Huh? September 9, 2008 10:06 PM Subscribe
OK, can someone help the Norwegian impaired understand this post and the reason for its deletion? I'm afraid Google translator renders its usual mystery.
Of course, what's really funny is that the page he linked to had a story about both Palin and the new iPods. So...not that different from the front page of MetaFilter after all.
posted by ColdChef at 10:21 PM on September 9, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by ColdChef at 10:21 PM on September 9, 2008 [2 favorites]
Well, he certainly showed us!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:38 PM on September 9, 2008
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:38 PM on September 9, 2008
It was a stunt post apparently trying to express how foreign users feel about US politics posts. It was also completely fucking stupid and missed it's aim by being so godawful lazy. Good work there, buddy.
posted by puke & cry at 10:42 PM on September 9, 2008
posted by puke & cry at 10:42 PM on September 9, 2008
Look, as much as I hate Norway have sympathy for people who want to avoid politics I find it hard to see that U. S. politics is being forced down people throats here anymore than in regular media in Europe or the rest of the world. Icelandic media is certainly full of such news and I imagine Norwegian media is too.
posted by Kattullus at 10:59 PM on September 9, 2008
posted by Kattullus at 10:59 PM on September 9, 2008
How giant donuts are made.
Duck and cover, motherfuckers.
Bork bork bork.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:02 PM on September 9, 2008 [6 favorites]
Duck and cover, motherfuckers.
Bork bork bork.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:02 PM on September 9, 2008 [6 favorites]
Icelandic media is certainly full of such news and I imagine Norwegian media is too.
Yeah, this bird has flown.
posted by tellurian at 11:08 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
Yeah, this bird has flown.
posted by tellurian at 11:08 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
I agree with Dumsnill. But even though it might seem the only way to make the argument is the path he or she took, it rarely works; alienation is the typical result.
It was a stunt post apparently trying to express how foreign users feel about US politics posts
But that's really the point. I don't give a shit about what's going on in Norway's political news. And I almost care to the same degree about U.S. politics. It's a freakin' joke, it's old, and it's boring. But since U.S. traffic accounts for 61% of total visitors (Norway 0.4%), and people in the U.S. seem to be interested in this current farce, there's nothing to do. I wonder what would be posted (and allowed to be posted) if the same percentage of viewers were interested in Britney Spears or TimeCubism.
posted by sluglicker at 11:12 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
It was a stunt post apparently trying to express how foreign users feel about US politics posts
But that's really the point. I don't give a shit about what's going on in Norway's political news. And I almost care to the same degree about U.S. politics. It's a freakin' joke, it's old, and it's boring. But since U.S. traffic accounts for 61% of total visitors (Norway 0.4%), and people in the U.S. seem to be interested in this current farce, there's nothing to do. I wonder what would be posted (and allowed to be posted) if the same percentage of viewers were interested in Britney Spears or TimeCubism.
posted by sluglicker at 11:12 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
Although, now that you mention it, my True Norwegian Black Metal post was also deleted. I smell a conspiracy.
posted by puke & cry at 11:14 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by puke & cry at 11:14 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
Dear Dumsnill and anyone who agrees with Dumsnill:
By my count, there are at least 24 posts, today, that have nothing to do with US politics, and when I was counting I was defining US politics very broadly. For instance, I didn't count the insider trading post or locomotive engineer post, since both were speaking about the US, even though neither one, at a quick glance, as anything to do with politics at all.
My recommendation is to read the threads that don't have to do with the US election, and ignore the ones you do. You'll totally be okay.
posted by Caduceus at 11:37 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
By my count, there are at least 24 posts, today, that have nothing to do with US politics, and when I was counting I was defining US politics very broadly. For instance, I didn't count the insider trading post or locomotive engineer post, since both were speaking about the US, even though neither one, at a quick glance, as anything to do with politics at all.
My recommendation is to read the threads that don't have to do with the US election, and ignore the ones you do. You'll totally be okay.
posted by Caduceus at 11:37 PM on September 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
Make that "and ignore the ones that do." It's clearly sleeping time for me.
posted by Caduceus at 11:39 PM on September 9, 2008
posted by Caduceus at 11:39 PM on September 9, 2008
There have been about a dozen US political posts deleted in the last week and that one Palin post stretched through the whole week avoiding many follow up posts. My personal theory is that you can't make a post now without mentioning big oil, fired staff, pregnant teen, or other nonsense, so no one has tried to make a good one.
posted by lee at 11:51 PM on September 9, 2008
posted by lee at 11:51 PM on September 9, 2008
if the same percentage of viewers were interested in Britney Spears or TimeCubism.
Please, the correct term is "users", not "viewers". "Viewers" would apply to television watchers and we musn't risk triggering another tedious cascade of comments from the proud non-TV-owning contingent.
posted by longsleeves at 12:23 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Please, the correct term is "users", not "viewers". "Viewers" would apply to television watchers and we musn't risk triggering another tedious cascade of comments from the proud non-TV-owning contingent.
posted by longsleeves at 12:23 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Of course, what's really funny is that the page he linked to had a story about both Palin and the new iPods. So...not that different from the front page of MetaFilter after all.
