Honestly, I was kind of itching for one of these. Been too long. posted by cortex at 12:24 PM on July 28, 2006
Its for when people have a great deal to say about a topic, but don't want to take up a lot of space on the page, so they type it out, but compress it down really small, and that is the dot that you see there. If you copy and paste the dot into Word or something like that and increase the font, then it will reveal what they were saying. Not many people know that, so it is cool to ask. posted by ND¢ at 12:25 PM on July 28, 2006 [1 favorite]
What we need here is a moratorium. posted by reklaw at 12:25 PM on July 28, 2006
We have discussed this in the FAQ. It indicates a moment of silence, MetaFilter-style. posted by jessamyn at 12:25 PM on July 28, 2006
The problem with the dots is that they convey virtually no information other than that their frequency in a given thread is a very rough reflection of the degree of fame of a given dead person. posted by found missing at 12:29 PM on July 28, 2006
brownpau's dot is for a REALLY famous dead person. posted by inigo2 at 12:31 PM on July 28, 2006
They (the small ones) are best used at the end of a sentence describing something about that person. posted by found missing at 12:31 PM on July 28, 2006
We're blocking the marquee tag now? :( posted by brownpau at 12:32 PM on July 28, 2006
The problem with reason for the dots is that they convey virtually no information other than that their frequency in a given thread is a very rough reflection of the degree of fame of a given dead person. posted by 23skidoo at 12:32 PM on July 28, 2006
What we need is a natatorium. posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:36 PM on July 28, 2006
Who's agitating my dots? Are you agitating my dots? posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:38 PM on July 28, 2006
From now on, I decree that all dots link back to the wiki entry on dots. posted by brownpau at 12:39 PM on July 28, 2006
It's a very slow -and communal- morse code message saying "Here Come Dots." posted by yeti at 12:47 PM on July 28, 2006
misanthropicsarah, the yellow dots posted by staggering jack and later (ha!) by Faint of Butt are links to what jessamyn posted. Cortex's comment is an indication of how Mefites love to pile on a noobie's innocence.
Anything else you would like to know? posted by Cranberry at 12:51 PM on July 28, 2006
I'm just worried about what we're going to do when the internet runs out of dots. Will people here just stop dotting their "i"'s just so they can get their point across with a one dot post?
WHERE WILL IT END, PEOPLE?!?! posted by inigo2 at 12:53 PM on July 28, 2006
The bang (!) is reserved for celebrities who died from gunfire.
There's also a [!] next to each comment posted to MeFi, in case whatever the poster has said is so offensive that you want them to die. Clicking on it deploys a bullet to the brain of said commenter, and should only be used in emergency, or if like you had a really bad day and need to take it out on someone on the Internet but are too lazy/tired/beat to type out an angry and unprovoked screed. posted by Eideteker at 12:59 PM on July 28, 2006
While we're on the topic, what is Metafilter and who are you people? Please summarize in under 100 words, and try not use use many that have more than two syllables. posted by Astro Zombie at 1:12 PM on July 28, 2006
What makes the Hottentots type dots? posted by Floydd at 1:12 PM on July 28, 2006
Cranberry--I pressed your heart button over and over...could you feel it? posted by OmieWise at 1:19 PM on July 28, 2006
That was the lab rat's heart. You just ruined 8 years of research data. posted by If I Had An Anus at 1:22 PM on July 28, 2006
My dot blinks. Or it would if Matt weren't such a meanie. posted by jdroth at 1:25 PM on July 28, 2006
My dot poops. Or it would if Matt weren't such a meanie. posted by If I Had An Anus at 1:27 PM on July 28, 2006
My pot dupes. I tell them its kind bud, but it's the ditch weed, man, IT'S THE DITCH WEED. posted by Astro Zombie at 1:30 PM on July 28, 2006
brownpau's dot is for a REALLY famous dead person.
it's not brownpau's dot. posted by quonsar at 1:31 PM on July 28, 2006
Oh man! cortex is right. It has been a while.
