Comments on: From the green to the blue!

From the green to the blue!

sixcolors — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:47:12 -0800

I would like some suggestions on what to post and what not to post on the blue. I'm somewhat of a metafilter newbie, I think I became a member around V-day. I've been lurking since last summer, but mostly on the green. I've posted 6 questions on the green, and it went okay (mostly). I would like to start posting links on the blue, but I don't want to get dissed for posting something lame. I know I can't please everyone, but I don't want to piss off toooo many people. What kind of things do you HATE to see on the blue? Things you like?

By: nkknkk

nkknkk — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:59:16 -0800

The Wiki may be helpful, especially this (and the links from it)...

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:00:32 -0800

V-E Day or V-J Day?

Stay away from editorializing. Stay away from news items. Try to find something you like that most people aren't familiar with. Do your research, but don't just pad your post with a google search.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:02:26 -0800

Joined: February 18, 2008

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:03:56 -0800

Post more comments on metafilter before you post anything.

And you'll probably get dissed and called lame. If it's a rubbish post, it'll get deleted so I wouldn't sweat it. If you think you've got a great post, then you should go for it. Take any criticism as an opportunity to learn.

If I had one recommendation, I'd say spend a bit more time commenting and reading before you post anything. If you're thinking of posting that truly great post it can either wait, or if it's the most amazing new thing then someone else can post it. Either way, we'll get to see it.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:04:31 -0800

It might help to install one of the Greasemonkey scripts that shows deleted posts. Once you see a bunch of them, it's pretty easy to gauge what's kosher.

By: waraw

waraw — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:05:13 -0800

Don't try to fill out a lame post with wikipedia links.

Someone somewhere will likely think your post sucks. Deal.

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:06:38 -0800

one of the Greasemonkey scripts that shows deleted posts.

Or just go here.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:07:02 -0800

Generally, single link YouTube posts are dumb. Fleshing out your single-link post with a Wikipedia citation is also dumb. Criticizing George Bush is dumb. Reporting on the latest, up-to-the-minute developments in the Clinton-Obama race is dumb. Mentioning anything to do with Australia or Canada is dumb. Identifying how fucking weird the Japanese are, yet again, is actually really great. Stealing from Boing Boing is also great.

One good strategy is to find a story in the news about the results of some new research project, find the original research article, link to it, and then dig up some more background.

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:10:32 -0800

Generally, single link YouTube posts are dumb.

Not always, though. Dumb single-link youtube posts to boring videos are dumb and boring. But a single link youtube post can still be a great post.

The crunchland method (scroll down) for making a good post may be getting a little dated in terms of specific techniques, but it should still be required reading for any neophyte poster.

By: spec80

spec80 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:14:07 -0800

Almost anything about Haruki Murakami. This place LOVES Haruki Murakami. Also, I love Haruki Murakami.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:14:59 -0800

I never understand why people get all het up about posting - just have a go! The worst thing that can happen is a few strangers taking the piss, and your post getting deleted. Which ranks somewhere between accidentally leaving a cup of coffee to go cold and slightly stubbing your toe in the personal trauma stakes...

Oh, and a single link to an interesting site is the best kind of post, I reckon.

What's V-day?

By: carsonb

carsonb — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:15:46 -0800

Read the guidelines.
...and the FAQ, and maybe browse the wiki. Also, Dave Faris thinks it's outdated, but The Crunchland Method (scroll down) is still a great resource on how to find links and format your post. Use the site's resources (popular favorites, the archives, MetaTalk's archives, etc.) to round out your understanding of what is and what is not acceptable. We've been discussing what belongs on the front page of MeFi for quite some time now, and there are explicit and unstated expectations. Of course, your understanding of what is acceptable at MeFi will not be the same as everyone else's. You will catch shit for posting to the blue (or at least it's a good enough possibility that you should understand and accept the risks). You may very well be toasted for posting to the blue. You just never know.

MetaFilter is the best of the web, the Internet filtered by savvy, hip, knowledgeable people. If you know about something neat, and it has a web presence, put what you know out there and educate the rest of us. If the something neat is a web presence, all the better. People like free, they like to be entertained, and they like learning about neat things they never woulda heard of otherwise.

Personally, I could do without newsfilter, single-link op-eds (SLOEs), single-link obituaries, and on. But that's just me. Others, I'm sure, eat that shit up.

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:18:03 -0800

Mentioning anything to do with Australia or Canada is dumb.

Lies!