I think you must mean the two Microsoft Vista advertisements. There is no iPod post on the front page.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:36 AM on September 10, 2008
I think you must mean the two Microsoft Vista advertisements. There is no iPod post on the front page.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:36 AM on September 10, 2008
"I need to buy some boards there, Sven."
"How long you want 'em, Ole?"
"Long time. I'm building a house, ya know."
posted by netbros at 12:57 AM on September 10, 2008 [18 favorites]
"How long you want 'em, Ole?"
"Long time. I'm building a house, ya know."
posted by netbros at 12:57 AM on September 10, 2008 [18 favorites]
I really wish that I didn't have to care about American politics. Unfortunately, as we have seen, what happens there has an impact on the rest of us to nearly the same degree it does American citizens, at least in some ways. The more the American electorate fucks themselves, the fuckeder the world at large is, too. The global fucking field, as whatsisface Friedman was yammering on about there a while back, sorta, is flat.
It's everyone's choice whether they want to pay attention or not, of course -- it is, as has been said, a farce, and a depressing one, and those good ol' yank bastards, god bless 'em, always seem to manage to disappoint no matter how low we set the bar -- but if you are at all politically engaged in whatever country you call home, you'd be a fool not to be paying close attention indeed to what happens in America.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:06 AM on September 10, 2008 [5 favorites]
It's everyone's choice whether they want to pay attention or not, of course -- it is, as has been said, a farce, and a depressing one, and those good ol' yank bastards, god bless 'em, always seem to manage to disappoint no matter how low we set the bar -- but if you are at all politically engaged in whatever country you call home, you'd be a fool not to be paying close attention indeed to what happens in America.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:06 AM on September 10, 2008 [5 favorites]
You tell 'em Mr Chicken. As a non USAian and also living very far away I too feel I have to follow whats happening over there for possibly my own survival. One lot will probably just fuck up as usual and the other lot might be responsible for my death by alienating about 80% of the rest of the world and most of their own people.
posted by adamvasco at 3:48 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by adamvasco at 3:48 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm a US citizen, and that's how ElectionFilter looks to me. It's not that far off from sports, really. Rah rah, go our team! Beat the other guys, who you are obviously vastly superior to and not at all the same as.
posted by Eideteker at 4:03 AM on September 10, 2008 [4 favorites]
posted by Eideteker at 4:03 AM on September 10, 2008 [4 favorites]
Yes, decisions made in Washington can affect the lives and deaths of people outside of the US. ...that Fanny whatsit thing... that Iraq thing...
Last Saturday's (6th Sept) 'Any Questions' (BBC Radio 4) raised a good few pointst to that ilk.
posted by popcassady at 4:04 AM on September 10, 2008
Last Saturday's (6th Sept) 'Any Questions' (BBC Radio 4) raised a good few pointst to that ilk.
posted by popcassady at 4:04 AM on September 10, 2008
Dear Dumsnill,
You want to make a point? This is how you non-US electionfilter.
Love,
Plutor
posted by Plutor at 4:04 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
You want to make a point? This is how you non-US electionfilter.
Love,
Plutor
posted by Plutor at 4:04 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
The biggest thing that bothers me about the Election-Filter tedium (I've so enjoyed the lack of it the last few days) is that the slightest thing gets posted here - anything pointed about any of the candidates/Vp-elects. Not 'best of the web' but more like a digest of the news. No matter how interested you are in US politics, at least half of the posts are irrelevances that are covered enormously in TV in the US and abroad. Down to the tiniest, vomitously-banal detail. Basically, there is already an existing and massive volume of information on the topic, so why bring it here, too? The recent spate of posts (by which I mean the last 6 months) have been much more of a "keep us updated!", "did anything happen today?" or "skim the news" style content, rather than genuinely significant or interesting content. A lot of it is only interesting to politically interested viewers and it has certainly dominated the topics. I'm not sure that Metafilter deserves to be "some interesting stuff to fill the gaps inbetween covering all the aspects of the election".
If the posts just stuck to being about the properly significant details - rather than John McCain farting, Obama gets called a mean person - and major turning points, then it'd be fine and truly interesting. The media already portrays every slight detail as being 'enormously significant and forms the ethos of X's campaign!!11111' for every detail, and for every little pathetic slur and sniping between the parties, which doesn't mean we need to as well. It's when posts cover each little pseudo-scandal that the media leaps on and hypes that I really wish this place was above being dragged into that sort of horseshit.
posted by Brockles at 5:15 AM on September 10, 2008 [3 favorites]
If the posts just stuck to being about the properly significant details - rather than John McCain farting, Obama gets called a mean person - and major turning points, then it'd be fine and truly interesting. The media already portrays every slight detail as being 'enormously significant and forms the ethos of X's campaign!!11111' for every detail, and for every little pathetic slur and sniping between the parties, which doesn't mean we need to as well. It's when posts cover each little pseudo-scandal that the media leaps on and hypes that I really wish this place was above being dragged into that sort of horseshit.
posted by Brockles at 5:15 AM on September 10, 2008 [3 favorites]
Just say .no.
