History HubΜύ permalink
Is this messageboard closing?
This discussion has been closed.
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Message 1.Μύ
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Monday, 24th January 2011
I must admit, I've thoroughly enjoyed coming on this messageboard to discuss nuggets of history that interested me. I would be deeply saddened if it's indeed going to close.
Katy, can you tell us more? -
Message 2
Posted by somewhatsilly (U14315357) on Monday, 24th January 2011
Do you mind if I refine your question a little, shivfan, it leaves too much room for weasel words :- refresh, up date, integrate, streamline etc.
Katy, will this History messageboard and its 4 sections remain in its current form?
ferval -
Message 3
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Monday, 24th January 2011
ferval
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Message 4
Posted by islanddawn (U7379884) on Monday, 24th January 2011
And if we can have some clarification on the meaning of this please Katy
"There will be fewer news blogs while standalone forums, communities and message-boards will be reduced and replaced with integrated social tools."
"Intergrated social tools"??
Sounds like PC speak for teaching kids to share their toys at kindergarten. -
Message 5
Posted by History Host (U14671356) on Monday, 24th January 2011
Hi Shivfan and Ferval
I'm History Host and just helping Katy out on these boards as she's away today.
At the present time there has been nothing communicated to us about a possible closure of the History messageboards. Please could I direct you to the following blogs where more information is available and where you'll be able to post your comments and concerns.
Blog from Erik Huggers - Reshaping Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online -
Blog from Ian Hunter - Delivering Quality First on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online - Social Media -
Blog from Ben Gallop - Changes to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sport Online -
Press release - Delivering Quality First: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Announces Plans to Re-structure Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online -
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Trust -
Best wishes
History Host -
Message 6
Posted by somewhatsilly (U14315357) on Monday, 24th January 2011
I've just started ploughing through the management guff from the message above but I've found these already.
Standalone forums, communities, message-boards and blogs to be reduced and replaced with integrated social toolsΜύ
and
This isn't a sudden change in direction. Sites that have only a peripheral connection with our editorial purposes, don't significantly enhance our content or only engage small audiences can't any longer justify the resources they need. This is why we have closed a number of message boards in the past year or so. This process will continue, selectively.Μύ
Anyone have the know-how to set up our own little corner, I fear the worst! -
Message 7
Posted by islanddawn (U7379884) on Monday, 24th January 2011
Oooh I hate all this "management guff" (good term ferval), it is like listening to a politician, tons of words said without saying anything at all.
Here's hoping that because the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ has such a strong tradition on historical content in their programming etc that these boards may squeeze through the cuts, in some form anyway. -
Message 8
Posted by somewhatsilly (U14315357) on Monday, 24th January 2011
I share your sentiments but not your optimism, id. Having read a bit more, my interpretation is that they would rather see these boards on, or at least closely linked with, Facebook and twitter - was anything ever so aptly named - where they might drum up more viewers and listeners. Given the pretty dire content of a lot of the recent programming, that may well be their target audience. Given I've resolutely refused to participate in either, it's not a cheery prospect.
I see H2G2's for the chop, Cass will be incandescent. Stand by! -
Message 9
Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Monday, 24th January 2011
ferval
Thanks for the thought... But coincidentally I have just been re-writing some thoughts prompted by the demise of my TV/Combo nearly 18 months ago, and the way it reminded me of the fact that everything has a life-cycle..
h2g2 has been very convenient- but there is a piece of Matthew Arnold quoting Epicurus- or someone else in the classics (perhaps well-known as a black hole for me). For some reason I think he was writing about Byron.. Anyway Epicurous describes a man on a journey who arrived at an inn, and found himself so well off that he settled down there to make it his home.. But eventually he got a message from the fates pointing out that his journey was THROUGH this point not TO this point.
It is probably time I just set up my own web-site where I can play with-myself if necessary...
But I have also speculated that ,having just read "The Fry Chronicles" and of Stephen Fry's close association with Douglas Adams (he says that between them they owned the first three Macintosh Computers in the UK) as well as his close involvement in all things IT, he may be reluctant to let the Hitch Hiker's site close totally.. Perhaps he will finally get the chance to play Saviour!
As for the History MB, it does not help perhaps that things seem to me to have got rather quiet recently- not speaking for myself of course.. As SweetsisterTemperance advised Katy Host I need to be told to shut up.
