AskMe sidebar, please

May 15, 2008 4:30 AM

My Little Feature Request: Paulsc had an uncommonly well-written answer in AskMe. It would be a good candidate for the AskMe sidebar, oh wait, there's no AskMe sidebar. But there could be.
posted by theora55 to feature requests at 4:30 AM (45 comments total)

I've seen AskMe answers on the blue page sidebar. In fact, there are some there now.
posted by prefpara at 4:37 AM on May 15

1. There's just one sidebar. AskMe comments have made it there before
2. Sounds to me like a best answer, nothing more. I wouldn't say it's uncommonly well-written

posted by Deathalicious at 4:39 AM on May 15

1. Are you saying Paulsc doesn't commonly write well? Or are you saying we should be awarding folks for good spelling and grammar? He already got a best answer. The answer itself, while maybe not common knowledge, was not exactly esoteric, either. Or did you find it funny? Because I understand Ask is not really about Funny, and we don't want to encourage too much of That Sort of Thing. Not sure where you're coming from, or going with this.

2. The main sidebar on the Blue encompasses all the subsites, as I understand it.
posted by Eideteker at 4:40 AM on May 15

The main sidebar encompasses all the subsections of the site. Feel free to flag something "fantastic" if you think it should be on the sidebar, or feel free to MeFiMail us.
posted by jessamyn at 5:03 AM on May 15

Weird. I saw that very post and thought pretty much the same thing.
posted by Jofus at 5:41 AM on May 15

Weird. I saw that very post and thought pretty much the same thing.

OMG, PAULSC IS USING HYPNOSIS THRU TEH INTERNETS!!!!
posted by piratebowling at 6:14 AM on May 15

OMG, PAULSC IS USING HYPNOSIS THRU TEH INTERNETS!!!!
That proves it. There is nothing he can't do.
posted by Floydd at 6:16 AM on May 15

[in monotone] ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOPAULSC
posted by Plutor at 6:29 AM on May 15 [3 favorites]

I really enjoyed that answer as well. Can confirm Hypnotism works on Firefox/Mac.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 6:30 AM on May 15

I'm not getting the hypno vibes (FF3b5/Win2008x64). Could someone do a dramatic reenactment using broccolli? I think that would help.
posted by blue_beetle at 6:36 AM on May 15

I like the idea of rewarding well-written and clear answers, not that I think it would cause others to suddenly write more weller or answer more clearfully.

But I think of the sidebar as the huh bar. As in, "Huh. I didn't know I cared about that. And some expert has written a wellish and cleary explanation of it. Cool!"
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:40 AM on May 15

For people that only use askme, it might be a neat little feature.
posted by drezdn at 7:07 AM on May 15

I happen to think that there is too damn much AskMe stuff on the sidebar because Jessamyn is the only admin that isn't a lazy good-for-nothing and she adds stuff to it and she hangs out in AskMe mostly and so it is mostly AskMe stuff. That being said, I think that this thread deserves a place on the sidebar because reading about a bunch of happy old people brought a smile to my face.
posted by ND¢ at 7:12 AM on May 15 [1 favorite]

I think we should randomly sidebar people's mefi mail.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:21 AM on May 15 [5 favorites]

I would be content if the sidebar had a little more turnover. Not a lot. Just a little. I would also be fine if we had segregated sidebars separate but equal sidebars two brotherly sidebars, hand in hand, looking to the future.
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:25 AM on May 15

I like the idea of rewarding well-written and clear answers

I want mine paid in cheeseburgers.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:47 AM on May 15

I would be content if I had a berry turnover.
posted by box at 7:49 AM on May 15

That proves it. There is nothing he can't do.

Except fly a plane off of a treadmill.
posted by loquacious at 7:53 AM on May 15 [7 favorites]

I like the idea of rewarding well-written and clear answers too! Can we incorporate a reward/punishment system into all aspects of the site my life? I want to be held accountable for EVERYTHING. If I walk down the street without tripping, I should get a favorite. If I say "comftubbull" instead of "comfortable", may a small red flag be placed above my head and stay with me until I give somebody else some well deserved public recognition!
posted by iamkimiam at 7:55 AM on May 15 [2 favorites]

*pulls out The List, scans for iamkimiam's name, adds a frowny face next to the two smiley faces and the pirate ship*
posted by cortex at 8:13 AM on May 15

I think we should randomly sidebar people's mefi mail.

"No, no, no. I mean, I understand what you are saying, but I just don't think that it would actually work. If you put a rabbit into a potato gun and fired it at someone, I'm sure it would still be considered assault as well as animal cruelty. I really don't think you could legitimately pose the argument that you were trying to test the rabbit's aerodynamics and you needed a down-range observer. Plus, unless it was wearing goggles, I doubt that the rabbit could see well enough to sufficiently operate the guidance fins that you proposed.

I'd advise you to just let this whole project go."
posted by quin at 8:15 AM on May 15 [2 favorites]

"I think we should randomly sidebar people's mefi mail."

