Really? February 13, 2007 9:19 PM   Subscribe

Is AskMe always this crappy when Jessamyn steps away for 40 minutes?
posted by Kwantsar to Etiquette/Policy at 9:19 PM (39 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

Sorry for using such vulgar language on the front page.

Answer 1: Advises breaking stated site policy.
Answer 2: Someone tried that. How about answering the question?
Answer 3: Somewhat helpful. A good answer.
Answer 4: Jackass.
Answer 5: Somewhat helpful. A good answer.
Answer 6: Can snark, but can't read. Brilliant.
posted by Kwantsar at 9:24 PM on February 13, 2007


I see that it has now been closed, but:

#8: Also cannot read.
posted by Kwantsar at 9:25 PM on February 13, 2007


Is AskMe always this crappy when Jessamyn steps away for 40 minutes?

No, sometimes it is worse.

Actually I tried to give that question a bit of a chance to see if maybe the first few comments would redeem it so thoroughly that I felt it was worth stretching the guidelines for someone who is already feeling sort of bad about the site. They didn't.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:43 PM on February 13, 2007


Wait a second, in all sincerety and innocence:

Why should that question be in Metatalk?

No, seriously. It's not about any Metafilter site at all. It doesn't make any sense at all for it to be in Metatalk.

It's about competitors. Is this the open mind we have about it? Are we that unsure and insecure about our "product"?

It's not about MeFi, it should be in Ask, unsnarked and answered just like every other question that goes "I like thing/site/author/music x, what else is good?"
posted by loquacious at 9:45 PM on February 13, 2007


Why should that question be in Metatalk?

I agree completely, but I'm trying to focus here!
posted by Kwantsar at 9:46 PM on February 13, 2007


Jess was probably shoveling out her driveway--don't you understand we're in the Valentine's Day Storm of the Century?
posted by Dizzy at 9:48 PM on February 13, 2007


I mean, think about it. Jessamyn, I know you deleted it because of the snark and the user's frustration, but...

Zardoz just used their question. He/she gets snarked at, and his question gets deleted because they are trying to find alternatives to fill in the gap and be generally even more useful to them. Then they lose their question?

Desnarking that thread and putting the question back up seems to me like it's the only right and true thing to do if you believe in justice and truth.

Because otherwise it sounds like the absurdity of a DMV visit, where you get in the wrong line and end up getting sent all over the place, line after line, stretching away into infinity.
posted by loquacious at 9:52 PM on February 13, 2007


I think this is the thread in Metatalk that it should be in.
posted by 31d1 at 9:53 PM on February 13, 2007


loquacious, it feels like splitting hairs to argue what it was about. The answers aren't about ask mefi, but the question most definitely is about it, and should be here.

But as to the question, people might have felt it was going to be deleted so they snarked away, which is lame and pointless.

So are there other q and a sites? I know a ton have come out recently. Amazon has two, LinkedIn, Wondir, and there's some digg clone that's only Q&A. I'm sure they're all pretty much unlimited questions.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:55 PM on February 13, 2007


Sucks to your snow-fairies and snowball men forts!
posted by loquacious at 9:55 PM on February 13, 2007


Ack!

*runs*
posted by loquacious at 9:56 PM on February 13, 2007


The answers aren't about ask mefi, but the question most definitely is about it, and should be here.

Yeah, ok, I can see that.

And yer underwear, too.
posted by loquacious at 9:57 PM on February 13, 2007


Poster here. I'm kind of surprised that the post was deleted and that it was suggested that it be put here. I ditto everything loquacious said.

To summarize: there's other sites like AskMeFi, which I put in the post (yahoo answers, straight dope), and I was just wondering if there were others like it out there. What's wrong with this question?
posted by zardoz at 9:57 PM on February 13, 2007


Sorry zardoz, but we put all mefi-related stuff here, so Ask MeFi doesn't get redundant and get filled with questions like "how do I get to an old question I asked here earlier" sorts of things.

Let's see if we can answer zardoz' question here.

(also keep in mind that the two week thing isn't set in stone and we're probably going to change things on April 1st, to get some more data about how fast stuff flies off the page, etc)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:00 PM on February 13, 2007


B-Han---
After "cake", "slurry" is my favorite word.
Thank You!
posted by Dizzy at 10:04 PM on February 13, 2007


What's wrong with this question?

At first glance, I saw it as yet another bout of complaining on the two-week issue, with a dose of italicized snark tossed in for good measure. The question probably could have been written it in a way that didn't push so many obvious buttons, maybe.
posted by mediareport at 10:04 PM on February 13, 2007


I think what we need is "crybaby.metafilter.com", a kind of kindergarten where all the whiners and moaners can go and vent.

That way, when the complaints about the 2 week rule come up yet again we can respond, "Take it to crybaby.metafilter.com!"
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:10 PM on February 13, 2007 [1 favorite]


Without the snark, your question might have been like one of the ones previously on this topic. More Ask.Metafilter like resources. is the first one I found.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:11 PM on February 13, 2007


P'raps seeing the usual batch of assholes fall over one another in a breathless competition to see who could care less in the last relevant MeTa had something to do with zardoz's inappropriate AskMe.

