I've got the basics of MeFi Projects working now

November 8, 2005 5:13 PM

I've got the basics of MeFi Projects working now. You can announce your new project site and get votes from other members with it. I still need to fix some CSS display bugs, get the archives going, add tags for projects, do a RSS feed, and do a login/logout line, but it basically works.

I'm really giving away a video iPod to the coolest project launched in the next month, and you only get one post under consideration before next month, so make it count (so don't just blow it on a test post, we already have one of those).

The about page explains the rationale behind the site, how it works, and the contest bit. I'll link it from the other sites later this week when I fix all the bugs that are certain to crop up in the next couple days.
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 5:13 PM (129 comments total)

woot!
posted by andrew cooke at 5:20 PM on November 8, 2005

...the thinking behind that is that the projects you choose to announce should be significant works...

Damn. I'm gonna need more cheese before this sandwich makes the cut...
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:21 PM on November 8, 2005

the thinking behind that is that the projects you choose to announce should be significant works—the types of things that typically take a few months to design, create, and build. Essays or blog posts aren't really what it's about here.

Uh, good essays take months to design, create, and build.
posted by dame at 5:22 PM on November 8, 2005

True, essays could take weeks to edit, but if you look through the mefi projects list archives, the coolest stuff is all little sites or side projects built by members. Some of the older entries were just essays, but the bigger sites are more fun.

Oh, and I don't mind if your project is a commercial one. If you just launched a knitting business or make frisbees out of trash and they're for sale, that's just as cool as a new photoblog or something.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:26 PM on November 8, 2005

I like the idea, but it sort of seems like a shame that it's just limited to stuff on the web. I understand that it might be kind of hard to show off the cool shed you just built or whatever, but couldn't announcing something that isn't a website on a website (blog, whatever) somehow be included?

For instance, at some point I'm going to finish the book I'm writing (as, I suspect, are a few other people), and it'd be cool to announce the achievement, but I'd rather not post the whole thing on the internet.

Then again, I suppose an announcement just saying "I've written a book" wouldn't be very interesting - I suppose your point about "significant works" could in this case mean getting a book published, in which case the blog post/simple website/whatever could include links to places to purchase it, pictures of the cover maybe, a summary, detail of the work that went into it (rough diary of the time span or something)

I'm just throwing around ideas, I think I've brought up a lot of problems with my own concept myself..
posted by Lotto at 5:31 PM on November 8, 2005

It can take months to write a good one. But anyway, I don't think you ought to change what the projects list is for, but making a website isn't really harder than writing and I wanted to stifck up for the word dorks.
posted by dame at 5:32 PM on November 8, 2005

Create more, consume less

Righto!
Thanks for this matt - love the burgundy colour scheme.
posted by dash_slot- at 5:33 PM on November 8, 2005

A suggestion: maybe require people be a member of Metafilter for some long period of time before they are allowed to post. Maybe 3 months or 6 months. It'd suck if the place turned into a $5 ad space.
posted by chunking express at 5:33 PM on November 8, 2005

Lotto, how about you make a website about the book, and then post about it. You get to announce both the site and the book.

Take a look at the [mefi-projects] list archives, there are tons of great old works in there (sadly, no cool sheds :)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:35 PM on November 8, 2005

chunking express, I wondered about that too, but lame stuff won't get any votes, so it'll be easy to skip all the 0 vote projects that seem spammy. If it does turn into that, I'll certainly force a waiting period of a month or more.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:36 PM on November 8, 2005

This will be another great addition! Sorry to bitch already, but the footer appears on top of the right sidebar for me in Safari and Camino, OS X 10.4.3.
posted by dual_action at 5:43 PM on November 8, 2005

I was about to say the same thing as dual_action. Footer is overlapping the sidebar. (Safari OSX)
posted by evoo at 5:44 PM on November 8, 2005

Thanks mathowie! Just to make sure I'm not missing anything, the only way to provide feedback to a project on MeFiPro is by voting?

What do you have planned in terms of future development? I'd like to see another option for voting: “Great project or the greatest project?”

