Error when filling out your birthday in the preferences.

June 8, 2008 6:21 PM

In your preferences, if you select a month and year for your birthday, but not a specific day of the month, you get an error message. Could that be changed so you have the option to fill in only the month/year?
posted by BuddhaInABucket to bugs at 6:21 PM (97 comments total)

Naw, we use the day to calculate exactly how old you are, otherwise it doesn't really work.
posted by mathowie at 6:26 PM on June 8, 2008

What benefit is there to only putting month/year?
posted by Ms. Saint at 6:27 PM on June 8, 2008

We let you do day/month and/or day/month/year. I'm not sure if there's any benefit at all to doing just month year, is there?
posted by jessamyn at 6:32 PM on June 8, 2008

No, we need the exact day. Also, submit a lock of hair and a picture to put on your poppet. Rows and rows of them in compact shelving in the basement of MeFi Central. When a user has been bad, really bad ... well, you often see some of them complaining about migraines, sudden illnesses, and random bad events, don't you?
posted by adipocere at 6:44 PM on June 8, 2008 [2 favorites]

Yay poppets!
posted by WalterMitty at 6:47 PM on June 8, 2008

Mercy Warren keeps poppets.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:08 PM on June 8, 2008

But then we won't know your astrological sign.
posted by unknowncommand at 7:28 PM on June 8, 2008

Naw, we use the day to calculate exactly how old you are, otherwise it doesn't really work.

Are you sure that's the reason? If I just put in the month and day, you wouldn't know how old I was, but it looks like that's one of the two working options, nonetheless.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:37 PM on June 8, 2008

Oh, crap. It's Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:43 PM on June 8, 2008

Month and day: We know when to wish you happy birthday.
Month, day, and year: We know how old you are and when to wish you happy birthday.
Month and year: ???
posted by theiconoclast31 at 7:48 PM on June 8, 2008

We also have year only as an option. We added that by popular demand soon after we added birthdays.

The form now errors out silently if you choose a month/year only instead of giving an ugly "null month" error. This is the same behavior as choosing a day or month only.
posted by pb at 8:08 PM on June 8, 2008

For fuck's sake I have never seen any website but here where people feel the need to enter in their birthday information in over 9000 different levels of detail. I think any other site you'd be told to fill in everything or not have your birthday listed, so be thankful for what you have.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 8:20 PM on June 8, 2008 [2 favorites]

personally I have no desire to tell the internets when my birthday is, but I'm assuming this is about having more detail than "1978" without the added ID-thieving google-stalking "1978-03-12"¹ information...

1. not actual birthdate
posted by russm at 8:40 PM on June 8, 2008

Our site is so great Google doesn't see any of that shit.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 8:51 PM on June 8, 2008

If we're gonna have this pony, how about... having only the day and the year?

Mmm! Tasty pony!

No? :(
posted by WalterMitty at 8:53 PM on June 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Next up, we're going to let you specify only the day of the week on which you were born, with a check box that toggles a "this is not actually day of the week on which I was born; I'm just foolin' with ya" flag.

And then we're taking away password changes again, just to mix it up.
posted by cortex at 8:57 PM on June 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Just pick a random day of the month to be your Metafilter birthday. It'll come a bit before or a bit after your actual birthday and be all sorts of fun.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 9:04 PM on June 8, 2008

Since I can't specify it in my profile, I'd like to you know that my birthday is on the 22d of something.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 9:14 PM on June 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Can we just have a checkbox?
posted by lore at 9:19 PM on June 8, 2008

Do you have a birthday
[ ] YES      [ ] NO

posted by cortex at 9:22 PM on June 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Keep the box, I'll settle for just the check.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 9:23 PM on June 8, 2008

I was born on the 3rd past blorn, with an ascendant frup in the western sky.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:28 PM on June 8, 2008

"Do you have a birthday
[ ] YES [ ] NO"


The brood I was in hatched on a specific day, but I've always been confused as to whether or not that was my birthday since technically I was a separate entity before that date. So I guess you're kind of discriminating against me by not including "maybe" as an option or giving me the ability to select two separate dates.
posted by 517 at 9:32 PM on June 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

