It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it. June 28, 2008 7:49 PM   Subscribe

One link music posts by mathowie? Ok. One link music post by plexi? Deleted.
posted by plexi to Etiquette/Policy at 7:49 PM (133 comments total)

Difference is, Matt's post was worth reading. It provided a unique look at the influence of the "Hammer Dance" in Asia.
posted by porn in the woods at 7:52 PM on June 28, 2008


Comparing your post to an admin's never ends well.

mathowie's post has a good deal more explanation, and, as an added bonus, the video is interesting.

Hey, thanks for linking to that first one. I missed that the first time, and it's cool.
posted by graventy at 7:53 PM on June 28, 2008


Forget it plexi, it's Metatown.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:56 PM on June 28, 2008 [24 favorites]


it's a conspiracy!!!!! Matt=EVIL! Down with censorship!
posted by dawson at 7:59 PM on June 28, 2008


ownership has its privileges, you know
posted by pyramid termite at 8:00 PM on June 28, 2008


It is difficult to get a user to understand something when his ego depends on not understanding it.
posted by googly at 8:01 PM on June 28, 2008 [5 favorites]


I agree with the idea of sudden and heavy-handed editorial discretion (it allows admins great freedom to shape the personality of a site,) but it isn't very clear in the guidelines that if the admins don't particularly like your link they'll delete it.
posted by plexi at 8:03 PM on June 28, 2008


Live and learn, plexi.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:06 PM on June 28, 2008


Those other ones were interesting. Yours? Not so much.
posted by puke & cry at 8:11 PM on June 28, 2008


If you had thought to hack your slyt post it would have gone a lot better.
posted by iconomy at 8:13 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


but it isn't very clear in the guidelines that if the admins don't particularly like your link they'll delete it

That's not generally how it works, is why. We got a pile of flags and What The Heck email about your post and the thread itself was full of critical comments, and you provided no context for why what you were linking to was interesting to set off the negative reaction from the userbase. That's kind of a text-book example of a deleted post, and doesn't do a good job of describing either of Matt's cited posts.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:13 PM on June 28, 2008 [2 favorites]


I also agree there are nuances that aren't being picked up here. Matt owns the site. Plexi does not. He kind of gets to post whatever the fuck he wants.
posted by Anonymous at 8:13 PM on June 28, 2008


What part of "...without context a single link youtube music video is a really bad post for metafilter" don't you understand?

That said, I dug the music, but Jessamyn is right, there's no context as why this link was neat, cool, or whatever, despite your mysteriously written post. Seriously, what's the point? You write "Denmark makes a comeback", but a comeback from fucking what? How 'bout you explain that, before you continue throwing a tantrum?

You haven't been thinking about this.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:13 PM on June 28, 2008


This is a good single link music post.

Ahh, yeah, Scratch Perry is one brilliantly wigged out shining dub God, definitely.

This is another good single link music post.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:18 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


I get the impression that a lesbian flannel hoe-down imitated by a cadre of svelte Japanese gameshow contestants in bikinis would make an acceptable post. But, sadly, culturaly significant Danish electronic musician is seen as irrelevant. "C'est la vie!" (as sung by a Bollywood actress on a fixie Bianchi racing through a Jude Apatow movie set in Brooklyn.)

Metafilter is like the Freebird of the Internet - devotees of its righteousness will never be open to change. But, 10 years later, it's looking a little crusty.
posted by plexi at 8:23 PM on June 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


erm...here, I think you forgot a marble.
posted by dawson at 8:27 PM on June 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


Jesus, just how high are you?
posted by yhbc at 8:27 PM on June 28, 2008


From the wikipedia article about Trentemøller:

Trentemøller made his debut in 1997 together with DJ T.O.M. when they formed the first live-house act in Denmark, Trigbag, and started playing concerts all over the globe....In 2007 the song "Moan" by Trentemøller featuring Ane Trolle was a big hit in Denmark as well as a top 30 hit in the Belgium Singles Top 50.

Ok, so Trentemoller is the guy playing keyboard, yes? He's been active since 1997, so what's the comeback?

On preview
Come down off your damn cross/high horse/drug high and explain what the comeback is, please. Who went away? Where did he go? Why did he go there? Why did he return?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:28 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


Can someone send me a google of lesbian flannel?

Plexi, you just provided way more context than your post did. Give those of us who know fuck-all about Danish electronic music some context so we can judge the comeback for ourselves.
posted by maxwelton at 8:30 PM on June 28, 2008


a lesbian flannel hoe-down imitated by a cadre of svelte Japanese gameshow contestants in bikinis would make an acceptable post

And how!
posted by ColdChef at 8:30 PM on June 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


For fanden da også...
posted by CKmtl at 8:30 PM on June 28, 2008


Metafilter is like the Freebird of the Internet - devotees of its righteousness will never be open to change.

