Awwwwwwww yeaaaah. It's that time of year again. The time when we separate the hard from the soft. The myths from the legends. The tin...from the IRON.
Presenting, the ninth annual edition of...
THE IRON NODER CHALLENGE
Many hundreds have tried. Mere tens have succeeded. Do you think you have what it takes to enter the hallowed HALL OF THE IRON?
Actually, when you think about it, it's not even that hard. All you have to do is...
Write 30 things worth reading in 30 days.
Last year we had 8 IRON NODERS, an appropriate number for our 8th year. Since this is our 9th year, our goal is to have at least NINE noders go ferrous. Should we achieve this goal together, all participants reaching IRON NODER status will receive a bonus reward of 900 GP, and all participants with at least one writeup will receive a bonus of 90 GP.
This is all in addition to the usual individual rewards, which are as follows:
- WET PAPER NAPKIN NODERS who sign up for the quest but never get around to writing a writeup will still receive a 10 GP bonus for (arguably) good intentions.
- TIN NODERS who write between 1 and 4 writeups will receive 5 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 50 GP for their participation.
- ALUMIN(I)UM NODERS who write between 5 and 9 writeups will receive 10 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 100 GP for their participation.
- BRASS NODERS who who write between 10 and 19 writeups will receive 15 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 150 GP for their participation.
- BRONZE NODERS who who write between 20 and 29 writeups will receive 20 GP per writeup plus a bonus of 200 GP for their participation.
- IRON NODERS who who write between 30 and 39 writeups will receive 30 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 300 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- STEEL NODERS who who write between 40 and 49 writeups will receive 40 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 400 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- STAINLESS STEEL NODERS who who write between 50 and 99 writeups will receive 50 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 500 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- TITANIUM NODERS who who write between 100 and 199 writeups will receive 100 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 1000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- ORICHALCUM NODERS who who write between 200 and 299 writeups will receive 200 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 2000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- MITHRIL NODERS who who write between 300 and 399 writeups will receive 300 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- VIBRANIUM NODERS who who write between 400 and 499 writeups will receive 400 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 4000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- ADAMANTIUM NODERS who who write more than 500 writeups will receive 500 GP per writeup, plus a bonus of 5000 GP for their participation, plus a bonus of 3000 GP for achieving IRON NODER status, plus will have their names inscribed in THE HALL OF THE IRON.
- The inimitable NANCEMUSE has generously offered up a reward of a $25.00 USD gift card/code to be awarded to the author of the most humorous writeup, as judged by a committee of our fellow noders.
- The lovely LIZARDINLAW graciously offers rewards totalling $20.00 USD - $10 for the funniest writeup, and $10 for the best "serious" node (which does not necessarily mean factual).
- If anyone wishes to sponsor any additional rewards or prizes, just /msg mauler!
But lest ye be tempted to count your gold before the IRON is forged, be sure to heed...
The Rules
- The Iron Noder Challenge begins at 00:00 (server time) on November 1, 2016, and ends at 00:00 (server time) on December 1, 2016. Writeups submitted outside that timeframe will not be considered part of the quest.
- To join the hallowed ranks of the IRON, you must submit 30 new writeups in 30 days. The IRON NODER IDEAL is 1
per day, but we must be flexible about that to allow for normal life
circumstances, days away, illness, etc. Flooding New Writeups with 30
writeups in 1 day, while legal, would be frowned upon, and the E2
userbase would probably not react well.
- Any topic, any form, anything goes.
- There is no minimum or maximum length for writeups. They must simply
survive. Nuked nodes will not count towards your total. For this
reason, final rewards will not be dispensed until a couple of days after
the December 1 deadline, to allow last-minute writeups to be voted on
and pass muster with the editors.
- Thou mayest write a maximum of 5 daylogs.
- Thou mayest prepare material in advance. However if this stops you
noding for the remainder of October, this would also go against
the IRON NODER IDEAL.
If you would like to join, let me know via /msg, and I'll add you to
the roster. There is nothing wrong with joining late; just don't forget
to let me know!
We'll be utilizing the ironnoders usergroup for any major
communications; if you're in the group now and are not on my confirmed
IRON NODER list as of November 1st, you'll automatically be dropped from
the group.
If you'd like to see more accurate updates than I have posted here, check out iron noder progress. It even shows which ones
you've voted on!
Whether or not you're attempting the challenge, you may volunteer to read and vote on every write-up submitted in the quest. This year's panel of IRON VOTERS will consist of mauler, NanceMuse and anyone else who wants to join! Just /msg me and I'll add your name here (this is a great way to contribute to the quest if you don't have time to write actual writeups).
Need inspiration? Try Everything's Most Wanted, Random Nodeshells, the nodeshells on jessicapierce's scratch pad, The Custodian's Nodeshells I'd Like Filled, and wertperch's nodeshell challenge.
Good luck and remember, becoming IRON will echo through the ages, but rust never sleeps! Time to show us what you're made of!
