GAME OVER

May 8, 2008 7:37 PM

This post was deleted for the following reason: I freakin' hate it when I go to delete a double and some has already snagged like the perfect deletion reason. It's like, hey, thanks, DAD. -- cortex (more inside)

'Cause I'm insatiably curious about behind the scenes stuff: has this really happened that often? Can any mods (or users) share any other examples of a user pointing to a double or triple or what have you with an "ooh, shoulda thought of that" comment?

posted by ShawnStruck to MetaFilter-related at 7:37 PM (83 comments total)

It happens every once in a while. People here are clever and come up with good lines when they notice doubles. I'll usually soldier on through and find a pun of my own, but sometimes I just give up. You lucky dog.

I can't recall any specifics off the top of my head, though. Also, Matt and Jess usually just go with "previously" or something similarly staid, so they may not have so much of an opinion on it.

Also, this is kind of a silly metatalk question, but you can have a hug anyway. Also, there's a good chance some people will yell at me now re: jokey deletion reasons, but they are also welcome at the Hug Booth.
posted by cortex at 7:43 PM on May 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wasn't there one post that was deleted by two mods?

*Searchy behavior*

Yes, there was.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:46 PM on May 8, 2008

And now I see that I am full of FAIL AT READING COMPREHENSION

*faily behavior*
posted by Rock Steady at 7:50 PM on May 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

our princess is in another castle is a pretty good joke, I woulda conceded the win too.
posted by mathowie at 7:58 PM on May 8, 2008

Just because someone needs a hug, doesn't mean they deserve one.
posted by dg at 7:58 PM on May 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

I suspect you just posted to brag about your funny. And you were right to. Jolly good.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:00 PM on May 8, 2008

"Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
posted by cgc373 at 8:04 PM on May 8, 2008

Pony request: Ability to flag deletion reasons.

This deletion reason was deleted for the following reason: Joke used previously by another mod.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 8:08 PM on May 8, 2008

I suspect you just posted to brag about your funny. And you were right to. Jolly good.

No, seriously, that's not my style.

I was really wondering if there had been any other deletion reasons that stood out for the mods that they they could have used, or built off of, or something like that-- it never occurred to me that something could've happened, because cortex, mathowie and jessamyn have had some pretty amusing deletion reason explanations before.
posted by ShawnStruck at 8:14 PM on May 8, 2008

Jess's deletion reasons tend to be more pragmatic almost to the point of hectoring. Matt's deletion reasons are usually pretty terse. It's cortex who tries to be a deletion reason artiste.
posted by Dave Faris at 8:37 PM on May 8, 2008

Tries and succeeds.
posted by puke & cry at 8:43 PM on May 8, 2008

Yes, yes. I was just joshin' ya.

There are a few I've chuckled at but it's so impossible to look them up. Do deleted threads even show up in searches? The mechanisms behind accessing deleted threads at will is beyond me -- is it more obvious to RSS subscribers? I've always just given deleted thread a look once in a while for some lulz. Perhaps one of our esteemed meta-list compilers can take it as a project.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:47 PM on May 8, 2008

puke & cry's deleted thread blog.
posted by Dave Faris at 8:52 PM on May 8, 2008

*faily behavior*


Well I gues theres a lot to be said for having properly implemented faily behavior, and not just flopping about or spewing gibberish errror messages.
posted by Artw at 9:05 PM on May 8, 2008

Did you ever rescue the king in Super Mario Bros?
posted by Kattullus at 9:07 PM on May 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

The mechanisms behind accessing deleted threads at will is beyond me -- is it more obvious to RSS subscribers?

See Plutor's greasemonkey script here.
posted by chinston at 9:07 PM on May 8, 2008

Sometimes they just use them.
posted by tellurian at 9:08 PM on May 8, 2008

Nah, don't worry about that greasy monkey script. You just need to subscribe to the feed on the deleted thread blog. Plus, I hear the guy that runs it is a handsome rogue.
posted by puke & cry at 9:12 PM on May 8, 2008

Did you ever rescue the king in Super Mario Bros?

