Delete delete!

August 24, 2008 4:42 PM

Trivial point, but it irked me seeing my answer here crossed out by a later responder.

I think if you want to respond to an earlier comment it's quite sufficient to put it in italics. As an ordinary user it's not up to you to cross out (even conceptually) another user's comment.

posted by zadcat to etiquette/policy at 4:42 PM (129 comments total)

One solution would be to post all of your comments like this.
posted by maxwelton at 4:50 PM on August 24, 2008

One solution would be to post all of your comments like this.

It's stupid to post all comments as strikethro...hey, wait a minute!
posted by maxwelton at 4:52 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think when someone crosses out a previous comment they intend to indicate that they disagree with the previous comment. It's short hand for saying "I disagree with your premise that photography is not a hobby, but is an art form. I believe it is both."
posted by ericb at 4:52 PM on August 24, 2008

Trivial point

Quoted for truth. No strikeout necessary.
posted by grouse at 4:54 PM on August 24, 2008

I think if you want to respond to an earlier comment it's quite sufficient to put it in italics. As an ordinary user it's not up to you to cross out (even conceptually) another user's comment.
posted by carsonb at 4:54 PM on August 24, 2008

You know what's going to happen in this thread, right?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:55 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Trivial point, but it irked me seeing my answer here crossed out by a later responder.

Oh my God. Who just did that? They knew you were bothered by having a comment struck though, and then they struck through your comment ABOUT that. That shit was COLD, yo. If you find out who did it, let me know, because I'm going to throw a few punches in too.
posted by Astro Zombie at 4:57 PM on August 24, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Trivial point, but you yourself have now increased the irk-load in the universe.
posted by found missing at 4:58 PM on August 24, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

HTML is Short for HyperText Markup Language, the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. serious business.
posted by carsonb at 4:59 PM on August 24, 2008

I guess it was that wemayfreeze was just trying to do a FTFY type thing rather than a "You're wrong wrong wrong!!" thing. But it's still an obnoxious way to make a point, because he could have not crossed out your answer and his comment would have made just as much sense.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 4:59 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

I think if you want to respond to an earlier comment it's quite sufficient to put it in italics.

Agreed, and FWIW, I think most people do this; I don't recall ever seeing the strikeout used in a response before, so it must be rare.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:01 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Honestly, I'd love it if we just got rid of that damn tag. As if we didn't have enough snark, one-upsmanship, and ego-waving, this tag just makes the comments that much more offensive. And how often is it actually useful, really? How often does anyone NEED to use this tag?
posted by SeizeTheDay at 5:03 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

GROW A HIDE.
posted by loquacious at 5:04 PM on August 24, 2008 [12 favorites has favorites]

I would cross out this whole fucking thread if I could. All of you assholes. You're all wrong. About whatever you're talking about.

Everyone needs a hug.
posted by Mikey-San at 5:04 PM on August 24, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

I think if you want to respond to an earlier comment it's quite sufficient to put it in italics.

I think if you want to make it clear how stupidly wrong a comment is, a strikethrough can be effective. It's especially effective on comments which espouse an opinion or belief obnoxiously or with the attitude that it's the only reasonable opinion.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 5:05 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

The Question:
What Is YOUR Best Photography Tip, Secret, Trick, Lesson, Technique, or Hack?

Your Answer:
Photography is not a hobby. It's an art form.

You aim for hobby, you get hobby. Aim for art.


When you claim something with such certainty, it shouldn't be such a big deal if someone comes around and denies it with subsequent certainty.

Your answer was not a tip, trick, or technique. I don't see how you can be so irked at your assertive opinion, which offered no assistance to the poster was dismissed.
posted by clearly at 5:05 PM on August 24, 2008 [17 favorites has favorites]

I think that guy went to Hampshire.
posted by jessamyn at 5:05 PM on August 24, 2008 [9 favorites has favorites]

Yeah, I agree that's pretty tacky. But whattyagonnado? We have 70,000 users, and 100,000 questions in AskMe, so that kinda stuff is gonna happen.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:07 PM on August 24, 2008

GROW A HIDE TOMATO PLANT, THEY MAKE DELICIOUS THINGS.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:09 PM on August 24, 2008 [9 favorites has favorites]