posted by lukemeister at 5:37 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by lukemeister at 5:37 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
This comment is enormously significant and forms the ethos of my mission as a poster! It might look like an insignificant little thing, but you'll see. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, you'll see.
posted by daniel_charms at 5:46 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by daniel_charms at 5:46 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
I am SO ANGRY that Metafilter's mods BREAK into my house, TACKLE me, pile on my hand, and force it to move my mouse over to AMERIKKKAN election "news" FFPs (which constitute AT LEAST one out of every FIFTY posts) while SIMULTANEOUSLY making me SLAP myself with my OTHER hand while insisting that I "QUIT hitting [MYSELF]"
Also, who cares about SPORTS I mean rah rah go TEAM totally MEANINGLESS welp I've spoken my piece time to go DOWNLOAD the latest distro of LINUX talk to you LATER
posted by Damn That Television at 5:48 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
Also, who cares about SPORTS I mean rah rah go TEAM totally MEANINGLESS welp I've spoken my piece time to go DOWNLOAD the latest distro of LINUX talk to you LATER
posted by Damn That Television at 5:48 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
Øh nØ
posted by Elmore at 5:53 AM on September 10, 2008 [3 favorites]
posted by Elmore at 5:53 AM on September 10, 2008 [3 favorites]
If the posts just stuck to being about the properly significant details - rather than John McCain farting
Yeah, but he made Sarah Palin pull his finger on national TV. Surely that's worthy of discussion.
posted by ColdChef at 6:28 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Yeah, but he made Sarah Palin pull his finger on national TV. Surely that's worthy of discussion.
posted by ColdChef at 6:28 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
If the posts just stuck to being about the properly significant details - rather than John McCain farting, Obama gets called a mean person - and major turning points, then it'd be fine and truly interesting.
This has been my feeling. The US elections are of some importance both to people in the US and people not in the US but updatefilter posts [or especially "this thing happened that is going to be the most important thing once it hits the papers on Monday!!"] really don't highlight that. For some reason a lot of the political/election posts just don't seem to have that same "this still needs to be something good/interesting/worth discussing on the web" mandate and that's sort of too bad.
I think it may be difficult for people who really really feel strongly about the minutia of these sorts of things to see how teeny they seem to people who are not in the thick of election fever.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:31 AM on September 10, 2008
This has been my feeling. The US elections are of some importance both to people in the US and people not in the US but updatefilter posts [or especially "this thing happened that is going to be the most important thing once it hits the papers on Monday!!"] really don't highlight that. For some reason a lot of the political/election posts just don't seem to have that same "this still needs to be something good/interesting/worth discussing on the web" mandate and that's sort of too bad.
I think it may be difficult for people who really really feel strongly about the minutia of these sorts of things to see how teeny they seem to people who are not in the thick of election fever.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:31 AM on September 10, 2008
Luftputefartøyet mitt er fullt av ål
posted by lukemeister at 6:43 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by lukemeister at 6:43 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Beware the 14th of October, especially if your riding is in danger!
posted by blue_beetle at 6:47 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by blue_beetle at 6:47 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm all in favor of ignoring politicians.
Maybe if we do it long enough they'll go away.
posted by loquacious at 6:51 AM on September 10, 2008
Maybe if we do it long enough they'll go away.
posted by loquacious at 6:51 AM on September 10, 2008
Aside from electionfilter, there's a lot of newsfilter too ("Kim Jong Ill" for example). Then there's the apparent need for people to post stuff from The New York Times, and then throw in a few wikipedia links to give it some "meat." Luckily there's a system for flagging posts and comments, and moderators to take care of what they see fit.
That being said, Dumsnill was being a jerk-faced doodiehead, and shouldn't shit in our sandbox.
posted by Eekacat at 6:52 AM on September 10, 2008
That being said, Dumsnill was being a jerk-faced doodiehead, and shouldn't shit in our sandbox.
posted by Eekacat at 6:52 AM on September 10, 2008
Wi nøt trei a høliday in Norge this yër ?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:03 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:03 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
Dirty protests tend not to work, you just end up smelling of shit yourself.
posted by Elmore at 7:05 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by Elmore at 7:05 AM on September 10, 2008
Damn, I really wanted to find out what the drama in Norway was about.
posted by Phanx at 7:14 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by Phanx at 7:14 AM on September 10, 2008
...and 10,260,000 page uses per month
posted by sluglicker at 7:30 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by sluglicker at 7:30 AM on September 10, 2008
I too am sick of the "Hey, here's the latest headline weaksauce post." Yet, I am desperate to talk about the election on Metafilter, anywhere other than the looong Palin thread. So I was hoping to inspire a discussion about political strategies and the way the candidates build their identities with my post about narrative in politics. If anybody has anything to say about what they've seen in speeches or ads (and what those things say about the candidates), that might be a good place for it. Bonus: the thread loads fast!