On preview, dual_action, it looks like the footer will get pushed down as more project as added.
posted by ijoshua at 5:44 PM on November 8, 2005

Yeah, the CSS is kind of screwed right now on all browsers dual_action. erisfree was kind enough to code up the design and she did some weird stuff in CSS with lots of absolute positioning that I can't debug and get the footer to display below the sidebar.

If anyone figures out a CSS fix for the master.css file, I'd be happy to include it and wipe out that bug.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:44 PM on November 8, 2005

The layout is broken in Safari 1.31.

There's a burgundy stripe right through the middle of the page, obscuring some of the text in the blurb about the iPod.

Good that you did this; I'll look forward to reading about some cool projects.
posted by reflecked at 5:45 PM on November 8, 2005

Is there a time-limit on how long projects take?
posted by interrobang at 5:46 PM on November 8, 2005

ah ... Previewed too slowly.
posted by reflecked at 5:46 PM on November 8, 2005

what do you mean interrobang?
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:46 PM on November 8, 2005

I mean, suppose I say: "I'm going to do this thing, and I'm going to do it every night until it's done, and when it's done, it'll total x things".

Suppose you embark on such a project, and it takes 100 days or so to complete? Is there a time-limit for this contest, or does the best idea for a project--that one actually does--win the contest?
posted by interrobang at 5:50 PM on November 8, 2005

So, just to clarify...because sometimes I'm kinda dumb before lunchtime...is the idea to announce things you've done: "Hey come listen to my album! Come read my novel!", or to get people onboard an ongoing project: "Come contribute to this new wiki! Come vote on my new isitmathowieornot.com!"?
posted by Jimbob at 6:03 PM on November 8, 2005

So all you needed all along was a good spanking from puke&cry.

Thanks mat.

Looks pretty ugly imho, but that's just mho. Maybe when that footer is 'clear: both;' it'll grow on me.
posted by moift at 6:07 PM on November 8, 2005

So is the style of the red a preview of what the blue, gray and green pages will look like soon?
posted by octothorpe at 6:08 PM on November 8, 2005

interrobang, well, someone posted about my ten years project on the first day I started it, so I would say it's fair game to launch it on the first day and hope people visit afterwards. Of course, you could give the project some time so that first visitors have something to see other than "coming soon" or a single entry.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:10 PM on November 8, 2005

All right, thanks for the clarification, Matt.
posted by interrobang at 6:12 PM on November 8, 2005

Jimbob, I would tend to say things that are recently completed, and ready for an audience is what the site is for. So "come listen to my new album" works, as does say, "I just started a recipe wiki, come help contribute".

But the focus is on stuff that was recently completed by mefi members, not really things in the early or idea stages.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:12 PM on November 8, 2005

octothorpe, I think before I spread that design across the other sites, it still needs a revamp so that the fonts, layout, and graphics are a bit tighter. It's definitely loose and minimal at the moment.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:13 PM on November 8, 2005

Ummm... did I do that right? Should I have kept it shorter?
posted by ph00dz at 6:14 PM on November 8, 2005

that's fine ph00dz. I'll enable the custom fonts so things come down a size or so for most users in a couple days. I'll also add a "more inside" option, probably next week.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:28 PM on November 8, 2005

This is wonderful, Matt. I look forward to seeing it populated.
posted by scarabic at 6:36 PM on November 8, 2005

ph00dz, that's hilarious!
posted by quonsar at 6:45 PM on November 8, 2005

To ask a really stupid question: how much emphasis is on new projects? Like, I've had a web zine up for about six months, and every time there's been talk of Projects rolling out soon, I've gotten excited and started to think about crafting a post hyping it. But now I'm a little gun-shy because of all of the talk of recently-completed or -launched projects, while mine's something that's been up for over half a year. Am I being dumb?

Yes, I am quite likely being dumb.
posted by COBRA! at 6:55 PM on November 8, 2005

I don't think that's a stupid question at all, COBRA!.
posted by interrobang at 6:58 PM on November 8, 2005

Is this what it's for? Genuine question.
posted by fire&wings at 7:02 PM on November 8, 2005

I've been waiting for this.
There are no comments here, but votes from members that like your project.