You seem cross, sir.
posted by jonmc at 5:11 PM on August 24, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Metafilter : We're here to irk.
posted by Dave Faris at 5:12 PM on August 24, 2008

I agree that FTFYing is annoying and seems particularly gauche in AskMe, but I doubt it was done with any sort of malicious disrespect.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go craft a commemoration MeTa! 1 000 000 000 000 AskMe-related complaints on the Grey, woooo!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:18 PM on August 24, 2008

I actually do think my point is a valid one for someone turning to photography. The attitude with which you take up a camera is at least as important as a crumb of technical trivia. Assuming you're only ever going to be mediocre seems like a poor place to start.
posted by zadcat at 5:22 PM on August 24, 2008

I actually do think my point is a valid one for someone turning to photography.

I think it would be better to just encourage people to pick up a camera and have fun with it, instead of imposing on them that they MUST CREATE ART. Plenty of people have developed their hobby into an art form or paying gigs. Others have kept it as a hobby and taken pleasure from that. Who cares either way, as long as they're happy and not having sex with young catholic boys?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:27 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Yeah, this seems like something that falls as much into the realm of style as anything; for all that, I agree that it reads as obnoxious and I'd rather people didn't get in a habit of doing it over there. But I've seen very little of it, too, so we may be in pretty good shape.

I think if you want to make it clear how stupidly wrong a comment is, a strikethrough can be effective. It's especially effective on comments which espouse an opinion or belief obnoxiously or with the attitude that it's the only reasonable opinion.

Never say never, I know, but very very rarely is it going to help an AskMe to let emphatically righteous wrong-proving be the main goal of a comment. You can clearly and civilly state that someone is wrong, and why, without pushing any emotional buttons with snarky typography.
posted by cortex at 5:31 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

This is just one of the tricks in the Metafilter magic hat of effete dickishness. Keep your eyes peeled, they're everywhere, and they come in many forms.
posted by The Straightener at 5:32 PM on August 24, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

Someone went to art school...
posted by Loto at 5:33 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

How old are you people? What have you done with yourselves?

You--- You must be almost 30, have you ever kissed a girl?

I didn't think so. There's a whole world out there. When I was your age, I didn't watch television, I lived. So move out of your parent's basements, and get your own apartments, and grow up.
posted by mds35 at 5:33 PM on August 24, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

When I was your age, I didn't watch television, I lived battled the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex.
posted by cortex at 5:37 PM on August 24, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

Plenty of people have developed their hobby into an art form

I've tried really hard, but I haven't managed to turn drinking and looking at porn into an art.
posted by jonmc at 5:42 PM on August 24, 2008 [7 favorites has favorites]

Someone went to art school...

Nice snipe. I've never been near an art school.
posted by zadcat at 5:45 PM on August 24, 2008

I've tried really hard, but I haven't managed to turn drinking and looking at porn into an art.

You didn't want it enough.
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:49 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

I haven't managed to turn drinking and looking at porn into an art.

I dunno- if anyone could turn drinking into an art, it would be you.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:55 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Nice snipe. I've never been near an art school.

Ahhh. Now I get it.
posted by Floydd at 6:05 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Nice snipe. I've never been near an art school.

Congratulations on developing all that pretension on your own

As an ordinary user it's not up to you to cross out (even conceptually) another user's comment.

Who the fuck are you to tell someone what they are allowed to do "conceptually"?

Oh, right, the person who thinks it's up to them to tell someone it's not okay to do photography as a hobby.
posted by nanojath at 6:11 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

I ain't never been to art school
But I kind of like Ask Mefi
They say the strikethroughs are too cruel there
When the MeFi users reply

When the MeFi users reply
They often deny
The answers that I supply.

* * *

Yes, Smackfu, this one is a song parody.
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:13 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

For what its worth, my mom doesn't even have a basement.
posted by Sailormom at 6:16 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

She's got a hell of a downstairs though.

Don't bother; I'll punch myself in the face.





Ow.
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:18 PM on August 24, 2008 [19 favorites has favorites]

The other users are ruining my enjoyment of the site. Would it be possible to delete some?
posted by Eideteker at 6:23 PM on August 24, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

have you ever kissed a girl?

