Metafilter:

October 7, 2008 11:31 AM

What happened to MetaFilter: more addictive than crack?

Is there a reason we reverted to "community weblog" all the time?

posted by lunit to Etiquette/Policy at 11:31 AM (84 comments total)

It stopped being funny after a 14ker stabbed some dude at the library for hogging the free internet terminal.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:37 AM on October 7, 2008 [8 favorites]

Crack potency down 18% forced this.
posted by boo_radley at 11:42 AM on October 7, 2008

Once cortex was hired on, crackhead jokes just weren't as funny.
posted by eyeballkid at 11:42 AM on October 7, 2008 [11 favorites]

A study conducted in 2004 proved that crack is actually more addictive than MetaFilter. We were prepared to snub science and let it stand, but crack asked nicely that we stop defaming it and bought ten thousand text ads.
posted by carsonb at 11:44 AM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Finally, we get to the important questions.
posted by Plutor at 11:46 AM on October 7, 2008

Metafilter is actually more addictive than meth.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 11:48 AM on October 7, 2008

Is there a reason we reverted to "community weblog" all the time?
That, and pinstripes, were the much ballyhooed "site redesign". Pinstripes alone, people felt, wouldn't have been enough.
posted by Wolfdog at 11:49 AM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

The constant DEA raids on Matt's house were scaring Fiona.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 11:50 AM on October 7, 2008

Is it now OK to like plastic.com? I had never even heard of plastic.com until MeFi told me that liking it wasn't OK.
posted by WPW at 11:55 AM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Metafilter: Community Weblog

Wait. Did I do that right?
posted by stet at 11:56 AM on October 7, 2008 [8 favorites]

Dynamically generated taglines would be totally 2.0.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:09 PM on October 7, 2008

>Is it now OK to like plastic.com? I had never even heard of plastic.com until MeFi told me that liking it wasn't OK.

it's not ok to like plastic.com 'round these parts? We they seem more or less ok. What's the scoop?
posted by xbonesgt at 12:09 PM on October 7, 2008

Metafilter: Community We blo
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:10 PM on October 7, 2008 [11 favorites]

This is about the professional white background, isn't it.
posted by lunit at 12:12 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

MehTuh-Philtah : Kommunity Wheb-blob
posted by hellojed at 12:20 PM on October 7, 2008

We stopped using it because it turned out that the euphoric qualties, or the "high," of MetaFilter was more than offset by the feelings of exhaustion and irritability, or the "crash," of MetaTalk.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:21 PM on October 7, 2008

Once cortex was hired on, crackhead jokes just weren't as funny.

I prefer the term "person of crack".
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:30 PM on October 7, 2008 [49 favorites]

Metafilter Community: We Blog
posted by blue_beetle at 12:31 PM on October 7, 2008

While we're here, I don't love being referred to in AskMe as The Hive Mind just because it says "querying the hive mind" on the logo. I never like it, but especially dislike it when I'm the one and only person who's answered the question. One question, one answer. And the OP comes back with, "WOW, thanks, hive mind!!!!!" Except maybe not so many exclamation points.

Has anyone registered the names Hive Mind and The Hive Mind yet? If you enjoy being thanked a lot you definitely should.
posted by iconomy at 12:37 PM on October 7, 2008

Metafilter: You're wasting your time even suggesting anything
posted by Artw at 12:47 PM on October 7, 2008

Blue tops! Got them blue tops!
posted by electroboy at 12:48 PM on October 7, 2008 [7 favorites]

it's not ok to like plastic.com 'round these parts? We they seem more or less ok. What's the scoop?

One of the humorous mottos under the site masthead used to be "the plastic.com it's OK to like". Or something like it, anyway.
posted by WPW at 12:50 PM on October 7, 2008

Plastic.com….The generalist Slashdot knock off for more volatile, less informed people.
posted by Artw at 12:52 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

4 out of 5 Amy Winehouses recommend MetaFilter for their posses who log on.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:55 PM on October 7, 2008

Ah yes, the old mastheads... the good ol' days...

*shuffles away mumbling, puts cat in scanner*
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 12:57 PM on October 7, 2008 [4 favorites]

There was a MetaTalk thread a long time ago suggesting new captions for under the logo. It was pretty damn funny. Can't find it though.
posted by iconomy at 12:58 PM on October 7, 2008

We need to web 2.0 these up

Metafilter: The annotated Twitter
Metafilter: Can you Digg it?
Metafilter: The Ron Paul it's OK to google.
posted by drezdn at 1:01 PM on October 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

I prefer the term "person of crack".

