Political discussion on Metafilter

March 6, 2006 6:49 PM

Is there a section of MetaFilter that allows political discussion?

The only two comments I've posted were deleted. The first was archived because I used the same link as another person, but I had a completely opposite take. That was my point in using that same link. My post was political and critical of the Bush administration's actions in the New Orleans flood.

The one I posted today asked if the Bush administration is the most corrupt in government in our history or simply the most corrupt in modern times. I posted a link that explored that very question. Six quick comments, then boom The thought was silenced.

There was a mention, I presume by the editor, of the axe to grind filter being two doors down. I wasn't sure if there really is a place where political discussion is welcome, or if this was a way of saying political discussion isn't proper policy here.
posted by BillyElmore to Etiquette/Policy at 6:49 PM (111 comments total)

Maybe you should stick around and read a bit before posting?
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:51 PM on March 6, 2006

This can only end badly.
posted by eyeballkid at 6:51 PM on March 6, 2006

Hoo, boy.

*attempts to email Matt a beer, fails*

What does MIME type unsupported mean?
posted by loquacious at 6:51 PM on March 6, 2006

Politics should never be discussed on Metafilter. Not ever.
posted by LarryC at 6:54 PM on March 6, 2006

You're kidding, right?

You've been here for more than five minutes--how do you not know these things?
posted by hototogisu at 6:55 PM on March 6, 2006

Pre-emptive executive summary of advice: read the Metatalk archives. Reread the posting guidelines. Lurk more. Try and get a feel for what kind of site most more or less agree this to be before you start 'contributing'. Do not editorialize in your posts if you still feel compelled to make them after all that.

On preview: not entirely pre-emptive, I see.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:55 PM on March 6, 2006

this post is best of the web.
posted by soma lkzx at 7:09 PM on March 6, 2006

READ THE GUIDELINES, DUMBASS.
posted by puke & cry at 7:10 PM on March 6, 2006

This is a Pro-Bush message board. Only post Pro-Bush things.

you terrorist.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 7:13 PM on March 6, 2006

We don't like political editorials masquerading as post. Sorry, GYOB. As our comments section quite clearly demonstrates, nobody cares what you think.
posted by drpynchon at 7:15 PM on March 6, 2006

but I had a completely opposite take.

NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR "TAKE".
posted by cillit bang at 7:15 PM on March 6, 2006

So are you, in fact, related to Larry Elmore?
posted by selfnoise at 7:17 PM on March 6, 2006

Ok, I'll attempt to answer without being a wiseass.

As far as anti-Bush politics, you're really mostly preaching to the choir here. Many of us are weary. Outrage fatigue, they're calling it.

To rise above the cream of the crop for political newsfilters, your topic should be truly unique and not done to death. It should offer fresh information, fresh perspectives and it should be as truly objective as possible.

Editorialization is easy stuff. You take your strong feelings about whatever and attempt to describe them. Really, it's easy. Good editorialization is hard, and very rare. Even in the hallowed halls of traditional journalism, much less on the internet.

Being truly objective is extremely difficult. The best most can hope for is to keep their own opinions out of a post and stick to the facts as closely as possible.

Otherwise, meh. We have more then enough news and politics on this site, and plenty of discussion about it.

If your post was deleted, there's a probably a really good reason why, and it's probably detailed in this post. There are only two "editors" or "mods" here, and all in all they're quite light handed when it comes to deletions. It doesn't make it sting any less when it's your post, but as I'm fond of saying "grow a hide". It'll do you good in the long run around here to never take anything too seriously.
posted by loquacious at 7:19 PM on March 6, 2006

posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:19 PM on March 6, 2006

Here; I'll save everyone some time.

BillyElmore's first attempt to post to MetaFilter.

BillyElmore's second attempt to post to MetaFilter.