Speaking of trivial points, that particular heteronormative phrase of nerd-antipathy really sticks in my craw.
posted by CKmtl at 6:23 PM on August 24, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

Guy goes to the doctor and says "Doc, I've got a problem! One day I feel like I'm a teepee, the next day I fee like I'm a wigwam. Teepee! Wigwam! Teepee! Wigwam!"
The Doctor says, "Relax! You're two tents!"
posted by horsemuth at 6:25 PM on August 24, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

Speaking of trivial points, that particular heteronormative phrase of nerd-antipathy really sticks in my craw.

As well as being horrendously inaccurate. You think the Olympics are just one giant orgy? Try going to a Sci Fi convention or working at a Ran Faire. It's like watching a documentary about Bonobo chimps!
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:26 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Ren Fair, rather. Ar Ran fairs, you dress like a samurai and act of Shakespeare.
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:27 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I apologize for my post in the referenced thread and for what I have said here.
posted by zadcat at 6:29 PM on August 24, 2008

God damn it, photography is a craft! Why wasn't that a double strikethrough?
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 6:32 PM on August 24, 2008

CKmtl writes "Speaking of trivial points, that particular heteronormative phrase of nerd-antipathy really sticks in my craw."

Well you're assuming mds35 doesn't think they are directing their comment at a girl.
posted by Mitheral at 6:32 PM on August 24, 2008

"Well, I aim for quail and I get Harry. Art must have ducked."

-- Dick Cheney
posted by pyramid termite at 6:33 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

You know who else didn't go to art school?
posted by Loto at 6:42 PM on August 24, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

I actually do think my point is a valid one for someone turning to photography. The attitude with which you take up a camera is at least as important as a crumb of technical trivia. Assuming you're only ever going to be mediocre seems like a poor place to start.

Sure, its a valid point, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with the question. The asker asked for tips, tricks, or hacks. Twice. Look, I'll quote it from the question:

I want to know YOUR PERSONAL greatest photography tip, secret, trick, or hack.

I don't think he could have been any clearer than that. But you decided to respond with a pithy but vague opinion that photography should be an art form rather than a hobby. Here are the problems with that answer:

(1) It does not actually answer the original question, as phrased the first time.

(2) It does not actually answer the original question, as phrased the second time.

(3) It assumes that the asker said that he was taking photography up as a hobby, and disabuses him of that notion. But he didn't mention it being a hobby at all.

(4) You assumed that the asker assumed they were going to be mediocre, when they did nothing of the sort.

(5) Most importantly: It doesn't actually help the asker in any substantive way. Seriously. Did you think that he would read your answer, a beam of light would shoot down from the sky, angels would sing, and with a beatific smile spreading across his face he would say "Ahhhh.....Now I see. Its an art..." Because that is really the only mechanism by which it could have.

Now there is nothing wrong with answering a question out of left field - sometimes that produces great answers. But then you have to be specific. For example, you might have said "Think of every photograph you take as a little work of art. So when you start out, don't get too wrapped up in the technical details, try being creative. Overexpose. Shoot from odd angles. Shoot something upside down. Take a bunch of self-portraits for no reason. Don't think of it as a hobby you're learning, but a creative process that you are engaging in from the beginning." Or something like that.

But you didn't do that. Instead, you left a brief, cryptic little epigram that was pretty much useless. And then you have the temerity to start a thread in MetaTalk complaining when someone else disagreed with you (and lets drop the pretense here: you're upset not because someone used fancy html, you're upset because someone disagreed with you).

But you see, the problem here is not html, nor is it that someone rather crudely disagreed with you. The problem is that your original answer was just a vague aphorism, rather than a solid answer - which is why it was called out in the first place.
posted by googly at 6:48 PM on August 24, 2008 [7 favorites has favorites]

Once again: I was thoroughly wrong on every count, and I apologize.
posted by zadcat at 6:53 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Man up, nancy.
posted by An Infinity Of Monkeys at 6:54 PM on August 24, 2008

Well you're assuming mds35 doesn't think they are directing their comment at a girl.

Not really. It's addressed to "you people", and features the plurals "basements" and "apartments". Assuming that he was addressing it solely to the females in this thread would make no sense.

