Howdy folks, as many of you know, we’ve started something new for us here at E2 called Letters to the Editors. So far, the response from the people that use this place has been what I would call under whelming but maybe it’ll improve over time. On the other hand, I did delete over three hundred pieces of spam. Here’s a sampling of some of your submissions so far.
Hey hey.
There are no ads on or for Everything2 anywhere, so it seems unlikely
that E2 has a "business model" in the usual sense of the word.
Nevertheless I would like to know about E2's financial situation..
How much does it cost to run E2?
Who, apart from generous noders, provides this money?
Where and how exactly is the money spent?
Are we in the red or in the black?
Where does extra money come from when it's needed?
Where does extra money go when it's not needed?
Is E2 profitable, and if so, who profits?
Yours,
sam512
Well, in an effort to get to the bottom of this, I tried contacting Nate and all I could get was his secretary who sounded suspiciously like our very own jessicapierce. When I commented on the similarities she issued a vehement denial and she then informed me that this was the time of year when he usually vacations in his villa in the south of France. When I pressed her on the matter and told her the nature of the call, she immediately patched me through. After being placed on hold for what seemed like an eternity and even though it was hard to hear him amongst the clinking of champagne glasses and other assorted sounds of merriment, he referred me to the one and only semi-retired recluse Dem Bones who just happened to be down in the Caribbean with his team of attorneys looking for an island he could use as a tax shelter. After broaching the aforementioned subject and telling him the nature of my call, Bones replied that he would have his ‘boys” get in touch with you. His voice seemed to sound somehow sinister.
In all seriousness though, I’m not privy to the financial state, matters, and dealings of E2. It’s just something that I never thought to ask and if you were to ask me personally, I’ve gotten much more out of it in terms of knowledge, friendship and camaraderie than I’ve put in monetarily. I’m not saying that your questions aren’t valid; it’s just that I don’t think of E2 in those terms. That being said, my boss advises me that if I want to keep my job, I should just bury the whole issue.
Nah, just kidding again . He said that he refers any questions of this nature to clampe. Maybe you should do the same.
Hope that helps…
Borgo
E2 and Ambiguity
As a new member of e2 I have look forward to having a place to practice and refine my writing skills (whether they exist is still up for speculation).
However, I have found a bit of ambiguity with the "XP" system. I understand that the points are next to meaningless, but as someone who wishes to better my writing skills I have often wondered if a positive or negative vote (especially the negative votes) are referring to the writing and readability of the article, or if the reader just did not like the subject of the article or what I had to say.
I realize I am coming in as a new user and stepping on the toes of almost eight years (?) of work, but I was wondering if some kind of system (through voting or an easier system of "review") can be implemented to clear up these questions, and help us all to become better writers.
sirspens
Well, first off let me start by saying welcome to the site. E2 is fine place to hone your skills. At times, for whatever reason, we've been known to be a pretty tough audience (especially on beginners). Hopefully that concept is undergoing change and evolving to a more long term thought process than it has been in the past.
That being said, the "XP" system has been the subject of many a debate over the years and so far this is the best that has been come up with. The negative (downvotes) could be for an infinite number of reasons. It could be the result of the content itself, a difference over opinion, a personality conflict, a person just having themselves a bad day and taking it out on others or somebody engaging in the practice of "vote dumping" in order to get some XP when they've used up their daily quota.
Of course, a more valuable way of getting feedback is to have someone /msg you with their reasons for downvoting but, sorry to say, its been my experience that it rarely happens.
Such is the price for remaining anonymous.
Borgo
In closing...
There were a couple of other letters that had some suggestions as to the rotation of the editorial staff and what the qualifications one has to have in order to wear the title of “Editor”. Since they mentioned several specific noders, I didn’t think it would be fair to them to have their name brought to the attention of the public. Nobody likes to be caught off guard but I’m told Lord Brawl is aware of these concerns.
There were also a couple of other letters regarding nukes, nodes that were superceded, and some matters regarding the c-box. Those too mentioned noders by name and in fairness to all, won’t be made public. They did merit a private response though.
That’s it for March, 2006 folks! Keep those cards and letters coming to e2editors@gmail.com.