H2G2 is a website founded by Douglas Adams and his friends at the Digital Village, which was launched in April 1999. When the dot-com bubble burst, it was taken over and run by the BBC, who after about ten years decided to abandon the site. From 24 June 2011, h2g2.com was in the hands of Not Panicking Ltd., which is owned in equal parts by Robbie Stamp, the Larholm couple (owners of Noesis Ltd.), and the community, represented by Field Researchers Ltd.. The site was completely run by volunteers, and appears to have folded.
It is a Wiki-like site in that it has articles that can be created by anyone who registers to the site. Its members are known as Researchers because of the founding principle for it to be an Earth Edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything. The articles, or Entries as they're usually known, are divided into two categories: Edited and Unedited. The Edited entries go through a process of Peer Review by fellow Researchers. Following comments and improvements by members the article may then be picked by a Scout who passes it onto a Sub-Editor for final polishing before it goes into the Edited Guide. Once in the Edited Guide it can only be changed by the staff.
Trivia[]
H2G2 is also a commonly used abbreviation of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
The product number of the Google Chromecast is H2G2, a reference to the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.