I'd suggest going for a flash thingamijig or one of those clever "what X are you?" quizzes instead, Billy. Get your feet wet.
posted by yhbc at 7:20 PM on March 6, 2006

Actually, I have a better idea. Just stop posting.
posted by hototogisu at 7:21 PM on March 6, 2006

OR TRY TYPING IN ALL CAPS THEN THEY WILL LISTEN
posted by brain_drain at 7:23 PM on March 6, 2006

YOUR SIGNAL IS BREAKING UP
REPEAT
YO#R SI##AL #S B#E##IN# ##
posted by cortex at 7:28 PM on March 6, 2006

I did re-read the suggested sections, and it does appear topics are open. The policy didn’t say anything negative about political opinion.

I think the editors must feel my offense in posting might be considered by some as “trolling,” and I can see where Republicans might consider my posts “flaming.”

Actually I don’t feel that is the case, and just wanted to discuss those points.

I haven’t looked over the archives much, but will. It is an election year, so it these topics have been heard before, little wonder.

I was actually led to this place when my site was mentioned and discussed on a Carlos Castaneda thread. Some people in that thread invited me to discuss some related things I had written. My site has nothing to do with politics. I find MetaFilter an interesting place with some excellent writing.
posted by BillyElmore at 7:30 PM on March 6, 2006

Your comments were deleted because you're black.
posted by cellphone at 7:31 PM on March 6, 2006

This post was deleted for the following reason: daily kos is two doors down, this is not axegrindfilter.

I just checked, axegrindfilter.com is still available.
posted by R. Mutt at 7:31 PM on March 6, 2006

I think the editors must feel my offense in posting might be considered by some as “trolling,”

More likely "the editors" felt your offense was posting heavily-editorializing polital non-substance to the front page.

It is an election year

If you count senate races and such, every other goddam year is an election year.
posted by cortex at 7:32 PM on March 6, 2006

Do not follow the examples set by veteran posters as they can get away with much more than noobs.
posted by mischief at 7:33 PM on March 6, 2006

Look, if you're going to make crap political posts, do it in style--marquee tags and everything.

Pick any random political thread. Go ahead, do it. Half the posts are nonsense agreeing most vehemently with whatever the topic is, a fourth or fifth are people going "meh", and some fraction of the rest is either "fuck you for posting this tripe" or "damn stupid liberals."

Also, the fact that you keep referring to "editors" is telling. Why don't you stop talking until you know why that word doesn't fit? It'll be good for you--honest.
posted by hototogisu at 7:35 PM on March 6, 2006

You didn't actually read any of the other comments, did you?
posted by puke & cry at 7:37 PM on March 6, 2006

Bill, to me the worst thing about your political posts was the blatant editorializing; it's a problem here when folks use the front page for their personal soapbox, rather than simply bringing interesting links to the community's attention.

It's pretty clear that you haven't quite gotten the hang of things here, so take a few weeks to read and comment in threads, while trying to get a better sense of what constitutes a worthwhile post. The fact that your first two have been deleted is not a good sign, and you should take it seriously.
posted by mediareport at 7:37 PM on March 6, 2006

Please stop calling them "the editors."
posted by Alt F4 at 7:38 PM on March 6, 2006

Oh look, the poor guy is trying to be reasonable.

BillyElmore, editorializing in posts is frowned upon. The idea here is to find cool links that people haven't seen. Too often, members think a news story is a good link, and there have been long and very tiresome wars fought over the appropriateness of "newsfilter." But even news stories posted here go over better if they are presented straight. Keep your opinions off the front page - save them for the comments inside threads.
In life in general, it's a good idea to listen quietly for a while to get a feel for a place before you go spouting off.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:42 PM on March 6, 2006

Also, as always refer to crunchland's advice.
posted by drpynchon at 7:46 PM on March 6, 2006

The metafilter wiki is helpful, see Newsfilter and What is a Good Post. Perhaps the latter could be linked to from the Post a Link page, to help mitigate similar incidents? This would be especially useful for people like Billy who were lured to metafilter, and did not follow the traditional route of long lurking followed by initial tentative posting.
posted by MetaMonkey at 7:47 PM on March 6, 2006

Okay, well, next time I’ll post something about what a dumb ass I am. Billy Elmore, what a shit head, your thoughts?

Larry Elmore? Isn’t he the guy who does fantasy art? I’m related to the Elmore’s but that’s my middle name not my last. There is some weak connection, hence the middle name.

