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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]

Key Information

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 licence 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 licence 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]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

H2g2

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
h2g2, subtitled The Guide to , is a collaborative and community platform inspired by ' science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Launched on 28 April 1999 by Adams through his media company The Digital Village—co-founded with Robbie Stamp and Richard Creasey—it functions as a user-generated where contributors create entries on diverse topics, mimicking the fictional electronic book from Adams' novels that provides humorous and insightful information to interstellar travelers. The site debuted live on BBC1's program and quickly gained traction, registering over 3,000 users within 24 hours of launch. Following the dot-com bubble's burst and Adams' death on 11 May 2001, the BBC acquired h2g2 in January 2001, integrating it into and expanding its editorial oversight until selling it to Not Panicking Ltd in 2011. Today, it remains an active, volunteer-driven community with thousands of approved entries organized by categories, alongside features like peer-reviewed submissions, forums for discussions, and interactive elements such as the Games Room. To contribute, users register as "Researchers" and draft entries in or GuideML format, which are then sub-edited by volunteers—including roles like Aces, Scouts, and Guide Editors—for accuracy, liveliness, and adherence to house rules before approval. In 2012, the h2g2 community co-founded the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Foundation, a UK-registered charity (No: 1149839) chaired by Robbie Stamp, with trustees including and advisory members like . The foundation honors Adams' legacy by supporting global initiatives in , communication skills, , and , funding small s with initial donations and a share of profits from Not Panicking Ltd, which owns the site. This ongoing charitable aspect underscores h2g2's evolution from an experimental into a lasting tribute to Adams' vision of collaborative, accessible knowledge-sharing.

Origins and Concept

Inspiration from Douglas Adams' Works

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a central element in ' science fiction comedy series, is depicted as a compact electronic book serving as an indispensable travel companion for interstellar explorers. It provides entries on a vast array of topics, from planetary customs to existential queries, with the reassuring words emblazoned in large, friendly letters on its cover. The device draws from an immense, collaborative database updated by roving researchers who contribute observations in real time, though it is prone to omissions, inaccuracies, and whimsical asides, such as rating as "mostly harmless." Adams long envisioned translating this fictional concept into a tangible, interactive resource, expressing in interviews during the his desire for a dynamic, user-driven that mirrored the 's collaborative spirit. He described the idea of a "living, breathing " where contributors worldwide would write and update entries instantaneously, much like the book's interstellar compilers beaming in reports from across the . In a reflection on the project's early stages, Adams noted, "I did have the inkling of an idea that a collaborative , one that was written and kept up to date by the people who used it, in real time, might be a neat idea," emphasizing its potential as a networked community resource enhanced by like GPS-enabled mobiles. This vision materialized through Adams' collaboration with The Digital Village, the multimedia company he co-founded in 1994, which launched h2g2 on April 28, 1999, as the "Earth edition" of the Guide. The initiative built on Adams' longstanding ties to the , stemming from his original 1978 radio series, and culminated in a partnership where the acquired and hosted the site in early 2001 to ensure its sustainability amid the dot-com downturn, relocating it to bbc.co.uk/h2g2.

Initial Development and Launch

The development of h2g2 began in the late 1990s under The Digital Village (TDV), a company co-founded by , Robbie Stamp, and Richard Creasey in 1995 to explore possibilities. Adams, serving as the project's visionary and founder, drew inspiration from the fictional Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in his novels to create an online, user-contributed encyclopedia focused on Earth. The team, including programmers and editors from TDV, seeded the site with approximately 60 initial articles on diverse topics to kickstart . h2g2 launched as a beta site on April 28, 1999, with initial access through user registrations rather than broad invitations. The debut occurred live on BBC1's , where Adams personally introduced the platform, marking a key milestone in its rollout. Within the first 24 hours, the site attracted over 3,000 registrations, demonstrating early interest in its collaborative model. Early promotional efforts centered on Adams' endorsements and the site's alignment with BBC programming related to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio adaptations, leveraging his established connection with the broadcaster to build awareness. This integration helped position h2g2 as a real-world extension of Adams' , though full-scale operations followed the initial beta phase.