Sort of. In SMB3, Mario has to rescue 7 kings, but it's actually just a ruse while Bowser kidnaps Peach.
posted by jedicus at 9:17 PM on May 8, 2008

You don't really rescue them so much as retrieve their magical wands, at that.
posted by cortex at 9:40 PM on May 8, 2008

I enjoy metafilter because of what is not allowed on it.

Because of this, i take a snobbish pride in seeing things not allowed on it here.

And yes, this, pride- it is hollow.
posted by localhuman at 9:41 PM on May 8, 2008

To change them back from their magically altered forms. If that isn't rescue, I don't know what is, sir.
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:42 PM on May 8, 2008

lol, pwned
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 10:59 PM on May 8, 2008

I have been here nearly 4 years and this is the first time I heard of the Hug Booth. I'll bet all the cool kids go there every day.
posted by Cranberry at 11:09 PM on May 8, 2008

There is Insult Booth, Isolation Booth and Hug Booth and you really can't tell them apart. It is a constant source of confusion and disappointment in life. :hugs:
posted by Free word order! at 12:24 AM on May 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

Wow. Three links to the Deleted Threads Blog. Er, four.
posted by wendell at 1:02 AM on May 9, 2008

LOL indeed!
posted by dhammond at 1:31 AM on May 9, 2008

Also, this is kind of a silly metatalk question, but you can have a hug anyway.

I would very much like a hug, thanks.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 1:38 AM on May 9, 2008

Don't forget about this! Fun to read while in the bathtub, sipping chamomile tea and listening to Chopin.
posted by jbickers at 2:43 AM on May 9, 2008

Plus, I hear the guy that runs it is a handsome rogue.
...which is an anagram of "underage homos", but no-one should read anything into that.
posted by Wolfdog at 3:48 AM on May 9, 2008 [5 favorites]

jedicus: Sort of. In SMB3, Mario has to rescue 7 kings, but it's actually just a ruse while Bowser kidnaps Peach.

I have a memory of, at some point, rescuing a king in the first Super Mario Bros.

Am I hallucinating?
posted by Kattullus at 6:00 AM on May 9, 2008

You don't really rescue them so much as retrieve their magical wands, at that.

Y'know, that always struck me as a bit.. uhh... *waggles hand*

Plus, I hear the guy that runs it is a handsome rogue.
...which is an anagram of "underage homos", but no-one should read anything into that.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:48 AM on May 9 [+] [!]


Wolfdog, I think I love you.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 6:02 AM on May 9, 2008

To change them back from their magically altered forms. If that isn't rescue, I don't know what is, sir.

It is a documented behind-the-scenes fact that at least four of the kings in question are avid furries who were living out their previously impossible fantasies before being retransmogrified by your efforts; it is a testament to royal graciousness that they refrained from expressing their dismay to you (to say nothing of punishing you) for returning them to the banality of humandom.

The fact that when you show up to ruin their happiness you are wearing a raccoon outfit is really just a cruel final twist of the knife.
posted by cortex at 6:35 AM on May 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

Wolfdog is an underage shmoo (not that I know the minimum age for shmoos)
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 7:05 AM on May 9, 2008

HURF DURF POST DELETER
posted by Mister_A at 7:19 AM on May 9, 2008

I'd just like to point out that I like the hugs.

No, really. I don't get them very often. The other day I was walking through the city, however, and those crazy kids who give out the free hugs were standing there, amongst the flotsam of humanity that is a late Tuesday morning in a sunny Union Square. They were holding small signs above their heads and shouting for all the world to hear that they had plenty of free hugs to give away.

It was one of those split seconds where I could have kept my eyes stoically on my path through the bodies ahead of me, but instead I met the eyes of the smallish Asian kid with a hand-painted tee shirt. He smiled, and hugged me, and held on a second or two longer than is normal, at least for the particular brand of American hugs I'm familiar with. It was the first time I had been really hugged right, by anybody, in months.

I know we're kinda jokey about it, but I think that hugs are important, and I'm glad we have them. That is all.
posted by allkindsoftime at 7:24 AM on May 9, 2008 [8 favorites]

I hear you, allkindsoftime.
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:32 AM on May 9, 2008

Am I hallucinating?

No, the walls actually are bubbling. And that frog doing the backstroke through that pool of fog really is singing Me and Bobby McGee. And that clock does actually appear to be painting a picture of a melting Salvador Dalí.

