Bob's Your Uncle

September 10, 2007 9:16 PM

Why was my comment in this thread deleted?

I answered the question posted, if somewhat sardonically. The question is something of a moot point. Is it a crime to say anything against Bob Dylan?

This is bullshit. What gives? And why no mention of removal?

My comment was (to my best recollection):

Is this a trick question? Nothing can be worse than hearing Dylan's whiny, draggy voice. Admittedly, Axl Rose is not much better.

Must we be so humorless?

posted by solongxenon to etiquette/policy at 9:16 PM (65 comments total)

You're entitled to your opinion of Dylan's voice, but your comment was snarky riffing that made no effort whatsoever to actually answer Astro Zombie's question. AskMe is not your stand-up gig.

There's a little bit of text at the bottom of the page, right under the comment field, that says this:

"note: Ask MetaFilter is as useful as you make it. Please limit comments to answers or help in finding an answer. Wisecracks don't help people find answers. Thanks."
posted by cortex at 9:25 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wisecracks don't help people find answers.
posted by fandango_matt at 9:26 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Must we be so humorless?

We must. We must.
posted by Dave Faris at 9:27 PM on September 10, 2007

Total chatfilter to be sure, but you failed to answer the chatty question.
posted by caddis at 9:37 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Why was my comment in this thread deleted?

Because it was a comment not an answer.
posted by carsonb at 9:40 PM on September 10, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:45 PM on September 10, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

What they said. It wasn't an answer. Thus it was deleted.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 9:51 PM on September 10, 2007

Because nothing is worse than whiny and draggy.
posted by gordie at 9:56 PM on September 10, 2007

Probably not an accurate guide.
posted by djgh at 9:57 PM on September 10, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

solongxenon, you're kind of new here, but we've gone over this for the past four years -- Ask MetaFilter is really useful because we ask that people leave the wisecracks out of it and we diligently remove non-answers whenever possible. The result is a tremendously useful resource that people can find thousands of great answers to their questions but unfortunately, the levity of the other sections of MeFi isn't really tolerated and jokes are regularly deleted to keep the place useful.
posted by mathowie at 10:01 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I actually thought it was an answer- because I commented on Axl Rose, nthing what was above.

Sorry if I was not clearer, and yes, slightly snarky. That said, I've seen *much* harsher comments in other threads that have not been deleted as chatfilter. I guess it's a pretty thin line. Or maybe Cortex is a fan of the Zimmerman.

I'm certainly not so attached to my original comment, however, the covertness of the deletion is what bothered me. Jessamyn usually puts something witty when she deletes, like: [comment deleted, please take your Disease of Conceit to metatalk].

Let me know what shifts you guys take. ;-P


/hugs wpg
posted by solongxenon at 10:04 PM on September 10, 2007

posted by solongxenon Must we be so humorless?

Don't criticize what you can't understand.
posted by fandango_matt at 10:06 PM on September 10, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

And um, thanks for responding mods, because I am genuinely curious, not simply wanting to stir up shit.
posted by solongxenon at 10:06 PM on September 10, 2007

If this is the gutter, f_m, I am standing on your head.
posted by solongxenon at 10:10 PM on September 10, 2007

If you were genuinely curious, you would have read the FAQ.

Btw, have you ever considered becoming a Dylan impersonator? I've never seen a whiny, draggy voice so perfectly translated into text.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:15 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Is it a crime to say anything against Bob Dylan?

yes ... i hope you enjoy your weekend in jail with quinn the eskimo
posted by pyramid termite at 10:16 PM on September 10, 2007

To be clear, jess is the person who deleted your comment. We'll sometimes leave a marker when we've done some deleting, but usually that's reserved for when there's a string of problem comments in a thread—when it's just a wisecrack here or there, we nix 'em more or less without comment to minimize the total impact on the thread.
posted by cortex at 10:16 PM on September 10, 2007

(And "This is bullshit." is not the best way to convey "I am genuinely curious, not simply wanting to stir up shit.", but I hear you.)
posted by cortex at 10:17 PM on September 10, 2007

Jessamyn doesn't actually provide a snappy aside for individual deletions, she reserves them for when she's had to delete several comments of a similar theme.

