Post deletion reason? December 22, 2005 11:54 AM Subscribe
Why was the AxMe post "If you were going to relocate permanently from the present day to Rome circa 100 BC, and you could bring only one piece of luggage (standard carry-on dimensions) what would you pack?" deleted?
See, if you had read the thread, rather than just snarking, you would realize that what people were coming up with was actually quite interesting.
posted by bshort at 11:57 AM on December 22, 2005
posted by bshort at 11:57 AM on December 22, 2005
It was deleted. How was I supposed read the thread?
My comment was, a little snarky, but intended to answer your question. It was most likely deleted because it was too chatty of a question that doesn't have an answer. You are just asking other people what they would do.
posted by dios at 12:02 PM on December 22, 2005
My comment was, a little snarky, but intended to answer your question. It was most likely deleted because it was too chatty of a question that doesn't have an answer. You are just asking other people what they would do.
posted by dios at 12:02 PM on December 22, 2005
Uhhh, do you really need to be told why that was deleted?
posted by SweetJesus at 12:02 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by SweetJesus at 12:02 PM on December 22, 2005
I should post an AskMefi question:
"What is a comma splice and how do I avoid them?"
posted by dios at 12:03 PM on December 22, 2005
"What is a comma splice and how do I avoid them?"
posted by dios at 12:03 PM on December 22, 2005
Note: I didn't post the question.
I'm only defending it. Hypothetical questions are posted all the time. Why was this one singled out?
posted by bshort at 12:03 PM on December 22, 2005
I'm only defending it. Hypothetical questions are posted all the time. Why was this one singled out?
posted by bshort at 12:03 PM on December 22, 2005
Why were the comments about "Pepsi Blue" deleted from this thread?
It's Matt's sekrit-klubhous, and if Matt wants to be the Top Hat when we play Monopoly, Matt gets to be the Top Hat!
posted by orthogonality at 12:05 PM on December 22, 2005
It's Matt's sekrit-klubhous, and if Matt wants to be the Top Hat when we play Monopoly, Matt gets to be the Top Hat!
posted by orthogonality at 12:05 PM on December 22, 2005
Hypothetical questions with real world applicability are usually left up. Hypothetical questions in support of real world projects (I'm writing a novel and...) are usually left up. Hypothetical questions with no possibility of being realized and no justification for the need for an answer are usually taken down.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:06 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by jacquilynne at 12:06 PM on December 22, 2005
I assume it was deleted because it was determined to be "ChatFilter." I'd like to think it wouldn't have been deleted if, for example, the poster had addended the same question with something along the lines of, "This question is aimed to help me brainstorm for a science fiction novel I'm writing." If that seems an arbitrary and semantic distinction...well, I kinda agree.
posted by cribcage at 12:09 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by cribcage at 12:09 PM on December 22, 2005
You mean the Rome 100B.C. meetup is canceled?
Excuse me, I've gotta go cancel that toga order.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:10 PM on December 22, 2005
Excuse me, I've gotta go cancel that toga order.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:10 PM on December 22, 2005
dios's point is valid. Chatty threads are often interesting, that doesn't mean they are appropriate for AskMe. The posting guidelines say "Open-ended chatty questions that don't offer a problem to be solved are detrimental to the long term usefulness of the site." and the wiki is pretty clear that hypothetical "what if" type questions aren't what AskMetafilter is for.
A general rule of thumb is to avoid questions where all answers are equally valid, i.e. what jacquilynne said. This includes "What is your favorite X?" and "what if Hitler had never been born?" types of questions.
There are many MeFi spin-off sites where chatty questions are encouraged and celebrated and thiswould have will be great on one of them.
posted by jessamyn at 12:12 PM on December 22, 2005
A general rule of thumb is to avoid questions where all answers are equally valid, i.e. what jacquilynne said. This includes "What is your favorite X?" and "what if Hitler had never been born?" types of questions.
There are many MeFi spin-off sites where chatty questions are encouraged and celebrated and this
posted by jessamyn at 12:12 PM on December 22, 2005
Am I the only one who thinks 'AxMe' is racist?
posted by The Jesse Helms at 12:14 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by The Jesse Helms at 12:14 PM on December 22, 2005
What would constitute a "best answer" for such a question?
posted by kjh at 12:15 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by kjh at 12:15 PM on December 22, 2005
The Jesse Helms: "Am I the only one who thinks 'AxMe' is racist?"
If you assume that only [insert minority] uses "Ax", you're the racist one.
posted by Plutor at 12:23 PM on December 22, 2005
If you assume that only [insert minority] uses "Ax", you're the racist one.
posted by Plutor at 12:23 PM on December 22, 2005
Am I the only one who thinks 'AxMe' is racist?