So you're a plumber?
posted by dersins at 1:02 PM on October 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

I think a more appropriate tagline now would be:

MetaFilter: Make Hulk Angry!
posted by Mister_A at 1:04 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Those are from the days before mathowie's sense of humour was bludgeoned to death by our new overlords wheedling vibrating broomsticks.
posted by timeistight at 1:06 PM on October 7, 2008

^Is that what you meant to say?
posted by Mister_A at 1:07 PM on October 7, 2008

Whitney Houston convinced everyone else that "crack is whack," so we've moved onto crystal meth.
posted by ericb at 1:16 PM on October 7, 2008

Tell you what, that MetaFilter is really more-ish.
posted by Abiezer at 1:18 PM on October 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

Plastic.com used to be good (and threaded comments made it much more readable than Mefi), but a lot of people got frustrated with the site's operator and decamped. Nice while it lasted though.
posted by electroboy at 1:18 PM on October 7, 2008

Methamphilter.
posted by Elmore at 1:18 PM on October 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

What happened to MetaFilter: more addictive than crack?

It got tweaked.
posted by y2karl at 1:28 PM on October 7, 2008

The Plastic.com logo.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 1:41 PM on October 7, 2008

Pandemic! Bail-outs! Got them bail-outs!
posted by cowbellemoo at 1:44 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

threaded comments made it much more readable than Mefi

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
posted by dersins at 1:45 PM on October 7, 2008

No love for Evil Bert?
posted by LionIndex at 1:46 PM on October 7, 2008

The wrong logo, the self policing logo, the together logo, the conersation logo,. Cool, I had forgotten about some of those.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 1:46 PM on October 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

I think Crack threatened to sue Matt.
posted by not_on_display at 1:47 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm doing classroom based behavioral health at an elementary school in the Badlands right now and I shit you not I had young Latin boys practically sticking their heads inside my car window at four different street corners yelling "rocks, rocks, dope, dope, dope" when I was on my way back to school from lunch.
posted by The Straightener at 1:47 PM on October 7, 2008

It's not more addictive than crack, I can assure you.

Tell me when you're pawning your last recourse to a daily job, your entire future, your last connection to society -- your steel toe boots and tool belt at a pawn shop to buy an ASUS mini-pc and you spend your days under a shopping cart frantically refreshing your favorites page in a back alley behind a coffee shop with an open wifi policy. Like, say, the Blenz on Main and Pender in Vancouver.
posted by sleslie at 1:50 PM on October 7, 2008

Just sitting here, drinking beer (judging by my earlier comment I'm drunk) and clicking away at archive.org I'm led to believe that the "community weblog" masthead/logo was implemented in november 2005.

I could be wrong about this. But I'm right about the beer.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 1:54 PM on October 7, 2008

^Is that what you meant to say?

wheedling wielding
posted by timeistight at 2:09 PM on October 7, 2008

Metafilter: It stopped being funny
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:16 PM on October 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

sleslie: "It's not more addictive than crack, I can assure you.

Tell me when you're pawning your last recourse to a daily job, your entire future, your last connection to society -- your steel toe boots and tool belt at a pawn shop to buy an ASUS mini-pc and you spend your days under a shopping cart frantically refreshing your favorites page in a back alley behind a coffee shop with an open wifi policy. Like, say, the Blenz on Main and Pender in Vancouver."

You too, huh?
posted by dg at 2:17 PM on October 7, 2008

Thank you for not saying "reverted back," because I hate that.
posted by Floydd at 2:17 PM on October 7, 2008

Back alley meetup anyone? I've got a 64 of Old E and an iPhone carved out of a bar of soap!
posted by stet at 2:33 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

It was when Marion Barry closed his account that they were forced to admit, well, they were wrong.
posted by klangklangston at 2:34 PM on October 7, 2008

MetaFilter: Common Unity. We B Log.
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:37 PM on October 7, 2008

MetaFilter: A Working Man's Fark
posted by Damn That Television at 2:55 PM on October 7, 2008

I'm also selling these fine leather jackets.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:00 PM on October 7, 2008

I still prefer--MetaFilter: We're all in this to get her.

(Wait, am I remembering that correctly? Yes. I'm certain that I am.)
posted by ColdChef at 3:31 PM on October 7, 2008 [4 favorites]

Q: Why is the butt crack vertical and not horizontal?

