when mods post dupes!

December 17, 2007 10:46 AM

um, i don't really know what to do about this. and i've got no general prob with the mods. but, as you can see, one of the mods has posted a question that has been asked before.

so . . . what happens now? does it get deleted? does the original get deleted? does the whole thing get ignored? are these even the droids that anyone is looking for?

. . . just asking . . .

posted by deejay jaydee to etiquette/policy at 10:46 AM (125 comments total)

We rarely delete doubles on ask mefi, and mine is slightly different than the first, so I suspect it will stay.

In general, the mods are just normal people that even though they read much of the site, they can never see all of it and I personally have posted dozens of double posts to the main mefi site.
posted by mathowie at 10:50 AM on December 17, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

It's just a glitch in the Matrix. Ignore it and it will all go away...
posted by Godbert at 10:50 AM on December 17, 2007

so . . . what happens now?

A battery of Rorschach tests and an indeterminate period of involuntary committal.
posted by prostyle at 10:52 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

This is not an entry test for the Cabal.
posted by Faux Real at 10:54 AM on December 17, 2007

Mattfilter: I personally have posted dozens of double posts
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:58 AM on December 17, 2007

deejay jaydee: so . . . what happens now?

The Kali-Yuga comes to a crashing end as the very fabric of the universe folds in on itself.
posted by koeselitz at 11:00 AM on December 17, 2007

To the pain!
posted by iamkimiam at 11:01 AM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

I honestly dont think the first one was satisfactorally answered and had meant to add that.

Does that change things?
posted by vacapinta at 11:02 AM on December 17, 2007

No. Ban mathowie. The guy's trouble.
posted by Brockles at 11:03 AM on December 17, 2007

so I suspect it will stay

For some reason, I also suspect it will stay.
posted by cillit bang at 11:05 AM on December 17, 2007 [5 favorites has favorites]

What would happen if all three mods banned themselves?

_{(I mean assuming no direct database, code, or server access)}
posted by delmoi at 11:07 AM on December 17, 2007

Tonight on FOX: When mods attack!
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:07 AM on December 17, 2007

REVOLUTION!!
posted by Skorgu at 11:07 AM on December 17, 2007

Odor. Odor!
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:08 AM on December 17, 2007

I love doubles.
posted by chunking express at 11:09 AM on December 17, 2007

Cortex, your day has come, Matt's slipped up! Seize power and usher in the glorious new age of stats.metafilter!!!

(NOTE MATTIST)
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:09 AM on December 17, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

um, NOT.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:09 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

/rips out chest hair, dashes through window and into the distance
posted by asuprenant at 11:11 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

So it's not time to get the pitchforks and torches out for a good old-fashioned mob? MeTa has changed, man.
posted by clevershark at 11:13 AM on December 17, 2007

I love doubles.

I personally prefer triples, myself.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:15 AM on December 17, 2007

mine . . .will stay.

PWN3D.
posted by plexi at 11:15 AM on December 17, 2007

so . . . what happens now?

I suggest we all go to Milliways and watch the entire universe end around us as we eat dinner.
posted by worker_bee at 11:18 AM on December 17, 2007

Odor. Odor!

Is that another one of those weird words that are their own plurals?
posted by carsonb at 11:19 AM on December 17, 2007

Quis moderatiet ipsos moderates?
posted by Plutor at 11:20 AM on December 17, 2007 [6 favorites has favorites]

What would happen if all three mods banned themselves?

Heh. Assume we all just disappeared, unannounced (not even an "account disabled" line in our profiles)? Barring some real shitstorm of a thread not getting deleted or some really direct mod question in Metatalk going unanswered, it'd probably be 24-48 hours before anyone noticed. And then the metatalk threads would begin. We'd get a lot of email from people trying to figure out what the fuck was up. There's be a frenzy of wackiness and stupidity and griefing and fun on the blue—lots of threads that wouldn't normally be posted for fear of immediate deletions—and the next couple of days would just be sort of nuts. The crazy Woo Fun Parents Are Away sparkle would wear away over the first few days as anxiety over the actual fate of the site (and the health/state of the mods, if we're also not responding to extra-mefi communication) would become an issue of mounting relevence.

Some free thinkers and antiestablishmentarians and anarchists and griefers and just plain jerks would settle in. Some people would bail. Community norms would suffer a violent and unhappy readjustment. Self-linkers and spammers would show up in increasing numbers. Askme would more or less melt.

