Greetings everyone. New face at Twin Galaxies
Dear Twin Galaxies community,
My name is Dave Hawksett and I have been working with Guinness World Records (GWR) since 2000. I was a full time staffer from 2000 to 2005 and have acted as a freelance contributing consultant ever since. I have written the bulk of their science and technology content for their annual book. I have also been fortunate to attend and adjudicate interesting events including the very first privately-funded manned space flight and both of the late Steve Fossett’s solo circumnavigations of the world in an aircraft.
My background is in astrophysics and planetary science and much of my career to date has revolved around engagement between the scientific community and other sectors, including the media, industry, government and the public.
While I was full-time at GWR video games was part of my portfolio. I re-established the relationship between GWR and Twin Galaxies in 2004 when I invited Walter and his team to join me in Sweden to help me adjudicate the world’s largest LAN party. Records about video games were clearly in demand as eventually GWR published a separate book to fit them all in. It’s pleasing to see that the Gamer’s book is still going strong.
I have always been a fan of what Twin Galaxies stands for and the service it provides to gaming culture. There certainly is some fascinating history along with some ups and downs along the way! The current incarnation under Jace Hall is impressive. The peer-review system for accepting records can be compared to the global scientific peer review system used by the likes of Science and Nature journals, and has a feeling of democracy and transparency.
As of today I am pleased to inform you that I have taken on a senior administrative role for Twin Galaxies. You will see my forum status change over the next few days or so.
There are a whole bunch of things for me to do in this position. The upcoming dispute system, which will add another layer of democracy and transparency, will be a big priority for me. As with all of the functionality of our website, the dispute system is something I regard as beyond cutting-edge and into the experimental.
I will be spending a lot of time researching everything about Twin Galaxies and our community and am keen to engage with all members. I would like to know about your experiences, what you like and dislike about Twin Galaxies’ systems and processes, what works well and what does not. I will be available to speak with anyone who wishes to via Skype, for example. You can find me by searching for David Hawksett.
The Twin Galaxies community has a huge amount of passion as well as lots of very deep expertise. I look forward to finding out as much as I can, with your help. As a long-term gamer myself I also look forward to working on making Twin Galaxies an even better place for all who love video games.
Dave Hawksett
Administration