Has anyone compiled a list of all the "what does the . mean?" threads? posted by Fuzzy Monster at 1:41 PM on July 28, 2006
This post is dangerous and must be deleted. posted by CunningLinguist at 1:42 PM on July 28, 2006
Is there a difference between a lab rat and a cubicle rat? posted by OmieWise at 1:42 PM on July 28, 2006
brownpauwrites"We're blocking the marquee tag now? :("
Yes, have been for a long time. Too bad too, the fish tank was awesome.
I wonder if the solution to the never ending "what is the dot" meta's is for everyone to link the . to the faq when posting. Even just the first few would help.
I could get behind FlamingBore's idea too. posted by Mitheral at 1:47 PM on July 28, 2006
We'd probably get fewer of these if the page for posting a MetaTalk thread said something like, "Please check the FAQ page before posting." posted by kirkaracha at 1:50 PM on July 28, 2006
misanthropicsarah, this is a thing that people ask from time to time, so it's become an inside joke.
So, people do stupid stuff all throughout the thread. Now, I think that the stupid stuff is rollicking good fun, personally, but you didn't do anything super stupid that warranted the degree of silliness. It's kind of like you said the secret word on Pee-wee's Playhouse, not a pileon. posted by ibmcginty at 1:52 PM on July 28, 2006
And, in all fairness, if you can't handle this sort of nonsense, you may not yet be ready for MetafFilter. It can be a quite silly place. posted by Astro Zombie at 1:58 PM on July 28, 2006
Suggested template for all future obit postings:
Announcing the death of [insert name here]. Please post dots in this thread to let everyone know that you: a) care enough about this dead person to press one key; and/or b) hold an abiding fear of your own dotless demise. Please note, ironic dots are not appreciated. Please limit extraneous text; it makes everyone else look lazy. posted by found missing at 1:59 PM on July 28, 2006 [3 favorites]
Adding a link to the faq on the metatalk posting page... posted by mathowie at 2:05 PM on July 28, 2006
Cortex's comment is an indication of how Mefites love to pile on a noobie's innocence.
True, but I meant it in the best possible way: I like the silly threads, and it has been a long time since we had, not a bash-the-newb thread, but a "what does the dot mean" thread.
Now, I think that the stupid stuff is rollicking good fun, personally, but you didn't do anything super stupid that warranted the degree of silliness. It's kind of like you said the secret word on Pee-wee's Playhouse, not a pileon.
Precisely. Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance, etc.
Has anyone compiled a list of all the "what does the . mean?" threads?
I almost asked the same thing. If anybody would like to do the research, I'll happily post it to refi.
I don't know how this thread got greenlit...
Greenlit? A tiny prescriptivist is standing on my shoulder, screaming terrible things. posted by cortex at 2:18 PM on July 28, 2006
Anyone else sad that the sketchzilla animated dot is extinct? The "domain name expired on 07/17/2006 and is pending renewal or deletion." I guess there's always this. posted by yeti at 2:20 PM on July 28, 2006
For me it has always symbolized one single perfect tear.
I think I'll stick with that. posted by konolia at 2:21 PM on July 28, 2006
God, I love that blood drip. posted by Astro Zombie at 2:50 PM on July 28, 2006
I don't know how this thread got greenlit...
posted by If I Had An Anus at 1:01 PM PST on July 28 [+] [!]
Greenlit? A tiny prescriptivist is standing on my shoulder, screaming terrible things.
posted by cortex at 2:18 PM PST on July 28 [+] [!]
So the correct form is greenlighted? ... [awaits the Hemingway-in-Hollywood alt-history style spoof "In a, Well, Greenlighted Place."] posted by Tuwa at 3:01 PM on July 28, 2006
And hey, did you know that the spellchecker wants to turn "Mefi" into "Mafia," too? posted by crunchland at 3:11 PM on July 28, 2006
You got me, crunchland. For a moment I was going to answer your question. Then I read the name of the poster. Duh. posted by raedyn at 3:24 PM on July 28, 2006
Metafilter: A very rough reflection of the degree of fame of a given dead person. posted by Duncan at 3:28 PM on July 28, 2006
Is there a reliable method for distinguishing the snarky/ironic/evil dots from the genuine dots? I feel this is an important issue. Seriously it can difficult sometimes to tell with actual comments, but those damn dots don't divulge much. posted by econous at 3:49 PM on July 28, 2006
So the correct form is greenlighted?
