I think your questions are not worthy

October 8, 2006 8:50 AM

Tune in next week for another exciting edition of jacobean's vapid, ignorant, stupid, shallow and inflammatory question show! What will he ask next? Is it true that clouds are made of water? Why don't people like the same things I do? How long can a person go without takiong a shower? All this and more, coming next week!
posted by Mr. Gunn to etiquette/policy at 8:50 AM (80 comments total)

I'm not asking for any remedy here, just blowing off some steam.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 8:51 AM on October 8, 2006

Tell us how you really feel Mr. Gunn. All of those questions are legit and other users have made serious efforts to answer them. In this case, it might have been prudent to keep your steam to yourself. <sarcasm> Just remember, at least you're better than he is. </sarcasm>
posted by Roger Dodger at 8:59 AM on October 8, 2006

Maybe I'm as dumb as you say Jacobean is, but his questions don't strike me as being any sillier than other questions on that appear on AskMe. And the random, trivial nature of some of his inquiries ("why are people obsessed with wiping up drops of water?") makes the answers kind of interesting.

The question about niceness skipping generations was thought-provoking.

The question about I.T. staff was supported by my own personal experiences (as a former I.T. staffer myself).

I got your back, Jacobean.
posted by jayder at 9:01 AM on October 8, 2006

No but seriously, why are people obsessed with getting every little drop of water on an IT guy dried off? What's that about? Some IT guys like to air dry, you know?


Those are some seriously goofy questions.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:04 AM on October 8, 2006

...But I support his right to ask them, etc....
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:06 AM on October 8, 2006

I know it's not nice to point and laugh, but damn....
posted by Mr. Gunn at 9:09 AM on October 8, 2006

Mr. Gunn, you already made your point (such as it is) in your post. If you keep patting yourself on the back for it, people may be pointing and laughing at you. A word to the wise.
posted by languagehat at 9:16 AM on October 8, 2006

people may be

you misspelled "people certainly are".

Seriouslys, Gunn, this is some petty bullshit right here. If you're compelled to point out the purposelessness of your own post and provide the weak defense of "just blowing off some steam" in the first goddam comment, that's not a good sign.
posted by cortex at 9:25 AM on October 8, 2006

SERIOUSLYS D00D
posted by cortex at 9:26 AM on October 8, 2006

I'm not asking for any remedy here, just blowing off some steam

Funnily enough, these questions also appear to be more about blowing off steam than any sincere attempt to understand other people. Not that I really care, I'm actually a bit impressed that none of these were deleted, it's like watching a pilot flying extremely close to the ground without crashing.
posted by teleskiving at 9:27 AM on October 8, 2006

The first four questions you link to are intrinsically more interesting, and have provoked more interesting responses, than any of your questions, Mr. Gunn, with the exception of your question about book clubs, which did get a bunch of answers I really liked.

What's actually going on with this? You have said nothing which even remotely begins to justify making the kind of attack you've made on jacobean, here.
posted by jamjam at 9:29 AM on October 8, 2006

Tune in next week for another exciting edition of Mr Gunn's pointless, steam-blowing, pointing and laughing call-out show! Who will he whine about next? Is it true that some folks may find interesting things he does not? Why don't people like the same things he does? How long can a person go without takiong a potshot at someone else for no good reason? All this and more, coming next week!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:30 AM on October 8, 2006

Sir, are you under the impression you're obligated to read and seriously consider every post in the MetaFilterUniverse? Let me assure you that you are not. You can ignore the ones you think are "vapid, ignorant, stupid, shallow and inflammatory," much as I could have ignored this one. As I probably should have.
posted by mojohand at 9:33 AM on October 8, 2006

I didn't say anything here I wouldn't have said to the guy's face. I mean, until the "Why are all IT people lazy and imcompetent?" question, I just shook my head, but if he can dish it, he should be able to take it.

