Taking a dim view of a certain user

January 31, 2007 4:37 AM

Why does MetaFilter revolve around Dios? Isn't this a community of circa 50,000? It feels like everyday there is another Dios soap opera. I dread clicking on post comments anymore because chances are it will be more about him rather than the post.
posted by Funmonkey1 to etiquette/policy at 4:37 AM (312 comments total)

and this will help....how?
posted by dflemingdotorg at 4:38 AM on January 31, 2007 [5 favorites]

by that, i mean we already had one unnecessary thread about dios yesterday, why did you feel it necessary to have another today?

sometimes dios is inflammatory, more often than not metafilter is easily engulfed with flames. if you don't like him, ignore him. it's not that hard, really.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 4:40 AM on January 31, 2007

why does metafilter revolve around funmonkey1?
posted by caddis at 4:40 AM on January 31, 2007

well maybe it points out the obvious.

He is a bit of a bully on the playground and it is getting really really stale. I have reached the point where if I see a thread where Dios has posted, I realise there is no point in reading through any further.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 4:41 AM on January 31, 2007

He is a bit of a bully on the playground and it is getting really really stale. I have reached the point where if I see a thread where Dios has posted, I realise there is no point in reading through any further.

that's more your problem than his, though.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 4:42 AM on January 31, 2007

You don't know what you're talking about. Yes, this is a community of circa.. well, I think it's really more like 5,000 active readers. But that's why there are soap operas; it's the rest-state of human civilization.

I predict that soon you will dread posting MetaTalk threads. And we'll all be better off for it.
posted by Plutor at 4:44 AM on January 31, 2007

yes it is my problem, however, it is a problem shared by many more than me.

And it is impossible to ignore someone that continually shits on every thread. Even a dog can be housebroken.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 4:46 AM on January 31, 2007

I posted about kottke commenting here one time and it was deleted preety damn queeck. For your sake, Funmonkey1, I hope the admins are as kind to you, because I was a fool to make that post, and now, if I hadn't admitted it, nobody would ever know.

You could have been me, and maybe you still can be.

Good luck, and good night.
posted by cgc373 at 4:46 AM on January 31, 2007

I'm beginning to suspect that dios hires these guys to post stuff about him on Metatalk, just so we don't, like, forget his name for one nanosecond.
posted by Dave Faris at 4:47 AM on January 31, 2007

Plutor your knowledge of all things Mefi is brilliant. Thanks for the crib sheet.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 4:47 AM on January 31, 2007

yes it is my problem, however, it is a problem shared by many more than me.

numbers don't make it any less a tolerance problem of yours.

i ignore 75% of what goes on here; it's not that hard. if a post has no interest for me or the thread annoys me, i stop reading it. or, subsequently, if someone jumps in with a point of view i don't like, i find the occasional nugget of insight from the people arguing against him. it's a good thing.

take some personal responsibility for filtering this website (metametafiltering?) yourself and stop overdramaticizing how this is a website that is revolving around one member.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 4:50 AM on January 31, 2007

Look, Dios has been metatalked about billions of times.

My reason for this MetaTalk thread was to point out the Dios method of threadjaking ruins part of the Mefi experience -- FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.


Jump on me if you will for this post, but it still does not change my point above.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 4:51 AM on January 31, 2007

dflem - there is no dramarama here.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 4:53 AM on January 31, 2007

My reason for this MetaTalk thread was to point out the Dios method of threadjaking ruins part of the Mefi experience -- FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

no, it was to point out how it ruins it for you. other people have stood up for themselves in the past on this matter. there will be no person to speak for a lot of people on metafilter; we can all do that ourselves.

those who dislike dios' tactics have said so, you know, yesterday.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 4:54 AM on January 31, 2007

So what exactly are you suggesting we do about the fact that you don't like Dios, Mr. Funmonkey1?
posted by Dave Faris at 4:57 AM on January 31, 2007

Your point being that dios likes to shit on threads? He's not the only one, not by a LONG shot. For a lot of people, Metafilter exists pretty much for them to shit on threads. Shrug.
posted by antifuse at 4:57 AM on January 31, 2007

you know, you're right dflemingdotorg.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 4:57 AM on January 31, 2007

Funmonkey1, if words on a screen bug you like that maybe it's time to go outside for awhile.
posted by konolia at 5:00 AM on January 31, 2007

I like dios!
posted by stammer at 5:01 AM on January 31, 2007

Snark aside, if you think a community of 50,000, as you say, revolves around any one user, you're obsessing too much. It revolves around 7 users, minimum.
posted by Dave Faris at 5:03 AM on January 31, 2007

I think you guys are right, I am going to get out of my parents basement for a while and rethink this whole thing.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 5:04 AM on January 31, 2007

And email mathowie or jessamyn or both and ask 'em pretty-please to delete this post for you, and nobody but us will ever know, and we'll forget. I will, anyway. I promise.
posted by cgc373 at 5:07 AM on January 31, 2007

Dios may be asleep or otherwise occupied so I'll put on the mask. *Ahem*

Isn't this a community of circa 50,000?

Huh. Interesting. I always thought "circa" referred to a date, a subject I'm sure your type is unfamiliar with. We learned it in grade school. Did you miss that day?

Thank You
posted by hal9k at 5:29 AM on January 31, 2007

That was a graceful change of mind, Funmonkey1. Seriously.
posted by OmieWise at 5:29 AM on January 31, 2007 [2 favorites]

Frankly, I think we all know who this community really revolves around.
posted by chrismear at 5:29 AM on January 31, 2007 [7 favorites]

Markedly less graceful, hal9k.
posted by OmieWise at 5:32 AM on January 31, 2007

Deep breaths. In, out. In, out. Out, out. Ha! Just kidding. Meditiation humor!

But seriously yeah this sort of thing is counter-productive. Avoid.
posted by cortex at 5:40 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Huh. Interesting. I always thought "circa" referred to a date, a subject I'm sure your type is unfamiliar with. We learned it in grade school. Did you miss that day?"

Funny enough, circa in english is used primarily in association with a date. However, in Norwegian we use cirka in dates and quantities.

So I guess I did miss that English lesson telling me the word for "approximately" in Latin can only be applied to dates. Apologies for any confusion and thanks for clearing that up.
posted by Funmonkey1 at 5:41 AM on January 31, 2007

Yeah. The other day I was telling my sis about how I am a bit tired that you can't do anything without falling into a discussion about the president in this country. Everything always goes back to him. No escape. Whether you like him or you dislike him, you just can't have him apart from your life. Ever.

She kept silent for a second after I finished my rant and the she said: "Could we change the subject, then?"
posted by micayetoca at 5:47 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

I think the Metatalk limit should be once a month.

And every time you post in Metatalk for anything other than bug reports, you should immediately lose comment posting ability for two weeks and Askme posting rights for two months.

and be beaten.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:11 AM on January 31, 2007 [2 favorites]

mexico revolves around dios, too ... people down there tell you all the time, "vaya con dios"

the dude is notorious, i'm telling you
posted by pyramid termite at 6:12 AM on January 31, 2007 [2 favorites]

He is a bit of a bully on the playground and it is getting really really stale.

No, you are the bully.

Also, what Brandon Blatcher said.
posted by languagehat at 6:31 AM on January 31, 2007

"vaya con dios"

dios is the most flexible of condiments—like ketchup, he goes great on about everything.
posted by carsonb at 6:34 AM on January 31, 2007

No, wait, that's supposed to be "...he goes on about everything (greatly)."
posted by carsonb at 6:35 AM on January 31, 2007

Let me have my soaps!
posted by mds35 at 6:35 AM on January 31, 2007

And it is impossible to ignore someone that continually shits on every thread.

Metafilter: FOR ME TO POOP ON!

Love, Dios.

Seriously though, if writing reasoned responses from a view point that you don't like is shitting in a thread, then I'd like more of it, please.
posted by spicynuts at 6:36 AM on January 31, 2007 [2 favorites]

Remember when Metafilter used to revolve around jonmc? Quick, post a thread about punk music!
posted by muddgirl at 6:48 AM on January 31, 2007

Because people like Funmonkey1 make it so.
posted by LarryC at 6:50 AM on January 31, 2007

Isn't this a community of circa 50,000?

However, Internet discussions follows Zipf's law, which means that 90% of what happens on Metafilter is driven by a small minority of people bitching about each other.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 6:52 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

Well, for one reason, I think people dislike dios the way they dislike their tax auditor. Whether or not he makes valid points about a bad thread or conversation topic is secondary to the fact that he seems to relish any opportunity to point out what he doesn't like about MetaFilter, far beyond the actual positive contributions he's made to the site. If you've established yourself as "the one who's always bitching about everything" it's hard to be very liked.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:59 AM on January 31, 2007 [3 favorites]

This is what killfiles are for. If you can't avoid getting hung up on someones behavior or the context in which it is delivered than remove it from your perspective. The added bonus lies in the mime like routine of the baited, witnessing them shadow box some ethereal curmudgeon until they collapse with exhaustion. Remember, everything isn't black and white here... there are rampant shades of hypocrisy near the cyan range.
posted by prostyle at 7:00 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

You know what I hate? Norwegians. Always flaring their red behinds at me, humping tireswings, and generally making any date at the zoo awkward and embarrassing.

Oh wait, that's baboons... oh yeah, baboons.

To sum up, I hate Canada. Vive le Québec libre!


And sometimes dios thread turn into something much more fun, like arguments about the role of editors in literature. My point is, I hate Lucky Charms.
posted by Kattullus at 7:01 AM on January 31, 2007 [6 favorites]

Damn that KirkJobSluder! We hates him forever!
posted by cgc373 at 7:01 AM on January 31, 2007

I get along with dios pretty okay, so that's my bias, but I have to tell you dios's comments rarely get flagged (except in cases like the one we're discussing in the other MetaTalk thread right now). Now it may be true that people have already stopped flagging his comments in some sort of "why bother" fashion, but I think it's just more likely that he really doesn't bother most people.