And before anybody asks, No, this is not a homework assignment.
posted by iamkimiam at 7:44 AM on September 10, 2008
And before anybody asks, No, this is not a homework assignment.
posted by iamkimiam at 7:44 AM on September 10, 2008
FORTINBRAS 2008
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:45 AM on September 10, 2008 [7 favorites]
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:45 AM on September 10, 2008 [7 favorites]
It's everyone's choice whether they want to pay attention or not, of course -- it is, as has been said, a farce, and a depressing one, and those good ol' yank bastards, god bless 'em, always seem to manage to disappoint no matter how low we set the bar -- but if you are at all politically engaged in whatever country you call home, you'd be a fool not to be paying close attention indeed to what happens in America.
stav, I agree with you on the last bit -- I resemble that remark -- but while I feel tempted to agree on the preceding sentiment as well I also feel compelled to point out that this is exactly the cynicism we need to shed, you're keeping a vicious cycle alive, you're not exactly helping, yes we can, choir of angels, etc.
Carry on.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:46 AM on September 10, 2008
stav, I agree with you on the last bit -- I resemble that remark -- but while I feel tempted to agree on the preceding sentiment as well I also feel compelled to point out that this is exactly the cynicism we need to shed, you're keeping a vicious cycle alive, you're not exactly helping, yes we can, choir of angels, etc.
Carry on.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:46 AM on September 10, 2008
I'm a USian and I'm sick of the electionfilter. I personally would love to learn about what's going on in other countries, especially from native or ex-pat MeFites.
Not that it's your job, but here's how residents of other countries could educate me: Post an FPP about what's going on with the leader of $country, some background information, and why it affects the residents of $country. Yeah, I know, I should know this already, right, but I am not singlehandedly responsible for the failures of the American educational system. It would be a great service if non-Americans would encapsulate what's going on in your part of the world, especially the stuff we don't hear on World Edition on NPR. I don't think it's willful ignorance on the part of Americans; at least not MeFites. I personally don't have the time to learn enough of 20 other languages to make sense out of those countries' local news sources. MeFi is the best of the Web precisely because none of us have the time or wherewithal to slog through the ENTIRE web looking for gems. MeFi can also be the best of the WORLDWIDE web by explaining and condensing important concepts and events that don't involve the US.
It's a win-win. We (Americans) get educated about other parts of the world, and you get more posts about your part of the world.
If MeFi isn't the appropriate place for this, then I think someone should start another site.
posted by desjardins at 7:54 AM on September 10, 2008 [7 favorites]
Not that it's your job, but here's how residents of other countries could educate me: Post an FPP about what's going on with the leader of $country, some background information, and why it affects the residents of $country. Yeah, I know, I should know this already, right, but I am not singlehandedly responsible for the failures of the American educational system. It would be a great service if non-Americans would encapsulate what's going on in your part of the world, especially the stuff we don't hear on World Edition on NPR. I don't think it's willful ignorance on the part of Americans; at least not MeFites. I personally don't have the time to learn enough of 20 other languages to make sense out of those countries' local news sources. MeFi is the best of the Web precisely because none of us have the time or wherewithal to slog through the ENTIRE web looking for gems. MeFi can also be the best of the WORLDWIDE web by explaining and condensing important concepts and events that don't involve the US.
It's a win-win. We (Americans) get educated about other parts of the world, and you get more posts about your part of the world.
If MeFi isn't the appropriate place for this, then I think someone should start another site.
posted by desjardins at 7:54 AM on September 10, 2008 [7 favorites]
...yes we can, choir of angels, etc.
Carry on.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:46 AM on September 10 [+] [!]
Eponysterical.
posted by ZakDaddy at 7:58 AM on September 10, 2008
Carry on.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:46 AM on September 10 [+] [!]
Eponysterical.
posted by ZakDaddy at 7:58 AM on September 10, 2008
Hey, it could be worse. We could be making posts about nothing but Israel.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:17 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:17 AM on September 10, 2008
There are going to be a LOT of USElectionFilter posts. I'd like it if there was a daily "Post USElectionFilter crap HERE" thread, as well as a "YouTubes Of the Day" thread. But this is not DailyKos, and that's that. I'll be over here, sulking, if anybody needs me. DailyKos and other site usually have an Open Thread of the day.
posted by theora55 at 8:27 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by theora55 at 8:27 AM on September 10, 2008
NORWEGIANS ROCK!!!!
I see that Bill Gates has joined The Whitest Boy Alive.
posted by lukemeister at 8:30 AM on September 10, 2008
I see that Bill Gates has joined The Whitest Boy Alive.
posted by lukemeister at 8:30 AM on September 10, 2008
Yes, but it's a marriage of convenience, really. Oye.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:33 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:33 AM on September 10, 2008
Also:
What's Norwegian for group sex? Måb fåk
Greek for incest? Papalimidikalon
Finnish for incontinence? Liikin Jurinen
Nahuatl for rimming? Popiotonginpópl
Serbian for cunnilingus? Lekoda vižipić
Japanese for crabs? Ichi-karochu
HAHAHAHAHA
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:34 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
What's Norwegian for group sex? Måb fåk
Greek for incest? Papalimidikalon
Finnish for incontinence? Liikin Jurinen
Nahuatl for rimming? Popiotonginpópl
Serbian for cunnilingus? Lekoda vižipić
Japanese for crabs? Ichi-karochu
HAHAHAHAHA
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:34 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
Ichi indeed.
posted by trondant at 8:44 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by trondant at 8:44 AM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
As much as I love MeFi, I find the majority of threads worthless in terms of my personal interests. That is, with about 60% of threads I don't even click them into or follow the links, as I can tell right up front I'm not interested in the topic. Anyone else meet that general interest level?
