A couple minor feature requests fulfilled

April 10, 2008 4:57 PM

Slight preferences tweaks: birthday (year optional) and relationship status (datingfilter!) were just added. My profile shows what it might look like to logged-in users.
posted by mathowie to feature requests at 4:57 PM (264 comments total)

I am disappointed at the lack of opportunity to GO NUTS in the relationship status field.
posted by dersins at 5:00 PM on April 10, 2008 [8 favorites]

You also changed the location info from lat/long to a little blue orb?
posted by LionIndex at 5:02 PM on April 10, 2008

Also, I am appalled that the birth year pulldown menu discriminates against centenarians.

AGEIST PIG!
posted by dersins at 5:03 PM on April 10, 2008

The blue orb is supposed to be a green earth. Yeah, instead of displaying the lon/lat on the page, you can click the orb to go to that location in Google Maps.

Oh, and we axed ICQ Number.
posted by pb at 5:03 PM on April 10, 2008

Not ICQ!!!!11!!!!1!

Please join my protest group at Flickr.
posted by mathowie at 5:04 PM on April 10, 2008 [10 favorites]

Aw, man. I had like a 6-digit ICQ code, too.

Wait, was a 6-digit ICQ code good?
posted by kbanas at 5:05 PM on April 10, 2008

773689!
posted by kbanas at 5:05 PM on April 10, 2008

I had a six digit ICQ number.

ten years ago.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:06 PM on April 10, 2008

I'm using Safari and the month, day, and year are all in the same drop down list and I can only pick one of them. So my birthday is either December, 6, or 1969, but not Dec. 6, 1969. I just have one long list of months, followed by days, followed by years.

It could very well be that I'm an idiot.
posted by bondcliff at 5:10 PM on April 10, 2008

I lobbied for "Sorry, ladies!" but apparently Matt decided it'd be better to go with "taken".
posted by cortex at 5:11 PM on April 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

Awesome! travel Good stuff. I don't know how you have time to do it. travel
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:11 PM on April 10, 2008 [4 favorites]

Hey, that's neat. Any chance of making the month/day optional as well? I wouldn't mind people knowing how old I am, but I sure don't want any goddam well-wishes on the day the Earth was cursed with my presence.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:15 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

bondcliff, it works in Safari (and IE/Win) now.
posted by mathowie at 5:16 PM on April 10, 2008

Sorry, gentlemen, I'm taken. But I still like birthday presents, so keep those coming.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:17 PM on April 10, 2008

I'm using Safari and the month, day, and year are all in the same drop down list and I can only pick one of them. So my birthday is either December, 6, or 1969, but not Dec. 6, 1969. I just have one long list of months, followed by days, followed by years.

It could very well be that I'm an idiot.
posted by bondcliff

Same here. Firefox works right, with 3 columns.

I'm on OS X 10.4.1.1 and Safari 3.1.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:18 PM on April 10, 2008

Holy crap you guys are fast.
posted by bondcliff at 5:18 PM on April 10, 2008

Hey, guess what it started working right after Matt said it was working. How bout that.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:19 PM on April 10, 2008

Neat, cool, fun, yay, thanks!

Please, please can you put the longitude and latitude back? I do not like the orb, I don't. I do not like it with a moat, I do not like it with a goat.

That icons isn't pretty, and the long numbers made us look smart.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:20 PM on April 10, 2008 [5 favorites]

Wonderful, this, coupled with the profile pic, gives me the opportunity to tell all of MeFi that I am handsom*, young**, and single***!

*this is a lie
**this too
***you see where I'm going with this

posted by lekvar at 5:21 PM on April 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

That icons isn't pretty, and the long numbers made us look smart.

That sounds like something Gollum would say, were he a member of an internet community.
posted by dersins at 5:23 PM on April 10, 2008 [4 favorites]

Is it possible to make all portions of the birthday optional? I don't mind sharing my birth year, but I'd rather leave my month and day out of it.
posted by LionIndex at 5:23 PM on April 10, 2008

Oh, and we axed ICQ Number.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm 217069. I've had that same account over 13 years! I still mainly use ICQ! there is no good reason to axe ICQ. what utter douchebaggery!!!!
posted by quonsar at 5:23 PM on April 10, 2008

I always pick 1/1/19XX when I have to give a site my birthday who I do not want to have my birthdate. Really since Denny's stopped giving away a free birthday meal, what's the point? You all probably have enough sekrit information about me to hack my NYTimes account.
posted by jessamyn at 5:26 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow, I wish I still knew my ICQ number. I'm sure it was braggadciously low. But I stopped using it after a year or so. Oh well. I'll say it was 387. There.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:28 PM on April 10, 2008

Ooh, love the color-changing message that tells me changes have been saved and then discreetly fades from sight.
posted by ottereroticist at 5:28 PM on April 10, 2008

We know Vermont is IHOP-free, but for the Love Of All Kitties please tell me you have Denny's in Vermont?
posted by Dizzy at 5:29 PM on April 10, 2008

stick it in your gender field, q.
posted by cortex at 5:29 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I like the orb. I think it's pretty and functional. Thanks for the ponies.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 5:29 PM on April 10, 2008

+1 orb. Would orb again!
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:32 PM on April 10, 2008

Awesome. Though, I have to wonder if it has one other thing...
posted by flatluigi at 5:32 PM on April 10, 2008

Why stop at publicly displayed birthdates? Let's have mother's maiden name and Social Security number while we're at it!
posted by dhammond at 5:33 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

stick it in your gender field, q.

stick it in YOUR gender field, cortex, and wiggle it!

so AIM is the only acceptable IM client these days? WTF?
so the world is experiencing a preferences page space shortage and mefi is just doing its part to conserve?
what fracking sense does it make to nuke the field?
posted by quonsar at 5:33 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

No cake. :(
posted by flatluigi at 5:33 PM on April 10, 2008

Now all we need is an automated birthday message from Matt singing our praises.
posted by liquorice at 5:35 PM on April 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

You only went back to 1908. What, no centenarians MeFites?
posted by francesca too at 5:35 PM on April 10, 2008

Why would you want to list your mother's Social Security Number?
posted by cortex at 5:39 PM on April 10, 2008

jessamyn writes "I always pick 1/1/19XX when I have to give a site my birthday"

Hey, me too! What a coincidence. Except I use 1/1/1970, the unix epoch. Wow, we are so alike... so, gee, what's your relationship status?
posted by orthogonality at 5:43 PM on April 10, 2008

Wait, there's an entry for paypal addresses? What for?
posted by orthogonality at 5:47 PM on April 10, 2008

So do we have to participate in the silly fiction that there's no one under 13 on the internet except in special ghettos?
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 5:50 PM on April 10, 2008

Wait, there's an entry for paypal addresses? What for?

Wasn't there a cash prize at some point? In any case there should be a cash prize for the winner of Metafilter, funded by the $5 bills of people who sign up and immediately manage to get banned.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 5:51 PM on April 10, 2008

Wait, there's an entry for paypal addresses? What for?

Donations. To me.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:53 PM on April 10, 2008

So do we have to participate in the silly fiction that there's no one under 13 on the internet except in special ghettos?

That's what the US law specifies, so yes.

I don't even remember what the paypal address field was for. I think it was when we had a contest, people could fill it in if they were winners. Maybe the post of the day or something? Anyone remember?

