Well, I'm an adminstrator type around here. In my view my primary job here is to help people write better, in whatever ways I can. That's why they call us "Content Editors" and not simply "Content Deleters" (although that is an incidental part of the job from time to time). In my view, your primary job here is to write good nodes, and to ask myself or other Editors any and all questions you may have. If you think about it, Content Editors are a pretty cool thing - we are here 24/7 as a free resource to help you write well. Please use us!

How to craft a factual writeup

1. Research, research, research. Finished? Okay, go research some more. You may have missed something!

2. In all seriousness, if you are doing your research on the internet, you should draw upon at least three sources in composing your writeup. I consider this a bare minimum. Otherwise you are not really contributing anything that somebody couldn't find with a Google search and a few quick mouse clicks. If your main source is a book, it may be acceptable to use only one source (particularly if it is a rare or hard-to-find book), but even then, aren't you just parroting somebody else's words?

3. Read your sources through a few times until you are familiar with them, and then, and this is crucial, write your writeup from memory and in your own words. Anything less is plagiarism, and besides, one of the main benefits of contributing to E2 is the opportunity to develop and refine your own writing voice; this will not happen if you just reword and rework someone else's sentences.

4. Lastly, cite your sources if you have paraphrased or quoted from somebody else, or if you have noded something controversial and anticipate people wanting you to prove it (it's always a good idea to cover your rear in case some smartass comes knocking on your node). Note that you do not have to cite any sources at all if you are noding commonly known facts that are readily available from a variety of sources.

Stop! Go contribute a line to The Everything Poem

Check out my ongoing projects:

An original, all-new translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - only available here on E2!

Japanese History

Chinese History - MASSIVE UPDATE 3/29/04 Jin, Ming, and Qing Dynasties finally outlined!

American History

Everything India Encyclopedia

A few of my favorite noders, for various reasons, but mostly because they write ridiculously good stuff:

sekicho, Gorgonzola, dannye, TheBooBooKitty, CatherineB, hashbrownie, RalphyK, gn0sis, aneurin, Footprints, jessicapierce, Walter, Shro0m, allseeingeye, Jet-Poop, Orange Julius, anyend, junkpile, etouffee, Bitriot, prole, Templeton, Jack, Dimview, liontamer, dem bones

Thanks go out to these people who provided encouragement and helpful advice when I was just getting started: Billy, dannye, Gritchka, TheBooBooKitty, liveforever, riverrun

A little about me for the curious: Age: 28
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Current Location: Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Castles I've visited:

Original

• Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle
• Himeji Castle
• Hikone Castle
• Inuyama Castle
• Kochi Castle
• Maruoka Castle
• Matsumoto Castle
• Matsue Castle
• Matsuyama Castle
• Nijo Castle
• Uwajima Castle

Modern Reconstructions

• Iga Ueno Castle
• Kumamoto Castle
• Okayama Castle
• Osaka Castle
• Shimabara Castle

Ruins

• Ako Castle
• Kanazawa Castle
• Nagashino Castle
• Tomioka Castle
• Tsurumaru Castle
• Urado Castle

Mountains I've summited, in ascending order of height (minimum 400 meters):

Tenguzuka, 440 meters, Takarazuka, Japan
Mount Iwakura, 488.4 meters, Takarazuka, Japan
Mount Tamalpais, 784 meters, Marin County, California
Mount Rokko, 931 meters, Kobe, Japan
Mount Washington, 1,917 meters, New Hampshire
Mount Whitney, 4,418 meters, California

Some years I have noded: 660 BC | 403 BC | 4 BC | 1BC | 61 | 69 | 174 | 638 | 655 | 666 | 742 | 905 | 1066 | 1084 | 1102 | 1164 | 1176 | 1189 | 1210 | 1227 | 1263 | 1291 | 1334 | 1348 | 1390 | 1400 | 1405 | 1406 | 1421 | 1487 | 1491 | 1504 | 1519 | 1523 | 1525 | 1528 | 1541 | 1564 | 1573 | 1574 | 1575 | 1576 | 1577 | 1578 | 1579 | 1580 | 1581 | 1582 | 1583 | 1584 | 1585 | 1586 | 1587 | 1588 | 1589 | 1590 | 1591 | 1592 | 1593 | 1594 | 1595 | 1596 | 1597 | 1599 | 1600 | 1601 | 1602 | 1616 | 1626 | 1627 | 1628 | 1629 | 1636 | 1637 | 1638 | 1639 | 1640 | 1820 | 1825 | 1827 | 1867 | 1872 | 1885 | 1893 | 1898 | 1899 | 1900 | 1906 | 1911 | 1912 | 1918 | 1935 | 1942 | 1947 | 1959 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1971 | 1974 | 1988 | 1997 | 2050

My nodeshare as of March 25, 2007:

127
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