Genre Fluency Entry 1: The Everything Development Engine

Overview

The Everything Development Engine is a unique genre. The genre consists completely of user-provided information, and is largely self-managed. Anyone can register to become a user on a website of the genre and start providing information to everyone else. Such a website consists of many topics, called nodes. When a user wants to post information about a topic, he creates a new node. Within each node, there can be any number of writeups. Each user can create one writeup in a node.

Linking

One of the key features behind The Everything Development Engine is the system of linking nodes to each other. In this way, every piece of information is closely linked to related information. In a writeup, a user can create a hardlink by inserting text in square brackets like [this]. A hyperlink is added to the code referencing the node that discusses "this".
Also, just by browsing node-to-node, users create implicit softlinks. These are placed at the bottom of the webpage. Newer softlinks are at the top, and there is a limit on the number a node can support. Once there are too many, the oldest expire.
The combination of hardlinks and softlinks form a web of interrelated information all internalized within the website. It is easy and fun to bounce around, following links from node to node, wondering why people associate pairs of topics with each other.

Experience Points

Users can gain "Experience Points," or XP, by contributing to the website. XP are awarded to users for doing things like creating writeups. The good writeups are separated from the bad through a voting system. If a user likes another user's writeup, he can vote it up. Otherwise, he can vote it down. XP are awarded when a user's post is voted up, and taken away when it is voted down.
The voting system also forms a kind of moderation system. Writeups that have a score of below -10 or so are scheduled for deletion after a while. Deletion of writeups has a very negative effect on a user's XP.
Experience points also form a sort of level system. Users that achieve enough XP can advance to further levels. Level 1 users, the newest users, can only create writeups. Later, users can get the ability to vote on other writeups and designate writeups as "cool."
When a writeup is "cooled" by another user, it appears on the front page in a special place. It is available for all to see there for a short while. Generally, only the best writeups are designated as cool.

Community

The Everything Development Engine also fosters a sense of community. Users can have a personal space of their own. They can describe themselves so other users can get to know them.
Another interesting feature is called the chatterbox. On every webpage provided, there is a chat feature. This functions almost like an Internet Relay Chat service. Users can talk to each other, and provide hard links in the chatterbox. This is very useful for educating new users, or exploring the system with others.
In order to help expand, the Everything2.com site has a feature called Everything University. Everything University is a series of tutorials about how The Everything Development Engine works. It helps new users understand the "dos" and "dont's" of the genre.

Advice

Start at the genre's most developed site, Everything2.com. The other sites that are in this genre are much more specialized. These other sites are targeted to programmers, and don't provide the most friendly introduction to the genre.
Read (at least some of) the entries in Everything University. They really do help explain how the system works and review the expected ettiquite.
Lurk around for a while first. Bounce around from node to node. Follow hardlinks and softlinks. If you're reading a topic and something comes to mind, enter it into the search box at the top of the page. Congratulations! You just added content to the site by softlinking.
Once you have a feel for how the site works, you may want to participate in some of the conversations in the chatterbox. Use the chatterbox often from now on, especially if you have any questions. Most users will be happy to answer them.
When you do feel like you're ready to post, find a new topic that doesn't have a writeup with it. Start with something that you know a lot about, something that you enjoy. If you pour a lot of work into it, you will probably get positive votes.
Now that you've written a writeup, make sure you put enough hardlinks in it. Also, add softlinks to the page by entering terms in the search bar at the top of the screen or clicking the hardlinks you just made.
Avoid politically charged topics. More often than not, they will get voted down and deleted. (However, one of my most successful early posts was entitled The South had the right to secede from the Union. Sometimes you do get lucky.)
Use paragraphs and headings. All but the shortest posts should use the HTML tag <p>, which delimits paragraphs. Larger posts should utilize the HTML heading tags, like <h1> and <h2>. Markup helps users scan the writeup more easily. My writeup with the best voting record is on the number e and contains a good example of how to use headings.
Use diagrams when necessary. These typically involve the use of the HTML tag <pre> to get everything to line up correctly. Fans of ASCII art will feel right at home. See also my writeup on osmosis.
Don't get discouraged when you don't get "cooled" immediately. My eighth surviving writeup is the first that I got "cooled." I also have had a few writeups voted down out of existence before I got that first "cool."