Historical Development

Founding and Early Operations (1999–2001)

h2g2 was founded on April 28, 1999, by The Digital Village, a company established by , Robbie Stamp, and Richard Creasey, with the aim of creating an online collaborative encyclopedia inspired by Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Initially developed following a limited beta testing phase involving early users and professionals, the site launched publicly as a platform where contributors, known as Researchers, could submit entries on diverse topics ranging from everyday curiosities to profound questions like "." By 2000, the user base had expanded significantly, attracting Researchers from 85 countries and primarily appealing to young enthusiasts, though Adams envisioned broader participation to build a dynamic, user-driven resource. Douglas Adams played a central hands-on role in the site's early operations, personally authoring many of the inaugural entries—such as those on , international driving laws, and —to exemplify the platform's witty, accessible style. He actively curated content to maintain a humorous tone reflective of his fictional , encouraging contributions through welcoming messages and live engagements, including online chats and speeches that highlighted the site's potential for real-time, collaborative knowledge sharing. In his April 2000 vision statement, Adams emphasized fostering a "blizzard" of user input to fill content gaps and evolve the Guide into a mobile-accessible tool, underscoring his commitment to its growth during this period. Key developments in included the expansion of online forums to facilitate community discussions on quirky subjects, such as methods for concealing love bites or evaluating lampposts, alongside the introduction of the first peer-reviewed selections for the Edited Guide, which highlighted factual, high-quality user submissions. A notable was the May 2000 launch of a WAP version in partnership with Phone.com, allowing mobile access to entries and marking an early push toward Adams' dream of on-the-go contributions. However, the period was not without challenges; the dot-com era's financial pressures strained The Digital Village (renamed h2g2 Ltd. in 2000), leading to operational difficulties and rudimentary that limited real-time , while emerging needs arose as user submissions grew. These issues persisted following the BBC's acquisition earlier that year and until Adams' sudden death on May 11, 2001.

Evolution Under BBC Ownership (2001–2011)

Following ' sudden death from a heart attack on May 11, 2001, at age 49, the h2g2 project transitioned fully under management, having been acquired by the broadcaster on 1 2001 to remove commercial elements and integrate it into bbc.co.uk. Adams had envisioned h2g2 as an Earth-bound version of his fictional , but his limited day-to-day involvement prior to the handover ensured continuity, with the 's editorial team assuming oversight through a dedicated for in-house edits and announcements. Under BBC ownership, h2g2 underwent a major redesign in 2011 by Aerian Studios, aligning its visual style with other BBC websites while preserving core elements like the conversational tone and user-contributed entries. This update addressed technical challenges from the site's aging infrastructure, originally built by The Digital Village, and supported ongoing community contributions without disrupting the platform's quirky ethos. The site faced significant challenges in 2011 amid BBC budget reductions of 25%, which led to announcements of closures for various services and plans to dispose of h2g2 through sale or transfer. These rumors sparked community efforts to preserve the site, and in response, the sold h2g2 to Not Panicking Ltd—a company founded by Robbie Stamp and others associated with the project—effective October 2011. Under the new ownership, h2g2 continued on a reduced scale with greater reliance on volunteer moderators who handle content referrals for rule violations reactively. Since the transfer to Not Panicking Ltd, h2g2 has remained active with open registration for new users. As of November 2025, it hosts approximately 291,000 total entries—including over 11,000 edited ones—and sustains a niche focused on whimsical, user-driven knowledge sharing, though its scale pales beside larger encyclopedias like . Ongoing funding pressures at the in the 2020s have not directly impacted the site post-sale, with volunteers playing a central role in moderation and upkeep under private management.