But yeah, I took the wrong tone here, and I'm getting what I deserve. Flame on.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 9:37 AM on October 8, 2006

so, why do hot dog buns come in packages of 8, and hot dogs in packages of 10?
posted by pyramid termite at 9:37 AM on October 8, 2006

I have to agree with the general tone here. Mr Gunn looks the ass; no one else.
posted by ClanvidHorse at 9:38 AM on October 8, 2006

Perhaps Mr. Gunn is an overworked IT guy and was incensed by that question. Some other answerers seemed to take it overly personal as well, so I can see it. Then he went looking at the user's other questions through his anger-tinted spectacles, and unsurprisingly found exactly what he was looking for. With that evidence in hand, he was certain he had enough for a well-supported Meta post.

Alas, he was wrong.
posted by smackfu at 9:38 AM on October 8, 2006

Jacobean, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. I know better than to make a personal attack on someone. I hope you forgive me.

I'll go sit in the corner now.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 9:55 AM on October 8, 2006

Pussy.
posted by Kwantsar at 10:01 AM on October 8, 2006

So wait, folks are really defending a guy making the maximum use of AskMe with simplistic and/or vaguely chatty questions like "Does 'niceness' skip generations?" or "Why are some people obsessed about drying up water?" Yeah, whatever. Thanks for pointing this out, Mr. Gunn; it'll keep me from wasting my time on any of jacobean's questions. He's the new poster child for a two-a-month limit.
posted by mediareport at 10:03 AM on October 8, 2006

< nerdalert>omfg, Aquaman!< /nerdalert>
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:03 AM on October 8, 2006

Thanks for pointing this out, Mr. Gunn; it'll keep me from wasting my time on any of jacobean's questions.

The line in the sand has been drawn!

If jacobean's questions weren't immediately identifiable, as individuals, as being unworthy of your valuable question-answering time, how does this trend suddenly disqualify them? You don't have time to answer questions by people who, upon big-picture examination, don't ask meaningful enough questions—but you do have time to keep track of who doesn't deserve answers?
posted by cortex at 10:10 AM on October 8, 2006

Lame callout or not, those questions suck. Jacobean needs to GHOFB to post his "These people suck" posts to, instead of pretending to be curious about their reasoning here.
posted by mendel at 10:12 AM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

cortex, even *he* doesn't seem to care about most of those questions. I love the ones that start, "Ok, so..." I'll stay away, thanks.
posted by mediareport at 10:15 AM on October 8, 2006

AND WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT SPACE BEFORE QUESTION MARK THING?

*ahem* Just had to get that out.
posted by mediareport at 10:17 AM on October 8, 2006

Over on the Straight Dope Message Board, the tagline is "Fighting Ignorance Since 1973". And really, that should be the goal of AskMeFi too. Encouraging people not to ask "ignorant" questions isn't helping anyone. If you don't want to read them, that's a problem you have to solve yourself.

Of course, someone saying they won't answer a particular person's questions is just full of themself. Very few people here are so expert in a subject that they are irreplaceable.
posted by smackfu at 10:34 AM on October 8, 2006

What teleskiving and mendel and mediareport said. Jacobean is abusing AskMe with those questions (cue someone trawling through mine), even if the callout is over the top.
posted by cillit bang at 10:45 AM on October 8, 2006

For what it's worth, the IT question pissed me off. It's so overgeneralized that it might as well have been "Why do black people like fried chicken and watermelon?" (ok, maybe not, but it's an inflammatory day).

It was a crap question. His other questions have been crap. But they weren't entirely unfit for AskMe, based on what other garbage shows up there regularly.
posted by Kickstart70 at 10:46 AM on October 8, 2006

Of course, someone saying they won't answer a particular person's questions is just full of themself. Very few people here are so expert in a subject that they are irreplaceable.

*pokes mediareport in the eye*

I would hope, at least, that more than one person probably had a view of IT people changed by that question, though. I know that jacobean's not the only person I've ever run into with that viewpoint and it might actually help to bridge the gap of understanding on that point.