Okay, the two things are probably completely unrelated, but the jerkiness of that MeTa - "Hey, here's a way to alleviate your irrational fear of 'using up your question'!" "And I care why... ?" - kind of irked me.
And I've had a killer headache for the last eight days or so.
I'd post an AskMe about it, but what if I order pizza sometime in the next 14 days and can't decide on toppings?!?

posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:12 PM on February 13, 2007


Thanks, Matt. Now this makes sense. I wasn't whining about the two week thing, it was just a really minor attempt at humor, but I realize how it could've been seen that way. Point taken.
posted by zardoz at 10:14 PM on February 13, 2007


I wonder if it shouldn't be reposted minus the complaints about the new 2 week policy. like so:

Where can I find a good question and answer site besides AskMeFi? Not that I'm jumping ship, but for various reasons I'd like to know of other services. I've used Yahoo Answers a few times but it seems pretty large and unwieldy, and the answers all seem to come from the same snotty 14-year-olds. The Straight Dope has a good forum, but it required a paid membership, and I'd like to find free forums first. Any and all topics. Any suggestions?
posted by shmegegge at 10:16 PM on February 13, 2007


Why don't we do that?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:21 PM on February 13, 2007


Okay, let's try this again. Hope that's okay zardoz?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:22 PM on February 13, 2007


Sounds great to me, thanks.
posted by zardoz at 10:26 PM on February 13, 2007


a breathless competition to see who could care less in the last relevant MeTa

Riiight. That's why some of us keep offering to help anyone caught in an emergency situation during their two weeks by posting a question for them - because we really don't care.

Usual batch of assholes, indeed.
posted by mediareport at 10:26 PM on February 13, 2007


yay! I'm helpful!
posted by shmegegge at 10:27 PM on February 13, 2007


You're welcome.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:28 PM on February 13, 2007


I love a happy ending.
posted by zardoz at 10:31 PM on February 13, 2007


mediareport: That's probably why I said "Usual bunch of assholes" instead of "Usual bunch of friendly, helpful folks!".

Not sure why you'd be defensive about me whining about conduct in a thread you didn't comment in, but if you feel like getting your huffy on, go nuts.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:35 PM on February 13, 2007


I love a happy ending.

I love it when a plan comes together.
posted by loquacious at 10:37 PM on February 13, 2007


Alvy, this comment: "the jerkiness of that MeTa - "Hey, here's a way to alleviate your irrational fear of 'using up your question'!" doesn't relate to the MeTa you linked. It does relate to a MeTa I participated in recently - in fact, the comment you call "jerky" is almost indistinguishable from one of mine. Hope that clears things up.
posted by mediareport at 10:40 PM on February 13, 2007


the comment you call "jerky" is almost indistinguishable from one of mine

'The comment'? Which one?

Just for clarity's sake, I was referring to the jerkiness of the responses: 'Lookit that/A MeTa thread for all of them/Who the hell cares?'. If your comment was like those, fine, you too can be a usual asshole. I would truly be surprised if it was, though.

AskMe is an amazing resource, but it's not The One True Q & A Site. While it could be argued that the rude responses were a display of brand loyalty, it pissed me off that people who've complained about AskMe's restrictions would be so readily dismissive of another, seemingly solid, option.

So you see, it does relate. And in conclusion, Libya is a land of contrasts.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:04 PM on February 13, 2007


Then one time my Dad took me sailing The End
posted by Wolof at 11:16 PM on February 13, 2007


the solution is clear: kwantsar starts working as soon as possible as jessamyn's errand boy, freeing up her shcedule and giving her more time to scold askmefi's unruly children
posted by matteo at 5:00 AM on February 14, 2007


You too can be a usual asshole! Call now!
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:00 AM on February 14, 2007


I am an unusual asshole. Usually.
posted by Mister_A at 5:13 AM on February 14, 2007


Copied from the thread in question, as suggested by stavrosthewonderchicken.

I note that "Questionville.com" from the previous thread currently contains such gems as "Do you want to be with Jesus forever? Or not?" and "Who's going to Hell?".

Blech.

What I'd really like is some way of queueing up questions here on AskMe, possibly with the option of other members using their one question per fortnight to ask a question in the queue. Anything like that being developed on or off-site?
posted by krisjohn at 3:34 PM on February 14, 2007


I'm just glad that everyone involved here did whatever it took to bring about the correct circumstances for Burhanistan to post his "slurry" remark. It was the best piece of written language I've seen in a week, and you should all be proud of your contribution.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:13 PM on February 14, 2007


I think, and this is just thinking, that we should possibly remove jessamyn's legs, and maybe her arms so she's pretty much unable to get away from metafilter for any amount of time. After all the community's immense and pulsating need for her must be sated. Perhaps we can licence the Stalker technology of the Combine. Does anyone have Dr Breen's email?
posted by oxford blue at 12:11 PM on February 15, 2007


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