In the long run—assuming that the bills were somehow paid and the server didn't crash—someone would crack the site and either wipe (and replace) it or start a new ad hoc regime of administration.
posted by cortex at 11:21 AM on December 17, 2007 [17 favorites has favorites]

next we need Jessamyn or cortex to post the following question to askme:

Did you know that James Brown is dead?
posted by shmegegge at 11:22 AM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Assume we all just disappeared, unannounced (not even an "account disabled" line in our profiles)? Barring some real shitstorm of a thread not getting deleted or some really direct mod question in Metatalk going unanswered, it'd probably be 24-48 hours before anyone noticed. And then the metatalk threads would begin.

I think it's hysterical that you think it would be 24-48 hours before someone bitched about the mods not doing enough.

The crazy Woo Fun Parents Are Away sparkle would wear away over the first few days as anxiety over the actual fate of the site (and the health/state of the mods, if we're also not responding to extra-mefi communication) would become an issue of mounting relevence.

meanwhile, pb is losing his FUCKING MIND.
posted by shmegegge at 11:24 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

You know, my answer to that first thread was fucking definitive. Here's your commercial cremation equipment, okay? Well, guess what: the smoke-buster 140 "effectively consumes and destroys smoke and odor from the cremation process."

honestly dont think the first one was satisfactorally answered my ASS and it's spelled satisfactorily.

Hmph.
posted by nanojath at 11:24 AM on December 17, 2007 [6 favorites has favorites]

Did you know that James Brown is dead?

Oh shit, really? Link?
posted by cortex at 11:26 AM on December 17, 2007

If Mod didn't exist, we would have to invent it.
posted by brain_drain at 11:26 AM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

I think it's hysterical that you think it would be 24-48 hours before someone bitched about the mods not doing enough.

I think it'd be 24-48 hours before that'd produce anything but backlash and general hollerin' is the thing.
posted by cortex at 11:27 AM on December 17, 2007

That's it. MetaFilter has humped the snark.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:29 AM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Some free thinkers and antiestablishmentarians and anarchists and griefers and just plain jerks would settle in. Some people would bail. Community norms would suffer a violent and unhappy readjustment. Self-linkers and spammers would show up in increasing numbers. Askme would more or less melt.

In the long run—assuming that the bills were somehow paid and the server didn't crash—someone would crack the site and either wipe (and replace) it or start a new ad hoc regime of administration.

Throw something in there about Canada so I can link the dief to your post, Cortex.
posted by cashman at 11:33 AM on December 17, 2007

I banned myself once, on accident. It didn't occur to me that once I did it, I couldn't undo it. I had to wait for mathowie to wake up to fix it. This is why we have cortex.
posted by jessamyn at 11:34 AM on December 17, 2007 [25 favorites has favorites]

You know, my answer to that first thread was fucking definitive. Here's your commercial cremation equipment, okay? Well, guess what: the smoke-buster 140 "effectively consumes and destroys smoke and odor from the cremation process."

I dont know...I was hoping for information on the process itself. Its like answering a question about how razors work by answering "Well, the NORELCO-5000 effectively consumes hair and hair follicles!" Uh ok...
posted by vacapinta at 11:37 AM on December 17, 2007

Assume we all just disappeared, unannounced

I saw a picture from Mefi anniversary party of the four mods together and thought "What the fuck, they're not gonna leave somebody behind, just in case?! What if Yahoo answers attacks?"
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:39 AM on December 17, 2007 [6 favorites has favorites]

the next time there's a meetup that they're all at, I am going to go BUCK FUCKING WILD.
posted by shmegegge at 11:41 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

PointAndLaughLikeNelsonFilter
posted by infinitewindow at 11:50 AM on December 17, 2007

Whenever mathowie is the OP in any compartment, aren't the 'comments' and 'more inside' links self-links by definition?
posted by jamjam at 11:50 AM on December 17, 2007

Jesus, man, I just flagged it and moved on.
posted by klangklangston at 11:59 AM on December 17, 2007

The mods here are actually Cylons, I think. Which is why Matt would also be curious about the process behind effectively vaporizing us, smell and all.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 12:03 PM on December 17, 2007

The mods here are actually Cylons Sylar.
posted by cortex at 12:07 PM on December 17, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

I'm thinking about replacing my Steelcase desk with an IKEA Jerker desk. What do you think?
posted by Kwantsar at 12:15 PM on December 17, 2007

Has there been a MetaTalk post about how Mathowie looks like Sylar?
posted by chunking express at 12:16 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

The mods here are actually Cylons Sylar Silent Hill Aficionados
posted by ORthey at 12:20 PM on December 17, 2007

The mods here are actually Cylons, I think.