Still though, questions like that are touch and go. Discouraged but not outlawed would be my vote.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 10:46 AM on October 8, 2006

Why are some people obsessed about drying up water ?
I am talking here about miniscule drops of water.
Why are some people obsessed about drying up water ?
I am talking here about miniscule drops of water.
Why are some people obsessed about drying up water ?
I am talking here about miniscule drops of water.
posted by naxosaxur at 10:54 AM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

*pokes mediareport in the eye*

Ow. But it had nothing to do with feeling "irreplaceable." It has everything to do with not encouraging someone who seems to be sitting by his computer with a stopwatch and a list of casual questions. We've called that out before, and rightly so. jacobean needs a wake-up call, and I'm glad Mr. Gunn provided it, even if it was maximally snarky.
posted by mediareport at 10:55 AM on October 8, 2006

Ok Phillip Glass.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:58 AM on October 8, 2006

(That was to naxosaxur, by the way)
posted by ludwig_van at 10:58 AM on October 8, 2006

Indeed, there is no remedy, as jacobean is not suddenly going to become a more perceptive and sophisticated person as the result of this thread...more's the pity.
posted by bingo at 11:01 AM on October 8, 2006

You don't have time to answer questions by people who, upon big-picture examination, don't ask meaningful enough questions—but you do have time to keep track of who doesn't deserve answers?

I have time neither to answer questions by people who don't generally ask meaningful enough questions nor to keep track of which question-askers generally don't deserve answers, but I do have time to answer the questions of those who keep track of who does and doesn't have time to keep track of who does or doesn't deserve answers. This is why I always answer the questions of cortex.
posted by Kwine at 11:13 AM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

I think the pattern thing has some relevence. When I read the water drying up question, I thought it was probably something that had bugged him for years, and he was taking an opportunity to get an explanation.

Looking at his history of questions together, though, I'd say whatever is irking him at the moment becomes an Ask.Me question. It's probably more about blowing off steam about something that annoys him than getting actual explanations.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:27 AM on October 8, 2006

*highfives kwine, chills out*
posted by cortex at 11:29 AM on October 8, 2006

with a capital K, natch—mea culpa
posted by cortex at 11:30 AM on October 8, 2006

I wasn't really trying to tell you to chill out, cortex, though I endorse chilling out on a sunny Sunday. I just like fun with prepositional phrases. Like now I'm self-interestedly worried that there's no one out there who would answer the questions of those who answer the questions of those who keep track of who does and doesn't have time to keep track of who does or doesn't deserve answers.
posted by Kwine at 11:42 AM on October 8, 2006

SCIENCE: APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD
posted by loquacious at 11:45 AM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

ANYTHING BEATS STUPID MIXTAPE QUESTIONS: APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD

ANYTHING BEATS STUPID MIXTAPE QUESTIONS: APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD

ANYTHING BEATS STUPID MIXTAPE QUESTIONS: APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD
posted by Rhomboid at 12:13 PM on October 8, 2006

I'm with mediareport: those are some stupid fuckin' questions, and they show a trend.

And, frankly, when people who are defending and contributing to this Elephant Day thing chide Gunn for this callout, I'm inclined to think less of their opinions.
posted by solid-one-love at 12:20 PM on October 8, 2006

Oh, I absolutely didn't mean to imply you were saying anything. That was a non sequitur, entirely—I've been telling myself to chill out, really.

And, frankly, when people who are defending and contributing to this Elephant Day thing chide Gunn for this callout, I'm inclined to think less of their opinions.

I'm chilling out now, so I'm going to go with "I respectfully disagree with your position".
posted by cortex at 12:23 PM on October 8, 2006

I'm always chill, but there's no respect whatsoever in my disagreement with your position.
posted by solid-one-love at 12:26 PM on October 8, 2006

You're just plain huggable.

*huggles*
posted by cortex at 12:30 PM on October 8, 2006

I think what has happened here is that I have struck a raw-nerve with Mr. Gunn.(as observed by smackfu also). Mr Gunn maybe you are on of those naturally incompetent I.T people that other posters have alluded to? If not - why have you been so incensed by my post.Why did you even bother to start a new thread about my other my questions? To be honest - I am quietly flattered.


Mr Gunn - I could trawl through questions asked by other Metafilter posters and could easily label them as “stupid” or “simplistic”. Was it not you who asked “what was said to Zidane” on 9th of July last? A substanial part of the world’s international media was alight with speculation of what was said to this player and you had to ask an internet message board? Did you think you were the only one asking that question that day? Pathetic.