Well, that's what the tiny prescriptivist is screaming. For raw Google hits, it's about even; the couple articles I saw mention both, though tend to headline the term as "greenlighted" or "green lighted" and mention greenlit as an alternate form. So it's not exactly clearcut.
I'd argue that "greenlighted" is more correct because greenlight is a compound—you don't treat the word "light" as an independent entity, and so the irregular conjugation light - lit doesn't apply, and instead you use the more general light - lighted rule.
To back that up, I'd cite other compounds that take generalized rules applied to the whole rather than the parts. The use of RBIs as a plural for RBI, for example: the source phrase, "run batted in", is pluralized as "runs batted in", but RBI as a special compound would not be pluralized as RsBI by any sane baseball fan; and the pedantic guy who argues that the plural of RBI should be RBI can stuff it, because that too sounds ridiculous.
The compound has rules applied to it as a novel entity, independent of the special rules that my apply to a constituent.
We order Whopper Juniors, we (mostly) refer to Attorney Generals, etc. I wish I could think of some good compound verbs to act as more closely-related examples to my "greenlighted" reaction, but it's Friday afternoon and my brain is mush.
And anyway, I'm mostly going off on a lark. I have no strong feelings or position of authority to justify a stance on greenlit, I just personally think it sounds ridiculous. posted by cortex at 3:57 PM on July 28, 2006
Dots are the magnetic ribbons of MetaFilter. At least according to all the Attorneys General I know. posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:41 PM on July 28, 2006
I just personally think it sounds ridiculous.
Agreed. A thread isn't "green-lighted" in MeFi land. You post a link, and like magic it appears instantly. No waiting for someone to approve or disapprove of what you wrote.
Astro Zombiewrites"And, in all fairness, if you can't handle this sort of nonsense, you may not yet be ready for MetafFilter. It can be a quite silly place."
On second thoughts let's not go to Metafilter, 'tis a silly place... posted by TwoWordReview at 5:18 PM on July 28, 2006
that's it! it's really the cabal of sinister psychic longshoremen from the United Fruit and Vegetables Local 529! they're to blame for everything! posted by amberglow at 8:03 PM on July 28, 2006
I'm working on a PhD in dot theory, I'm pretty sure it's going to wipe those string-theory pansies off the map! posted by blue_beetle at 8:22 PM on July 28, 2006
Couldn't Matt just insert a "what's the deal with the dot?" link at the top of a page or the sidebar whenever the dottiness of an article exceeds N (say N > 2) and the user is new (within last 45 days, < 5 posts, etc.)?br>
Sinkhole cat is nice BTW. posted by ldenneau at 10:56 PM on July 28, 2006
Please, God, just let me be the first to post when Vonnegut kicks it. I'm sure I'll be the toast of Metafilter then! posted by sourwookie at 12:14 AM on July 29, 2006
I'm secretly a socket pup! posted by TwelveTwo at 12:55 AM on July 29, 2006
, please don't put a definition of the dot in the FAQ. Think of the children Mefites who will never again have an opportunity for silliness to show their posting skills.
Don't you just love theblink tag? posted by Cranberry at 3:33 AM on July 29, 2006
Because 'a.' is my alias, obviously. posted by a. at 4:05 AM on July 29, 2006
(Kids... goats.... geddit?) posted by nthdegx at 3:23 PM on July 29, 2006
Bob sarabia needs to be allowed an additional allocation of img tags. Especially for dancing gifs, gifs without Hoff.
I have my hand up nthdegx.. Not as smelly as you might imagine, and rather warm, though a little too damp for my arthritis. It will rain later. posted by econous at 3:29 PM on July 29, 2006 [1 favorite]
TwelveTwo demands more custom Metafilter-themed images! posted by TwelveTwo at 3:33 PM on July 29, 2006
Muddgirl, you just justified me breaking out my Pete & Pete Season 1 DVD to take that screencap (after remembering how to disable hardware acceleration) at 3 AM. posted by Eideteker at 10:34 AM on July 30, 2006
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posted by Staggering Jack at 12:23 PM on July 28, 2006