Which, when you think about it is pretty weird. I mean, who would have thought that an amphibian would have that kind of timbre?
posted by quin at 7:36 AM on May 9, 2008

All-time most awesomest thread about deletions.
posted by Mister_A at 7:41 AM on May 9, 2008

I think that hugs are important, and I'm glad we have them.

Yes.
posted by jessamyn at 7:57 AM on May 9, 2008

*gives jessamyn a hug, properly categorized and filed*
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:09 AM on May 9, 2008

I'm still trying to figuring out whom cortex's dad deleted. Or doubled up on.
posted by jmd82 at 8:14 AM on May 9, 2008

Note, for example, that when returning a wand to a king while wearing a Hammer Brothers outfit, the king is so overwhelmed by his dismay at being "rescued" that he cannot help but ask (for naught, too) for ownership of your clever beetle-carapace outfit.

It is, notably, the retainers, and not the kings, who request your assistance in retrieving the wands. Do you think each king's speech was some extemporaneous thing? No, nor willingly given—trained into them, rather, by a court they understood to paradoxically rule them.

Bowser as fulfiller of wishes, as Leary-esque liberator; Mario as unquestioning enforcer of the status quo. No wonder the princess keeps oops! not managing to avoid being kidnapped.
posted by cortex at 8:16 AM on May 9, 2008 [7 favorites]

So this is what you do when you're not working on Bunt Cake?
posted by blue_beetle at 8:27 AM on May 9, 2008

I really wish I hadn't read cortex's interpretation of Mario 3.
posted by Tehanu at 8:34 AM on May 9, 2008

No, seriously, I have a vivid memory of getting to the final castle in the first Super Mario Bros. and instead of rescuing the princess, there's a king. I'm having no luck googling this.
posted by Kattullus at 8:36 AM on May 9, 2008

In the Japanese version of SMB3, Mario attempts to commit ritual suicide at the end.
posted by cortex at 8:39 AM on May 9, 2008

And has tentacles.
posted by Viomeda at 9:30 AM on May 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

I would go to a hug booth. I think we should have hug booths in every city across the world.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 9:31 AM on May 9, 2008

Would the hugs be free?
Would they be seasonally/temporally priced?
How do you tax a hug?
How do you protect the huggers?
I'm intrigued, Marie, but I gotta run all this by Legal first...
posted by Dizzy at 9:45 AM on May 9, 2008

Just because someone needs a hug, doesn't mean they deserve one.

Unlike spankings, which, when needed, are always deserved as well.

I once made a list of some of Matt's gnomic reasons for deletion. Ah, here it is.
posted by orange swan at 9:54 AM on May 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Too clever
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 10:04 AM on May 9, 2008

I wish I was as clever when I delete threads, but I just cross them off the screen with magic markers.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:26 AM on May 9, 2008

Astro Zombie: I did that for a while, but I have run out of screens. Can you send me some extras? Or do you use dry-erase markers?
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 10:37 AM on May 9, 2008

Ah, fuck this. This charade is getting obnoxious.

Hey, jessamyn, cortex, mathowie: can somebody reactivate my account? Using my wife's account has gotten a little old. And I don't know how I feel about people thinking I'm a woman.

Do I have to send an email about this or something?
posted by Viomeda at 11:55 AM on May 9, 2008

free koeselitz!

with purchase of &c.
posted by dersins at 12:09 PM on May 9, 2008

Yeah, no sweat. Though there's this new "e-mail" thing they have now that works wonders for making this kind of request, kiddo.
posted by cortex at 12:32 PM on May 9, 2008

Would the hugs be free?

Free, yes.

Would they be seasonally/temporally priced?

I think... twice as many in winter, because it's colder in the winter. But still free.

How do you tax a hug?

Hrm. I bet the IRS would figure a way...

How do you protect the huggers?

Volunteer bouncers?

I'm intrigued, Marie, but I gotta run all this by Legal first...

Figures. The govt would probably outlaw it due to potential liability within city limits. Or they'd make people wear masks and goggles, and latex gloves. Who wants to hug that? It would be like hugging a dentist who's about to stick a needle in your mouth.

