On Noding Current Events
Anytime there is a major development or crisis in world events, there is much to be said. There are more than two sides to every story and every opinion has the right to be heard.
That said, here on Everything2 there has been a flood of sentiment about the current "War on Iraq" and everything related to that war. There are many philosophies on noding this. After all, this is history happening in front of our eyes, so it is certainly no less worthy of being noded than past events of historical importance. Are your sentiments and your opinion of current events worthy of their own node? That depends on how subjective they are and how that opinion is being expressed. Think of it in the same way you think of noding events and people that are not "current events." The node must stand the test of time. It must be relevant a year from now and ten years from now as part of the history of things.
I also like to advise that you consider what you are writing. If you are writing purely out of anger, even if you feel fully justified in what you are saying, leave what you have written on your scratch pad and sleep on it. Realize that what you are saying is being read by many people and that you do yourself a disservice by letting your voice be one of anger. Sometimes you'll take a look at what you've written and realize you are just releasing tension in a stream of consciousness. This is good to do, it helps you focus, but writing it doesn't mean you have to post it.
Consider what you are writing, how you are writing it, and node for the ages or share your thoughts on the days events in a daylog. I use the daylogs and I'm completely full of myself and brimming with arrogance and have absolutely no faults.*
Political Asylum
I have taken up temporary residence in Political Asylum in an attempt to promote its use for ongoing dialogue about current events. There are sometimes valid and interesting things said there and sometimes there are those just blowing off steam. It is not a prison camp run by diseased yaks. The system of "rooms" on e2 is an underused element of the website. For those who fear they will miss something important being said "outside," there is now something called "squawkbox." I can't figure out how it works, but I'm something of a technological twit, so you will probably have no problem with it.
The E2 administration has a desire to see these "rooms" made use of, especially Political Asylum. These "rooms" can be used for individual discussion and group discussions, or even talking to yourself. Make use of them. Join me in Political Asylum sometime. I try to listen but sometimes the voices in my head distract me. That can't be helped. It would be nice to keep an ongoing group of people with varied opinions in Political Asylum. Provided, of course, we can keep it to dialogue and not shouting at each other. Screaming at people who aren't listening achieves nothing.
*This is sarcasm, in case you hadn't guessed.