And come on, your "answer" was a tacked on throwaway that amounted to "me too." Your only interest in responding was to air your excitingly contrarian opinion that Bob Dylan sux. And now there's nothing left to do but ridicule your inadequacy at answering questions and your reprehensible taste in music.
posted by nanojath at 10:18 PM on September 10, 2007

This is bullshit.

That chip on your should big enough? Funny that you somehow managed to miss the first sentence at the top of the MetaTalk posting page: For specific, personal and/or immediate problems, contact mathowie or jessamyn directly or use the contact form. MetaTalk is not the most efficient or the quickest way to contact an admin.

Public whining about deleted comments before you even bother to email the mods is generally considered bad form here. HTH.
posted by mediareport at 10:18 PM on September 10, 2007

Here's a snowflake...
posted by Duncan at 10:20 PM on September 10, 2007

Snark:

Metatalk - encouraged
Metafilter - some amount, we really aren't sure exactly how much
Askme - nope
posted by Carbolic at 10:21 PM on September 10, 2007

Because Bob is not, in fact, your uncle.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:22 PM on September 10, 2007

Because you don't need a weatherman to know which way your comment blows.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:23 PM on September 10, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Alvy, your comments are obviously a reflection on yourself- you are not helping me to understand better where I went wrong.

I had already read the FAQ, thanks. The FAQ is general; this is specific. I had assumed (and I'm fine admitting that I was incorrect) that my comment would pass as I somewhat oblique answer.

If you had actually read my comments (impossible, as your head is up your ass), you would have realized that I was most curious about the comment being deleted without any comment by the mods).

Pyramid, you're funny. :-) But watch out- humour isn't allowed here!
posted by solongxenon at 10:24 PM on September 10, 2007

popcorn, anyone?
posted by aberrant at 10:26 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

posted by solongxenon If this is the gutter, f_m, I am standing on your head. [...] Pyramid, you're funny. :-) But watch out- humour isn't allowed here!

Welcome to MetaFilter. If your time to you is worth saving, then you better start swimming, or you'll sink like a stone.
posted by fandango_matt at 10:27 PM on September 10, 2007

But watch out- humour isn't allowed here!

how would you know?
posted by pyramid termite at 10:32 PM on September 10, 2007

Alvy, your comments are obviously a reflection on yourself- you are not helping me to understand better where I went wrong.

Since you apparently haven't yet mastered the subtle art of clicking on a link, and it's far too late for me to head on over to your place and show you what the left button on your mouse is for, I'll paste the FAQ entry for you:

"Ask MetaFilter comments should address the question being asked. Common reasons for comment removal are gratuitous wisecracks, unhelpful inline images, derailing/ranting/axegrinding, picking a fight with or heavy chastising of the question asker, single word posts (yes, no, maybe &c.) and other non-answers that should probably be brought to MetaTalk."

If you're still having trouble getting it, try pressing Ctrl while rolling your mouse's scrollwheel towards you - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Oh, and don't forget to mention how you paid $5 to get in here.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:33 PM on September 10, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Alvy, your comments are obviously a reflection on yourself- you are not helping me to understand better where I went wrong.

solongxenon, you are the caveman who has thrown a stick at a freshly enraged giant bear. Run, before it's too late.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 10:34 PM on September 10, 2007

watch out- humour isn't allowed here

See, you're still not getting it. Humor is fine in MetaTalk. Although abuse is preferred.
posted by nanojath at 10:34 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

My motion for closure of this thread (which is a question about a deletion and should have been handled via email to the moderators) before solongxenon responds to any more baiting is here recorded. Can I get a second?
posted by cgc373 at 10:37 PM on September 10, 2007

Is this the part where metatalk tears this user apart like a pack of wolves? I love it when that happens.
posted by puke & cry at 10:39 PM on September 10, 2007

I had already read the FAQ, thanks. The FAQ is general; this is specific.