I've asked before about collaborative posts, and I was really hoping that MeFi Projects would be an opportunity to collaborate. Any thoughts?
posted by snsranch at 7:11 PM on November 8, 2005

Nice. Like the accessibility keys.
How will you keep this from becoming a festival of viral marketing?
posted by boo_radley at 7:11 PM on November 8, 2005

I've asked before about collaborative posts, and I was really hoping that MeFi Projects would be an opportunity to collaborate. Any thoughts?

I agree, projects that are in progress should be allowed comments.
posted by interrobang at 7:17 PM on November 8, 2005

fiore&wings asks: "Is this what it's for? Genuine question."

mathowie said: "the focus is on stuff that was recently completed by mefi members, not really things in the early or idea stages."

So my interpretation of that would be "No, not exactly" I think MeFi still doesn't have that "I want to hire a graphic designer." functionality that some people are looking for.
posted by jessamyn at 7:18 PM on November 8, 2005

OMG first deletion! Let me whip out my Charlie Sheen voice: "AWESOME."

So, if you have a sustained creative work going (art, photography, writing, etc) but it's not posted on your own webspace and it's not a webapp or something like that, is that still an appropriate project? Sorry if I'm being dense.
posted by selfnoise at 7:22 PM on November 8, 2005

I removed the five fresh fish post because there's nothing on the website. This is for announcing recently completed projects with something to show for it.

For projects in progress, I think metatalk or email is a better place to meet other members to work on something.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:24 PM on November 8, 2005

Ok, Ill keep the "begging for ponies" to myself, for now!

BTW, mathowie, thank you, and this is going to be awesome! There is so much talent bottled up here in MetaFilter, I can't wait to watch it explode. Just think of how many writers, artists and artisans we have. I am really excited.
posted by snsranch at 7:25 PM on November 8, 2005

Well, there goes that iPod.
posted by interrobang at 7:25 PM on November 8, 2005

selfnoise, is there a website we can see your work that you want to promote? Would that site ultimately be something you might see on MetaFilter proper as a post? If not, probably no.

COBRA, go ahead and post about your zine, once this site is around for a while, it'll be picking up just new stuff, but for now, 6 month old sites are probably fine. You would have posted a link to it if it was done six months ago.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:26 PM on November 8, 2005

Oh, poop. I thought it was for new projects, as a way of requesting collaborative help.

Back to trying to puzzle it all out myself, then.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:28 PM on November 8, 2005

but I'll take this opportunity to suggest that if someone here has experience programming Python sockets using asyncore/asynchat, I could really use a hand figuring it out...
posted by five fresh fish at 7:29 PM on November 8, 2005

I have a project that I built over 3 years ago. It gets a lot of traffic currently, but I'm not sure Mefites are aware of it (although I did purchase some text ads a while back). If MeFi Projects had been around 3 years ago, I definately would have posted it then. Seems a shame that I can't do so now.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to come up with a new project.
posted by crawl at 7:35 PM on November 8, 2005

mathowie should post MeFiProjects on MeFiProjects. I'd think about voting for it.
posted by mullacc at 7:36 PM on November 8, 2005

I think calling it 'projects' and then limiting it solely to things that are completed (and recently) is going to cause some cognitive dissonance, fff-stylee, in the future. I've always thought of 'projects' as ongoing work. Ah well -- maybe that's just me.

Regardless, nice to see this long-gestated pony finally born.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:37 PM on November 8, 2005

Also, I can't recall who first suggested it (dhartung?), and I remember mathowie didn't like it, but I still think it should be called 'TellMe' (you know, Tell Metafilter), in our usual shorthand, at least. Snazzier than MePro!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:39 PM on November 8, 2005

selfnoise, is there a website we can see your work that you want to promote? Would that site ultimately be something you might see on MetaFilter proper as a post? If not, probably no.

