Sometimes when I'm doing a writeup, I like to see what nodes are available to link to. The problem is that if I do a search, I'll create a soft link from whatever node I'm looking at to the node I'm searching for, and usually the two aren't really related.

To search without soft linking, you can do the search directly without calling the html form:

  http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=whatever+you+want

Note that you have to replace spaces with '+' (or '%20' if you've memorized your html character refs.)

Or, you could check the ignore exact checkbox. This eliminates the need for the %20-kind-of-memorization-or-lookup, and it will furnish you with some near matches too. This will give you a list of interesting links that aren't necessarily exactly the words you were thinking of. <--- (uh oh)

Keep it fresh.

I just always go back to the main page (click the everything2 logo) before searching if I don't want to softlink. This just means that I have to wait for the main page to load, but it may be more convienient for those who are scared of typing the search into the URL box.

Typing in the URL box is a cool idea by the way!

I use iCab, the uber-customizable streamlined German web browser, and it lets me define internet search sites to use with the "Find" command. So I just set it up to use "http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=", and it takes care of the spaces and everything, without requiring me to do any silly up-scrolling or box-clicking or even plus-typing. It even opens the result in a new window for my convenience. This way I can use the low-profile, nodeshell-creator-displaying default theme, and indulge in multi-window browsing to my heart's content. The same method works for Everything User Search and the like without having to memorize a bunch of garbage or go to the search page. I haven't heard of any other browsers that can do this, so I guess this doesn't apply to you if you use a browser that expects you to adapt to it.

This method can be trivially modified to link every node you visit to The Node Linked to All Others.

You could also use the Unix-Netscape Everything Search Button or, if you prefer, the Javascript for Windows-IE Everything Search Button.

Another way would be to keep this bookmarklet handy (select the entire line and drag it to your Bookmarks toolbar in Mozilla/Firefox; IE users click here):

javascript:document.forms[0].lastnode_id.value=124;return false;

Now that it's there, simply click it whenever you want to search without linking. It's similar to clicking the logo first, like Torque suggested, but it saves you the wait.

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Update: If you use Firefox and have Greasemonkey, you'll probably find this user script I wrote more convenient - it adds a "Don't link" checkbox to the search form on every E2 page.