MetaFilter: Freebird of the Internet.

Now that's a tagline that desperately needs to be added to the frontpage rotation.
posted by ColdChef at 8:33 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


horse/drug high

Read "horse dung high." Thought "a new pleasure!" Internet disappoints yet again.
posted by maxwelton at 8:33 PM on June 28, 2008


And plexi, can you honestly not see the difference between the two posts?
posted by ColdChef at 8:34 PM on June 28, 2008


devotees of its righteousness will never be open to change.

Dude, shut up. Some of the old-timers here are still the most critical of changes that have been made. I don't want to name names, but if we had a nickel for every time an old-schooler criticized a mod decision or site change, we'd all be very rich. Look through the MeTa archives. And now that I've just looked at your posting history, despite your low user number, your lack of contributions here suggest that you never really soaked in the culture. Which is cool; I don't think that participation should be mandatory to level criticism against the moderators, but I do think that having a clue as to what you're talking about is often a good start.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 8:34 PM on June 28, 2008


Step 1: Insult founder of community blog.

Step 2
: Insult mods of community blog.

Step 3: Insult entire user base of community blog.

I'm not sure where you learned the basics of effectively arguing your point of view, but if I were you I'd demand a refund.
posted by googly at 8:35 PM on June 28, 2008 [4 favorites]


But, sadly, culturaly significant Danish electronic musician is seen as irrelevant.

If you had indicated anywhere in the fucking post why it was culturally significant, it probably would have stayed.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:36 PM on June 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


Why am I hearing Ennio Morricone music in my head?
posted by jonmc at 8:37 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


Oh for Christ's sake. Your post got deleted. This is stupid and I demand that this thread become a cesspool of lyrics quoting and links to pictures of things everyone thinks are stupider than your stupid callout, stupidface.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:38 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


Ok, fine. Sorry. I posted something non-ironic, straight forward, without a reference point to a 1973-1986 pop culture waypoint. I get it.

This is my Metafilter Atonement.
posted by plexi at 8:38 PM on June 28, 2008


Something is rotten in Denmark?
posted by blue_beetle at 8:39 PM on June 28, 2008


plexi, any atonement that involves mushrooms, nudity, and dancing is superfine with me.
posted by ColdChef at 8:42 PM on June 28, 2008


*takes shrooms. dances naked.*

I'm a giver.
posted by jonmc at 8:44 PM on June 28, 2008


Mods like to delete things, which is why they became mods in the first place.

Just roll with it and keep on posting. That's what I say.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 8:48 PM on June 28, 2008


and links to pictures of things everyone thinks are stupider than your stupid callout

Mmm, dinner.

on preview:
I posted something non-ironic, straight forward, without a reference point to a 1973-1986 pop culture waypoint

It was good music. I wish you'd stop being so obtuse and just explain the backstory.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:48 PM on June 28, 2008


Life ain't fair. Get used to it.
posted by Class Goat at 8:50 PM on June 28, 2008


This is my Metafilter Atonement

I also enjoyed the related video "Ridiculously Hot LATINA girl dancing, not asian! (ORIGINAL)" but was rather disappointed because somehow I thought I was going to see an asian dancing.
posted by dawson at 8:54 PM on June 28, 2008


plexi: "But, sadly, culturaly significant Danish electronic musician is seen as irrelevant."

Umm... yeah. Yes. That's very true. Except for the "sadly" part. Since you didn't fill me in, I have no idea why this music is allegedly significant, but if it's Danish electronic music... yeah, that's definitely irrelevant.
posted by team lowkey at 9:00 PM on June 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


<3 Paul Peña
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:01 PM on June 28, 2008


Simmah down, man! Simmah down!

And if you're getting so upset because we aren't cultured enough to appreciate your obscure electronic music references without context, then why the hell do you have that ridiculous Johst quote about culture and reaching for one's Browning in your profile? Slightly paradoxical, don't you think?
posted by Anonymous at 9:07 PM on June 28, 2008


::Taps foot. Waits for reference point to a 1973-1986 pop culture waypoint::
posted by kosem at 9:10 PM on June 28, 2008


Ok, dude? Anything that makes jacquilynne swear has got to be pretty intense.

You done gone fucked up.