Nuff said.
But let us not go down without a fight!
Cass -
Message 10
Posted by Amphion (U3338999) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
Will civilisation survive the second decade of the 21st Century?
Will school be the means of educating our young in the ways of the popular franchise?
Will talent shows become the means of gaining a place of higher education?
Will the past be rewritten and repackaged into small hermetically sealed portions available only at the entrance to large shopping malls?
Will the facts ever again be presented in a clear and unbiased fashion?
Who will write and chronicle the history of events when History itself has been confined to the pages of History?
Will?
Who? -
Message 11
Posted by cloudyj (U1773646) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
Will civilisation survive the second decade of the 21st Century?
Will school be the means of educating our young in the ways of the popular franchise?
Will talent shows become the means of gaining a place of higher education?
Will the past be rewritten and repackaged into small hermetically sealed portions available only at the entrance to large shopping malls?Μύ
Yes.
Yes, but will still teach more than that.
No.
No. But the past has often been repackaged into small hermetically sealed portions for decades if not centuries. There's nothing wrong with it being also in shopping malls - gives me something to do while waiting for shopaholic friends...
Will the facts ever again be presented in a clear and unbiased fashion?
Μύ
Were they ever?
Who will write and chronicle the history of events when History itself has been confined to the pages of History?Μύ
Surely the only logical answer is that in a time of history, lack of people to write about the nothing will be no loss.
Will?Μύ
Not Will, he's very biased.
-
Message 12
Posted by islanddawn (U7379884) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
Hi All,
Andrew Host posted this over on Family Trees today,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In answer to a similar questions asked on History Hub the following message was posted:
At the present time there has been nothing communicated to us about a possible closure of the History messageboards. Please could I direct you to the following blogs where more information is available and where you'll be able to post your comments and concerns.
Blog from Erik Huggers - Reshaping Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online - www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/...
Blog from Ian Hunter - Delivering Quality First on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online - Social Media - www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/...
Blog from Ben Gallop - Changes to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sport Online - www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/...
Press release - Delivering Quality First: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Announces Plans to Re-structure Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online - www.bbc.co.uk/presso...
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Trust - www.bbc.co.uk/bbctru...
**
You can see the whole discussion here:
www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mb...
In short, whilst a general announcement has been made it may be a while before we have any news regarding specific message boards.
Kind regards
Andrew -
Message 13
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
Thanks for the reply, History Host....
If you do hear anything definitive about the history messageboard, I do hope you will let us know.
Cass, incidentally I'm a partner in a cricket messageboard, as you know how much I love WI cricket!
There's actually a history thread, but you have to sign up to get access to that thread. -
Message 14
Posted by NormanRHood (U14656514) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
i hope not
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Message 15
Posted by Peter (U1724408) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
Anyone have the know-how to set up our own little corner, I fear the worst!Μύ
I hope that the mods let this through, even though I am more of a lurker than a poster on here. A board that was set up when there were previous reductions at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is . It is not specifically a history board, but a general one, and I'm sure people would be welcome over there. There isn't actually a history forum there, but I'm sure that if there were enough requests for one it could be organised.
Peter -
Message 16
Posted by Amphion (U3338999) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
I like these Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Message Boards. Although I haven't always agreed with some of the comments, and on too many occasion I found the moderator seemed to be positive in favour of one topic whilst at the same time being negative against a similar topic...
I have learned so much. It has been a welcome help and sometimes diversion from the long bouts of research, of logging and detailing the obituaries of men who fought and died for their country.
It was also the means, Thanks too WhiteCamery, of discovering a lost fim that captured a piece of my home town in 1918, which in a eureka moment I realised that few modern day locals will realise that this film exists. Cheers WC, and Pathe News.
I have to admit that I have been known to peruse such sites as Youtube and facebook. The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ message boards have, thankfully, always be free of the 'conspiracy theorist.' That is, those who have attempted to infiltrate these boards, and have yet failed to provide a sound basis for the source of their ramblings, have always been given short-shrift.
In the Oxford English Dictionary, and the American Congress Big Book of Words there is no entry for the 'word' Boitch! I am of the opinion that a Boitch is just a bitch with a whole(sic). -
Message 17
Posted by Gran (U14388334) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
Hi All,
My email arrived today from The National Archives, and I wondered if they would be willing to open up a discussion site, I imagine it would have advertising but we could put up with some of that, what do you think Cass? I wouldnt be able to influence them from where I am!
