Hmm. This is odd. Very odd indeed.

October 26, 2005 6:19 PM

Hmm. This is odd. Very odd indeed.
And it can't be good for the server, what with all the inline images. Oh well, whatever. All I know is that I hereby predict that, some time a week or two from now, MeTa thread #10430 will be very long.
posted by dersins to MetaFilter-related at 6:19 PM (140 comments total)

This has something to do with funny pictures right?
posted by greasy_skillet at 6:22 PM on October 26, 2005

pwned!!!
posted by interrobang at 6:23 PM on October 26, 2005

I don't get it.
posted by cillit bang at 6:28 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by Krrrlson at 6:29 PM on October 26, 2005

Two question marks is a query. Three is a super-query.

Three exclamation points... what's not to get? As we say in the proofreading business, each exclamation point make is more and more exciting.
posted by interrobang at 6:30 PM on October 26, 2005

You know that images don't hurt the server, right? There's one line of code on MEtafilter that points to the image, which is hosted elsewhere. That other server actually drops it into your browser window when you load the page.

View properties on this if you don't believe me:


posted by scarabic at 6:31 PM on October 26, 2005 [1 favorite]

scrabic: That is the greatest picture EVAR.

And yes, the sever does not actualy serve the picture.
posted by delmoi at 6:34 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by greasy_skillet at 6:35 PM on October 26, 2005

Scarabic, my point wasn't really about the images themselves, more about the odd, every 101-thread, umm, weirdness going on.
posted by dersins at 6:35 PM on October 26, 2005

Congratulations. You're the last to figure out this was happening.
posted by yhbc at 6:36 PM on October 26, 2005

THANKS YHBC!11!!!!
posted by dersins at 6:37 PM on October 26, 2005

i remember a time when mefites knew how the web worked.
posted by quonsar at 6:43 PM on October 26, 2005

ah, I didn't get it
posted by delmoi at 6:44 PM on October 26, 2005

Damn, those are some long threads, not 9622-long mind you, but lengthy all the same. Well except for 10129, cut down far too young. Alas.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 6:44 PM on October 26, 2005

i remember a time when mefites knew how the web worked.

and i remember a time when quansar was banned. what's your point?
posted by dersins at 6:47 PM on October 26, 2005

Nope, I'm the last. What's the deal?
posted by scarabic at 6:48 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by greasy_skillet at 6:48 PM on October 26, 2005

Nope, I'm the last. What's the deal?

The deal appears to be a handful of metachatters wanking around in outdated metatalk threads.
posted by dersins at 6:50 PM on October 26, 2005

Party pooper!
posted by caddis at 6:50 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:52 PM on October 26, 2005

and i remember a time when quansar was banned

Who is this quansar you speak of? And what the hell is this thread about? In English, please.
posted by jonson at 6:53 PM on October 26, 2005

OBSOLETE
OBSOLETE
OBSOLETE
posted by jenovus at 6:53 PM on October 26, 2005

Say what you will, dershins...everybody...do what you will, mods...but leave MetaChat out of it, please. There really is no connection.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 6:54 PM on October 26, 2005

Really, it's 10329 that threw me off. But then, I don't feel too bad. Not only am I an English major and still bad with numeric patterns, but I happen to know all other east bay mefites suck with numbers, too, after playing that evil poker game where DaShiv kept penalizing people for not playing prime numbers. It went on for hours and none of us got it. Actually I guess that makes DaShiv one notable exception - especially as a fellow English major. Damn, boy. And they say he just takes pretty pictures.
posted by scarabic at 6:55 PM on October 26, 2005

Have i made a correlation vs. causation error, IHAA? My apologies if so, but the correlation, at least, is clearly there...
posted by dersins at 6:56 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by cmonkey at 7:03 PM on October 26, 2005

Um, how about a little "Spoiler Alert" on the Star Wars pics scarabic? Some of us haven't seen the last one yet. Fuck.
posted by jikel_morten at 7:05 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by brundlefly at 7:09 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by uncanny hengeman at 7:11 PM on October 26, 2005

jikel_morten:

Love your work!
posted by uncanny hengeman at 7:12 PM on October 26, 2005

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE


posted by cmonkey at 7:14 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by Stynxno at 7:21 PM on October 26, 2005

* lights a smelly cigar, sits down *

Pull up a chair, lemme tell you how it used to be.
You see, back before threads were closed every 30 days, there were LOTS of places - places they didn't tell you much about, except in whispers. They called them "cult" threads.