Then there are a few people whose skin he gets under and they can't read his name without having little fits. I'm not sure what to do for those people. If he's actually shitting in a thread, we'll remove it. If he starts some sort of ad hominem attack on another user, we'll remove it. There are many people who do both of those things much more frequently than dios, whose comments get flagged and emailed to our attention and we sort of have our hands full with them most of the time.

I have to confess, I have no idea what it is about dios that makes people so irate that he winds up in MeTa so often. I know he can be abrasive and somewhat plodding in his arguments. He has a perspective that differs from a lot of people here, but he's hardly a feces-slinging babboon and I don't think he's a troll. If he's messing up a thread, bring it to our attention.
posted by jessamyn at 7:08 AM on January 31, 2007 [6 favorites]

You know, the framing device I use to make MeTas like this more entertaining is to imagine a vaudville stage where the poster, clad in a high-necked wool suit, comes shuffling out sidelong, both hands on his cane, and then delivers the callout. They make a big flourish (down on one knee), and there is that "ba-baa-ba-baa-baa-bwaahaah" trombone and muted trumpet fanfare, and then they hop up and sidle off.
posted by klangklangston at 7:12 AM on January 31, 2007 [5 favorites]

He's just one guy; people who don't like him should simmer the fuck down or killfile him. I don't care how this pathetically one-sided cult of personality feud ends.

XQUZYPHYR: I like him just fine, and I think the 'relish any opportunity to point out what he doesn't like about MetaFilter' and 'always bitching about everything' are canards, really.

For example, I don't remember him being involved too deeply - if at all - in the recent image tag and AskMe kerfuffles, where a lot of folks gave Matt and his management of the site a lot more shit and abuse than I've ever seen dios dole out.

And heck yes, Brandon Bletcher.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:17 AM on January 31, 2007

MetaFilter doesn't revolve around dios. MetaFilter doesn't revolve at all. It staggers and lurches, has flashes of brilliant inspiration and insight before once again stumbling into some bleak and unforgiving chasm, lands with a sickening thud, rolls around in the muck screaming like a banshee, then picks itself up, dusts itself off, and starts all over again.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:18 AM on January 31, 2007

He's just one guy;

so...what? we're supposed to hate groups of people now? what exactly are you advocating here?— please explain how you are not saying "Hey everybody! Hate on an ethnic [for example] level" here.
posted by carsonb at 7:26 AM on January 31, 2007

Simply, MetaFilter revolves around dios because people can't quit talking about him. I don't know why. His comments don't bother me and are often filled with insight. I don't agree with everything he says, but I don't feel the need to tell him he is wrong when I think he's off base. Others do, and when he defends his statements, people accuse him of being a contrarian. I think the people who hate him most would be sorry if he were gone. What's a (self-styled) hero without his nemesis?

I like him. I think I'll link him as a social contact to show a little support.
posted by Roger Dodger at 7:27 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

How fragile are you? It ruins your "experience" to see dios' name in a thread? That makes you pathetic, not dios.
posted by Falconetti at 7:29 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

MetaFilter: abrasive and somewhat plodding.
posted by loquacious at 7:33 AM on January 31, 2007

in the recent image tag and AskMe kerfuffles

Metatalk should get tags, and every thread longer than 100 comments should be tagged "kerfuffle".
posted by muddgirl at 7:33 AM on January 31, 2007

And I should get royalties.

please explain how you are not saying "Hey everybody! Hate on an ethnic [for example] level" here.

I'm not going to bother - either you're joking and MeTa has completely broken my facetious-O-meter, or you're serious, and that's just sad.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:37 AM on January 31, 2007

You know, the framing device I use to make MeTas like this more entertaining is...

See, now I always pictured a monologue delivered by a slightly edgier Byron Allen.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:37 AM on January 31, 2007

I like to imagine callouts as uttered by absurdist caricatures drawn by interrobang.
posted by cortex at 7:38 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

Is this 'dios' someone I should know about?
posted by NationalKato at 7:39 AM on January 31, 2007

"so...what? we're supposed to hate groups of people now? what exactly are you advocating here?— please explain how you are not saying "Hey everybody! Hate on an ethnic [for example] level" here."

It's a well-known fact that the Jews have ruined MeTa.
posted by klangklangston at 7:42 AM on January 31, 2007

Also, old topic that this brings me back to: what is it with the capitalization of lc usernames? I understand that a leading capital is normal for names and proper nouns in standard writing, but his is the bloody Internet. A quick visual survey suggests about half the usernames in this thread are lc, and some have even more unusual use of CAPS. We're clearly accustomed to seeing non-traditional capitalization in username.

And yet I see Dios and Cortex and Languagehat and Loq and so on. Is it a misremembering of the CAPS-status of the invoked username? Is it a willful choice? A nod to some assumption of greater style rules, in the cases where a lc username leads off a new sentence? What are the causes of this behavior?

It doesn't really bother me, in any real sense, but it itches at my brain a little. Also interesting is a callout featuring a miscapitalized username—does it speak to a general distance and unfamiliarity on Funmonkey1's part that he misrendered the very handle he's complaining about?

Inquiring minds. If I had access to the db, I'd run a check for non-standard capitalizations of usernames right about now.
posted by cortex at 7:46 AM on January 31, 2007 [2 favorites]

i am dios.
posted by Stynxno at 7:47 AM on January 31, 2007

Random thoughts while avoiding teaching myself about that PHP function:

So, Metafilter is a junkie who constantly falls outta rehab?

The "problem" with Dios is that he's a minority here*. Which means he's reasonable at times.

Feces-slinging babboon? This image is disturbing before lunch.

Some previous advice from Jessamyn about these types of situations

Matt cracks wise about Metatalk, which is probably truer than he intended. I think of this now, everytime I want to call someone out Metatalk and realize I don't want people to watch as I masturbate. YMMV.


I wonder if anyone ever used a receipe from this post. Maybe there should be a Global Metafilter Pie Baking Day, where you make a pie while taking pictures of yourself. On this day Metatalk would empty. The next day, everyone links to their pictures to Metatalk. This way, there would be two glorious days of bullshit free Metatalk.




* It would be awesome if he started pulling out a race card.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:50 AM on January 31, 2007

Funmonkey1: "And it is impossible to ignore someone that continually shits on every thread."

You've been pretty graceful about this thing, and I thank you for that. But maybe we can take this opportunity to all learn a little lesson together; it's not so much about dios, it's just about how to pull off a callout:

Callouts are fine, as long as you call something out. You can't just say "why does X always Y?" because X will always deny that they Y, and some people won't understand what you mean by Y, and we'll all just be very confused. But if you say, "X just did Y in this thread over here. Why is this allowed? Is this a good thing? I think it's bad." then we'll all begin to understand what it is you're talking about. Granted, in this case, I think we'd have said you were wrong, but it would've happened a lot sooner.

Callouts really benefit from clear examples.
posted by koeselitz at 7:52 AM on January 31, 2007

Hey, CoRtEx, shouldn't you be working on your RPM '07 release?

Oh, wait, I forgot, it's still not yet February where you are. Ha! Got an extra head start on you, man!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:53 AM on January 31, 2007

A big fucking thumbs-up +1 on the Global Metafilter Pie Baking Day proposal.
posted by chrismear at 7:53 AM on January 31, 2007

Brandon Blatcher, from the prior Metatalk thread find this gem:

Almost without exception, all the stuff I've seen posted here in the last week is stuff that has either been posted here before or has been posted everywhere else first.

Kottke, March 2000. Everything old is new again.
posted by cortex at 7:54 AM on January 31, 2007

koeselitz make heap good point.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:55 AM on January 31, 2007

Hey, CoRtEx, shouldn't you be working on your RPM '07 release?

Did you know that the login mechanism lets you use whatever capitalization you want when logging in? It doesn't anything visible to other users on the site, but in some places you'll see your username rendered however you capitalized it at login.

For a while I was cOrEtX, just for the fun of it.

Oh, wait, I forgot, it's still not yet February where you are. Ha! Got an extra head start on you, man!

Eat death in hell, you lousy bastard. I get to finish later.
posted by cortex at 7:58 AM on January 31, 2007

The best way to deal with this problem is to make another MetaTalk thread about Dios.
posted by chunking express at 7:58 AM on January 31, 2007

I would kickass on Pie Baking Day. I make a mean cream pie. Just pick your flavor. This should become a reality.
posted by Roger Dodger at 7:58 AM on January 31, 2007

So, Metafilter is a junkie who constantly falls outta rehab?

That wasn't at all what I was thinking about while scribbling that little dittie, but, well, if that's what it sounded like to you, no problem. I'm all for personal individual interpretation.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:00 AM on January 31, 2007

Revolves around dios? Wouldn't be in my top ten. Now amberglow, jonmc, migs, and that matt guy; there are a bunch of pivot points.

jessamyn writes "I have to confess, I have no idea what it is about dios that makes people so irate that he winds up in MeTa so often."

People notice his userID. I think because you used to be much more trolly and dismissive. He'd pop into a thread, usually in the first dozen comments or so, tell everyone they were wrong, usually for some apparently outrageous reason, and then leave. He'd then pop back in after everyone vented and explain his reasoning which was usually pretty reasonable even if most here wouldn't agree with the conclusion.

He's mostly stopped that now and I barely notice him standing out any more. Only his fairly dry legal explanations with cites scream dios.

cortex writes "Also, old topic that this brings me back to: what is it with the capitalization of lc usernames?"

