Why don't you put your email address in your profile? January 9, 2006 2:25 AM Subscribe
It's good to see you. You're looking well, but I'm curious about something. Why don't you put your email address in your profile? It's just something I've been wondering about so I thought I'd raise it as a way of encouraging people to add their email to their profile page - go on, nothing bad will happen. In fact, good things might just follow.
I have my email in my profile. Feel free to send me something! But I think there are a lot of people who still fear spam or really any unsolicited emails. The same way I wouldn't give my home address to a stranger on the street, many people don't want to give their email addresses to the whole Internet. I don't feel that way at all, but I've known people who do.
posted by Plutor at 3:59 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by Plutor at 3:59 AM on January 9, 2006
Look, I am a fairly controversial poster at times but very rarely have I gotten any email from anyone, let alone something nasty. And I am pretty much to the Right of everyone here, not to mention the token Christian.
posted by konolia at 4:03 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by konolia at 4:03 AM on January 9, 2006
One of my twenty or so email addresses is in my profile. Um, so yeah. Just saying.
posted by sjvilla79 at 4:20 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by sjvilla79 at 4:20 AM on January 9, 2006
Plutor: technically it's not the whole internet since only registered members can see your email address.
My address is on file and the only emails I've ever received were to say thanks for an AskMe answer. And to debate the relative merits of comic book supervillains. Certainly nothing nasty.
posted by blag at 4:21 AM on January 9, 2006
My address is on file and the only emails I've ever received were to say thanks for an AskMe answer. And to debate the relative merits of comic book supervillains. Certainly nothing nasty.
posted by blag at 4:21 AM on January 9, 2006
For the 50 millionth nippleclamping time: it takes a total of about 4 minutes to get a free, disposable, MeFi-only email account at Hotmail or Yahoo or Gmail (or Shitmail or Homail or SheMale) or whatever strikes your fancy. If you haven't figured this out yet, I humbly suggest you turn off your computer and just go read a book instead, 'cause You Fail At The Internet.
Not that I have any interest in emailing a single one of you mad bastards, and I don't really care one way or the other, but there's really no excuse not to have at least disposable email address in your profile.
Kind Regards,
wonderchicken, stavrosthe
PS That whole nippleclamping thing was just a vicious rumour started by my enemies.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:28 AM on January 9, 2006
Not that I have any interest in emailing a single one of you mad bastards, and I don't really care one way or the other, but there's really no excuse not to have at least disposable email address in your profile.
Kind Regards,
wonderchicken, stavrosthe
PS That whole nippleclamping thing was just a vicious rumour started by my enemies.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:28 AM on January 9, 2006
blag: "Plutor: technically it's not the whole internet since only registered members can see your email address."
I know that, and you know that. And we trust that it's true and will remain true. But a lot of people don't trust the Internet with anything.
posted by Plutor at 4:29 AM on January 9, 2006
I know that, and you know that. And we trust that it's true and will remain true. But a lot of people don't trust the Internet with anything.
posted by Plutor at 4:29 AM on January 9, 2006
stavrosthewonderchicken: "For the 50 millionth nippleclamping time: it takes a total of about 4 minutes to get a free, disposable, MeFi-only email account at Hotmail or Yahoo or Gmail (or Shitmail or Homail or SheMale) or whatever strikes your fancy. If you haven't figured this out yet, I humbly suggest you turn off your computer and just go read a book instead, 'cause You Fail At The Internet."
The people who don't have email addresses listed clearly don't care that you can't email them. Why would they go clamp their nipples to make your life more pleasant?
posted by Plutor at 4:30 AM on January 9, 2006
The people who don't have email addresses listed clearly don't care that you can't email them. Why would they go clamp their nipples to make your life more pleasant?
posted by Plutor at 4:30 AM on January 9, 2006
Why don't you put your email address in your profile?
Because I have a link to my website in my profile.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:43 AM on January 9, 2006
Because I have a link to my website in my profile.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:43 AM on January 9, 2006
I have never received any spam at the email address in my profile. I get an occasional email from members, mostly a thank you here and there, sometimes a clarification and rarely a complaint. Fear of spam, from advertisers or members, is not really a reason to skip the email in your profile. Just in case it could be a different email address than your regular one, but then do try to check it every so often.
posted by caddis at 4:44 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by caddis at 4:44 AM on January 9, 2006
wonderbird, what would be the point of getting a disposable email address to place in a profile? The very fact that some of us choose not to provide an email address makes it unlikely that we'd ever check the disposable email address.
Why is this even an issue? Does it really burn peoples' buns that they're unable to send email to some of us? That's kind of creepy.
posted by veedubya at 5:19 AM on January 9, 2006
Why is this even an issue? Does it really burn peoples' buns that they're unable to send email to some of us? That's kind of creepy.
posted by veedubya at 5:19 AM on January 9, 2006
If you just quit worrying about it, it turns out to be pretty manageable.
I've used the same email address for ten years, I've posted it directly to usenet, it's listed here, it's listed almost openly on my website... I get about 50-100 spam messages a day. Occasionally a week will go by when one or two per day get through my provider's spam filter, then it gets updated and they stop for a month or two - so that's about 10 spam messages per month. No big deal!
Why worry?
posted by Chuckles at 5:22 AM on January 9, 2006
I've used the same email address for ten years, I've posted it directly to usenet, it's listed here, it's listed almost openly on my website... I get about 50-100 spam messages a day. Occasionally a week will go by when one or two per day get through my provider's spam filter, then it gets updated and they stop for a month or two - so that's about 10 spam messages per month. No big deal!
Why worry?
posted by Chuckles at 5:22 AM on January 9, 2006
Why worry?
