List of the Month

Each month we highlight one Internet, USENET Special Interest Group (SIG), or similar mailing list or Website.

h2g2.com

The Earth Edition of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

When Douglas Adams wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy twenty years ago, the World Wide Web didn't even exist. Today he is directing a company that hopes to make his vision of a universal guide to "life, the universe, and everything" a reality here on earth. It is a commercial endeavor, to be sure, but it is also Adams' attempt to bring to life a guide that he calls "a good idea -- something that, instead of being compiled by an editor, [everyone] could work on together."*

Adams' ultimate goal is to have the guide accessible from anywhere. As he told Salon, "We're beginning to get Internet access on mobile phones and things like personal digital assistants. That creates a sea change, because suddenly people will be able to get information that is appropriate to where they are and who they are -- standing outside the cinema or a restaurant or waiting for a bus or plane. Or sitting having a cup of coffee at a cafe. At those moments something different happens: You think about something that is very appropriate [to where you are at the time]. With h2g2, you can look up where you are at that moment to see what it says, and if the information you need is not there you add it in yourself. For example, a remark about the coffee you're drinking or a comment that the waiter at the restaurant is very rude."

If this sort of thing appeals to you, you probably ought to become an "h2g2 researcher." All you have to do is visit the http://www.h2g2.com/ Website and follow the instructions for registration. As the site says, "Joining h2g2 is completely free and lets you write your own Guide Entries, join in conversations with other members, keep a journal, and you get your own personal home page from which you can keep track of all your activities on h2g2. You also get access to h2g2's registered front page, which keeps you informed of daily additions to the Guide, community activity and all that's happening in the world of the Hitchhiker's Guide."

* "A hitchhiker in the new economy," Salon, June 12, 2000.