* takes a long puff, blows smoke rings *

Except, back then, you had to FIND the threads. There were whispers here, hints there, but you had to dig deep into the archives, hunt around, pay attention and really get to know the website before you found them. And when you did, and if you said your piece in them - maybe you were accepted, maybe you weren't. That's how they worked in those days. But, you know - chances were you'd be accepted. Because you made the effort to find them, and that said something right there.

* gazes off into the middle distance *

Then, a few years back, there came the time of the great dispora. No, I don't know what it means, either - look it up. Anyway, what happened was, a bunch of folks who had either forgotten about the cult threads or never knew they existed in the first place suddenly got reminded of or told about them, and there was a big to-do about it all. There was lots of harsh words and jibber-jabber about all the chattiness, and pseudo-flirting, and general sillyness that went on in all these cult threads, and how the server must be getting hammered, and how this must be a Bad Thing, and just look at all those in-line images! Surely that must be terrible on the server load! Why, the cult threads, it was said, were HURTING METAFILTER!

So, the cult threads shut down.

* spits *

Voluntarily, that is. The monkeys moved on to 9622.net, the trolls, or goblins, or whatever they were at 1142 moved on to - well, they were already there and it was it a closed society, so it doesn't really matter much where they went. Anyway, the old cult threads all simmered down and had pretty much petered out altogether by the time the 30-day cutoff came into place.

But you know, a funny thing happened. More and more folks kept coming around, and after they shared their interesting links and made their interesting comments, they still wanted to chat - and pseudo-flirt, and put up in-line images and indulge in general silliness. Of course, now that the cult threads were dead and buried, the silliness was everywhere! It wasn't just confined to a few places that folks had to actively hunt for - no, it was in every thread! Why, the silliness, it was said, was again HURTING METAFILTER!

* coughs *

Excuse me.

* sips beer *

So, MetaChat was formed, and that was the second great dispora. But there were still a few folks who wanted to have their silliness, their flirting, their in-line images, here on the mother ship.

That's when some idiot posted the MetaTalk thread that became known as 9622 v.2. You may remember it.

Now, for the first time, there was a single place for everyone who wanted to to put all the images, chat, gossip and silly. It wasn't spread out on all sorts of cult threads all over the website, and it wasn't on every thread, either. It was on one place.

Trouble was, the place was scheduled to close down in 30 days.

So, they did the only sensible thing. They got themselves a longboat, and moved every month.

* takes another long puff, exhales *

And I, for one, salute them.

There's always a place for silliness.
posted by yhbc at 7:22 PM on October 26, 2005 [23 favorites]

posted by clevershark at 7:23 PM on October 26, 2005

Luke shouldn't be on guitar! I would say keyboards, but... Well, it is taken in a most appropriate fashion.

How about clarinet, ala Kenny-G...
posted by Chuckles at 7:31 PM on October 26, 2005

blah blah blah cult threads blah blah blah dispora [sic] blah blah blah more cult threads blah blah blah second dispora [sic] 9622v2 blah blah blah more cult threads blah blah blah a place for silliness

So what you're saying is that there were people wanking around in outdated threads, and then they went away and then they came back and then they went away again and then they came back again and then they found one place for their wanking around and then they started moving that place around but that's O.K. because wanking around is good?

