August 29, 2006

5:01 PM

"This post was deleted for the following reason: this is 4-5 years old, the woman was fine, just knocked the wind out of her. It's from Georgia I think."

Please help me understand this.
posted by swift to etiquette/policy at 5:01 PM (89 comments total)

link?
posted by exlotuseater at 5:05 PM on August 29, 2006

IM IN UR SITE, EATIN UR POSTS
posted by dflemingdotorg at 5:06 PM on August 29, 2006 [2 favorites]

Link
posted by swift at 5:08 PM on August 29, 2006

It's old, and not very interesting.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 5:09 PM on August 29, 2006

Remember that story about the Japanese soldier who was discovered living on a secluded island in the Pacific in like 1970, who thought that WWII was still going on? That whole thing was an elaborate and prescient metaphor for the post in question.
posted by cortex at 5:12 PM on August 29, 2006 [2 favorites]

... and it's from georgia. i think.

what is it you need help understanding?
posted by sergeant sandwich at 5:12 PM on August 29, 2006

That deletion reason says everything pretty plainly.
posted by bob sarabia at 5:12 PM on August 29, 2006

Oh. Now that I've seen the link I understand. It's pretty old. And she was fine. I'm pretty sure it's from Georgia.

Ok?
posted by exlotuseater at 5:14 PM on August 29, 2006

In other words: your post stinks.
posted by Falconetti at 5:15 PM on August 29, 2006

Allow me to translate:

Try again later.

Much later.
posted by scrump at 5:16 PM on August 29, 2006

I'm thinking "It was pretty old" was the reason for deletion. The other parts were just directed at all the people who would be upset that the thread was closed, thinking "How could he close the thread?! I don't even know if she's ok, or where she's from!"
posted by bugbread at 5:17 PM on August 29, 2006

Ok, I'll break it down:

It's old: I saw it on the internet probably in 2003. Half of the people that left a comment had seen it. In a way, that's like posting the hamster dance.

"the woman was fine, just knocked the wind out of her. It's from Georgia I think.": She didn't break anything and she was ok soon after. Back when this first made the rounds, people tracked down the station and the station used to have a page that explained how it was several years old (I think it's from 1998 or so) and how the reporter that fell went on to become a weather person at a bigger station somewhere else.

Clear enough? It's a very old video I've seen dozens of times. It was probably on mefi before, but I figured if many commenting people had seen it as well, it's old stuff.
posted by mathowie at 5:18 PM on August 29, 2006

That video is so well known I didn't even have to open the link.
posted by loquacious at 5:29 PM on August 29, 2006

Same here. But the thread was worth it for this:

If this, for Swift, is currently the best of the web then I predict wide eyes and gaping mouth within mere hours.
posted by CynicalKnight at 6:19 PM EST on August 29
posted by languagehat at 5:39 PM on August 29, 2006

No, I'm still confused over the Georgia bit. Georgia? Georgia? On my mind? Please help me to understand!
posted by NoMich at 5:46 PM on August 29, 2006

We don't like old videos.

We really don't like old videos where people aren't hurt.

We really really don't like old videos where people from Georgia aren't hurt.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 5:55 PM on August 29, 2006 [2 favorites]

Thanks, Matt. What confused me about the comment was:

- the post would be deleted just for being old, even if it isn't a double post;
- it would be deleted because the woman was not harmed;
- it would be deleted for being from Georgia.

Now it looks like it was because people were yelling. Clear enough.

I haven't seen this before. So a lot of other people have -- fair enough, that's probably a good reason to delete the post. But what puts me off is all the "you don't know the internets unless you've seen the Grape-Smashing Video" attitude. I mean, shit, people. This has become one snobby, noisy place.
posted by swift at 6:20 PM on August 29, 2006

Wait, what's this about a hamster dance? Do you have a link?
posted by yhbc at 6:28 PM on August 29, 2006

Post a new one about a man from Mississipi seriously hurting himself. That'll fly.
posted by blue_beetle at 6:30 PM on August 29, 2006

Look, why don't you spend some time on the site, get a feel for the community, before you start griping about how the site has 'become', ok?
posted by signal at 6:32 PM on August 29, 2006

This has become one snobby, noisy place.

Become?

Then again, I don't think the websnobbery is such a bad thing if it keeps people conscious of trying to make the place the best it can be, and as long as it doesn't devolve into the kneejerkage I lashed out at here. Sadly, it often does devolve into cynical dummies posting bon mots like '*yawn*' in practice though. So it goes with epenis++.

The noise? That's not good at all. But people have been complaining about signal vs. noise here since the Very Beginning. Same as it ever was.

