A short note from the h2g2 Editors: We have to point out that the only rules which count in the end are the official House Rules and Terms and Conditions - so while it could be useful in some cases to put these into context as done here, h2g2 Researchers should ultimately refer only to the official rules, backed up with guidance from the h2g2 Editors, and not to anything anyone else writes, which necessarily represents that individual's own particular view, and may be inaccurate, incomplete or not up to date. We are, however, always ready to listen to proposals (preferably constructive ones!) re. the official rules, but can't get into debate about what is essentially an individual's particular opinion about these rules, even when as well-expressed as here.

Contents | Naughty Words | Links and URLs | Flames, Trolls, Abuse | The Law | Misc

Note: As of the 18th December 2002, I am no longer maintaining this page. If you would like to take responsibility for it, please apply at the Community Job Slot. Thank you.

This page aims to explain, expand on, and elucidate the House Rules of h2g2. All information here has been deduced from official entries, guidance given by the italics, and decisions made by moderators and Italics. Footnotes are provided giving appropriate links wherever possible. Where there are consistency or clarity problems, I will simply highlight them and move on. If you receive any emails which help with any of this, then please do let me know! Indeed, all help, questions, comments, insults, are all welcome - use the forums below.

The Rules

For ease of reference and downloading, the rules are provided in the following sections:

• Naughty Words - a list of the words that you can't say; some of the words that you can say; info on virtual spitting.
• Links and URLs - what you can link to; what you can't link to; when is a link not a link.
• Flames, Trolls, Abuse - when they're left visible and why; why the Italics, newbies, and trolls are special cases; what's racist, sexist, or offensive; name calling; local conventions.
• The Law - advocation, copyright, and defamation, specifically as they apply to h2g2.
• Misc - languages, personals, orientation, pretension, pictures, and punishment.

References

There are a variety of official and unofficial pages, which deal with varying aspects of this quagmire. I list them here, in no particular order.

• h2g2 FAQ: Moderation - says little, but says it a nice and friendly way.
• h2g2 FAQ: Heavy Legal Stuff - now mostly links to official BBC policy.
• [hub] DNA and Intellectual Property Law - excellent entry on copyright and 'fair use' law in the UK.
• DNA and Defamation[hub] - a brief introduction to defamation as it relates to DNA sites like h2g2.
• Peer Moderation Pilot Project[hub] - an introduction to the new peer moderation scheme on h2g2.
• Zaphodistas' Workaround Guide - The Zaphodistas tell you how to get around some of the restrictions in a variety of cool ways. In particular, there are a bunch of ways of alleviating the 'no pictures' restriction.