Pompous bands do not make good questions. July 31, 2008 3:14 PM   Subscribe

Will someone please tell me how this is not chatfilter?

I mean, really? How is there possibly a subjective answer to this question?
posted by youcancallmeal to Etiquette/Policy at 3:14 PM (73 comments total)

FWIW, I flagged it. With all the comments it has, I assume that it's been there long enough that at least one mod has seen it, though.
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:16 PM on July 31, 2008


...I think you mean objective. Unless that was sarcasm.

All AskMe music questions, except for specific lyrics queries, are inherently subjective though, aren't they?
posted by Shepherd at 3:16 PM on July 31, 2008


There are lots of ways to take things too seriously. Especially on Metafilter.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:17 PM on July 31, 2008 [5 favorites]


There are plenty of subjective answers. Objective ones will be harder to come by.

"Looking for the antithesis of Tenacious D." pretty much narrows it down to a legitimate (although maybe kinda-sorta approaching the borderline) question with an end goal in mind.

I hate abuse of Ask more than you do, but this ain't it.
posted by majick at 3:17 PM on July 31, 2008


Hah. Yes. Objective. I was annoyed and not thinking.

If the person had asked "what bands have referenced themselves in their songs", I would be okay with this. The way they phrased it seems to be leading to nothing more than "yourfavoritebandsucksamirite?", though.
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:18 PM on July 31, 2008


All these things being posted in the wrong sections are CLOGGING UP MY TUBES.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:19 PM on July 31, 2008


Total chatfilter.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:21 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


Underneath each mattress, a little pea will roll.
posted by y2karl at 3:29 PM on July 31, 2008 [7 favorites]


MetaFilter: Will someone please tell me how this is not chatfilter?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 3:33 PM on July 31, 2008


Seems fine to me.
posted by special-k at 3:34 PM on July 31, 2008


FWIW, I flagged it. With all the comments it has, I assume that it's been there long enough that at least one mod has seen it, though.

And you still brought this to meta?
posted by special-k at 3:35 PM on July 31, 2008


And you still brought this to meta?

Yeah, because if it's not chatfilter, I'd love to know why not.
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:36 PM on July 31, 2008


Will someone please tell me how this is not chatfilter?

simple. chatfilter gets deleted.
posted by quonsar at 3:43 PM on July 31, 2008 [3 favorites]


It's chatty but I don't think it's actually balls-out chatty. I've been on the fence about it and a coinflip this morning could have meant it did get nixed, but here it is.

To some extent, I think musical/band questions just come off seeming inherently chatty, so I try not to be too hard on them because there is some sieve-of-the-masses value in sorting through the tremendous pile of recorded music that's been produced in just the last fifty years. The same sort of question asking about books instead of bands comes off I think as less chatty chat chat—possibly because of cultural associations (books = smart, music = less inherently smart) and possibly because of tendencies of askers to frame different subjects differently (ergo a more, er, "bookish" writeup for a question about authors/novels and a more jovial writeup for bands).
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:43 PM on July 31, 2008


Question: "Looking for the antithesis of Tenacious D."


There ^, that's the question. There are plenty of people with answers in that thread. I don't see how this is any more open ended than "I like band x. Tell me other bands I might like". And there are plenty of those questions on Askme.

Here's the faq on chatfilter.: Questions where everyone's answer is equally valid along the lines of "What's your favorite X?". Maybe there is a reason you want to know? Super, just put it in your question.

OP named that reason in his/her question.
posted by special-k at 3:44 PM on July 31, 2008


(Also, I've had a fairly busy dayjob week, I know Matt has been or at least had been traveling, and Jessamyn was doing some stuff earlier, so it may have gotten slightly less squinting-at when it was posted than something usually might. But it also wasn't much flagged, either.)
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:45 PM on July 31, 2008


I thought it sucked but I failed to flag it because I got distracted. The mods would have deleted it if I had flagged it because they obey my flags religiously.
posted by sveskemus at 3:51 PM on July 31, 2008


There's a little blinking unicorn icon that shows up next to stuff sveskemus has flagged.

