View From the Queue
Created | Updated Jun 21, 2003
This week's View guesses how long it will be before the old queue disappears. It also gives an update on the progress of the new Peer Review process.
This Week's View
As I write this week's View, there are 504 entries left in the old queue. That's down from 633 entries last week, an astounding drop of 129 entries in one week alone. The old queue is definitely disappearing at an exponential rate.
In that same week, only 25 entries were edited and featured on h2g2's main page. That's 5 per weekday, which matches h2g2's commitment to its members and is about the same as the past two weeks. I'm going to stop reporting these numbers unless things show signs of changing. It definitely seems h2g2 has found a rate of progress it is comfortable with.
Researchers have submitted 183 entries to the new Peer Review process so far. If we add the old queue to the number of Peer Review entries, we get 816 entries. That's actually 20 more than I originally reported was in the old queue when this column began. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
There are 59,294 registered users at h2g2, which means we are poised to top 60,000 researchers soon. And there are 1954 recommended entries, so we're about two weeks from topping 2,000 edited entries. It looks like we could be passing two markers of success at roughly the same time. Congrats will be definitely in order.
How Long For the Old Queue
Last week, I started a contest. I asked for predictions as to which day the old queue will disappear once and for all. All the responses were in the range of October through November of this year.
To make my own guess, I took a look at the weekly progress since my column began. Here's what I found.
July 27th - July 23rd: 796
July 24th - July 30th: 771
A reduction of 25.
July 30th - August 6th: 708
A reduction of 63.
August 7th - August 13th: 633
A reduction of 75.
August 13th - August 20th: 504
A reduction of 129.
Based on the chart to above, I could tell the rate of reduction has been increasing. If the rate of increase continues, the queue will be gone in two to three weeks. However, I predict the last remaining entries will be the most difficult to clear out. For that reason, I will add an extra week to this prediction. So my guess is that the queue will be gone on or around September 18th.
Of course, I am not eligible to win my own contest. Two weeks ago, h2g2 Editor Mark Moxon posted his own estimation. Although he is not registered in my contest, he guessed the queue would be gone about a month from now. It looks like his estimate and mine are pretty close.
Peer Review Progress
The Peer Review page has officially been updated to recommend that authors include the URL for their entry in the body of their recommendation post. This has been at the top of our most wanted changes list since Peer Review was introduced.
Also important, the new h2g2 Scouts officially began their work last week. They have added their first recommendations to the What's Coming Up page already. They are also hard at work giving feedback to everyone who has submitted their work to the Peer Review page.
Other h2g2 News
Of course, a brief look at the Post's main page verifies that the race to become virtual Prez of h2g2 has heated up. In fact, there is some concern that things have gotten a little out of hand. It is unfortunate that a lark for h2g2's virtual community should result in hard feelings even before the polling booth opens.
I would like to take a moment to verify that I have read the Celery's rebuttal to my own report on the Demon Drawer poisoning incident. Though I do not of course agree with everything within it, I take no offense. This is all good fun and games. Like other people here, I am trying not to take it all too seriously. I have, of course, already cast my vote in the election.
Next Week's View
Next week we'll take a look at volunteer opportunities within h2g2. Without the volunteers, h2g2 would undoubtedly be slower at editing writers' entries and the results would also be less accountable to h2g2's readers. If you find yourself sighing at the wait for your entry to get noticed, why not pitch in and get yourself plugged into the volunteer process? I'll show you how next week.
Written by Fragilis the Melodical
Click here to see previous weeks' Views from the Queue.
Opinions expressed in this column are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of h2g2 or the Post.