I can't figure out what the heck is a person supposed to do if a sentence starts with a lc username? I always just rewrite the sentence but I'd like to know what is the proper thing to do.
posted by Mitheral at 8:00 AM on January 31, 2007

Pie Baking Day should be on a Saturday or Sunday, yes?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:00 AM on January 31, 2007

I don't get what peoples' problem with dios is. Dude has an opinion, but he's usually pretty well-spoken. But he would hardly stand out of the crowd were it not for all these callouts about him.

I'm going to get a list of the most prolific MeFi commenters and just start calling them out one by one because that makes about as much sense as this callout.
posted by GuyZero at 8:02 AM on January 31, 2007

Eat death in hell, you lousy bastard. I get to finish later.

Not necessarily, compadre! Maybe I'll just fly to the states and squeeze in that extra day. You know, for mastering...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:03 AM on January 31, 2007

Here's the mixed-case weirdness in action, for the curious.

I can't figure out what the heck is a person supposed to do if a sentence starts with a lc username? I always just rewrite the sentence but I'd like to know what is the proper thing to do.

I admit I often do the same thing. In a related note, I sometimes rework sentences that have "I" as the second word because I want to avoid falsely suggesting a run of Words Capitalized For Effect. (I wanted to say I avoid in particular the specific case of sentences where the second word is "I" and the third is a capped proper noun, but I'm having a hard time thinking of non-contrived examples where that would happen.)

I think because you used to be much more trolly and dismissive.

Freudian slip, revealing Mitheral's obsessive belief that dios is jessamyn.

Which reminds me of another aspect of the username-capping thing—some lc usernames have direct correspondences to real names, and there the miscapping makes more sense than clearly fabricated usernames. jessamyn is Jessamyn, after all, but I doubt anyone has ever presumed my real name is Cortex.
posted by cortex at 8:08 AM on January 31, 2007

I hate the way MetaFilter seems to revolve around that Math Owie guy. He's always posting in MeTa telling people what to do, like he owns the place or something.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:15 AM on January 31, 2007

Roger Dodger: I would kickass on Pie Baking Day. I make a mean cream pie. Just pick your flavor. This should become a reality.

I misread that as "man cream pie". Can we cancel pie-baking day?
posted by nowonmai at 8:15 AM on January 31, 2007

_flameout?
posted by ninjew at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2007

cortex, I expect some capitalisation happens when the username is not obviously a name out of context (e.g. usernames that are actually phrases like "and hosted by Uranus") and so could be confusing. The alternative is to bold the usernames as some people do, but just typing them is faster.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:18 AM on January 31, 2007

Mitheral writes "I think because you used to be much more trolly and dismissive."

I think because he(dios) used to be much ...
posted by Mitheral at 8:20 AM on January 31, 2007

I for one think that this place should revolve less around dios and more about me and my tiny army of Astro Zombie clones.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:25 AM on January 31, 2007

I for one agree.
posted by Astro Zombie 2 at 8:26 AM on January 31, 2007

HarRRAANGGHHgrunt.
posted by Astro Zombie 3 at 8:26 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

I might sometimes disagree with him, but I enjoy reading dios's posts, and think they are important to the site.

Most MeFites are of a more liberal bent, especially those who seem to show up in political threads. Nothing wrong with this, except the 'discussion' often seems to devolve into echoing and self-reinforcing.[example] When dios, and the other articulate, conservative posters show up in threads, we can actually get two sides on a topic, and maybe, just maybe, a worthy dialogue will come out of it.

If dios did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
posted by Upton O'Good at 8:37 AM on January 31, 2007

Oh, fucking sick. Why is there a pile of rancid toes in my seat? Oh, God. These aren't toes.
posted by loquacious at 8:37 AM on January 31, 2007

I'd rather be puzzled by an enemy than drooled upon by an ally.
posted by breezeway at 8:39 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

I think mefi should revolve around my army of tiny Ronnie James Dios.
posted by cortex at 8:39 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

"My reason for this MetaTalk thread was to point out the Dios method of threadjaking ruins part of the Mefi experience -- FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE."

And MetaFilter would be a lot better if those people would just pack up their shit and leave. Seriously. Go hang out on a playground until you learn to have thicker skin.

Is this guy on a timeout yet?

Go. Go on! Good-bye. Metafilter will stop being about dios when we stop getting these daily status reports that make people's hair stand on end; people who don't even know who dios is and who now expect the worst from him. So go on now, go, walk out the door. We don't need to hear about dios anymore. We don't need to know that he makes holes in teeth. We don't need to know that he causes global warming. We don't need to know that he stands in the way of your dreams, which are pathetic, by the way. We don't need to know he fucked your grandma, or that she liked it. We don't need to know that he poured sugar in your gas tank, or that afterwards, he fucked that too. We don't need to know dios immanetizes the eschaton. We don't need to know that he's singlehandedly responsible for bad pop since NKotB. We don't need to know that he's both Ann Landers and G.W. Bush. We don't need to know dios is the Alpha and the Omega, the be all and end all, the light of your life, the star that guides your way when all else is dark. We know that dios completes you. We don't need another MetaTalk loveletter of endlessly infinitesimal consequence.

*drops the mic and walks off stage, daddio*
posted by Eideteker at 8:41 AM on January 31, 2007 [7 favorites]

Rises. Applauds slowly and meaningfully.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:43 AM on January 31, 2007

*snaps appreciatively*

We don't need to know dios immanetizes the eschaton.

Or that he killed Robert Anton Wilson four times.
posted by cortex at 8:44 AM on January 31, 2007

Oops, I thought this was the "Axis sudoku vs. Allied golden retriever" thread. Sorry.

As you were.
posted by breezeway at 8:44 AM on January 31, 2007

Astro Zombie 3, this guy needs to talk to you.
posted by languagehat at 8:49 AM on January 31, 2007

muddgirl Metatalk should get tags, and every thread longer than 100 comments should be tagged 'kerfuffle'.

Speaking of kerfuffles, I've always imagined the Metatalk "community" as Andy, and Matt as Lou. Not sure why.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:53 AM on January 31, 2007

Also, on-one seems to have made an earnest effort to answer Funmonkey1's question yet. Metafilter does in no way revolve around dios, Funmonkey1, he just happens to get noticed because he is vocal and somewhat politically conservative, among an audience of mostly somewhat progressive Americans. Also, I personally feel he is sometimes a bit incendiary, but I wouldn't consider him a troll, much like how you find out that quonsar is no troll once you get to know his style.

I do agree that threads like these are not a very productive idea, but I think you meant no harm. Also, we use "circa" in Dutch as you describe as well - it's a common error among Dutch speakers.

And cortex: the obvious answer would be that all-lowercase internet user names are proper nouns and therefore go against the grain of common capitalisation rules. In a sense, capitalising them is a form of hypercorrection. To make an issue of it, well, let's just say I would err on the side of descriptivism.

Come to think of it, the point I tried to make about dios could in a sense be applied to cortex. Given the fact that his background jives a bit better with the common MeFi demographic (i.e. geeky, creative, coastal, smart) his writings don't provoke anywhere near the ire that some of dios' do, but he is often among the first to respond to MeTa threads. Now, I happen to know that cortex just cares a lot about this website and its community, and I find this a Good Thing. However, others might misconstrue this to view him as a Metadrama-obsessed know-it-all.

I'm not going to bring up your Meta vs. Mefi comment ratio, cortex - that would be hypocrisy given mine (mainly stemming from that old longboat kerfuffle). :)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:12 AM on January 31, 2007

on-one no-one
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:12 AM on January 31, 2007

You're making me blush, you big Dutch smoothie. And I think you're on target with the hypercorrection idea; that's probably a significant driver, as Mitheral's sentence-initial dilemma underlines. And I miss the longboats. And the IMG tag.
posted by cortex at 9:20 AM on January 31, 2007

we revolve around dios? shoot, I didn't even know we revolved. I thought we simply bounced around wildly like superballs in a cement mixer.
posted by jonmc at 9:21 AM on January 31, 2007

I like to imagine callouts as uttered by absurdist caricatures drawn by interrobang.

Same, except for call-outs made by interrobang himself, which I imagine would be rendered suchly.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:23 AM on January 31, 2007

this is how stars are born.
posted by c:\awesome at 9:25 AM on January 31, 2007

Pony Request: A day without Metatalk. Turn it off, for one day, and delete all references to its absence from the collective comments of all the other posts. Also, delete this comment.

Then, celebrate, 1984-style.
posted by anotherpanacea at 9:26 AM on January 31, 2007

goodnewsfortheinsane writes "that old longboat kerfuffle"

I think I know you well enough to know that this sentence has nothing of the diminutive about it. Right? Right?
posted by OmieWise at 9:28 AM on January 31, 2007

Then, celebrate, 1984-style.

Find a hide-out and a pretty girl with make-up, and have at it?
posted by chrismear at 9:30 AM on January 31, 2007

Did someone just fnord in here?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:30 AM on January 31, 2007

"superballs in a cement mixer."

This must happen. And we must record it for posterity.
posted by Eideteker at 9:35 AM on January 31, 2007

A lot of folks who thought they were gonna get some hot MeTaPr0n from this thread have been blueballed again by our refusal to give in to sexy histrionic temptation. The scintilating, but too-long sheathed banhammer needs flamewar foreplay, my friends, not gentle rebuke and a group hug.
posted by kosem at 9:36 AM on January 31, 2007

OmieWise writes "I think I know you well enough to know that this sentence has nothing of the diminutive about it. Right? Right?"

Diminutive? Well I didn't say "that little longboat kerfuffle", did I? Why, it was majestic, you crazy Balmorian. :)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:38 AM on January 31, 2007

Do not misunderstand, kosem, for we are aligned in our desire for the realization of that terrible purpose, but it is sheathed that the banhammer gains potential; and lo, so long as it waits, restless and unweilded, it festers and charges and builds ever greater reserves of energy; and on that fateful day that even attempts at reason and understanding and kind mitigation of some grey offense are not sufficient to settle a misguided and obstinant soul, then the hammer will erupt, unbound at last, in an orgy of such violent retribution that the gods themselves will lol.