Because I'm abandoning the email address I've had since 1992 because of the spam load, point of fact. Last year, it was over 180,000.
Yes, I tracked.
But, since I'm now running my own email server [1], this makes dumping the address simple.
Plus, I have my former website up. This was fine back when it was my real website, but I should fix that.
posted by eriko at 5:28 AM on January 9, 2006
Because I'm abandoning the email address I've had since 1992 because of the spam load, point of fact. Last year, it was over 180,000.
Yes, I tracked.
But, since I'm now running my own email server [1], this makes dumping the address simple.
Plus, I have my former website up. This was fine back when it was my real website, but I should fix that.
posted by eriko at 5:28 AM on January 9, 2006
[1] I've been a sysadmin forever. Ever hear the story about how the carpenter's house was always falling apart? I didn't want to work on computers when I got home. Plus, I didn't have UPS, etc. Still don't have a redundant line.
Anyway, this thread taught me the proper way to sort stavrosthewonderchicken, so it can't be all bad.
posted by eriko at 5:31 AM on January 9, 2006
Anyway, this thread taught me the proper way to sort stavrosthewonderchicken, so it can't be all bad.
posted by eriko at 5:31 AM on January 9, 2006
PS That whole nippleclamping thing was just a vicious rumour started by my enemies.
Dude, you were running around Kampong with a big neon sign saying "Clamp my nipples for beer!"
Wasn't it the fourth grunt that said "Hey, this isn't beer?"
posted by eriko at 5:33 AM on January 9, 2006
Dude, you were running around Kampong with a big neon sign saying "Clamp my nipples for beer!"
Wasn't it the fourth grunt that said "Hey, this isn't beer?"
posted by eriko at 5:33 AM on January 9, 2006
veedubya: Why is this even an issue? Does it really burn peoples' buns that they're unable to send email to some of us? That's kind of creepy.
The benefit of having an address listed is hard to define and impossible to measure, while the cost, if one has a vivid imagination, is extreme. So, one reacts with fear... Not a good way to build community.
Anyway, I have occasionally wanted to send a message to a user. Access to a file via ftp is the most common reason. Once or twice I've wanted to follow up on an old AskMe question... It is very disheartening to realise something important about an old question and find out that there is no way to contact the asker.
posted by Chuckles at 5:38 AM on January 9, 2006
The benefit of having an address listed is hard to define and impossible to measure, while the cost, if one has a vivid imagination, is extreme. So, one reacts with fear... Not a good way to build community.
Anyway, I have occasionally wanted to send a message to a user. Access to a file via ftp is the most common reason. Once or twice I've wanted to follow up on an old AskMe question... It is very disheartening to realise something important about an old question and find out that there is no way to contact the asker.
posted by Chuckles at 5:38 AM on January 9, 2006
I wanted to email a couple of people on AskMe threads recently but there wasn't anything in their profile, which was really annoying. I've got plenty of Gmail invites if anyone wants one (address in profile).
posted by TheDonF at 5:49 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by TheDonF at 5:49 AM on January 9, 2006
Why is this even an issue? Does it really burn peoples' buns that they're unable to send email to some of us? That's kind of creepy.
Sometimes disputes that come up in MeFi/AskMe/MeTa are the sort that could be resolved via email and we definitely see a lot of people who post "Well I was going to take this derail to email but you don't have an email in your profile so I guess I'll put it here" and derail threads. Not surprisingly, I get a lot of email from MeFites and it's probably 90% useful/helpful/informative and 10% spew/hate/junk.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:58 AM on January 9, 2006
Sometimes disputes that come up in MeFi/AskMe/MeTa are the sort that could be resolved via email and we definitely see a lot of people who post "Well I was going to take this derail to email but you don't have an email in your profile so I guess I'll put it here" and derail threads. Not surprisingly, I get a lot of email from MeFites and it's probably 90% useful/helpful/informative and 10% spew/hate/junk.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:58 AM on January 9, 2006
I seldom get email, and with the exception of one jerky email from one of the site's well-known assholes, what I have gotten has been very pleasant and welcome.
posted by orange swan at 6:18 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by orange swan at 6:18 AM on January 9, 2006
I do have an email in my profile. But yeah, one of my first posts here was about politics on the blue, and I got a bunch of emails from some psycho neolib who thought it was cool to mailbomb people with whom he disagreed.
One good reason not to provide an email is that MeFi etiquette seems to encourage using email to contact members for a variety of reasons, often having to do with complaints — and in most internet circles, that's taboo. I'm in the camp that believes public discussions should remain public; I think it's incredibly rude (by online standards) to pollute someone's mailbox with bitching about what they posted on a public forum (or how they posted it).
Most of you disagree — so yeah, I'd encourage people who don't want to hear from you to leave the email field blank.
posted by cribcage at 6:46 AM on January 9, 2006
One good reason not to provide an email is that MeFi etiquette seems to encourage using email to contact members for a variety of reasons, often having to do with complaints — and in most internet circles, that's taboo. I'm in the camp that believes public discussions should remain public; I think it's incredibly rude (by online standards) to pollute someone's mailbox with bitching about what they posted on a public forum (or how they posted it).
Most of you disagree — so yeah, I'd encourage people who don't want to hear from you to leave the email field blank.
posted by cribcage at 6:46 AM on January 9, 2006
Once more matteo bravely clambers into the ring to challenge all comers to a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
posted by veedubya at 6:50 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by veedubya at 6:50 AM on January 9, 2006
I get an occasional email from members, mostly a thank you here and there, sometimes a clarification and rarely a complaint.