Maybe we could just make 'em dress up as fuzzy animals, those guys get away with hugging all the time.

Dizzy was my nickname in high school, by the way.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:05 PM on May 9, 2008

urgh... uh.. Oh. Fuck, that sun is bright.

How long was I out?

JESUS CHRIST, WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LEGS?
posted by koeselitz at 1:08 PM on May 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hey, koeselitz, old buddy! Long time no see! Say, look up there!

*ties k's shoelaces together*
posted by languagehat at 1:14 PM on May 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hi, koeslitz.
posted by Burhanistan at 1:31 PM on May 9, 2008

koeselitz!
posted by cgc373 at 1:43 PM on May 9, 2008

koeselitz.

Hi, people. Good to see you all.
posted by koeselitz at 1:50 PM on May 9, 2008

So this is what you do when you're not working on Bunt Cake?


I'm pretty sure it's bundt cake unless you are trying, as a batter, to advance the runner. Heh.
posted by fixedgear at 2:06 PM on May 9, 2008

unless you are trying, as a batter, to advance the runner

He was.

He didn't advance him very far, though.

Heh.
posted by dersins at 2:10 PM on May 9, 2008

Batter.
posted by Pax at 2:13 PM on May 9, 2008

KOESELITZ. I have missed you.
posted by jessamyn at 2:29 PM on May 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Thank you, jessamyn.

That thread a while back in here about me, well, that almost had me tearing up.
posted by koeselitz at 2:41 PM on May 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yeah, everybody all "oh look, I'm cutting onions! koeselitiz, I'm cutting up some nice fresh onions! Hey! Look! Look! Also, your dog died."
posted by cortex at 2:55 PM on May 9, 2008

Welcome to the Insult Booth, sticklegs.
posted by Free word order! at 5:41 PM on May 9, 2008

Oh damn... koeselitz is back... he'll, like, say intelligent things and stuff... can't have that
posted by Kattullus at 9:30 PM on May 9, 2008

Am I hallucinating?

Of course you are. Us cool kids are at the drug booth. It's the approval-seeking ass-kissers who are all hanging out at the hug booth.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:04 AM on May 10, 2008

Peter I believe you are standing at the Fug Booth OH DISS
posted by cortex at 7:27 AM on May 10, 2008

You should talk, Mister At-the-head-of-the-line-at-the-smug-booth.
posted by dersins at 9:00 AM on May 10, 2008

Is this the bug booth? 'Cause I mugged these bugs and lugged them all the way here.
posted by languagehat at 9:25 AM on May 10, 2008

I'm just lost. I was trying to find the Jack Klugman booth.
posted by cortex at 9:42 AM on May 10, 2008

Sorry to be late, I have been in the snug as a bug in a rug booth. It's nice there.
posted by jessamyn at 12:12 PM on May 10, 2008

See y'all later. I'll be pouring out a little liquor for my homie 2Pac over at the thug booth.
posted by dersins at 2:15 PM on May 10, 2008

Well, either that or I'll head downtown to Ground Kontrol and slide a couple quarters into the Dig Dug booth. I can't decide.
posted by dersins at 2:20 PM on May 10, 2008

allkindsoftime: Totally agree with you. I never ran into the Free Hugs kids in New York, but on a weekend in Montreal, I ran into performance artist of such who didn't say a word, but just gave free hugs to whoever wanted them. Surprisingly not a lot of takers, but I sure as hell got mine. (Third Pic)

Also, deletion reasons are some of the best entertainment on the site. Having had a few of my posts deleted in the past, I'm an avowed paranoid thread-babysitter. Recently I accidentally posted a double, and Cortex's humor on the matter was just as much an affirmation as if I hadn't fucked up in the first place.
posted by Navelgazer at 3:34 PM on May 10, 2008

I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.


Yeah, that's right, it's getting all Shel Silverstein up in this bitch.
posted by danb at 6:35 AM on May 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

I thought about a shrug booth, but just couldn't get up the oomph for it.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 6:41 AM on May 12, 2008

You sluggardly mugs, tugging on pugs and adjusting your rugs,
I need ear-plugs and a jug from which to glug-glug drugs; instead I'll just shrug.
posted by Dizzy at 8:09 PM on May 16, 2008