Thanks Loquacious, that helps.
posted by BillyElmore at 7:54 PM on March 6, 2006

Seriously, though, read crunchland's advice, if nothing else.

In internet years, this is a long-established community, and have our ways. Take the time to learn them, and you'll be welcomed rather than pooped on.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:56 PM on March 6, 2006

Okay, well, next time I’ll post something about what a dumb ass I am. Billy Elmore, what a shit head, your thoughts?

That sounds like a self-link, no matter how entertaining the outcome might be...
posted by slogger at 7:57 PM on March 6, 2006

You didn't actually read any of the other comments, did you?

Do you somehow expect people to respond positively to being called a "dumbass?"
posted by crunchland at 7:58 PM on March 6, 2006

whew, this is a whopper of a question, and I'm going to try as much as possible to take your question seriously before I finish with a snark. (but a snark that is, nonetheless, making a point)

making a good post on metafilter is not the same as doing good writing or linking anywhere else. This is not because metafilter is necessarily better or because KOS or whatever is necessarily worse. It's because the community developed in such a way that the membership mostly just doesn't want certain shit. We can't list everything somewhere because the guidelines are as maleable as the membership is. There are certain hard and fast rules (no doubles, no self-links) and the rest are community preferences which will lead to deletion if your post doesn't conform to them. One of those is axe-grinding. Not just anti-bush, nor simply pro-bush. Just axe-grinding of hopefully any form. Another is editorializing that belongs on your own blog. Gradually what defines "should be on your own blog" changes, but generally "I think bush is the worst president ever" tends in that direction. The fact that you're only summarizing what some other lame site is saying doesn't change the fact that you're provided the link as a way to say "I think Bush is the worst president ever." You certainly didn't post it to disagree. The reason we have a problem with that isn't because editorializing is in some way universally bad or anything like that. We just don't have room on the front page for what everybody thinks and feels all the time. So we draw the line at posts that are largely just there to say "I hate [X]" or "I love [y]" (unless Y is just some excellent content on the web. If you've found a great site, there's nothing wrong with saying "I like this a lot."). that's when you see the GYOBFW (Get Your Own Blog FuckWit) comments. The rule of thumb is this "Are you really just posting to share your thoughts or are you posting to let people have their own on a particular topic/site/whatever." If the answer is the former, then it's a bad post. If the link(s) is legitimately interesting enough to stand on its own, then let it do that. If there's some explanation for what you're drawing people's attention to, or to explain why you've posted several seemingly unrelated links, then do that. But always be thinking "what am I bringing to other people that isn't just what I think?" And if the answer is "not much" then just don't bother. It's not because we don't care what you think, it's that we don't care enough to see it on the front page. If you go into an existing thread and proselytize to your heart's content, you'll find plenty of happy mefites ready to discuss with you. (You'll also find plenty of assholes, but hey, welcome to the internet.) But IN the thread is one thing. AS the thread is an entirely other not acceptable thing.

so why were they deleted? frankly, because they were abyssmally bad posts. Like, really, some of the worst in a while. The intentional double just so that you could illuminate YOUR take on things? a real stinker. as stavros said, astonishingly bad.
posted by shmegegge at 7:59 PM on March 6, 2006

LOL.

Great newbie, would flame again.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:01 PM on March 6, 2006

You didn't actually read any of the other comments, did you?

Do you somehow expect people to respond positively to being called a "dumbass?"

well I was actually talking about the other comments that were helpful, not mine. From the look of his second comment he skipped all the good advice.
posted by puke & cry at 8:03 PM on March 6, 2006

So you're admitting that your post was neither helpful nor good advice? So what was the point then?
posted by crunchland at 8:08 PM on March 6, 2006

It's therapeutic.
posted by puke & cry at 8:09 PM on March 6, 2006

It's already rumored that Bush is the antiChrist, and the worst, most incompetent politician of the the USA and THE WORLD.

So, rehashing this is fact, FACT is just not allowed.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:09 PM on March 6, 2006

Thanks Loquacious, that helps.

You seem like an intelligent, reasonable fellow. Don't let the monkeys drive you off. But for the love of Don Juan on a drunken burro, pay heed to them. There's valuable gold in the poop they fling.

