A little late with one more Decaversary interview -- clampe found out about the interviews late, and it didn't feel right to exclude him just because he was late to the party.
1. What is your name?
Clifford Arthur Cochise Lampe
2. What is your quest?
Knowledge. And the perfect reuben sandwich.
3. What is your favorite color?
That color you see just before you pass out.
4. How did you discover Everything, and how did you become a noder?
I was having dinner with nate at the Sandpiper in Holland, MI. He was describing this project he was part of with the other Slashdot guys, and I thought it was a cool idea. This was back in the days of E1, so nate made me an account, and I started writing some stuff. I was always more interested in the social processes than the content.
5. What do you see as the most significant changes that have happened to Everything over the past decade?
There have been many. The switch to E2. The ignominous defeat of dem bones in single combat that caused Wikipedia to win. The decision to enforce the copyright of other people. It could be the most significant change is what we didn't change. Whoa.
6. What are your favorite writeups -- both your own and from other noders?
Lots of them are gone. Brian Eno is a favorite. I loved Underground Tokyo. Mostly I have favorite writers rather than favorite writeups.
7. What are your favorite and least favorite memories from E2's history?
God help me, I've really enjoyed nodermeets in the past. One of my favorite memories was seeing the sheer creativity that's come through on the site. Least favorite memories are often around conflict and my own inadequacies. The Terms of Use debacle of a year or so ago sucked.
8. What keeps you coming back?
I still find the social processes really interesting.
9. What do you hope for E2's future?
I got more than hope in my holster mister. We're working to make E2 a productive site to research the dynamics of online interaction. I even got me a National Science Foundation grant to do that. We also have some neat opportunities to change the site, but really I'm fine with leaving it as it is. I'd like fresh blood, and have ideas about that.
10. What does E2 mean to you?
Hmm. I believe it is a shorthand term for Everything2.
11. Is E2 a writing site, a community site, an online encyclopedia, or something else? What should it be?
Man, I've got more data on this than the average duck. I see it as a community site, but the *vast* majority of our users, who are anonymous, read to be informed and entertained, and don't care about the community. Many, many of our contributors don't really care about the community features. I think the trick will be to support multiple uses of the site, and not get too hung up about our personal beliefs about how people *should* be interacting with it.
12. Who are your favorite noders? Which ones do you miss the most?
Too many to name. I loved nate, dem bones, thefez and the rest of the geeks and mutants before the site was created, and will love them long after it's on the ash heap of history. I miss sensei like any sane man would. I really really miss knifegirl, jessicapierce, donfreenut, yossarian, DMan and many many more.
13. Who would play you in the Everything2 movie?
John Goodman
14. Any questions that I didn't ask that I should've?
How is the evil Blockstackers corporation and Michigan State University getting rich off the sweat of our brows? (Answer: we've sold the rights to an E2 graphic novel)
Everything2 Decaversary Interviews
If you have questions or comments, please contact clampe or Jet-Poop.