I would suggest that uninspired posts to the front page add to the noise as much as anything, though.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:32 PM on August 29, 2006

signal, I signed up the day after you did, so I guess I'll defer to your greater experience.

stavros -- thanks, I feel better now.
posted by swift at 6:38 PM on August 29, 2006

Tired old, not well-esteemed old.
posted by mendel at 6:41 PM on August 29, 2006

Christ, I don't beleive people are complaining about having their shitty American's Funniest Home YouTube posts deleted. If you're going to post crap, act like a man when it gets removed.
posted by mr_roboto at 6:43 PM on August 29, 2006

.
posted by buzzman at 6:46 PM on August 29, 2006

signal, I signed up the day after you did, so I guess I'll defer to your greater experience.

If I recall correctly, signal (or someone else) made exactly the same joke recently. Don't sweat it.

stavros -- thanks, I feel better now.

Not sure if that was sarcastic or not, but again: don't sweat it.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:49 PM on August 29, 2006

mr_roboto, I asked for clarification and got it.

What I was complaining about was not getting a very coherent reason why the post was deleted, and what motivated me to complain was all the snarkiness, which made me suddenly realize, for the 20th time, that people will come off as snobby pricks when given the opportunity. And to save any more typing on this tired subject, ha ha yes that includes me too.

stavros, no sarcasm intended, just bad sentence order.
posted by swift at 7:03 PM on August 29, 2006

Listen, swift, this is nothing compared to how my deleted post was raked over the coals! Man, a whole new thread just making fun of it opened up, and all sorts of wonderfully mean-spirited people jumped into the squirming orgy of public humiliation! And bob sarabia, bless his heart, who displays an interest in deleted posts that borders on the obsessive, inferred that I was an attention whore. All in all you're getting off pretty easy here. And like mr_roboto says, take it like a man!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:21 PM on August 29, 2006

and what motivated me to complain was all the snarkiness, which made me suddenly realize, for the 20th time, ...

Heh. Usually that kind of sentence ends with the poster leaving the site forever.
posted by smackfu at 7:31 PM on August 29, 2006

he implied that you were an attention whore. how you took his implication? that's inferring.
posted by Hat Maui at 7:52 PM on August 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

posted by Hat Maui: "he implied ... how you took his implication? that's inferring."

Thanks for the correction, I've been misusing that word for years. Damn!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:00 PM on August 29, 2006

I hadn't seen this before, actually. Not that it's good, but I haven't seen it before.
posted by hoborg at 8:03 PM on August 29, 2006

Heh. Usually that kind of sentence ends with the poster leaving the site forever.

So... flameout now?
posted by languagehat at 8:22 PM on August 29, 2006

Metafilter: people will come off as snobby pricks when given the opportunity
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:24 PM on August 29, 2006

FLAMEOUT! FLAMEOUT! FLAMEOUT!
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:28 PM on August 29, 2006

I'd never seen the video before, and, knowing that she would be fine, I thought it was hilarious. Not just for the tortured grunting after the fall, but the synthetic insincere sounding response of the news people back at the station.
posted by delmoi at 8:29 PM on August 29, 2006

swift writes, "[...] people will come off as snobby pricks when given the opportunity. And to save any more typing on this tired subject, ha ha yes that includes me too."

That's not "ha ha yes" that you've got there.
posted by boo_radley at 10:16 PM on August 29, 2006

hey kids! look what i just found!
posted by pyramid termite at 10:34 PM on August 29, 2006

Let's just say that one-link youtube posts have a slightly higher standard of "best of the web" to live up to... and something that has been passed around the metaphoric campfire of the internet many times over the years just doesn't fly. "But *I* hadn't seen it before and I'm sure there are others that hadn't either" is the excuse everyone always uses in this situation, and it just doesn't hold. If that logic had any merit then we'd see a constant stream of duplicate posts as every obsessive compulsive user would repost their own little hobby-horse favorite site every 6 months just in case there happened to be a few people that had yet to see it.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:20 PM on August 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

If there were a page here at the site that MeFi newcomers could go to, that would feature a collection of succinct, well-reasoned and well-explained posting criteria from MeFi users, then I would nominate Rhomboid's above comment for inclusion. I think what old-timers here at MeFi sometimes forget is that new users need more than just "your post is lame" or similarly dismissive comments. New users are going to make mistakes, and often they deserve a little more patience and understanding than they get from certain members here. A round of applause for Rhomboid!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:45 PM on August 29, 2006

flapjax, what you're looking for is something like this. (scroll down a bit)
posted by Slithy_Tove at 1:24 AM on August 30, 2006

Yes, Slithy Tove, that's it! Crunchland's guidelines/suggestions are excellent, and should be required reading for those new to MetaFilter. Unfortunately, no newcomer will find them there, buried in Crunchland's profile page! I vote for presenting Crunchland's words of wisdom on a conspicuous, easy-to-find introductory page for new members. Anyone else think that's a good idea?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:39 AM on August 30, 2006

*crickets*
posted by triv at 5:21 AM on August 30, 2006

Chalk it up to a simple learning experience. Old videos of clumsy people are bad, but old videos of clumsy people are good. It's pretty basic.