Also, you've used up one of your three freebie capital Ls when used in conjunction with my handle. You have two more. Spend them wisely. The last sucka that used 'em all up ended up peeling hotset foundry monospace Fraktur out of his neocortex like so much deliciously hot, sweet and highly leaded brain candy. ;)
posted by loquacious at 8:11 PM on March 6, 2006

I think from BillyElmore's comments that he thinks that Metafilter is a message board -- that is, a site where you just open a thread about whatever's on your mind, and invite comments.

BillyElmore: although it may seem that random discussion is the focus of the site sometimes (particularly here on Metatalk, where we talk about the site itself), the mission is still all about the good links (on the blue) and the good questions (on the green). Discussion, as good (and bad) as it can get sometimes, is (arguably, I know) secondary.

(Also: loquacious is worming his way ever-deeper into my black and shrivelled heart like one of those nasty parasites from a few days back, and I love it.)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:13 PM on March 6, 2006

I think the editors must feel my offense in posting might be considered by some as “trolling,” and I can see where Republicans might consider my posts “flaming.”

Actually I don’t feel that is the case, and just wanted to discuss those points.

Are the Democrats full-blown traitors, or just retarded?

Just want to discuss...
posted by Krrrlson at 8:23 PM on March 6, 2006

Your two posts are posts.
They are not comments.
The standards for the two are very different (which makes discussion more difficult when they're confused for one another).
posted by Aknaton at 8:26 PM on March 6, 2006

I think the editors must feel my offense in posting might be considered by some as “trolling,” and I can see where Republicans might consider my posts “flaming.”

Krrrlson stole the piece I was going to quote, but seriously: Worst. N00b. Evar. Is this for real or is this some old-timer playing a joke? I just find it hard to believe someone is this (unintentionally) clueless of the way the site works... (And yeah, I know the Blue has crap posts all the time. But really.)
posted by SuperNova at 8:36 PM on March 6, 2006

Heh.

Loquacious! Loquacious! Loquacious!!!
posted by yhbc at 8:42 PM on March 6, 2006

Noobs making fun of noobs. When will it end?
posted by crunchland at 8:45 PM on March 6, 2006

*loquacious suddenly appears behind yhbc weilding an ancient but disturbingly blood-spattered Juxberg-Rust typesetting machine, and settles in for a long but enjoyable night of work*

Tonight we'll be carefully (and cluefully) transcribing and translating Goethe's Faust from the original German to Esperanto, using an innovative hybrid form of an intaglio press utilizing the inside of YHBC's empty skull as the master plate. Reproductions will be impressed upon carefully formed molds of ballistics gelatin, which will then be stained for legibility with the blood of a thousand reference librarians.

Yes, this will be on the final. I encourage note-taking.
posted by loquacious at 8:56 PM on March 6, 2006

From soggy moss and dripping stones you lap your food
Just like a toad, and sit and brood,
A fair, sweet way to pass the time!
Still steeped in your doctoral slime!
posted by pyramid termite at 9:08 PM on March 6, 2006

At least this is the most fun I’ve had at this site since I was rattled out of my merlot slumber. Someone on this site read something I wrote many years ago about a Castaneda witch. Now there was an evil bitch. I knew all that even stoned on Jimson Weed and pot. She recently grew up to be an unidentified bone pile found in the Mojave Desert. Death Valley, good place for such finds. DNA connected her to my story and my sleepy site gets 2000 plus hits in a day. I cream my jeans and meet you folks. Again, thanks loquacious, you are and shall forever be lower case. I want none of that shit. Oh, and schmegegge that was helpful. And strvrosthewonderchicken, you are not in my spell check, but Roger. Yes, yes, I am indeed against the corporate fuck over of our country by Republican jerkoffs, but I guess I established that already, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. Pleased to meet ya’all.
posted by BillyElmore at 9:12 PM on March 6, 2006

That ended too nicely.