The Iron Noders
Number of participants:
16
Number of writeups:
382
Average number of writeups:
23.88
Number of IRON NODERS:
10
Below are this year's participants. For up-to-the-minute standings, check out Iron Noder Progress!
- MAULER
- Brazzaville
- Inge de Bruijn
- Go-Fushimi
- Go-Nijo
- Hanazono
- inflation targeting
- Go-Reizei
- Emoji Dick
- Brilliant Pebbles
- Gochujang
- Prince Kume
- 4-iron
- Super Duper Tic-Tac-Toe
- Takakura
- Tsuchimikado
- Itoku
- Go-Fukakusa
- Go-Saga
- Kameyama
- Go-Uda
- Fushimi
- Go-Murakami
- Chokei
- Go-Kameyama
- Go-Komatsu
- Shoko
- Go-Tsuchimikado
- Go-Hanazono
- Kokaku
- Go-Momozono
- CHORD
- A stor mo chroi
- "Patriarchy" was a term outdated in 1968
- If you miss the train I'm on
- Who is Sam Hill?
- The Lee Iacocca Song
- Diamond Joe
- Getting INTO the library is easy
- Meyer's Bar: Diplomacy
- How you gonna keep her down on the farm
- What is the true price of labor?
- What does a city dream of?
- It's not blasphemy, it's henotheism
- Grandma King tells the other half (part 1)
- Philoctetes describes early 21st-century America
- Grandma King tells the other half (part 2)
- Hammer, Ring
- What do you see, when you see a woman in armor?
- Xfinity Wi-fi
- Wear down
- She's the kind of woman who
- The day we burned plastic
- This entire house is made of brick
- Chicago dreams: Hayloft Interlude
- Down into the dark
- Flog fling
- The Ball at Independence Hall
- The Midnight Train Going Anywhere And Anywhen
- Day dawned Gray
- peck apart a heart
- The Wrestling Princess and the Witch
- Hazelnut
- Chemophobia
- Kung Fu Flid
- Murderhobo
- Gang stalking
- Fifty Shades of Grey - The Film
- Miracle Mineral Solution
- Vaginal steaming
- Virtue signalling
- You're so closed minded
- Why I was Not Popular as a teenager
- HARDEN THE FUCK UP
- A Tiny Bit Marvellous
- Maradonia - The Shadow Empire
- Gwyneth Paltrow
- The New Game of Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
- Man bun
- DUSTYBLUE
- F.E.A.R.
- BROWSER GAME KILLS BELOVED MUPPET!
- Completionist
- Alyx Vance
- DEATH BATTLE
- November 9, 2016
- Lighting Up the Dark
- Mary Sue
- The Metropolitan Man
- princess
- November 17, 2016
- The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling
- understand
- November 20, 2016
- Game Dungeon
- blit
- What's expected of us
- The Riddle of the Universe and Its Solution
- CORDYCEPS: Too clever for their own good
- Cached Thoughts
- Akinator, the Web Genie
- Aphelion 0.1 : We All Fall Down
- Limitless
- Losing Time
- November 29, 2016
- Giving blood
- Power Classification
- Zalgo
- An Incomplete List of Untrue Facts
- November 30, 2016
- LORD BRAWL
- voter caging
- Dave Broadfoot
- Line graph
- chartjunk
- area chart
- the unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power
- the unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Vol. 2, Squirrel you know it's true
- the unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe
- one-shot
- one-note
- November 12, 2016
- trip to the woodshed
- Genre Savvy
- Alt-right
- big tent
- Trolls
- the unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol.3, Squirrel, you really got me now
- Key Performance Indicators
- Sandbagging
- Spiff
- courtesy interview
- Ten Iron Noder's Tales
- human services
- Newcomer
- food bank
- Pallet jack
- food drive
- best before date
- fire hydrant
- frost line
- LIZARDINLAW
- On death and feelings
- November 1, 2016
- The Witch makes soup
- Port Townsend Sunrise Rotary
- Seven Day Kiss
- November 6, 2016
- ShelterBox
- food group
- The Introverted Thinker walks away
- strong enough
- DMV
- fraud in medicine: Veterans Choice II
- Chief Complaint: lung problem
- part of the problem
- Safe space
- Dream log: November 6, 2016
- out of minutes
- Will you dance?
- Twisting words
- Think of something
- Stress and the sympathetic nervous system
- November 16, 2016
- choice
- fail
- and she highlights the shadows beneath her eyes
- the hour of stupid
- decision
- sea witch
- Clinic drama
- fundraiser
- if I was goody
- The Brewer's Big Horses
- Bessie, the drunkard's own child
- Pick a plan right for you....