Core Features and User Experience

Entry Creation and Navigation

To create an entry on h2g2, users must first register for an account, agree to the site's Terms and Conditions, and sign in, granting them the status of a "Researcher" with writing privileges. Upon initiating the process via the "Write an Entry" button, a known as a UIN (e.g., A followed by a number sequence) is automatically assigned to the draft, which appears in the entry's and metadata for tracking and referencing. Drafting occurs in a supporting or the site's GuideML for basic formatting, such as bolding or lists, with a preview function available before saving; detailed GuideML usage is covered in dedicated site resources. Once drafted, entries can be submitted directly to personal space or to for community evaluation, where Researchers provide feedback to refine content before potential approval for the Edited Guide. The process serves as the primary mechanism for entry validation, requiring at least one week in the review queue to allow for collaborative input from other users, who offer suggestions on accuracy, style, and completeness through threaded discussions. If deemed ready based on this consensus, volunteer "Scouts" recommend the entry for further sub-editing by community volunteers, followed by final review and categorization by Guide Editors; this multi-stage pipeline typically spans three weeks to two months. Approved entries then integrate into the site's main corpus, adhering to Writing Guidelines that emphasize original, factual content while prohibiting plagiarism or promotional material. Navigation on h2g2 emphasizes user-driven discovery, with a prominent search bar enabling queries by topic or keyword to locate relevant entries across the database. Users can also browse hierarchical categories organized thematically, such as "," " & ," "," or "Historical Events," each containing sub-groupings of related Edited Entries for structured exploration. A distinctive feature is the "random entry" generator, often styled as an "Infinite Improbability Drive" button, which selects and displays an arbitrary Edited Entry to encourage serendipitous reading and site engagement. Distinctive to h2g2's entry experience is the integration of and interactive elements, where Guide Editors may incorporate images during the approval stage to enhance illustrative content, such as diagrams or photographs relevant to the topic. Additionally, each entry supports attached "conversations"—threaded discussion forums where peers can post comments, questions, or extensions directly beneath the main text, fostering ongoing dialogue without altering the core entry. This setup promotes a dynamic, community-curated while maintaining editorial oversight for quality.

Community Interaction Tools

h2g2 fosters through dedicated forums and message boards known as "The Post," which serve as central hubs for discussions on diverse topics ranging from site announcements to specialized subjects like and . These boards allow users to participate in threaded conversations, share ideas, and collaborate on content ideas, with sections such as "From The Editors" for official updates and "Science Explained" for thematic debates. Additionally, "The Post" includes a periodical publication featuring user-submitted articles, accompanied by a readers' forum for feedback and dialogue, enhancing real-time interaction among members. Live events within these forums, such as discussions tied to the BBC's 2003 initiative, enabled users to vote on and debate favorite books in an h2g2-specific edition, mirroring national polls while promoting communal literary analysis. Peer review mechanisms form a cornerstone of h2g2's collaborative editing process, where submitted entries enter queues for community scrutiny to refine quality before approval. Users provide comments, suggestions, and revisions in dedicated forums, helping authors improve their work to meet editorial standards. This system culminates in Scout recommendations, where standout entries are selected for further sub-editing by subeditors, followed by final approval by Editors, signifying high-quality, community-vetted content ready for the Edited Guide. Such processes encourage ongoing participation, with users often referencing entry voting as a brief extension of this collaborative spirit. The platform also nurtures traditions through annual meetups, where users gather in person for social events, such as the 2000 Christmas meet-up in or the 2005 Cork gathering, strengthening offline bonds among global contributors. Holiday-themed entry drives further animate the community, prompting themed submissions like those for on May 25—honoring —or seasonal challenges such as the December Holiday Song series, which spur creative writing tied to observances. Integration with BBC events amplified these efforts, notably during the 2005 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film release, when h2g2 hosted premiere ticket competitions, news forums, and themed discussions to align site activity with the broader cultural milestone.

Technical Infrastructure

DNA Content Management System

The DNA Content Management System originated from the backend technology developed for h2g2 at The Digital Village starting in January 1999, where technical lead Jim Lynn designed the core database and wrote much of the powering software. Following the 's acquisition of h2g2 in 2001, the system was formalized and expanded into DNA as a platform to support broader BBC web operations, with DNA 1.0 developed post-acquisition. The name DNA honors Douglas Noel Adams, h2g2's founder, rather than referring to genetic material, and it evolved from an earlier internal system called Ripley. At its core, the DNA system manages key backend operations for h2g2, including user authentication via a single shared account system that enables seamless access across DNA-powered sites, such as h2g2 and 360. It handles entry storage by centralizing all content in a single database, supporting to track edits and revisions for entries. This model organizes entries and associated metadata—such as author details, timestamps, and categories—efficiently, allowing for scalable operations as the h2g2 database grew to accommodate thousands of user-submitted articles. The architecture also facilitates multi-site deployment, where different "skins" or interfaces can run on shared servers without duplicating data. Over time, DNA has undergone iterative upgrades to enhance performance and expand its scope beyond h2g2, powering blogs, message boards, and commenting systems since the early 2000s. These evolutions focused on improving backend efficiency for high-traffic community features, with the system maintaining a unified database structure to support ongoing content growth and cross-site functionality. As of 2025, following the site's sale to Not Panicking Ltd. in 2014, no public changes to the DNA backend have been announced. The DNA backend integrates with GuideML for processing markup in stored entries, ensuring consistent rendering across supported platforms.