My old website was posted to metafilter back in March, so the kind of thing I was planning on submitting seems like it would be proper.

COBRA, go ahead and post about your zine, once this site is around for a while, it'll be picking up just new stuff, but for now, 6 month old sites are probably fine. You would have posted a link to it if it was done six months ago.

See, I wanted to do something new, not post the old site that already got showed up here. Something similar, but different. Is this off limits? Does the whole project have to exist already, or can it be two weeks in or so?
posted by interrobang at 7:39 PM on November 8, 2005

this is awesome! now the money for my WoW gold farming cartel will REALLY roll in! heLLOOO 20k+ site hits!

but seriously. good work. one problem: in safari on osX (not my browser of choice. it's what I have at work) the site just looks like a maroon bar with a long white sheet hanging from it and yellow text on the white. very hard to read. and the text is oddly formatted.

I can't post a pic, unfortunately.
posted by shmegegge at 7:40 PM on November 8, 2005

I can't see any harm in allowing older projects to be posted, especially right now at the start. It's a good way to sort of "fill the coffers" and test the waters. At some point this backlog will clear and the only things left to post will be new ones.

< ribbing>
Is it at least okay to post stuff we've made during the last 3 years we've been waiting for this to finally launch?
< /ribbing>

;)
posted by scarabic at 7:40 PM on November 8, 2005

er, "got showed up here" is the result of poor editing, sorry.
posted by interrobang at 7:42 PM on November 8, 2005

I agree with scarabic. Maybe allow older projects for just the first month?
posted by vacapinta at 7:49 PM on November 8, 2005

Mine's totally gonna win!
(Time to start working on all those projects that I vaguely wanted to do but never got around to...)
posted by klangklangston at 7:56 PM on November 8, 2005

I know it's not up for discussion, but I just want to put this name idea out there: "TellMe" (as in Tell MetaFilter what cool project you have done, and in apposition to (duh) AskMe)

<suckup>But i think it's cool no matter what it's called</suckup>
posted by misterbrandt at 7:58 PM on November 8, 2005

Matt: when I try to vote I get a page which just says: "There was an error recording your vote."
posted by vacapinta at 8:22 PM on November 8, 2005

For projects in progress, I think metatalk or email is a better place to meet other members to work on something.
posted by mathowie at 7:24 PM PST on November 8 [!]


Testing in 1...2...3
posted by snsranch at 8:26 PM on November 8, 2005

The style of posting so far really stinks of advertising.
posted by interrobang at 8:38 PM on November 8, 2005

Thank you so much, Matt.
posted by Captaintripps at 8:39 PM on November 8, 2005

By the way, and I voted for it, I absolutely can't wait to try out Office Poltergeist tomorrow.
posted by Captaintripps at 8:41 PM on November 8, 2005

I dunno about TellMe. ShowMe sounds more appropriate.

Either would be sorta kiddie-sounding to my ear. But "MetaFilter Projects" is about as blocky and unsexy and uncatchy as they come.

/wordsmithery
posted by scarabic at 8:51 PM on November 8, 2005

See, I wanted to do something new, not post the old site that already got showed up here. Something similar, but different. Is this off limits? Does the whole project have to exist already, or can it be two weeks in or so?

I think this point needs to be reiterated.
posted by interrobang at 9:03 PM on November 8, 2005

The style of posting so far really stinks of advertising.

Well, that's kind of the whole point. It's the single place on MetaFilter where you're allowed to toot your own horn. You are unabashedly trying to get people to click your link and vote for you.

"MetaFilter Projects" is about as blocky and unsexy and uncatchy as they come.

