What’s an E/N Site?
A quasi-response to this post by Roosh. In Roosh’s post he regards personal stuff as not really part of E/N – but as something additional (maybe of interest, but most probably not). But how many of you can say that you read Shlongor’s car theft story without the slightest bit of interest? Without reaction? I’m sure you’d want to know if he managed to get it back, or what damage was done to it. Through that I found out about Lojack as well (which is unheard of in Aust). Or what about the infamous Geeklife burglery? Yeah, lotsa people skipped that post didn’t they. (Still waiting to hear about getting the perpetrators to turn up to court :)
The term “Everything/Nothing site” was coined by Geeklife. This was probably influenced by the number of EBG-like sites popping up with the words “everything” or “nothing” in their name. Since then, this new genre has been the umbrella term for the myriad of sites you now see on the sidebar. Some people don’t like it, some people don’t understand it, and some people are still wondering “what the hell does E/N stand for??”
As I see it, the term E/N does not detract anything from sites that have been labelled so. I think that some people dislike the term because it associates them with a specific group of sites – it seems to restrict their site’s scope when they want to make it appear different. Having the term “E/N” dumped on your site can lead people to look over your site as “just another one of those E/Ns”. The “nothing” part of E/N also seems to play a more prominent part in the brain than “everything”… something psychological? Obviously, people want to think what they are writing is of at least some significance – not “nothing”.
However, I believe E/N is quite an apt name for these sites, for they literally cover both Everything and Nothing. E/N sites cover basically everything – important world news, contemporary world issues (religion, morality, sex, race etc.), computer games, computer hardware, interesting web sites, the strange and the humourous, and yes, how could it be complete without a little bit on personal life. E/N sites are ultra-general news sites with the addition of bias (sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle), opinion and feedback. It seems that there is something for everyone. Postings made may be of great significance to the E/N site visitor, or of absolutely no significance – this is the nothing part. What some may regard as interesting will be “nothing” to others. Some people just don’t care about Kosovo. Some people just don’t care about Quake 3. But others will.
E/N sites are unrestricted. There’s always news, there’s always controversy. Once the news is no longer new, and the controversy has become repetitive and boring, E/N sites just move on. They can be serious, funny, dull, interesting, cynical and excited – all within the same site. And, sometimes, all within a single day. Being an E/N site means writing about whatever the hell you want. Whether each day, you tailor your posts to your readers, whether you decide to piss people off, whether you tell your most personal stories, whether you’ve got some juicy news you’d like to share, or whether you write “bite me” just cos you feel like it, it’s still all E and all N.
Do you agree? As always, mail me your opinion.
6:50pm (GMT +10.00) 
