The H2G2 Wilde awards are awarded by the Academy of Wit and Eloquence (AWE) to members of the H2G2 community in recognition of outstanding service to the English language, though wit, word play, or a particularly apt, imaginative, or fitting turn of phrase during conversations or entries on H2G2. They are to reward verbal dexterity, rapier wit, or just a delicious turn of phrase!

The awards are named after Oscar Wilde, Irish novelist, playwright and wit. I was going to call these the"Oscars", but I'm told that that name is already gone :-)

Rules for awards

The Award Process

1. Nominations can be posted here
2. After the end of the nomination period, each researcher whose witticism has been nominated is approached, and asked if he or she wishes to accept the nomination.
3. A vote is taken, and the winner is announced!
4. The winner and the nominee are invited to join the academy

• The right to use the phrase "Wilde Award Nominee" or "AWE - WAn!" in his or her title
• The right to show off in h2g2 threads by posting links directly to their place in the 'roll of honour'.
  
  <./>A722053#AWE_001</.> will link to the section detailing the first recipient
  
  <./>A722053#AWE_005</.> will link to the section detailing the fifth recipient
  
  &c.

This is, apart from some very minor changes, how Otto Fisch (14 shirt)(Now moved under the Bosman ruling) wanted this page to run, but the academy has always been open to suggestions!

Members of the Academy of Wit and Eloquence

Academy members are either previous award winners, or have been invited, as above, and are charged with the duty of seeking out shining examples of wit and eloquence. If you would like to become a member of the academy, please post to the Academy nomination list below and subscribe to the conversations on this page.

Current members of the Academy are:

Otto Fisch (14 shirt)(Now moved under the Bosman ruling)

Demon Drawer (Really wishing he could put what he wants in here, but he's not upst with hootoo)

Marjin, After a long time of procrastination back lurking

Researcher 188007

Bagheera: Spellchecker, Grammarian Pedant, Semiquavering Secretary and member of the Punctuation Police

J. B. Yoder

Monsignore Pizzafunghi Bosselese

six7s

John the Blabtist

Friar

Ictoan S.H.A.D.O.W. Secretary - AWE - WAWi

Academy of Wit and Eloquence Roll of Honour

Wilde Award Winners

• The ninth Wilde Award was presented to Xanatic, juice for Allah on the 1^st of August, 2006 for post 9 in the 'Do weather systems rotate backwards in the Antipodes?" thread.
  Post 9    So if you're drunk in the southern hemisphere does the room spin the opposite way?


• The eighth Wilde Award was presented to Ictoan S.H.A.D.O.W. Secretary - AWE - WAWi on the 4^th of May, 2004 for post 96 in the 'What's WRONG with The FR*NCH' thread.
  Post 91    ...Personally I'm just sitting here watching him dig a bigger and bigger hole for himself....
  Post 95    ... an extremely offensive, xenophobic and pointless conversation ... we should be trying to build bridges...
  Post 96   Never mind building bridges, the way he's going we'll soon have a second chunnel


• Winner seven was Son of Roj Blake - Greetings Donkey Kong!, who produced two fantastic pastiches of romantic poetry to mark the imminent departure of the Imperial Lord Moxon. They're at post 37 and post 40 in this conversation . This is very possibly one of the greatest winning entries ever. Sadly, there's not space to do it full justice here.


• Winner six was Potholer, who wins the award for some well-aimed and topical M*icr*s*ft abuse during a conversation about impending asteroid doom. It's posting 17. "If the name NT7 *is* a Microsoft plot, the asteroid will probably arrive 3 years late, hit the moon by mistake, and then turn out to have been made from hot air and bulls**t."


• The fifth winner was the most difficult decion yet, and went to Frogbit's last day on H2G2...Bye! for this little gem which proves the old adage that timing is everything, and even a frankly terrible pun can win such a prestigeous award if deployed correctly. It's post number 3, but you'll need to read the first two to get it!


• Winner number four was Just zis Guy, you know? † Cyclist [A690572] :: At the 51st centile of ursine intelligence for the following observation in peer review discussion on an entry entitled simply "why": "That's why blokes are so argumentative - it's all those "why" chromosomes." It can be found lurking here at post 18.


• The third Wilde Award Winner was Marjin, After a long time of procrastination back lurking for describing football as "the game where you put a ball with half a foot radius on a ball with 6000 km radius, and then try to kick the small ball instead of the large one?" . This entry was commended for true Douglas Adams / Hitchikers style detached viewpoint humour. It can be found on its homeboy turf here at post 6.


• The second Wilde Award Winner was Demon Drawer (Really wishing he could put what he wants in here, but he's not upst with hootoo), for responding to a question about how we know other researchers exist (rather than being, say, AI scripts) by claiming to be "a series of hyper lucky monkeys who writes coherent articles". This article combines genuine wit with a Hitchiker's reference, and is thus a worthy winner. Click here and scroll down to post 39.


• The first Wilde Award Winner was Cloviscat, for the coining of the phrase "social chicken" to describe the process of whether or not to contact old friends whom you haven't been in touch with for ages, or to wait for them to contact you. To see the phrase in its natural habitat, click here and scroll down to post 6.