It's all optional, and even if you had your birthday/relationship status entered at one point you can always remove it later.
posted by jessamyn at 5:53 PM on April 10, 2008

Hmm, tempting, but no.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:58 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yeah, wasn't it for the Christmas contest last year?

either that or the month of Best posts back in August of 2006.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:02 PM on April 10, 2008

I always pick 1/1/19XX when I have to give a site my birthday

I take this a step further by also picking the lowest possible year that the form doesn't reject. I'm sure at least one site tried to send me a letter congratulating me on turning 108 years old, but it probably ended up getting delivered to 123 Fake Street.
posted by burnmp3s at 6:05 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

We'll change it to accept year only if you want it.
posted by mathowie at 6:06 PM on April 10, 2008 [3 favorites]

It was the Month of Best Posts. Ask me how I know.
posted by ottereroticist at 6:06 PM on April 10, 2008

ThePinkSuperhero is too strong to fall for this.

On Preview: She is too strong! YES!
posted by cgc373 at 6:08 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

That's what the US law specifies, so yes.

Heh, I was aware of the law but I had it wrong. After looking it up, you are indeed allowed to corrupt the children as long as your site is not specifically targeted to children and you don't allow them to tell you they're children. You must comply:

if you operate a general audience Web site and have actual knowledge that you are collecting personal information from children

This leads to a question. Even with the year field censored, what if some kid comes on here, puts information in the profile, and then writes in comments that they are 12 years old. I wonder, if you had a child accomplice, could you make that into a sort of legal annoyance raid on websites? Maybe I should let Anonymous know; enough of them are probably 12 anyway.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 6:10 PM on April 10, 2008

I always pick 1/1/19XX when I have to give a site my birthday

Heh. Me too, where XX is the earliest year available. I have actually had a site or two tell me, more or less, 'Come on, you're not really 96 years old, are you?'

Damn smartass input parsers.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:11 PM on April 10, 2008

Yeah, this contest, where for the entire month of August, the best post of the day won $30, so people needed to have their paypal address in their profile
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:11 PM on April 10, 2008

Also, I'm anticipating a sudden upsurge in 'Happy Birthday X' threads in Metatalk, which is huggy-touchy-feely-nicey and all, but will actually kind of suck. So please don't.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:13 PM on April 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

Just to re-iterate, this stuff is all optional, so you're not being forced into giving us any data you don't want to.
posted by mathowie at 6:14 PM on April 10, 2008

I wish someone would spraypaint the side of my pony with "single, not looking" or a similar phrase that telegraphs my aversion to having a woman piss on my heart at this point of my life.
posted by bunnytricks at 6:15 PM on April 10, 2008

Also, I'm anticipating a sudden upsurge in 'Happy Birthday X' threads in Metatalk, which is huggy-touchy-feely-nicey and all, but will actually kind of suck. So please don't.

Mods have a delete button and we have MeFi Mail, so I don't think it'll be a problem. It comes up so rarely in MetaTalk up until now, I don't expect we'll see any change to that (and if we do, those delete buttons will be a-clickin').
posted by mathowie at 6:15 PM on April 10, 2008

DarlingBri, just scroll over the orb and look at the lat/lon in the URL in your status bar. And if you have your status bar hidden, please go here.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 6:19 PM on April 10, 2008

[enters relationship status, holds breath]
posted by orange swan at 6:26 PM on April 10, 2008

I wish someone would spraypaint the side of my pony with "single, not looking"

You can put that in your profile photo, either overtly or just subtly through uglification (current pic: not working).
posted by jessamyn at 6:30 PM on April 10, 2008

single, not looking" or a similar phrase that telegraphs my aversion to having a woman piss on my heart

Wow, talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth!

Most people have to pay big bucks for that kind of thing.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:35 PM on April 10, 2008

Also, I'm anticipating a sudden upsurge in 'Happy Birthday X' threads in Metatalk, which is huggy-touchy-feely-nicey and all, but will actually kind of suck. So please don't.

Yeah, really, the Metafilter Pro way to look at this is that we just implemented a Birthday Thread Deletion feature.
posted by cortex at 6:36 PM on April 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

In profiles that state a location which is not a lat/long value, clicking on the globe icon makes Google Maps go "whaaaaa?"
posted by jamaro at 6:39 PM on April 10, 2008

The globe bothers me, especially New Jersey.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:43 PM on April 10, 2008

hey, if you zoom in on my rounded-to-the-nearest-decimal location in Google Maps, it seems that i'm being disposed of in the foundations of some new building!
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:47 PM on April 10, 2008

would encourage at least the adding of, 'It's complicated' to the relationship drop down. In fact, why not go completely Facebook and allow for those that are 'In a relationship' to link to that person if they are on MeFi?
posted by geekyguy at 6:55 PM on April 10, 2008

If you don't know that I'm taken, you haven't been reading very long. I added my birthday in hopes that my fans will shower me with trinkets.
posted by jonmc at 6:59 PM on April 10, 2008

How does one get lat and long again outta GM? I lost the instructions in the last move.
posted by dobbs at 7:05 PM on April 10, 2008

And please note it ain't a fuckin' coincidence that I filled in both my paypal address AND my birthdate. *WINK WINK*
posted by dobbs at 7:06 PM on April 10, 2008

Locate yourself on Google maps, then examine the URL given as "Link to this page" above the map.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 7:14 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I always put in 1/1, too! Except that's my birthday.

This is neat. Now all we need is for our contacts sidebar to change every time someone updates their relationship status. That's how the kids do it, right?
posted by sugarfish at 7:18 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Thanks, man. You know, you are the only cool Tim I've ever met.
posted by dobbs at 7:20 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

PLS add support for the Mayan Long Count in the birthday system.

Relationship status: Taken? What? Taken where? What does that even mean?

Also: WHAT THE FUCK? Why kill ICQ number? What was it hurting?
posted by Eideteker at 7:24 PM on April 10, 2008

Taken? What? Taken where? What does that even mean?

According to AskMe, not very good places.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:26 PM on April 10, 2008

"Just to re-iterate, this stuff is all optional"

Including ditching the ICQ number?
posted by Eideteker at 7:29 PM on April 10, 2008

Can we change it so that hovering over the globe gives you the lat/long, so I don't have to click through to find out where in the world someone is if I don't recognize the location off the top of my head?
posted by Eideteker at 7:31 PM on April 10, 2008

Can we change it so that hovering over the globe gives you the lat/long, so I don't have to click through to find out where in the world someone is if I don't recognize the location off the top of my head?

There's a "You Might Be A Nerd" anecdote in there somewhere.... unless identifying world locations by longitude/latitude was something I missed in school, in which case, nm.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:36 PM on April 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

The year-only entry thing doesn't work for me. It says that it saved the Preferences, then when I got back, it resets the year field.
posted by spiderskull at 7:36 PM on April 10, 2008

Since I prefer to be contacted by ICQ, I've changed my AIM field to be my ICQ number. It's all the same anyway, since AOL bought ICQ umpteen million years ago.

Yes, I am aware the list of pissed off users totals me and quonsar. I still think it was a dick move. Yeah, nobody uses ICQ anymore. Yes, I am nobody, thanks for the reminder.
posted by Eideteker at 7:37 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

This is nice.