Patience. Patience.
posted by cortex at 9:42 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

One should be really careful not to call his/herself "god" by any language. Regardless, this user in question gives reasoned responses that I don't necessarily agree with, but generally appreciate because it's interesting to observe how others use logic appropriate to their given trade. That is all.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:43 AM on January 31, 2007

I always get Astro Zombie 3 and Chewbacca mixed up.
posted by yhbc at 9:48 AM on January 31, 2007

Well here I am, late to the meta and all, but wishing I had the img tag so I could show you all this - especially you, klangklangston.
posted by routergirl at 9:49 AM on January 31, 2007

Bucket of cocks for table 36607.

END COMMUNICATION
posted by Mister_A at 9:51 AM on January 31, 2007

I like Dios. And generally speaking, the set of people who incessantly complain about him overlaps with the set of people whose comments are consistently...well, I'll just say, "not interesting to me."

I understand that a leading capital is normal for names and proper nouns in standard writing, but his is the bloody Internet.

That's an odd (and in my opinion, false) distinction. Writing is writing. I mean, you're not talking about footnotes versus endnotes and margin sizes, here: You learn simple conventions for clarity's sake, and there's nothing unique about being on "the Internet" to justify abandoning them.
posted by cribcage at 9:53 AM on January 31, 2007

That's an odd (and in my opinion, false) distinction. Writing is writing.

I disagree. Taken to the extreme, you could say "lanugage is language" an disregard those matters of writing style and practice that go beyond simply transcribing phonetic events.

I'm not suggesting that carrying over writing conventions from the non-Internet domain is baffling; I'm saying that there are novel domain-specific issues that arise in this context uniquely, or at least far more often than elsewhere.

Unless you're suggesting that capitalizing a username that is rendered uncapitalized by default is the correct and only approach to the situation, I don't see how you can dismiss the distinction outright like that.
posted by cortex at 9:58 AM on January 31, 2007

The editing thread about dios is over here.

OR:

The editing thread about dios is over. Here.
posted by Mister_A at 10:01 AM on January 31, 2007

I think the only way to help here is to start posting old Pink Floyd videos again.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:03 AM on January 31, 2007

cortex, my patience frays with longing. The stiff crumpled gray tissues of banninations past stick together, stiff from furtive rereadings, from shameful overuse.
posted by kosem at 10:03 AM on January 31, 2007 [2 favorites]

This one is kind of brilliant, especially when they're waiting to catch the cricket ball pop up.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:05 AM on January 31, 2007

Here is The editing a thread about dios, that has become a thread about editing. is over. Here.
posted by OmieWise at 10:05 AM on January 31, 2007

I meant the imaginary cricket ball during the discombobulated guitar solo.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:05 AM on January 31, 2007

This one must've been quite punishing for stuffy old Brits to hear live.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:08 AM on January 31, 2007

This one is a lovely hippie freak-out with well done trippy visual editing (given the equipment they had then) that comes together in blazing fashion towards the end.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:10 AM on January 31, 2007

I can't stop thinking about dios. All day, every day - all I can think about is dios. The world may not actually revolve around dios, but certainly my view of the world is pure, 180 proof, undiluted dios. I love the way dios smells. I love the way dios tastes. I love the way dios slows... everything... down... and makes the ugliness beautiful.

Wait... did I say "dios?" I meant Scotch. I can't stop thinking about Scotch.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:11 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

MetaFilter style guide dictates "...which has become a thread about editing.

And more Pink Floyd please Burhanistan!

On preview: Thanks—assuming that these links are the Floyd.
posted by Mister_A at 10:11 AM on January 31, 2007

Ok. One more. I posted that one in the apology thread but it remains a fine example of "typical" psychedelic pop.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:14 AM on January 31, 2007

Did you know...

Burhanistan has the 4th–largest army in the world?
posted by Mister_A at 10:16 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm saying that there are novel domain-specific issues that arise in this context uniquely...

True. One example is that I don't capitalize a username if I'm setting it apart as a hyperlink. (For instance, "cortex said...") In that case, I think bold+orange accomplishes the goal of giving the word visual priority — but otherwise, I'm bleeding a proper noun into the rest of its sentence.

There's a very good reason why we capitalize proper nouns. "I can accomplish that by another technique" is a valid reason to neglect that convention. "I'm on the Internet" is not.
posted by cribcage at 10:16 AM on January 31, 2007

Bluthey H---, Mawn! Yer so mortal 'cute, 'tis unpossible to say How Long 'Twill Endure. Deuces! Just render the Blunt or givvim a Buss an' Have Done With, yiz Fair-Shirters!

What?
posted by breezeway at 10:17 AM on January 31, 2007

There's a very good reason why we capitalize proper nouns. "I can accomplish that by another technique" is a valid reason to neglect that convention. "I'm on the Internet" is not.

But "I'm on the Internet" is a valid reason to consider why a classic convention may not cover a recent change in needs. I do not, in non-Internet contexts, frequently meet people who spell their names other than with a leading capital letter. With usernames online, however, it happens commonly. Using a consistent rendering of someone's handle is not neglecting the existing convention, it's acknowledging a naming practice for which that convention is not adapted. That's not invalid, that's attacking a new problem.
posted by cortex at 10:22 AM on January 31, 2007

Why does MetaFilter revolve around Dios?

it doesn't. it revolves around me.
posted by quonsar at 10:22 AM on January 31, 2007 [4 favorites]

Look! Another vague, unsupported dios callout! If I ever see one of these again, I will be sorely tempted to stage a teeth-gnashing, garment-rending, hand-chopping flameout. (The only thing stopping me now is the thought that I'm too much of a lurker to draw a crowd. Note to self: boost participation in anticipation of the glorious day.) And could whoever posts the next one of these please time it so that those of us in the nickel-dime, the P.S.T., the left coast, can get in on the crispy goodness earlier, before everyone's moved on to talk about editing? Not that I don't love editing, because I do. That is all.
posted by expialidocious at 10:22 AM on January 31, 2007

The question acquires a MetaPhysical significance in Spanish.

¿Por qué Metafilter gira alrededor de Dios?

Si usted cree en Dios, la respuesta es obvia. Todo gira alrededor de Dios porque Dios es la Alfa y Omega. Si usted no, después la respuesta de goodnewsfortheinsane buenasnoticiasparaelinsano es probablemente más aplicable: Metafilter hace de ninguna manera gira alrededor de los dios, Funmonkey1, él apenas sucede conseguir notado porque él es vocal y algo político conservador, entre una audiencia sobre todo de americanos algo progresivos. Esta undecision me molesta, si no me quieres, librame.

/you can reverse-babelfish it if you like :)
posted by pleeker at 10:23 AM on January 31, 2007

For instance, "cortex said..."

Oh dude, this reminds me of the blank stares I get when discussing Metafilter with friends. I.e., "You won't believe what fishfucker said to stavrosthewonderchicken".
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2007

Dave Faris writes...
I'm beginning to suspect that dios hires these guys to post stuff about him on Metatalk

Or that dios *is* these guys.

not that I've ever considered doing something similar
posted by tkolar at 10:27 AM on January 31, 2007

As far as accomplishing the setting off of a lc handle proper noun by other means, regardless: context provides priority. I'd expect someone to take extra care to be clear if they were addressing me or brain structures in a thread about neurophysiology; likewise perhaps "dios" in a thread about Spanish-language theology; but in the general case where a username is not a common word or name that is by fortuity also the subject of conversation, the issue is non-.
posted by cortex at 10:27 AM on January 31, 2007

nouns verbed by, adverbially adjectival.
posted by jonmc at 10:30 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

buenasnoticiasparaelinsano

Ha, not only have you lifted this whole kerfuffle into a matter of philosophy, but with the religion/atheism link you have also transposed my username into the realm of eponysterics (yet again). Well done.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:30 AM on January 31, 2007

I'd expect someone to take extra care to be clear if they were addressing me or brain structures in a thread about neurophysiology

And even then only if I was vocal in said thread. I'd make the same disclaimer about the use of "dios", but, well, look at the thread we're in.
posted by cortex at 10:30 AM on January 31, 2007

Ooops, I forgot to babelfish Funmonkey1, here you go: Monodeladiversión1.

corteza, sombrerodelalengua, jauladelpesebre, Está lloviendo Florencia Henderson, FinalesDeLaInvención, Zombi De Astro... stop me now if you can
posted by pleeker at 10:32 AM on January 31, 2007

hey, gracias, buenasnoticiasparaelinsano, mucho obrigado!

(with apologies to the Spanish language)
posted by pleeker at 10:37 AM on January 31, 2007

Put me firmly in the "why bother" camp. He's been called out so many times, and with such little effect, that I skim right over his posts these days. Probably a healthy thing for me to do.

However, for those in this thread who profess to not understand why some people dislike dios, here's an old post of mine on the subject. I stand by every word.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:40 AM on January 31, 2007

i don't find i agree with dios very much if at all , and he has been known to derail more than his fair share of threads. but the most damning thing anyone can really say about the guy is he is persistent. he will make his point , and remake , and remake, till everyone has gone home. not really his fault you can't stay with him.
posted by nola at 10:45 AM on January 31, 2007

it doesn't. it revolves around me.

quonsar, the brass pole in the metafilter strip club.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 10:46 AM on January 31, 2007

here's an old post of mine on the subject: "He clearly plans an attack..."

I stand by every word.

And still refuse to refill the prescription.
Just because his name translates to God doesn't mean he can see your thoughts, dude.

... or does it?!?
/Locks apartment deadbolt AND chain.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:52 AM on January 31, 2007

"but I doubt anyone has ever presumed my real name is Cortex."