Quick, someone tell us all to go fuck ourselves!
posted by ColdChef at 9:20 PM on March 6, 2006

If you want DU / Kos / Atrios / C&L, you know where to find them.
posted by darukaru at 9:20 PM on March 6, 2006

"fuck-over" or "fuckover", not "fuck over"—it is awkward as originally rendered, what with the adjascent preposition.
posted by cortex at 9:20 PM on March 6, 2006

I know he's undersized, but dad, can we keep him anyway? Please?
posted by Jimbob at 9:31 PM on March 6, 2006

BillyElmore: my name has no c in it. but don't worry, I'm not as bothered by the misspelling as loquacious is. everyone does it. I don't know why. everyone just always wants to put a c in there. I suppose it's because of schmuck.
posted by shmegegge at 9:33 PM on March 6, 2006

California public schools, state colleges, bottle of wine, colorful Sixties background, all lead, cortex, to awkward rendering and mental overfucking.

ColdChef: Go fuck ourselves. Or, as a friend who was learning to speak English when I lived in Brazil always said, and I often repeat: "Fuck They!"
posted by BillyElmore at 9:38 PM on March 6, 2006

MetaFilter: Fuck They!
posted by librarina at 10:15 PM on March 6, 2006

I think you're going to fit in here just fine, Billy.




...aaaaand scene.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:26 PM on March 6, 2006

George W. Bush: Great President, or the Greatest President?

I'll put you down for Great then.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:33 PM on March 6, 2006

Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I heard there was a flame-out here. Did I miss anything?
posted by slogger at 10:33 PM on March 6, 2006

Please stop calling them "the editors."

Yeah. They're the deleters.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:40 PM on March 6, 2006

I think you're going to fit in here just fine, Billy.




...aaaaand scene.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:26 PM AEST on March 7 [!]

You mean "aaaaand spit-take!"

You owe me a new laptop.
posted by qwip at 10:43 PM on March 6, 2006

Please note that a flame-out can be extinguished with enough alcohol.
posted by puke & cry at 11:03 PM on March 6, 2006

Civil_Disobedient FTW.
posted by shmegegge at 11:10 PM on March 6, 2006

ColdChef: Go fuck ourselves. Or, as a friend who was learning to speak English when I lived in Brazil always said, and I often repeat: "Fuck They!"

That is outrageously magnitudular! Seriously, that has to be the best ESL/mis-translated curse I've heard since I discovered the Serbian "I fuck your sunshine!" over at everything2.
posted by loquacious at 1:54 AM on March 7, 2006

The one I posted today asked if the Bush administration is the most corrupt in government in our history or simply the most corrupt in modern times.

Are you aware of the rule about double-posting?
posted by yerfatma at 4:22 AM on March 7, 2006

You should post about SCIENCE.
posted by Gator at 4:24 AM on March 7, 2006

all that said, bush really does suck, eh?
posted by quonsar at 4:26 AM on March 7, 2006

Yeah, he does. AT SCIENCE!
posted by loquacious at 4:39 AM on March 7, 2006

I think the editors must feel my offense in posting might be considered by some as “trolling,” and I can see where Republicans might consider my posts “flaming.”

I removed that post, sorry I didn't pop up in here earlier. I think everyone else gave pretty good explanations for why the post was pulled. In short, there's a preaching to the choir aspect. Bush-bashing is sort of easy and has been done to death, if you have something to say on the topic, make it more than a one-off link to something the Democrats posted. If you really think some example of anti-Bush Flash is worthy of a whole post, explain why, and don't go for the easy "OMG Bush=chimp" lines. You'll basically have to be explaining why you're posting yet another anti-Bush post in a site that has seen a ton of them. In any case, it's not a huge deal, and if you want to read throiugh the wiki you'll see a whole lot more about how the site works.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:44 AM on March 7, 2006

When I was a kid we called them sleep-overs.
posted by fleacircus at 6:00 AM on March 7, 2006

Whatever else, this question was posted here in a pretty open and genuine way. There's a little bit of huffiness in it, but given the deplorable state of MetaFilter's guidelines and help content, I can understand a little frustration with having your first two posts yanked. There's political shit all over the front page all the time, so how about giving a n00b a break and not busting his balls in a giant pileon when he uses MetaTalk to ask what the deal is around here? What a bunch of prickly pears.
posted by scarabic at 6:11 AM on March 7, 2006

scarabic: it keeps out the riff-raff.
posted by Ryvar at 6:53 AM on March 7, 2006

That's it! I'm leaving!
posted by Baby_Balrog at 7:20 AM on March 7, 2006

"When I was a kid we called them sleep-overs"

You must not be Catholic.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:28 AM on March 7, 2006

Or, as a friend who was learning to speak English when I lived in Brazil always said, and I often repeat: "Fuck They!"

