Topic-specific filter sites

FilteredFilters? How would the community view a site that catalogued posts from MeFi on a specific subject?

OK, it's likely I'm way behind the curve here, but does anyone catalogue MeFi posts on a separate page that they maintain?

For instance, I was thinking about how much I'd enjoy keeping a catalogue of links to just the folklore and culture posts at MeFi, and how much folklorists would enjoy this pre-filtered Filter. It could even be in the form of a blog linked directly to the threads.

I know there are many spinoff sites such as SportsFilter, but they seem to collect new content, rather than just presenting a set of selected MeFi links. TravelFilter is an 'official' project of MeFi, and I don't think FolkFilter would ever garner that status (the demand is, uh, a lot smaller). But I can imagine interest from outside the daily participant community in something like LibraryFilter, DesignFilter, etc.

So what would be the protocol here? I don't want to be hurting MeFi.

And it's not likely that I'll actually have the time to do this...I just like to think about it in that abstract one-day-project way.

posted by Miko to etiquette/policy at 7:21 AM (22 comments total)

I think it's a neat idea actually, especially if it could be semi-automated via RSS feeds with clear links back to the MeFi universe when appropriate. I feel like MeFi Remixed did a neat "best of" view of MeF, when it was working and I had no idea the Wiki page on this topic was so fleshed out.

This would especially be neat, to my mind, if it was a site that used the MeFi content as a jumping off point and then expanded in directions that only true folklore geeks would really appreciate [i.e. good lists of related link, discussion on other topics, resource list of folklorists that know stuff etc.]. I just found, for example, the The Foxearth and District Local History Society (link seems down this morning for some reason) website which might be too esoteric for MeFi proper but would fit well in a MeFiFolk sort of subsite.
posted by jessamyn at 7:32 AM on September 27, 2007

I can't see there being anything wrong with it, done in good faith. There are a number of para-mefi blogs out there tracking one or another aspect of the site anyway; growabrain's long-running Best of Mefi comes immediately to mind, for example.

One question is whether it'd make more sense as a blog (auteur or collaborative) or as possibly a section of the wiki.
posted by cortex at 7:33 AM on September 27, 2007

That seems like a fine way to get Google $$$$$.

That was my first thought too, particularly if you choose other tags. Probably wouldn't go over well.

The general idea seems fine and fun though, especially if it was used as a jumping off point as Jessamyn suggested. Afterall, If folk doesn't have many links on metafilter, then what would you be doing that's better than the tagging or search engine?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:53 AM on September 27, 2007

I agree about the jumping-off point. Though tagging and search works fine here, most folklorists (read: any nerdy subject) don't use MeFi daily and also are looking for efficient sources of new information about web resources and topics of study. They wouldn't see the time investment in going to a site that's not explicity about folklore and searching through it, any more than it's a good investment to go to the NY Times and search through it. The content is there, but not packaged efficiently enough.

The MeFi culture / folk posts are usually quite interesting and well-written, and I think a blog format would work really well for people who want to go to one site to read about new, interesting culture content on the web.

Jessamyn, your ideas for the utility of a webspace like this are great. It might be a gradually developing thing.
posted by Miko at 7:59 AM on September 27, 2007

if it was a site that used the MeFi content as a jumping off point and then expanded in directions that only true folklore geeks would really appreciate [i.e. good lists of related link, discussion on other topics, resource list of folklorists that know stuff etc.].

But that's why I come *here* - often the best part of the blue is the comments and discussion from people who know way more about the subject than I do. I'd rather that stuff stay here.
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:17 AM on September 27, 2007

I think I'm in CunningLinguist's camp. Half of the fun of MetaFilter is reading what smart people have to say on topics I don't know much (or anything) about. For me, the appeal of the site is that all of that intelligent discussion is collected -- filtered, if you will -- into one place.

On the other hand, I certainly don't think you'd end up hurting MetaFilter. I think the idea in the initial post is best -- a site that focuses on cataloging links instead of fostering discussion, as the latter could potentially split the commentary between the two sites (or any number of sites, if the idea takes off).
posted by danb at 8:52 AM on September 27, 2007

But that's why I come *here*

And it might actually bring some new members this way.

I wonder if there's blog software that would allow me to disable comments on links to MeFi (steering comments here) but enable them on other postings that were not MeFi generated. Or would that just be annoying?
posted by Miko at 9:00 AM on September 27, 2007

Didn't yhbc have a MeFi distilled thingie running a few years back? I don't know that it was topic-specific but it did seem like the best of the best of the web. Does it still exist? Anyone know? (*Fires up the Commish signal.*)
posted by Lynsey at 9:28 AM on September 27, 2007

On a Wordpress blog, you could probably use FeedWordpress to do exactly what you need. Sorting/categorizing the links into your own Filter categories might require a bit of hackery in the background though.

Or you could simply whip up your own aggregator with SimplePie.
posted by geminus at 9:47 AM on September 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Well, thanks for the responses. I'm going ahead with it, and setting it up (at least for now) as a Wordpress blog. For the time being I'll keep it to MetaFilter content only, and disable comments on the MetaFilter links, so any readers will come here to read (and hopefully kick in their fiver to write, too.) My first task is going to be combing the archives for back posts that I can list, oldest to newest. That'll keep me happily busy all winter.

With some satisfaction, I noted that the first MetaFilter posting which I could comfortably consider to be on a folkloric topic (that still has any live links) was by mathowie. I give you Punxsutawney Phil.
posted by Miko at 4:28 PM on September 29, 2007

Topic-specific filter sites September 27, 2007 7:21 AM Subscribe

Topic-specific filter sites
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