It's all clear to me now. Thank you.
posted by dersins at 7:33 PM on October 26, 2005

Luke was always just a backup singer, no matter what he told the groupies backstage.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:33 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by quonsar at 7:41 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by darukaru at 7:44 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by If I Had An Anus at 7:47 PM on October 26, 2005

You're an editor, are you, dersins? Excellent. May I send you some more of my work?
posted by yhbc at 7:50 PM on October 26, 2005

feel free. i'm just here to help.
posted by dersins at 8:00 PM on October 26, 2005

dersins backward is snisred.
posted by quonsar at 8:05 PM on October 26, 2005

I have nothing original to offer this thread.
"Will work for animated .gif's"
Please throw money.
posted by Balisong at 8:08 PM on October 26, 2005

Huh. I guess that's that. Very well then.

using male condoms, and about 21 * About 14 pregnancies occur over must be carefully held in place They are more effective when spermicide stores. Some family planning clinics may case of the female condom, within is magical, I tell ya.

Under other the effort or not... and just on the penis or, in the best be hoarding my pennies for how long it would take to Snow Crash from a coworker just * A 1 year out of 100 couples is collected inside the condom, which offer free condoms. read and whether it'd be worth the vagina prior to intercourse. Semen coincidence: I inherited a copy of condom is a thin sheath placed circumstances, I might buy you a book. However, my place of employment last week and was on the from the void. Keen!

The 1142 thread truth be known - so I'd is also used. Whoa, creepy further * Latex condoms help prevent HIV available in most drug and grocery first time. I was mulling over * Condoms are readily book during the ensuing desk-emptying rituals, pregnancies occur over 1 year out did the dot-com death dance just of 100 couples using female condoms. precipice of reading it for the like that, a MeFi opinion appears and other STDs. last Tuesday - I inherited the magick and then removed after intercourse.

posted by If I Had An Anus at 8:08 PM on October 26, 2005

OMG MY SECRET IS OUT!11!!!! PLEASE DON'T TELL ANYONE ELSE, RAS-NUOQ, YOU DAMN TERRIST!111!!!
posted by dersins at 8:09 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by clevershark at 8:09 PM on October 26, 2005

<img src='http://webpages.charter.net/mikegrau/tuckee.jpg
posted by slogger at 8:16 PM on October 26, 2005

Heh, worked on live preview, didn't it?
posted by If I Had An Anus at 8:18 PM on October 26, 2005

Sooo, is the message that the img tag should be removed? Because I'm still considering it.
posted by mathowie at 8:31 PM on October 26, 2005

* swallows cigar butt, kicks the brandy bottle under the chair *

Hi, Dad.
posted by yhbc at 8:34 PM on October 26, 2005 [2 favorites]

posted by If I Had An Anus at 8:38 PM on October 26, 2005

Just as well that img tag's messed up. That picture is freakin HUGE.
posted by brundlefly at 8:38 PM on October 26, 2005

Is the img tag being abused? 'cause I'm not really seeing that that's the case. Don't often see them in MeFi/AskMe. Maybe the Bevets card is overused. Not much else.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:54 PM on October 26, 2005

im stoopid. sorry.
posted by slogger at 9:05 PM on October 26, 2005

"Sooo, is the message that the img tag should be removed? Because I'm still considering it."

Naw. The message is more like "hey there's these people turning every 101st MeTa thread (with allowances for closed threads) into private wankfests." Don't know if you already knew, or if you care, but there it is, anyway.
posted by dersins at 9:10 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by greasy_skillet at 9:18 PM on October 26, 2005

This about sums up the merit of this post

posted by AllesKlar at 9:25 PM on October 26, 2005

Plus, think of the poor server with all those inline images!! Narc.
posted by jonson at 9:26 PM on October 26, 2005

Anyone have a pesky little brother, always tagging along, tail end of the news type kid, the kind that goes running to the parents to tattle?
posted by Cranberry at 9:35 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by neckro23 at 9:36 PM on October 26, 2005

Anyone have a pesky little brother, always tagging along, tail end of the news type kid, the kind that goes running to the parents to tattle?

no. why?
posted by dersins at 9:38 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by Balisong at 9:42 PM on October 26, 2005

Narc.