Now, here's a suggestion:

You've got one good link. Flesh it out a bit. Find some articles on why this guy is so cool and hip and important. And repost.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:13 PM on June 28, 2008


I've been watching DVD's of Barney Miller Season 2 all night. I think Phil Fish is a fine example to follow for aging gracefully.
posted by jonmc at 9:13 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


Oh yeah, and all that said? That's some fucking great music.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:21 PM on June 28, 2008


Plexi-- RIP; mathowie-- RHIP.
posted by jamjam at 9:28 PM on June 28, 2008


there are no good single link music posts. period.
posted by msconduct at 9:28 PM on June 28, 2008 [2 favorites]


One link music post by plexi? Deleted.

How many posts have you had deleted? If this is your first one out of 45, that's not too bad. It seems that there's some confusion and disagreement about what this site is supposed to be; is it a bookmarking site (Best of the Web) or should we write mini-editorials on "important" topics? Some people get away with no explanation of what their post is about (though there are still plenty of people who complain about it) and there are others who go the verbose route. And everything in between. Go figure. Don't let it bother you, plexi. No big deal.
posted by sluglicker at 9:31 PM on June 28, 2008


You know, I'm really coming around to 2008 crypto-quixotic outsider performance art with a reference point to secret reference points.
posted by ~ at 9:34 PM on June 28, 2008


I just want to say hey y'all, HEY Y'ALL!
posted by nola at 9:35 PM on June 28, 2008


If the angle for posting a "one link music post" is to share this cool band that you think everyone needs to see, then it's not a good post for Metafilter.

Sort of like this post?
posted by spiderwire at 9:40 PM on June 28, 2008


Why am I hearing Ennio Morricone music in my head?


Do you know anything about a guy going around playing the harmonica? He's someone you'd remember. Instead of talking, he plays. And when he better play, he talks.
posted by nola at 9:40 PM on June 28, 2008


I get the impression that a lesbian flannel hoe-down imitated by a cadre of svelte Japanese gameshow contestants in bikinis would make an acceptable post.

Hmm... you could be right, but... I dunno. My FPP from last year featuring a lesbian flannel hoe-down imitated by a cadre of portly Japanese gameshow contestants in bikinis was swiftly deleted. I reckon svelte contestants might've tipped the scale into the area of acceptability, but, well, there's no way to know, really. As I recall, cortex's deletion reason was sketchy on the specifics.

But, honestly, plexi, you should know that Danish electronica will be deleted INSTANTLY. That's just a matter of policy. I mean, duh.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:44 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


Let's push him/her into a flame-out! What fun!

Or, you know, not do that.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:49 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


Aww, fff, you're such a mellow, kind hearted soul. S'what I've always admired about your comments!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:00 PM on June 28, 2008


Oh, it's DANISH electronica?

Well, fuck it, then.
posted by yhbc at 10:05 PM on June 28, 2008


You know who else quoted Hermann Göring on his profile page?
posted by nanojath at 10:07 PM on June 28, 2008


(This is a terrible single link music post.)
posted by nanojath at 10:10 PM on June 28, 2008


When I hear the words "deleted post" I reach for one more piece of toast.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:13 PM on June 28, 2008 [2 favorites]


Why did everything suddenly go bad in the United States?
posted by Sailormom at 10:13 PM on June 28, 2008


Also, I find it very funny--as an 18K'er--that 14K is considered a 'low' user number now.

I will be the lowest, one day.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:14 PM on June 28, 2008


. . .
posted by nola at 10:15 PM on June 28, 2008


You know who else quoted Hermann Göring on his profile page?

"The revised version is said by the character Jeremiah Prokosch (played by Jack Palance) in the film Contempt by Jean-Luc Godard. Informed by the original quote, it's an excellent one-sentence summary of the conflict between art and commerce."
posted by sluglicker at 10:24 PM on June 28, 2008


"You know who else quoted the character Jeremiah Prokosch (played by Jack Palance) in the film Contempt by Jean-Luc Godard?" is NOT VERY SNAPPY.
posted by nanojath at 10:27 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


I will be the lowest, one day.

Is... that how it works? I don't know!
posted by nanojath at 10:29 PM on June 28, 2008


I will be the lowest, one day.

Shouldn't our user numbers go down as people push the big red button, or 30 days pass after an incomplete application? That might make you think before pushing...yes, you can come back, but your account number will be, like, a newbie's.
posted by maxwelton at 10:40 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


I'll dance on all your graves. A nice slow waltz, maybe, or the cha-cha.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:47 PM on June 28, 2008


Sort of like this post?

Yeah, sort of. Only with a single link.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:02 PM on June 28, 2008


I'll dance on all your graves. A nice slow waltz, maybe, or the cha-cha.