Hold on.

*plays bizarre cover version of Dylan song*
posted by brain_drain at 12:22 PM on December 17, 2007

Has there been a MetaTalk post about how Mathowie looks like Sylar?

There was, but the post was deleted and the poster's user page was cannibalized.
posted by cashman at 12:26 PM on December 17, 2007

The mods here are actually Cylons Sylar Silent Hill Aficionados Silent night, hooooly night ...
posted by WCityMike at 12:27 PM on December 17, 2007

jessamyn typed "I banned myself once, on accident. It didn't occur to me that once I did it, I couldn't undo it."

This is why the new disable-your-account link is so dangerous.
posted by roll truck roll at 12:28 PM on December 17, 2007

Man, if the mods vanished, I'd probably never get that MeFi Music Compilation CD.
posted by danb at 12:32 PM on December 17, 2007

That guy has been self-linking since he joined.
posted by The Deej at 12:34 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

jamjam: "Whenever mathowie is the OP in any compartment, aren't the 'comments' and 'more inside' links self-links by definition?"

Compartment?
posted by Plutor at 12:40 PM on December 17, 2007

I don't want anybody else, when I think about you, I ban myself.
posted by psmealey at 12:43 PM on December 17, 2007 [5 favorites has favorites]

What would happen if all three mods banned themselves?

take it to the BBQ.



oh wait, cortex answered it here. *head explodes*
posted by rooftop secrets at 12:46 PM on December 17, 2007

cortex : it or start a new ad hoc regime of administration.

I've got the conch! Now quick, hide. The Savages are coming.
posted by quin at 12:54 PM on December 17, 2007

*impales sow’s head on a stake*
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:58 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I called Matt out on a double post once.

Once.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:59 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

This is why we have cortex.

Oh, right. Like cortex can resist the big shiny red "ban self" button.
posted by graventy at 12:59 PM on December 17, 2007

Matt just changed it to a link to this for my profile page.
posted by cortex at 1:10 PM on December 17, 2007 [6 favorites has favorites]

The mods here are actually Cylons Sylar.

Sylar is Spock^*
posted by ericb at 1:12 PM on December 17, 2007

This has been a test of the mathowie Loyalty System™.

You have all failed.
posted by tommasz at 1:18 PM on December 17, 2007

what happens now?

Massive amounts of thoazine is my guess.
posted by edgeways at 1:22 PM on December 17, 2007

Sylar is Spock*

I saw mention of this in the Pee-Wee thread this morning, and in my bleary state I confused it with the speculation re: Johnny Depp playing Pee-Wee in some movie or something, and came up with Sylar playing Pee-Wee in some movie or something. Holy crap, imagine my disappointment when I realized this was not so.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 1:40 PM on December 17, 2007

Yeah, you know, that's a good point. Should cortex and jess even be in the same hemisphere as Matt? Isn't SOP to secrete at least one of them away in a bunker somewhere for when the apocalypse comes and the zombies start eating our brains? How else will we keep the important "Evacuation Information" FPP's from being overrun by the "Party at Meatbomb's OMG I am Sooo Wasted" threads?
posted by misha at 1:41 PM on December 17, 2007

I secreted into your mom's bunker.
posted by cortex at 1:43 PM on December 17, 2007 [6 favorites has favorites]

You nasty 'tex.
posted by cashman at 1:57 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Hope cashman don't say balls nasty.
posted by cortex at 1:59 PM on December 17, 2007

balls nasty.
posted by shmegegge at 2:06 PM on December 17, 2007

I secreted into your mom's bunker.

making it small doesn't make it any less icky

[insert obligatory pencil dick joke here]
posted by jessamyn at 2:07 PM on December 17, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

oh dang
posted by cortex at 2:12 PM on December 17, 2007

Are "your mom" jokes like "I'd hit it" comments? In other words, are they inherently sexist, even when employed ironically?
posted by dersins at 2:15 PM on December 17, 2007

Cortex employed your mom ironically.
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:17 PM on December 17, 2007 [9 favorites has favorites]

dersins,

shhhhh.
posted by shmegegge at 2:18 PM on December 17, 2007

[Faber-Castell Goldfaber Graphite 2H dicks are a great value and provide excellent quality secretions]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:22 PM on December 17, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

2H? 6H!
posted by jouke at 2:25 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Haven't you heard? H value doesn't matter - it's how you use it.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:28 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

You know what two words are kind of easy to confuse even though they have nothing to do with each other?