Specific because it's specific to a comment you made? There are 52,000 mefi users, what a mess it would be if they all acted like special snowflakes when their post was deleted.

If you had actually read my comments (impossible, as your head is up your ass)

No comment.
posted by anthill at 10:40 PM on September 10, 2007

You know who else cried injustice?
posted by Poolio at 10:41 PM on September 10, 2007

There is no room on Metafilter for fun. Why do you think MetaTalk, the Meta of Metafilter, is grey?
posted by Citizen Premier at 10:43 PM on September 10, 2007

posted by solongxenon But watch out- humour isn't allowed here!

There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
posted by fandango_matt at 10:44 PM on September 10, 2007

Oh, also, I just noticed the title of this post. "Why was my comment in this thread deleted?" (bottom right frame)
posted by anthill at 10:44 PM on September 10, 2007

Is this the part where metatalk tears this user apart like a pack of wolves? I love it when that happens.
posted by puke & cry at 1:39 AM on September 11

Nope. Far more passion and angst must come first. This is very much too limp for such a showdown.
posted by caddis at 10:45 PM on September 10, 2007

“Is this the part where metatalk tears this user apart like a pack of wolves? I love it when that happens.”

Are packs of wolves easily torn apart? I guess so—they're not actually attached to one another.

“posted by solongxenon Must we be so humorless?

Don't criticize what you can't understand.”

From his post and subsequent comments, it seems to me that he understands humorlessness at least as well as you. I mean, given that you thought your comment was a zinger and all.

Now you say, “I bow to your expert authority on the matter.”
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 10:48 PM on September 10, 2007

Nope. Far more passion and angst must come first. This is very much too limp for such a showdown.

eh, well. I'll check back in the morning. This place better be splattered with entrails by then.
posted by puke & cry at 10:50 PM on September 10, 2007

Whoa, that makes the letters bigger. Whoa.

I want mine with baconsalt and air popped. solongxenon, without you I would not have learned that the scrollwheel (screel?) makes the letters bigger.
posted by Mister Cheese at 10:51 PM on September 10, 2007

This place better be splattered with entrails by then.

if you turn the heat down, the chitterlings won't boil over like that
posted by pyramid termite at 10:54 PM on September 10, 2007

Now you say, “I bow to your expert authority on the matter.”

Or, y'know, not.
posted by dersins at 10:55 PM on September 10, 2007

jesus christ I get fucking infuriated when askme only users come in here asking questions that have been answered a thousand times before. I mean, really really infuriated. It is taking so much of my energy not to fucking snap, because it's really not that god damn hard to search the metatalk archives before you come in here demanding satisfaction. I mean, shit, man. I've spent years wandering around the dank and dark hallways of metatalk trying to develop some kind of community presence, AND FAILING AT IT, and then some guy wanders in going "yo, my joke answer was deleted, what the fuck?!" like like....

no, I am not going to be insulting. This is me restraining myself.

but I am so god damn angry. why does this make me this angry? I would genuinely like to know why the askme kids piss me off this much. It's like I'm a high school senior again and they're the freshmen walking around like they own the goddamn place.
posted by shmegegge at 11:00 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you had actually read my comments (impossible, as your head is up your ass), you would have realized that I was most curious about the comment being deleted without any comment

Here, let me break it down for you even more, assuming you seriously didn't get it. Your nonanswer was a gratuitous wisecrack that, in a thread that would likely attract a fair number of Dylan fans, could be seen as an attempt to pick a fight, thus derailing the AskMe. As mentioned in the FAQ, which stands for Frequently Asked Questions - see how that works, with the first letters of the three words combining to make a whole new word? We call those acronyms. Would you like to try sounding it out with me? AC-RO-NYM. It's a fun word!- those are common reasons for deletion.

By common, it's meant that your little turd was run of the mill deletion-bait, and therefore not worth any sort of acknowledgment beyond a courtesy flush.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to explain to Homer what 'deadlocked', 'sequestered', and 'if' mean.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:07 PM on September 10, 2007

When the inanity of freshman get you that upset, shmegegge, maybe it's time for a pitcher of margaritas. And maybe one (I said one) Valium™.