I want to be outraged, dammit!
posted by dawson at 9:35 PM on June 8, 2008

Do you have a birthday
[x] YES      [ ] NO

By happenstance, it's today.
posted by dogwalker at 9:43 PM on June 8, 2008

There's this certain ... prophecy ... going around about me, so I'd prefer if everyone had a checkbox thusly and was required to fill it out:

Were you from your mother's womb untimely ripped?
[ ] YES [ ] NO
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 9:48 PM on June 8, 2008

why not just put the first day of the month if you don't want to use your 'exact' birthdate date?
posted by delmoi at 10:29 PM on June 8, 2008

Also, for "Status" we have "Single", "Taken" or "Open". But it seems like the opposite of open would be "Closed" What are catholic priests supposed to enter!?
posted by delmoi at 10:31 PM on June 8, 2008

That's simple. Catholic priests are in some sense considered "married to the Church" and thus "Taken."
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 10:38 PM on June 8, 2008

TheOnlyCoolTim, I can actually check that box "yes."
posted by maxwelton at 10:42 PM on June 8, 2008

russm: That may not be your actual birthday, but it's definitely someone's, and thus it's pretty irresponsible for you to be posting it in a public forum on the internet.
posted by aubilenon at 10:57 PM on June 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

happy birthday, dogwalker!
posted by lunit at 11:01 PM on June 8, 2008

If I enter "taken" people will think I am a Catholic priest? I am taken aback at that eventuality!
posted by Cranberry at 11:24 PM on June 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Last chance for happy birthday to dogwalker. Is there a belated option?
posted by Cranberry at 11:25 PM on June 8, 2008

Not the LAST, chance, surely?
posted by cgc373 at 11:56 PM on June 8, 2008

Last chance? What is this ..... Logan's Run?
posted by gomichild at 12:13 AM on June 9, 2008

Born in the middle of the afternoon
In a horsedrawn wagon on the old A5
The big 12-wheelers shook my bed
"You can't stop here", the policeman said,

"You'd better get born in someplace else
So move along, get along,
Move along, get along,
Go! Move! Shift!"

Born in the tattie-howking time
In an auld bow tent near a tattie field
The fairmer said, "The work's aa done
It's time that ye was movin on"

Born on a common near a building site
Where the ground was rutted by the trailer's wheels
The local people said to me
"You'll lower the price of property"

Born at the back of a blackthorn hedge
When the white hoarfrost lay all around
No eastern kings came bearing gifts
Instead the order came to shift

Winter's sky was filled with stars
But one shone brighter than the rest
The wise men came so stern and strict
And brought the order to evict

Wagon, tent or trailer born
Last month, last year or in far-off days
Born here or a thousand miles away
There's always men nearby who say,

"You'd better get born in someplace else
So move along, get along,
Move along, get along,
Go! Move! Shift!"

posted by Abiezer at 12:47 AM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Were you born
[ ] under a bad sign [ ] to be alive [ ] in the USA [ ] to be wild [ ] to run?
posted by soundofsuburbia at 1:51 AM on June 9, 2008 [4 favorites]

You forgot [ ] free and [ ] with a silver spoon.
posted by WalterMitty at 2:17 AM on June 9, 2008

I was born
[x] to love you
[x] to lick your face
[x] to rub you
but you were born
[x] to rub me first
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:28 AM on June 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

[ ] in the wagon of a travelin' show
[ ] one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:45 AM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

[ ] again, to cover Abba tunes
posted by maxwelton at 4:04 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] Under a wand'rin star.
posted by Phanx at 4:31 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] ready.
[ ] standin' up and talkin' back.
[ ] in East L.A.
posted by cgc373 at 4:45 AM on June 9, 2008

[x] a small black child...
posted by jonmc at 5:52 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] slippy
posted by armoured-ant at 6:02 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] in a small town
posted by cortex at 6:18 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] born
[ ] sprung from the earth, fully formed
posted by Pants! at 6:25 AM on June 9, 2008

For fuck's sake I have never seen any website but here where people feel the need to enter in their birthday information in over 9000 different levels of detail.

Au contraire! On both Livejournal and Facebook, there are options to choose what parts of your birthday to display. They do not have month + year as options though, because that's silly.
posted by smackfu at 6:43 AM on June 9, 2008

Just the day will do.

LVII.
SOLOMON GRUNDY,
Born on Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday;
This is the end
Of Solomon Grundy.

