1. What is your name?

Christopher Caldwell

2. Tell us something about you, your background, and what you've been up to lately?

When I started at E2 I had a miserable job at a university and lived in sunny California. I hated my life. I moved to Denver at the end of 2000 and have been much happier since.

I spent eight years working with at-risk teens at a residential treatment center before getting laid off. I've been focusing pretty heavily on writing since, although the need for money means that very little of my output is going to end up on E2.

3. How did you discover Everything, and how did you become a noder?

randir, who is a longtime friend of mine, sent me an e-mail with the text of this writeup by wolfdaddy. I followed a link back to this wonderful and weird site, and dove right in. I think I made level 4 in a week. I'd spend minutes crafting writeups instead of the weeks I spend now.

4. What are your favorite writeups -- both your own and from other noders?

I like a lot of my own stuff, even some of the things I wrote that make me wince with their awfulness. Everything placed here on everything2 represents a period in my life, and for purely selfish reasons it's nice to be able to re-experience certain moments. Submerged seems overly labored and precious to me now, but it's a favorite for sentimental reasons. I am still genuinely fond of Not too near, and I am the one hiding under your bed; teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red. particularly since the latter was the most difficult story for me to write; they both have their genesis with a moment of weirdness in Los Angeles back in 2000. All things truly wicked was written at Clarion West during the week with the professional editor. It was very well-received, was, in fact, my best received story of the entire workshop. I feel that it represented a turning point for me, and remains a favorite because of that, even if it's one of the least popular entries in the Von Wicked chronicles.

A lot of my favorite writeups by other noders are now gone. But there still are plenty I've fallen in love with. I love Universal Studios Tour Guide, by factgirl. You are going to need to get a big princess type dress. I CANNOT fight for the honor of someone wearing cowgirl pjs is something I read again and again. She was cilantro, jalapeño, habanero. She was the hot plate you must not touch. by izubachi is also a quirky favorite. Requiem Aeternam by Jet-Poop is hilarious and horrifying. Tag, you're dead by Dimview is gruesome fun, especially since I've seen the bridge they raced across. I'm fond of The Madame retrieves that which is hers by dichotomyboi. dannye's all the gold you can eat is touching and beautiful. And I simply cannot express how happy I am Ask moJoe : Advice for the Criminally Confused still exists.

5. What are your favorite and least favorite memories from E2's history?

The Halloween quest from 2006 was enormous fun. If I'm honest, I think April Troll's Day was marvelous, and I'm glad I got to participate in it. Going to Denmark for the first time and meeting the lovely dimview and whole host of other wonderful noders had me rethinking my longtime relunctance to attend nodermeets.

As far as least favorite memories, there was a particularly unpleasant user whose presence drove me to drink and very nearly drove me from the site. That person is gone now, but has left a bad taste in my mouth. The fallout from the changes in copyright policy was unpleasant, even if necessary. It resulted in a few original works of mine being nuked because I had included my real name.

6. What keeps you coming back?

Masochism. Well, love, really. But aren't those two sort of the same thing?

7. What do you hope for E2's future?

Graceful aging?

8. What does E2 mean to you?

It represents an attitude from my youth that I hope I never lose.

9. Who are your favorite noders? Which ones do you miss the most?

If I really were to name all my favorite noders, it'd be a long, boring list. There are so many people here that I admire and have admired for years, that even attempting to make a list would inexcusably leave out someone whom I adore.

I miss knifegirl, moJoe, SheThing, hramyaegr, Anacreon, ideath. There are tons of other fled noders whose writing I miss, but I've managed to keep in contact with most of them through the magic of the internet.

10. Who would play you in the Everything2 movie?

Wentworth Miller, because he's dreamy. I don't care that he's older than I am.

11. Please fill in the blank: "E2 is to the Internet as ___ is to the world."

Arkham Asylum.

12. Any questions that I didn't ask that I should've?

I'm sure there are. But they're probably questions I wouldn't want to answer publicly.

Everything2 Decaversary Interviews

If you have questions or comments, please contact Evil Catullus or Jet-Poop.

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