By: carsonb

carsonb — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:18:15 -0800

Oh yeah, try to avoid religion, obesity (and other eating disorders), politics, circumcision of any sort, and hate speech. They go down so well, but the aftertaste is revolting.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:18:26 -0800

V-Day is short for Vagina Day

By: chunking express

chunking express — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:22:25 -0800

Post anything you want. It'll get deleted if it sucks. That's my secret.

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:23:37 -0800

I would like to start posting links on the blue, but I don't want to get dissed for posting something lame.

There are a lot of good resources linked here, and some good first-hand advice, about how to do a good job on a post you decide to make, but I want to sort of emphasize something: wanting generically to post something to the front page isn't a particularly good reason to make a post.

Enthusiasm, wanting to jump in the pool: these things are understandable, and you're totally fine for feeling that way. But if nothing else, I think this basic idea is true: a post should start with something postworthy that has you excited about sharing it with Metafilter. It shouldn't start with a generalized need to come up with something as an excuse to make your first post.

By: flatluigi

flatluigi — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:24:09 -0800

In my opinion, a good post presents an interesting article, website, or video that will prompt entertaining discussion among the MeFites and/or generate additional entertaining content.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:24:37 -0800

Also: this made me look over my (very occasional) posts, and it turns out they're a load of old cock. Cheers for that.

By: gyusan

gyusan — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:30:23 -0800

Don't make every word, or worse, every letter, in the post a separate link.

By: starman

starman — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:41:08 -0800

Not that I have made many posts, but I think the best written ones, no matter what the content, are written like a good news lead. They give the who, what, why, when, where and how simply and to the point. They don't leave you guessing where the links click to (I like the motto "Don't make me think!")

That said, once you master the basics there are great posts that use interesting formatting or mystery as a hook.

By: flatluigi

flatluigi — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:43:47 -0800

gyusan: Don't make every word, or worse, every letter, in the post a separate link.

That's a stylistic choice. Some people love them, some people hate them. As an example, the two posts I made in that style are my most and second-most favorited posts respectively, so I'm of the opinion more people like them than dislike them.

By: Upton O'Good

Upton O'Good — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:44:33 -0800

My good posts have usually come from a "random-walk" approach--I'll google something, and just follow links from there. Sooner or later, you find a site that you just know would make a good post--it's hard to quantify, but I might describe it as "whatever it does, it does well". If it's somebody's site on a topic, it covers that topic very nicely, with both breadth and depth. If it's a game, it's a new, interesting concept, or an well-executed interpretation of an older one. If it's a video, it's well-made and does a good job of entertaining or informing, depending on its purpose. If it's an article or a blog post, it's well-written and discusses in depth a topic not many are familiar with.

My not-so-good posts seem to come out of the idea that "I think this topic would make a good post", and try to fill it out. Sometimes you should just admit after searching around for a while that there's nothing that jumps out at you. That's OK, and probably makes for better posts in the long run.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:46:15 -0800

Oh yeah, try to avoid religion, obesity (and other eating disorders), politics, circumcision of any sort, and hate speech.

Also, people here love cats.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:46:27 -0800

Having the text of your post in some way indicate what it's links are pointing at is always a good idea.

Lists of things are alwyas good discussion bait, though IMHO unless it's a really good and distinctive list it's a bit of a cheap trick.

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:58:35 -0800

1. Research my post history, especially the deleted ones.

2. Do not repeat.

By: sixcolors

sixcolors — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:03:04 -0800

How do I know which ones were deleted?

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:03:59 -0800

Don't make every word, or worse, every letter, in the post a separate link.

Hey! That's my first post you're talking about!

By: 3.2.3

3.2.3 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:04:29 -0800

What to post: the best of the web.

What to post: If you have to ask, don't post.

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:05:00 -0800

How do I know which ones were deleted?

Deleted Thread blog.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:05:12 -0800

"Mentioning anything to do with Australia or Canada is dumb."
posted by KokuRyu at 10:07 AM on April 16

How do you figure, sports-fan?

sixcolors, my simple advice to posting on the blue is to post anything you think that is interesting, but temper that instinct if your link is just a single link to a breaking news item. Newsfilter isn't neccessarily bad, as long as you can flesh it out with some other interesting links. Similarly, avoid controversial topics unless you have some great links to flesh out the post with, unless your aim is to start a train-wreck thread, which should not be your aim if you want to make a great post.

Use the more inside if your FPP is starting to get too long.

Accept that not everyone is going to love your post, and that the nature of this place is that at least some people are going to tell you your post sucks, no matter how good it may actually be.

Understand that lots of favorites does not neccessarily equal a better post. That said, look at the popular favorites page to get an idea about what people do like around these parts.

Understand that lots of comments does not neccessarily equal a better post.