It's what I called the mailing list, but that was a name adopted with little thought for euphony or marketability. I think Matt just carried it over. So if you must blame someone, blame me.
posted by kindall at 9:05 PM on November 8, 2005

So, is the idea for getting feedback that someone sees a project on MetaFilter Projects, then they post it to MetaFilter? Would it be OK to give a link for feedback (say, a link to a comment form) in the project announcement?
posted by kirkaracha at 9:25 PM on November 8, 2005

In the etc section, shouldn't the hyperlink be changed now?
posted by jmd82 at 9:30 PM on November 8, 2005

There seems to be no indication that you're logged on - no username shown or similar. Is that intentional, 'cause I found it slight disorientating at first and had to test vote on klangklangston's excellent project (as in "You're just projecting now, kk...") to make sure I was.
posted by benzo8 at 9:36 PM on November 8, 2005

yeah kirk, that's the idea. You toot your own horn and the good stuff gets posted to MeFi. Like for instance, if you just finished your more crayons site, that'd be a good post and someone would likely make a post to mefi about it.

So it seems like the naming stuff is part of the confusion. The original title was AnnounceFilter I believe. As for cutesy short names like TellMe or ShowMe, we don't actually use those in practice (MeFi, MetaTalk, and Ask MeFi are what we have now) and it's ok if the name is slightly clunky IMO.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:37 PM on November 8, 2005

yeah, the logged in/login stuff will be added soon, tomorrow night most likely.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:38 PM on November 8, 2005

This is great! I also vote that for the first month or so that people should be able to post their not-necessarily-that-new projects, just because I'd really like to see more of what mefites have done that I've probably missed in the last year or so.
posted by taz at 9:55 PM on November 8, 2005

I only have two observations/comments:

1. Hmm. so it's going to be red, then? and

2. MePro: The goal is to be obnoxious, but not destructive.
posted by yhbc at 9:59 PM on November 8, 2005

Yeah, ok, how about anything you've launched in 2005 that hasn't been seen on a million blogs or metafilter before is up for grabs in this first cut.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:17 PM on November 8, 2005

That's great, Matt! Thanks. This is going to be fun.
posted by taz at 10:29 PM on November 8, 2005

It's so sweet to finally see this up and running. Thanks to those who got it ready and those already posting neat projects.

I'm really giving away a video iPod
If there's not a specific iPod already in mind, would it be a useful option of cash/hardware/Amazon certificate/whatever more functional to getting these off the ground? Just thinking, since it seems money resources are almost always a limiting factor for side projects, and the contest could be used to help the projects take off...
posted by whatzit at 10:45 PM on November 8, 2005

we don't actually use those in practice (MeFi, MetaTalk, and Ask MeFi are what we have now)

Yes, we do, Matt. Maybe you haven't been paying attention (*pokes mathowie with a stick*), but MeFi, MeTa, and AskMe are pretty much cemented into the meta-lexicon now, as shorthand names, and are used on a daily basis by most everyone who isn't a hater and therefore sucking it.

You know, not that it matters much at all, but.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:50 PM on November 8, 2005

Wow, it looks like ass in OmniWeb, and I guess maybe very early versions of Safari.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:55 PM on November 8, 2005

Whoops, yeah, I posted a not-new project before I read this thread - I think we should be allowed to post old stuff for the first month (or two - I've got another one!) - but go on and delete it if you don't think that's cool.
posted by nicwolff at 10:58 PM on November 8, 2005

I'm not sure if I did this correctly, but googling for all pages under the metafilter.com containing "askme" returned 608 hits (lower than I expected), while doing the same for "ask mefi" without the phrases "ask mefi archives" and "search ask mefi" (since those phrases are part of the ask metafilter layout) returned 122 hits.
posted by gsteff at 11:32 PM on November 8, 2005

fyi, matt, I just tried to vote for nicwolff's password generator and got back a "there was an error recording your vote" message.
posted by melissa may at 12:24 AM on November 9, 2005

damned Diebold.
posted by taz at 12:33 AM on November 9, 2005

I really wish it looked like the other metafilter pages. Seems like the coloured backgrounds are on the way out, and that is sad!

I tend to agree with stavros t.w. chicken, but I guess Projects is basically for content that would belong on the front page if it wasn't a self link?

It would be nice to have a collaboration engine, and it would be nice to get well meaning constructive feedback on any project (individual, collaborative, just starting, basically finished, whatever), which makes the lack of comments kind of a downer (comments might well be completely impractical due to noise and nastiness... oh well...).