Now, maybe Dumsnill reads every single thread and follows every single link, but I seriously doubt it. I'm guessing that he/she/it regularly skips 20-40% of threads out of hand, most of which will have nothing to do with American politics. So why single out political threads to whine about? There has to be a reason.
Further more, it seems like the expected behavior for a quasi discussion forum based in the U.S. and used predominantly by Americans would have election threads during the election. In fact I think it would be rather bizarre if it didn't.
I suspect there is a personal ax to grind which has zero to do with this site, it's threads, or it's guidelines.
posted by Ragma at 8:56 AM on September 10, 2008
Now, maybe Dumsnill reads every single thread and follows every single link, but I seriously doubt it. I'm guessing that he/she/it regularly skips 20-40% of threads out of hand, most of which will have nothing to do with American politics. So why single out political threads to whine about? There has to be a reason.
Further more, it seems like the expected behavior for a quasi discussion forum based in the U.S. and used predominantly by Americans would have election threads during the election. In fact I think it would be rather bizarre if it didn't.
I suspect there is a personal ax to grind which has zero to do with this site, it's threads, or it's guidelines.
posted by Ragma at 8:56 AM on September 10, 2008
tellurian: Yeah, this bird has flown.
Isn't it good?
posted by evilcolonel at 9:00 AM on September 10, 2008
Isn't it good?
posted by evilcolonel at 9:00 AM on September 10, 2008
The other thing, I think, that is silly about the complaint is that there is a clear and controversial attempt on the part of the mods to cut down on ElectionFilter. That Palin thread is the largest of all-time, 4000+ comments and it isn't slowing down. That awful thing is going to be drawing comments until November.
Glancing at the front page and running a few figures through my bullshit generator it looks like a typical thread gets maybe 50 comments. A more active one might get double or triple that. Would MetaFilter have been better off for users from outside the USA if there had been five or six additional Palin/McCain/Obama/Biden slugfests in the two weeks that thread has been active? Clearly the answer is no, but just as clearly the issue of American politics has a lot of import for a lot of people, many of whom live in the USA and many of whom don't.
If it ain't your thing scroll down and find something that is.
posted by dirtdirt at 9:06 AM on September 10, 2008
Glancing at the front page and running a few figures through my bullshit generator it looks like a typical thread gets maybe 50 comments. A more active one might get double or triple that. Would MetaFilter have been better off for users from outside the USA if there had been five or six additional Palin/McCain/Obama/Biden slugfests in the two weeks that thread has been active? Clearly the answer is no, but just as clearly the issue of American politics has a lot of import for a lot of people, many of whom live in the USA and many of whom don't.
If it ain't your thing scroll down and find something that is.
posted by dirtdirt at 9:06 AM on September 10, 2008
The real lesson: US electionfilter gives non-US readers strokes, rendering the text incømprehensible, & frånkly, pretty implåusible.
posted by Pronoiac at 9:08 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by Pronoiac at 9:08 AM on September 10, 2008
I am SO ANGRY that Metafilter's mods BREAK into my house, TACKLE me, pile on my hand, and force it to move my mouse over to AMERIKKKAN election "news" FFPs (which constitute AT LEAST one out of every FIFTY posts) while SIMULTANEOUSLY making me SLAP myself with my OTHER hand while insisting that I "QUIT hitting [MYSELF]"
Consider yourself lucky. The last time the mods broke into my house they rubbed meat spices all over my body and beat me with a sausage. and it was my sausage!
posted by Sailormom at 9:19 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
Consider yourself lucky. The last time the mods broke into my house they rubbed meat spices all over my body and beat me with a sausage. and it was my sausage!
posted by Sailormom at 9:19 AM on September 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
That awful thing is going to be drawing comments until November.
Well, it'll actually shut down some time in late September.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:06 AM on September 10, 2008
Well, it'll actually shut down some time in late September.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:06 AM on September 10, 2008
How is anyone even able to open the Palin thread anymore to comment? It shuts down Chrome, FF, and IE for me, on different computers.
posted by desjardins at 10:10 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by desjardins at 10:10 AM on September 10, 2008
"I'm all in favor of ignoring politicians.
Maybe if we do it long enough they'll go away."
You can't ignore chicken thieves and pig fuckers. You have to go out into your yard and shoot them.
posted by klangklangston at 10:13 AM on September 10, 2008
Maybe if we do it long enough they'll go away."
You can't ignore chicken thieves and pig fuckers. You have to go out into your yard and shoot them.
posted by klangklangston at 10:13 AM on September 10, 2008
How is anyone even able to open the Palin thread anymore to comment?