"I did what you wanted. Now please let my kids go, oh God please. We had a deal right? I didn't tell the police I didn't tell anyone! Oh my God, my babies, please don't hurt them...I told you I'd do anything, and you promised they'd be safe if I did what you wanted. For God's sake I posted the cute bear video to the front page two hours ago! Look, they're commenting in the thread. It even has four favorites. What more do you want? What do you want from me? LET MY CHILDREN GO YOU BASTARD!"
posted by Pastabagel at 8:24 AM on May 15 [1 favorite]

Oh hai goose-stepping poltroons of paulscism, you are all wrong, paulsc should be roasted on a spit for that answer. By God, I am so much cooler than you.
posted by Mister_A at 8:51 AM on May 15

time for another contest!! A month of good posts with cheeseburgers as a prize.
posted by Rumple at 8:54 AM on May 15

paulsc should be roasted on a spit for that answer.

So he's a savory lobbyist?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:56 AM on May 15 [3 favorites]

"I think we should randomly sidebar people's mefi mail."

"While I appreciate your enthusiasm and your faith in human nature, I still maintain that if word of the alien presence in our midst ever got out, we would witness a type and scale of panic that would make the final minutes on the Titanic resemble a particularly sedate performance by the U.S. Marines Silent Drill Team. Add to that the extraterrestrial visitors' unfortunate resemblance to a cross between Shelly Winters and groaty pudding, plus the fact that they've adapted several species of houseplants to record us for their unearthly version of YouTube, and no matter how good the aliens' intentions are, most people would feel a near-genetic compulsion to reduce them to paste.

I'm afraid this must remain, for now, our burden to bear. We can only hope that someday mankind will be ready for this."
posted by MrVisible at 9:01 AM on May 15

I will gladly make a good post Tuesday for a cheeseburger prize today.
posted by cortex at 9:02 AM on May 15

That's what you said last week.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:45 AM on May 15

The rule is, good post tomorrow, good post yesterday, but never good post today.
posted by matthewr at 9:57 AM on May 15

more snidebars, pls
posted by Eideteker at 10:02 AM on May 15 [3 favorites]

(that comment will probably get more favorites if I explain to people that "snark" is a portmanteau of "snide + remark", and therefore it works better than snarkbar. Unless you're a fan of Clark Bars, in which case you're stupid.)
posted by Eideteker at 10:05 AM on May 15

(and, of course, that comment will get favorites if, as I presume, anti-Clark-bar sentiment is high at MetaFilter. It can't fail!)
posted by Eideteker at 10:06 AM on May 15

*pulls out The List, scans for iamkimiam's name, adds a frowny face next to the two smiley faces and the pirate ship*

Where's my goddamn pirate ship, cortex? I've been keelhauling and plundering and ARRRRing way more than iamkimiam. It's because I'm oriental isn't it? Everyone sees the slanty eyes and goes "No pirate ship for you. For you, the ninja stars." Discrimination.
posted by juv3nal at 10:39 AM on May 15

Whatchamacallit = crazy delicious
posted by cowbellemoo at 10:42 AM on May 15

*puts another "trying too hard" ship-with-strikethrough mark next to juv3nal's name*
posted by cortex at 10:51 AM on May 15

I am a fan of portmanteau words. Well played, eideteker.
posted by Mister_A at 11:15 AM on May 15

I am a fan of portmanteau words.

You misspelled "portmantwords." HTH.
posted by dersins at 11:22 AM on May 15

"I am a fan of portmanteau words."

Would you say they are portmanteautally awesome?
posted by Eideteker at 11:41 AM on May 15 [2 favorites]

Portmanteausome, surely.
posted by cortex at 12:01 PM on May 15

Yes I would, for I am a dork.
posted by Mister_A at 12:02 PM on May 15

Remember the children's game Telephone? It starts with a whispered phrase that is then repeated around the group with the intention of seeing how much it changes in transmission.
This thread started "My Little Feature Request: Paulsc had an uncommonly well-written answer in AskMe" and ended "Yes I would, for I am a dork".
posted by Cranberry at 12:42 PM on May 15

Meh. Everyone knows a comment has to be at least two full page-scrolls long before it can be sidebarred.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:31 PM on May 15

I like the idea.
posted by -t at 6:46 PM on May 15

Why do you hate Paulsc so much?
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 7:46 PM on May 16

So I definitely had paulsc and scarabic confused in my mind for a moment there and panicked completely, thinking "the dude hypnotizes you AND makes you disappear off the face of the earth?"

But it turns out paulsc was paulsc after all, so all is well.

And yes, an AskMe specific sidebar would be lovely. Or at least display the main sidebar on the AskMe page. I spent a year more or less exclusively on AskMe, and had no idea what the sidebar was. Plus, public recognition of GOOD posts (not snarky one-liners) might encourage higher posting quality.
posted by Phire at 8:17 PM on May 16