If h2g2 is about anything, it's about the people who come to the site. And there are loads of ways you can contribute to the growing body of knowledge, wit and wisdom that is h2g2. Just by reading this, you're contributing. But for slightly more active ways to participate, please read on.

What Can I Write About?

You can write about anything you want on h2g2 (provided it doesn't break the House Rules). To do this you have to be a registered member. Once you are registered you become one of our Researchers, and you can start writing by creating an Entry. To get started, just click on the Write an Entry button on the right hand side of the site. You can write your Entry in plain text or format it for the web with GuideML. For more information read our Entry FAQs.

New and Approved

At the core of h2g2 are its Approved Entries, which make up the official, editorially sanctioned part of the site. These are so-named because they adhere to our Writing Guidelines, are sub-edited by volunteers and checked by the Guide Editors. The only rules are that we ask them to be lively, accurate, and factual (although if you fancy breaking those rules, fiction, poetry and other forms of alternative writing can be found in The Post). They also have to pass through a process called Peer Review to qualify for inclusion. By clicking on Categories, you can browse the many thousands of Entries on a range of subjects that have already made it through the process.

If you want to submit your own Entry to be considered for the Approved version of h2g2, you can do so by entering it into Peer Review. There is more information about the process in our Peer Review FAQs.

Talking the Talk

You can also contribute to h2g2 by simply joining in with one of our many conversation threads. h2g2 is as much about the community built up around Entries as it is about the Entries themselves. Once you are registered you can join in with the conversations attached to any Entries, or start conversations relating to them yourself. This is a great way to start getting involved in the site and making new friends online. You can also take part in Forums such as Ask h2g2 (where you can pose burning questions for the h2g2 community to answer), try and set brainteasers in the Games Room or seek answers to knotty scientific conundrums in SEx - Science Explained.

You can also join in with Conversations attached to Entries that are making their way through Peer Review. If the subject matter is something you are interested in or have particular knowledge of, you can join in with other Researchers adding suggestions or corrections. If you're thinking about writing your own Entry and submitting it to the Approved version of the site, this is often a great way of getting an insight into the way Approved Entries are collaboratively written.

h2g2 Needs You!

And if all that wasn't enough, you can play an even more active role in the site by becoming a Volunteer. Our volunteers include Aces, Scouts and Sub-editors. These volunteers help in various tasks, and are the beating heart of the site. (They also get shiny h2g2 badges for their Personal Spaces.) To find out how to become a volunteer please visit the h2g2 Volunteers page.

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