So, can we have collaboration too?
posted by Chuckles at 2:00 AM on November 9, 2005

Please don't call this TellMe or ShowMe. Urgh. They sound so FORCED. Why the constant urge to shorten everything down to the smallest possible morsel? Is typing out the word "Projects" so difficult?

On a positive note, I look forward to the content! It will be nice to get to know everyone a little bit better by seeing what they can/do create. This is sure to bring metafilter to a whole new level.

Re: Colors and design.... Matt will work it out. Let him get the guts working and de-bugged and then I'm sure he'll get the visuals sorted in no time. It'll come together relatively soon and eventually I'm sure all 4 sections will be seamless.
posted by evoo at 2:14 AM on November 9, 2005

I'd say comments are a good idea too.
posted by Orange Goblin at 4:32 AM on November 9, 2005

Please don't call this TellMe or ShowMe. Urgh. They sound so FORCED.

I'm going to call it TeMe from now on, or maybe just TM, sheerly to piss you off. This will give me much pleasure.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:45 AM on November 9, 2005

Please don't call this TellMe or ShowMe.

What stavros said. You call it what you like, we'll call it what we like. How's that for a deal?
posted by languagehat at 5:50 AM on November 9, 2005

COBRA, go ahead and post about your zine,

HA! Vindicated! I was being dumb. IN YOUR FACE, INTERROBANG!

Thanks for building this, Matt
posted by COBRA! at 6:13 AM on November 9, 2005

Thanks for this, Matt =) I'm with the people who sorta wish there was a place for "help me with my ongoing or incomplete project, please!" posts, but I know ponies of this size only come along once in a long while. Maybe someone will make an unofficial HelpMe, sort of like the pre-Mefi Projects mailing list.

Wow, it looks like ass in OmniWeb
Doesn't everything?
posted by cyrusdogstar at 7:17 AM on November 9, 2005

if we call it TM we can use ™

that's sure to piss people off. that's "&trade;", kids.
posted by andrew cooke at 8:04 AM on November 9, 2005

Is there a policy/consensus about posting projects from MFP to the blue, if we're not associated with the project and just think it's something good? Because I'd post OEDLIF if it was something I had come across on my own outside of MFP, and I don't make many FPPs so that's saying something. Kosher, or not?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:54 AM on November 9, 2005

"You can't vote for your own project, silly."

Damnit, what's the point, then?
posted by Plutor at 8:55 AM on November 9, 2005

Except, I'd spell it right in a FPP. I hope.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:56 AM on November 9, 2005

DevilsAdvocate: "Is there a policy/consensus about posting projects from MFP to the blue, if we're not associated with the project and just think it's something good? Because I'd post OEDLIF if it was something I had come across on my own outside of MFP, and I don't make many FPPs so that's saying something. Kosher, or not?"

I'd say totally kosher. I think that's a large portion of the point of MePro™. On the other hand, policies are written by those who act first, so..

/me rushes to post OEDILF before DevilsAdvocate
posted by Plutor at 9:02 AM on November 9, 2005

"This is for announcing recently completed projects with something to show for it. "

Did I just screw up with my post? I haven't actually started my project in earnest and the link I posted is to some comics I have done and am likely to include in whatever I end up printing up. If I did violate the rules you can just delete it!
posted by mrs.pants at 9:06 AM on November 9, 2005

Good stuff there.
Thanks Matt.

Comments would be nice though.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 9:15 AM on November 9, 2005

I like MeProj or ProjMe more, because Pro already means something this isn't. Matt's the only MeFiPro around here (unless any of you would like to sponsor my posting. It'll be like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting— I'll put your logo on my user page and every now and then will end an FPP or comment with "brought to you by...")