Can we still do cake?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:37 PM on April 10, 2008

Wow. Matt has the same exact bday (month, day and year) as my boyfriend.
posted by brain cloud at 7:42 PM on April 10, 2008

And by dick move, no, I don't mean matt+paul are dicks. But it's like when you're at a restaurant, and you're still eating something when the server comes and takes it away without asking. It's like, WTF? I wasn't done with that!
posted by Eideteker at 7:43 PM on April 10, 2008

"unless identifying world locations by longitude/latitude was something I missed in school, in which case, nm."

Look out, nerds are coming this way... and they're using GEOGRAPHY!

N is North, S is South, etc. I know where I am, so I know "north of here" "west of here" and yes, I have a rough idea how much (for example, there are 15° in a time zone). The lat/long tells me more than "View on Google Maps" does. If I see -31 latitude, I know they're not in Carlisle, England.
posted by Eideteker at 7:49 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

On top of the fact that they never brought that extra bread they promised when you were running low earlier!

Utter ridiculousness!

My ICQ number was 7 digits, but I still liked it. It started with 2.
posted by blacklite at 7:55 PM on April 10, 2008

mathowie: "Also, I'm anticipating a sudden upsurge in 'Happy Birthday X' threads in Metatalk, which is huggy-touchy-feely-nicey and all, but will actually kind of suck. So please don't.

Mods have a delete button and we have MeFi Mail, so I don't think it'll be a problem. It comes up so rarely in MetaTalk up until now, I don't expect we'll see any change to that (and if we do, those delete buttons will be a-clickin')."
God, I hope people don't do that but, having absolutely no faith in humanity, know for certain that they will. I'm impressed that even after all these years of eating, sleeping, drinking and eating MeFi, mathowie still appears to have some faith.


UbuRoivas: "hey, if you zoom in on my rounded-to-the-nearest-decimal location in Google Maps, it seems that i'm being disposed of in the foundations of some new building!"
That's the new Google Maps "predict the future" feature. Be careful who you piss off.
posted by dg at 7:57 PM on April 10, 2008

Incidentally, I, too, would enjoy the opportunity to "go nuts" in the status field.

Status: detached, like Sartre

Status: floating in a strange, soup-like liquid

Status: nine
posted by blacklite at 8:00 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's like, WTF? I wasn't done with that!

we closed an hour ago.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:00 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow, the google map was entirely too precise with the exact lat/long I had in there previously. I'm not an unduly paranoid person, and I haven't made any huge secret of who I am and where I live, but the fact that any one of you could have walked right up to my front door is a little disconcerting.
posted by yhbc at 8:03 PM on April 10, 2008

Mine's got me in the middle of a field about two miles from my actual house. I thought about changing it, but it's probably better this way. Wouldn't want languagehat or songdog to be able to hunt me down next time I miss a meetup!
posted by rosethorn at 8:26 PM on April 10, 2008

I welcome the ability to further advertise my increasingly unfathomable lack of a girlfriend.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 8:35 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

These are really thoughtful additions. And I like the birthday. But does it HAVE to say "XXX years old" after the date? Because...you know, people can do the math. And it looks...sorta harsh. For some of us who are, like, XXX years old.
posted by Miko at 8:36 PM on April 10, 2008

would encourage at least the adding of, 'It's complicated' to the relationship drop down

one of my pet peeves. seriously, what is wrong with people who apparently find it so freaking difficult to tell if they're in a relationship, or not?

i usually take it to mean "my partner thinks we're in a relationship, but i'm looking around elsewhere".

either that, or they're in some kind of polyamorous or open relationship, in which case that really should be an option they could select.
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:38 PM on April 10, 2008

I don't wanna "go nuts" in the status field. It's awfully close to "current mood/current music"
posted by Miko at 8:38 PM on April 10, 2008

Miko: Just remove the year.
posted by flatluigi at 8:38 PM on April 10, 2008

I know - the funny thing is that I kind of want the year, but I kind of flinch seeing "30-oomph years old" written in plain English.

But I guess what you're saying is: this is my issue. *sigh*
posted by Miko at 8:40 PM on April 10, 2008

Yeah, I'm kinda wondering whether to keep it in mine or not. I'm one of the younger MeFites, I guess, but having it there in black and white (or white and blue, as the case may be) is a bit off-putting.
posted by flatluigi at 8:46 PM on April 10, 2008

I happen to get really squicked by "taken." /me is not a chair.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:47 PM on April 10, 2008

Ladies, you're in luck.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 8:48 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm happy to see we get birthdays, but genuinely impressed that I'm able to choose "open" as my relationship status.
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 8:58 PM on April 10, 2008

*sits on Ambrosia Voyeur's lap*
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 9:00 PM on April 10, 2008

I want to go nuts in the status field. Boiling down an issue like relationship status to 3 options is, especially for a community as brilliantly diverse as this one, a bit simplistic, if I might say so.

Also...I'm not much into older women. But suddenly...browsing these profiles..a lower user number seems so...hot...
posted by allkindsoftime at 9:01 PM on April 10, 2008

Note to Eideteker and quonsar: ICQ had a broken leg and had to be put down. It was the merciful thing to do.
posted by Cranberry at 9:04 PM on April 10, 2008

I agree that "taken" is not my ideal choice - I'm not property - but for a one-word description, I'm OK with it.

Allkindsoftime, what do you think is missing or not covered by the taken/open/single/no-content set?

I'm genuinely interested, as the terms aren't entirely congruent. I guess the goal here is not to brag, but to be clear about availability and indicate whether one is open to overtures...no?
posted by Miko at 9:09 PM on April 10, 2008

I would lean towards a 'None of your fucking business' option, but I'll take the default blank option as equivalent.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:12 PM on April 10, 2008

Note to Eideteker and quonsar: ICQ had a broken leg and had to be put down. It was the merciful thing to do.

ha. ha.

works just fine here. been working just fine ever since it was owned by an israeli geek, way back when AIM was barely a dribble running down AOL's thigh.

but yeah, we kept the paypal addy. that's sure to get way more use.
posted by quonsar at 9:15 PM on April 10, 2008

I happen to get really squicked by "taken." /me is not a chair.

Well, give me a cup holder and call me La-Z-Boy.
posted by katillathehun at 9:20 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

That's the new Google Maps "predict the future" feature.

let's see if this will change the future...
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:20 PM on April 10, 2008

Anyone know the strikethrough command that will work in the Optional Fields section of user preferences?
posted by MLIS at 9:21 PM on April 10, 2008

at the risk of embarrassing myself, I will ask... what does "open" mean? does it mean you're in a relationship, but it is an open one? does it mean you are open to relationships, as opposed to being merely single but not necessarily "open" to the idea of being contacted? does it mean that you may or may not be single or taken, but you are indicating a general disinterest in monogamy? taken / single / open is confusing.
posted by moxiedoll at 9:26 PM on April 10, 2008

open means you seek hot llama sex talk. on ICQ. no alpacas.
posted by quonsar at 9:32 PM on April 10, 2008

Miko: "I know - the funny thing is that I kind of want the year, but I kind of flinch seeing "30-oomph years old" written in plain English."
I wish.
posted by dg at 9:34 PM on April 10, 2008

open means you seek hot llama sex talk. on ICQ. no alpacas.

ahh! ok, glad I asked.
posted by moxiedoll at 9:36 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Open is just a catch-all for other. As I've seen it used generally it's often used by people who are in poly relationships, people who are married but also dating, people who for whatever reason are somewhat available but have some extra data there.