More bizarre still:

LVI.
TOM married a wife on Sunday,
Beat her well on Monday,
Bad was she on Tuesday,
Middling was she on Wednesday,
Worse was she on Thursday,
Dead was she on Friday;
Glad was Tom on Saturday night,
To bury his wife on Sunday.
posted by tellurian at 6:48 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] on the bayou
posted by Tehanu at 7:36 AM on June 9, 2008 [3 favorites]

[x] in the back seat of a Mustang on a cold night in the pouring rain
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:09 AM on June 9, 2008

So when are we getting Born [insert song lyric here]? Dates are so limiting.
posted by Tehanu at 8:16 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] a unicorn.

I could of sworn you believed in me. Then how come all the other Unicorns are dead?
posted by yeti at 8:20 AM on June 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

A unicorn dies every time a person says "could of" like that.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:22 AM on June 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

unknowncommand : But then we won't know your astrological sign.

Piggyback request; for those who have entered all this information, can we get our astrological readings? I'll write this months:

Taurus: Something big is coming, keep your head down. Now might be a good time to, I don't know... repent of your sins, if you know what I mean...

Gemini: You are fucked! Like upper case F. You know that apocalypse you kept making jokes about? Yeah, well who's laughing now? Your future includes a lake of fire and an understanding of true suffering.

Cancer: Good news! It looks like it's going to be quiet for a while. How's eternity sound? Pack some good books, you are going to need them.
posted by quin at 8:25 AM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

It seems like it should be more mefi-specific, quin.

"There are a lot of favorites on the line this week. Choose your words carefully."

"Keep an eye out for important MefiMail. There's a contact (crush) you've been thinking about—don't wait for them to make the first move."

"No, that's a double post."
posted by cortex at 8:30 AM on June 9, 2008 [2 favorites]

[ ] in the wintertime under-neath a purple sky.
posted by dawson at 8:57 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] Son of Byford, brother of Al
posted by Pax at 9:04 AM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

[ ] on the bayou

[ ] made to wave the flag
[ ] silver spoon in hand

[ ] to move

FOGERRRRRTYYYY!

[ ] on a train
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 9:22 AM on June 9, 2008

Just set the day to 1. It'll have the same effect.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:25 AM on June 9, 2008

[x] in the back seat of a Greyhound bus, rollin' down Highway 41
posted by jonmc at 9:25 AM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

[x] Pat Buchanan
posted by Sys Rq at 9:27 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] to brew up storms, stir up shit, kick up dust, cuss til I slur up spit.
posted by cashman at 9:28 AM on June 9, 2008

[X] To Hang.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:45 AM on June 9, 2008

What amuses me is that this thread is in the "bugs" category. It's not a bug that you can't list only the month and year of your birthday, that's how a birthday works.
posted by kate blank at 9:45 AM on June 9, 2008

No, really. Why do you want this?
posted by dirtdirt at 10:00 AM on June 9, 2008

[ ] Son of Byford, brother of Al
Bad as my mamma and Run's, my pal
It's McDaniels, not McDonald's
These rhymes are Darryl's,
those burgers are RONALD'S
I ran down, my family tree
My mother, my father, my brother and D
posted by quin at 10:33 AM on June 9, 2008

I want to list my birthday as "the 22d" for the same reason I want to list my location as latitude +90. Do I understand this reason? No. Is it silly and juvenile? Perhaps. Maybe an occasional bit of obvious misinformation makes the world more interesting.

NSA national security agency code PGP GPG satellite cia yemen toxin botulinum mi5 mi6 mit kgb .mil mil base64 us defence intelligence agency admiral diplomat alert! BATF
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 10:33 AM on June 9, 2008

My birthday is January 1, 1981.

OR IS IT?
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 10:56 AM on June 9, 2008

Dun dun DUN!!