Hippy neuroscientist parents.

""I'm on the Internet" is not."

UR TEH SUXXOIR. ("I'm on the Internet [nice AP style]" is a perfectly valid reason for all-caps 13375P34K).
posted by klangklangston at 10:52 AM on January 31, 2007

Using a consistent rendering of someone's handle is not neglecting the existing convention...

If you're saying that "Dios" is inconsistent with the "dios" that appears elsewhere on the page, I'd answer that you're conflating two separate contexts. People don't read taglines the same way they read comments. The text's appearance is completely different — added to which, you've still got bold+orange. When the username appears inside a comment, none of those things are true.

On the other hand, if you're saying that I should respect his personal decision to avoid capital letters in his username, then I'd refer you to Bill Walsh's rant about eBay where he said, basically, that style and usage ought not be dictated by a corporation's marketing department. Again, there's a good reason why proper nouns are capitalized and that reason isn't trumped by, "But I like it better for my username."

If you're not saying either of those things, then please disregard and clarify. I agree that sometimes classic conventions have to be broken to allow for changed needs, but I don't follow what specific "changed need" you're referring to in this instance.

I'd expect someone to take extra care to be clear if they were addressing me or brain structures in a thread about neurophysiology...

This illustrates my point. I had no problem parsing "me," but I've never noticed a MetaFilter user called "Brain Structures" — and partly because my eye read that phrase simultaneously with the word "neurophysiology," it took three passes for me to determine that you intended it as a username. If you had capitalized it, I'd have recognized your intent at first glance.
posted by cribcage at 10:55 AM on January 31, 2007

I've got this program I wrote which changes every mefite's name that isn't "dios" into "dios," and the name "dios" into "Owen The Splendid".

I'll sell it to you for your smile.
posted by Football Bat at 11:06 AM on January 31, 2007

If you're saying that "Dios" is inconsistent with the "dios" that appears elsewhere on the page, I'd answer that you're conflating two separate contexts. People don't read taglines the same way they read comments. The text's appearance is completely different — added to which, you've still got bold+orange. When the username appears inside a comment, none of those things are true.

On what grounds is the tagline a separate context? When I sign "Josh" at the bottom of a physical letter, is that somehow a different context than the body of said letter?

The posted-by line contains a username, not some mysterious transliteration otherword version of a username. That is the literal string the user is going by, period.

On the other hand, if you're saying that I should respect his personal decision to avoid capital letters in his username, then I'd refer you to Bill Walsh's rant about eBay where he said, basically, that style and usage ought not be dictated by a corporation's marketing department. Again, there's a good reason why proper nouns are capitalized and that reason isn't trumped by, "But I like it better for my username."

Okay. So it's not simply that the conventions that exist for traditional writing of conventional names don't need to adapt to domain specific changes in usage; it's that people have no right or authority to violate those traditional conventions at all, and so the convention trumps by default?

There's presumably a good reason why many nouns in written German are written capitalized even though those same concepts are not capitalized in the English noun forms. Does that trump English conventions?

If you're not saying either of those things, then please disregard and clarify. I agree that sometimes classic conventions have to be broken to allow for changed needs, but I don't follow what specific "changed need" you're referring to in this instance.

We may just disagree about whether the common practice of using no or free-form capitalization in username overrules the convention in question. I think it does; while I hear your arguments regarding the setting apart of proper nouns, I believe they are not sufficient to justify favoring this convention over accurate renderings of canonical usernames.

> I'd expect someone to take extra care to be clear if they were addressing me or brain structures in a thread about neurophysiology...

This illustrates my point. I had no problem parsing "me," but I've never noticed a MetaFilter user called "Brain Structures" — and partly because my eye read that phrase simultaneously with the word "neurophysiology," it took three passes for me to determine that you intended it as a username. If you had capitalized it, I'd have recognized your intent at first glance.


I apologize for confusing you, but I never intended "brain structures" as a username—I was specifically referring to actual brain structures, as in for example this thread. It's understandable that it'd take several passes to parse that as a username, barring the presence of a known user with that handle; I'm having a hard time reading it that way myself.
posted by cortex at 11:10 AM on January 31, 2007

MetaFilter: ¡Un cubo de penes cada día!
posted by Mister_A at 11:20 AM on January 31, 2007

crazy Balmorian

9622 more balls on the 'Ta
9622 more balls
Take one down, pile on around
9621 more balls on the 'Ta

9621 more balls on the 'Ta
9621 more balls
Take one down, pile on around
9620 more balls on the 'Ta

9620 more balls on the 'Ta
9620 more balls
Take one down, pile on around
9619 more balls on the 'Ta

9619 more balls on the 'Ta
9619 more balls
Take one down, pile on around
9618 more balls on the 'Ta

9618 more balls on the 'Ta
9618 more balls
Take one down, pile on around
9617 more balls on the 'Ta

9617 more balls on the 'Ta
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 11:20 AM on January 31, 2007

Why does every thread about dios have to turn into a thread about editing? Don't you people have something else to edit?
posted by Roger Dodger at 11:24 AM on January 31, 2007

"but I doubt anyone has ever presumed my real name is Cortex."

Hippy neuroscientist parents.

or bad spellers who like winter clothing.
posted by jonmc at 11:26 AM on January 31, 2007

MrMoonPie's old comment is spot on – dios is not a conservative, he's a contrarian. If the majority of us were old-fogey conservative, he would play whippersnapper liberal.
posted by blasdelf at 11:33 AM on January 31, 2007

In this online context, I chose to name myself muddgirl. Not Muddgirl, not MuddGirl, and not muddGirl. Yes, it is a convention in English to capitalize proper nouns, as well as the pronoun "I". However, I think the personal choice of naming should also be respected (within the limits of the online database). If I were to change my name in real life to "juniPer", I would expect governmental and commercial institutions to respect my wishes on capitalization. Similarly, in this online space, my wishes should be recognized (this is an argument that often comes up in biographical articles on Wikipedia, btw). That said, I'm not offended or even bothered when my name is capitalized online; it strikes me as somewhat old-fashioned.
posted by muddgirl at 11:48 AM on January 31, 2007

On what grounds is the tagline a separate context?

It appears different. The font is smaller and lighter and always contains two terms in bold+orange. It's always identical except for the username and date substitutions ("posted by ___ at ___," etc.), and it's always appended with the plus sign and exclamation mark. It appears lots of times on every page, always at the bottom of each comment.

It's a separate context. People recognize it and they're used to seeing it, and your eye immediately distinguishes it from body text. There's no chance that a lowercase "dios" in a tagline will be mistaken for a common noun.

people have no right or authority to violate those traditional conventions at all, and so the convention trumps by default?

No. I noted above that, if I'm posting a username as a hyperlink, I won't capitalize it. That's an example of violating the convention. In that case, I'm accomplishing the goal by other means, so the convention becomes redundant.

Since the convention exists for good reason, the question is why you're violating it. And I think you're exactly right about the point where we disagree: You think that "accurate rendering of canonical usernames" trumps the clarity achieved by capitalization. I don't.
posted by cribcage at 11:53 AM on January 31, 2007

I would kickass on Pie Baking Day. I make a mean cream pie. Just pick your flavor. This should become a reality.

Key lime. Being in Vancouver, key lime juice is ridiculously expensive (like $8.00 per 300 ml bottle and no cheaper if you can find whole, fresh key limes) but it's still so worth it.

And key lime juice with tequila makes life worth living.

I prefer a key lime curd pie, lemon meringue-style, to a key lime cream pie. Still: you're on, tough guy.
posted by solid-one-love at 11:54 AM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

If I were to change my name in real life to "juniPer", I would expect governmental and commercial institutions to respect my wishes on capitalization.

I would expect mixed results, honestly. For one thing, the systems that governmental and commercial institutions use to store name information wouldn't necessarily be designed to account for deviations from that convention. Case insensitive name storage with Proper Caps reconstituted at display time, for example, is awfully common.

That said, I'm not offended or even bothered when my name is capitalized online; it strikes me as somewhat old-fashioned.

Ditto.

Since the convention exists for good reason, the question is why you're violating it.

Because I see the convention as out-moded in a context where I do a lot of communicating, I suppose. Because I despair at the notion that pre-Internet convention will win out over reasonable adaptation to new or changing modes of communication. Or at least a much less dramatic-sounding version of that idea.

And I think you're exactly right about the point where we disagree: You think that "accurate rendering of canonical usernames" trumps the clarity achieved by capitalization. I don't.

Righto, then. Handshakes and beer it is, then!
posted by cortex at 12:09 PM on January 31, 2007

then then then
posted by cortex at 12:09 PM on January 31, 2007

dios writes "I've got this program I wrote which changes every mefite's name that isn't 'dios' into 'dios,' and the name 'dios' into 'Owen The Splendid'.

"I'll sell it to you for your smile."

Why would one write such a program, dios?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:10 PM on January 31, 2007

I don't know why you bothered asking that, dios, let alone posted it. Don't you already know why you did what you did?
posted by Dave Faris at 12:13 PM on January 31, 2007

Vaya con Owen the Splendid, Freddy.
posted by dios at 6:47 AM PST on October 15 [+] [!]
posted by cortex at 12:13 PM on January 31, 2007

Other dios thread hits 200

Nerds debate whether dios' constitutes an accepted liturgical archaism
posted by Mister_A at 12:18 PM on January 31, 2007

My handle isn't a proper noun at all. It's an architectural term, and is only capitalized when it starts a sentence. Or if you have to shout it.

I like dios, too. He never drools on me the way a golden retriever might.
posted by breezeway at 12:27 PM on January 31, 2007

you're all a bunch of dorks
posted by keswick at 12:33 PM on January 31, 2007

My handle isn't a proper noun at all.