Same here. I guess I don't understand what's so frightening about the thought of occasional contact from other members.
posted by languagehat at 6:59 AM on January 9, 2006
Same here. I guess I don't understand what's so frightening about the thought of occasional contact from other members.
posted by languagehat at 6:59 AM on January 9, 2006
The benefit of having an address listed is hard to define and impossible to measure, while the cost, if one has a vivid imagination, is extreme.
This point is well taken. I've tried both listing and not listing, and I would really miss the benefits I've derived from listing. People have sent some interesting follow-ups/answers to threads which were closed (or just aged). I've received links to music people thought I'd like, based on my comments. I've participated in discussions that move off-list due to general lack of interest or because they went beyond the initial topic. I don't think this detracts from community, as long as it's not excessive; on the contrary, it builds community because it increases your depth of knowledge about who is represented here.
The e-mail I have listed is my 'throwaway' account. You could even set up a web mail account just for your MeFi mails, keeping the loop closed, if you want.
And, to some extent, we probably get the e-mail we deserve, based on our comments here. Now and then there is a nutter (I got one, once), but that's easy enough to ignore in favor of the others.
posted by Miko at 7:04 AM on January 9, 2006
This point is well taken. I've tried both listing and not listing, and I would really miss the benefits I've derived from listing. People have sent some interesting follow-ups/answers to threads which were closed (or just aged). I've received links to music people thought I'd like, based on my comments. I've participated in discussions that move off-list due to general lack of interest or because they went beyond the initial topic. I don't think this detracts from community, as long as it's not excessive; on the contrary, it builds community because it increases your depth of knowledge about who is represented here.
The e-mail I have listed is my 'throwaway' account. You could even set up a web mail account just for your MeFi mails, keeping the loop closed, if you want.
And, to some extent, we probably get the e-mail we deserve, based on our comments here. Now and then there is a nutter (I got one, once), but that's easy enough to ignore in favor of the others.
posted by Miko at 7:04 AM on January 9, 2006
Most of the email I get is Ask.Me related - people wanting to provide more personal responses than they're comfortable posting to the thread. Generally speaking, having email in my profile has been to my benefit, and if others feel that the benefit isn't worth the drawbacks, that's their call.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:06 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by jacquilynne at 7:06 AM on January 9, 2006
I've only had good come from having my email listed. But, then, I'm evil, so I hate that.
posted by OmieWise at 7:09 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by OmieWise at 7:09 AM on January 9, 2006
Just remember: if you haven't done anything wrong, you've got nothing to hide. For your safety and convenience, please post your email address.
(Incidentally, email addresses on MeFi would be incredibly easy to harvest, and it would only cost $5!)
posted by blue_beetle at 7:11 AM on January 9, 2006
(Incidentally, email addresses on MeFi would be incredibly easy to harvest, and it would only cost $5!)
posted by blue_beetle at 7:11 AM on January 9, 2006
Post your email address and your real name to your profile. It will make you a better MeFite.
posted by LarryC at 7:16 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by LarryC at 7:16 AM on January 9, 2006
Because I choose not to be spam-bombed by the Righteous Left whenever I choose not to drink the Koolaid.
posted by veedubya at 2:48 AM PST on January 9
If you are concerned that people will e-mail you based on what you say, I would submit that it's not all that bad. I know there are a lot of people here who go into conniption fits because of me. Yet, I figure I get 1:1 e-mails from the (1) "I hope you die you worthless sack of shit" group and the (2) "Hi, I wanted to talk to you about something in a respectful tone" group. Even on the best/worst days, its never more than 3 or so e-mails. It's real easy to ignore the rude ones, and it doesn't take much effort to return the courtesy of reply to those who are making a concerted effort to contact you. I think you will find that most people are more respectful, polite and personable when you converse with them via e-mail.
posted by dios at 7:36 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by veedubya at 2:48 AM PST on January 9
If you are concerned that people will e-mail you based on what you say, I would submit that it's not all that bad. I know there are a lot of people here who go into conniption fits because of me. Yet, I figure I get 1:1 e-mails from the (1) "I hope you die you worthless sack of shit" group and the (2) "Hi, I wanted to talk to you about something in a respectful tone" group. Even on the best/worst days, its never more than 3 or so e-mails. It's real easy to ignore the rude ones, and it doesn't take much effort to return the courtesy of reply to those who are making a concerted effort to contact you. I think you will find that most people are more respectful, polite and personable when you converse with them via e-mail.
posted by dios at 7:36 AM on January 9, 2006
your real name to your profile. It will make you a better MeFite.
posted by LarryC at 7:16 AM PST on January 9
I would encourage everyone to post their e-mail addresses. But there are very real and persuasive reasons not to use one's real name.
posted by dios at 7:37 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by LarryC at 7:16 AM PST on January 9
I would encourage everyone to post their e-mail addresses. But there are very real and persuasive reasons not to use one's real name.
posted by dios at 7:37 AM on January 9, 2006
Just because you haven't done anything wrong, doesn't mean you have to prove it. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?
posted by Apoch at 7:38 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by Apoch at 7:38 AM on January 9, 2006
But there are very real and persuasive reasons not to use one's real name.
Agreed. There are some really rude, disrespectful people out there who make it an issue.
posted by Rothko at 7:42 AM on January 9, 2006
Agreed. There are some really rude, disrespectful people out there who make it an issue.
posted by Rothko at 7:42 AM on January 9, 2006
Even on the best/worst days, its never more than 3 or so e-mails.