I had no problems opening it today other than some squealing from the MeFi Navigator GreaseMonkey script. It loaded toot sweet and I'm running FF/XP on a shitass PC that has less than a gig of memory, while downloading a bunch of comics.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:26 AM on September 10, 2008
I had no problems opening it today other than some squealing from the MeFi Navigator GreaseMonkey script. It loaded toot sweet and I'm running FF/XP on a shitass PC that has less than a gig of memory, while downloading a bunch of comics.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:26 AM on September 10, 2008
What's Norwegian for group sex? Måb fåk
The Norwegian Language Council recommends the terms "Norwegian Bokmål" and "Norwegian Nynorsk" in English, instead of plain "Norwegian." Can't you USians get anything right?
Anyway, while the relatively minuscule American MeFite contingent rails on about something as irrelevent as "American politics", this would be a great FPP post, and would sure show you guys what it's like. Of course, for some Ameri-centric reason, it would get deleted.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:36 AM on September 10, 2008
The Norwegian Language Council recommends the terms "Norwegian Bokmål" and "Norwegian Nynorsk" in English, instead of plain "Norwegian." Can't you USians get anything right?
Anyway, while the relatively minuscule American MeFite contingent rails on about something as irrelevent as "American politics", this would be a great FPP post, and would sure show you guys what it's like. Of course, for some Ameri-centric reason, it would get deleted.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:36 AM on September 10, 2008
Anyway, while the relatively minuscule American MeFite contingent rails on about something as irrelevent as "American politics", this would be a great FPP post, and would sure show you guys what it's like.
Um, sure, this might be a great FPP if I read Japanese. You can't seriously expect most people on an English-language Web site to learn enough Japanese to understand this article. I clicked the "English" link on top but it goes to a main page, and I couldn't tell which article was the one you had linked.
posted by desjardins at 10:43 AM on September 10, 2008
Um, sure, this might be a great FPP if I read Japanese. You can't seriously expect most people on an English-language Web site to learn enough Japanese to understand this article. I clicked the "English" link on top but it goes to a main page, and I couldn't tell which article was the one you had linked.
posted by desjardins at 10:43 AM on September 10, 2008
nevertheless, I did poke around the English version of the site, and this is teh awesum.
posted by desjardins at 10:45 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by desjardins at 10:45 AM on September 10, 2008
"It loaded toot sweet"
Sweet, sweet toot.
posted by An Infinity Of Monkeys at 10:45 AM on September 10, 2008
Sweet, sweet toot.
posted by An Infinity Of Monkeys at 10:45 AM on September 10, 2008
畜生!
posted by languagehat at 10:46 AM on September 10, 2008
posted by languagehat at 10:46 AM on September 10, 2008
Once, while on holiday in Oslo, i went to a corner shop and bought a carton of orange juice, 4 beers, 20 cigarettes, a half litre of milk and a loaf of bread. It came to nearly 70 UKP. So fuck those guys.
posted by Jofus at 12:22 PM on September 10, 2008
posted by Jofus at 12:22 PM on September 10, 2008
Well, it'll actually shut down some time in late September.
Right! I forgot about that.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:23 PM on September 10, 2008
Right! I forgot about that.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:23 PM on September 10, 2008
Oh, sorry
Hadn't seen this. Yes, it was completely fucking stupid. I think I set a new world record in posting while insanely drunk.
There was a point in there: I don't like all this US election-filter, because I'm constantly being fed it everywhere else. (And the Norwegian page I linked to was a randomly chosen "politics" page from a crappy newspaper. No deeper meaning.)
posted by Dumsnill at 12:37 PM on September 10, 2008
Hadn't seen this. Yes, it was completely fucking stupid. I think I set a new world record in posting while insanely drunk.
There was a point in there: I don't like all this US election-filter, because I'm constantly being fed it everywhere else. (And the Norwegian page I linked to was a randomly chosen "politics" page from a crappy newspaper. No deeper meaning.)
posted by Dumsnill at 12:37 PM on September 10, 2008
I think I set a new world record in posting while insanely drunk.
If it's any comfort, that's a harder record to break than you might think. You're a strong contender for honorable mention, maybe.
*mops counter with rag*
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:42 PM on September 10, 2008
If it's any comfort, that's a harder record to break than you might think. You're a strong contender for honorable mention, maybe.
*mops counter with rag*
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:42 PM on September 10, 2008
For the record, it is possible to make good non-US-centric ElectionFilter posts. I have made several posts about Canadian politics and I will continue to ram them down the collective craw of MetaFilter like wheat berries into a French goose. No deletions so far. Heck, I should probably go make another one.
posted by GuyZero at 3:31 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by GuyZero at 3:31 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Who wants to know what I think?
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:31 PM on September 10, 2008
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:31 PM on September 10, 2008
GuyZero—Yeah, what's up with Harper? Wasn't he all a proponent of fixed election cycles, only to be like NO WAIT PSYCHE! when it came to putting his money where his mouth was? Think the Conservatives will be able to hold on? And is the Liberal really that bad at English? I heard he was blaming his deafness, which I can't speak to whether that makes English harder, but I'm curious if he'll play across Anglophone Canada (What's the equivalent of "Will it play in Peoria?" Calgary? Winnipeg?). Feel free to correct me if I have any of this wrong.
posted by klangklangston at 4:16 PM on September 10, 2008
posted by klangklangston at 4:16 PM on September 10, 2008
I think I set a new world record in posting while insanely drunk.