No but let me summarize the conversation for you.
1. "AskMe is racist"
2. "Why's that?"
3. "Because black people say "Axe" instead of "Ask.""
4. "So?"
5. "So, that's racist. You're making fun of them."
6. "How's that?"
7. "If you don't see why, you are just like Hitler."
[godwin, etc]
8. "Actually, if you look it up, the pronunciation "ax" predates "ask." Some populations still use it. It's not like black people altered the word or made it their own in any way. If you hear it as a black pronunciation, that's your own association. And if you assocaite black with pejorative, then you, in fact, are the racist."
[no one listens, see godwin, above]
posted by scarabic at 12:25 PM on December 22, 2005
No but let me summarize the conversation for you.
1. "AskMe is racist"
2. "Why's that?"
3. "Because black people say "Axe" instead of "Ask.""
4. "So?"
5. "So, that's racist. You're making fun of them."
6. "How's that?"
7. "If you don't see why, you are just like Hitler."
[godwin, etc]
8. "Actually, if you look it up, the pronunciation "ax" predates "ask." Some populations still use it. It's not like black people altered the word or made it their own in any way. If you hear it as a black pronunciation, that's your own association. And if you assocaite black with pejorative, then you, in fact, are the racist."
[no one listens, see godwin, above]
posted by scarabic at 12:25 PM on December 22, 2005
A chatty thread was deleted on Ask.Mefi? :O :O :O
posted by chunking express at 1:06 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by chunking express at 1:06 PM on December 22, 2005
If you assume that only [insert minority] uses "Ax", you're the racist one.
Maybe The Jesse Helms really is The Jesse Helms!
posted by gigawhat? at 1:16 PM on December 22, 2005
Maybe The Jesse Helms really is The Jesse Helms!
posted by gigawhat? at 1:16 PM on December 22, 2005
Am I the only one who thinks 'AxMe' is racist?
Well, I think Kubrick's intent was to use the sudden and unceremonious death of Hallorann as a sort of subversion of the typical hollywoodish rescue tactic -- so the fact that Scatman Crothers is black is wholly incidental to the event of his murder by Jack and the question of racism is moot.
posted by cortex at 1:23 PM on December 22, 2005
Well, I think Kubrick's intent was to use the sudden and unceremonious death of Hallorann as a sort of subversion of the typical hollywoodish rescue tactic -- so the fact that Scatman Crothers is black is wholly incidental to the event of his murder by Jack and the question of racism is moot.
posted by cortex at 1:23 PM on December 22, 2005
If you drew a pie chart of the percentages of people who say "Axe" instead of Ask, you would find that the slice of the pie that corresponded to black people was perfectly analogous to the percentage of black people living in poverty, and that the slice of the pie which represented POOR people was, in fact, the whole pie.
seriously, it's said on long island by white folk, the midwest, by any one whose education wasn't all that hot.
posted by shmegegge at 1:42 PM on December 22, 2005
seriously, it's said on long island by white folk, the midwest, by any one whose education wasn't all that hot.
posted by shmegegge at 1:42 PM on December 22, 2005
So can I eat pie or is that racist too? I need to know - I haven't eaten all day.
posted by longbaugh at 1:48 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by longbaugh at 1:48 PM on December 22, 2005
Not eating all day is soooooo middle-class white suburbanite.
posted by kcm at 1:49 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by kcm at 1:49 PM on December 22, 2005
even if sometimes those who mention the "AxMe/racism" situation do seem to have an ax to grind, I don't really like "AxMe" either.
posted by PenguinBukkake at 2:01 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by PenguinBukkake at 2:01 PM on December 22, 2005
seriously, it's said on long island by white folk, the midwest, by any one whose education wasn't all that hot.
ten to one that the people up in hizzere usin' it got some of that book-learnin'.
posted by fishfucker at 2:53 PM on December 22, 2005
STOP ALL THE APPROPRIATION* PEOPLE
*ALSO THE DOWNLOADING
posted by fishfucker at 2:53 PM on December 22, 2005
*ALSO THE DOWNLOADING
posted by fishfucker at 2:53 PM on December 22, 2005
Actually, if you look it up, the pronunciation "ax" predates "ask."
That's really interesting...do you have a cite I could share with some others on another board?
posted by Kickstart70 at 3:53 PM on December 22, 2005
That's really interesting...do you have a cite I could share with some others on another board?
posted by Kickstart70 at 3:53 PM on December 22, 2005
No, because he totally made it up.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:57 PM on December 22, 2005
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:57 PM on December 22, 2005
"Why was the AxMe post... deleted?"