OK, we've got to keep this guy around.
posted by languagehat at 7:48 AM on March 7, 2006

Revealing true identity explains a special problem with George Bush. Zipping aside a portly Irish disguise suit, a grinning Alfred E. Newman peers out. Yes, I’m Dubya’s lesser twin. Cast from Barbara’s teat as unworthy, and raised without privilege, I seek a comic sidekick life. Let me be your token riff raff.
posted by BillyElmore at 8:06 AM on March 7, 2006

What Languagehat said. You two should get together and fight crime. Billy Elmore *is* kind of a sidekick name.
posted by Jofus at 8:08 AM on March 7, 2006

Billy seems to have a jovial spirit, but I am a bit dismayed at his penchant to go for shrillness. In the dozen or so comment he has made on the blue, most have been stridently political. And his posts, well, they were rightfully deleted. I am not surprised that he would think that shrill editorial op/ed posts were acceptable because too many of them pass. But I hope he has learned that they are not a good thing.

That being said, I welcome Billy and hope that he can participate in a reasoned way and not always rush to go for the Kos-esque level of discourse.

Billy: argument and disputation can be invigorating and productive, but it is rarely so when people aim to hyperbolic and polarizing rhetoric. Share with us your thoughts, by all means. But I plead to you that you endeavor to do so without them dripping in shrillness.
posted by dios at 8:18 AM on March 7, 2006

Cool, languagehat and a cowboy clown off to stomp truth, justice, and the American way--while it’s down. Just no, uh, pup tent scenes okay?
posted by BillyElmore at 8:25 AM on March 7, 2006

Whoa, I was all installed in my easy chair, awaiting a fine old flameout; and now Billy defused it *himself*. Worse, he's a Real Nice Guy. Shit, I don't know what to do with all this popcorn.

Oh, and, for illustrative purposes:

posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:31 AM on March 7, 2006

Someone on this site read something I wrote many years ago about a Castaneda witch. Now there was an evil bitch.

So that thread brought you here? Cool...makes you quite welcome here in my book.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 9:40 AM on March 7, 2006

Billy, dios thinks everyone who disagrees with him uses hyperbolic and polarizing rhetoric...it's not true.

welcome : >
posted by amberglow at 9:44 AM on March 7, 2006

Someone on this site read something I wrote many years ago about a Castaneda witch. Now there was an evil bitch.

So that thread brought you here? Cool...makes you quite welcome here in my book.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 11:40 AM CST on March 7

Yeah, I agree. That is good stuff, Billy, and you look like you have some interesting stories in you. Stuff like that is great, so my vote is for more of your interesting history things and less Bush is evil stuff.
posted by dios at 9:44 AM on March 7, 2006

I think this is the first flameout I've ever seen where the flame-ee didn't stomp off in a huff. Either the gang's losing its touch or Billy's made of strong stuff. Welcome.
posted by JanetLand at 9:57 AM on March 7, 2006

I am both awed and disappointed. We get so much classic material from flameouts. Ah, who can ever forget bloggrrrl.

Wait, was that her name? Jeez, when was that even? Like, two weeks ago?
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:00 AM on March 7, 2006

"fuck they" is genius.


at his penchant to go for shrillness

on the other hand, I bet he's not one of those pigs who like Down's Syndrome jokes. yay for BillyElmore. first posts are tough, and this is tough crowd.
posted by matteo at 10:08 AM on March 7, 2006

The Kos snark in the second deletion message lacked class.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 10:23 AM on March 7, 2006

I'll try to be less reason-for-deletion snarky in the future.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:27 AM on March 7, 2006

No! More snark from the mods I say! That's generally the best part of a deletion.
posted by CunningLinguist at 10:28 AM on March 7, 2006

Yes, more snark! (Less outside-site bashing.)
posted by If I Had An Anus at 10:30 AM on March 7, 2006

So, instead of scaring Billy away by being mean to him, we're going to drive him off by taking pot-shots at one another and displaying our bitchy pettiness as though it's something to be proud of?