[dramatic littlest brussels sprout]
posted by cashman at 11:28 AM on June 9, 2008

[x] with a plastic spoon in my mouth/the north side of my town faced east/and the east was facing south
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:46 AM on June 9, 2008 [3 favorites]

[ ] Again.
posted by dawson at 11:55 AM on June 9, 2008

I may feel slightly sad, but I won't cry.
posted by everichon at 12:16 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] full grown from the forehead of Zeus
Seriously, were we expected to enter real data? So confining of the MeFite mind.
posted by Cranberry at 12:17 PM on June 9, 2008

Could you add an option for calculating your age from two years after your birthdate?
posted by mpls2 at 12:22 PM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

13/13/85
Lousy Smarch weather.
posted by ALongDecember at 12:42 PM on June 9, 2008

I for one am happy with how it allows us to enter less-than-complete info.
posted by philomathoholic at 1:43 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] to lose.
posted by vronsky at 1:43 PM on June 9, 2008

Johnny Thunders

Johnny Cash
posted by vronsky at 1:50 PM on June 9, 2008

[] Identity [] Conspiracy [] Supremacy
posted by misha at 1:56 PM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

[ ] in Little Rock, had a childhood sweetheart...
posted by Evangeline at 2:00 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] by the river, in a little tent
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:14 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] like this
Into this
As the chalk faces smile
As Mrs. Death laughs
As the elevators break
As political landscapes dissolve
As the supermarket bag boy holds a college degree
As the oily fish spit out their oily prey
As the sun is masked
We are

[ ] like this
Into this
Into these carefully mad wars
Into the sight of broken factory windows of emptiness
Into bars where people no longer speak to each other
Into fist fights that end as shootings and knifings

[ ] into this
Into hospitals which are so expensive that it’s cheaper to die
Into lawyers who charge so much it’s cheaper to plead guilty
Into a country where the jails are full and the madhouses closed
Into a place where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes

[ ] into this
Walking and living through this
Dying because of this
Muted because of this
Castrated
Debauched
Disinherited
Because of this
Fooled by this
Used by this
Pissed on by this
Made crazy and sick by this
Made violent
Made inhuman
By this
The heart is blackened
The fingers reach for the throat
The gun
The knife
The bomb
The fingers reach toward an unresponsive god
The fingers reach for the bottle
The pill
The powder
We are

[ ] into this sorrowful deadliness
We are

[ ] into a government 60 years in debt
That soon will be unable to even pay the interest on that debt
And the banks will burn
Money will be useless
There will be open and unpunished murder in the streets
It will be guns and roving mobs
Land will be useless
Food will become a diminishing return
Nuclear power will be taken over by the many
Explosions will continually shake the earth
Radiated robot men will stalk each other
The rich and the chosen will watch from space platforms
Dante’s Inferno will be made to look like a children’s playground
The sun will not be seen and it will always be night
Trees will die
All vegetation will die
Radiated men will eat the flesh of radiated men
The sea will be poisoned
The lakes and rivers will vanish
Rain will be the new gold
The rotting bodies of men and animals will stink in the dark wind
The last few survivors will be overtaken by new and hideous diseases
And the space platforms will be destroyed by attrition
The petering out of supplies
The natural effect of general decay
And there will be the most beautiful silence never heard

[ ] out of that.
The sun still hidden there
Awaiting the next chapter.
posted by burnmp3s at 2:19 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] Borg
posted by NikitaNikita at 3:14 PM on June 9, 2008

Peter, [ ] & John
posted by NikitaNikita at 3:15 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] to lose.

Live to win.
posted by ersatz at 3:31 PM on June 9, 2008

Just [x]
posted by bettafish at 3:37 PM on June 9, 2008

Happy Dogwalker, birthday.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 4:04 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] in Oklahoma, his wife's name is Betty-Lou Thelma Liz; he's not responsible for what he's doin', his mother made him what he is.

It's almost embarrasing how badly I felt I needed to log on and post that after reading the thread this afternoon, and just thinking of the song this evening.
posted by yhbc at 4:14 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] in Arizona, moved to Babylonia
posted by cortex at 4:15 PM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

[ ] on a mountain top in Tennessee.
posted by Evangeline at 4:21 PM on June 9, 2008

[ ] in a bottle rocket, 1929. (date and month not specified)
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 4:27 PM on June 9, 2008

quin, I'm a Scorpio. Do mine!
posted by desjardins at 5:51 PM on June 9, 2008

"You make inappropriate romantic advances in the first person possesive."
posted by cortex at 5:55 PM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

[ ] on the Sabbath day. Blithe? Bonny? Good? Gay?
posted by tangerine at 12:26 PM on June 10, 2008

> Do you have a birthday
[x] YES [ ] NO
By happenstance, it's today.

ME TOO HIGH FIVE
posted by churl at 9:27 PM on June 11, 2008