Anyway, it's not this particular instance of the phrase that bugs me. It's the clichéd usage of it. The whole schmaltzy "Kiss a girl, man! Live, for the love of god, LIVE!" thing is usually directed at guys.
posted by CKmtl at 6:55 PM on August 24, 2008

Assuming you're only ever going to be mediocre seems like a poor place to start.

i'm a hobbyist and i'm fantastic. besides, if i had a nickel for every crap-producing wanker who called him/her-self an "artist" i'd have a lot of nickels.
posted by klanawa at 6:55 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

or nance up, Manny.

whatever floats your boat.
posted by jonmc at 6:56 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oops. Didn't see your apology before posting. Sorry 'bout that - didn't mean to pile-on.
posted by googly at 6:57 PM on August 24, 2008

I apologize for my post in the referenced thread and for what I have said here.

It's not just anyone who apologize on the internet, so kudos to you for doing so. Keychains for everyone!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:19 PM on August 24, 2008

Can strike combined with blink?
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 7:21 PM on August 24, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

I've tried really hard, but I haven't managed to turn drinking and looking at porn into an art.

Just because no one else can see it doesn't mean it's not art.

*logs off MeFi to practice more art*
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:24 PM on August 24, 2008

who apologize

who can apologize
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:45 PM on August 24, 2008

Sheesh. I know the poster is a chick. The lines were paraphrased (more phrase than para) from Shatner's "get a life' speech on SNL.
posted by mds35 at 8:03 PM on August 24, 2008

I have sooo much respect for women that there are no feminine disses in my repertoire. I must rely on masculine or gender neuter invectives and taunts.
posted by mds35 at 8:10 PM on August 24, 2008

Strike one.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:26 PM on August 24, 2008

Now that the apology is out of the way, can we start a discussion about how stupid it is to link to every letter in every word of an FPP? Man, I hate that.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:27 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Now that the apology is out of the way, can we start a discussion about how stupid it is to link to every letter in every word of an FPP constantly elevate every last thing into an 'art'? Man, I hate that.

And it's usually done just in order to flatter consumers into thinking that their discerning taste in buying shit is so fucking wonderful that they aren't just people buying shit any more, but ARTISTS.

The art of fine dining! The art of relaxation! The art of coffee! The art of watching the fucking television! The art of scratching your balls & blowing off occasionally!

JUST FUCKING STOP IT ALREADY!!!

/pet hate
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:48 PM on August 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Guy goes to the doctor and says "Doc, I've got a problem! One day I feel like I'm a teepee, the next day I fee like I'm a wigwam. Teepee! Wigwam! Teepee! Wigwam!"
The Doctor says, "Relax! You're two tents!"

I honestly heard someone tell this very joke at a party this evening.
posted by felix betachat at 8:50 PM on August 24, 2008

I've tried really hard, but I haven't managed to turn drinking and looking at porn into an art.

You're just not trying hard enough

Disclaimer: I'm kidding of course. I've been figuring drawing since I was 12,and I would never seriously insinuate that there's anything pornographic about it. But they DO have a bar.
posted by billyfleetwood at 9:00 PM on August 24, 2008

It irked me when I got back to the building and all the smoked salmon baguettes had gone. Bastards.

Hmmm... perhaps I haven't perfected the art of ranting
posted by pompomtom at 9:24 PM on August 24, 2008

Striking through quotations (sometimes with a "fixed that for you") is intended to annoy. It's supposed to be a grating way of disagreeing with someone.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 10:53 PM on August 24, 2008

Speaking of trivial points, that particular heteronormative phrase of nerd-antipathy really sticks in my craw.

It's just not quite as funny to snipe at someone with, "Have you ever engaged in an osculative act; after receiving explicit permission witnessed by a group of three recognized, registered witnesses; one from each recognized gender group; from a designated potential partner, with the appropriate apologetic paperwork submitted; with consent defined as the act of willingly and verbally agreeing to engage in the specific, sexual, heteronormative conduct?"

It just ... (snaps fingers) ... it just doesn't flow off the tongue, you know?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:58 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

After a little more thought, by applying proofreading marks in the context of a substantive discussion, striking through a quotation reduces the opponent's position to the same status as a mere typographical error--a mistake so trivial and obvious that correcting it requires no explanation.