Or better yet, infect him with it and recruit him into whatever lame-ass MeFi faction you belong to by biasing him against your respective MeFoes!

'Cause, y'know, it's not like he can think fer hisself or nuthin'.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:31 AM on March 7, 2006

Ooh, this thread still has a chance of ending badly!
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:32 AM on March 7, 2006

I suppose it does. Is anyone pissed and slightly baffled?
posted by Gator at 10:34 AM on March 7, 2006

there is no lame-ass MeFi faction
posted by cortex at 10:37 AM on March 7, 2006

Just to be clear, I wasn't bashing Kos. I was saying MetaFilter isn't Kos, which I think we all agree on.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:49 AM on March 7, 2006

Yes, nevermind. Poor reading on my part. I filtered it through a memory of mathowie saying Kos and LGF were basically equivalent, to which I had taken offense (given the history between LGF and this site).
posted by If I Had An Anus at 11:01 AM on March 7, 2006

I know I'm late, and I know it all ended well, and I know no one cares, but I'm the guy gazing at my shoes in the picture gnfti posted.

What's that? They're all gazing at their shoes? Well, I'm the guy in the leather jacket.
posted by OmieWise at 11:04 AM on March 7, 2006

Nice to see this ended well, and now I'm off to review the me-fi wiki closely for some posting guideline goodness.
posted by mk1gti at 11:17 AM on March 7, 2006

Aww. Can we please end it not well? I've still got this rail and pot of tar all heated up, and Stavros was supposed to bring the feathers...
posted by SpecialK at 12:20 PM on March 7, 2006

Metafilter: Pissed and Slightly Baffled
posted by fochsenhirt at 12:58 PM on March 7, 2006

*bashes SpecialK over the head, lights cigarette with hot tar*
posted by languagehat at 12:59 PM on March 7, 2006

languagehat is a drama queen.
posted by shmegegge at 1:04 PM on March 7, 2006

I heard that!
posted by languagehat at 1:32 PM on March 7, 2006

Metafilter: There's valuable gold in the poop they fling.
posted by arcticwoman at 2:55 PM on March 7, 2006

Wow got in late, What is funny, is that someone was using Billy's name to post pro bush opinions on the forums at Death Valley Talk! I am so glad that we decided to keep him, without his website my little post would not have been so interesting.
posted by hortense at 3:12 PM on March 7, 2006

That was funny. I actually wasn't much on message boards or forums such as this. Now, my name is Bill and I have a real chitchat and shit-talk problem. I need a 12-step program to get back to my life and some lamenting writing projects.

A guy was using my name, talking trash, and causing all sorts of problems. I get a nasty e-mail from the Death Valley Talk editor (they have an editor there). It was sort of fun to go on and debate myself. I kicked my ass, and now my evil incarnation lurks and plots.

It all started with those pages I put up on Walt Bickel, and the wonderful people who once hung around his mining camp. No link button on when I use my Mac. Sup with that? http://www.zyworld.com/billgann/BickelCamphome.htm
posted by BillyElmore at 4:59 PM on March 7, 2006

for reference, any time the link button isn't functioning, you can just type in the html for the link.

so you're link would look like this clicky clicky

and you would create it by typing directly into the comment box the following:

<a href="http://www.zyworld.com/billgann/BickelCamphome.htm">clicky clicky</a>
posted by shmegegge at 6:06 PM on March 7, 2006

Also, the buttons don't work for Safari users, if you use Firefox for the Mac, they shoudl work. I had just added this to the list of questions for the faq.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:07 PM on March 7, 2006

your link. not you're. dammit.
posted by shmegegge at 6:12 PM on March 7, 2006

My first four comments in political threads were deleted, quite early on in my posting history. I quit commenting on political posts here: if the message was anything other than "your politics aren't welcome here," it got garbled before I received it.
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:47 PM on March 9, 2006