Groovy, dios. Real groovy. Even on the worst days I probably won't get more than three hate-filled emails. By most reasonable definitions of reasonableness, that's unreasonable.
dios, you don't have to live this way. All you have to do is, when I hold up four fingers, you tell me that there are five fingers.
posted by veedubya at 7:45 AM on January 9, 2006
Groovy, dios. Real groovy. Even on the worst days I probably won't get more than three hate-filled emails. By most reasonable definitions of reasonableness, that's unreasonable.
dios, you don't have to live this way. All you have to do is, when I hold up four fingers, you tell me that there are five fingers.
posted by veedubya at 7:45 AM on January 9, 2006
Real email address, real name, real lat-long, real aim account. That's BALLS, baby!
posted by JeffK at 8:14 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by JeffK at 8:14 AM on January 9, 2006
Meafilter.com: By most reasonable definitions of reasonableness, it's unreasonable.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:22 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by blue_beetle at 8:22 AM on January 9, 2006
ha
posted by blue_beetle at 8:22 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by blue_beetle at 8:22 AM on January 9, 2006
JeffK: "Real email address, real name, real lat-long, real aim account."
Ditto, although I haven't been on AIM in about a billion years. Also, the accuracy of the lat-long gave me the heebie-jeebies, so I set it to an intersection just down the street from me.
posted by Plutor at 8:30 AM on January 9, 2006
Ditto, although I haven't been on AIM in about a billion years. Also, the accuracy of the lat-long gave me the heebie-jeebies, so I set it to an intersection just down the street from me.
posted by Plutor at 8:30 AM on January 9, 2006
OK, here is an example of why you should post your email address. Last night I stumbled across this wonderful, quirky, amazing music blog. Not only is it great, it listed Metafilter as a "daily click." So with the help of our friends at Metachat, I figured out which Metafilter user owns the blog. But she or he does not give an email address on their profile page. So instead of dropping a private email, I am forced to derail this thread to send a private message:
Hey Record Brother! You rock!
posted by LarryC at 8:32 AM on January 9, 2006
Hey Record Brother! You rock!
posted by LarryC at 8:32 AM on January 9, 2006
I'll post an e-mail and my AIM account, but not my real name- I'm the only one of me there is.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:35 AM on January 9, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:35 AM on January 9, 2006 [1 favorite]
"I'm the only one of me there is."
I knew it! Whoopi Goldberg!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:43 AM on January 9, 2006
I knew it! Whoopi Goldberg!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:43 AM on January 9, 2006
Guess we'll all have to play nice now.
Guess no one can convince you veedubya. Certianly seem a bit wound up about it. Relax, it is not a measure of importaince.
posted by edgeways at 8:45 AM on January 9, 2006
Guess no one can convince you veedubya. Certianly seem a bit wound up about it. Relax, it is not a measure of importaince.
posted by edgeways at 8:45 AM on January 9, 2006
LarryC: "... Last night I stumbled across this wonderful, quirky, amazing music blog. ..."
Wow, awesome! But if you had the email I wouldn't have found out (the mind reels).
posted by 31d1 at 8:46 AM on January 9, 2006
Wow, awesome! But if you had the email I wouldn't have found out (the mind reels).
posted by 31d1 at 8:46 AM on January 9, 2006
but it only takes one nutter.
...to direct a stream of IP packets to your mail client which will translate and render them in pixels on your display device. the unspeakable horror of it shakes me to the core.
that's my real email, real IM account, real lat/long to within 10 meters of where my ass sits in this chair.
posted by quonsar at 9:06 AM on January 9, 2006
...to direct a stream of IP packets to your mail client which will translate and render them in pixels on your display device. the unspeakable horror of it shakes me to the core.
that's my real email, real IM account, real lat/long to within 10 meters of where my ass sits in this chair.
posted by quonsar at 9:06 AM on January 9, 2006
Whoa, crazy stuff edgeways...has that been on the blue yet?
posted by If I Had An Anus at 9:08 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by If I Had An Anus at 9:08 AM on January 9, 2006
we need to match these lat/long coords against topographic maps and render everybody's position-and-elevation on a height-exagerated spiky spheroid of the earth, is what we need to do.
And then get a little green guy with a wide head to roll us around for bit.
posted by cortex at 9:10 AM on January 9, 2006
And then get a little green guy with a wide head to roll us around for bit.
posted by cortex at 9:10 AM on January 9, 2006
...a lot of people don't trust the Internet with anything.
Maybe they should turn the power back off in their cabin, rather than spending so much time on an internet community site.
posted by kyleg at 9:20 AM on January 9, 2006
Maybe they should turn the power back off in their cabin, rather than spending so much time on an internet community site.
posted by kyleg at 9:20 AM on January 9, 2006
Post your email address and your real name to your profile. It will make you a better MeFite.
posted by LarryC at 7:16 AM PST on January 9
I say, post your email address and show up at meetups.
Like Her Pinkness, I'm the only one of me there is. I've only had good things come from having an email address posted here.
Get a disposable email account, set it to forward to your regular email so you don't have to remember to check it. If it gets spammed, cancel the forwarding. Sheesh.
posted by ambrosia at 9:43 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by LarryC at 7:16 AM PST on January 9
I say, post your email address and show up at meetups.
Like Her Pinkness, I'm the only one of me there is. I've only had good things come from having an email address posted here.
Get a disposable email account, set it to forward to your regular email so you don't have to remember to check it. If it gets spammed, cancel the forwarding. Sheesh.
posted by ambrosia at 9:43 AM on January 9, 2006
Her Pinkness... I like that, I'm gonna make that my real name.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:56 AM on January 9, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:56 AM on January 9, 2006 [1 favorite]
I don't see anything wrong with a user on a website not wanting other users to contact them via email. It can be a consideration of privacy, just as not wanting your phone number on here. It's a valid opinion, especially given the number of wackos found on any web forum/site.
posted by xmutex at 9:57 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by xmutex at 9:57 AM on January 9, 2006
...to direct a stream of IP packets to your mail client which will translate and render them in pixels on your display device. the unspeakable horror of it shakes me to the core.