That's all I have for now but given some time I could probably come up with more. I should be working y'know...

By: box

box — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:06:31 -0800

If it's NSFW, mark it as such. When you're making that judgment, define 'NSFW' prudishly--some people work in churches and battered womens shelters and whatnot.

By: Cranberry

Cranberry — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:06:45 -0800

ROFL! Dave Faris thinks crunchland's advice is outdated? Who better than Dave Faris to update it?

By: box

box — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:07:47 -0800

Not necessarily good examples. Some people work in places whose definition of NSFW is more prudish than you can possibly imagine.

By: sixcolors

sixcolors — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:08:46 -0800

OMG, I love this!!!

Lists of sockpuppets and deleted threads? And the reasons why they were deleted.

This is like getting your name on the board in 3rd grade, lol!

By: box

box — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:12:04 -0800

Don't use Tinyurl, Icanhaz or similar link-obscurers. People like to know what they're clicking on.

On that same line, some folks think it's nice to make a little note when you're linking, or direct-linking, to non-html files (Flash, .mp3s, etc.).

And use jokey tags very sparingly, by which I mean not at all.

By: 0xFCAF

0xFCAF — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:20:36 -0800

You don't want to use 'OMG' or 'lol' in your post. Or your comments for that matter

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:25:05 -0800

Unless it's in parenthesis. Then you become a legend*. (lol)

* But not the good kind of legend. Yeah, just don't do that.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:27:32 -0800

Posts about the pros and cons of circumcision and reasoned discussions of the Arab/Israeli conflict always go down well. Anything that highlights the weird and wonderful beliefs of fundamentalist Christians tends to be popular. Also:

Also, people here love cats.

But they hate what they do to their furniture. Concrete information on how to reduce scratches, say through removing their claws, is bound to go down big.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:28:27 -0800

Lots of good advice here, but Eideteker basically nailed it in the second comment. Like cortex, I'd like to emphasize that looking for a post to make because you want to make a post is a terrible idea. I go for months without posting, without even thinking about posting, and then one day I see something online that cries out "This would be a good MeFi post!" and then I go to the New Post page and do the requisite search and it turns out jonson posted it in 2006.

But sometimes I get lucky and nobody else has posted it and I give it a shot. Sometimes it gets four comments, sometimes almost 400 (and if you bastards had argued just a little more about that damn logic puzzle, I wouldn't have had to add that weaselly "almost"). What's important isn't the number of comments, it's whether those who comment seem to find it interesting. The more you wait and get a feel for what goes over well, the better luck you'll have in that department.

Concise moral: the post finds you, you don't seek out the post.

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:30:44 -0800

I would like to see more posts about cheese.

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:37:59 -0800

I was a member for 3 years before posting.

I would merely suggest lurking. You get a feel for what is accepted and what is not, what sort of quality is expected, etc. For me, it was initially very intimidating but ended up being well worth the wait.

Good luck!

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:43:41 -0800

If I see something on the internet that looks cool and likely won't be seen by people who read other news-websites like digg or whatever, then I think "Oh man! I gotta show someone this!" If it hasn't yet been posted on metafilter (nine times out of ten, it has already been posted), then I post it. That combination of obscurity and excitement is pretty rare, though, which means I don't have too many FPPs. But I really like the few that I have.

(THE FIFTH ITERATION OF CAPS LOCK DAY WAS A SPECIAL CASE SHUT UP)

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:48:48 -0800

What's V-day?

it's more commonly known as Beer-n-Blowjob day.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:49:49 -0800

What seems to work for me is cryptic anti-semitism and links to thrift stores.

Oh, also, anybody who says they don't like my post, I call 'em a motherfucker right off the bat. Like, "Didja need all those wikipedia links?"

"Fuck you, motherfucker, yes!"

That usually goes well.

Also, if the post is about a woman, make sure to let us know whether you consider her attractive enough to have sex with, because otherwise, we won't know whether or not to take her seriously.

By: Phire

Phire — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:50:58 -0800

I don't think getting your post called out or dissed is that big a deal. As long as you aren't a lame self-linker or troll, y'know? You liked the stuff enough to share it, and if some strangers on the 'net don't agree with your taste, no skin off your back. If they do like it, then hey, you helped make some people's days a little brighter, yay for you.

Though I do agree that you definitely shouldn't "look for" something to post. Let the post come to you in your browsing. Unless there's some obscure topic that's fascinated you for decades and you decided to do some independent research on it and found a few cool articles, then it would be neat to link it all together in a well-written context paragraph and post it up. But you get the idea.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:52:11 -0800

AND I HAVE ALMOST 100 POST THAT HAVENT BEEN DELETES! I KNOW FROM WHENCE I SPEAKS!