How 'bout a nice slow waltz that was originally a cha-cha-cha?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:10 PM on June 28, 2008


All of Matt's posts suck. We politely ignore the fact.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:55 PM on June 28, 2008 [3 favorites]


sadly, culturaly significant Danish electronic musician is seen as irrelevant

I always thought you were named after, y'know, the *MARSHALL* plexi. 'Cause those rock.

You would never giggle at a Marshall plexi; certainly not, say, the way I'm giggling at you now.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:58 PM on June 28, 2008 [1 favorite]


I posted something non-ironic, straight forward, without a reference point to a 1973-1986 pop culture waypoint.

I even like trentemøller (though that song is mediocre), but your link was to a really boring video for someone that most people here probably have no cultural referents for, and probably don't care about. If you want to make people interested, you're going to have to give them some context (as Jessamyn said). And maybe find a more interesting video. The Asian MC Hammer video was really entertaining (and I _don't_ like MC Hammer), and about something the vast majority of the audience here probably has the cultural referents for. I hadn't seen the other post you linked to, but having never heard of the band and not really caring about the music, at least the video was interesting.
posted by advil at 12:27 AM on June 29, 2008


context matters and you didn't include any.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:46 AM on June 29, 2008


jonmc wrote...
I've been watching DVD's of Barney Miller Season 2 all night.

Ooh! Shepherd Book was really good in that!
posted by tkolar at 1:11 AM on June 29, 2008


But, sadly, culturaly significant Danish electronic musician is seen as irrelevant.

Your favourite culturally significant Danish electronic musician sucks.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:12 AM on June 29, 2008


I like Ane Trolle but I'm with advil: that was a mediocre song and a worse post.
posted by juv3nal at 1:24 AM on June 29, 2008


Trentemoller is a genius, but that post sucked.
posted by empath at 1:32 AM on June 29, 2008


I bet they'll delete the nosepicking hamster of Aarhus too. The mods hate Denmark.
posted by Meatbomb at 1:49 AM on June 29, 2008


I wish I were a cultural waypoint.
posted by srboisvert at 2:20 AM on June 29, 2008


Googling "danish 1973-1986 pop culture" doesn't seem to get any relevant hits, so anytime you wanna explain what meant, please do. As it is, you're reenacting the worst tendencies of Lost.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:07 AM on June 29, 2008


your post, and your favorite band, both suck
posted by matteo at 3:35 AM on June 29, 2008


*is still thinking about Brigitte Bardot in the nip in Contempt*
posted by Wolof at 3:57 AM on June 29, 2008


The main problem was that your post was the suckiest suck that ever sucked.
posted by chillmost at 3:57 AM on June 29, 2008


Yeah, explanation please, plexi: I'm well confused. And also feel kind of sorry for Trentmoller if is his 'comeback' consists of such an embarrassingly dated song sounding like an inept pastiche of Faithless circa 1998, when he's done some decent stuff in his time (I only really know of his remixes, admittedly - eg. that one he did for The Knife from, erm, last year).
posted by jack_mo at 3:59 AM on June 29, 2008


A cat just ran across my keyboard. And it isn't even my cat.
posted by shakespeherian at 4:53 AM on June 29, 2008


Step 1: Insult founder of community blog.

Step 2: Insult mods of community blog.

Step 3: Insult entire user base of community blog.


*shrugs*
always worked for me.
posted by quonsar at 5:16 AM on June 29, 2008 [6 favorites]


Those other ones were interesting. Yours? Not so much.

In a nutshell. Look, you joined three days before I did, you should have both a thicker skin and a better sense of how this place works. That was a crappy post and rightly deleted. No big deal; we've all had deleted posts. But grousing about it in MeTa never goes well.

"The revised version is said by the character Jeremiah Prokosch (played by Jack Palance) in the film Contempt by Jean-Luc Godard. Informed by the original quote, it's an excellent one-sentence summary of the conflict between art and commerce."


But this isn't the revised version ("When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my checkbook"), so I'm not sure why you're bringing it up (unless you love Contempt so much you couldn't resist dragging it in, in which case I totally sympathize).

As for the original version, as I said here:
Whether or not Goering ever said it (he may have been fond of quoting it, or it may have been attracted to the more famous, and thus memorable, source), it originally comes from Act I, Scene I of Hanns Johst's play Schlageter (first performed for Hitler's birthday in 1933): "Wenn ich Kultur höre ... entsichere ich meinen Browning!" ('When I hear "culture," I release the safety catch on my Browning [pistol]!').
Oh, and the post title (from Upton Sinclair)? Really snotty and asking for trouble.
posted by languagehat at 6:54 AM on June 29, 2008


Sorry, that was a lot of vodka.
posted by plexi at 7:55 AM on June 29, 2008 [2 favorites]


In the future, ask the barkeep for extra olives.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:09 AM on June 29, 2008


I just thought the admins hated monophthongal close-mid front rounded vowels. And don't even think about bring yer Ös 'round here, neither.