Gran -
Message 18
Posted by somewhatsilly (U14315357) on Wednesday, 26th January 2011
This is allegedly the current list of sites to be closed.
We're not on it but they do seem to be the obvious candidates - Bone Kickers! - but I suppose it might be only the first batch. -
Message 19
Posted by Minette Minor (U14272111) on Friday, 28th January 2011
Having seen what is going to be done to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service, the Gold Standard of news broadcasting, I wouldn't be in the least surprised if this site disappeared overnight.
I've enjoyed dipping in here and there and possibly (hopefully not to too many) causing annoyance or debate but it is fun. But then so is education, which too is to be be abolished I understand? This lovely "co-alition" government. Higher and Further education for the few, to say nothing of Libraries! Who wants to read anyway? And soon who will be able to!? Isn't life grand?
If I may be so bold, I have noticed that the format here, Web Design, has been in a state of flux for sometime. Why? We can make smiley faces! And read white AND blue messages with aeroplanes and people surrounding them.....Why? How much has this new web design cost? Having been here for sometime I know that when the pages change and alter as they have and do, fewer people seem to take part in debates etc...So what is the point? Are you monitoring this? Surely you must be!
I can't help but be rather sad that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ makes no resistance to these changes to education for the few. What would Lord Wrieth say and what about the Charter? My soul hurt when the Lib Dems turned, so why am I shocked by anything now? I'm not. Good luck Katey. (An e at the end makes the a go A!) Spelling is not my strong suit. Goodbye. Shall we all BLOG and drink Blue Nun? -
Message 20
Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Friday, 22nd April 2011
Not perhaps relevant for the History MB but for this thread..
Just in case others have missed it.. I have just browsed the H2G2 News and caught up with this message:
***
Thursday 17 February, 2011: H2G2 Sale – The next step
Here is a message from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Social Media Executive Nick Reynolds regarding the next stage of the possible sale of H2G2:
Hi,
Following last month's announcement about H2G2 I promised I would update you on significant developments.
In today's New Media Age magazine the following appears:
H2G2
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online is offering an opportunity to buy its popular community site H2G2.
The site was founded by Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author and digital innovator Douglas Adams as a "constantly expanding, user-generated guide to life, the universe and everything."
The H2G2 community is the heart of the site and largely self-managing. We are looking for interested parties who will respect the site’s traditions and work with the community.
Any new owner will also be expected to move the site onto a technical platform which is independent from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online.
Interested parties can obtain further information from:
etc
**
Cass -
Message 21
Posted by Michael Alexander Kearsley (U1675895) on Sunday, 1st May 2011
I'm somewhat doubtful that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ will find a buyer for h2g2, after all why would anyone buy an organisation that has no commercial means of funding itself, a private buyer would be looking for a profit, as a not for profit foundation along the lines of Wikipedia it would have a chance, probably the best thing would have been just to convert it into a foundation rather than probably continuing to fund it for some time and then later admitting it wasn't really realistic to expect that it could be sold, after all the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ acquired it in the first place because Douglas Adams couldn't make it into a viable going concern.
Looking at the History Message Boards, they aren't related to a specific programme, programme related groups and pages related to History and Genealogical programmes have setup on Facebook and other social networking sites, other than the History Hub traffic seems to be slow and there are various alternatives some free or partly free and others fully commercial. I would think it was a fair probability that at some point they will close. -
Message 22
Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Sunday, 1st May 2011
Michael Alexander Kearsley
Presumably anyone buying h2g2 would be someone who could see how to make it a commercial success.. If everyone had such ideas those who come up with them would not earn such rich rewards.. Such things always look unlikely until the answer is found.. and sometimes there is a material benefit to waiting for the desperation knock-down price, as often happened during privatisation.
Perhaps the experience of the French camping club that I married into many decades ago is not totally irrelevant.. It had always been run by voluntary participation of the members, and there have been times when one had to wonder whether it would collapse as circumstances changed.. Now there is beginning to be a mix of those who are paid and those who still just enjoy being part of it.. Truly Public-Private partnership.. It seems to be working for the moment.