The questions I have asked where simple but in my opinion it is the most simple questions to elicit the most interesting / entertaining answers especially regarding human behaviour. If they were such stupid questions why did so many people post up answers?



So with this question on I.T people I hope I have bridged the gap of understanding for other people frustrated with their I.T department. I would much rather find out about the difficulties or intricacies of a certain profession before criticizing them. My question never intented to cast aspersions on tech support workers – I merely wanted to find out why they seemed so unreliable. I know plenty of non-IT mangers who will give loads of grief and aggravation to IT workers about a particular project without ever asking the question why? So yeah, it might have appeared like a dumb question to some but I would much rather ask a so-called “dumb” question than be a narky, as$hole of client who never bothers to understand complexities of some professions.



A big apology to any of ye guyz if my questions did not meet your intellectual standards.
I take a light-hearted interest in some of the more mundane and trivial things in life. I was flabbergasted when I read the snide and unsubstantiated remark made by “mendel”.
“instead of pretending to be curious about their reasoning here” – I would be very interested in the reasoning of this very mealy-mouthed comment. Maybe you could explain? If I am allowed, I will post some more interesting questions in the future – some of these might include topics such as the genetic engineering of fruit-flies or about more trivial matters like “how to start a book club”. Thanks.
posted by jacobean at 1:18 PM on October 8, 2006

I agree with Mr. Gunn - it looks like an odd collection of utter timewasters but... obviously jacobean has a purpose and here it is: gathering material for standup comedy, observational humor - jacobean is Jerry Seinfeld!
posted by scheptech at 1:21 PM on October 8, 2006

well funny you should say that scheptech - some people have mentioned it to me that I would make a great stand-up comic for finding comedy in the mundanities of life.
posted by jacobean at 1:25 PM on October 8, 2006

So whats the deal with drops of water? You know what I mean? Don't get me started!
posted by Divine_Wino at 1:31 PM on October 8, 2006

whats up with that airline food ? why its so small!!
posted by naxosaxur at 1:31 PM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

naxosaxur - the wit...
posted by jacobean at 1:37 PM on October 8, 2006

Hey buddy I don't come down to your job and knock the burger spatula out of your hand!
posted by Divine_Wino at 1:42 PM on October 8, 2006

cuts like a knife yeah thats how i roll.
posted by naxosaxur at 1:42 PM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

White people soak up bits of water like this, black people soak up bits of water like this. amirite?
posted by Rhomboid at 1:51 PM on October 8, 2006

oh, wow
posted by cortex at 1:59 PM on October 8, 2006

In general, "What's the deal with X, amirite?" types of questions tend to devolve quickly. However, the IT question included enough real "question" along with the ranting that people could actually give some good answers. If that's the stuff that's on jacobean's mind, then that's what he'll ask, though keeping the flame fodder down to a minimum is always appreciated.
posted by jessamyn at 2:06 PM on October 8, 2006

Confirmation bias. Obviously.
posted by casarkos at 2:42 PM on October 8, 2006

Mr Gunn is keeping very quite.

Is there a server down prehaps ?
posted by jacobean at 2:54 PM on October 8, 2006

jacobean seems like someone who'd annoy the fuck out of me in real life even more than he does here.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 2:55 PM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

It's just a shame to see that jacobean's idiocy has riled up Project Runway's Tim Gunn like this.
posted by klangklangston at 3:22 PM on October 8, 2006

Always nice to see someone confirming your initial impressions when they show up in MeTa.

I take a light-hearted interest in some of the more mundane and trivial things in life.

In that case, perhaps you should reconsider your decision to become one of the most frequent posters to AskMe, since every one of your "light-hearted interests" bumps someone else's perhaps more serious question off the front page. One or two a month should suffice for "light-hearted interests," don't you think?
posted by mediareport at 3:26 PM on October 8, 2006

What EB said; one of those guys who make you regret defending them. I know I do now.