It's a very contemptuous way of arguing.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 11:02 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Non-heteronormative version: You've never even gotten to first base, have you?
posted by Pronoiac at 11:09 PM on August 24, 2008

Lumping all of the community together to be represented by one view (usually with a strawman that represents no one) is intended to annoy. It's supposed to be a grating way of trolling the site.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:21 PM on August 24, 2008

After a little more thought, by applying proofreading marks in the context of a substantive discussion, striking through a quotation reduces the opponent's position to the same status as a mere typographical error--a mistake so trivial and obvious that correcting it requires no explanation.

It's a very contemptuous way of arguing.

Fixed that for you.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:10 AM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Fixed that for you.
posted by Wolof at 12:17 AM on August 25, 2008

Fixed that for you.

Fixed that for you.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:23 AM on August 25, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

wemayfreeze is a personal friend of mine, and I will say that in real life he rarely strikes out.
posted by ORthey at 12:25 AM on August 25, 2008

________________
posted by netbros at 12:35 AM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

,s>fancy html /s>

Hey, if I can do it, it's not fancy.




Ah, crap.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:09 AM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think that guy went to Hampshire.

That guy hella went to Hampshire.
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:31 AM on August 25, 2008

Also, apologies for the slight slight. I was trying to trump the tone of the original which wasn't the most useful approach.
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:35 AM on August 25, 2008

 ☼             ꒙ ꒙
_～～～⏅_～～⏅_{～～～～～}
posted by ryanrs at 3:54 AM on August 25, 2008 [23 favorites has favorites]

> Trivial point, but it irked me seeing my answer here crossed out by a later responder.

The first word of your post is the truest.
posted by WCityMike at 5:10 AM on August 25, 2008

Honestly, I'd love it if we just got rid of that damn tag. As if wWe didon't have enough snark, one-upsmanship, and ego-waving, so this tag just makes the comments that much more offenstive. And how often is it is actually useful, -- really?! How often does anyone NEED to NOT use this tag?

FTFY.
posted by pardonyou? at 7:21 AM on August 25, 2008

Honestly, there have been times when I've felt pretty stung by responses to stuff I've posted online, here included. My late-nineties internet crush Seanbaby has helped me keep things in perspective:

Internet forums bring out the worst of humanity: stupid irrational egomaniacs telling each other how much they hate everything. Getting bothered by it is like reading "FUCK YOU" on a bathroom wall and saying, "Fuck ME!? H-how DARE they!!"

Although I consider very few of you to be stupid irrational egomaniacs, at the end of the day most of us might as well be writing on the same bathroom wall. The vast majority of MeFites are not people I know personally, so there's not much reason for me to take any vitriol personally.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:43 AM on August 25, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

cortex : without pushing any emotional buttons with snarky typography.

Your kerning is punk as fuck, but your diacritic is so effete that it's barely distinguishable from a damn serif.

"Snarky Typography" would be a great name for something, though I'm not sure what exactly.
posted by quin at 7:57 AM on August 25, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

A thoroughbred race horse.
posted by netbros at 8:03 AM on August 25, 2008

Non-heteronormative version: You've never even gotten to first base, have you?

That ain't cricket.
posted by stet at 8:21 AM on August 25, 2008

This is just one of the tricks in the Metafilter magic hat of effete dickishness. Keep your eyes peeled, they're everywhere, and they come in many forms.

Oh, indeed. One such form is saying something unbelievably pretentious, dismissive and unhelpful in AskMe and then complaining when someone quite rightly points it out without further derailing the thread.
posted by kosem at 8:25 AM on August 25, 2008

Your kerning is punk as fuck, but your diacritic is so effete that it's barely distinguishable from a damn serif.

Your overreliance on ligature is obviously an attempt to compensate for your undersized descender.
posted by cortex at 8:28 AM on August 25, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Christ, what an asshole.
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:34 AM on August 25, 2008

I don't know what else I can do beyond apologizing again here. I was wrong, first by expressing a gratuitous, hopelessly pretentious opinion, and then by expressing irritation at the entirely justified dismissal of my opinion. I was wrong, wrong, wrong, and I am sorry.