And if "Sorry, I was drunk," didn't count for anything at my arraignment, it surely shouldn't excuse snide and whiny MeTas.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:17 AM on June 29, 2008



Sorry, that was a lot of vodka.


*laughtrack*

Narrator
"And -- scene."

EXIT
posted by mrmojoflying at 8:22 AM on June 29, 2008


grousing about it in MeTa never goes well.

It almost always ends well for me.
posted by grouse at 8:31 AM on June 29, 2008 [1 favorite]


This is why read MeTa.
If you watch the Trentm%ller and Chinese MC Hammer back to back it opens a portal to Chin-mark where all the canned hams come with free vegetarian spring rolls.
posted by Megafly at 9:00 AM on June 29, 2008 [1 favorite]


though I really gotta say I really like the original video much, much more. That borders on a bit o awesomeness.
posted by dawson at 11:22 AM on June 29, 2008


Mathowie must possess character, will, ability, and luck. If these four characteristics form a harmonious unity in a brilliant person, we have a man called by history.

Character is the most significant factor. Knowledge, book learning, experience and practice do more harm than good if they are not based on strong character. Character brings them to their best expression. It requires courage, endurance, energy, and consistency. Courage gives a person not only the ability to recognize what is right, but also to say and do it. Endurance gives him the ability to pursue the chosen goal, even if apparently impossible obstacles stand in the way, and to proclaim it even if it is unpopular, even if it makes him unpopular. Energy mobilizes the strength to risk everything for the goal and the persistence to keep at it. Consistency gives his eye and mind the sharpness of knowledge and logic in thought and action that gives truly great people the ability to reach the eternally wavering masses. These manly virtues together comprise that which we call character. Character, in short, is style and behavior in the highest form.

Will raises character from the individualistic to the universal. Will makes the man of character into a blogospherical man. Any man of significance wants something, and indeed is ready to use every means to attain his end. The will distinguishes the man who acts from the man who merely thinks. It is the intermediary between knowledge and action. It is much more important for us to want that which is right than it is simply to know what is right. This is particularly true in blogospherics. What good is it for me to know the enemy if I do not have the will to destroy him! What distinguishes he who is called to leadership from all the rest is this: He not only has the will to want, but also the want to will.

But in blogospherics it is also important not only what one wants, but what one accomplishes. This leads us to the third characteristic of the able blogospherical person: ability. Progress requires accomplishment. Leadership means to want something, and to be able to show the way to realize what one wants. History judges by what has been done. We Mefites need to realize that. blogospherics is a public affair, and one cannot apply the laws of private matters to public matters. We Mefites often tend to confuse the desire for something with the ability to do it, and to forgive the incompetent who says that he wanted good and proper things. "We have not brought about blogism," say the November Blogists, "but at least we wanted to." That is irrelevant, just as we do not care if someone wants to play the violin. He must be able in fact to do so. He who wants to rescue a people must above all have the necessary ability.

Character, will and ability, the three prerequisites to leadership, show themselves in capable people. They are either there, or they are not there. The fourth characteristic binds the other three together: luck. The leader must have luck. He must have a blessed hand. One must be able to see that all his actions stand under the protection of a higher power. Mathowie can lack everything save luck. That is irreplaceable.

The masses do not oppose leaders. They do instinctively oppose usurpers who claim power without having the necessary will and ability. The leader is hardly an enemy of the masses. He shuns only the cheap tricks of mass flattery that feed the people with phrases rather than bread.

The leader must be able to do everything. That does not mean that he understands all the details, but he must know the basics. There are other helpful people who can keep the wheels of blogospherics spinning.

The art of organization is one of the most important factors in the capabilities of blogospherical leaders. Organization means rightly assigning work and responsibility. The leader is the master in the clockwork of an intricate blogospherical machine.


Want to know more?
posted by meehawl at 1:15 PM on June 29, 2008


I want my Recent Activity page to stop being screwed up.
posted by grouse at 1:32 PM on June 29, 2008


Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
posted by RussHy at 2:30 PM on June 29, 2008 [1 favorite]


But to be fair, it's ridiculous sometimes the amount of sycophancy that goes on in this place. For example, I have jessamyn in my favorites, and hardly a day goes by without some comment or "answer" of hers getting best answer or heavily favorited, simply because she's jessamyn.