Don't be a jerk, jacobean.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 3:28 PM on October 8, 2006

guyz, only defending myself against Gunn's tirade against me. How would you like it if someone set up a thread to sully your name?
posted by jacobean at 3:38 PM on October 8, 2006

Mr. Gunn offered you one of the most graceful apologies I've ever seen on Metafilter more than five and a half hours ago, jacobean; your failure to accept or even acknowledge it has made you look worse than if everything he said at first had been limpid truth.
posted by jamjam at 3:40 PM on October 8, 2006

Yeah, and then he retracted and apologized.
And now you're squandering any sympathy or good will folks may have had for you.

Or at least just mine, and dammit, I don't have a lot to go around!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 3:41 PM on October 8, 2006

Ya know, I started a post about jacobean's generally nasty tone, too, but thought I was being overly sensitive (maybe because his nick is so close to mine...) Now that I see Mr. Gunn's post and jacobean's obnoxious response, I think it's time to chime in. This is, in part, what I decided not to post earlier

These "what's wrong with foo" type of questions are just asking for flamewars, and this one in particular is obviously axe-grinding. I, for one, would find AskMeFi a much more fun place without these these questions.

Is there any way we can exert some pressure to cut down axe-grinding questions?
posted by jacobian at 4:02 PM on October 8, 2006

Blowing off steam is not what MeTa is for. The fact that asking every stupid question that pops into your head is not what AskMe is for doesn't cancel this out.
posted by dg at 4:21 PM on October 8, 2006

The questions I have asked where simple but in my opinion it is the most simple questions to elicit the most interesting / entertaining answers especially regarding human behaviour.

Eliciting entertaining or interesting discussion isn't what AskMe is for, at all.
posted by cillit bang at 5:14 PM on October 8, 2006

Damnnnnnn, those are dumb questions.
posted by signal at 7:18 PM on October 8, 2006

I think of the space before the question mark as a sort of typographical version of looking over at the camera and shrugging, followed by laugh track. Which makes those questions the "Full House" of AskMe questions. And that's from the person who once posted a question asking where cobwebs come from.

And naxosaxur just wrote a bright eyes song up there I think.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:41 PM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

Why don't people just ignore AskMeFi questions they think are silly? You're not unable to figure out how to do that, are you? Did I just ask two rhetorical questions in a row?
posted by davy at 9:53 PM on October 8, 2006

By the way, all day Sunday Jacques Derrida was still dead.
posted by davy at 9:55 PM on October 8, 2006

Why don't people just ignore AskMeFi questions they think are silly?

Because AskMe questions, while technically a limitless resource, are actually quite limited because the chance of getting any attention, never mind actual answers, decreases proprtionally with the distance down the page and then takes a huge fall when they drop off the front page. Every stupid question sucks some opportunity away from "real" questions.
posted by dg at 10:04 PM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

None of these questions pass the "what problem are you trying to solve" test that the admins seem fond of. They are ventings of irritance with peccadillos or wildly stupid observations about people with "discuss" thrown in at the end.

I love how half of them include a moronic appeal to an outisde person who agrees, as in "I was talking to my grandmother's gardener / the FedEx guy / some goddamn homosexual who was sucking my cock and HE said he'd noticed the SAME DAMN THING."

I'm not a fan of deleting threads, but man, if I've ever seen a bunch of moles lined up bowing their heads for the Jessamyn whack, this thread is it. There's no call for deletion here, and the introduction to the threads linked is apt and entertaining.
posted by scarabic at 10:28 PM on October 8, 2006

The questions suck. Good call, Mr Gunn.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 10:55 PM on October 8, 2006

WEAKSAUCE CALLOUT
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 11:20 PM on October 8, 2006

I'll gladly help in keeping AskMeFi uncluttered with further inane questions by answering one of the future ones here: I once went a week without showering. Top that if you dare!
posted by Brak at 11:41 PM on October 8, 2006

Metafilter: Is there a server down prehaps ?

/is sorry
posted by iconomy at 6:36 AM on October 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

Q: why don't people like me? [more inside]

A: Because they're fucking assholes
posted by hoborg at 4:46 PM on October 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

Q: Why is my penis so large, thick and well sculpted?

A: I met a woman at a party recently and we ended up making love with such fervor that we knocked items off of the table near my bed. And to think I had never considered the possibility of something like this even happening in the small town where I'm attending college!
posted by Smedleyman at 5:18 PM on October 9, 2006