Can we close this thread now? I don't know what else I can say.
posted by zadcat at 8:46 AM on August 25, 2008

Sorry, zadcat, I didn't read the thread closely, and didn't see your apology. Dick move on my part, which is particularly bad as I was commenting on MeFi etiquette. Good on you for apologizing. Bad on me for posting distracted and piling on you long after you said you were sorry.
posted by kosem at 8:55 AM on August 25, 2008

No! You must be punished!

THIS!

IS!

S  P  N A R  T  K  A !!!

(Hm. Did I take my meds this morning?)
posted by WCityMike at 8:58 AM on August 25, 2008

No problem. Just don't make a separate MeTa thread apologizing, or you'll be called a pretentious attention-seeker. I speak from experience. :-)
posted by WCityMike at 8:59 AM on August 25, 2008

Oh, there he goes again. Not everything is about YOU, WCityMike.












I keed.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:03 AM on August 25, 2008

zadcat: It's thread drift. It's not about you now, mostly.
posted by Pronoiac at 9:05 AM on August 25, 2008

zadcat: It's thread drift. It's not about you now, mostly.

Yes, there is an indefinite period of time in which you must feel shame. Kind of like a shame penalty box. Except there's no water bottle with which to quench your thirst. Just the warm saltiness of your own tears.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:23 AM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I feel compelled to point out that zadcat is a typesetter.

Typesetter have more visceral reactions to type than other people.

Take it from me, never, ever mess with a typesetter's font, your coccyx may never be rigid again.
posted by Kattullus at 9:38 AM on August 25, 2008

Take it from me, never, ever mess with a typesetter's font, your coccyx may never be rigid again.
posted by ryanrs at 9:43 AM on August 25, 2008

have you ever kissed a girl?

Please don't judge; I'm saving myself for marriage.
posted by found missing at 9:46 AM on August 25, 2008

Er, that's chatfilter isn't it?
posted by Artw at 9:52 AM on August 25, 2008

Typesetter have more visceral reactions to type than other people.
This has fuck-all do with type and everything to do with somebody else melting a snowflake
posted by bonaldi at 10:20 AM on August 25, 2008

melting a snowflake

The term of art is 'asterisk'.
posted by cortex at 10:25 AM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

✻ ✳ ❉ ❅ ✼ ❆ ✽ ❉ ✱ ✲ ❄ ❅ ✼ ✱✽ ❆ ❄ ✲
posted by ryanrs at 10:58 AM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

So we shoudl get to pick one from a dropdown and "user" is replaced by that?
posted by Artw at 11:03 AM on August 25, 2008

Man, this thread is just about the worst I've ever seen from MetaFilter. Zadcat's original answer was a very good one for any photographer who wants their images to be more 'art' than 'snapshot'. I didn't find it pretentious at all. I also have a general hate for AskMe answers that address a previous answer more than they address the question, which is exactly what wemayfreeze's response did.
The pile-on of insults and "suck it up" responses in this thread, as well as the resulting unnecessary apologies for a perfectly valid AskMe answer are just sad.
posted by rocket88 at 11:11 AM on August 25, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Ths s jst n f th trcks n th Mtfltr mgc ht f fft dckshnss. Kp yr ys pld, thy'r rywhr, nd thy cm n mny frms.

Hah! Disemvoweled!
posted by jefeweiss at 11:13 AM on August 25, 2008

kriss-krossing-out your comments will make you:
JUMP JUMP.

(that is all).
posted by blue_beetle at 11:28 AM on August 25, 2008

You people are all ridiculous. Your time-tested, traditional methods of relating to other users members is shitty.

Sorry, late to the thread, no internet access at work, etcetc
posted by nevercalm at 2:53 PM on August 25, 2008

You people are all ridiculous. Your time-tested, traditional methods of relating to other users members is are shitty.

FTFY.
posted by Pronoiac at 3:21 PM on August 25, 2008

I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone apologize 3 times in Metatalk, and with (or so I read) elegant sincerity. Kudos, zadcat.
posted by Tehanu at 3:52 PM on August 25, 2008

Who is this "zadcat" and why does he keep apologizing?
Other than that, this thread is great!

