it's not what you node, but how you node

When I describe everything to my friends, I call it a group creative writing experience. Because in votes and cools, those Everything scooby snacks, it's all about having a new thought, and expressing it well.

This seems to surprise and annoy a lot of people who seem to think that everything is a dictionary. It doesn't surprise me.

Experiences are interesting.

Information is boring.

Tell me a story instead.

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Actually, dman, being a geek girl is pretty much what makes Everything information boring. I have access to information sources much more lengthy and factual than what I'm likely to find in Everything, and I drink from that firehose all day long. Information is ubiquitous; worthwhile non-fact-based data is the rare commodity in my world. Isn't it in yours?

I am sorry imago but I totally disagree with you.

You see, Everything (for me anyways) is not a collection of life experiences. No, it is not a purely informational database either. It is a nice mix of both, and each side contains enough interest to keep me glued to Everything for days.

Do you think Webster_1913 was created to tell a story? No I don't think so. His existence rebukes your claim that Everything is not a dictionary, because it is, but a lot more as well.

I like Everything because it is a massive database on anything you can possibly think of. Not because of its wonderful collection of short stories, but because it is a flexible collection of information.

Stories are interesting, but then again, sometimes I don't really care about some of the stories. They pique my interest once in a while. But usually, I don't care. If I wanted a story, I would go talk to some people in real life, not on Everything, because, frankly, I think Everything is not the type of medium for emotional commuincation.

Information is boring?!? And you claim to be a geek girl in your home node? What makes a story so much more interesting than a good informing node? Nothing I can think of.

If you are going to treat Everything as an network of "stories", then why don't we just rename Everything to Everyone's Diaries? Or perhaps even Storytime? Or better yet, dem bones' Wonderful Stories? That way it would be more aptly named.

I am not saying Everything be restricted to a pure database. But I strongly disagree with your stance on factual nodes and information, as well as "stories". Stories are usually boring and inane. As is information. It is looking for the magical stuff that is really interesting that matters.

I agree with imago, ansate, andDMan.

How can that be? To me, Everything is like an interesting conversation. Sometimes I want to listen to a story, Sometimes I want to tell a story. Sometimes I want to listen to a rant, political, social, or otherwise. Sometimes I want to do the ranting.

Sometimes I just don't know what I am going to find. I watch the Random Nodes, and the New Writeups, and I learn something I never knew before.

But, mostly, it is the sense of dialogue that I feel. I have only been here for a few days, but I find that Everything is like the most wonderful person I could ever hope have a conversation with, ready to interest me, offend me, fascinate me--and listen to me.

Like the Whole Earth Catalogue, the Memex, like human thought and memory itself, Everything proceeds by association. And links by accretion.

I keep thinking of the phrase information superhighway, does anyone remember that? This was the dream for the internet originally. But what has replaced that? Ecommerce. No longer the free exchange of conversation, but the buying and selling of things.

When I am away, I think about where I have left off--and where I am going to take it up again.