The very fact that you mock me, quonsar, leads me to believe that I'm on to something.
Your point is well taken, though. It is just words on a screen. However, I personally want to be a bit more selective than others here about who is able to send me those words. You, for instance as an example: I've never felt the need to email you, and I don't particularly want to receive an email from you. That is my choice. As I mentioned upthread, Slashdot taught me a lesson in this regard.
edgeways, I'm not wound up by this, really. I think it's vaguely amusing that some people find the lack of an email address to be wrong, but whatever. I guess maybe I'm losing patience with the relentless browbeating that seems to go on here when somebody happens to disagree with the consensus.
posted by veedubya at 9:59 AM on January 9, 2006
The very fact that you mock me, quonsar, leads me to believe that I'm on to something.
Your point is well taken, though. It is just words on a screen. However, I personally want to be a bit more selective than others here about who is able to send me those words. You, for instance as an example: I've never felt the need to email you, and I don't particularly want to receive an email from you. That is my choice. As I mentioned upthread, Slashdot taught me a lesson in this regard.
edgeways, I'm not wound up by this, really. I think it's vaguely amusing that some people find the lack of an email address to be wrong, but whatever. I guess maybe I'm losing patience with the relentless browbeating that seems to go on here when somebody happens to disagree with the consensus.
posted by veedubya at 9:59 AM on January 9, 2006
As many have said above, I have had few, but all positive communications with various MeFites and I cherish every one. ♥ to all!
posted by Lynsey at 10:10 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by Lynsey at 10:10 AM on January 9, 2006
My experience on Metafilter, the Internet and in Life has been that overall the ability of people to contact me and communicate with me has been 98% positive and 2% negative, quantitatively. Qualitatively the amount of misery some jackass has caused me doesn't even register in comparison to all the great stuff I've gotten from people when I wasn't expecting it.
I guess I just don't grok what's so bad about getting unexpected mail from someone that you might not be thrilled with. For me it's the expected stuff that sucks so often.
posted by phearlez at 10:49 AM on January 9, 2006
I guess I just don't grok what's so bad about getting unexpected mail from someone that you might not be thrilled with. For me it's the expected stuff that sucks so often.
posted by phearlez at 10:49 AM on January 9, 2006
I've recieved some very nice email from psoters here. And their concern about my tiny penis size, as well as low-cost suggestions for how to remedy the situation, has been both welcome and heartwarming.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:05 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:05 AM on January 9, 2006
veedubya,
I am glad you are not wound up about it, I misinterpreted your multiple
posts about how you feel about the issue, when a simple "No thank you,
don't trust you" would have sufficed.
I'm
losing patience with the relentless browbeating that seems to go on
here when somebody happens to disagree with the consensus.
This may be an effect of restating your case multiple times. Additionally,
Your
(the very first sentence of the thread) initial post was a
bit antagonistic. If you start off with that what kind of response do you expect to get? *shrug*
merry new year
posted by edgeways at 11:34 AM on January 9, 2006
I am glad you are not wound up about it, I misinterpreted your multiple
posts about how you feel about the issue, when a simple "No thank you,
don't trust you" would have sufficed.
I'm
losing patience with the relentless browbeating that seems to go on
here when somebody happens to disagree with the consensus.
This may be an effect of restating your case multiple times. Additionally,
Your
(the very first sentence of the thread) initial post was a
bit antagonistic. If you start off with that what kind of response do you expect to get? *shrug*
merry new year
posted by edgeways at 11:34 AM on January 9, 2006
I've got plenty of Gmail invites if anyone wants one (address in profile).
As does everyone. It's like a disease. You are not special.
posted by justgary at 11:36 AM on January 9, 2006
As does everyone. It's like a disease. You are not special.
posted by justgary at 11:36 AM on January 9, 2006
I've had my real name and real email all over the place for about 13 years about various addresses that are redirected etc. I currently get spam in the magnitude of about 1,500 per month. With joint gmail/yahoo filtering and Mac Entourage filtering I get about 2 per month. I have yet to understand what all the fuss is about when people panic about this as much as they do. It would be a shame if somebody that really wanted to contact me couldn't.
posted by keijo at 11:38 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by keijo at 11:38 AM on January 9, 2006
edgeways, I'm prepared to believe that there may be a parallel universe where a parallel me gives a shit what a parallel you thinks. Sadly, this ain't it. I suggest, in future, you drop the patronising attitude.
*shrug*
posted by veedubya at 11:44 AM on January 9, 2006
*shrug*
posted by veedubya at 11:44 AM on January 9, 2006
occasional contact from other members.
that's an awesome title for a gay porn film
posted by matteo at 11:57 AM on January 9, 2006
that's an awesome title for a gay porn film
posted by matteo at 11:57 AM on January 9, 2006
Metafilter: A parallel universe where a parallel me gives a shit what a parallel you thinks
posted by found missing at 11:57 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by found missing at 11:57 AM on January 9, 2006
Nice little bit of circular reasoning there, you don't give a shit about what I think, fair enough, but to offer advice after saying that is a little vapid.
I am sorry, I was not trying to be patronizing. We could devolve into yelling at each other now if you want, but your faux blase' trumps my faux patronizing.
You win, have a good day, feel free to get the last word in now.
posted by edgeways at 12:00 PM on January 9, 2006
I am sorry, I was not trying to be patronizing. We could devolve into yelling at each other now if you want, but your faux blase' trumps my faux patronizing.
You win, have a good day, feel free to get the last word in now.
posted by edgeways at 12:00 PM on January 9, 2006
that's an awesome title for a gay porn film
Anybody want to check out my "member profile"?
Anybody?
posted by cortex at 12:05 PM on January 9, 2006
Anybody want to check out my "member profile"?