Anyone who thinks this is a stupid set of options can put whatever they want in the gender section and be done with it and never think about it again. We wanted a basic way for users to be able to indicate, if they so chose

- general availability
- general non-availability
- general non-standard availability, whatever that might mean to anyone, it's up to them to make that clear

I'll probably leave them both blank on my own profile, but users have been requesting it and it didn't seem like there was any solid reason not to do something basic like this.
posted by jessamyn at 9:43 PM on April 10, 2008

Please confirm: HTML strikethrough command in the Optional Fields section of user preferences is hosed. Pull the fire alarm, sound general quarters, or just go nuts. Whatever.
posted by MLIS at 9:48 PM on April 10, 2008

thanks, jessamyn - I don't think the categories are stupid.... it makes perfect sense to have an "extra data" category - I just didn't know, just from the word "open", that that was what was meant.
posted by moxiedoll at 10:01 PM on April 10, 2008

jessamyn writes "I always pick 1/1/19XX when I have to give a site my birthday who I do not want to have my birthdate."

I use Elvis' Birthday, but rarely do people get the significance anymore. Also note to future data miners, this data is unlikely to be even mostly accurate.

stavrosthewonderchicken writes "Heh. Me too, where XX is the earliest year available. I have actually had a site or two tell me, more or less, 'Come on, you're not really 96 years old, are you?'

"Damn smartass input parsers."

Imagine how pissed you be if you were 96.

ThePinkSuperhero writes "There's a 'You Might Be A Nerd' anecdote in there somewhere.... unless identifying world locations by longitude/latitude was something I missed in school, in which case, nm."

It's pretty easy actually, at least for a rough idea. The globe is divided into quarters ('N,S,-,+') and then a fairly small number that is easy to visualize. Especially since the US-Canada border is at 49 giving a good anchor for half way up/down. I find thinking about time zones being about 15 degrees apart helps on the east west.
posted by Mitheral at 10:02 PM on April 10, 2008

To truly be datingfilter, we need "turn-ons" and "turn-offs." But it should not be just text entry. Rather, it should be a check list of preselected items. For turn-offs, the list could have things like: loud people, boastfulness, lack of hygiene, back hair. And for turn-ons: long walks, quiet conversation, back hair.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:07 PM on April 10, 2008

Oh, and it would be great if my Status could say "Sorry ladies! He's single!"
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:09 PM on April 10, 2008

So why not have the catagories actually be:
Available
Not available
Non-standardly available (or something less awkaward here, I'm not even convinced this one is necessary)

rather then mess around with more specific terms which try too hard to categorise? Anyone wanting to know more can communicate with the other person directly, which is the best way to start a relationship anyway.

For example, it really doesn't matter if I'm in a relationship or not, just that I'm not available or interested in being in a relationship with any of you. And I would certainly never use the word 'taken', it's just icky. As another example I've seen someone use 'it's complicated' in their facebook profile because they're a Christian and only open to people from their specific church, and it got questioned constantly by people looking for gossip. A simple 'not available' would have done the job much better. That's all the general public needs to know after all.

I'm not planning to use either of these things and am happy they're optional, so I guess my dislike isn't really relevant. Because I really do dislike both of these changes.
posted by shelleycat at 10:15 PM on April 10, 2008

I like that phrasing.
posted by Miko at 10:22 PM on April 10, 2008

Miko: Allkindsoftime, what do you think is missing or not covered by the taken/open/single/no-content set?

I'm genuinely interested, as the terms aren't entirely congruent. I guess the goal here is not to brag, but to be clear about availability and indicate whether one is open to overtures...no?

Lots of things could be missing. I'm single, but it doesn't mean I'm available. I might not be looking. And that's just me. There's probably people in lots of other random situations that the three don't cover. When I first saw this thread, I went to edit my status, planning on typing something along the lines of "gave up on these." I think one of the things I've liked most to date about profiles are the unique ways people have of describing their gender. How much more so their relationship status?

jessamyn: Anyone who thinks this is a stupid set of options can put whatever they want in the gender section and be done with it and never think about it again. We wanted a basic way for users to be able to indicate, if they so chose

Neither do I think they are stupid, I just think it would be a little easier to let people explain their unique situation in a few words. Like the gender section does. Also, the suggestion to put "whatever they want in the gender section" sounds like it would lead to a little confusion to me - putting both gender and relationship status info in just the gender line.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, I just really do have strong opinions about the issue. I realize they're optional and appreciate having them in any form, at least.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:27 PM on April 10, 2008

Man, some people really like the home shopping channel.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:31 PM on April 10, 2008

My active ICQ # is 6 digits beginning with a "1" and ending with "666", so it's double-awesome. So what if the only messages I get are from Hong Kong porn spammers? I still dutifully login every single morning, just as I have for 12 year. Now, the people that have never contacted me on Metafilter won't be able to not contact me via ICQ. Thanks.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:32 PM on April 10, 2008 [3 favorites]

There's probably people in lots of other random situations that the three don't cover.

Indeed; I am in a committed relationship, but I also have a pretty hot thing goin' on with a plate of legumes.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:35 PM on April 10, 2008

This is just one of those things that is not going to satisfy everyone.

I suggest everyone give it a week or three the way it is, and then calibrate how much you care. If you still care very very much then you need more homework or something.
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 10:47 PM on April 10, 2008

Easy for you to say when "open" genuinely impressed you so much.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:59 PM on April 10, 2008

I notice there's no field for "Interested in: men / women / both"

That would seem to be quite important.

Also, 2c: I think "open" is a terrible catch-all. To me, it denotes nothing other than "Am in a relationship, but we've agreed that we can fuck around"

Generally, the Facebook approach covers most bases quite effectively:

* Gender: M/F
* Interested in: Men / Women / both
* Relationship Status: In a relationship / single / married / divorced / engaged / i am a special complicated snowflake
* Looking For: friendship / a relationship / random play
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:27 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I like long walks on the beach and empowering your inner submissive.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:46 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Am I stupid or is there currently no way to add other instant messaging services (icq, jabber, etc.) on the profile page?

Cos, y'know... some very few of us aren't on AIM... :(
posted by slater at 11:52 PM on April 10, 2008 [2 favorites]

Hee hee. This is hilariously predictable -- no good deed goes unpunished, eh Matt?

Can of worms status : OPENED.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:55 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I sure hope that cans of worms can be given statuses other than a simplistic open / closed binary choice.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:04 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh, and we axed ICQ Number.

OK. FINE! >:[

Incidentally, what did you axe it, and what was its response?
posted by slater at 12:50 AM on April 11, 2008

Especially since the US-Canada border is at 49

54° 40' or Fight!
posted by Jahaza at 1:19 AM on April 11, 2008

I feel like I just stuck my dick into pandora's box.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 1:24 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'd like to reiterate the last part: I realize they're optional and appreciate having them in any form, at least. So yeah, thanks.
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:18 AM on April 11, 2008

Oh, man. I'm so conflicted. I just had a second date, and there was lip nibblage and everything, so does that mean I'm single, or taken? I mean, no vows were exchanged, but I'm kinda unlikely to just randomly crack on to anybody - but what what if Winona Ryder MeFiMails me and says "I haz sekret metafilter akkount to follow ur awsum postage - u r teh hawt wiv ur mousey pikky in profilz"? Or what is she sees 'taken' in my profile and doesn't?