GuideML Markup Language

GuideML is a custom, XML-like developed specifically for the h2g2 website to format user-submitted entries, enabling rich text formatting, internal links, and site-specific elements while avoiding the complexities of full implementation. It serves as an intermediary layer, where user input in GuideML is processed and converted to HTML for web display, allowing non-technical contributors to structure content without needing to learn standards. This design supports h2g2's collaborative model by providing a controlled set of tools tailored to the site's humorous and conversational tone. As of 2025, GuideML remains in use for entry formatting. Key tags in GuideML include structural elements like <GUIDE>, which encapsulates the entire entry and is automatically inserted by the editor to denote the start and end of content, similar to the <HTML> tag but optimized for h2g2's entry format. Paragraphs are defined using <p>, which wraps blocks of text to ensure proper spacing and in the rendered output. For internal references, the <LINK> tag facilitates hyperlinks to other entries, such as <LINK "An Introduction to GuideML">A957107</LINK>, which displays the linked entry's title and collects references for a dedicated section. Other common tags include <B> for bold text (e.g., <B>important point</B>) and <I> for italics (e.g., <I>emphasized phrase</I>), alongside self-closing tags like <BR/> for line breaks. GuideML enforces specific syntax rules to maintain consistency and prevent errors during backend processing by the DNA . Tags must be written in uppercase, with matching closing tags (e.g., </PARA>), and nesting is required to be proper without overlapping—for instance, <B><I>nested text</I></B> is valid, but crossing tags like <B>start <I>crossed</B> end</I> is not. Only approved tags are fully supported in published entries to uphold site guidelines, with unrecognized ones ignored during conversion. Compared to standard , GuideML offers simplicity for non-technical users by limiting the tag set to essentials and site-specific features, such as easy insertion of smileys via <SMILEY/>, which reduces the for casual contributors. Its restrictions on tags help enforce a lighthearted, humorous style aligned with h2g2's inspiration from ' works, preventing overly complex or off-brand formatting. Additionally, GuideML allows extraction of metadata, like linked entry titles, to enhance navigation without requiring manual adjustments.

Community and Cultural Impact

User Base and Engagement

The h2g2 community consists of users from diverse nationalities, including strong representation from the , , , , , and others, drawn largely from science fiction enthusiasts and fans of ' works, with a core appeal to writers interested in sharing knowledge in a humorous style. Users span a wide age range, from teenagers to those over 80, reflecting the site's broad appeal for creative expression. Engagement peaked in the late and early , with registered users exceeding 43,000 as of May 2000, prior to the site's acquisition by the in 2001, reflecting high initial interest in its collaborative model. By the late , the platform had cultivated a loyal user base, with thousands of entries submitted by "Researchers" (registered contributors) who appreciated the site's peer-review process and forum interactions for . As of November 2025, the site sustains ongoing activity through forum discussions and entry submissions, with recent posts on topics like games and regional queries indicating a dedicated, albeit smaller, . Key drivers of user involvement include nostalgia for ' satirical universe, which inspires contributions, and the creative freedom afforded by the platform's lenient, humor-focused guidelines that encourage personal and unconventional entries. Retention has faced challenges from competition with more prominent platforms like , which offered broader reach and stricter reliability standards, drawing away potential contributors seeking larger audiences. Additionally, reduced promotional efforts following the site's sale to Not Panicking Ltd in 2011 contributed to declining visibility and slower user acquisition. Despite these hurdles, the community's interaction tools, such as forums and peer reviews, continue to foster niche engagement among dedicated participants.

Notable Contributions and Legacy

One of the most iconic entries on h2g2 is "Definitive Proof that Is the Answer to ," which explores mathematical and philosophical interpretations of the number 42, drawing directly from ' seminal work and amassing numerous references and discussions within the community. User-generated content often emulates Adams' satirical style, with parodies blending absurdity and wit, such as entries reimagining everyday dilemmas in cosmic terms. In the Edited Guide, selections highlight humorous retellings of historical events, exemplified by "Red Dwarf's Guide to Human History," which satirizes key moments through a lens of , transforming factual timelines into playful narratives. Other notable contributions include quirky guides like the history of and coping strategies for tomato ketchup shortages, showcasing h2g2's emphasis on lighthearted, unconventional knowledge-sharing. h2g2 exerted significant influence on early wiki culture by pioneering collaborative online encyclopedias before Wikipedia's 2001 launch, attracting over 5,000 participants who produced more than 13,000 articles focused on real-world experiences in an irreverent format. This model demonstrated the value of low-barrier contribution while revealing challenges in and attribution, informing later platforms' approaches to anonymous editing and . As a "fun" alternative to formal encyclopedias, it fostered a legacy of accessible, humorous knowledge dissemination, contrasting with more serious digital archives. In the 2020s, h2g2 continues to integrate with fan communities through ongoing user engagement and ties to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Foundation, supporting literacy initiatives inspired by Adams' vision. Academically, it receives recognition in for its role as an early experiment in crowdsourced, narrative-driven , contributing to discussions on collaborative production in pre-wiki environments.