Cass -
Message 23
All this user's posts have been removed.
-
Message 24
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Monday, 16th May 2011
Katy or History Hosts,
Have you heard by now whether the history messageboard is going to follow the course set for 606, and close for good? -
Message 25
Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Monday, 16th May 2011
shivfan
The message :
"This message board is the beating heart of the History community.."
has hardly applied recently..
Apart from the thread fo " getting away from it all" it can hardly be said that "the beat goes on" with any reassuring regularity- and the almost deathly quiet has been commented on there
Cass -
Message 26
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Tuesday, 24th May 2011
Indeed, Cass....
Well, hosts? -
Message 27
Posted by Michael Alexander Kearsley (U1675895) on Tuesday, 24th May 2011
It's the way it happens though; the Hosts don't know until they are told. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online would take the decision and inform them that it was happening, so they are having to make an assessment in the same way as everyone else.
-
Message 28
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Thursday, 26th May 2011
Well, given that the date that 606 is closing is supposed to be May 26 (today), I think they should've heard by now....
-
Message 29
Posted by Michael Alexander Kearsley (U1675895) on Thursday, 26th May 2011
Why would it have anything to do with when 606 closes down?, various Message Boards have closed down at various times. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online take the decisions and announce them when they see fit.
-
Message 30
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Thursday, 26th May 2011
Are you a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ employee, Michael? Because you seem remarkably okay with the fact that the History Hosts have not updated us about the status of this messageboard since the beginning of the year....
And obviously, 606 is the largest messageboard in use on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, hence the request for info about whether this MB will be treated in the same way. It's not an unreasonable question to ask, especially since the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ have said that 606 is to be closed today.
All I've asked is this: will this messageboard be treated the same way as 606, and be closed today? Is that a question you can answer? If not, can the hosts possibly answer that question today? Will we wake up tomorrow, and find this site closed, or not? Will there be a Friday quiz tomorrow, or not? A simple "yes" or "no" is not an unreasonable request, if there's actually someone out there listening.... -
Message 31
Posted by Michael Alexander Kearsley (U1675895) on Thursday, 26th May 2011
I'm not a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ employee, but am aware that the Hosts can only tell people what they are informed of, I expect that if Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online were to decide that the board was to close that they would inform the Hosts. Apparently sometimes such decisions have been being announced at quite short notice.
-
Message 32
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Tuesday, 31st May 2011
Well, 606 is closed, but this messageboard is still open, so that answers that question, despite a lack of response to my query earlier....
But it does seem that the mods have stopped maintaining this site.
Could it be that they've forgotten that it exists?
-
Message 33
Posted by lolbeeble (U1662865) on Tuesday, 31st May 2011
Shiv, previously when the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ have decided to close specific message boards they have provided plenty of notice. As an example the closure of 606 was announced in January which in comparison to earlier board closures is rather a long lapse of time between the announcement and implementation but users of the old news forums, the radio four and five news pages as well as topics like books and science and nature were informed at least a month before they were closed. One might argue that the move away from programme specific websites as well as the stated aim of making learning and knowledge one of their key product groupings may well suggest why the History boards were not earmarked for immediate closure. Without knowing the ratio of lurkers to contributors it is conceivable that it could be argued that these boards are actually fairly cost effective.
In any case the history boards were always lightly moderated with the level of host interaction dependent on their character and interests. Presumably Katy has other things to do than simply reading our missives as part of her job. -
Message 34
Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Friday, 24th June 2011
Just in case people have missed the good news about h2g2:
****
Subject: Tuesday 21 June, 2011: The future of H2G2 - the Successful Bid
Posted 3 Days Ago by Nick Reynolds
Posting 1
Firstly, thanks as always for waiting so patiently for news about the future of H2G2. I’m delighted to announce that we now have a successful bid to take H2G2 into its next stage.
As always with H2G2 the successful bid was unique. It’s a joint bid put together by three parties: Robbie Stamp, h2g2c2 ('The h2g2 Community Consortium') and a company called Noesis Systems Ltd.
As many of you know, Robbie was a very close friend of Douglas Adams and, along with Douglas, is the original founder of H2G2 back in 1999. The H2G2 Community and the site are very much close to his heart.
h2g2c2 - 'The h2g2 Community Consortium' - have shown great energy and a real passion for continuing the very best traditions of H2G2. They will make sure the Community is always at the heart of everything H2G2 does.