Damn you, MetaFilter and damn your accursed plethora of options.
posted by Sparx at 3:08 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

they're optional

the loss of the ICQ field is not optional.
it's unexplainable. it's unreasonable. it's senseless.
but it's not optional.
posted by quonsar at 4:22 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

"For some of us who are, like, XXX years old."

Miko, if it makes you feel better, you look like you're barely XX years old.

"I happen to get really squicked by "taken." /me is not a chair."

Thank you.

"I guess the goal here is not to brag, but to be clear about availability and indicate whether one is open to overtures...no?"

Interested/Not Interested, Looking/Not Looking, Locked Up/Down for Whatever, Just Try Me, Pal/Don't Try Me, Pal (or are those last two really the same thing?)

ICQ, we hardly knew ye
matt+pb decided to screw ye
Just like your brother, IMG
We'll never forget how things used to be

GUYS THEY'RE GOING AFTER TLAs STARTING WITH I. STOCK UP ON YOUR FAVORITE IPAs NOW!!!
posted by Eideteker at 4:55 AM on April 11, 2008

Sparx: don't lose any sleep.

Winona has already MeMailed me with "I haz sekret metafilter akkount to follow ur awsum postage - u r teh hawt wiv ur alfred jarry pikky of ubu roi in profilz"
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:07 AM on April 11, 2008

I feel like I just stuck my dick into pandora's box.

Well, after that at least she still has Hope.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:11 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

So why not have the catagories actually be:
Available
Not available
Non-standardly available (or something less awkaward here, I'm not even convinced this one is necessary)

That can be further simplified to 'Available' and blank.

It looks like they just copied the 'Taken','Open' etc from Flickr which has those same categories.
posted by vacapinta at 6:16 AM on April 11, 2008

UbuRoivas: are you sure that was her, and not, say, the 'Winona' sockpuppet account I signed up for while drunk with the express intention of then getting more drunk and finding email from 'her' in my mailbox the next morning that I certainly didn't remember sending so who else could it be? Because I've fallen for that one myself. More than once.
posted by Sparx at 6:24 AM on April 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

The last thing Winona mailed me was a copy of the restraining order.
posted by waraw at 6:33 AM on April 11, 2008

She keeps asking me for money. Get a fucking job already, lady.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:46 AM on April 11, 2008

Sparx: impossible! the Winona sockpuppet is on my hand, even as i type.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:52 AM on April 11, 2008

That can be further simplified to 'Available' and blank.

Availability isn't always on/off.
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 7:12 AM on April 11, 2008

It's not? It seems like a catchall binary to me. Either you think of yourself as available or not. If you think you're not but that maybe you might be for the right person...then you're available.
posted by Miko at 7:14 AM on April 11, 2008

If it's our birthday, can we get an icon of a cake next to our names, or sumthin'?

/passes out forks to fellow MeFites on this most excellent day
posted by Asparagirl at 7:19 AM on April 11, 2008

Knowing ages and relationship statuses can help take our contact off the purely intellectual plane that it is without knowing that stuff. On the internet, no one knows you're a dog, unless you come out telling us exactly what sort of dog you are and which particular fire hydrant you like to pee on, and whether you're a puppy or an old porch dog.

Don't fill these fields in. I'm just going to use them to judge you, and I'd rather judge you by what you type, not where you live, who you're dating, or how old you are, or how much you irrationally love ICQ.
posted by garlic at 7:32 AM on April 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

I barely know what ICQ is, but if even a few people want it, why delete it? Is there a shortage of space on the userpages?
posted by languagehat at 7:34 AM on April 11, 2008 [4 favorites]

Knowing ages and relationship statuses can help take our contact off the purely intellectual plane that it is without knowing that stuff. On the internet, no one knows you're a dog, unless you come out telling us exactly what sort of dog you are and which particular fire hydrant you like to pee on, and whether you're a puppy or an old porch dog.

Don't fill these fields in. I'm just going to use them to judge you, and I'd rather judge you by what you type, not where you live, who you're dating, or how old you are, or how much you irrationally love ICQ.

Quoted for fucking TRUTH.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:35 AM on April 11, 2008

I'm single, but it doesn't mean I'm available.

Easy for you to say when "open" genuinely impressed you so much.

All I'm saying is, you're single, I'm "open", maybe we could hug it out, bro. Memail me!
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 7:40 AM on April 11, 2008

If it's our birthday, can we get an icon of a cake next to our names

I'd prefer maybe like a rack of ribs or something.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:41 AM on April 11, 2008

Ooooo, relationship indicators are working already!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:43 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

So, is someone going to set up a World Birthday Web sort of thing for MeFi Mail where you can get a bunch of prewritten birthday greetings from random people on your birthday?

Geez, I still miss the old World Birthday Web, I should really get on with my life...
posted by 1f2frfbf at 8:02 AM on April 11, 2008

Matt's going to sell us to facebook next week. I can tell! This is the end!

I guess I better start collecting ICQ numbers.
posted by blacklite at 8:03 AM on April 11, 2008

I barely know what ICQ is, but if even a few people want it, why delete it? Is there a shortage of space on the userpages?
posted by languagehat at 10:34 AM on April 11

PEAK USERPAGESPACE
posted by quonsar at 8:05 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I guess I better start collecting ICQ numbers.

mine is 217069.

2

1

7

0

6

9
posted by quonsar at 8:06 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I apologize for the callous way I announced the ICQ removal. I put it back on profile pages for the time being, and we're working on a new way to list the IM services you use.
posted by pb at 8:20 AM on April 11, 2008

Thanks, pb. I really appreciate it.
posted by Eideteker at 8:27 AM on April 11, 2008

PS, how is the Long Count implementation coming?
posted by Eideteker at 8:30 AM on April 11, 2008

We're tracking down an ancient Mayan now to help with our implementation.
posted by pb at 8:37 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

ThePinkSuperhero : Hmm, tempting, but no.

I love the idea that all the updates and new features we've seen here in the past year are all Matt's attempts to coerce TPS into making any kind of change to her profile.

"Ok, let's give them personal photos... Nope"

"Maybe if we put in people's birthdays... Damn it"

"How about this field, if it's filled out, I send people free cake and kittens... Crap!"

"Check this box to receive total enlightenment... WILL NOTHING SWAY HER?!"

and so forth.

I also have a very much active 7 digit ICQ UID, (I'm pretty sure I've got a 5 or 6 digit one somewhere as well, I was a very early adopter). But since I never used the field on the profile page, I have no justification to complain.
posted by quin at 8:40 AM on April 11, 2008 [4 favorites]

I apologize for the callous way I announced the ICQ removal. I put it back on profile pages for the time being, and we're working on a new way to list the IM services you use.

*gapes speechlessly*

th-th-th-th-thanks!
posted by quonsar at 8:43 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I love the idea that all the updates and new features we've seen here in the past year are all Matt's attempts to coerce TPS into making any kind of change to her profile.

Hehe, me too. Although in reality, I harbor no illusions of such importance.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:58 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I find it slightly disturbing that while some people are complaining that "Taken" is too proprietary, I simply find it dirty. Taken? How? Over the back of the sofa? Up the arse? Details, people, details!