Yes it is: it's your name.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:34 PM on January 31, 2007

not me, I'm a clod.
posted by jonmc at 12:34 PM on January 31, 2007

I'm a doink-knocker!
posted by Mister_A at 12:36 PM on January 31, 2007

Aww, widdle keswick hasn't had a cawl-out in a while and is jeawous! Awww! ;)
posted by Eideteker at 12:38 PM on January 31, 2007

DORK CHOKE!
posted by cortex at 12:42 PM on January 31, 2007

No, Hugh Janus is my name. Breezeway's my handle. Proper!

Can I get a witness?
posted by breezeway at 12:43 PM on January 31, 2007

Maybe we could just have a MeHotornot page for every user and dispense with these outrageously imprecise moratoria on our peeps?
posted by clockzero at 12:47 PM on January 31, 2007

dios callout threads are the best only good thing worth reading on MetaFilter.
posted by rocket88 at 12:48 PM on January 31, 2007

I would expect mixed results, honestly.
Hmm, perhaps I phrased that poorly. I'm sure it would be ignored as much as it is online, and of course it's always subject to the limitations of the format.
posted by muddgirl at 12:48 PM on January 31, 2007

Can I get a witness?

Amen, hallelujah, let the choir sing, brother!
posted by jonmc at 12:48 PM on January 31, 2007

dios callout threads are the best only good thing worth reading on MetaFilter.
posted by cortex at 12:49 PM on January 31, 2007

Maybe we could just have a MeHotornot page

Nah, I wouldn't want to give anybody an inferiority complex or anything.
posted by jonmc at 12:50 PM on January 31, 2007

This thread is very clever, now. I think it would make a splendid FPP.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:51 PM on January 31, 2007

For fuck's sake. Another thread about dios? How the hell is that going to help the situation (if, indeed, there is a situation)? The only time I think about dios is when someone posts a MetaTalk thread about him. Just stop it, okay? Pretty please?

mathowie, I never ask for anything (well, maybe once) but I'm asking this - please nuke this thread.
posted by deborah at 12:53 PM on January 31, 2007

Less ask-y, more read-y.
posted by cortex at 1:01 PM on January 31, 2007

I've got this program I wrote which changes every mefite's name that isn't "dios" into "dios," and the name "dios" into "Owen The Splendid".

That sounds like it would be horrific. Like the scene in "Being John Malkovich" where he goes through the hole to inhabit himself and everyone he sees is himself chanting "Malkovich! Malkovich!".
posted by Burhanistan at 1:04 PM on January 31, 2007

Nukes kill baby doves, you thread murderer!
posted by breezeway at 1:05 PM on January 31, 2007

Another thread about dios? How the hell is that going to help the situation (if, indeed, there is a situation)?

The official position is that we are in a situation-free situation. Unless of course, you find this all funny, in which case, it's a situation comedy. If asked, I will denay all knowledge of this situation or provide you with a laugh track.
posted by jonmc at 1:05 PM on January 31, 2007

I'm going to agree with cortex on the lowercase username thing. As a lc username (quin is short for Harlequin and thus, to my mind, shouldn't be capitalized) I make best effort at making sure if I am quoting or referring to another Mefite, that I use the exact uc/lc combination that they did when they signed up.

The area that causes me confusion is when dealing with long usernames, like stavrosthewonderchicken, I've called him stavros in the past, but I hate that I don't know when that's appropriate. When I respond to three blind mice, is it fair to call him tbm?

It bugs me that I might be trying to sound amiable, and end up irritating someone.
posted by quin at 1:07 PM on January 31, 2007

My arms are covered with laugh tracks these days. The first joke was free.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:09 PM on January 31, 2007 [3 favorites]

denay

Is that like "un-no?". Ow, my head!

Think of the horses!
posted by breezeway at 1:10 PM on January 31, 2007

jonmc, your an denay.
posted by cortex at 1:10 PM on January 31, 2007

Heh. Back in the day, I used to know a chick named Dene (pronounced Den-ay). I made out with her in a skinhead bar and then she picked a fight with one of the skins and nearly got us killed. she shooed me out the door and when she emerged she had blood on her hand. Whe I asked what happened she said "one of them pulled a knife, so I grabbed it?" "Why?" "It seemed like a good idea." Story of my life. Last time I saw her she was a waitress in White Plains.
posted by jonmc at 1:16 PM on January 31, 2007

This thread is still going? Unpossible!
posted by Mister_A at 1:16 PM on January 31, 2007

Yes, yes, some of your best friends are Dene.
posted by cortex at 1:17 PM on January 31, 2007

Did you know...

Burhanistan has the 4th–largest army in the world?
posted by Mister_A

Yes, but once all my 60s era Soviet made ammunition is depleted my army will have to resort to throwing old Kalishnikovs at advancing enemies.
posted by Burhanistan at 1:18 PM on January 31, 2007

Did she bring a spice bottle to your table, jonmc?
posted by breezeway at 1:20 PM on January 31, 2007

Did she bring a spice bottle to your table, jonmc?
posted by breezeway

So Bas Rutten can put it where spice bottles should never ever go?
posted by Burhanistan at 1:21 PM on January 31, 2007

I don't remember. Probably. If not spices then definitely herbs.
posted by jonmc at 1:22 PM on January 31, 2007

You know what else revolves around dios? That small moon.

"That's no moon. It's a space station."
posted by Mister_A at 1:25 PM on January 31, 2007

Mooninites, Mister A. It's pronounced Mooninites.
posted by cortex at 1:28 PM on January 31, 2007

Do we really need to witness the power of a fully functional dios thread?
posted by breezeway at 1:28 PM on January 31, 2007

OK, JonMC, we all know you're punk rock.
posted by Liosliath at 1:29 PM on January 31, 2007

There's a very good reason why we capitalize proper nouns.

I kind of disagree. yes most names of people are capitalized, but some people (ie e.e cummings), choose to make their names lowercase, and thus we write them that way. There are also many names of businesses, etc., that are written this way.

On the internet, this (lowercase) is how most people choose to write their names. Whether it's because it's an alias and not the actual person's name, or because case sensitivity has historically been an issue online and all-lowercase simplifies everything code-wise, is not really the point.

the point is, I see no reason to deviate from the way the user himself chooses to spell it.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:34 PM on January 31, 2007

OK, JonMC, we all know you're punk rock

actually I'm skunk rock. Making really noxious farts and then rolling boulders around, you know, like that.
posted by jonmc at 1:36 PM on January 31, 2007

Doubly off-topic E.E. Cummings meta-meta callout begins now.

But I agree with you in principle drjimmy11.
posted by Mister_A at 1:36 PM on January 31, 2007

oh and i was once making out with a hot Slovakian neo-nazi babe when her boyfriend approached and stabbed me in the eye for refusing to capitalize his online alias "hitlerdood97."

true story.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:37 PM on January 31, 2007

Doubly off-topic E.E. Cummings meta-meta callout begins now.

damn. I shoulda done my homework before blowing my debating load with the "Cummings" example.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:41 PM on January 31, 2007

deetdeedeetdeet....deedeedeet....

whiny whiners callout whiners about calling out dios on metatalk.

jonmc is skyrocketing toward 15,000 comments.

eschaton immanentized.

deetdeedeet...deedeedeet...
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:47 PM on January 31, 2007

Better punk rock than a rock punk.
posted by breezeway at 1:47 PM on January 31, 2007

Who's talking about dios? We're all going on about Slovakian violence enthusiasts and capitalization.
posted by Mister_A at 1:51 PM on January 31, 2007

Thank you all. I enjoyed the metadrama.

Recently I have a preference for these free-form beside the point metatalk threads over mefi and askmefi.
What's wrong with me?
posted by jouke at 1:51 PM on January 31, 2007

What's wrong with me?

You are Becoming.
posted by cortex at 1:54 PM on January 31, 2007

its fun to have fun.
posted by nola at 1:56 PM on January 31, 2007

What's wrong with me?

you've come down with mental health.
posted by jonmc at 2:13 PM on January 31, 2007

I'm humming along in tune....

But can I call it a language?
posted by jouke at 2:20 PM on January 31, 2007

This thread has been an utter disappointment. Funmonkey1 was so primed for a flameout--his rash comments, responses to every post at the beginning of the thread, defensiveness, even dropping the Norwegian bomb. So much potential wasted. Instead it was squandered on an actual discussion about dios (as if we really needed another), a discourse on capitalization, pies, and other arcana. I understand the love of pies, but damn! We were so close to a beautiful, epic, tragic display of asshattery. Sigh. I'll always remember 13586 as the flameout that never was, the day MeTa failed to live up to its full snark potential.
posted by slogger at 2:32 PM on January 31, 2007

Why does MetaFilter revolve around slogger? Isn't this a community of circa 50,000? It feels like everyday there is another slogger soap opera. I dread clicking on post comments anymore because chances are it will be more about him rather than the post.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:41 PM on January 31, 2007

and this will help....how?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:43 PM on January 31, 2007

slogger writes "This thread has been an utter disappointment. Funmonkey1 was so primed for a flameout"

Damn right. Me I'm just sat on a rug, biding my time, and drinking wine. Looks like it's just talking until two now and then someone will say it's time for bed.

I too thought that the Norwegian would.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:47 PM on January 31, 2007

*distributes Slogger Defense Force recruitment flyers*
posted by cortex at 2:51 PM on January 31, 2007

well maybe it points out the obvious.

He is a bit of a bully on the Burhanistan and it is getting really really norwegian. I have reached the point where if I see a pie where slogger has posted, I realise there is no point in editing it any further.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:54 PM on January 31, 2007

Looks like it's just talking until two now and then someone will say it's time for bed.
Sounds like some dates I've been on and some pretty good ones at that.
posted by jouke at 2:56 PM on January 31, 2007

" Me I'm just sat on a rug, biding my time, and drinking wine. Looks like it's just talking until two now and then someone will say it's time for bed.

