Metafilter's demographics

October 23, 2001 11:44 AM

It seems like every so often when I click on someone's URL here it's some Gen Y'ers deep thoughts & pouting blog in those horrid microscopic fonts--well, there are the occasional Phil Hartman lookalikes from Portugal, too...

So, um, what are the demographics here at Metafilter exactly or, inexactly, for that matter? Has anyone kept track of this?

posted by y2karl to MetaFilter-related at 11:44 AM (35 comments total)

Difficult to find out, impossible to verify to the extent where the data could be usable.

Nice idea though.
posted by Dagobert at 12:04 PM on October 23, 2001

If you were really interested (and had a lot of time to kill) I guess you could run the Mefi zip code list through the Claratis thingamajiggy and get very broad "lifestyle group" information (for American MeFiers, at least). I'm not sure how useful or interesting this would be, but you could probably glean some generalizations from it. Then again, you could probably arrive at the same generalizations--i.e. youngish, urban, educated, etc.--just by reading MeFi for a while.

BTW, is that zip code list up to date?
posted by arco at 12:23 PM on October 23, 2001

Dagobert: . . . where the data could be usable.

And any useful data can be misused. It's hard enough to get valid email addresses which have a use (and are occasionally misused.) I don't see a use for demographics.


posted by DBAPaul at 12:31 PM on October 23, 2001

Let's see, it's been a while since my last report. Here's the new one:

3401 university students, three television chefs, one repairman for those machines that print numbers on the bottom of soda cans, 78 former cheerleaders (nine male), 2318 members allergic to peanuts, 19 who build and fly their own rockets, 9788 Americans, enough Canadians to have quorum, two members from Vanatu, a shock rock disk jockey, 529 print journalists, 5 television journalists, 885 interns, two members of Congress (no senators), 482 lobbyists, 2400 public relations staffers, 15 fans of split pea soup, 17 screenplay writers, 11433 webloggers, three cases of clap and one of syphilis, 368 lurking Freepers, two former employees of the New York Times, Mike Judge, Yusef Islam, Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, the ghost of Liberace, three pre-teens looking for porn, two FBI agents looking for hidden messages, a mother looking for her son, 85 pedophiles, 599 aethists (453 avowed, the rest secret), 2110 Muslims, more Greeks than any city outside of Greece, 76 real airline pilots, 3 helicopter pilots (one with an up-to-date log, the other two unemployed and unable to afford flying time), Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steve Ballmer, Steve and Eydie, three former producers for "That's Incredible!", 4327 wanna-be Onion writers, one person who will die before morning, speakers of 37 languages, spenders of 78 currencies, 89 people with more than two passports, one person with amnesia, and one unemployed community web site administrator in California.
posted by Mo Nickels at 12:58 PM on October 23, 2001

"three cases of clap and one of syphilis,"

I find it hard to believe that out of 12,000 people I am the only one who has...... Ummmmm....... Nevermind.

I gotta go.....
posted by y6y6y6 at 1:09 PM on October 23, 2001

Mo: Best post of the year so far! WhooHoo!
USA! USA! USA!

Mo, you make me laugh.
posted by ColdChef at 1:31 PM on October 23, 2001

Freep.

(This is the sound I make while rolling around holding my sides. And lurking.)
posted by gleuschk at 1:37 PM on October 23, 2001

Hey, I might be the person with amnesia! I think...

**looks down at Polaroid picture in hand, reads

            Mo Nickels - 555 0134
       DO NOT BELIEVE HIS LIES

reaches for gun**
posted by arco at 1:37 PM on October 23, 2001

Mo Nickels: "two FBI agents looking for hidden messages"

It seems FBI has reduced its MeFi monitoring staff from the last time we had a head count. And still no baylink on the MeFi demographic map! Someone should update that one too.
posted by tamim at 2:03 PM on October 23, 2001

Mo: don't forget the 1 washed-up child actor.

