Everything2 exists as a writer's site so you would expect to have people contributing writeups and maintaining site infrastructure; this writeup is an attempt to identify people who helped shape site dynamics during 2011. Invaluable as a research tool during preparation of this writeup was ascorbic's catbox archive. While the number of writeups each nominated individual contributed was not available for everyone, it was included where applicable in an attempt to determine if there was a correlation between number of writeups posted and nomination of the following people:
1. misterfuffie
2. Jet-Poop
3. Zephronias
4. The Custodian
5. Auspice
6. OldMiner
7. Aerobe
8. The Debutante and jessicaj
9. Tem42
10. Halspal and Noung
User Halspal posted zero writeups that remain visible during 2011 however Halspal offered to contribute cash to the fourth annual Iron Noder Challenge. He has put up cash contributions before, but this year the cash was awarded. The 2011 Challenge was was the most prolific to date. Many factors may have driven users to sign up so it is difficult to assess how much weight each factor should be assigned however prize money could have been an influencing factor that increased user participation in the contest as well as writeup quality.
There was a two way tie for the number 10 spot on the list. Staff member Noung also accumulated 19 points during the nomination process. During 2011 Noung posted 29 writeups. Not everyone gave reasons for their choices however two of the people who nominated Noung gave him credit for his work as an author. His fiscal stimulus writeup was followed by DonJaime's post on the same topic which suggests that E2 would not have the second writeup without the first.
Tem42 collected 22 votes during the nomination process. As an editor he did not post any logs however he contributed an impressive 123 writeups to E2 during 2011. A normally quiet user Tem42 ran an informal contest to top the wall of shame in a twenty-four hour period. His efforts to chat publicly, include other users, take on The Iron Noder Challenge, and his dedication to consistent voting, cooling and distributing Editorial Cools were all factors likely to have helped him win a spot on the list of influential people.
Eighth on the list was another two way tie and introduces female users as those who were nominated as influential. Another staff member deserving of recognition for her behind the scenes efforts is The Debutante who also owns the gin soaked account. The Debutante posted 22 writeups, 11 as gin soaked, and an additional 11 under her own user name. This past year she was quieter than normal by her own admission however with her accident, book writing and general real life responsibilities I think we can cut her some slack if people feel that any is needed.
Typing my own name here is strange. I posted 64 writeups during 2011 however I pulled one down so I get credit only for 63. As a vocal site member, my user name is frequently found on ascorbic's most talkative list. According to the Iron Noder 2011: The Results my 30 Iron writeups made the greatest lasting contribution to our important work. I am honored to have been chosen for an award and have given RACECAR's ceramic trout that accompanied Halspal's prize money a chance to view E2 whenever I type in my user name and password.
Aerobe was nominated as the seventh most influential user. This past November she undertook running the Iron Noder Challenge and participated in it as well, keeping her cool while E2 battled site unreliability. Posting writeups to Reddit has allowed Aerobe to increase the number of hits on various posts. She also ran THE DREAD CHAMBER and the Secret Santa Summer Nodeshell Challenge 2011, both of which influenced the number of writeups we had during the time those quests were running. During 2011 Aerobe posted 80 writeups and earned a total of 25 nomination points.
With 13 writeups to his credit OldMiner is the sixth most influential user on the list with a total of 38 points. As someone who is responsible for behind the scenes coding and maintenance, E2 as a user base owes this man a great deal because it is frustrating to everyone when the site goes down for any reason and people start complaining, forgetting about the times that things ran well due to the efforts of our coding team.
Auspice, with an indeterminate number of writeups and 50 total points is fifth on the list of users who were credited as influential. The quests Auspice ran generated many new writeups. Her story time writeups drove other people to post, she actively sought out nodermeets and in general tried to push E2. As a former staff member Auspice was another user who put up a monetary reward for the Iron Noder Challenge although her prize went to The Custodian who is next on the list of influential people.
2011 saw an additional 82 posts from The Custodian who is also a staff member here on E2. The Custodian routinely posts well received fiction and illuminating factuals. He has also dealt with other people trying to take credit for his work which has been influential in terms of negative outside attention. The Custodian is prolific, he drops in to chat in the catbox and his serial fiction demonstrates that this site can be used to work a story arc although few people choose to use it that way. When I first joined this site The Custodian was a member of the gods group. He left that when real life interfered and I feel that we are blessed to have him back in an editorial capacity.
Zephronias posted 120 writeups during the past 12 months. She is frequently in the catbox which makes her visible as a user and is currently in second place on ascorbic's list of most talkative people this week. Zephronias collected the most chings during the Iron Noder quest with a total of 43. Her drive and personality are unmistakable, she is another fiction writer whose work has been extremely well received and deserves credit for amassing so many writeups in such a short time while remaining in school.
When I asked Jet-Poop who he thought was influential, he replied that he had forgotten much of what happened earlier in 2011. When I mentioned that he was on the list, the ever humble Jet-Poop said he hadn't done anything special. Jet-Poop via Decaversal Studios may have been responsible for the return of more previously active users than any other member of this site. Jet-Poop votes regularly, his cool archive is mammoth, he is a presence in the catbox and he is responsible for generating a new Horrorquest each year. 2011 saw 33 Jet-Poop writeups posted under his own name and 28 interviews under his Decaversal Studios alias.
It's sad to see that the user with 74 points and the top spot on the list is no longer actively participating. Before his departure for a quest that will take him out of the country he calls home misterfuffie generated 175 writeups. He chose not to contribute to the Iron Noder Challenge however IWhoSawTheFace was the recipient of an award he dangled in front of the E2 userbase. While his quests did not produce many new writeups, he used his editorial powers to cool writeups he wanted Guest User to see more frequently. Talkative in the catbox, he offered some unique insights into the life of a soldier and honorably chose to transfer his writeups to the everyone account instead of removing them from our collective view. If I am allowed a personal note I would like to recommend that people listen to the podcast where the technicolor sky writeup is read by the author.
A goal of this writeup was to try and identify what made people influential: whether it was the number of writeups posted, how talkative they were in the catbox, participation in THE IRON NODER CHALLENGE, length of E2 membership, being a member of the Everything2 staff, running a quest, an X factor, unusual circumstances, or an unquantifiable such as personality type. An anonymous user has volunteered to put available data into a table which will shed more light on what factors are involved in identifying a user as someone who is influential.
Influence can be a positive or detrimental thing, please remember that E2 is a collection of people whose actions and reactions are constantly shaping the database for better or for worse as few actions are neutral. If you are not an outgoing person there are still ways you can be influential. Users without votes or C!'s can participate in quests, offer feedback, chat and contribute to podcasts. Gratitude is owed to everyone who sent in nominations, this writeup would not have been possible without your recommendations. If you have suggestions for ways to improve data collection or the nomination process please know that your ideas are welcome and every effort shall be made to include them next year.