I too thought that the Norwegian would."

Lenin/McCarthy?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:59 PM on January 31, 2007

From The Red Album.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:02 PM on January 31, 2007

blowing my debating load with the "Cummings"

Ew.
posted by grouse at 3:04 PM on January 31, 2007

"Bigger, thin cheeses."
posted by cortex at 3:05 PM on January 31, 2007

I shoulda done my homework before blowing my debating load with the "Cummings" example.

I think you're telling us more than we want to know. At least those of us who are capitalized as every right-thinking American should be.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:06 PM on January 31, 2007

Oh, so now you're slagging lefties? Fucking capitalists.
posted by cortex at 3:12 PM on January 31, 2007

dios is one of the best things that ever happened to Metafilter, well dios and quonsar
posted by caddis at 3:14 PM on January 31, 2007

I thought lefties were right-thinking.

OOH, SCIENCE!
posted by chrismear at 3:15 PM on January 31, 2007

On the other hand, if you're saying that I should respect his personal decision to avoid capital letters in his username

Yes, you should. To capitalize the usernames of people who have chosen lowercase is to exhibit flagrant disrespect. I refer you to quonsar, who has had to fishslap numerous users who have been so thoughtless as to cap his cue. I myself simply speak Georgian to those who miswrite my moniker until they pass out. ქართული!
posted by languagehat at 3:37 PM on January 31, 2007

dios is one of the best things that ever happened to Metafilter, well dios and quonsar

You forgot to close your </sarcasm> tag.
posted by Dave Faris at 3:38 PM on January 31, 2007

WHERE IS TRAINWRECK.JPG???
posted by boo_radley at 3:39 PM on January 31, 2007

I thought they spoke English in Atlanta.

Or something close to it. Ha! Ahahahaha!

Right. I'll be going.

Grits! Ha ha!
posted by cortex at 3:39 PM on January 31, 2007

why don't people realize the intranet is the effing intranet and just let things slide? Were still a bit away from that heavenly mindspace
posted by Kudos at 3:40 PM on January 31, 2007

heavenly mindspace

That curious turn of phrase is a googlewhack in the making.
posted by cortex at 3:43 PM on January 31, 2007

Kudos wrote...

why don't people realize the intranet is the effing intranet and just let things slide?

Yes, why don't you realize that? One of the major ways people interact on the internet is to have long pointless discussions, over and over and over again.

The internet is a dismal swamp of stygian proportions, a purgatory for aimless souls trapped in a endless loop of read, recycle, and repeat. Its users cry out into the abyss for something, anything, anyone on the infinite freezing plain of fellow sufferers to respond to them, then engage in a mewling cacophony of grunts, chants, and half formed taunts. Given a taste of an all too ephemeral meaning to their lives the unholy masses all join in, lurching and shambling their way towards the disturbance. For an all too brief moment the frigid plain is lit with inner burning of these hapless souls. Then, suddenly, it all ends. Sparks fade, the damned walk away, first in groups, then wandering, each wandering off once again to the empty silence that is their ultimate home.

Pardon me. I need to go check the prescription on my meds.
posted by tkolar at 3:56 PM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

Georgian consists only of squares? Weird fuckin' language, that.
posted by dame at 3:59 PM on January 31, 2007

Why don't you like pie?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:01 PM on January 31, 2007

I'm listening to Billy Idol and I like it almost as much as when my iPod gave me "Eton Rifles" and "Spanish Bombs" in succession. That was an awesome day. As awesome as the dancing I am doing now. With myself. I wonder if the tub is fulll yet. Fucking water pressure, lack thereof.
posted by dame at 4:01 PM on January 31, 2007

FIRST!
posted by brundlefly at 4:27 PM on January 31, 2007

Oh, so now you're slagging lefties? Fucking capitalists.

Lefties fucking capitalists? I think you've got that backward.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:39 PM on January 31, 2007

The internet is a dismal swamp of stygian proportions,

no, it's just fluffy's litter box

meow
posted by pyramid termite at 5:07 PM on January 31, 2007

I dread clicking on post comments anymore because chances are it will be more about him rather than the post.

It's about time someone called this guy out for his shenanigans. Sh-sh-shenanigans!
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 5:07 PM on January 31, 2007

No, Hugh Janus is my name. Breezeway's my handle. Proper!


Whoa, I'd forgotten that shit. Cool.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 5:12 PM on January 31, 2007

I like dios.

I had a real life today and Got Shit Done and missed this thread and fuck-a-tree if I'm going to read the whole thing now. I hate you all. [NOT DIOSIST]
posted by Kwine at 5:28 PM on January 31, 2007

Grits! Ha ha!
posted by cortex

Boy, yew kin jes' git on back over to yore side a' that Mason-Dixon line, n'eat yore croy-sants n'sip yore gat-damn English breakfast tea, cuz when you're runnin' down my grits, you're walkin' on the fightin' side a' me!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:41 PM on January 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

*jiggles alvy's faceti-o-meter*

yah, it's broken.
posted by carsonb at 5:50 PM on January 31, 2007

I happen to like rock punks (Dad's a geologist)
posted by Liosliath at 5:56 PM on January 31, 2007

I forget, was this thread about dios or longboats?
posted by shmegegge at 6:02 PM on January 31, 2007

Hey, that's not my faceti-O-meter!

Faster.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 6:09 PM on January 31, 2007

shmegegge writes "I forget, was this thread about dios or longboats?"

Yes. You have to choose now.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:10 PM on January 31, 2007

cuz when you're runnin' down my grits, you're walkin' on the fightin' side a' me!

oh, i'll fix your grits and eggs, merle
wouldn't want your sweet pickin' fingers all covered in earl*
you're a fatty, i know, but, merle, have some donut holes
and i'll fix your grits and eggs, merle

*subsitute butter, bacon grease or margarine if desired or just go for the gusto with a big ol' glop of lard*
posted by pyramid termite at 6:17 PM on January 31, 2007

Kwine writes "[NOT DIOSIST]"

Kwine stop dissing dios, the correct capping is NOT diosIST. is glad Kwine is capped
posted by Mitheral at 6:49 PM on January 31, 2007

I know what this is about! mathowie is funmonkey1 and made this thread and kept it open in order to acheive his much sought-after "MeTa"-free day.
posted by frecklefaerie at 6:54 PM on January 31, 2007

and hosted from Uranus, you eejit! Consider yourself wished, happily!
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:18 PM on January 31, 2007

You forgot to close your sarcasm tag.

no, no I did not

too much of that white heat would ruin the place, but just a little bit is like a dash of chili oil on your kung pao.
posted by caddis at 7:20 PM on January 31, 2007

Man, even I don't hate dios, and in my prime I could hate anyone. I was the Mozart of loathing! But I just don't have that piss and vinegar like I used to. *sigh* I hate growing old (tomorrow's my birthday).
posted by hincandenza at 7:33 PM on January 31, 2007

I seriously wouldn't know who dios was if it weren't for metatalk.
posted by bingo at 7:39 PM on January 31, 2007

You forgot to close your sarcasm tag.

no, no I did not

too much of that white heat would ruin the place, but just a little bit is like a dash of chili oil on your kung pao.

crunchy's just irked he never quite figured out the recipe.
posted by quonsar at 7:56 PM on January 31, 2007

Different rock, different punk, but dads are cool; how about that orthoclase feldspar?
posted by breezeway at 8:05 PM on January 31, 2007

Bah! Blasphemer!! It's plagioclase feldspar all the way!
posted by Balisong at 8:13 PM on January 31, 2007

I have a thing for Bathonian pinnacle reefs, feldspar just doesn't do it for me.
posted by Liosliath at 8:21 PM on January 31, 2007

Karst! I have a soft spot for karst!

(I actually did a post on karst holes in the Jura once. It got mixed reviews).
posted by breezeway at 8:29 PM on January 31, 2007

Why does MetaFilter revolve around Dios?

Huh? I barely know who this guy is. The name sort of rings a bell. I've heard his politics are right-wing. I think he responded to a David Allen Coe question I asked. But otherwise I know nothing about him. No disrespect or anything. I'm sure he's an interesting guy. I only say this to make the point that my MetaFilter doesn't revolve around dios. Not by a long shot. If you sincerely believe that MetaFilter revolves around this one guy, it's because you chose to put him at the center of your own Metafilter experience.
posted by jason's_planet at 8:49 PM on January 31, 2007

And I miss the longboats.

LONGBOATS AHOY!!!1!!ONE!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:04 PM on January 31, 2007

I forget, was this thread about dios or longboats?

Longboats. It's about longboats.

I still haven't found mine. Perhaps I should rewrite that U2 song to "I still haven't found my looooonnnngboooooaaaatttttt..."

I'll just be sitting here in my Viking hat. Sulking.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:12 PM on January 31, 2007

Shut up and watch this silly old music video about soccer corruption.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:29 PM on January 31, 2007

"Yes you. The fat one. I did all these things for you. And I still haven't found what I'm looking for. No, no I haven't."
posted by loquacious at 9:32 PM on January 31, 2007

"I have a ham radio."
posted by milquetoast at 9:53 PM on January 31, 2007

Breezeway, I missed your Jura post - just went to check it out, thumbs up, 'cept for all the pics are dead links now. Now googling other Jura stuff.

If only we could find a longboat.
posted by Liosliath at 9:58 PM on January 31, 2007

You kids sure get up to some wacky hijinx while I'm asleep.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:12 PM on January 31, 2007

If you sincerely believe that MetaFilter revolves around this one guy, it's because you chose to put him at the center of your own Metafilter experience

...and derail every thread he participates in. THAT does the site wonders.
posted by dreamsign at 2:05 AM on February 1, 2007

Longboat!