That's right, charcuterie and chiaroscuro.
posted by cortex at 2:32 PM on December 17, 2007

No, wait.
Let's discuss the morality of "your mom" jokes.
posted by jouke at 2:33 PM on December 17, 2007

TROGDOR STRIKES AGAIN!
posted by shmegegge at 2:35 PM on December 17, 2007

Yeah, I was just settling into the new sensitive MeFi then Cortex comes out with guns...secreting...?
posted by everichon at 2:41 PM on December 17, 2007

Not that I actually care, so much as I savor the nits.
posted by everichon at 2:42 PM on December 17, 2007

Let's discuss the morality of "your mom" jokes.

Yeah, that's what your dad said.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:47 PM on December 17, 2007

See, because misha accidentally wrote 'secrete' instead of secret, and, well, yes.

*trundles off to Shame Cabin*
posted by cortex at 2:48 PM on December 17, 2007

Remember pencil cracking? What was that all about?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:48 PM on December 17, 2007

Assume we all just disappeared, unannounced...start a new ad hoc regime of administration.

I have a conch shell standing by for just such an occassion.
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:51 PM on December 17, 2007

I thought quin had the conch shell?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:56 PM on December 17, 2007

If quin has the conch shell, then I want to be leader of the hunters. I ain't being Piggy again.
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:59 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Metafilter Emergency Preparedness Plan #2B clearly states that in the event of a "triple wipeout" the system will automatically failover into "random mod" mode, where the user with most seniority (longest member of the site) automatically becomes the new mod. Following their inevitable, messy, and timely death, the system automatically moves down the chain. After 15555 deaths, I immediately become the new mod.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:00 PM on December 17, 2007

secrete - place out of sight; keep secret; "The money was secreted from his children" via

Cortex, Sugar, my Mom's too old for you. But hey, if you want to take me down to your bunker and show me your etchings some time...
posted by misha at 3:01 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

See, I read conga shell for some reason, and got excited about dancing...
posted by pupdog at 3:03 PM on December 17, 2007

*places Giant Donut at door of shame cabin*
posted by everichon at 3:10 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

secrete - place out of sight; keep secret;

Well I'll be goddamned. Interestingly, a google check of "secrete it away" vs. "secret it away" gives my analysis a 10-to-1 preference, but that's neither here nor there.

Somebody needs to break out the OED.
posted by cortex at 3:12 PM on December 17, 2007

I had an OED breakout just this morning. My doctor recommended that I watch more TV.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:15 PM on December 17, 2007

gives my analysis a 10-to-1 preference

Aww, I always lose the popularity contests!
posted by misha at 3:19 PM on December 17, 2007

Secret (v. 'To keep secret, conceal, hide.') is obsolete. First quotation 1595. Secrete (v., 2 'To place in concealment, to hide out of sight, to keep secret.') is not obsolete. First quotation 1741.
posted by matthewr at 3:31 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Who new the internet was so archaic?
posted by jouke at 3:37 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Sakrete (v. 'To "harden" via "premixed" "bag".'). First quotation, 1936.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:39 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

cortex: Well I'll be goddamned. Interestingly, a google check of "secrete it away" vs. "secret it away" gives my analysis a 10-to-1 preference, but that's neither here nor there.

Eh, it's no big deal. Heck, this reminds me of just last night, when Meatbomb was holding strangeguitars down while mediareport, klangklangston and I 'reigned blows' down on him.

Gah. I hate that mistake. It makes me want to kill zombies.
posted by koeselitz at 3:49 PM on December 17, 2007

Sekhet (n: a lion-headed Egyptian goddess; typifies life-destroying power of the sun.
posted by tellurian at 3:55 PM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

So-crates (n: old dead philosopher dude). First quotation, 1989.
posted by cortex at 4:03 PM on December 17, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Let's be responsible here, please.