Metafilter: Trivial point, but it irked me...
posted by lothar at 4:21 PM on August 25, 2008

I wonder what metafilter would be like if there were only posts and no comments. Sure there be some loss, but then... the gain is may be worth it.
posted by every_one_needs_a_hug_sometimes at 4:23 PM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Like, ungrammaticalness.
posted by every_one_needs_a_hug_sometimes at 4:24 PM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

What if tehre were only comments and no posts? What then?
posted by Artw at 4:26 PM on August 25, 2008

4Chan, dude. 4Chan.
posted by stet at 4:28 PM on August 25, 2008

The chans get to use images.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 5:11 PM on August 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I for one hate the fact that few people quote someone in a comment but don't tell who the quote was from or where it was located. Come on people, let's get with the program:

zadcat complained: Trivial point, but it irked me seeing my answer here crossed out by a later responder.
posted by JJ86 at 10:57 AM on August 26, 2008

And don't get me started re: top-posters.
posted by cortex at 11:07 AM on August 26, 2008

I for one hate the fact that few people quote someone in a comment but don't tell who the quote was from or where it was located.

I use Ctrl-F.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:26 AM on August 26, 2008

I have that nearsighted/farsighted problem with the term top-posting.
posted by jessamyn at 11:26 AM on August 26, 2008

I for one hate the fact that few people quote someone in a comment but don't tell who the quote was from or where it was located.

You should already know that information. Read comments top to bottom.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 11:44 AM on August 26, 2008

You know what's going to happen in this thread, right?

It pretty much did.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:52 AM on August 26, 2008

TheOnlyCoolTim said: You should already know that information. Read comments top to bottom.

That's fine on threads with only a few dozen comments. Not too practical for every other thread. If someone takes the time to quote a comment, do it right. MeFi would suck without hyperlinks. Or should we always assume any reader of a thread already knows how to use Google to find a link and get rid of hyperlinks altogether?
posted by JJ86 at 12:07 PM on August 26, 2008

Quoting by unattributed italic block is probably the most common traditional method of quoting on the site. There's certainly arguments to be made for different styles of quoting, depending on the context, but I don't think "do it right" is going to work as a pat argument here.

And reading the whole thread is not an exceptional notion. If you elect not to read the thread before jumping into the conversation, and thus don't recognize the source of a quoted portion of one of the comments you did read, it takes ten seconds to do a copy-and-find to put the pieces together.
posted by cortex at 12:12 PM on August 26, 2008

Or should we always assume any reader of a thread already knows how to use Google to find a link and get rid of hyperlinks altogether?
If they need to use Google to find some text on the very page they're reading, well, hell, I don't want to italicise them.
posted by bonaldi at 12:27 PM on August 26, 2008

I wonder what metafilterAskMe would be like if there were only posts and no comments. Sure there be some loss, but then... the gain is may be worth it.


FTFY
posted by owtytrof at 2:23 PM on August 26, 2008

The pile-on of insults and "suck it up" responses in this thread, as well as the resulting unnecessary apologies for a perfectly valid AskMe answer are just sad.

The answer is ok.

Zadcat's initial insistance that someone else's opinion about and refutation of her answer was somehow offensive or an attack wasn't really ok.

When I say "grow a hide" that's not an insult or an attack. It is indeed a "oh, suck it up" because, really? It's not that big of a deal. And to start a sort of tattle-tale MeTa over it (instead of peharps consulting with a moderator, first) is a defensive posture that indicates that her beliefs aren't held with all that much conviction - or perhaps a little too much conviction.

Seriously, now. The title of this thread is "Delete delete!" and the more inside reads "I think if you want to respond to an earlier comment it's quite sufficient to put it in italics. As an ordinary user it's not up to you to cross out (even conceptually) another user's comment."

That doesn't read as a little snippy, defensive, overwrought and sort of asking for special treatment to you? It's a strikethrough used in a users OWN comment. It's not like they hacked MeFi and edited or altered zadcat's own comment.

Zadcat's answer wasn't deleted because - as far as photography as art is concerned - it's good advice. Wemayfreeze's answer wasn't deleted because - obviously - not all photography is art or even intended to be art.

If I'd started a rather petty and self-centered MeTa thread about something so admittedly trivial I'd hope I'd apologize, too.
posted by loquacious at 2:42 PM on August 26, 2008

Part of being an artist is developing a thick skin. If everyone thinks what you are saying is wonderful and perfect, it is time to worry.
posted by R. Mutt at 5:14 PM on August 26, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]