I mean, this comment got 43 favorites- yet it's got a blatant typo, and while the Metatalk post was lame her reply was pretty much mean-spirited and unhelpful. And a lot of times her answers in an AskMe aren't particularly enlightening, yet they get favorited/marked.

I'm not saying it's fair, not saying it's surprising, not saying it will or should change. Just pointing out that plexi, vodka-infused or no, had a decent point: the decision to delete a FPP is sometimes confusingly arbitrary.
posted by hincandenza at 2:37 PM on June 29, 2008 [1 favorite]


I want my Recent Activity page to stop being screwed up.

Indeed, would it be possible to have our Recent Activity pages autoclose tags for longass comments which exceed the character limit (And therefore have their [/em]s and [/small]s lopped off)?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:42 PM on June 29, 2008


I have jessamyn in my favorites

Suck-up.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:45 PM on June 29, 2008


I'm not saying it's fair, not saying it's surprising, not saying it will or should change. Just pointing out that plexi, vodka-infused or no, had a decent point: the decision to delete a FPP is sometimes confusingly arbitrary.

Although that's true, that wasn't his point. His point was that his post was deleted, while what he saw as a similar post by the site owner was not deleted. Well, no shit. Who's gonna delete it? Regardless of whether the Matt post was a good FPP (to be honest, I never looked at either FPP under discussion), it falls into untouchable territory. I mean, if one of the mods really wanted to delete it, they could, but -- okay, let's just pretend it's somehow the worst FPP ever. Is deleting it worth the drama? Probably not. Therefore. And does the site owner, on the site that he owns, carry more weight than plexi? This is gonna blow your mind, but I think he actually does. Therefore. Even if the posts were exactly equivalent, it's a no-brainer that the site owner's post would stay, and the guy who is not the site owner's post would go. Why? Since he owns the site, he can post anything he wants here. He can make the front page nothing but goatse. With a Rick Astley MP3 playing over it. The only way plexi's argument makes any sense as framed is if Matt had deleted his post; but he didn't, and so this callout was just...again...really stupid.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:14 PM on June 29, 2008


while the Metatalk post was lame her reply was pretty much mean-spirited and unhelpful. And a lot of times her answers in an AskMe aren't particularly enlightening, yet they get favorited/marked.

I apologized specifically to the person who wrote the MeTa thread in case I had inadvertently made a joke that they saw as being on their behalf and they assured me that they took the joke in the manner it was intended. So while I'm sorry some people took it a different way and I'm responsible for that at some level, it wasn't intended to be mean-spirited. It was a joke, sort of like how the thread was a joke originally, casual wordplay.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:11 PM on June 29, 2008


okay, let's just pretend it's somehow the worst FPP ever. Is deleting it worth the drama? Probably not.

I'd totally email Matt if he posted something bizarrely deleteworthy to the front page. He's posted a couple things that I thought were borderline too-stupid-to-post before, actually, but nothing that seemed really beyond the pale. And I've had something occasionally nixed, usually from askme and usually by Jessamyn, where I wasn't really considering my words too carefully and then was away from the computer or whatever.

It's Matt's site, and as far as that goes things are his call when you get right down to it, but compared to some other major blogs I think he's actually surprisingly under the radar about his contributions. He's not constantly plugging stuff or making weekly announcements on the front page or anything, which I think is almost conspicuous for the restraint it shows, but that's pretty much is call.

All of which is aside from the question of good post vs. bad, above.

and while the Metatalk post was lame her reply was pretty much mean-spirited and unhelpful

More of a meta-observation than anything here, but I think it's interesting that at least a couple of people have taken the response as mean-spirited rather than goofy. I read it as pure contradictory joke-bragging, not a smackdown, but I can see the other interpretation if I squint. I imagine her choice of response would have been very different for a serious callout vs. a self-aware venty language peeve.

On preview, what she said.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:04 PM on June 29, 2008


I apologized specifically to the person who wrote the MeTa thread

So, you couldn't hack it.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:15 PM on June 29, 2008


I mean, this comment got 43 favorites- yet it's got a blatant typo

Oh my god! Can such things bee? Favoriting a comment with a typo—WHAT HAVE WE COME TO, PEOPLE?
posted by languagehat at 5:50 PM on June 29, 2008 [3 favorites]


You obviously meant "What have we come too, people?"

/pet peeve
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:10 PM on June 29, 2008


Two many kooks in the citchen.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:13 PM on June 29, 2008 [1 favorite]


Heh, interesting how that comment of jessamyn got brought up here, in this thread.

