MeTa Wormholes Redux.

December 18, 2007 10:04 AM

Dragging a prior request onto the table: MeTa notifications in MeFi/AskMe threads.

The idea had a lot of positive support, and there seemed to be some misunderstanding from mods on what I was proposing. This is not a Talk page for every post.

Here's the idea:

-User A wants to make a MetaTalk post about Thread X
-On the post form in MetaTalk, there is a field that can be filled in with the post number (and subsite name)
-In Thread X, a message appears notifying the commenters that that thread is currently being discussed in MetaTalk (see cortex's mockup)
-Possible further derails/fistfights are more efficiently routed to the MetaTalk thread.

I know we use a linked "MeTa" as a perfectly functional version of this idea, but an official notice would hopefully attract more eyeballs.

posted by potch to Feature Requests at 10:04 AM (34 comments total)

Hmm. I hadn't heard about that. Good idea.

Given the rampant pony-breeding that's going on at the moment, this little shetland might actually be a great addition to the herd.
posted by koeselitz at 10:16 AM on December 18, 2007

I do not like your idea, but, rather than snarking, I am going to take this opportunity to announce that today is my birthday.

I am now old.

-er.

In lieu of flowers, please send favorites.
posted by dersins at 10:16 AM on December 18, 2007 [25 favorites]

It would drive a lot of casual users to MetaTalk - which may not be a good thing.
posted by grateful at 10:17 AM on December 18, 2007

Good thing the MeTa link is hidden way up in the corner, so most people can't find it!
posted by shakespeherian at 10:20 AM on December 18, 2007

Well, it depends. How fast can these casual users run? And are they tasty?
posted by maudlin at 10:21 AM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

dersins- I'd tag your favorite with "Happy Birthday!", but that's another thread.
posted by potch at 10:24 AM on December 18, 2007

It would drive a lot of casual users to MetaTalk - which may not be a good thing.

We musts keep the precious safe.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:27 AM on December 18, 2007 [3 favorites]

So, the problem that this solves is that not enough people see the MeTa posts in thread. Is that really a problem? I have yet to see a MeTa post that gets too little activity.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:30 AM on December 18, 2007

I used to think that you could change the culture of a discussion forum through little techno-fixes like this, but the more viable solution is probably to frequent other forums that haven't yet turned sour.
posted by craniac at 10:36 AM on December 18, 2007

grateful: It would drive a lot of casual users to MetaTalk - which may not be a good thing.

It seems like it would drive fewer casual users to MetaTalk. I don't remember the last time I saw a thread being discussed in MetaTalk where someone didn't comment in-thread and link to the MetaTalk discussion. If the link was at the bottom of the page, rather than in-thread, it would catch less attention and be less personalized.
posted by koeselitz at 10:39 AM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

oneirodynia: The thought was to make the MeTa posts semantically "tied" to the posts they were referencing. Part of this is my crack-level addiction to relational data. The other thought was, if said posts were clearly marked, it would allow for more draconian pruning of derails and flamewars from the threads themselves.

Matt, just think of the data mining possibilities! Linking MeTa callouts to the flagging queue! The ability to easily cull data on callouts! So good.
posted by potch at 10:40 AM on December 18, 2007

craniac: I used to think that you could change the culture of a discussion forum through little techno-fixes like this, but the more viable solution is probably to frequent other forums that haven't yet turned sour.

YES, THE SITUATION IS THAT BAD!
posted by koeselitz at 10:41 AM on December 18, 2007

The side-effect I like myself is that someone almost invariably has to post the "MetaTalk." link in-thread. This sometimes has the character of being the next-best thing to shitting in it: jumping in and point out that you've dragged this before the court. It'd be nicer as a depersonalized note, and it would further make it easier to separate MetaTalk and Metafilter discussions.
posted by koeselitz at 10:44 AM on December 18, 2007

Matt, just think of the data mining possibilities! Linking MeTa callouts to the flagging queue! The ability to easily cull data on callouts! So good.

Yeah, but the thing is, Matt knows full well that I already do that shit in my spare time for the fun of it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:45 AM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

This is a solution looking for a problem.

Ain't broke. Don't fix.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:46 AM on December 18, 2007

Could someone point me to a real-life example of someone shitting in a thread? I have heard this phrase bandied about before, but I am not sure I have actually ever seen someone take a huge, steaming, corn-filled dump in a thread. Just point me to one example.
posted by jayder at 10:47 AM on December 18, 2007

craniac: I used to think that you could change the culture of a discussion forum through little techno-fixes like this, but the more viable solution is probably to frequent other forums that haven't yet turned sour.