Self-policing, right?
posted by dersins at 9:44 PM on October 26, 2005

posted by delmoi at 9:49 PM on October 26, 2005

Okay, everyone back away from the keyboard. The MeFi Special Forces are here!
posted by Lynsey at 10:09 PM on October 26, 2005

Well, aren't they special!
posted by wendell at 10:15 PM on October 26, 2005

Aww... don't remove the img tag, Matt!
posted by scarabic at 10:20 PM on October 26, 2005

Look at it this way, mathowie - while people are playing around trying to find the coolest image to link in archived threads, they aren't causing mayhem somewhere else - you could think of the <img> tag as a safety valve.
posted by dg at 10:26 PM on October 26, 2005

mathowie if you take it away we will cry
posted by TwelveTwo at 10:36 PM on October 26, 2005

my point wasn't that the < img> tag needs to go. maybe the excessively self-indulgent fucking around in old threads, which seems like it belongs on certain other vaguely-metafilter-related sites, but not so much the < img> tag itself, which definitely has a place here.
posted by dersins at 10:47 PM on October 26, 2005

wins
posted by soyjoy at 11:01 PM on October 26, 2005

dersins, as a major contributor to 9622v2 and Extensions, I have taken your criticisms to heart. And, as much as it pains me to say it, and as terrible as it feels to disappoint my fellow 9622v2 constituents, you're right. This sort of behavior is improper and, in a way, immoral. I've been going through some bad stuff these last six months, and, while that doesn't excuse my/our behavior, perhaps if I explain myself it will help you to understand a little as to why it was so important to keep this small group of people together. That explanation is as follows:

In cases where intravenous access is difficult, glucagon, 1.0 mg intramuscularly, may be given as a temporizing measure. Intravenous thiamine (vitamin B1) should be given to patients treated with hypertonic dextrose (adults: 100 mg; children: 10 to 25 mg), theoretically before the dextrose is administered, to prevent Wernicke's encephalopathy.
posted by gramschmidt at 11:26 PM on October 26, 2005

Prevention of Wernicke's encephalopathy is very important, you know.
posted by kenko at 12:22 AM on October 27, 2005

in honor of yhbc, I will now leve the letter "" out of my comments nd posts.
posted by shmegegge at 12:48 AM on October 27, 2005

I did not know that. Or at least I didn't know the part that came after 'they got themselves a longboat, and moved every month.' Hmmph.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:46 AM on October 27, 2005

dersins-

I'm at a loss trying to understand why you're so worked up about this. You keep coming back into this thread and just beating on this issue, and yet, no one has been hurt or inconvenienced or in any way put out by the "wanking" in those other threads. Is it just that you don't like to see other people have a good time? Because that's what it sounds like.
posted by OmieWise at 5:31 AM on October 27, 2005

maybe the excessively self-indulgent fucking around in old threads

I'm afraid self-indulgent fucking around is infinitely more seemly than ratting people out. You really do sound like the sort of kid who'd run and tell teacher people were throwing paper airplanes in the classroom. But enjoy your moment in the sun.
posted by languagehat at 6:04 AM on October 27, 2005

posted by fire&wings at 6:11 AM on October 27, 2005

posted by geekyguy at 6:27 AM on October 27, 2005

I'd say "excessively self-indulgent fucking around in old threads" is hurting metafilter less than excessively self-indulgent hate-filled flamefests in political threads. But I suppose I'm biased.
posted by raedyn at 6:31 AM on October 27, 2005

Snitches get stitches.
posted by Divine_Wino at 6:37 AM on October 27, 2005

posted by brownpau at 7:07 AM on October 27, 2005

Snitches and ratting people out is probably a little harsh, don't you think? This is what MetaTalk is for. I don't think dershins has done anything wrong.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 7:12 AM on October 27, 2005

posted by ijoshua at 7:42 AM on October 27, 2005

mathowie writes "Sooo, is the message that the img tag should be removed?"