All those terms are problematic, actually. "Available" makes people sound like taxis. Yup, I'm available - just hop in and we'll start the meter running, baby!

This is not a dig at the feature or even of the implementation on MetaFilter; the options on most sites seem less than satisfactory. It always seems odd that with a language as vast as English, we don't have better terms for this stuff.

Maybe:

Looking
Not Looking
Open to Offers

That seems like much more relevant data to have when trying to answer the question "should I MeMail this MeFi and ask them out for coffee?"

BTW my ICW number is 131XXX, I just don't want to talk to any of you people.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:02 AM on April 11, 2008 [5 favorites]

Looking
Not Looking
Open to Offers

Would the third choice even be necessary? It seems one is either looking (open) or not looking (not open). Maybe we need TWO fields for relationship issues- one for one's relationship status (single, in a committed relationship, married, widowed), and one on one's relationship availability (looking, not looking). Well, OK, maybe that's a little too complicated for a simple profile.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:08 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

So... the real question. Are you gonna go all the way with it and build a user search by sex / location / status / picture?

... Is that even a good idea?
posted by ph00dz at 9:08 AM on April 11, 2008

All those terms are problematic, actually. "Available" makes people sound like taxis. Yup, I'm available - just hop in and we'll start the meter running, baby!

I prefer to think of myself as a rear-facing Donald Duck quarter ride.
posted by waraw at 9:09 AM on April 11, 2008

Metafilter: a rear-facing Donald Duck quarter ride


sorry
posted by dersins at 9:27 AM on April 11, 2008

Well, OK, maybe that's a little too complicated for a simple profile.

Actually, it just occured to me that Facebook already does this- there's a section for "Relationship Status" and a section for " Looking For".
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:49 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

TPS, I think you can be not looking but open to something anyway, no?
posted by DarlingBri at 9:53 AM on April 11, 2008

Umm, I guess, but I think that's getting a little too meta for what we're doing here.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:00 AM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Taken" is too proprietary, I simply find it dirty. Taken? How? Over the back of the sofa? Up the arse? Details, people, details!

Taken: not nearly often enough!
posted by never used baby shoes at 10:07 AM on April 11, 2008

I don't see an option for 'taken, but always open to the prospect of trading up'. Please remedy soonest. kthxbye.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:25 AM on April 11, 2008

pb, I thank you from the very bottom of my Hong Kong porn spam bin for bringing back ICQ.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:44 AM on April 11, 2008

The Americentric date format is a bit disconcerting, he sniffed, and as for the relationship status, 'single' looks like one is actively looking, desperate and lost whilst 'other' makes one look like they are simply up for a through shagging whenever the opportunity presents and so quite undesirable for relationship status at any point in life and of ambiguous sexual orientation, but on the whole, a lovely and adorable pony indeed.
posted by dawson at 10:59 AM on April 11, 2008

I never really thought about "taken" as a word before, but boy does it have patriarchal overtones.
posted by desjardins at 11:01 AM on April 11, 2008

How about an option for "settling"?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:04 AM on April 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

Are we all supposed to bring treats on our birthdays now? I hope everyone likes blow pops.
posted by drezdn at 11:23 AM on April 11, 2008

We're tracking down an ancient Mayan now to help with our implementation.

Goddamnit, nobody used to say this until you put the stupid birthday field in. Now everyone can see that I'm 3808 years old.
posted by scrump at 11:24 AM on April 11, 2008

My kind of birthday party
posted by Zombie Jesus at 11:59 AM on April 11, 2008

I think "um," would be a good thing to add to the dropdown of the relationship status.
posted by pointystick at 12:10 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Cool addition. Thanks Matt. I think knowing someone's age can help when you read a comment and are trying to interpret where the commenter is coming from. At least it sometimes can give you some insight.
posted by Carbolic at 12:37 PM on April 11, 2008

Plus, now everyone can see what a fine looking old fart I am.
posted by Carbolic at 12:38 PM on April 11, 2008

Miko, I should explain the thinking on the age thing.

Having it say:

Birthday: October 10, 1972

felt too much like a job application or something you'd fill out a
form to steal my identity with or something, plus you'd have to do
math all the time on everyone. I took a cue from Flickr and Last.fm
and a lot of other places that basically say: mathowie (Matt Haughey,
a 35 year old male from Portland, Oregon, USA) that puts the data in
more human terms.

I thought the layout we chose was good because if you dropped the
year, your actual age would disappear, but the birthday would still
show.

I don't think having the full year is very friendly and looks to me
like chartjunk/datajunk that we should think of ways to avoid,
especially considering the rest of the bio entry stuff is totally
non-standard and open to interpretation. It feels overly precise to
have a full blown birthdate showing to me.
posted by mathowie at 12:52 PM on April 11, 2008

I never really thought about "taken" as a word before, but boy does it have patriarchal overtones.

Why? I'm a guy, and I'm "taken." It seems inoffensive enough. And I'm usually pretty sensitive to patriarchal overtones.
posted by languagehat at 12:58 PM on April 11, 2008

If a dating status is sought, my recommendation would be: looking, sorta looking, not looking and null. That at least maintains our semblance of agency in the whole charade.

There's lots of one-word ways to describe my status, like committed or involved. But, just to share, to me, "taken" sounds either gender-neutrally twee and self-diminishing (in a shrill-high-school-catfight, stand-by-your-man, my-better-half, throw-a-jacket-over-my-head-so-nobody-steals-your-spot-when-you-go-to-the-bathroom way), or more seriously problematically objectifying (taken from where, from what, for what, by whom?). So, although by all conventional standards, living with my boyfriend for 6 years puts me in the "taken" column, je refuse!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:59 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

(Matt Haughey,a 35 year old male from Portland, Oregon, USA)

LIES! Trying to pretend you're not a Yamhill County rube!
posted by dersins at 1:03 PM on April 11, 2008

Haha, Matt. You're 4 days older than me. That means you're OLD!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 1:05 PM on April 11, 2008

SO WHEN DOES THE HOT BABE CLUB ME OVER THE HEAD AND DRAG ME BACK TO HER CAVE?
posted by quonsar at 1:11 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Trying to pretend you're not a Yamhill County rube!

He should have said "furth Portland", yeah.
posted by cortex at 1:18 PM on April 11, 2008

Jesus, I can't believe all the hand wringing over the word "taken".
posted by adamdschneider at 1:20 PM on April 11, 2008

He should have said "furth Portland", yeah.

That's furth of Portland, languagelog-junkie-boy.
posted by dersins at 1:22 PM on April 11, 2008

Hey, man. Language is fuckin' evolving and shit.
posted by cortex at 1:23 PM on April 11, 2008

Are we all supposed to bring treats on our birthdays now? I hope everyone likes blow pops.

I like plo chops. Is that the same?
posted by The Bellman at 1:30 PM on April 11, 2008

Actually, can we make that a choice in the "Status" field?
posted by The Bellman at 1:30 PM on April 11, 2008

I can't believe all the hand wringing over the word "taken".