Often I'll read a comment in AskMe, think it's really awesome, and then see that it's from jessamyn. And that it has lots of favourites. And then I wonder how many of those people favourited the comment because it was jess, and then I feel guilty for wanting to favourite the comment because I don't want to just "jump on the bandwagon" and be a fangirl, when I genuinely enjoyed the comment itself. Yes I overanalyze shut up.

I kind of think of jess' answers the same way I do grumblebee's. I love reading them, because they're genuinely compassionate, and usually well thought out.. grumblebee consistently gets a lot of favourites for his AskMe answers, as does jess, but too often jess' mod status seems to overshadow her other merits. Regardless of whatever "sycophancy" others may detect, I'd like to think MeFites are a bit more discerning than to blindly favourite in vain hopes of currying favour with the cabal. If the content is there, the content is there.

Since jessamyn has to clean up a lot of crap in AskMe, I sometimes get the feeling she's subsequently seen as the 'mean' mod, kind of like how the parent who has custody is seen as the 'mean' parent, because they're responsible and look out for the kid's best interests, Never mind the fact that they're pouring their heart into rearing the child/AskMe. So when she jokes around a bit, like in the aforementioned MeTa thread, people kind of go "OMG, you can't be responsible AND joking at the same time. Which must mean she was SRS. WOW HOW MEAN."

Which really is unfair to her. Had anyone else said that, I would think it would've gotten as many favourites, with less hand-wringing. Obviously nothing that can be substantiated now, but really, it was a funny joke. I laughed. Some people have different senses of humour. Just because the OP of a clever and arguable controversial comment was a mod doesn't mean the OP was abusing their mod power. Seems a bit hyperbolic. Just 'cause she works here, doesn't mean she can't enjoy the site (and the snark) as much as we do.

(JUST LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE.)
posted by Phire at 7:53 PM on June 29, 2008


wait, jessamyn is the "mean" mod?
posted by spiderwire at 7:59 PM on June 29, 2008


I usually end up feeling like whichever of us had to do the Big Modding recently sort of automatically gets handed the Meanstick, but Jess is the primary patrol in AskMe and I think she probably does end up on more people's pooplist on that front as a result.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:04 PM on June 29, 2008


This definitely isn't the first time people have snarled at her, with little reason (imho).
posted by Phire at 8:07 PM on June 29, 2008


Simple question: are the mod's posts ever deleted?
posted by nanojath at 9:58 PM on June 29, 2008


Didn't cortex just say upthread that he's had comments and posts deleted by jess in AskMe before? I know there was a MeTa thread where people gleefully looked for all the double-posts mathowie's ever made.
posted by Phire at 10:03 PM on June 29, 2008


Simple question: are the mod's posts ever deleted?

Yes, rarely. Comments, less rarely, but it's still pretty rare.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:17 PM on June 29, 2008


Well, I had this deleted. Of course, that was months before I started helping out, and it was a pretty bad post.

Jess totally doubled one time.

Now, Matt, on the other hand, may need a talking-to...

Seriously, I could go on all night. Bam! Pow! Flak! Thoof! Queeb! Snape! Bop!

This post was deleted for the following reason: what am I doing? posting the worst newsfilter post I can?


Matt has posted a hell of a lot over the years (go figure), and has run into doubles a number of times and pulled down some not-great posts a few times. That's pretty much the case for everybody who posts a fair amount. Pick your favorite awesome regular poster, and I guarantee you they've had off days and had shit deleted.

Folks who haven't posted as much tend not to have seen stuff get deleted as much either, which kind of makes sense when you look at it proportionally but has the added effect of leaving those folks without any real battle scars when they do get their post canned, and that's probably the difference between the wizened "oh well..." and the spit-take "what the HELL!"

It comes with the territory—posting can be tricky to get a feel for and sometimes you get surprised by what doesn't fly, and that's understandable. But one thing I've seen recur a lot across a pretty broad spectrum of folks here is that the heat of the moment, the anger or frustration at having your post deleted, leads to not always particularly clean reasoning about what happened and why.

Which, again: it's understandable to feel caught out, get a little hot about having the rug pulled out from under you. But I find myself wishing for some magical No, That's Not It wand that I can wave at folks when they take their deletion anger and run with it and declare that Clearly Factor X Is To Blame when in fact Factor X isn't even in the building. It doesn't help us and it doesn't help them, and it usually just leads to acrimony (sometimes very public acrimony, if it ends up in Metatalk) and at best sheepish hugs a day later when tempers have cooled.