It's not the lead in your pencil, it's the rubber on the end.
posted by Sparx at 4:06 PM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

A Google-check isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:10 PM on December 17, 2007

If quin has the conch shell, then I want to be leader of the hunters. I ain't being Piggy again.
Sucks to your ass-mar!
posted by juv3nal at 4:27 PM on December 17, 2007

KILL THE PIG! KILL THE PIG!
posted by Jofus at 5:19 PM on December 17, 2007

making it small doesn't make it any less icky

yeah but jessamyn once linked to a guy "boning" a chicken, if you know what I mean.
posted by ORthey at 5:21 PM on December 17, 2007

Secrete is one of those...er...self-antonyms, with the "to keep secret" meaning and the "exude" meaning. Like "cleave."
(Anybody know if there's a name for that kind of word?)
posted by GrammarMoses at 5:36 PM on December 17, 2007

antonanym
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:43 PM on December 17, 2007

Hope cashman don't say balls nasty.

omg first six minutes of new Batman movie fucking ROOLZ
posted by middleclasstool at 7:41 PM on December 17, 2007

balls...nasty? I have no idea what this means.
posted by cashman at 8:50 PM on December 17, 2007

"Boning?" Whatever do you mean?
posted by SassHat at 8:54 PM on December 17, 2007

cashman, it's one of my favorite little exchanges from one of my favorite graphic novels, The Dark Knight Returns.

I am just completely fucking delighted to discover this website, which is safe for work and which displays the key panels.

My delight is only amplified by the further discovery of this relevent Venn diagram.
posted by cortex at 9:13 PM on December 17, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

Holy crap.
posted by middleclasstool at 9:22 PM on December 17, 2007

psst. Sasshat. over here.
posted by mosessis at 9:24 PM on December 17, 2007

There's a joke involving mom's bunkers, Archie Bunkers, dingbats and meatheads here somewhere, but I'm not the man to make it.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:35 PM on December 17, 2007

You've heard of autoantonyms...but what about homographic, homophonic autantonyms?

they're the same thing, only with a better name. And also dinosaurs.
posted by goingonit at 9:57 PM on December 17, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

jessamyn: "I banned myself once, on accident. It didn't occur to me that once I did it, I couldn't undo it. I had to wait for mathowie to wake up to fix it. This is why we have cortex."
Surely I'm not the only one picturing the incredulous look on your face when that happened.

roll truck roll: "This is why the new disable-your-account link is so dangerous."
And that is why I can never visit my own profile page again. The desire to hover the cursor over the link and the itch in my finger is just too much to bear. It's like standing on the edge of a tall building - you simply can't help but look down and wonder what would happen if you fell.
posted by dg at 1:41 AM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

goingonit, you got it going on. Thank you!
posted by GrammarMoses at 4:29 AM on December 18, 2007

I banned myself once, on accident

This one time, at ban camp...
posted by sambosambo at 4:32 AM on December 18, 2007

Metafilter Emergency Preparedness Plan #2B clearly states that in the event of a "triple wipeout" the system will automatically failover into "random mod" mode, where the user with most seniority (longest member of the site) automatically becomes the new mod. Following their inevitable, messy, and timely death, the system automatically moves down the chain. After 15555 deaths, I immediately become the new mod.

Hmm... so if the mods meet with an unfortunate accident, and I kill off 920 people...
posted by grumblebee at 5:16 AM on December 18, 2007

(I wonder how long it would take the cops to figure out how all those random people, all over the world, were connected. And whether, in the movie version of "920: The Rise of Grumblebee," I'd be played by Kevin Spacey.)
posted by grumblebee at 5:20 AM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I see you as more of a Rodney Dangerfield.
posted by blue_beetle at 6:49 AM on December 18, 2007

I see you as more of a Rodney Dangerfield.

I may just kill myself.
posted by grumblebee at 7:34 AM on December 18, 2007

grumblebee, ever read Monkeewrench?

"A string of baffling murders in Minneapolis are driving homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth bonkers. Then the folks at Monkeewrench figure out what's going on: a killer is staging a series of exotic murders that duplicate those in their grisly new video game, Serial Killer Detective."

Though I abhor the use of the word "bonkers" in this description, I enjoyed the concept of the book.
posted by misha at 9:21 AM on December 18, 2007

/me files restraining order against grumblebee
posted by Mick at 12:33 PM on December 18, 2007

Now you know what REALLY happened to quonsar!
posted by grumblebee at 1:25 PM on December 18, 2007