Nor can I, but I honestly can't conceive of any word of phrase that I would take offense to, so I usually just let the bruised feelings people run with the outrage. Although I do remain puzzled.
posted by dawson at 1:37 PM on April 11, 2008

We could use, say, "yearing for companionship" and "mutually self-actualized" instead.
posted by cortex at 1:42 PM on April 11, 2008

Can I suggest "pining for the fjords"?
posted by never used baby shoes at 1:44 PM on April 11, 2008

Who's offended, bruised, outraged or hand-wringing, by they way? Is this the part where we use casual discussion of self-identifying terms to invent drama? Fuck yeah, another fascinating installment of the classic battle between "you fascist philistines" and "you wishy-washy moral relativists" over "taken!" Who wants taco seasoning on their popcorn? I've also got fake parm, but try the taco.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:47 PM on April 11, 2008

I read that as "who wants taco poisoning" at first and I just want to clarify that that would be a pretty awesome thing to say in an argument.
posted by cortex at 1:52 PM on April 11, 2008

*points and laughs at dg* Man, you're old!

Also, when y'all are working on how the IM stuff is listed, please don't forget to add in the bastard step-child of IM'ing - Yahoo! Messenger.
posted by deborah at 1:52 PM on April 11, 2008

I've never felt uncomfortable being described as "taken," but I guess I don't like the way it shifts responsibility to the taken person's partner. Someone who's "committed" is involved by choice in an exclusive relationship. Someone who's "taken" might be open to other relationships, but is unavailable because they're already ensnared by a third party.

Fortunately, I haven't found myself so bombarded by attention that I need a notifier in my profile to hold back the tide of flirtatious mail. For the record though: Sorry, ladies.
posted by contraption at 1:55 PM on April 11, 2008

"Taken" is cutesy and stupid. What am I, a bus seat?
posted by Sys Rq at 2:19 PM on April 11, 2008

Ooh, ooh: "occupied".
posted by cortex at 2:24 PM on April 11, 2008

In red, to match with a green-text "Vacant" and, for other, a sort of half-way "ant | Occu" in tutone.
posted by cortex at 2:25 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Why the drop-down menu at all?
posted by Sys Rq at 2:25 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

[cues DEVO's "Freedom of Choice"]
posted by Sys Rq at 2:27 PM on April 11, 2008

Can I suggest "pining for the fjords"?

Is that some sort of necrophiliac thing?

Taken
Single
Open
pining for the fjords --> dead
posted by ssg at 2:27 PM on April 11, 2008

Why the drop-down menu at all?
[cues DEVO's "Freedom of Choice"]

Umm, hello, I brought that issue up in THE VERY FIRST COMMENT IN THIS THREAD. Quit trying to steal my thunder, thunderstealer.
posted by dersins at 2:46 PM on April 11, 2008

I just wanted to mention that I have a low-five-digit ICQ number but I can't remember my username or password.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:47 PM on April 11, 2008

thunderstealer

Now this I read as "thundersweater". This thread combined with my inability to read is making for some really fantastic new material.
posted by cortex at 2:51 PM on April 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

sweatheart
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:55 PM on April 11, 2008

I just wanted to mention that I have a low-five-digit ICQ number but I can't remember my username or password.

My low-two-digit IQ number encumbers me with similar difficulties.

In related news, I think I just peed my pants.
posted by dyoneo at 3:14 PM on April 11, 2008

Now this I read as "thundersweater".

Best. Superheroine. Ever.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:15 PM on April 11, 2008

Language is fuckin' evolving and shit.

no, language was created intact 6000 years ago. repent.
posted by quonsar at 3:24 PM on April 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

yes, and Latin was created by the devil.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:35 PM on April 11, 2008

no, language was created intact 6000 years ago. repent.
posted by quonsar at 3:24 PM on April 11 [1 favorite +] [!]
1 user marked this as a favorite:
Pope Guilty April 11, 2008 3:44 PM

Eponysterical favoriting!
posted by dersins at 3:50 PM on April 11, 2008

DarlingBri: "I find it slightly disturbing that while some people are complaining that "Taken" is too proprietary, I simply find it dirty. Taken? How? Over the back of the sofa? Up the arse? Details, people, details! Photos, people, photos!"

Fixed that for you.
posted by dg at 6:28 PM on April 11, 2008

If I put down "Taken," where exactly will I be taken?

On the other side, if I put down "Single," will I get to cut in line at Disneyland? Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

[not open-ist]
posted by not_on_display at 7:19 PM on April 11, 2008

I don't have a major problem with 'taken' as such, it's just not a word I'd ever think to use to describe myself. Once I did think of it I felt it a bit icky for various reasons, but in general I describe myself based on my own actions and ideas rather than in reference to someone else. I hate all the extra options facebook has and don't see that it's really anyone's business, all you need to know is that I'm not going to date you.

Also I figure that it would only take a quick glance through my posting history to see I'm in a long term exclusive relationship. Probably my age too at least approximately (I'm 32 just to make it easier). I would think that anyone interested in contacting or interacting with me would do at least that small amount of work first, otherwise why would they want to contact me in the first place?

(note: I don't think there are mefites out there desperate to be my friend or try to pick me up so it's all pretty hypothetical. And having this feature as totally optional was a good move and negates all my bitching anyway.)
posted by shelleycat at 7:53 PM on April 11, 2008

In profiles that state a location which is not a lat/long value, clicking on the globe icon makes Google Maps go "whaaaaa?"
posted by jamaro at 9:39 PM on April 10 [+] [!]

What he said. Even if you type in, say, "Gainesville FL" and get the map and take the lat/long from the URL, it fails.
posted by johnofjack at 9:22 PM on April 11, 2008

Or she. Oh hai, this isn't Spanish.
posted by johnofjack at 9:23 PM on April 11, 2008

metafilter: who wants taco poisoning.
posted by sugarfish at 10:05 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

So I'll throw this in here, in case anyone is still reading.

Can we have "Edit Contact" Target="_self" please. It pops open a new window everytime I add someone. or edit, etc.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:57 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

SO WHEN DOES THE HOT BABE CLUB ME OVER THE HEAD AND DRAG ME BACK TO HER CAVE?

2012, according to the Mayan calendar.
posted by Sparx at 11:35 PM on April 11, 2008

mrzarquon, those links at the top of the profile page (under the headline [username]'s profile) do have a target="_self". Are those the links you're having trouble with?
posted by pb at 2:33 AM on April 12, 2008

jamaro and/or johnofjack, can you link to a profile that has the location problem you've mentioned? (or send it to me via MeFi Mail?) If there are some non-decimal values in the longitude or latitude fields, we'll need to weed those out and double check our validation to make sure that can't happen.
posted by pb at 2:37 AM on April 12, 2008

For the drop-down, may I suggest:

• I has a flavor
• Looking for bukkit
• Do Not Want!

posted by taz at 4:20 AM on April 12, 2008 [4 favorites]

I was a very early ICQ'er too. Haven't thought about it in years. Does anyone think that my number would still be available? Going to go try and see what happens. Probably gonna fail.
posted by pearlybob at 6:50 AM on April 12, 2008

Hmmmmmm, no luck. (Makes very high pitched "Uh-Oh" sound)
posted by pearlybob at 6:54 AM on April 12, 2008

pb, go add some contacts. for example, go to your user page, and view the list of people who link to you. from there, click the names of a few people you don't link to and add them serially. each and every one assaults you with new windows. for example, clicking the add contact button opens a completely extraneous new window to the contacts userpage, leaving the edit contact window sitting there as useless clutter. the add/edit contact process is a window spawning factory, it's rather moronic. i've never understood why it all doesn't happen in the same window you start in. it's been that way ever since matt invented it.
posted by quonsar at 7:34 AM on April 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

clicking the add contact button opens a completely extraneous new window to the contacts userpage

Can you guys let us know what OS/browser combo this is happening in? I'm not seeing this behavior at all and it will help us narrow down what the problem is here.
posted by jessamyn at 7:59 AM on April 12, 2008

safari 3.1, os x 10.5.2 and firefox 2.0.0.13

You go to contacts page, click "add jessamyn as a contact"

at the "Customize Metafilter" page, you select whatever value you want, and then click "Edit Contact" form submit button.