The unicorn is wearing a cape with a little "SV" stencilled on it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:55 PM on July 31, 2008 [2 favorites]


Sagging Vag?
posted by quonsar at 3:56 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


I simply can't believe that cortex saved this, yet deleted techo-kitties.
posted by found missing at 3:59 PM on July 31, 2008


Wait wait wait, I missed techno-kitties?
posted by Phire at 4:12 PM on July 31, 2008


techno-whatties?
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:17 PM on July 31, 2008


chatfilter
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:25 PM on July 31, 2008


I've clearly been going to the wrong parties.
posted by Shepherd at 4:38 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


techno-whatties?
posted by cortex at 4:17 PM on July 31 [+] [!]


A shameful moment in an otherwise stellar moderating career.
posted by found missing at 4:41 PM on July 31, 2008


Whatno-kitties?
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:51 PM on July 31, 2008


techno-kitties

Powered by the electricity that comes from the walls in your house, where you live.
posted by turgid dahlia at 4:52 PM on July 31, 2008


"Sagging Vag?"

No, Sandy.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:55 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


Quonsar nails it again.

Chatfilter gets deleted.
It is not deleted.
Therefore it is not chatfilter.
QED.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:00 PM on July 31, 2008

"There's a little blinking unicorn icon that shows up next to stuff sveskemus has flagged.

The unicorn is wearing a cape with a little "SV" stencilled on it."
In hoc signo deletia.
posted by boo_radley at 5:00 PM on July 31, 2008


there is some sieve-of-the-masses value in sorting through the tremendous pile of recorded music that's been produced in just the last fifty years.

Oh, so now we're not allowed to ask about the music of 1957? Fascist!
posted by languagehat at 5:03 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


Not sure which is dumber, the thread in question here or the 'why do people hate hippes?' thread.
posted by fixedgear at 5:12 PM on July 31, 2008


See, I didn't think that the question was necessarily chatfilter—I thought that there were a lot of absolute bullshit answers to the question that were needlessly chatty, unfounded and moronic. People that think Sonic Youth becomes unintentionally hilarious when they get too serious are flat wrong. Sonic Youth becomes unintentionally boring, as do most of the other worthy-sweepstakes entrants that are noted in the thread. What the asker was looking for was the musical equivalent of "I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE" and instead getting Silkwood quotes.
posted by klangklangston at 5:13 PM on July 31, 2008


I say fatchilter.

No, wait, chitfalter.

Anyway, one of those.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:15 PM on July 31, 2008


Not chatfilter, more like dotheresearchformyarticleformefilter. But if we started deleting all THAT stuff, it's gonna get quiet quick.
posted by msalt at 5:35 PM on July 31, 2008


Most of those answers suck anyway. It's more like "name a couple bands that pop into your head".
posted by puke & cry at 5:37 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


Mentioning Bright Eyes and Limp Bizkit is grounds to have your post deleted and, in an ideal world, be smacked about the head and torso.

Also, the antithesis of Tenacious D is Flight of the Conchords, because Flight of the Conchords are funny.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:37 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


"Mentioning Bright Eyes and Limp Bizkit in the same sentence" oops
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:37 PM on July 31, 2008


Seemed like chatfilter to me too, but I've lately discarded my theory that the moderators will let a chatfilter question stay if it's really popular, and replaced it with one where maybe I've got a bit of a hair trigger, chatfilter-wise.
posted by box at 5:41 PM on July 31, 2008


This post was deleted for the following reason: This post is butt. I like kittens too, but seriously. Butt. This is a butt post. -- cortex

Okay, when are you guys going to let me favorite deletion reasons?

Pony, please.
posted by JaredSeth at 5:43 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


Not sure which is dumber, the thread in question here or the 'why do people hate hippes?' thread.