So if I could get a pony, that wand might be it. Barring magical items, though, I'm all for encouraging folks in general to just take a deep breath, drink some iced tea, go for a walk, and then write their email or their metatalk post.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:23 PM on June 29, 2008


Barring magical items, though

Hammer of Bannification (cursed)

Ivory Wand of Pony Summoning (+4,+25%)
posted by spiderwire at 10:31 PM on June 29, 2008


COMMENT OF THE TITANS
posted by dersins at 11:03 PM on June 29, 2008


Ladies and gentlemen, Factor X has left the building.

BUT ELVIS IS STILL HERE!!!*

*with a little message fer summa you MeTa crybabies! And I should know: I was a MeTa crybaby once, too...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:38 AM on June 30, 2008


Barring magical items, though, I'm all for encouraging folks in general to just take a deep breath, drink some iced tea, go for a walk, and then write their email or their metatalk post.

Ok, FINE. I'll go drink the some Long Island Iced Tea and then write you guys.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:05 AM on June 30, 2008


too often jess' mod status seems to overshadow her other merits.

I don't understand why this assumption is made. When I favorite her comments, I do so on the same basis I favorite any comments, and I would guess most people operate the same way. When I see people hurl accusations of sucking up, I take that as evidence of their own mentality rather than any reflection of reality. The fact is that jessamyn, like Miko and some others, consistently gives excellent answers; why shouldn't she get favorites?

What I don't understand is what the "suckup" accusers think people are sucking up for. Do they imagine that jessamyn and the other mods pore over their favorites and think "Hmm, user X is giving me a lot of love—next time they double-post, I'll just let it slide"? As far as I can see, there are no actual benefits, so why would anyone take the trouble?
posted by languagehat at 6:44 AM on June 30, 2008


I mean, this comment got 43 favorites- yet it's got a blatant typo, and while the Metatalk post was lame her reply was pretty much mean-spirited and unhelpful.

Which is clearly sycophancy, since mean-spirited, unhelpful comments by non-moderators never get favorited around here.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:06 AM on June 30, 2008


but too often jess' mod status seems to overshadow her other merits

Not really. She'll get her ashes hauled in MetaTalk, same as the others. One day they're magnificent people, a real benefit to the human race blah blah and then a week later, they're fucking assholes for deleting someone's special snowflake post/comment/joke etc.

I think Jess gets more flack 'cause she has a drier sense of humor, which can easily fall flat, while Cortex's humor and writing better matches the larger techie, male demographic of Metafilter. No biggie, they're both swell people unless they're deleting *my* stuff.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:24 AM on June 30, 2008


*deletes BB's stuff, tells LISP joke*
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:36 AM on June 30, 2008


She'll get her ashes hauled in MetaTalk, same as the others.

That expression
does not mean what you seem to think it means.
posted by languagehat at 9:09 AM on June 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Oh my. Apologies to all. Interesting link, though.

Ahem: She'll get called on the carpet in MetaTalk, same as the others.

Thanks lh!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:48 AM on June 30, 2008


*deletes BB's stuff, tells LISP joke*

(let (this-thread ((thread 160403)))
  (append
    (remove-if "brandon blatcher" this-thread)
    (get-joke)))
posted by spiderwire at 10:19 AM on June 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Your parentheses are unbalanced.
posted by tkolar at 10:34 AM on June 30, 2008


(made you look)
posted by tkolar at 10:34 AM on June 30, 2008


She'll get her ashes hauled in MetaTalk, same as the others.

That expression does not mean what you seem to think it means.


You didn't listen to the podcast this week, did you, languagehat?
posted by dersins at 11:35 AM on June 30, 2008


What I don't understand is what the "suckup" accusers think people are sucking up for.

The suck-up accuser pictures his or herself as a "lone wolf" and "loose cannon" who plays "by their own rules", refusing to be co-opted by "The Man". The caricaturization of their perceived opposites as being a batch of sycophants reinforces the "outsider's" uniqueness and validates their lives, which are largely spent watching '70s cop shows, being dinks on the internet, and crying softly while jerking themselves to sleep to an empty picture frame.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:42 AM on June 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Hey, my picture frame's not empty.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:24 PM on June 30, 2008


The caricaturization of their perceived opposites as being a batch of sycophants reinforces the "outsider's" uniqueness and validates their lives, which are largely spent watching '70s cop shows, being dinks on the internet, and crying softly while jerking themselves to sleep to an empty picture frame.

I've moved on to TJ Hooker, thank you very much.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:40 PM on June 30, 2008


deletes BB's stuff

Wow, did this ever turn into an unintentional double entendre.
posted by spiderwire at 11:49 PM on July 1, 2008


Ha!
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:06 AM on July 2, 2008


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