(Mind you, not my longboat.)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 3:30 AM on February 1, 2007

Would you look at that - a pegmatite dike!
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:59 AM on February 1, 2007

Hey, thanks, gdiddy. 'twas happy yes.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 5:42 AM on February 1, 2007

Grits is good.
posted by languagehat at 6:21 AM on February 1, 2007

Grits is good.

Damn right.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:53 AM on February 1, 2007

Yeah, Liosliath, that's why I didn't link it. But it was cool, these professor-types horsing around near dangerous-looking gouffres. Lotsa folks got mad about it; they would never have posted about Jurassic karst holes, but they still woulda done it better.

I just like the word, "karst.". Sounds like Vikings coughing in the fog as they slice through the dawn in their longboat.

I'm not wearing plunderwear.
posted by breezeway at 6:56 AM on February 1, 2007

Happy birthday, hincandenza.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:22 AM on February 1, 2007

Karst? I got yer karst - right here.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:28 AM on February 1, 2007

Is this the birthday longboat?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:19 AM on February 1, 2007

Birthday Longboat!!!!1!!ONE!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:33 AM on February 1, 2007

Longer boats are coming to save us
They're coming to save us
They're coming to save us
Longer boats are coming to save us
Hold on to the dock
It'll cost you a bucket of cocks

I dont want no dios in my thread
Just a hobby horse I can beat though dead
So the soul of MetaFilter knows
Only the echoes of echoes
Oh how the echoes echo

Longer boats are coming to save us
They're coming to save us
They're coming to save us
Longer boats are coming to save us
Hold on to the dock
It'll cost you a bucket of cocks

Funmonkey1 posted down by the karst
But the hive mind refused to kiss his/her arse
'Cause the soul of MetaFilter knows
Not to capitalize on dios
Please stop trying to capitalize on dios

Longer boats are coming to save us
They're coming to save us
They're coming to save us
Longer boats are coming to save us
Hold on to the dock
It'll cost you a bucket of cocks
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:37 AM on February 1, 2007

Hold on to the dock

false rhymed with bucket of cocks.

Ah, the soothing strains of Florence singing at the top of his range. I love it. Viva The Longboat and a Happy Birthday to All.


Confidential to Ur/anus--I got the blink but, try as I might, I could not decipher it. I suspect that since the Coast Guard shelved Morse Code, mine has gotten rusty. Please advise.
posted by OmieWise at 9:44 AM on February 1, 2007

Blinkucious say: Ocean spray makes for rusty soup.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 9:53 AM on February 1, 2007

A brief coda on username rendering. Looking at the green, I just saw this new username:

jjjjjjjijjjjjjj

Though I may not agree with the notion of capitalizing Cortex or Dios, I see the merit of the argument for such; but I cannot take seriously the suggestion that choosing to write Jjjjjjjijjjjjjj would in any way serve to clarify anything. A matter of degree, I suppose.
posted by cortex at 10:18 AM on February 1, 2007

All his friends call him J.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:37 AM on February 1, 2007

"Wellllllllllllll, You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me Johnny or you can call me Sonny, or you can call me RayJay, or you can call me RJ... but ya doesn't hafta call me Johnson."
posted by Dave Faris at 11:01 AM on February 1, 2007

Why does MetaFilter revolve around the longboat?
posted by grouse at 12:04 PM on February 1, 2007

Came in on the short boat, did you?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 1:00 PM on February 1, 2007

This thread is still here? Too bad. There is, however, one saving grace - I now know that breezeway is Hugh! Yay!
posted by deborah at 2:23 PM on February 1, 2007

Even looking back to day one, everything was about dios.
posted by grouse at 3:20 PM on February 1, 2007

jessamyn said "If he's actually shitting in a thread, we'll remove it. If he starts some sort of ad hominem attack on another user, we'll remove it."

This boggles the mind - repeated undesirable behavior occurs and all that happens is the offending posts get deleted? Why is this continued behavior tolerated?
posted by garypratt at 7:53 PM on February 1, 2007

Why is this continued behavior tolerated?

There's a school of thought that says that he doesn't shit in threads NEARLY as often as some people say he does. He's often in disagreement with the majority of mefi users, and he doesn't mince words, but that's not the same thing as shitting in threads. As Jessamyn said, there are plenty of worse offenders where shitting in threads is concerned, but they don't get called out as often because they aren't perceived as the angry champion of conservatism that dios comes off as. Politics is a sensitive issue around here, as is zealous over-enforcement of the law. Dios tends to come in on the touchy side of both those topics. Hence the callouts. If there were a member of the site who routinely, for instance, talked about how much they endorse anorexia (also supposing that there were as many weight related threads as there are politics threads) without actually shitting in a thread, they'd be called out as much as dios if not more. When people get angry enough, they call someone out and sometimes it's just because they hate his viewpoint so much that they think he's trolling.
posted by shmegegge at 2:33 AM on February 2, 2007

also: this thread has moved on to be about longboats. Trying to rerail the thread to be about dios would actually constitute derailing the thread, in this instance.
posted by shmegegge at 2:34 AM on February 2, 2007

*breaks out paddles*
posted by cortex at 6:30 AM on February 2, 2007

Oars, man, oars.


Tell the recruiters they're trolling the wrong taverns.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:02 AM on February 2, 2007

STROKE! STROKE!

(Billy Fuckin' Squier, man, WICKED!)
posted by breezeway at 7:36 AM on February 2, 2007

Oars? Those would be hard to swing with the kind of precision befitting a proper spa—

oh, for the boat?
posted by cortex at 7:57 AM on February 2, 2007

What? What you want?
posted by or at 8:06 AM on February 2, 2007

Either, or, but since I can't have that, I'll settle for you.
posted by cgc373 at 8:08 AM on February 2, 2007

gary pratt: "This boggles the mind - repeated undesirable behavior occurs and all that happens is the offending posts get deleted? Why is this continued behavior tolerated?"

You miss the thrust of jessamyn's comment. If she could find bannable examples, she would ban dios.
posted by koeselitz at 11:39 AM on February 2, 2007

Know what I got? Gold oar.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:38 PM on February 2, 2007

Did you mean gold ore?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:39 PM on February 2, 2007

*strokes the thrust of jessamyn's comment*
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 1:02 PM on February 2, 2007

This comment is to cardinality what a perfect game is to bowling.
posted by cortex at 1:11 PM on February 2, 2007

Did you mean gold ore?

Jesus, no! What would I be doing here if I had gold ore?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 1:17 PM on February 2, 2007

This comment is to ordinality what sevruga soft-roe is to weltschmerz.


As always, Tactfully yours, etc.,

Choculator Lindy Von Fartington, P.P.D.
posted by breezeway at 1:20 PM on February 2, 2007

This comment is to cardinality what a perfect game is to bowling.

Thank god somebody was paying attention. As this thread moved ever closer to its tricentennial, I began sweating, sure that a sudden outbreak of mutual asshattery would sweep the thread to and over the falls, the combatants to busy trying to gouge out each other's eyeballs to note the irrecoverable moment, the double null, the trista. I should have known the thread was being watched keenly and closely by cortex, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. I will sleep well tonight.
posted by languagehat at 1:24 PM on February 2, 2007

How much ore? If there are no adjectives given to describe the amount, I picture ore as like a nugget or something...much less voluminous than an oar. Now a bucket of ore, well then you could buy you some cocks.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 1:25 PM on February 2, 2007

too busy, God rot me. too busy, damn my putrid eyes.
posted by languagehat at 1:25 PM on February 2, 2007

Does the user too prefer her name remain uncapitalized too?
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 1:29 PM on February 2, 2007

the thread was being watched keenly and closely by cortex, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water...

...or as attentively as a futuristic nano-production QA tech checking for surface imperfections on a batch of MengerCo Executive Edition Paperkeepers.
posted by cortex at 1:30 PM on February 2, 2007

i'm flyin' (flyin')
in a frame of my mind
that time cannot erase

i'm seein' (seein')
the future, the past
as i lay the present to waste

i'm scopin' (scopin')
all these feelings i have
and hopin' for them to come true

and i'm holdin'
something more precious
than fine ore, baby
i'm holdin' you
posted by breezeway at 1:36 PM on February 2, 2007

/Rots languagehat. Just for fun, damns his putrid eyes as well.

Yeah. I'm a god. Deal with it.

Yo Bacchus, Beer me! Alright. Someone tell Poseidon or Neptune, or whatever he's going by this week, that we're going out on the boat later. He gives me 'high seas', I give his ass a kick. Read me? Cool. Mercury, quit bouncing around, you gotta switch to decaf man. Ok do me a solid and run this over to Loki, we goin' drinking tonight and the he always knows the hottest joints to hit, so round his ass up and get him over here. Oh, and no one mentions this to Shiva. Last time she came out she got pissed out of her head and spent the night hitting on Crow. Poor bastard couldn't get away to save his life.
posted by quin at 3:07 PM on February 2, 2007

Does anyone have a list of the topics of the Dijon Academy's essay contests, circa 1750s? I'm looking for the one on state secrecy/lying to the public.
posted by anotherpanacea at 2:25 PM on February 4, 2007

In a book about the philosophy of jokes, I once saw the quote "Schubert is the Wagner of music." I'm still not sure what that means.
posted by klangklangston at 2:37 PM on February 4, 2007

Ah.... I've discovered the problem: it was the 1777 Academy of Berlin question, specially endowed by Frederick the Great, and written by D'Alembert: "S'il peut etre utile de tromper le peuple." Still, I'd appreciate any recommendations on good historical accounts of the various essay questions and prize-winners on the eighteenth century.

PS- klangklangston, I've read that Schubert was an influence on Wagner, but that doesn't seem very funny. See: "Wagner and Schubert," by Ernest Porter. The Musical Times, 106: 1463 (January, 1965)
posted by anotherpanacea at 3:12 PM on February 4, 2007