You should read the set up to this comment at a minimum before taking that honor.
posted by stet at 5:03 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
You should read the set up to this comment at a minimum before taking that honor.
posted by stet at 5:03 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Wasn't he all a proponent of fixed election cycles, only to be like NO WAIT PSYCHE! when it came to putting his money where his mouth was?
A politician breaking promises? Unheard of! Wait, the room is spinning. I... I have to sit down.
And is the Liberal really that bad at English? ... I'm curious if he'll play across Anglophone Canada.
I haven't noticed his English being all that bad. It's obviously not his mother tongue, but it's not incomprehensible. I don't think it's much worse than Chrétien's English and it's definitely better than Manning's French. My opinion of Dion's English is probably affected by regularly hearing much worse "Franglais", though.
There's a complicating factor here, with the whole "how will X play in Y?" matter. It's entirely possible for voters in a given riding to dislike the party leader, but love that party's local candidate. So if the local person's worked up a lot of good will with their constituents, it can overcome a general dislike for the would-be Prime Minister... especially if it's a well-liked incumbent local candidate, but a new party leader.
Sort of like how you might vote for the Democrat candidate in your district's congressional election, despite not liking Nancy Pelosi much.
(What's the equivalent of "Will it play in Peoria?" Calgary? Winnipeg?)
"Will it work in Wawa?", maybe? Dunno.
posted by CKmtl at 5:44 PM on September 10, 2008
A politician breaking promises? Unheard of! Wait, the room is spinning. I... I have to sit down.
And is the Liberal really that bad at English? ... I'm curious if he'll play across Anglophone Canada.
I haven't noticed his English being all that bad. It's obviously not his mother tongue, but it's not incomprehensible. I don't think it's much worse than Chrétien's English and it's definitely better than Manning's French. My opinion of Dion's English is probably affected by regularly hearing much worse "Franglais", though.
There's a complicating factor here, with the whole "how will X play in Y?" matter. It's entirely possible for voters in a given riding to dislike the party leader, but love that party's local candidate. So if the local person's worked up a lot of good will with their constituents, it can overcome a general dislike for the would-be Prime Minister... especially if it's a well-liked incumbent local candidate, but a new party leader.
Sort of like how you might vote for the Democrat candidate in your district's congressional election, despite not liking Nancy Pelosi much.
(What's the equivalent of "Will it play in Peoria?" Calgary? Winnipeg?)
"Will it work in Wawa?", maybe? Dunno.
posted by CKmtl at 5:44 PM on September 10, 2008
I'm curious if he'll play across Anglophone Canada
In a Random Person on the Street interview, one Anglo lady said that she had trouble understanding him, and although she knew he was an intelligent man, it was obvious that English was not his "forte".
Made me chuckle a bit.
And he is bloody hard to understand, even more than Chretien; he speaks English with a French rhythm - Chretien spoke in a Chretien rhythm in French or English - and sloppily slips into his Francocabularly a lot. That's certainly not a reason why he should or shouldn't be Prime Minister, but it certainly won't curry favour in Kindersley.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:13 PM on September 10, 2008
In a Random Person on the Street interview, one Anglo lady said that she had trouble understanding him, and although she knew he was an intelligent man, it was obvious that English was not his "forte".
Made me chuckle a bit.
And he is bloody hard to understand, even more than Chretien; he speaks English with a French rhythm - Chretien spoke in a Chretien rhythm in French or English - and sloppily slips into his Francocabularly a lot. That's certainly not a reason why he should or shouldn't be Prime Minister, but it certainly won't curry favour in Kindersley.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:13 PM on September 10, 2008
OK, can someone help the Norwegian impaired understand this post and the reason for its deletion? I'm afraid Google translator renders its usual mystery
Sorry to dissapoint you but it's actually not much of a drama, even with Norwegian standards. Jonas Gahr Störe is the forreign minister and his party ("the workers party") therefore thinks it's important for him to also have a seast in the parlament. But since he lives in Oslo he's on the same list as the prime minister and some party leader guy. Those two are even more important than Gahr Störe. This means that to be sure that all three of them gets in the parlament, Gahr Störe will have to be elected from another election district. And the guy in the interview here is the one managing those lists for the party and he doesn't say much at all.
posted by pica at 6:34 AM on September 11, 2008
Sorry to dissapoint you but it's actually not much of a drama, even with Norwegian standards. Jonas Gahr Störe is the forreign minister and his party ("the workers party") therefore thinks it's important for him to also have a seast in the parlament. But since he lives in Oslo he's on the same list as the prime minister and some party leader guy. Those two are even more important than Gahr Störe. This means that to be sure that all three of them gets in the parlament, Gahr Störe will have to be elected from another election district. And the guy in the interview here is the one managing those lists for the party and he doesn't say much at all.
posted by pica at 6:34 AM on September 11, 2008
Man, one of those things I miss about living in California is the lack of CBC. I used to be able to follow Canadian politics (well, at least the politics of Windsor and Toronto) without much effort, and I only know what I do about the upcoming election because of my google news feed.