I don't think so, sure every once and a while a bit of sillyness breaks out but I don't see it ever harming the site's intent. And really, sometimes, a picture is worth those 1000 words.
posted by Mitheral at 8:01 AM on October 27, 2005

Snitches get stitches .... ratting people out....blah blah blah

SelfPolicing

....So the primary mode of 'policing' MetaFilter for posts and comments that are deemed bad is simply self policing. That is, members of MetaFilter will, upon seeing a bad post or comment, try to talk to the user in question (usually by posting a thread in MetaTalk) and sort everything out without recourse to MattHaughey.

So, uh, suck it haters.
posted by dersins at 8:07 AM on October 27, 2005

Oh I was just taking the mickey, I have a higher qualification for snitching than just a little harmless old metafilter Hardy boying.
posted by Divine_Wino at 8:15 AM on October 27, 2005

The key in your quote above, dersins, is the pluralization of "members of Metafilter". Not just one lone drum beater. In this case several people were doing something harmless and you 1) called it out, and 2) repeatedly chimed in to defend your callout when no one else was either shocked or appalled. I understand your concern for the server, what with all those inline images, but still, this isn't so much "community self-policing" as "annoyed finger pointing by one guy."
posted by jonson at 8:30 AM on October 27, 2005

posted by If I Had An Anus at 8:31 AM on October 27, 2005

....So the primary mode of 'policing' MetaFilter for posts and comments that are deemed bad is simply self policing.

please note that it doesn't say "deemed bad by dersins..."
posted by quonsar at 8:31 AM on October 27, 2005

The key in your quote above, dersins, is the pluralization of "members of Metafilter"

Right. Because, of course, there is a long history of multiple members creating a single post on metatalk.

WTF are you talking about, jonson?
posted by dersins at 8:36 AM on October 27, 2005

please note that it doesn't say "deemed bad by dersins..."

Right. The "self" in "self-policing" clearly refers to everyone except dersins.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 8:51 AM on October 27, 2005

Doon't listen to the nerds.
posted by hellbient at 8:53 AM on October 27, 2005

WTF are you talking about, jonson?

He's talking about the fact that you called something out that (as it turned out) nobody but you thought was bad, and then instead of retreating gracefully as others have done in such circumstances ("Oh, nobody else cares? OK then, who's for pancakes?") you kept up your one-man drum-beating. There's nothing wrong with calling stuff out to MetaTalk, that's what it's here for, but try to keep a sense of perspective and not let your outrage take over completely.
posted by languagehat at 9:00 AM on October 27, 2005

scarabic's picture is my new desktop image at work.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:00 AM on October 27, 2005

i think its time to admit defeat and get drunk


posted by cmonkey at 9:19 AM on October 27, 2005

It is clear that I am, if not alone in my distaste for this "longboat" stuff, damn close to it. My apologies for starting such a fucking trainwreck of a thread.

To those who think I have responded too often in this thread, I would suggest that perhaps fewer attacks on me for using metatalk for its intended purpose might have drawn fewer responses from me. (As would fewer "I don't understand what's going on in those threads-type questions...)

At any rate, to those in the longboat, well, enjoy yourselves. It's clear you have the weight of community approval behind you.
posted by dersins at 9:21 AM on October 27, 2005

I would like to bring notice to my own shining example of how to react when a thread like this is occurs.
posted by sciurus at 9:25 AM on October 27, 2005

THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!
posted by moonbird at 9:37 AM on October 27, 2005

I believe I can speak for the longboat contingent when I say that we are a happy bunch, devoid of sinister intentions, and we welcome friendly newcomers - particularly if you come bearing sugar cubes.

*passses out sparkly new longboat tiaras to one and all*

posted by raedyn at 10:08 AM on October 27, 2005

Oh yesh! Nothing makes me happier than a sparkly new tiara! Thanks, raedyn!
posted by Lynsey at 10:22 AM on October 27, 2005

posted by FieldingGoodney at 10:54 AM on October 27, 2005

posted by FieldingGoodney at 10:56 AM on October 27, 2005

Is this the new longboat?
posted by drezdn at 11:03 AM on October 27, 2005

sciurus writes "I would like to bring notice to my own shining example of how to react when a thread like this is occurs"

This:
NickDouglas Metafilter: Multiplayer Notepad.
from that thread is classic.
posted by Mitheral at 11:09 AM on October 27, 2005

Good GOD.
posted by R. Mutt at 11:18 AM on October 27, 2005

Is this the new longboat?