posted by WIL WHEATON at 2:11 PM PST on October 23

I would love to see the result of our demographics. The photo at the MeFi family reunion might be cool, also.
posted by msacheson at 2:14 PM on October 23, 2001

Mo: don't forget the 1 washed-up child actor.

posted by WIL WHEATON at 2:11 PM PST on October 23

The photo at the MeFi family reunion might be cool
But how would you tell me and Matt apart? We're like twins for chrissake.
posted by owillis at 2:28 PM on October 23, 2001

85 pedophiles
Mo... 84, okay?
Those little pills work.
posted by Hima Otsubusu at 2:35 PM on October 23, 2001

one person who will die before morning

I sooo have the willies now.
posted by Wulfgar! at 2:47 PM on October 23, 2001

he left out us Satan's fiery darts (12,397 and still (mysteriously) growing), and boy are we angry....
posted by mattpfeff at 2:55 PM on October 23, 2001

Shouldn't Satan's fiery darts be still glowing?
posted by sillygit at 3:23 PM on October 23, 2001

maybe growling.
posted by Kafkaesque at 3:33 PM on October 23, 2001

one person who will die before morning

damn that werewolf game...
posted by lotsofno at 4:28 PM on October 23, 2001

I like microscopic fonts.
posted by Hackworth at 4:54 PM on October 23, 2001

Hey MO... that 666 atheists.

Sheesh.
posted by silusGROK at 5:28 PM on October 23, 2001

Great work, Mo!
posted by rushmc at 7:51 PM on October 23, 2001

I think that the real issue here is out of the total number of members, how many login names belong to people who are now deceased, and didn't write their password down anywhere.

And that was a wonderful post, Mo.
posted by j.edwards at 8:23 PM on October 23, 2001

i could only be covered by the 9788 americans or the 1 who could die before morning. i'm not sure which is worse. (it's all about me rite?)
posted by danOstuporStar at 9:36 PM on October 23, 2001

Mo -- I think you just gave Miguel his quiz.
posted by dness2 at 1:17 AM on October 24, 2001

Yep, dness2. Just post the list and append the word "Identify"!

posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:27 AM on October 24, 2001

Enjoyed it, Mo. Of course, when I'm online, I am an anime princess in a battle bikini, and you failed to include me...us?
posted by Opus Dark at 1:40 AM on October 24, 2001

Mo, just wanted to let you know: it's morning and I'm still here.

*Whew*
posted by ColdChef at 4:33 AM on October 24, 2001

who has the goat?
posted by clavdivs at 6:13 AM on October 24, 2001

*whistles*
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:39 AM on October 24, 2001

Quorum! Quorum!
posted by iceberg273 at 9:06 AM on October 24, 2001

one person with amnesia

oh...there I am.

And I think I've narrowed
down Miguel to either

one repairman for those machines that print numbers on the bottom of soda cans

or

the ghost of Liberace




posted by y2karl at 10:14 AM on October 24, 2001

Aha! Wrong this time, y2karl. I am two members from Vanatu, one of which will be dead in the morning. Decided to save ColdChef's waltzing ass. :-)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:35 AM on October 24, 2001

Thanks again, Miguel! This justifies the shrine I built to praise your name.

(though I'm not so sure why my ass would be "waltzing")
posted by ColdChef at 11:30 AM on October 24, 2001

The alcohol makes it a soft set fudge. I find it easiest to cut out of the freezer. I lift it out of the pan with the foil, discard foil and cut it on a cutting board using a cold chef's knife.
Perhaps this will jog your memory, ballerino!
I was going to post this to the comfort food thread but I'm giving it to you and you alone, because everyone loves a waltz and I love you. :-)


posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:44 AM on October 24, 2001 [1 favorite]

Well...that's...
I have no idea what to say to that.

I mean, thanks, but...

Look, let's just keep this between me and you, I don't want the other guys to get jealous.
posted by ColdChef at 12:33 PM on October 24, 2001

I thought it was "waltzing my tilde?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~
posted by rushmc at 12:36 PM on October 24, 2001