- November 22, 2016
- quit
- Barry Marshall and Robin Warren
- The Introverted Thinker and repentance
- The Introverted Thinker and repentance II
- The Introverted Thinker is tested
- that
- transition ritual
- walk on
- Stages on Life's Way
- you need help
- Plucked turkey
- fear in the ER
- fear in the clinic
- Fraud in Medicine: collapse
- Instead of exercise
- big fish little fish
- Dissociation
- LUCY-S
- November 1, 2016
- At The Rec Center
- Deciding to Pursue an MFA
- Figuring out How To Make An MFA Workable
- Pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing
- What I Learned in my MFA Program
- Generokee
- Under a Wide Umbrella, With Mint Tea
- Gigantic
- mad scientist
- rapist
- November 10, 2016
- Unity
- November 13, 2016
- Battery
- vagina
- The Monster Between The Sparks
- Prometheus
- The Great VüDü Linux Teen Zombie Massacree
- Was Pursuing an MFA Worth It?
- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation: Vol. 1: The Pox Party
- Braided Novel
- theme anthology
- shared-world anthology
- November 24, 2016
- November 26, 2016
- Fetlife
- Plague Inc.
- Twitter
- gamification
- game-based learning
- Pandeism Fish
- imagine if helping those in need were a competitive team sport
- Back to the Future Day redux
- hoverboard
- Eohippus
- The argument from evolutionary suffering
- Five ways Trump could still lose
- November 22, 2016
- Where Civil Blood Makes Civil Hands Unclean
- affirmation
- Gochigla
- Fucking Genesis 1, Bitch
- KISSTHIS
- Stupid is as stupid does
- 7cups.com
- November 06, 2016
- The dangers of wearing 'painted on jeans'
- IamA
- Reddit Gold
- November 11, 2016
- NADINE
- test post please ignore
- op
- P/R*B
- "It gets better" or so they say.
- November 17, 2016
- Depression scale
- Pride Goeth Before a Fall
- WINNERS ATTITUDE
- /r/SubredditSimulator
- What tasty food would be distusting if eaten over rice?
- November 21, 2016
- Emilio Segrè
- November 22, 2016
- Riccardo Giacconi
- Joseph Rotblat
- Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
- Jody Williams
- Masatoshi Koshiba
- Hall of Counters
- Betty Williams
- TEM42
- Mysterium
- Dixit
- Icehouse
- the unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Power
- Think tank
- The Adventures of Superhero Girl
- Snodgrass
- The Longest Day of the Future
- Orthogonality thesis
- November 9, 2016
- foom
- Norfolk Howard
- In terrorem
- Lampshading
- Armada
- Artificial general intelligence
- Inflation tax
- Crows & Cards
- Hitchens' Razor
- Relatable
- Pitseleh
- Splendor
- Drafting game
- Deck Building Game
- Spyfall
- Dominion
- Small Business Saturday
- Cyber Monday
- Charity Sunday
- Sushi Go!
- Worm
- One-sided argument
- War chest
- Bull's Eye
- Moving the Goalposts
- Sealioning
- Easy peasy
- Fearnought
- concept
- L7
- In Which Pooh is Momentarily Befuddled
- Collective noun
- gnarl
- The Carrington Event
- The Crocodile and the Winged Lion
- Glowing Fish
- The Hobbit Cinematic Trilogy
- Frontier and Remote
- Whistle
- Zephronias
- November 1, 2016
- Crawling through festering flesh, hungry, yearning, waiting to tear out of the dark.
- Reigns
- Tall buildings are reflected in the blood, looming, and the shadows pass no judgement.
- off
- ARYLISA
- Journey
- You must be living in a parallel universe
- Honor
- Punctuation in a Bible
- On another planet
- A heart made of money
- lost cause
- Paving the way to pessimism
- Shooting The Messenger
- sacrifice
- foresight
- Not missing out
- Tea and kettles
- freeway
- Failing arbitrary tests
- What does it mean to be free?
- jittery
- The unsung national anthem
- Winter at midnight
- Tomorrow's promise
- simple
- chorus
- Pilgrimage to peace
- Sham and shame
- square one
- Always watching
- A country standing tall
- They think I'm crazy, but I know it's real
- Condensed life in a can, like the ones you buy at grocery stores
- Good Night, Sleep Tight
- ESTELORE
- anticausative
- di indigetes
- quod erat inveniendum
- nomen rejiciendum
- Epizeugma
- How to tell if paper is acid free
- yottaflop
- Procne
- sedoka
- pocket knife
- soft pretzel
- Fifty one words about love
- isolani
- Paper-and-pen games
- ceremancy
- Talonflame
- Tales from the front desk
- The Quantum Thief
- scriptura continua
- scribal error
- siglum
- irony mark
- aut vincere, aut mori
- Spartoi
- Sense8
- hapu
- fifteen words about nothing
- thangka
- asshat
- Iocastus
- wonkyx
- Pirates
- How to Dislocate Your Nose
- The Extraordinary Adventures of Captain Jefferson Malarky
- Massey Fergerson 135
- Dream Cabbage
- A Horse Named Bob
- Cabbage
- eighteen wheeler
- Lightning Man
- The Tesla Switch