You mean by telling people to keep criticism on a completely different website?
posted by shakespeherian at 10:48 AM on December 18, 2007

This sometimes has the character of being the next-best thing to shitting in it: jumping in and point out that you've dragged this before the court.

I like to think of it like that fathead commercial. Everybody can see that there's pandemonium going on in the area, sprinklers firing, people screaming, and then one user just comes in, sits on the desk and stares at you and then does that casual left-handed over the back one-finger point like "MeTa".

Please, don't automate that away.
posted by cashman at 10:57 AM on December 18, 2007 [3 favorites]

No, linking to a disposable quicktopic thread was a little joke in response to the level of snarkiness that hits threads. I hadn't seen the request in metatalk for the snark-dilution feature when I posted that. And I won't be returning to this thread so have at it.
posted by craniac at 10:59 AM on December 18, 2007

That craniac is such a douche.
posted by BeerFilter at 11:03 AM on December 18, 2007

Oh, give the guy a break.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:04 AM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm opposed to the hypertextualization of this here interwebs. Next thing you know we'll have tags in MetaTalk, and a viable search option! For shame!
posted by blue_beetle at 11:11 AM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

What if this were to also create a copy of the thread with all deleted comments still visible, that is then linked from the MetaTalk thread. I could see the potential for abuse (people wanting to preserve their gems of wit that they feel were censored, and looking for validation) but often we have the mods copy-and-paste comments anyway.
posted by Frankieist at 11:37 AM on December 18, 2007

What if this were to also create a copy of the thread with all deleted comments still visible

I think the MeTa notification might be a good idea but that "all deleted comments still visible" stuff is never going to happen.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:51 AM on December 18, 2007

Well, it depends. How fast can these casual users run?

I used to test the causality of people sitting around me in Linear Systems class. I don't think they realised how funny it was :)
posted by Chuckles at 11:53 AM on December 18, 2007

> I think the MeTa notification might be a good idea but that "all deleted comments still visible" stuff is never going to happen.

I have to admit, I'd love to see one small change to deleted comments. Head into Preferences, you'd see "[ ] See deleted comments". It'd be checked off by default. But if you check it on, you can see comments deleted by mods.

Might actually garner more appreciation for the mods once we see the gallons of crap they zap. :)

I imagine an exception'd have to be made for comments that were deleted because their info really shouldn't see the light of day, i.e., telephone numbers, etc. — and that might necessitate two layers of deletion, one accessible, one not — and oh look, I've gone crosseyed.

Yeah, just a very unlikely pony, but I thought I'd put the thought out there.
posted by WCityMike at 12:05 PM on December 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Whoa. That was weird. I clicked on the first link in this post and thought it was this one here. I started reading all these comments by EB and was like "Wait, he's back? What did I miss?" And then realized the date and was like, "Whoa. There's meta in my meta."
posted by iamkimiam at 12:36 PM on December 18, 2007

iamkimiam, I did the same thing. I was all kinds of confused for a moment.
posted by lilac girl at 1:18 PM on December 18, 2007

Might actually garner more appreciation for the mods once we see the gallons of crap they zap.

Of course, what it would *actually* do is increase the number of MeTa posts about how they're censoring the masses and not only was MY snowflake deleted but there's clearly a pattern it's a conspiracy you people are pinko communists who hate God and only leave comments that support you and oh by the way that joke in AskMe was really funny and eloquent and you shouldn't have deleted it no not just mine that other one too.

Do not want.
posted by solotoro at 1:20 PM on December 18, 2007

Could someone point me to a real-life example of someone shitting in a thread? I have heard this phrase bandied about before, but I am not sure I have actually ever seen someone take a huge, steaming, corn-filled dump in a thread. Just point me to one example.

Your wish is my command.
posted by davejay at 1:28 PM on December 18, 2007

Specifically, here.
posted by davejay at 1:29 PM on December 18, 2007

If this link is going to be automated, the best place for it to appear would be next to the "post" button. A message like "Wait! If you're about to thread-shit, please do it here."
posted by maxwelton at 2:01 PM on December 18, 2007

Dried shit from most mammals, including humans, can be used like chalk to write and draw on stone tablets, walls, and paved streets. The very words carry the reek of ordure; even tender messages stink of soil and the gut, though barnyard perversion and coprophilosophy are more common subjects for shitwriters.

I hear there are places children are fed wax along with their meals; their stools are prized by society's most eloquent critics and prolific vandals alike for their vibrant color and long-lasting, high vinegar stench.
posted by breezeway at 4:55 PM on December 18, 2007

No seeing deleted comments. If people can choose to see them, they will inevitably bring it up to chastise the poster: "I know this comment was deleted, but so-and-so said X and they are an idiot because Y."
posted by IndigoRain at 6:21 PM on December 18, 2007