Because it sucked, and was abusing Ask Metafilter as a chat room.
posted by majick at 9:04 PM on December 22, 2005
Because it sucked, and was abusing Ask Metafilter as a chat room.
posted by majick at 9:04 PM on December 22, 2005
No, because he totally made it up.
Um, no, he didn't.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:55 AM on December 23, 2005
Um, no, he didn't.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:55 AM on December 23, 2005
detrimental to the long term usefulness of the site
Yeh, that thinking is just rubbish, though. A question like the Rome one can pop up on a google search when the searcher is also pondering that common what-would-you-take-to-the-past question, and they will love the thread (which was quite well answered), or it will be stumbled over and the quality will draw people into the site.
What's most crap is that rewording the question would let it stay. Can't we just have a button on the posting form that automatically adds one of "I'm discussing this with my son, to teach him history/this is for a novel/whatever spurious justification will stay the axe"?
That how-would-you-kill-a-dinosaur question was equally chat, but stayed because it had a little rider. Bad deletion.
posted by bonaldi at 6:12 AM on December 23, 2005
Yeh, that thinking is just rubbish, though. A question like the Rome one can pop up on a google search when the searcher is also pondering that common what-would-you-take-to-the-past question, and they will love the thread (which was quite well answered), or it will be stumbled over and the quality will draw people into the site.
What's most crap is that rewording the question would let it stay. Can't we just have a button on the posting form that automatically adds one of "I'm discussing this with my son, to teach him history/this is for a novel/whatever spurious justification will stay the axe"?
That how-would-you-kill-a-dinosaur question was equally chat, but stayed because it had a little rider. Bad deletion.
posted by bonaldi at 6:12 AM on December 23, 2005
That's how fucken sneaky I am. I put little riders on T.Rex. Oh yeah. Dino-cowboys, yee-ha! etc.
posted by longbaugh at 7:01 AM on December 23, 2005
posted by longbaugh at 7:01 AM on December 23, 2005
Actually, if you look it up, the pronunciation "ax" predates "ask."
True.
And the correct answer is: ingots of aluminum.
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:02 AM on December 23, 2005
True.
And the correct answer is: ingots of aluminum.
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:02 AM on December 23, 2005
Or a solar powered calculator or squeeze-powered torch or science textbook or an inflatable sheep for Caligula...
posted by longbaugh at 7:09 AM on December 23, 2005
posted by longbaugh at 7:09 AM on December 23, 2005
What if the question was posted by time travelling philip k dick?
posted by drezdn at 7:53 AM on December 23, 2005
posted by drezdn at 7:53 AM on December 23, 2005
Then the answer would be - a typewriter and several handfuls of amphetamines.
posted by longbaugh at 8:15 AM on December 23, 2005
posted by longbaugh at 8:15 AM on December 23, 2005
Because it sucked, and was abusing Ask Metafilter as a chat room.
Yes, but of course "Why do people dislike Paul McCartney so much?" is valid fare for the day.
Meh. Puritans just another reason to avoid AxMe. News at 11.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:01 AM on December 23, 2005
Yes, but of course "Why do people dislike Paul McCartney so much?" is valid fare for the day.
Meh. Puritans just another reason to avoid AxMe. News at 11.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:01 AM on December 23, 2005
Sometimes people aren't consistent, life isn't fair, and the world doesn't end. News at 11.
posted by smackfu at 10:46 AM on December 23, 2005
posted by smackfu at 10:46 AM on December 23, 2005
If I could have a time machine and go back to ancient Rome, the one thing I would take would be a suitcase sized time machine, for quick hops back to the present to pick up groceries and magic boom sticks.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:52 AM on December 23, 2005
posted by blue_beetle at 11:52 AM on December 23, 2005
What I'd want is a suitcase-sized time machine so I could get the fuck out of ancient Rome before I got killed or died of something stupid.
posted by kindall at 12:39 PM on December 23, 2005
posted by kindall at 12:39 PM on December 23, 2005
"Yes, but of course "Why do people dislike Paul McCartney so much?" is valid fare for the day."
No, it's not. I flagged that shit, too.
Ask Metafilter is special because it's one place, out of most of them on the web, that is not awash in crap. Why bitch about keeping it that way?
posted by majick at 2:36 PM on December 23, 2005
No, it's not. I flagged that shit, too.
Ask Metafilter is special because it's one place, out of most of them on the web, that is not awash in crap. Why bitch about keeping it that way?
posted by majick at 2:36 PM on December 23, 2005
You know, you used to be able to buy a whole ship for just 30-40 british pounds.
I'm just saying.
posted by delmoi at 5:02 PM on December 23, 2005
I'm just saying.
posted by delmoi at 5:02 PM on December 23, 2005
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
And, how are you today?
posted by dios at 11:56 AM on December 22, 2005