C'mon, it beats pledge drives.
posted by klangklangston at 9:18 AM on November 9, 2005

Just want to echo benzo8's comment on the lack of username on the site - lack of indication of being logged in was very disorienting.
posted by jazon at 9:29 AM on November 9, 2005

How does the voting thing work? When I voted for the test post my name was not added at either end, like I had expected, but in the middle of the group. Are the voters listed in order of user number? Because it makes more sense (to me) to list them in order of votes.
posted by rhapsodie at 10:30 AM on November 9, 2005

rhapsodie:

why does that make more sense? How is the order of votes in any way important? If it's just a matter of seeing that you're among the votees, some other interface tweak would help that (say, bolding a logged-in user's userid in the list or putting a "you've already voted" bit next to or in place of the vote+ link.
posted by cortex at 10:37 AM on November 9, 2005

When I vote I get 'There was an error recording your vote'.
posted by prolific at 10:52 AM on November 9, 2005

What prolific said.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:14 AM on November 9, 2005

How about MeDo?
posted by R. Mutt at 11:30 AM on November 9, 2005

ProjeFi has a ring to it.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:07 PM on November 9, 2005

MePro
posted by Rothko at 12:08 PM on November 9, 2005

Wow, it looks like ass in OmniWeb
Doesn't everything?

Actually, no, not since they started using the Safari engine.

They're a few revs behind now, though, which is kind of unfortunate. Still, I don't usually have much trouble with sites rendering properly.
posted by kindall at 12:14 PM on November 9, 2005

Although, most definitely not "ProMe". Say it out loud.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:14 PM on November 9, 2005

How about "DoMe"?
posted by five fresh fish at 12:21 PM on November 9, 2005

mathowie, I've seen what you've written regarding comments on the about page, and I've read the other comments here about adding comments functionality. I am adding another voice to the "for comments" faction.

To help reduce noise, etc. perhaps voting for a project lets you have 1 comment (like when you're voting). For the votes that I cast I would've loved to have been able to say why, or to make a brief suggestion. Knowing the number of votes alone won't help those projects out that don't bubble up to the blue, and some more perspectives from other users may help the borderline cases become better.
posted by safetyfork at 12:27 PM on November 9, 2005

Yeah, I'm for comments as well. I've seen two projects today already where I would've liked to follow up with a question or suggestion. Maybe let the posters decide whether to enable commenting on their project?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:46 PM on November 9, 2005

The link that's in my MeFi profile is my project. I have another website that's been around forever (which I consider my main "me" site) that's not in my MeFi profile.
From my point of view, my project counts as a true project, slowly growing, and I want to add things and need feedback and contributors... perfect for the projects page. But from a MeFi point of view it's just 'that site that's in my profile'. I would love to add it there, but I'm afraid people will go "Wah,wah, that's just your blog! Boo!" and it's NOT. I could show you "just my blog", but it's dreadfully uninteresting.

So is the fact that I already linked to my project from my profile (as my website) in any way a problem if I want to add the project to the project page?
posted by easternblot at 12:48 PM on November 9, 2005

This is very inspiring. Maybe I'll get off my ass and do something.
posted by smackfu at 2:31 PM on November 9, 2005

MeMe.
posted by flashboy at 2:33 PM on November 9, 2005

I was wierded by no comment section as well but it makes sense. You wouldn't want some fool totally ripping a member on what they've done in a public place. Anyone who wants feedback can just make sure they have an email listed in either the project or in their profile.
posted by Mitheral at 2:38 PM on November 9, 2005

Great concept Matt - it's really a change in mindset that you're encouraging self-linking to all the exciting work being done for a change!
posted by jasper411 at 3:53 PM on November 9, 2005

So I'm designing a wine bottle rack right now and was wondering wha... er, wrong kind of project, I reckon.
posted by Dick Paris at 5:53 PM on November 9, 2005

One more vote for comments. With the brains in this pool, it'd be a shame to not get critical feedback on each other's projects.


Either way, thanks for getting this up, Matt.
posted by Alt F4 at 6:14 PM on November 9, 2005

I'm also getting the "error recording your vote" message when I try to add my vote to a project.
posted by LeeJay at 6:48 PM on November 9, 2005

Why does that make more sense? How is the order of votes in any way important? If it's just a matter of seeing that you're among the votees, some other interface tweak would help that (say, bolding a logged-in user's userid in the list or putting a "you've already voted" bit next to or in place of the vote+ link.