Anybody?
posted by cortex at 12:05 PM on January 9, 2006
Metafilter: A parallel universe where a parallel me gives a shit what a parallel you thinks
this comment is worthwhile simply for forcing me to entertain, even if only briefly, the possibility of a parallel shit.
a worthwhile activity.
RECOMMENDED A+++
posted by fishfucker at 12:06 PM on January 9, 2006
this comment is worthwhile simply for forcing me to entertain, even if only briefly, the possibility of a parallel shit.
a worthwhile activity.
RECOMMENDED A+++
posted by fishfucker at 12:06 PM on January 9, 2006
As a result of necessary but embarrassing surgery, I am onlyu capable of taking parallel shits.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:12 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:12 PM on January 9, 2006
*immediately sends email to only the prettiest and most handsome mefites*
posted by Cranberry at 12:14 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by Cranberry at 12:14 PM on January 9, 2006
As does everyone. It's like a disease. You are not special.
Never presumed that I was - just trying to be helpful. Meh.
posted by TheDonF at 12:16 PM on January 9, 2006
Never presumed that I was - just trying to be helpful. Meh.
posted by TheDonF at 12:16 PM on January 9, 2006
edgeways, here's my last word(s) to you: You come up with some patronising tripe about me making too many responses, and then you respond yet again, telling me what you think, despite me telling you point blank that I don't give a shit what you think. You're either indulging in some form of bizarre performance art, or you're more fucked in the head than I am. Or perhaps both.
The blase is for real, baby. You'd better believe it!
posted by veedubya at 12:22 PM on January 9, 2006
The blase is for real, baby. You'd better believe it!
posted by veedubya at 12:22 PM on January 9, 2006
stavrosthewonderchicken writes "it takes a total of about 4 minutes to get a free, disposable, MeFi-only email account at Hotmail or Yahoo or Gmail"
Which you then have to check. I've got these disposable email addresses spread all over. Or at least I used to, I've been amalgamating for the past couple months while I update passwords to be more secure and it is a serious pain in the ass trying to keep track.
posted by Mitheral at 12:26 PM on January 9, 2006
Which you then have to check. I've got these disposable email addresses spread all over. Or at least I used to, I've been amalgamating for the past couple months while I update passwords to be more secure and it is a serious pain in the ass trying to keep track.
posted by Mitheral at 12:26 PM on January 9, 2006
It's just about privacy. Is it really hard to imagine not wanting to give 25000 strangers the ability to contact you? What you're comfortable with may not be what everyone else is comfortable with. And setting up a throwaway account just because someone on one website you visit might contact you strikes me as a bit silly.
posted by Sibrax at 1:06 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by Sibrax at 1:06 PM on January 9, 2006
Mitheral, if you've got a gmail account you can set it to automatically forward all, or selected mail, to another account you own.
posted by Blue Stone at 1:07 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by Blue Stone at 1:07 PM on January 9, 2006
Mitheral, if you've got a gmail account you can set it to automatically forward all, or selected mail, to another account you own.
If I don't care for Metafilter people to contact me via email, why am I going to go to the trouble of setting up a second email account for that purpose?
This is getting ridiculous.
posted by xmutex at 1:22 PM on January 9, 2006
If I don't care for Metafilter people to contact me via email, why am I going to go to the trouble of setting up a second email account for that purpose?
This is getting ridiculous.
posted by xmutex at 1:22 PM on January 9, 2006
Sibrax writes "It's just about privacy. Is it really hard to imagine not wanting to give 25000 strangers the ability to contact you?"
You registered and have obviously taken the time to direct your thoughts to the community, at some level. Is it really that frightening that someone might e-mail you based on information you've volunteered? You've gone out of your way and paid $5 to be involved, up to this point - and then you say this is about privacy? Hah!
posted by prostyle at 1:31 PM on January 9, 2006
You registered and have obviously taken the time to direct your thoughts to the community, at some level. Is it really that frightening that someone might e-mail you based on information you've volunteered? You've gone out of your way and paid $5 to be involved, up to this point - and then you say this is about privacy? Hah!
posted by prostyle at 1:31 PM on January 9, 2006
Hmm. Desire for some level of privacy = being frightened. Have to remember that one.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 1:43 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by Kirth Gerson at 1:43 PM on January 9, 2006
Metafilter: For the 50 millionth nippleclamping time.
This thread is gold. I really like it when MeFites populate their account pages. My email's in my profile and it has never been abused, so I feel lonely and ignored.
posted by theora55 at 1:52 PM on January 9, 2006
This thread is gold. I really like it when MeFites populate their account pages. My email's in my profile and it has never been abused, so I feel lonely and ignored.
posted by theora55 at 1:52 PM on January 9, 2006
Oddly enough, I've come across four Gmail requests this weekend.
Comments like justgary's are part of the reason I don't have mine posted. If someone is willing to take the time to put a fellow member 'in their place' for the crime of offering Gmail invites, I would prefer not to have my contact info so easily available.
(My irrational terror of relatively mild snarkage aside, I don't like e-mail. I prefer to manage my internet life by restricting activities/discussion re: my various group memberships to their respective communities - No PM, no AIM, no mail, etc. - until I get more comfortable. )
Plus, no one gives a rat's about me *sniff!*
Wow, I think I found the most awkward possible way of explaining that.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:02 PM on January 9, 2006
Comments like justgary's are part of the reason I don't have mine posted. If someone is willing to take the time to put a fellow member 'in their place' for the crime of offering Gmail invites, I would prefer not to have my contact info so easily available.