Terms of Service and Moderation

h2g2 maintains a set of House Rules that govern user conduct and content creation, emphasizing a collaborative environment inspired by the whimsical and humorous spirit of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. These rules prohibit spam, such as posting identical messages across multiple forums or flooding conversations with repetitive content, and explicitly ban or the use of copyrighted material without permission. Offensive content, including obscene, profane, sexually explicit material, or anything promoting bigotry, , , homophobia, or , is strictly forbidden to ensure a civil and inclusive space. Users are required to contribute original work that aligns with the site's friendly, humorous tone, while all content must remain legal, tasteful, and relevant, with English as the preferred language. The moderation process on h2g2 is primarily reactive and handled by a team of vetted volunteer Moderators who enforce the House Rules on behalf of the site's operators, Not Panicking Ltd. Community members can report violations using the "Complain about this post" feature, prompting Moderators to review and act only on confirmed breaches. For entry submissions, the process involves Peer Review by community volunteers, including Assistant Community Editors (ACEs), who provide feedback to refine drafts, followed by review from Sub-Editors for errors and final approval by Guide Editors to ensure adherence to writing guidelines. In cases of serious but non-bannable infractions, Editors may place users in pre-moderation, where posts are held for review before publication. Appeals against moderation decisions are handled via email to designated teams, such as [email protected] for bans, with responses typically provided within seven days; forum-based discussions are not the official appeals channel. Enforcement mechanisms include content removal or for violations, such as archiving or hiding entries and posts that breach policies, particularly those involving unsuitable , , or personal privacy invasions. Repeated or severe offenses, like threats or illegal material, can result in temporary suspensions—starting at 24 hours for first offenses—or permanent bans from the site. These measures, guided by the Transgressions Procedure, aim to protect the community while fostering a safe, engaging atmosphere.

Content Licensing and Ownership

The h2g2 platform is owned and operated by Not Panicking Ltd (NPL), a company founded by key figures from the site's early development, including Robbie Stamp. This ownership extends to the technical infrastructure, trademarks, and overall management of the site, while follows a distinct framework designed to encourage collaborative contributions without full commercialization. Under the current terms, individual authors and contributors retain full ownership of their original entries, forum posts, and other submissions. By posting content, users automatically grant NPL a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, , non-exclusive, and sub-licensable to use, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, perform, modify, adapt, and create derivative works from the material in any form or media, including digital, print, or broadcast formats. This broad enables NPL to host, edit, archive, and promote the content on the platform and beyond, such as in partnerships or compilations, without needing further permission or payment to the creators. For multi-author or heavily edited entries—known as "Edited Guide Entries"—NPL asserts additional over the final compiled work, treating it as a creation where republication or reuse requires NPL's explicit approval, even if individual contributors hold to their portions. Users are prohibited from commercially reselling h2g2 content, creating unauthorized derivatives for profit, or posting material that infringes third-party copyrights without permission, preserving the site's community-driven, non-commercial nature. Authors may reuse their own work elsewhere, but must attribute h2g2 if applicable and avoid actions that could harm the platform's reputation. The licensing model originated in 1999 with h2g2's launch under The Digital Village, where contributors similarly retained while granting a perpetual non-exclusive to the operator for display and distribution. When the acquired the site in January 2001, the terms were adapted to grant the broadcaster comparable rights, aligning with its charter. Following the BBC's sale of h2g2 to NPL in late 2011, the agreement was revised to transfer licensing obligations to the new owner, with further updates in May 2018 to incorporate modern digital provisions, such as enhanced sub-licensing for global access and clarifications on user deletions (which are not permitted for published content). These evolutions maintained the core author-retention principle while addressing platform transitions and outdated clauses related to emerging web standards, without adopting a formal structure.

References

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  6. https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A87756547
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