Noesis, headed by Brian Gunner Larholm, are an established social media company that specialises in online communities.
Robbie will be chairman of the new organisation that is formed out of this joint bid. So in a sense H2G2 is 'going home' or at least back into the care of people who history tells me will love and nurture the site. My feeling is that the site will be in safe hands for the future.
Robbie will be making a more detailed statement on H2G2 soon and there will also be a FAQ page that will hopefully deal with a lot of the questions you may have.
We're in a handover phase now - a 'transitionary' period - as we prepare to hand over the site completely to its new owners, editorially and technically. There are also some legal matters to be sorted out. So I’d ask you to bear with this us during this time and you’ll be updated with more specifics as and when. We'll aim to make the transition as effortless and smooth as possible but there's bound to be the odd ripple and the odd glitch. It just wouldn't be H2G2 if there wasn't.
In the meantime, please continue to not do as you have always not done i.e, Don't Panic!
N.B. You may be interested to know the following. In order to approve this bid a document had to be discussed at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ’s Online Direction Group. The document about H2G2 was the 42nd document sent to the group this year.
Many thanks,
Nick Reynolds
Social Media Executive, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online
****
Cass -
Message 35
Posted by bishenbertie (U13222350) on Monday, 11th July 2011
I had to come onto the board via the message boards, I only saw 8 message boards listed have more closed down?
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Message 36
Posted by Silver Jenny (U12795676) on Monday, 11th July 2011
OUCH and the Ethics & Religion board closed this month.
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Message 37
Posted by bishenbertie (U13222350) on Monday, 11th July 2011
Thankyou, boards seem to be disappearing so quickly. I hope we are not in the firing line.
-
Message 38
Posted by clematised (U3233879) on Saturday, 16th July 2011
Tonight the History messageboards became unaccesible for a short time and a other boards were working fine so why just these.
While signed in to the Family Trees board tonight I got a request to sign in to post a message and this is a sure warning of impending problems arising on the board, then within the hour I was getting the message that there had been an error and could not go to the page no matter how many times I tried to open a thread.
I got the same message on the History Hub and Ancient Archealogy yet I was able to access the garden boards quite easily.
Are we next for the chop
Edna -
Message 39
Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Wednesday, 20th July 2011
I received this email....
"Dear H2G2 User,
We are writing with some important information about your H2G2 account.
As you may know, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ intends to transfer ownership of the H2G2 website. The good news is the proposed new owner is the H2G2 Group chaired by Robbie Stamp, one of the original founders of H2G2 and a great friend of Douglas Adams. If you are happy for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to pass on your email address to the new owner so they can invite you to re-join H2G2 after it has left the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, then please do absolutely nothing! The H2G2 Group will be in touch in due course.
However, if you do not want the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to pass on your email address please click this link. If we do not hear from you within 20 working days of the date we sent this email, we will assume that you would like to be contacted by the new owner.
Kind regards,
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Social Media"
I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure that I want to be a part of this when it leaves the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.... -
Message 40
Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Wednesday, 20th July 2011
shivfan
No doubt we all received that email.
As the new owners include one of the original founders of h2g2- and everyone seems committed to continuity I have few qualms.. It remains to be seen whether I will be able to use the site as I have.. For the moment it is some time since I could access the History Website threads direct from my Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Page.. But perhaps H2G2 now has a more secure Future than this MB? Who knows.
Just as well perhaps that things have livelined up a little in the last week.
Cass -
Message 41
Posted by Thomas_II (U14690627) on Thursday, 21st July 2011
In reply to shivfan:
I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure that I want to be a part of this when it leaves the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ....Μύ
I havenΒ΄t received that email yet, but I wonΒ΄t follow h2g2 when it leaves the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ either. I hope IΒ΄ll get that email as well to act in time and avoid a unwilling shifting to the new owner without registration.
IΒ΄m starting again to wonder whether these boards here will last through the next year.
Thanks for posting the text of that email on this thread. -
Message 42
Posted by NormanRHood (U14656514) on Monday, 25th July 2011
do i need to re register?
About this Board
The History message boards are now closed. They remain visible as a matter of record but the opportunity to add new comments or open new threads is no longer available. Thank you all for your valued contributions over many years.
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