(My irrational terror of relatively mild snarkage aside, I don't like e-mail. I prefer to manage my internet life by restricting activities/discussion re: my various group memberships to their respective communities - No PM, no AIM, no mail, etc. - until I get more comfortable. )
Plus, no one gives a rat's about me *sniff!*
Wow, I think I found the most awkward possible way of explaining that.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:02 PM on January 9, 2006
Not to single you out Kirth (but I'll do it anyway), but a conversation we had a while back on AskMe I would have been far more willing to persue in email rather than in the thread itself, as the conversation was not particualrly relevant to the question. Indeed had we gone off on that tangent in the thread, we would have significantly distorted the answer to the question. I would have liked to follow up with you in email about it, but alas, it was not to be. Your (and my) loss.
posted by bonehead at 2:23 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by bonehead at 2:23 PM on January 9, 2006
Pretty girls email me often.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 2:57 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by The Jesse Helms at 2:57 PM on January 9, 2006
Which you then have to check.
Nonsense. Set it to autoforward as suggested above, or go for a shell account provider, like I use (as seen in the MeFi-specific email address in my profile. Of course, I rarely if ever answer email, because, as I've mentioned before, I'm a bastard.
Once again, you fail at the internets.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:10 PM on January 9, 2006
Nonsense. Set it to autoforward as suggested above, or go for a shell account provider, like I use (as seen in the MeFi-specific email address in my profile. Of course, I rarely if ever answer email, because, as I've mentioned before, I'm a bastard.
Once again, you fail at the internets.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:10 PM on January 9, 2006
So, it's OK if we don't answer (or presumably read) the email, as long as there's a way for someone to send it? In that case, anyone who wants to send a message could just make up an email address for the intended recipient, if all you're looking for is the pretense of off-site communication.
As always, I'm failing to see why this is necessary.
posted by occhiblu at 3:26 PM on January 9, 2006
As always, I'm failing to see why this is necessary.
posted by occhiblu at 3:26 PM on January 9, 2006
Jeez, I have my e-mail and my phone number in mine. But you never call, you never write...
posted by nicwolff at 3:50 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by nicwolff at 3:50 PM on January 9, 2006
As always, I'm failing to see why this is necessary.
Me too. Like I said, I have no ponies in this race.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:54 PM on January 9, 2006
Me too. Like I said, I have no ponies in this race.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:54 PM on January 9, 2006
OK goddammit, I did it. I better just get love letters.
posted by Devils Slide at 3:57 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by Devils Slide at 3:57 PM on January 9, 2006
Like I said, I have no ponies in this race.
So you're just telling us we all failed the internet for kicks?
posted by occhiblu at 4:39 PM on January 9, 2006
So you're just telling us we all failed the internet for kicks?
posted by occhiblu at 4:39 PM on January 9, 2006
So you're just telling us we all failed the internet for kicks?
I don't care if you put a fucking email address on your profile or not, as I thought I made abundantly clear.
What annoys me (mildly) is people making lame excuses that don't hold water. I'm saying that people who can't figure out that putting a disposable email address that they could check once a month or something, if they were so inclined, or have forwarded to their 'real' email address, fail the internet, yes.
If you don't want to, don't, I don't care. But making lame excuses about hatemail or spam or privacy to justify that decision is weak.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:18 PM on January 9, 2006
I don't care if you put a fucking email address on your profile or not, as I thought I made abundantly clear.
What annoys me (mildly) is people making lame excuses that don't hold water. I'm saying that people who can't figure out that putting a disposable email address that they could check once a month or something, if they were so inclined, or have forwarded to their 'real' email address, fail the internet, yes.
If you don't want to, don't, I don't care. But making lame excuses about hatemail or spam or privacy to justify that decision is weak.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:18 PM on January 9, 2006
Having been internet stalked by my now-husband's psycho ex-girlfriend, I'm fairly sure that MetaFilter has little to throw at me that I haven't done before. That's me, YMMV, so on so forth et cetera.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:44 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:44 PM on January 9, 2006
Given reasonable points on both sides: Mr. mathowie could give each user a private message page. Users could thereby send backchannel messages without requiring external e-mail addresses or other coordinates; recipients would see an appropriate notification when logged in to eliminate inconvenience. (Naturally, one would not wish interaction to increasingly shift away from the common areas. A low limit on the number of characters allowed in "MetaMail" messages could prevent such a development and still permit users to make brief comments, express interest, and pass e-mail addresses privately.)
posted by yz at 7:20 PM on January 9, 2006
posted by yz at 7:20 PM on January 9, 2006
bonehead, OK, OK - if you really want to converse about gas, now you can.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:57 AM on January 10, 2006
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:57 AM on January 10, 2006
yz: A fine idea. This is actually what is done on most bulletin boards. There's a link to a real email address (if available) as well as the ability to send short messages to users without email addresses that stay in a quasi-inbox lacking most (complicated) functionality. It's dead-simple to set up a message system when you've already got the users/passwords set up and you've already got the scripts in place to handle logins. Dead. Simple.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:51 AM on January 10, 2006
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:51 AM on January 10, 2006
Sure. Users could establish free "drop" accounts, or Matt could script a form that would send messages without displaying an email address. Yes — there are lots of ways to solve this problem from the perspective of people who want to be able to send email.
But you're continuing to ignore and refusing to respect the perfectly valid opinion of people who don't want to receive your email. They don't care how easy it is to set up a Yahoo account. They could give a damn how badly you want to contact them off-list; they don't want to hear from you. If you've got something to say, post it here — and if they never reply or even see it, you'll just have to cope.
They're not interested in your opinion of their $5. They don't care whether you call them antisocial, or paranoid, or "email fundies," or whatever playground rhetoric you conceive this week. They don't care whether you think your emails constitute an imposition big or small. They don't care whether you think they'll enjoy hearing from you. They don't want to.