A: Because if it was horizontal and you went down a slicky-slide your cheeks would go "ba-blump ba-blump ba-blump".
posted by netbros at 3:32 PM on October 7, 2008

A few old ones.
posted by timeistight at 3:33 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I can't be the only one who has hit rock bottom. Illicitly-charged laptop batteries, hiding in the back alley behind a real estate office, slurping unsecured WiFi while hiding out behind the dumpster. Next thing you know you're stringing up solar panels in trees, running a pringles can-tenna. Heck, I used to keep lists and maps of known good access nodes


The above events are mostly true.
posted by loquacious at 3:34 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

goddamnit, dg. WHY DIDN'T YOU FAVORITE MY COMMENT. WHY??!!!?

oh god, the owner of the coffee shop's hitting me with a broom.

one. last. refresh. of. favorites.

dg plz fav my comment
posted by sleslie at 3:46 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I can't believe you guys. Crack addiction is a serious disease and we shouldn't be making fun of it so lightly.
posted by jeffamaphone at 4:38 PM on October 7, 2008

"Whitney Houston convinced everyone else that 'crack is whack,'"

Crack is not whack. Crack is wack. Wack wack wack. A mole is whack(ed).
posted by An Infinity Of Monkeys at 4:44 PM on October 7, 2008

Mmmm farm-fresh crack. Whatever happened to those simpler days of yesteryear, huh?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:13 PM on October 7, 2008

It's a joke; get over it.
posted by timeistight at 5:14 PM on October 7, 2008

I prefer the term "person of crack".

Actually, 'fissure enthusiast,' is the preferred nomenclature.
posted by jonmc at 5:15 PM on October 7, 2008

Smack, crack, Bush-whacked. Tie another one to the racks, baby.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:29 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

You know, I do kind of miss those subtitles. Was wondering the other day when they stopped.

So, um, why?
posted by QIbHom at 5:39 PM on October 7, 2008

What ever happened to "Best of the Web?" That was a worthy goal.
posted by LarryC at 5:46 PM on October 7, 2008

I can't be the only one who has hit rock bottom. Illicitly-charged laptop batteries, hiding in the back alley behind a real estate office, slurping unsecured WiFi while hiding out behind the dumpster. Next thing you know you're stringing up solar panels in trees, running a pringles can-tenna. Heck, I used to keep lists and maps of known good access nodes

I once tried to log on from a Tasti-D-Lite on 3rd Avenue.
posted by jonmc at 5:52 PM on October 7, 2008

LOLBUTTCRACKS
posted by WolfDaddy at 5:53 PM on October 7, 2008

slurping unsecured WiFi while hiding out behind the dumpster.

A flatmate once had (while I was living with him, years ago in the heady days of early wireless) a wireless antenna blow off a balcony and land on the roof of the restaurant downstairs. He lost internet, then five minutes later the building super knocked on the door.

This was after he had found an unsecured wireless print server at the Department of Justice across the road and printed 100 copies of his scanned arse.
posted by goo at 6:04 PM on October 7, 2008 [4 favorites]

There never was a "Best of the Web" tagline. The phrase also never appeared in any FAQ or introduction page.
posted by yhbc at 7:41 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wanna know what reading MetaFilter is like? It makes you feel like reading more Metafilter.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:25 PM on October 7, 2008

The FDA forced them to revoke the tagline due to lack of sufficient research.
posted by Nattie at 8:30 PM on October 7, 2008

Crackhead
Thanks again to greenskpr.
posted by zoinks at 9:53 PM on October 7, 2008

... "crack is whack", so we've moved onto crystal meth.

Interesting Fact: If you do enough of it, you can say "Meth is Best" and it will actually rhyme.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:45 PM on October 7, 2008

Community weblog isn't that descriptive a strapline since a weblog can be many things, but MetaFilter has a fairly narrow remit. It'd be quite nice to reintroduce the changing straps and refresh the database with some of the better, funnier suggestions from over the years included. It'd add a bit of fun to the front page.
posted by nthdegx at 4:57 AM on October 8, 2008

If you mess around with Metafilter you will meet the Zookeeper.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:02 AM on October 8, 2008

9622.net: It'd add a bit of fun to the front page.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:52 AM on October 8, 2008

So... there's no chance of bringing them back, then?
posted by lunit at 6:36 AM on October 8, 2008

I still think it would be great to take the thousands of taglines that we have come up with over the years, and have one randomly selected to be used next to the title graphic each time a page is loaded.

Sure it would be a bunch of in-jokes, but if it only displayed for logged in users, and linked back to the thread that spawned it, it could make for lots of fun callbacks to earlier conversations.
posted by quin at 8:40 AM on October 8, 2008 [3 favorites]

THAT WOULD BE A CODING NIGHTMARE DIE QUIN DIE
posted by pineapple at 9:50 AM on October 8, 2008 [2 favorites]

Metafilter: lots of fun callbacks to earlier conversations
posted by owtytrof at 10:31 AM on October 8, 2008

Metafilter: We remember when...
posted by Samizdata at 11:21 AM on October 9, 2008

MetaFilter: we used to remember when ...
posted by dg at 1:49 PM on October 9, 2008