(I kid, I kid.)
posted by Drastic at 6:14 AM on August 30, 2006

yeah, crickets... sigh.

Well, anyway, we wouldn't wanna do anything that might dry up the pool of potential targets for slamming, lambasting, humiliating, castigating and laughing at, would we? Carry on.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:17 AM on August 30, 2006

Basted lamb is pretty tasty tho.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:23 AM on August 30, 2006

By the way, Drastic, your point is well taken. But the "(I kid, I kid)" kinda ruins it...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:26 AM on August 30, 2006

Don't take all these snarks to heart, swift, it's a newbie hazing ritual. Plus, we all just like a robust flame out now and again. And that's not a newbie xenophobia thing - hell, most here would put the head of any of our oldest most esteemed members on the chopping block just to witness a good flame out. We have a touch of the colosseum crowd about us that way, don't take it personally!
posted by madamjujujive at 6:28 AM on August 30, 2006

Well, as points go, I think it comes pre-ruined, so that's okay.
posted by Drastic at 6:32 AM on August 30, 2006

What is MeFi, after all, but bread and circuses?
posted by OmieWise at 6:47 AM on August 30, 2006

Damn, I hadn't seen that before. Now I feel like I don't interweb enough. The slow motion replay with sound was the best part though "owwwww owwww owwww"... man, I just kept laughing!

However, even though it was funny, it didn't really seem FPP-worthy. It seemed a bit more FarkWorthy. I've got some great videos of people throwing giant foam airplanes in the air, only to have them loop around and hit them in the head! It's hilarious! But I don't really think it would work for a MeFi post.
posted by antifuse at 7:01 AM on August 30, 2006

most here would put the head of any of our oldest most esteemed members on the chopping block just to witness a good flame out

*looks hopefully at madamjujujive*
posted by languagehat at 7:10 AM on August 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

My brother was killed in a freak grape stomping accident, and my family was so traumatized that they all killed themselves, except for me.

Should I post the YouTube link to the front page?
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:20 AM on August 30, 2006

A piece of that tip just got me, O'Dell.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 7:38 AM on August 30, 2006

My brother was killed in a freak grape stomping accident, and my family was so traumatized that they all killed themselves, except for me. Should I post the YouTube link to the front page?

Yes, but only if you can somehow connect this all to William Shatner or Bob Dylan.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:53 AM on August 30, 2006

Armitage: We uhh... may need emergency surgery in the studio.

lol
posted by exlotuseater at 8:01 AM on August 30, 2006

*looks hopefully at madamjujujive*

Ah, but I would lob that ball right back at ya, guy ... you are so wonderfully adept with language so I think you could provide spectacularly satisfying conflagration!
posted by madamjujujive at 8:21 AM on August 30, 2006

IM IN UR SITE, EATIN UR POSTS

Rolling. On. Floor. Laughing my ass off.

Thank you.
posted by etoile at 8:57 AM on August 30, 2006

Ah, madam, when I flame out—when I flame out, such a flame will there be that men shall speak of it for generations, yes, and women too, and perhaps a few cats, though not my cats, for they care not who feedeth so long as the food cometh... at any rate, it will be a flameout for the ages. I shall begin in English, but eventually I will have to pass over to Russian, a much more satisfying language for cursing (there will be many a блядь! heard on that day), and finally the Spirit will possess me and there will be tongues such as have not been heard since the Apostles got hit with the Holy Fish of Babel two thousand years ago. Follow me then who dare!

*rubs hands with crazed anticipatory glee*
posted by languagehat at 11:02 AM on August 30, 2006 [6 favorites]

languagehat writes "*rubs hands with crazed anticipatory glee*"

Yeah, me too! Although I might wash them first if they've been all over that fish of Babel.
posted by OmieWise at 11:15 AM on August 30, 2006

I can proudly say I have never seen the hamster dance.
posted by mischief at 1:06 PM on August 30, 2006

Which hamster is that?
posted by dersins at 2:08 PM on August 30, 2006

I remember my first hamster dance.
posted by y2karl at 2:09 PM on August 30, 2006

Wait - are we no longer all doing the hamster dance? I didn't get the memo. What is the current cool dance?
posted by madamjujujive at 3:00 PM on August 30, 2006

I'm embarrassed for all you people. It's hampster.
posted by gleuschk at 4:05 PM on August 30, 2006

No Hampster is a state in New England. The dance is spelled 'hamster,' bub.