Dunno, did you bring any bratwurst?
posted by If I Had An Anus at 11:23 AM on October 27, 2005

ooh, raedyn! I think I'll keep that tiara for "good" and wear the old one for everyday. You do have exquisite taste.
posted by Cranberry at 11:26 AM on October 27, 2005

Yes, drezdn, this is the new longboat, thanks to dersins for setting it up. Did you bring your oar?
posted by Lynsey at 11:43 AM on October 27, 2005

dersins writes "The message is more like 'hey there's these people turning every 101st MeTa thread (with allowances for closed threads) into private wankfests.' Don't know if you already knew, or if you care, but there it is, anyway."
Every third MeFi thread feels like a public wankfest these days. Hello to the people on the boat. I hope you're cozy.
posted by underer at 12:38 PM on October 27, 2005

posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 12:39 PM on October 27, 2005

If I Had An Anus, I always have Bratwurst with me...

*whittles out a bratwurst oar*
posted by drezdn at 1:09 PM on October 27, 2005

Naw. The message is more like "hey there's these people turning every 101st MeTa thread (with allowances for closed threads) into private wankfests."

I think those threads are training grounds for 101st fighting keyboardists that we always hear about...
posted by rajbot at 1:24 PM on October 27, 2005

posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 1:55 PM on October 27, 2005

EPISODE #9624 "FRESH BLOOD"

INT. DAY. DERSINS' CRISIS ROOM.

Our familiar heroes are meeting to find a solution to the rampant problem of Vikings colonizing MeTa threads.

RAEDYN: So, I can't believe Cranberry went for that 'gnifty' guy, or whatever his name is. I mean, he paddles like a girl.

DERSINS: Heh. Like a girl. (pause) Erm, whatever, Raedyn, we have more pressing matters on our hands. The fate of Metafilter depends on us!

MATHOWIE: While we're on the topic, I would like to move to vote on abolition of the <img> tag.

GRAMSCHMIDT: Here Matt, enjoy this bizarre picture of an old, ill-advised album sleeve from Germany. Be amused, or disgusted, or both. Now, Commissioner, you had a presentation prepared?

YHBC: Yes. You see, back before threads were closed every 30 days...

DERSINS: Umm, commish? Could you please not smoke in here?

YHBC frowns, swallows fresh-lit cigar, downs half a bottle of brandy.

GRAMSCHMIDT: Um, you know that excessive alcohol use is a major factor in the development of Wernicke's encephalopathy, don't you?

YHBC: God, we're not allowed to do anything anymore.

DERSINS (smirking): Good.

The door bell rings.

IIHAA: Ha, that must be the bratwurst. I'll get it.

IIHAA opens the door. Faint chatter can be heard, unintelligible but noticeably tense. IIHAA returns, looking pale and shaken.

KENKO: What? Did you just see Quonsar's ghost or something?

IIHAA (trembling): They're... they're all out of bratwurst.

DERSINS: (Sigh.) I say we leave 'em be.


I hereby welcome our new longboat friends. For newcomers, a bit of terminoetymology (warning: links to big mess).

Remember: always peddle in phase, and never ask how far it is to Iceland. You'll know when we get there.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:26 PM on October 27, 2005

*looks for phase to peddle in*
posted by languagehat at 2:59 PM on October 27, 2005

*peddles phase*
Are we there yet?
posted by dg at 3:05 PM on October 27, 2005

goodnewsfortheinsane, that was perfect - just perfect, except you got the wrong Vikings. You want these Vikings.
posted by Lynsey at 3:45 PM on October 27, 2005

Suggest we change course and turn the good ship JRun toward Australia. We can make our fortunes mining the Gold Coast and stay at dg's house. It will be nice to be on dry land for a while.
dg is punctual, straightforward and very useful. His mother wants him to do more, so we can let him cook for the crew.
posted by Cranberry at 3:50 PM on October 27, 2005

Ooh, Lynsey, your vikings are noisy.

peddle - to sell
pedal - move your bicycle by foot
paddle - nevermind, it is too much work

In Portland there be dragon boats to paddle/peddle.
posted by Cranberry at 3:56 PM on October 27, 2005

I have on particular mefi thread in mind where you'll find the people here who hate "snitches" enthusiastically defend snitching. Because, you see, everything is different if (a) it's snitching on you; and/or (b) you judge the infraction does not justify snitching.