By: Phire

Phire — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:52:51 -0800

klang, seriously?

[/gullible]

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:53:14 -0800

Mentioning anything to do with Australia or Canada is dumb.

Lies!

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:53:47 -0800

then I go to the New Post page and do the requisite search and it turns out jonson posted it in 2006.
(lol) - because this is true.

By: meech

meech — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:55:38 -0800

I would like to see more posts about cheese.

I am working on one entitled Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese. Please subscribe to my newsletter to find out more.

By: Dave Faris

Dave Faris — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:05:38 -0800

Who better than Dave Faris to update it?

Someone who know's Crunchland's password. It got randomized.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:08:48 -0800

I do have almost 100 posts that haven't been deleted. I have no idea how many of mine have been deleted. Ten or so, likely. Maybe cortex's fancy will be tickled and he can tell me.

By: Dave Faris

Dave Faris — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:09:35 -0800

As for the advice in this thread about what not to post... stuff like "don't make each letter a link." Ignore that. It's possible to make a good post using that method, though you might tend to lose the attention of the small-minded.

Aside from self-linking, or doing something that otherwise breaks the guidelines, there aren't many ways to make a wrong post. And if you happen to find one, the moderators will helpfully delete your post for you, and you'll get the chance to try again tomorrow.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:24:56 -0800

klangklangston - I have no idea how many of mine have been deleted. Ten or so, likely.
2, unless you had something deleted between March 2005 and May 2006.

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:26:47 -0800

because this is true.

It's so true that it's actually happened to jonson himself. It's the small pleasure that keep this place interesting.

Maybe cortex's fancy will be tickled and he can tell me.

You have had three posts deleted; the first was a double, the second was also a double, and the third was a double that game me an excuse to quote The Pretenders and so I'm pretty okay with that.

If you want to talk comment deletion history, we'll need to block out some time and reserve a meeting space.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:31:17 -0800

People here like cameras. They're even better if we have them. Vibrating cameras, with pictures of house-pets stuck in scanners.

But let me be the first to preemptively say that "Your post sucks", because honestly, we're all just looking for used cars.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:47:25 -0800

It's times like these I wish I had to time to fill out those missing years. If for completions sake if nothing else.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:49:37 -0800

'unless you had something deleted between March 2005 and May 2006'
'the first was a double'
Aha!
It's so true that it's actually happened to jonson himself.
Potty.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:50:13 -0800

Wow, I thought I'd posted more doubles than that. I guess maybe that search thing works pretty well. Better than my analog memory, anyhow.

(As for comments, I don't think I've actually had all that many deleted. My jerkdom generally remains, as far as I remember. I'd guess around 20 or so for the whole of my time here, though obviously, I could be wrong.)

By: FelliniBlank

FelliniBlank — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:59:02 -0800

What's the big hurry? Some of us were born to FPP, some have FPPing thrust upon us, and the rest of us should just leave well enough alone. Hadjiboy and madamjujujive, for example, are in the first group. I'm in the last. Not everyone needs to post in order for MeFi to be a vibrant community, and in fact, I wish more people resisted the temptation. More /= better.

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:03:02 -0800

klang, it's possible that you had several more posts deleted that were so odious, so inhumanly unviable that we removed every trace of them from the database. So if you want to think of it that way, I won't stop you.

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:09:09 -0800

Oh yeah, try to avoid religion

That advice is a little too sweeping. The members of this site have been hungry for a post about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Guru Dev for months now.

If you were the one to provide it, that would give you massive amounts of cred among the veterans here.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:17:52 -0800

Oh, now I remember why I quit indexing the old deleted threads. The guy that was hosting them (timeistight) deleted them and the guy that compiled it (mach5) never put it up anywhere else. That makes it a long harder to go through all them.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:32:33 -0800

Yeah, don't put the cart before the horse. If you come across something good, just post it plainly without trying to ZAZZ it so much. You're not generating any of the content that you're posting (unless you want to get your ass sacked!) so it's not like you're really doing anything of substance by posting to Metafilter other than sharing. Let the links you point to do the work, frame it nicely, hit post, don't babysit the thread it anything develops. Have some tea. Don't sweat it because you're not getting any awards or monetary payouts. Enjoy.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:48:24 -0800

Found something cool on the web and want to share it with everyone else? Great! Just fill the blanks and it'll go live.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:56:16 -0800

This is the gold standard by which you judge your posts.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:07:23 -0800

Burhanistan, that just may be the best thing I have ever seen on this internet thing here, I want to subscribe to your newsletter, etc.