The dance we're all doing now is the Churlish Pule.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:10 PM on August 30, 2006

Oh....

You stick out your snark,
You grunt like a mule,
You glow in the dark,
You look like a fool,
But you don't give a damn, 'cause
You're doin' the Churlish Pule!

You whine in the Grey,
You bitch in the Blue,
Don't care what you say,
Don't care what you do, 'cause
You're doin' the Churlish Pule!

Uh-oh, look out, they're comin' to get you now;
They're haulin' your ass into MetaTalk, they're gonna have a cow!

But...

You don't care,
It's all in the past,
You're happy to swear
And flame out at last, 'cause
You're doin' the Churlish Pule!
posted by languagehat at 5:32 PM on August 30, 2006 [4 favorites]

Somewhere, cortex is grabbing his guitar and running to the studio. I hope.
posted by yhbc at 5:57 PM on August 30, 2006

I hope so too, yhbc. I am sending out the special cortex bat signal right now. We need this to music.

languagehat, I knew you were a man of many talents but you have outdone yourself here. Color me impressed! Here's my quick stab at choreographing the whole thing:


posted by madamjujujive at 6:25 PM on August 30, 2006

I know exactly how I would record that, actually (hint: a ukelele would be involved), but I'm fucking exhausted this evening. Maybe in the next couple of days.
posted by cortex at 7:52 PM on August 30, 2006

Christ, who am I kidding.

Doing the Churlish Pule.
posted by cortex at 8:58 PM on August 30, 2006 [4 favorites]

Yay!
posted by yhbc at 9:06 PM on August 30, 2006

I ❤ YOU SO HARD!
posted by blasdelf at 9:12 PM on August 30, 2006

once again, CORTEX, i DEMAND!!!!!! that you let me have a million of your babies i dont care that your married kthxbye
posted by scody at 9:40 PM on August 30, 2006

Holy crap, I am in awe.
posted by signal at 9:52 PM on August 30, 2006

once again, CORTEX, i DEMAND!!!!!! that you let me have a million of your babies. posted by scody!!!!

Damn. I gotta take up an instrument.
posted by dobbs at 10:16 PM on August 30, 2006

It works. If I did anything else for a living that kept me in the same income bracket, I wouldn't stand a chance.
posted by sourwookie at 10:58 PM on August 30, 2006

Superb! Many thanks!
posted by madamjujujive at 11:26 PM on August 30, 2006

I once got an email from Cortex. I am now going to print it out, frame it and hang it over the mantelpiece.

And kiss it occasionally.
posted by Jofus at 4:40 AM on August 31, 2006

"i dont care that your married kthxbye"

"I don't care that you're married/ I will drive you home in my one-eyed Ford..."
posted by klangklangston at 7:57 AM on August 31, 2006

Can we just elevate cortex to MetaSainthood now already? I mean, seriously, there should be some sort of "MeFi SUPERgenius" icon or something for people like him.
posted by scrump at 12:35 PM on August 31, 2006

Perhaps a Stan Chin-esque icon, but instead of a gold star it'd be a tiny banner that scrolls the text "has too much free time" in an unending loop.
posted by cortex at 12:37 PM on August 31, 2006

posted by turbodog at 1:58 PM on August 31, 2006

How about a 9835; rather than a gold star?
posted by swordfishtrombones at 2:04 PM on August 31, 2006

Damn. That work fine on preview, etc.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 2:05 PM on August 31, 2006

9835;9834;9835;9834;

Ha! I had no idea. Crazy unicode!
posted by cortex at 5:38 PM on August 31, 2006

Damn. That worked fine on preview, etc.
posted by cortex at 5:38 PM on August 31, 2006

♫♫♫♫♫♫

♬♬♬♬♬
posted by Rhomboid at 6:29 PM on August 31, 2006

give it up for ̳̳̿U̸̸̳̳̳̳̿̿̿N̸̸̳̳̳̳̿̿̿I̸̸̳̳̳̳̿̿̿C̸̸̳̳̳̳̿̿̿O̸̸̸̳̳̳̳̳̳̿̿̿̿D̸̸̳̳̳̳̿̿̿E̳̳̿̿
posted by Rhomboid at 6:40 PM on August 31, 2006