It pops a new window, instead of refreshing the old one. The .mefi script that appears to be the culprit is:

http://www.metafilter.com/contribute/xfnlinkbuilder.mefi
posted by mrzarquon at 9:42 AM on April 12, 2008

I should say, go to a potential contacts page, in this case, Jessamyn's.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:43 AM on April 12, 2008

It pops a new window, instead of refreshing the old one

Yup, this has always happened for me, too.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:45 AM on April 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

Ahh, thanks for the extra info quonsar and mrzarquon. The contacts window spawning factory was just shut down. ie. it's fixed.
posted by pb at 9:49 AM on April 12, 2008

hot damn, its fixed!
posted by mrzarquon at 9:57 AM on April 12, 2008

pb, my profile was one of the ones affected but now the little globe is gone from my profile (which is fine, if I want a globe I'll change the way I word my location--more on that in a sec).

Anyway, when it was there yesterday, clicking on the globe icon would open a new window to maps.google.com with a comma in the search field, no doubt because google doesn't support county names in its search. You must have already fixed something though because yesterday, clicking on city, state would return the same error while today it works.
posted by jamaro at 10:04 AM on April 12, 2008

jamaro, you only get the globe icon if you have values set in the longitude and latitude fields of your profile located directly under "location". The bug that I fixed a bit ago showed the globe even if you didn't have a longitude/latitude set. Having location decoupled from lon/lat lets people put whatever wacky value they want in the location field ("state of sobriety", etc.) and still participate in the location-based stuff with a lon/lat if they want.
posted by pb at 10:09 AM on April 12, 2008

Slick, thanks pb.
posted by jamaro at 10:19 AM on April 12, 2008

I resent the above comment saying dg is old.
posted by Carbolic at 10:31 AM on April 12, 2008

I don't know if this has been addressed yet, but I chose Sportsfilter as my "Also On:" but I keep getting an error whenever I click on the Sportsfilter button in my profile.
Here's the error message that I get:

We’re sorry, but there was a server error. We’ll try to fix it as soon as we can. Please try again later.

Diagnostics

Variable ISANADMIN is undefined.
The error occurred on line 14.

(Windows XP, IE 7, Firefox 2)
posted by NoMich at 12:37 PM on April 12, 2008

NoMich, that error is on the SportsFilter server, but thing with SportsFilter is that you need to find your numeric SportsFilter ID and use that instead of a username. There's more info in the FAQ entry about Social Apps.
posted by pb at 1:11 PM on April 12, 2008

Beauty! It's fixed now. Thanks for your help, pb.
posted by NoMich at 1:23 PM on April 12, 2008

We just updated the way your Instant Message accounts are listed on your profile. Instead of static fields for AIM and ICQ, we set up a system similar to Social Apps. Choose one of the IM options from the drop down, put in your username/ID for that system, and update your profile. You'll get a list of icons on your profile page for each IM system you use. (Check out mathowie's profile to see the IM line in action.)

One caveat to keep in mind is that the links for the various systems often use a special protocol to connect (gtalk: for Google Talk, aim: for AIM, etc.) and if you don't use these chat systems the protocols probably aren't registered with your browser. In other words, the links will only work if you already use the particular IM system you're trying to use. And if you'd like to add support for a particular IM protocol to your browser, it's fairly straightforward. Here's a good tutorial I found that explains how to set up new protocols for Firefox: The protocol is not associated with any program.
posted by pb at 9:47 AM on April 14, 2008

I resent the above comment saying dg is old.

*laughs and points at the old fart*




I ain't exactly a spring chicken myself, Carbolic.
posted by deborah at 11:10 AM on April 14, 2008

We'll change it to accept year only if you want it.
--mathowie

Has this been implemented? Because, it's not working for me.
posted by philomathoholic at 1:14 PM on April 14, 2008

More information: The is exactly what happens for me:
The year-only entry thing doesn't work for me. It says that it saved the Preferences, then when I got back, it resets the year field.
--spiderskull
posted by philomathoholic at 1:21 PM on April 14, 2008

Nope, year only hasn't been implemented yet. I'll post here when it's working.
posted by pb at 1:25 PM on April 14, 2008

Year only is now working. If you just choose a year, you'll have a line in your profile that says:

Age: x years old

Of course we can't calculate the exact day you'll turn that age within the current year, so the number will increment on January 1st of each year.
posted by pb at 3:28 PM on April 14, 2008

Thanks, pb.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:00 PM on April 14, 2008

Thanks, pb.
posted by philomathoholic at 10:10 PM on April 14, 2008

"Of course we can't calculate the exact day you'll turn that age within the current year, so the number will increment on January 1st of each year."

Wouldn't it be more accurate (at least, mathematically) to increment it in the middle of the year?
posted by Eideteker at 4:05 AM on April 15, 2008

Wouldn't it be more accurate (at least, mathematically) to increment it in the middle of the year?

Can you please just be happy? This is fine.
posted by jessamyn at 5:15 AM on April 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

jessamyn, even after more than eight years, sometimes you just don't get this place, do you ;-)
posted by dg at 5:20 AM on April 15, 2008

Decades of internerd experience to the contrary, I still believe that people are truly good at heart.
posted by jessamyn at 5:26 AM on April 15, 2008 [4 favorites]

Oh yeah, their hearts are fine. It's the rotting cesspools of their minds that worry me.
posted by dg at 5:29 AM on April 15, 2008

Of course, I'm sitting alone in a hotel room in Cairns watching I Am legend and wondering if those infected with the virus are what lies just under the veneer of sophistication and civilisation that we wear, so I may be a little cynical tonight.
posted by dg at 5:52 AM on April 15, 2008

Wouldn't it be more accurate (at least, mathematically) to increment it in the middle of the year?

It looks like the distribution of birthdays may not be uniform across the year, although I didn't find any trustworthy data. More research is required before we can optimally solve this problem.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 10:29 AM on April 15, 2008

Decades of internerd experience to the contrary, I still believe that people are truly good at heart.
posted by jessamyn

LOLGUDPPL!!!!!!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 11:04 AM on April 15, 2008

I've seen all good people turn their heads each day, so satisfied I'm on my way.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 11:11 AM on April 15, 2008

Second result from "birthday distribution".

It looks like it runs between 7000 and 10000 people born each day, with the high point in September.
posted by philomathoholic at 9:55 PM on April 15, 2008

The September high point is for the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern, it's March.

Nine months after midwinter.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:06 AM on April 16, 2008

"Can you please just be happy?"

I'm happiest when I'm nerding it up.
posted by Eideteker at 6:56 AM on April 16, 2008