Awwwwwwww yeaaaah. It's that time of year again. The time when we separate the hard from the soft. The myths from the legends. The tin...from the IRON.

Presenting, the ninth annual edition of...

THE IRON NODER CHALLENGE

Many hundreds have tried. Mere tens have succeeded. Do you think you have what it takes to enter the hallowed HALL OF THE IRON?

Actually, when you think about it, it's not even that hard. All you have to do is... Write 30 things worth reading in 30 days.

Last year we had 8 IRON NODERS, an appropriate number for our 8th year. Since this is our 9th year, our goal is to have at least NINE noders go ferrous. Should we achieve this goal together, all participants reaching IRON NODER status will receive a bonus reward of 900 GP, and all participants with at least one writeup will receive a bonus of 90 GP.

This is all in addition to the usual individual rewards, which are as follows:

  • WET PAPER NAPKIN NODERS who sign up for the quest but never get around to writing a writeup will still receive a 10 GP bonus for (arguably) good intentions.
  • TIN NODERS who write between 1 and 4 writeups will receive 5 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 50 GP for their participation.
  • ALUMIN(I)UM NODERS who write between 5 and 9 writeups will receive 10 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 100 GP for their participation.
  • BRASS NODERS who who write between 10 and 19 writeups will receive 15 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 150 GP for their participation.
  • BRONZE NODERS who who write between 20 and 29 writeups will receive 20 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 200 GP for their participation.
  • IRON NODERS who who write between 30 and 39 writeups will receive 30 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 300 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • STEEL NODERS who who write between 40 and 49 writeups will receive 40 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 400 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • STAINLESS STEEL NODERS who who write between 50 and 99 writeups will receive 50 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 500 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • TITANIUM NODERS who who write between 100 and 199 writeups will receive 100 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 1000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • ORICHALCUM NODERS who who write between 200 and 299 writeups will receive 200 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 2000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • MITHRIL NODERS who who write between 300 and 399 writeups will receive 300 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • VIBRANIUM NODERS who who write between 400 and 499 writeups will receive 400 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 4000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • ADAMANTIUM NODERS who who write more than 500 writeups will receive 500 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 5000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
  • The inimitable NANCEMUSE has generously offered up a reward of a $25.00 USD gift card/code to be awarded to the author of the most humorous writeup, as judged by a committee of our fellow noders.
  • The lovely LIZARDINLAW graciously offers rewards totalling $20.00 USD - $10 for the funniest writeup, and $10 for the best "serious" node (which does not necessarily mean factual).
  • If anyone wishes to sponsor any additional rewards or prizes, just /msg mauler!


But lest ye be tempted to count your gold before the IRON is forged, be sure to heed...

The Rules

  • The Iron Noder Challenge begins at 00:00 (server time) on November 1, 2016, and ends at 00:00 (server time) on December 1, 2016. Writeups submitted outside that timeframe will not be considered part of the quest.
  • To join the hallowed ranks of the IRON, you must submit 30 new writeups in 30 days. The IRON NODER IDEAL is 1 per day, but we must be flexible about that to allow for normal life circumstances, days away, illness, etc. Flooding New Writeups with 30 writeups in 1 day, while legal, would be frowned upon, and the E2 userbase would probably not react well.
  • Any topic, any form, anything goes.
  • There is no minimum or maximum length for writeups. They must simply survive. Nuked nodes will not count towards your total. For this reason, final rewards will not be dispensed until a couple of days after the December 1 deadline, to allow last-minute writeups to be voted on and pass muster with the editors.
  • Thou mayest write a maximum of 5 daylogs.
  • Thou mayest prepare material in advance. However if this stops you noding for the remainder of October, this would also go against the IRON NODER IDEAL.


If you would like to join, let me know via /msg, and I'll add you to the roster. There is nothing wrong with joining late; just don't forget to let me know!

We'll be utilizing the ironnoders usergroup for any major communications; if you're in the group now and are not on my confirmed IRON NODER list as of November 1st, you'll automatically be dropped from the group.

If you'd like to see more accurate updates than I have posted here, check out iron noder progress. It even shows which ones you've voted on!

Whether or not you're attempting the challenge, you may volunteer to read and vote on every write-up submitted in the quest. This year's panel of IRON VOTERS will consist of mauler, NanceMuse and anyone else who wants to join! Just /msg me and I'll add your name here (this is a great way to contribute to the quest if you don't have time to write actual writeups).

Need inspiration? Try Everything's Most Wanted, Random Nodeshells, the nodeshells on jessicapierce's scratch pad, The Custodian's Nodeshells I'd Like Filled, and wertperch's nodeshell challenge.

Good luck and remember, becoming IRON will echo through the ages, but rust never sleeps! Time to show us what you're made of!


The Iron Noders

Number of participants:
16
Number of writeups:
382
Average number of writeups:
23.88
Number of IRON NODERS:
10


Below are this year's participants. For up-to-the-minute standings, check out Iron Noder Progress!

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