I LOLed. No, really!

By: LarryC

LarryC — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:10:24 -0800

No mystery links! Don't get cute with a post that sounds like a riddle and you have click on the links to solve it. Describe your links so people know where they are going.

Often the best posts seem to come from a user sharing a her particular interests and expertise. It is so interesting to find someone laying out a series of related links to something I had never heard of before.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:11:24 -0800

I's pullin' no punches, sir!

By: LarryC

LarryC — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:12:22 -0800

Oh, and don't try to ride herd over the discussion. Once you put your post on Metafilter it does not belong to you anymore. It can be annoying when the conversation doesn't go the way you had in mind but that is part of what makes Metafilter interesting. You can participate in the discussion but not try to direct it.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:16:15 -0800

You know what? Fuck it; I'm gonna post it. It's not a double, and it's great.

Credit where credit is due, of course.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:20:14 -0800

FLY HIGH YHBC!!

By: yhbc

yhbc — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:26:25 -0800

Done.

I'm gonna regret this, I just know it

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:47:14 -0800

Personally, I find that people particularly enjoy posts that discuss the mixing of alcoholic beverages into delicious frosted baked goods. And Pee Wee Herman.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:51:26 -0800

I LOVE Pee Wee Herman. Do you have any posts about him?

Oh. Never mind.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:15:00 -0800

Me, I'd quite like to see more posts about Australia and Canada. But then, I am kind of dumb.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:44:11 -0800

"You have had three posts deleted; the first was a double, the second was also a double, and the third was a double that game me an excuse to quote The Pretenders and so I'm pretty okay with that.

If you want to talk comment deletion history, we'll need to block out some time and reserve a meeting space."
posted by cortex at 12:26 PM on April 16

Oooo cortex, can you do mine now pleeeeease! How many posts have I had deleted? I'm interested in number of comments also, if you've got time (I know you're meant to be writing a chapter of a novel this month, heh).

"Me, I'd quite like to see more posts about Australia and Canada. But then, I am kind of dumb."
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:15 PM on April 16

Then you'll want the ~~dumbest~~ erm, I mean best. Posts tagged with Australia by Effigy2000.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:34:38 -0800

Effigy2000: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Hopefully I didn't fuck that up.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:42:29 -0800

languagehat: Concise moral: the post finds you, you don't seek out the post."

That is true, but the skill is in recognizing the post.

If I have any advice it's that you shouldn't be afraid to post. Sure, if you post a lot there'll be posts that no one seems to like, even posts you regret (I have one of those), hell, people might write mean things about it, but you'll develop the skills and instincts soon enough.

I have several personal guidelines for making posts, but they're just guidelines and don't necessarily reflect what draws me into other people's FPPs.

Make it clear what the FPP is a link to (this is most important).
Try to link to just one site (except when making curating posts).
Put as little as possible inside (it's hard to tell what will hook someone).
If it's a link to writing or art mention the writer or artist by name (it's only polite).
Explain what the link is in general and provide examples (seeing examples helps to understand the bigger picture).
Excerpt from essays when linking to them (the writing style of the essay can be just as important as the content).

As to finding stuff, well... the trick is to recognize a good link. The most interesting stuff I've often found while googling for something related and stumbling upon it. My most favorited post, a link to a database of free speculative fiction, I found while googling for info on writer Paul Di Filippo. If you keep your eyes open, you'll find interesting stuff. There's way more on the internet than a thousand MetaFilters churning out a thousand posts a day could ever uncover.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:53:54 -0800

"Hopefully I didn't fuck that up."
posted by puke & cry

You did a little (11 & 13 are the same thread) but still, thanks for that puke & cry. Wow. Looking back at some of those, I can't help but concur that they were all worthy deletions. Still, 13 out of 124 isn't too bad a failure rate.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:03:56 -0800

Damn.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:16:52 -0800

What kind of things do you HATE to see on the blue?

This is about the worst FPP I've seen on MeFi that didn't get deleted in ... I don't know how long. I'm stunned it lasted more than 5 minutes. Pure dreck that lowers the bar, imo. More shit like this gets posted and the "Here's what I've been thinking about... what do you think about it?" posts will flood the place. Gag.

carsonb — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:02:40 -0800

I piss in the tomatoes for fun and profit.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:11:32 -0800

The tomatoes of mystery meat links are Americas Tibet.

By: owhydididoit

owhydididoit — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:12:38 -0800

amyms said it best.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:01:29 -0800

The "stay away from news items" must not have taken very well. I had big hopes for someone careful enough to ask for help before making their blue debut, but that was a rather poor showing.