I was searching google for "everything2" (just looking to see what other people think about the site), and I found a rather interesting review which I am going to repeat some of here.
I spend a lot of time looking at directories and search engines, and have submitted to many of them. It is a feature with most that you are told on the first page what sort of portal, engine or directory they are - so that you can tell if they are going to take your site, or contain sites that you might want to look at. The first thing to say about everything2 is that after quuite a few minutes of very hard looking, I am not sure what this is a directory for, it doesn't say, and I'm not sure even if it is a directory. This is not a good sign - it shows lack of though and design, and implies that the whole product may be shabby.
There appears to be some sort of community based on this site, but there's no information about what its for or who might want to join. I couldn't see much information on the front page about joining and again feel that this is unsatisfactory. A website that does not tell you what it is as soon as you get there has got something very wrong with it - most people don't want to waste their time on sites that might or might not be useful.
It could be that this site is a total gem, but its impossible to tell and I think you'd probably have to wander round it for a good half hour just to work out what (if anything) its for. There are many places on the web far more deserving of you time and attention. Everything about my first encounter with this site suggested that it is poorly thought out, uninformative and unhelpful. i don't think this is much of a resource.
It is obvious that this person had no idea what this website was about, indeed, he seemed to think it was a search engine. I decided to take a look at the front page, and try and figure out what my reaction would be if I had never visited the site before. Frankly, it is really confusing.
One thing that could be changed for the better is this section right here.
Don't know what this site's about? Don't understand what's going on? Can't instinctively act on your primitive aggression? Check out the Everything FAQ (or) Everything University to learn more!
That sounds cool, but why not instead have something like this.
Everything2 is a user created database dedicated to cataloguing knowledge about all subjects. Check out the Everything FAQ (or) Everything University to learn more!
That actually tells the reader something. A longer description would probably be even better.
Also the front page has a nice big central link to Tip of the Day. Now I certainly appreciate there being a link to one of my nodes on the front page, but this link is useless, and only serves to confuse newcomers.
I would also recommend removing both vitals and random nodes for people who are not logged in. Vitals is just confusing, and the random nodes nodelet is very likely to yield a nodeshell, Webster 1913 definition, or some other nonsense. Taking those out would increase the probability that the new reader would actually click on a good writeup.
These are just a couple of suggestions for those in charge, they can do whatever they wish with them.
Original Review at
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/product/123128.html