out of factual articles that have been peer reviewed via the "Peer Review" system.[citation needed] The Edited Guide includes both traditional encyclopaedic subjects and more idiosyncratic offerings, and articles in the Edited Guide sometimes aim for a slightly humorous style.[7]

History

[edit]

The Digital Village (TDV) was a digital media company based in Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom.[8] It was founded in 1992.[9] The science fiction/comedy writer Douglas Adams was one of the founding members, along with Robbie Stamp, executive producer of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie (2005).[10] TDV produced the video game Starship Titanic. The h2g2 website was founded on 28 April 1999 as a community-site dedicated to producing the "Earth edition" of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by the author of the series, Douglas Adams, and his friends and colleagues at The Digital Village.[11]

Digital Village was renamed in 2000 to "h2g2", an abbreviation for the title as well as part of the url. The site was a runner-up for Best Community Site in the Yell.com awards in 2000.[12] At its highest point (October 2000) the company had over 40 employees. Like other dot-com companies, Adams' company ran into financial difficulties towards the end of 2000 and eventually ceased operations.[4] In January 2001, the management of the site was taken over by the BBC, and moved to bbc.co.uk (then known as BBCi).[3] While many h2g2 staff continued to work without pay until the h2g2 site, brand and several staff moved to the BBC. The game division became a new company, Phase 3 Studios, which continued for several months under the ownership of PAN Interactive, but ultimately closed in 2002.[citation needed]

21 April 2005 marked the re-launch of h2g2 Mobile, an edition of the guide produced for PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and mobile phones that could access the internet, so that people could read h2g2 entries while on the move.[13] This was done because people wanted h2g2 to be much like the Hitchhiker's Guide described in the books – a mobile, electronic device that anyone could read from anywhere.[11] An earlier incarnation of h2g2 Mobile was a WAP phone based version of h2g2. Announced at First Tuesday in London on 14 December 1999, it became the most trafficked WAP site in Europe until it was closed down by the BBC when it took over the site in January 2001. h2g2 Mobile was closed by the BBC as it then believed that its license conditions did not allow it to deliver any service over a telephone system.[14]

The site was redesigned for the BBC by Aerian Studios in 2011,[15] bringing it in line with the general appearance of other BBC websites, while maintaining a degree of the site's old character.[16]

On 24 January 2011, the BBC announced cuts of 25% to its online budget, resulting in a £34 million less investment into the site. A number of sites were to be closed, including BBC Switch, BBC Blast and 6-0-6. As part of this exercise, the BBC chose to sell h2g2.[17] On 21 June 2011, it was announced the winning bid was a joint bid put together by three parties: Robbie Stamp, h2g2c2 ("The h2g2 Community Consortium"), and the owners of Lycos Chat (Brian Larholm and Alyson Larholm).[18] On 31 August 2011, it was announced h2g2 was sold to Not Panicking Ltd, a company founded by Robbie Stamp, Brian Larholm, and Alyson Larholm, as well as The h2g2 Community Consortium.[19]

On 3 October 2011, the BBC incarnation of h2g2 closed, leaving only an announcement reading "H2G2 has now left the BBC. The new owners of H2G2 are currently preparing the site for relaunch. Soon you will find The Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything at www.h2g2.com"[20] The post-BBC version of the site went live on 16 October 2011.

Terms and conditions

[edit]

To contribute to the site it is necessary to register and to agree to the h2g2 "House Rules" and the general Not Panicking Ltd Terms and Conditions. Registered users are called Researchers. Researchers retain the copyright to their articles, but grant Not Panicking Ltd a non-exclusive license to reproduce their work in all formats.

Software

[edit]

DNA

[edit]

Part of the software for h2g2 is known as DNA, after the initials of author and site founder Douglas Adams. The DNA technology was introduced a few months after the BBC takeover and is still used for BBC blogs, messageboards and commenting systems. Before that there was a technology which was written mostly in Perl. Adams was involved in the website in its early days.[21] His account name was DNA, and his user number was 42, a reference to the joke in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is 42. Adams's legacy is still felt on h2g2, though it is not a fan site.[2]

GuideML

[edit]

GuideML (Guide Markup Language) is a document markup language.

GuideML is an application of XML standards. It consists of a safe subset of XHTML with added tags for specific features of the software. The objective is to provide something that resembles HTML but is simpler to learn, and allows basic textual content to be formatted in a skinnable way. Early versions of the h2g2 software offered full HTML markup as an option, but this was removed for security reasons; thus only parts of HTML which are considered to exist in GuideML can now be used, with things such as JavaScript and externally hosted images being removed by the parser.[22]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ h2g2 is an initialism for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Web watch; New favourites". Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). 7 May 2005. p. 5.
  2. ^ a b Jackson, Andrew (May 2009). "Web wonder". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 19. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Hitchhiker's Guide web site moves to BBC". Telecomworldwire. 23 February 2001.
  4. ^ a b Tomlinson, Heather (4 March 2001). "Hitchhiker's Website Goes Home To Auntie". Independent (UK). London. pp. 3 (Business section).[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "House Rules for h2g2". 28 June 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2015. – No Spitting. The lawyers wanted to know what rules we needed, and we said 'The usual ones, plus "No spitting" please.' So there you go: no spitting. Many thanks. Oh, and beware of the Leopard.
  6. ^ Hurrell, Nick (13 October 2000). "Nick Hurrell, the Chief Executive of M&C Saatchi and the Chairman of EMCSAATCHI, looks at the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Online". Campaign. pp. 14 (Private Surf section).
  7. ^ McMurray, Sandy (15 August 2001). "Sites for Beginners, Students and Clones". The Toronto Sun. pp. 53 (Connect section). – Another site, created by Douglas Adams, comes at the encyclopedia idea from a different, funnier angle.
  8. ^ "The Digital Village". www.tdv.com. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. ^ "The Hitchhikers Guide to the New Economy". 31 May 1998.
  10. ^ Botti, Nicolas (2009). "Life, DNA & h2g2: Douglas Adams' Biography" Archived 1 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 9 July 2014
  11. ^ a b Turnbull, Giles (22 September 1999). "Sci-fi Guide Could Become Fact". Press Association.
  12. ^ Kelly, Matt (13 July 2000). "The Yell.com Awards 2000". The Mirror (UK). p. 14.
  13. ^ "h2g2 Mobile Information Centre". 17 October 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Life, the Universe and Everything Mobile". The Digital Village. 22 December 1999. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  15. ^ "H2G2 Refresh: design and technical challenges". 21 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011. – this week the refreshed version of the BBC's long running community site H2G2 was launched.
  16. ^ "Talking Point – h2g2 Redesign". 24 August 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2015. – As we've already mentioned we're now in the process of redesigning h2g2.
  17. ^ "BBC News – BBC to cut online budget by 25%". BBC Online. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Tuesday 21 June 2011: The future of H2G2 – the Successful Bid". 21 June 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Wednesday 31 June 2011: H2G2 Leaving The BBC Soon!". 31 August 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  20. ^ "BBC - H2G2". Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  21. ^ "Douglas Adams 1952 – 2001". 28 April 1999. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  22. ^ "H2g2 - an Introduction to GuideML". 5 February 2003.

Further reading

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=H2g2&oldid=1232324974"