I guess it's just what I had expected. I saw the list of names change slightly but didn't see my name added to either end of the list. It took a bit to see that my vote had registered. As you say, there could be a better way of doing that.
posted by rhapsodie at 7:05 PM on November 9, 2005

It's MeFi Pro only if we can have MeFi Gold, Mefi Turbo and finally: MeFi Turbo Pro Gold.
posted by bonehead at 7:41 PM on November 9, 2005

*awaits Super MeFighter II Alpha Turbo*
posted by cortex at 7:49 PM on November 9, 2005

Is there any chance of NOT having a competition about who gets the best project ?
I don't think its going to build up the idea of community , of mefi people lending a hand to each other with their projects , it makes it competitive and thats not good for mefi.
Instead of posting something and having a good crack with people about it , we've entered some sort of lord of the flies type scenario.........
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:31 AM on November 10, 2005

sgt.serenity, the competition is just to get it started. The site will continue after the giveaway, so wait a month if you feel the need.

Is there a policy/consensus about posting projects from MFP to the blue, if we're not associated with the project and just think it's something good?

That's precisely the point. I'm surprised no one posted a link on metafilter for that.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:33 AM on November 10, 2005

well , i'm not sure if the votes thing is productive , what if it ends up being like here ? i mean some posts are really good but only get 3 replies and so forth.........i don't know if i'm making sense here......im thinking community versus competitiveness........
posted by sgt.serenity at 9:06 AM on November 10, 2005

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of voting.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:43 AM on November 10, 2005

"MeMe". Heh.

Another user here who can't view it at all in Safari 1.0.3, OS X. The text doesn't display.

Fantastic idea Matt. This really is a wonderful community, and I look forward to seeing what people are up to. *feels the lurrve*
posted by jokeefe at 1:37 PM on November 10, 2005

Fantastic mathowie, thanks.

(Though I heartily second: I really wish it looked like the other metafilter pages. Seems like the coloured backgrounds are on the way out, and that is sad!)

Howbout TryMe?
posted by penguin pie at 10:43 AM on November 11, 2005

MePro works.
posted by dazed_one at 9:40 PM on November 11, 2005

This thread is a few days old, but given that it's still up on the sideblog and I like to keep things in one place, I'm going to ask here (and even though it may have been mentioned above).

What are the posting requirements for new users to Projects?

I applaud the heck out of the site that makes up this example, but chronic babe joined the 14th of November and hasn't made any comments on the site yet*, but has already posted to Projects. It seems a bit soon. (Isn't it a week +3 comments to post to the Front Page, shouldn't it be something like that or longer for Projects?).

I have the nagging feeling like this has been covered upthread or elsewhere in the discourse concerning projetcs. ....like MH is working on it....??? Or, maybe it's OK.

*From User Page: member since: November 14, 2005
chronic babe has posted no links to MetaFilter
and no threads and no comments to MetaTalk
and no questions and no answers to Ask MetaFilter
posted by safetyfork at 8:08 AM on November 17, 2005

I'm getting a "There was an error recording your vote" error.
posted by holloway at 2:24 PM on November 17, 2005

Feedback is important. How about a click-through counter? I still wonder about all the MeFi blue posts that are really cool but don't get many comments.

Voting may not be the best ranking because there isn't any way to tell if the vote if for the site or the author.

Click-through and votes will give more information than either of them separately.

Comments seem like a good idea.

I wish I could think of a better way to improve feedback.
posted by warbaby at 3:36 AM on November 18, 2005

*warbaby's famous 'second thoughts' strikes again*

Ponder this: what is a reasonable "figure of merit" function so the good stuff floats to the top?

Voting is a race to the lowest common denominator. Clickthroughs really only measure the come-on. What other stats are available to measure quality?

Sheesh, I feel like the guy writing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

Are you still teaching quality?

posted by warbaby at 3:43 AM on November 18, 2005