Why can't you simply respect that opinion?
posted by cribcage at 8:17 AM on January 10, 2006
But you're continuing to ignore and refusing to respect the perfectly valid opinion of people who don't want to receive your email. They don't care how easy it is to set up a Yahoo account. They could give a damn how badly you want to contact them off-list; they don't want to hear from you. If you've got something to say, post it here — and if they never reply or even see it, you'll just have to cope.
They're not interested in your opinion of their $5. They don't care whether you call them antisocial, or paranoid, or "email fundies," or whatever playground rhetoric you conceive this week. They don't care whether you think your emails constitute an imposition big or small. They don't care whether you think they'll enjoy hearing from you. They don't want to.
Why can't you simply respect that opinion?
posted by cribcage at 8:17 AM on January 10, 2006
But you're continuing to ignore and refusing to respect the perfectly valid opinion of people who don't want to receive your email.
The user could have the option to disable entirely the messaging feature; it could even be off by default.
posted by yz at 10:32 AM on January 10, 2006
The user could have the option to disable entirely the messaging feature; it could even be off by default.
posted by yz at 10:32 AM on January 10, 2006
The user could have the option to disable entirely the messaging feature; it could even be off by default.
And... we've come full circle back to the status quo.
posted by found missing at 11:26 AM on January 10, 2006
And... we've come full circle back to the status quo.
posted by found missing at 11:26 AM on January 10, 2006
And... we've come full circle back to the status quo.
How so? A user-to-user direct-messaging feature currently does not exist. So don't disable it by default; whatever. The point is that the option would be conspicuously available to interested users.
posted by yz at 11:48 AM on January 10, 2006
How so? A user-to-user direct-messaging feature currently does not exist. So don't disable it by default; whatever. The point is that the option would be conspicuously available to interested users.
posted by yz at 11:48 AM on January 10, 2006
Slashdot taught me a lesson in this regard.
you're missing out, man. naked, petrified natalie portman once emailed me a pantload of hot grits. :-)
posted by quonsar at 1:17 PM on January 10, 2006
you're missing out, man. naked, petrified natalie portman once emailed me a pantload of hot grits. :-)
posted by quonsar at 1:17 PM on January 10, 2006
Even on the best/worst days, its never more than 3 or so e-mails.
Groovy, dios. Real groovy. Even on the worst days I probably won't get more than three hate-filled emails. By most reasonable definitions of reasonableness, that's unreasonable.
Veedubya, you probably won't get three emails of any description in as many months. Dios is notorious, so he gets more, that's all.
posted by orange swan at 1:44 PM on January 10, 2006
Groovy, dios. Real groovy. Even on the worst days I probably won't get more than three hate-filled emails. By most reasonable definitions of reasonableness, that's unreasonable.
Veedubya, you probably won't get three emails of any description in as many months. Dios is notorious, so he gets more, that's all.
posted by orange swan at 1:44 PM on January 10, 2006
i usually send nice emails when someone makes me laugh.
posted by quonsar at 2:13 PM on January 10, 2006
posted by quonsar at 2:13 PM on January 10, 2006
No, that's definitely full circle. Apart from turning MetaFilter into MySpace, what new functionality would this "messaging feature" contribute to the site? Regular email is already "conspicuously available to interested users." They've opted out.
If you're proposing that most of those people opted out due to concern about the visibility of their email addresses, I suppose your solution addresses that; but even if I agreed with that proposition, I'd posit that most of those people don't care whether they hear from you or not. So again, we're back to, "I really want to send email to strangers. They should let me."
Have you noticed these threads are always opened by people who want to send email? It's always a bitchfest about the rudeness of not providing an email in every profile. I've never seen a thread revolving around a complaint from someone who really wants to receive off-list messages from MetaFilter users, but who wishes there was an anonymous, invisible delivery system for those messages.
posted by cribcage at 3:01 PM on January 10, 2006
If you're proposing that most of those people opted out due to concern about the visibility of their email addresses, I suppose your solution addresses that; but even if I agreed with that proposition, I'd posit that most of those people don't care whether they hear from you or not. So again, we're back to, "I really want to send email to strangers. They should let me."
Have you noticed these threads are always opened by people who want to send email? It's always a bitchfest about the rudeness of not providing an email in every profile. I've never seen a thread revolving around a complaint from someone who really wants to receive off-list messages from MetaFilter users, but who wishes there was an anonymous, invisible delivery system for those messages.
posted by cribcage at 3:01 PM on January 10, 2006
You people are fucking retarded. Of all the stupid, mean shit I've said on this site, I've gotten exactly 1 email, and that was someone highfiving me for making a funny joke. "Oh, my privacy! Spam! Mean email! Oh help me!"
If you're that paranoid about it why don't you turn off the generator and go back to writing your manifesto, asshole. Oh and don't ever use askme, you can't imagine all the invasions of privacy you'll recieve from people responding via email.
posted by puke & cry at 4:01 PM on January 10, 2006
If you're that paranoid about it why don't you turn off the generator and go back to writing your manifesto, asshole. Oh and don't ever use askme, you can't imagine all the invasions of privacy you'll recieve from people responding via email.
posted by puke & cry at 4:01 PM on January 10, 2006
Of all the stupid, mean shit I've said on this site
>You people are fucking retarded.
>go back to writing your manifesto, asshole
At least you're sticking with the theme, eh?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:49 PM on January 10, 2006
>You people are fucking retarded.
>go back to writing your manifesto, asshole
At least you're sticking with the theme, eh?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:49 PM on January 10, 2006
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Slashdot taught me a valuable lesson about not providing an email address to zealots.
posted by veedubya at 2:48 AM on January 9, 2006