Wait - There was a 'why do people hate hippes?' thread? And I missed it? Shit, man! I really need to quit my job so I can follow MetaFilter around like in the old days. Money and bathing is so overrated compared to an A1 snarkfest opportunity like that one. Fuck! I can't believe I wasn't there! I guess I'll just have to pretend I was too mature to shit on AskMe.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:44 PM on July 31, 2008


It's not the question that annoys me, but almost all the answers. Seemingly no one made a point to think about and give well-explained answers. I just see a bunch of random band names, and not a lot of effort or analysis.

As a general rule, the more subjective the question (e.g. matters of taste), the more experience and insight that needs to go into the answers to make them useful. There should be many fewer responses, with more effort and analysis apparent in what's left.

If people can't give useful (non-chatty) answers, then those kinds of questions shouldn't be allowed. But if more serious people can participate (and more less serious people stop) then we're good.
posted by dgaicun at 5:58 PM on July 31, 2008


I hate some hippies and I kind of like Manowar. I'm all alone in the world.
posted by jonmc at 6:07 PM on July 31, 2008


cortex: To some extent, I think musical/band questions just come off seeming inherently chatty, so I try not to be too hard on them because I AM A ROCK STAR IN MY MIND
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:13 PM on July 31, 2008


Most of those answers suck anyway. It's more like "name a couple bands that pop into your head".

Yeah. It's a goofy question with goofy answers. Nuke it from space.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:38 PM on July 31, 2008


Seriously, I just read all of the answers in that thread and got at least 3% stupider.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:43 PM on July 31, 2008


I was out picking blueberries all day then I came home and deleted it. Sorry cortex.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:30 PM on July 31, 2008


I was out picking blueberries all day...

Link?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:32 PM on July 31, 2008 [1 favorite]


I said I was OUT. Maybe cortex can make the same dumb "bluetooth" joke he made over email when I said I was going outside.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:52 PM on July 31, 2008


OK, OK, it was just a lighthearted joke... granted, not especially smart or original, but... sorry.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:56 PM on July 31, 2008


The bluetooth joke was probably better...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:57 PM on July 31, 2008


I was out picking blueberries all day...
"Norman Thayer: Last time we picked blueberries they were on a bush. Didn't have to bend over at all.

Ethel Thayer (“Ethel Thayer. It sounds like I'm lisping, doesn't it?”) These are strawberries, and they grow on the ground.

Here comes what's-his-name.

He'll have the paper.

I don't want to miss any career opportunities off lookin' for strawberries.

I'll pay you. It may be the beginning of something big.

You may become a major strawberry picker.

Not if I'm bending over all the time. I think you're tryin' to kill me.

I thought about it.

You needn't bother. I'm living on borrowed time as it is.

Will you take your cheery personality and get out of here?

I hope you're prepared to massage my bent back this evening.

With pleasure.

Well, maybe I can lie down to pick the berries."
posted by ericb at 7:59 PM on July 31, 2008


jessamyn to the rescue! it's deleted now.

this also solves the question on everybody's lips: "who wears the pants?"
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:12 PM on July 31, 2008


this also solves the question on everybody's lips: "who wears the pants?"

Katharine Hepburn!
posted by ericb at 8:37 PM on July 31, 2008


The question on my lips was Whose House?

I imagine during at least one deletion, one of you all has to have said "whoooose houuuse? RUN's houuuuse!"

Or Blam!. Or maybe Buk! buk! buk! booyaka shot!

Or Hay CHAYa!
posted by cashman at 8:58 PM on July 31, 2008


The question on my lips was: "How can I get this part-metallic, part-medicinal, part-fishy taste out of my mouth?" followed soon after by "what have I recently ingested that contained penicillin, tin and old seafood?" But I didn't Ask MetaFilter about it.
posted by wendell at 9:10 PM on July 31, 2008


The question on my lips now is "where can I get some of this part-metallic, part-medicinal, part-fishy goodness?"
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:31 PM on July 31, 2008


jonmc: I live with a legitimate Manowar fan.

