1. What is your name?
My name is Reinier Post.
2. What is your quest?
I never thought I had a quest, but I seem to be a pleaser.
I want to make people feel good. For myself, I like things of beauty.
3. What is your favorite color?
#DC143C
4. How did you discover Everything, and how did you become a noder?
I don't recall - I suppose it was mentioned on Slashdot.
I visited the site and was mesmerized - simple and beautiful, very easy for people to contribute, very unpredictable what would result. It was the first site that revolved around user-contributed content (on Slashdot, it is important but still side notes to someone els's article). It appeared to work very well. The 512 char limit was a stroke of genius (apparently accidental).
5. What do you see as the most significant changes that have happened to Everything over the past decade?
Hard to choose. There are two. The change to E2 was extreme (dropping the 512 char limit and allowing multiple writeups per node). The subsequent maturing was even more interesting but it took much longer (over 6 months). It was exciting but after the dust had settled, I became a read-only visitor, because I wasn't interested in writing essays or short stories. So I'm not much of a veteran.
6. What are your favorite writeups -- both your own and from other noders?
Whew. There is so much. Among my own nodes, the ones I care about explain an idea that I find interesting and that isn't quite commonplace, e.g. Turing machine, Turning into traffic, Etienne Geoffroy St. Hilaire, two-fold cost of sex, Why Descartes should be Resurrected and then Shot, Cambrian explosion, Why is American cheese orange?.
I also enjoy these from other noders, but the nodes I like most describe ideas tied to experiences. E.g. prole's, Templeton's, iceowl's. I recently switched computers so I can't mention many authors. The best nodes are both a joy to read and educational in some way.
7. What are your favorite and least favorite memories from E2's history?
During maturing, some developments left a distinct aftertaste - some bad, such as certain remarks on the actions of editors by a noder called Jet-Poop that left a bad smell unto this day, even though as far as I know they were never repeated, and the exorcism performed on the noder called DMan - some good, such as the gradual fixing of the problems with new features (Node Heaven was a big one) and extensive, clear policy documents.
8. What keeps you coming back?
I sometimes check for new writeups but good new writeups have become rare. I frequently check old writeups, sometimes my own to see if there is anything to improve. And even though there is Wikipedia, I still occasionally consult E2 on fact-finding searches.
9. What do you hope for E2's future?
I hope the nodegel will be preserved. I don't envisage much development on the noding front - the site seems complete, somehow.
10. What does E2 mean to you?
A community (but not mine), a place for wonderful creative, educational, and expressive writing, and a landmark in web history.
11. Is E2 a writing site, a community site, an online encyclopedia, or something else? What should it be?
It is all of those combined, and intertwined, as it should be.
12. Who are your favorite noders? Which ones do you miss the most?
I can't tell, there's too many of them. I miss Gritchka, for instance.
13. Who would play you in the Everything2 movie?
The loony bum on the street.
14. Any questions that I didn't ask that I should've?
Not that I know.
Everything2 Decaversary Interviews
If you have questions or comments, please contact rp or Jet-Poop.