I was seeing stories that Harper was appealing to the Quebecois, for some reason… Is it just frustration with the Liberals?
posted by klangklangston at 10:43 AM on September 11, 2008
I was seeing stories that Harper was appealing to the Quebecois, for some reason… Is it just frustration with the Liberals?
posted by klangklangston at 10:43 AM on September 11, 2008
Man, one of those things I miss about living in California is the lack of CBC.
I wish they put the entirety of 'The Hour' on the web, but the interviews clips are still good. Anyway, you can get CBC radio on the web which is really just as good as anything they produce on TV. Plus much of it is available via podcast so you can listen to it at your leisure. Somedays I take my week-long backlog of "Q" episodes and go on a Jian-Gomeshi-inspired bender at work.
posted by GuyZero at 11:29 AM on September 11, 2008
I was seeing stories that Harper was appealing to the Quebecois, for some reason…
There's been impatience and frustration with the Bloc in La Belle Province for a while, and yesterday a prominent nationalist/separatist slagged Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe as a clone of the NDP who's sold out sovereignty. Harper has some juice in Quebec since he recognized it as a nation within Canada, and he's trying to build on that. Dion, on the other hand, is still resented there because of the Clarity Act.
Co-opting the Bloc-heads, fighting the inclusion of the Greens in the debates, and warning of split votes on the centre-left side of the political spectrum; like I said in another thread, Harper's trying to delegitimize the other parties and position the Cons and the Grits in what essentially would be a two-party system.
Because that's obviously worked so well for voters south of the border.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:48 AM on September 11, 2008
There's been impatience and frustration with the Bloc in La Belle Province for a while, and yesterday a prominent nationalist/separatist slagged Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe as a clone of the NDP who's sold out sovereignty. Harper has some juice in Quebec since he recognized it as a nation within Canada, and he's trying to build on that. Dion, on the other hand, is still resented there because of the Clarity Act.
Co-opting the Bloc-heads, fighting the inclusion of the Greens in the debates, and warning of split votes on the centre-left side of the political spectrum; like I said in another thread, Harper's trying to delegitimize the other parties and position the Cons and the Grits in what essentially would be a two-party system.
Because that's obviously worked so well for voters south of the border.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:48 AM on September 11, 2008
klangklangston: Man, one of those things I miss about living in California is the lack of CBC.
I once heard that one of the main arguments that Lyndon Johnson used to get recalcritand lawmakers to pass the bill authorizing NPR was that in parts of the US that CBC reached it was the number 1 newssource. I've always wondered if that was true.
posted by Kattullus at 1:26 PM on September 11, 2008
I once heard that one of the main arguments that Lyndon Johnson used to get recalcritand lawmakers to pass the bill authorizing NPR was that in parts of the US that CBC reached it was the number 1 newssource. I've always wondered if that was true.
posted by Kattullus at 1:26 PM on September 11, 2008
CBC radio would have been useless for the Olympics, which is another thing the CBC does better than American broadcasters.
Those letters from Dion were pretty interesting, though I have to admit that I always found secession kind of silly, despite the language difference.
Regarding the two-party issue, unless Harper finds a way to abolish parliament, that'll never really work—factionalization in parliamentary systems is easy (and arguably necessary).
posted by klangklangston at 2:15 PM on September 11, 2008
Those letters from Dion were pretty interesting, though I have to admit that I always found secession kind of silly, despite the language difference.
Regarding the two-party issue, unless Harper finds a way to abolish parliament, that'll never really work—factionalization in parliamentary systems is easy (and arguably necessary).
posted by klangklangston at 2:15 PM on September 11, 2008
CBC radio would have been useless for the Olympics...
I figure I have to get a grey-market CDN satellite dish before 2010 to get decent Vancouver coverage. NorCal meetup at my house to watch curling in 2010 if they get it in by then...
posted by GuyZero at 2:48 PM on September 11, 2008
I figure I have to get a grey-market CDN satellite dish before 2010 to get decent Vancouver coverage. NorCal meetup at my house to watch curling in 2010 if they get it in by then...
posted by GuyZero at 2:48 PM on September 11, 2008
Regarding the two-party issue, unless Harper finds a way to abolish parliament, that'll never really work -- factionalization in parliamentary systems is easy (and arguably necessary).
Agreed, but that doesn't mean that Harper isn't trying to marginalize and co-opt the other three (Seriously, why the hell would a Con publicly warn the other side of splitting their votes?) in an attempt to turn the Big Two into Republican/Democrat North. Lord knows his campaign, fixed election bullshit, and proposed Senate reforms all seem more than a little America-inspired.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:29 PM on September 11, 2008
Agreed, but that doesn't mean that Harper isn't trying to marginalize and co-opt the other three (Seriously, why the hell would a Con publicly warn the other side of splitting their votes?) in an attempt to turn the Big Two into Republican/Democrat North. Lord knows his campaign, fixed election bullshit, and proposed Senate reforms all seem more than a little America-inspired.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:29 PM on September 11, 2008
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posted by cortex (staff) at 10:12 PM on September 9, 2008