Again, one. There are freshmen present, and I don't want any confusion on this matter. At least not until I'm as angry with them as you are.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:09 PM on September 10, 2007

Shmegegge channel that anger. Don't let it rule you, use your anger. Use it to find the shift key.
posted by LarryC at 11:14 PM on September 10, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

Why was my comment in this thread deleted?
posted by solongxenon

You probably don't realize this, but the three moderators of this site have a longstanding and well-publicized aversion to (some might argue "prejudice against," but I'm being charitable here) the noble gases.

So it was only a matter of time, really.
posted by dersins at 11:15 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'll just say what I've said before.
posted by landis at 11:20 PM on September 10, 2007

This has been, apparently, some weird “wrongly see the opposite of what someone wrote and make a joke out of it” day at MetaTalk. I think that the Triad, with their aversion to the noble gases, would have more reason to be biased against solongxenon if his name was helloandwelcomexenon.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:40 PM on September 10, 2007

butts lol
posted by Kwine at 11:54 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks Alvy, that is easier than Ctrl +. Have any more shortcuts to share? (Please do not suggest that I take it to AskMe - there be sharks.)
posted by Cranberry at 12:25 AM on September 11, 2007

From his her post and subsequent comments.
solongxenon is a female. hth.
posted by peacay at 12:30 AM on September 11, 2007

Is this the part where metatalk tears this user apart like a pack of wolves?

Yeah, perhaps the thread can be closed?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:30 AM on September 11, 2007

"Btw, have you ever considered becoming a Dylan impersonator? I've never seen a whiny, draggy voice so perfectly translated into text."
Poet and Vocalist and are not the same thing. Dylan gets plus (I'll leave it to you) for the former and minus (I'll leave it to you) for the latter.
posted by vapidave at 1:25 AM on September 11, 2007

Were Xena and Gabrielle an item? And where did they get Lady Schicks out in the wilderness?
posted by maxwelton at 2:36 AM on September 11, 2007

Must we be so humorless?
You started it!
posted by Abiezer at 3:39 AM on September 11, 2007

But watch out- humour isn't allowed here!

That's crap! MetaTalk's all for entertaining! In fact, me and my family have this act, see? It involves my grandpa, a large vat of lard, a few hula hoops and a cock ring...

Wait a tic--
posted by flibbertigibbet at 4:00 AM on September 11, 2007

And since, shockingly enough, it's only been mentioned twice in this thread, e-mail the mods about your deleted comment instead of posting to MetaTalk. No one here cares that much about your deleted comment, other than to use this thread as another excuse to be goofballs and/or mild douches, which is perfectly acceptable in MetaTalk, but actively discouraged in AskMe (see: why your comment was deleted).
posted by flibbertigibbet at 4:02 AM on September 11, 2007

No one here cares that much about your deleted comment

I do. I thought the criticism of Dylan's voice a trenchant observation, a very new take on someone who's work has been treated as gospel. Until now, many thought the brilliance of Dylan's lyrics coupled with his gift for capturing the zeitgeist and the resulting ability to find and keep some of the best musicians around led to great music.

But oh, his singing voice! No one had noticed until now. Go back to Minnesota, you dirty hippie.
posted by yerfatma at 4:35 AM on September 11, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

While it's certainly true that wisecracks don't help people find answers, I think we can safely say that wise answers can occasionally help people to find cracks.

All sorts of cracks.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:47 AM on September 11, 2007

Oh and Dylan's singing? Motherfucker can sing circles around Pavarotti. And you'll never, ever find anyone who'd disagree with that.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:50 AM on September 11, 2007

Must we be so humorless?

ASKME IS SERIOUS BIZNISS BITCH!!!11!!!
posted by quonsar at 5:12 AM on September 11, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

put a clothespin on pee wee herman's nose and punch him in the junk, whaddaya got?

bob dylan singing.
posted by quonsar at 5:15 AM on September 11, 2007