So a bunch of people think about the complaint of this thread (b). Thus, they condemn the snitch. If what was snitched on was judged sufficiently bad, some of them, at least, would have applauded it.

Me, I think snitching is inherently bad and I require the bar to be very high—much higher than most people judge—to justify it. I didn't like the snitching that was discussed in that MeFi thread, and I don't like the snitching that occured here. Other people will think differently.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 4:05 PM on October 27, 2005

"I have on particular" should have been "I have in mind". Sorry I didn't proofread.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 4:06 PM on October 27, 2005

EB: Just curious, what thread?
posted by dersins at 4:25 PM on October 27, 2005

"Laura K. Pahl is a plagiarist"

Some people are really ourtraged by plagiarism, some are not upset by plagiarism. A common position in the first group applauded the public humilation of Pahl, a common position in the second group disliked it.

I'm not taking the strong relativist position that you can't say anyone is right or anyone is wrong; rather, I'm saying that your judgment of another person's opposing judgment should be tempered by the awareness that you (probably/possibly) could easily have held that opposing position.

My judgment in this case is the same as the majority judgment here. My judgment in the linked thread was that of a small minority. In both cases and all opinions about them, there was this tone that suggested that the behavior snitched out was self-evidently severe/trivial and much fun was made of the other side, especially if the other side was in the minority, of how stupid or dense they were to not see the self-evident truth. You see this behavior all the time on MeFi.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 4:43 PM on October 27, 2005

Yes, I meant "peddle" in that particular sense. That, or I'm really childish in not admitting to spelling mishaps.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:47 PM on October 27, 2005

that was perfect - just perfect, except you got the wrong Vikings. You want these Vikings.

God darnit, you're right. I wish you weren't, but you were.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:49 PM on October 27, 2005

When dinosaurs roamed the earth!
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 6:27 PM on October 27, 2005

*piddles in goodnewsfortheinsane's phase*
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:27 PM on October 27, 2005

*phases in paddles from Dimension X*
posted by kenko at 6:57 PM on October 27, 2005

*implements a phase shift of 2π -- wonders why nobody notices a damn thing*
posted by gramschmidt at 8:24 PM on October 27, 2005

I piddle foo.
posted by TwelveTwo at 10:59 PM on October 27, 2005

I pity the foo.
posted by klangklangston at 10:59 AM on October 28, 2005

posted by If I Had An Anus at 12:33 PM on October 28, 2005

Did someone say sugar cubes?



Raedyn, I think this new tiara is too big. But it is sparkly!
posted by Nice Donkey at 1:47 PM on October 28, 2005

Donkey! Oh happy day!
posted by If I Had An Anus at 2:11 PM on October 28, 2005

DONKEY CAME BACK! YAY!

Now we just need grapefruitmoon and it would officially be a party.
posted by raedyn at 2:34 PM on October 28, 2005

Wha! Le donkey, c'est de retour! This is truly a happy day.

*speeds off to lacing room*
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:43 PM on October 28, 2005

Yeah, I got lost somewhere around 9925, many moons ago. But then links to all of the longboat threads were thoughtfully collected in one place. Hooray!
posted by Nice Donkey at 11:04 PM on October 28, 2005

My fault Nice Donkey. We left a marshmallow trail. Should have left sugar cubes. We are still at the other place also, contemplating a trebucet ride halfway to Australia.
Join us on the deck outside Gramschmidt's loft.
Oops, I capitalized gram's name, now he'll start feeling all important.
posted by Cranberry at 11:48 PM on October 28, 2005