It scares me.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:32 PM on July 31, 2008


NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ME AND THAT QUESTION WERE SECRET LOVERS
WE WEREN'T HURTIN' NOBODY

posted by cortex (staff) at 10:22 PM on July 31, 2008


You can call meal?

how do i shot web?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:53 PM on July 31, 2008


The one good thing I can say about Manowar is that they encourage me to do my best to stay in shape. One night I watched a video of a recent Manowar show followed by a WASP show, and while the enemies of false metal appear about the same at 50 as they did at 25, Blackie Lawless looks like a bloated corpse threatening to fall apart at the joints.
posted by bunnytricks at 11:00 PM on July 31, 2008


Thank you jessamyn.
posted by cillit bang at 12:07 AM on August 1, 2008


Well done, jessamyn.
posted by sveskemus at 12:13 AM on August 1, 2008


I think people are missing an important fact here:

I've been on the fence about it and a coinflip this morning could have meant it did get nixed, but here it is.


CORTEX IS TWO-FACE.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:37 AM on August 1, 2008 [1 favorite]


Dude, if that gets out it's going to dent my reputation.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:43 AM on August 1, 2008 [2 favorites]


A little off-topic. I'm going to drop a couple of questions in here because I'd like to have them answered, but I don't want to make a dedicated MeTa post about it.

How is this post anything more than spam? Two links - one to a corporate PR site, and one to a youtube video advertising the corporate PR site. I flagged it and MeMailed vacapinta yesterday (because it was after midnight in the US when I saw it).

In my MeMail to vacapinta, I made basically the same observation about the post.

I've gotten no reply. Do mods usually reply to that kind of mail? Does the post in question deserve to stick around? Is there a better way to notify mods of a suspect post than flagging and MeMailing a single mod?
posted by syzygy at 6:55 AM on August 1, 2008


Tacking questions on to the end of existing MeTa questions is not really a great way to get them answered and it sort of detracts from the findability of whatever we say.

re: vacapinta. He's a midnight mod. He deals with trainwrecks and late night moderator issues but he's not like on the clock all the time when we're alseep, he checks in a few times to make sure nothing is on fire. Use the Contact Form if you want to get ahold of us, or look to see if we're on chat. MeMailing a single mod is one of the worst ways to get ahold of us because of that particular mod is away, then no one gets notified of anything.

I don't see a lot of flags on that post and while it's a little Pepsi Blueish, I know HoM is not a corporate PR flack and so this is just a post with a link to an ad. It's against the rules to use MeFi to promote your own product, but if you seem to like the way someone else is pushing their product, it's not against the rules to link to ads.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:02 AM on August 1, 2008


This question elicited the same response out of me that the "Songs that Make You Wonder if Humanity Should Even Bother" "question" did. When I saw that it had been allowed to stay up as long as it had, I assumed Jessamyn was busy, and it would be deleted the next time I logged in.

And lo!
posted by SpiffyRob at 7:03 AM on August 1, 2008


Will someone closer please smack drjimmy about the head and torso please. Thanks.
posted by no1hatchling at 7:39 AM on August 1, 2008


jessamyn: Thanks for the answer. It's sometimes hard to figure out which questions deserve their own posts, which should be emailed to a specific mod, and which should simply remain unasked.
posted by syzygy at 7:42 AM on August 1, 2008


no one likes a squealer.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:29 PM on August 1, 2008


I just came back to the thread and I saw that it was deleted. I'm not surprised, but I did want to answer spinifex23's question there:

I mean, really - *how* many pig heads on spikes does a band really need on stage these days?

Four. Just so you know.
posted by ob at 1:13 AM on August 2, 2008


Ack, my computer died soon after posting that question. So, not that anyone's paying attention anymore:

On review, the question was malformed. I wasn't looking for chat-filter. The antithesis of Tenacious D was what I was going after, and there were a couple answers which were close. I definitely wasn't looking for most of the answers that came, but I clearly didn't set the bar to get rid of most of them. I screwed it up by naming a couple bands off the top of my head that were on the low end of that spectrum, and opened up the floodgates of YOURFAVORITEBANDSUCKS. I like mixed metaphors

So, in summary -- sorry jess, my bad
posted by FuManchu at 12:59 AM on August 5, 2008


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