I guess some thought "something" was right with my post...

October 14, 2008 2:56 PM

Cortex, "weird" posts are now deleted? Where is that in the guidelines? Or, more specific, my "weird" posts are deleted, because I see weird posts on AskMeFi quite often that aren't deleted.

Chatfiltery? I don't really see how it was that, either, it was a post about me asking how can I increase my situational awareness and for some examples.

Chatfilter accusation aside, what I found really offensive was the post being deemed as weird. What on earth was weird about the question?

posted by sixcolors to etiquette/policy at 2:56 PM (263 comments total)

It was deleted for being chatfiltery. I didn't intend 'weird' as a dig at you, but as an off-hand criticism of the unorthodox (and chattiness-reinforcing) structure of the post—two, as you acknowledge, unrelated examples presented back-to-back in a confusing fashion—and I apologize if it came off as a personal jab.
posted by cortex at 3:01 PM on October 14, 2008

Your questions are very often weird.

Also, your metatalk posts.
posted by dersins at 3:04 PM on October 14, 2008 [13 favorites]

You want weird?
posted by Burhanistan at 3:04 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with you wanting to know how to increase your situational awareness, but that fact doesn't make the question as you presented itaproblematic. What you posted today was pretty rambly and unclear and very broad, and was generating a lot of flags on the back end along with in-thread criticism.

If you want to take some time to pare it down to a much simpler and more straight-forward presentation of that core question and give it a shot in a week, I don't have a problem with that. I'd be happy to eye whatever draft you came up with give you feedback on it, too.
posted by cortex at 3:05 PM on October 14, 2008

Seriously, sixcolors, get a blog. The lord knows you seem to have enough imagination and material.
posted by neblina_matinal at 3:05 PM on October 14, 2008 [6 favorites]

I for one would visit such a blog.
posted by longsleeves at 3:08 PM on October 14, 2008 [6 favorites]

Chatfiltery? I don't really see how it was that, either, it was a post about me asking how can I increase my situational awareness and for some examples.


Your askme posts are often very chatfiltery. Not only do you generally ask vague questions, but you reply to pretty much every comment in the post. It's not really supposed to be a conversation, you know?
posted by The Light Fantastic at 3:08 PM on October 14, 2008 [8 favorites]

RearWindowFilter
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 3:18 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

Your questions are very often weird.

Making a quick $1200 (which can be done)...
Being concerned about friends concealing weapons...
Being amazed by ignorance (including your own)...
Having a friend with trust issues (BTW, we became a lot closer since that post)...

are WEIRD?

I mean, for someone to find that weird, they must have not experienced their 20s.

As for the weird metatalk post, I wasn't the one who made up the weird joke. Personally, I found it offensive and homophobic.
posted by sixcolors at 3:18 PM on October 14, 2008

Move past weird. it was 100% pure organic, Oregon-tilth standard chatfilter.
posted by GuyZero at 3:26 PM on October 14, 2008

What the--? What?
posted by Skot at 3:26 PM on October 14, 2008

I mean, for someone to find that weird, they must have not experienced their 20s had an identical experience to my own when they were in their 20's.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 3:32 PM on October 14, 2008 [8 favorites]

I know you brought them up as examples, but you were essentially asking three questions at once:

1) How do I increase my situational awareness?

2) WTF is going on with my neighbours? These people are weird, amirite?

3) How do I spot a whorehouse?

The second question is pretty much unanswerable and a bit of a rant. The third question is answerable. It only improves your awareness of whorehouses, though.

Your primary question could used some rewriting. It's all about this fuzzy "shady" idea... Honestly, I thought you were asking about conspiracy stuff at first.
posted by CKmtl at 3:36 PM on October 14, 2008

Isn't Cortex calling someone weird like aan anteater calling someone a mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua?
posted by Astro Zombie at 3:38 PM on October 14, 2008 [3 favorites]

Honestly, the best way to increase your situational awareness is to relax.
posted by Burhanistan at 3:38 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

aan anteater

I see what you probably didn't actually mean to do there.
posted by cortex at 3:42 PM on October 14, 2008 [8 favorites]

Weird and chatty (a short list):

~How do people become stupid?

~What are some ways that you can locate certain personality types or backgrounds based on body language and interaction with the environment?

~I get bored and lonely on weekdays. What can I do?

~Which communication styles can I use to avoid offending people unintentionally?
posted by The Light Fantastic at 3:44 PM on October 14, 2008

Consult an astrologist.
posted by Artw at 3:48 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

3) How do I spot a whorehouse?

I don't know, but Japanese whorehouses, you can pick 'em because my shoes are at the door.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:57 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

I mean, for someone to find that weird, they must have not experienced their 20s had an identical experience to my own when they were in their 20's.

Oh, come on, you know what I mean. An example, who hasn't tried to come up with large sums of money in a short period of time in their lives? Tried to make money by selling eggs, sperm, or plasma? Selling their shit on ebay or yard sales? Stripping? Selling bbq and baked good from the trunk of your car in a student ghetto or ghetto ghetto? Participating in focus groups? Babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting?
posted by sixcolors at 3:58 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

How do I spot a whorehouse?
Men's club soda.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:01 PM on October 14, 2008 [3 favorites]

Selling bbq and baked good from the trunk of your car in a student ghetto

What exactly is the point of parodying yourself? I don't know anyone who has tried to do any of that shit. Well, yard sales, OK. And selling blood is illegal in Canada. And babysitting, sure. But selling BBQ from your car in the ghetto? OMGWTFBBQ.
posted by GuyZero at 4:02 PM on October 14, 2008 [9 favorites]

six, I'll step up here and say it: your "questions" have a tendency to suck. You ask vague complain-y "questions" and then you proceed to argue and obfuscate even when people try to be helpful.
posted by gyusan at 4:03 PM on October 14, 2008 [10 favorites]

The sun is shining. Yes, but the ice is still slippery.
posted by buzzman at 4:04 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

The questions reduce when put together: Gain the trust of the friends who are into drugs and weapons so they'll talk about the shady stuff, leading to less ignorance, then make $1200 from shady activities.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 4:06 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

aan anteater

Say aardvark. Say it.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 4:06 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

For normal questions, you wanna do something like "How can I get the stale coffee taste out of my mug," and the answer seems to be vinegar, but also maybe try those sterilization things because the vinegar hasn't gotten all of it.
posted by klangklangston at 4:08 PM on October 14, 2008

selling eggs, sperm, or plasma?

Don't have eggs. Nope. And I'm not even allowed to give my blood away for free.

Selling their shit on ebay or yard sales?

Nope.

Stripping?

Nope.

Selling bbq and baked good from the trunk of your car in a student ghetto or ghetto ghetto?

No? I don't think I'd want to meet the people who would buy bbq or muffins from someone's trunk.

Participating in focus groups?

Nope. Though I did do TV and Radio ratings, but they only includes a twonie as a thank-you "gift".

Babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting?

Nope. Nope. Nope.
posted by CKmtl at 4:08 PM on October 14, 2008

"What are six colors that represent solar dynamism while simultaneously signaling for Prussian retreat during the Swiss Sonderbund War of 1847?

P.S. Please limit answers to the set of imaginary prime numbers."
posted by Durin's Bane at 4:09 PM on October 14, 2008 [9 favorites]

Oh, come on, you know what I mean. An example, who hasn't tried to come up with large sums of money in a short period of time in their lives? Tried to make money by selling eggs, sperm, or plasma? Selling their shit on ebay or yard sales? Stripping? Selling bbq and baked good from the trunk of your car in a student ghetto or ghetto ghetto? Participating in focus groups? Babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting?

Me. Me on all counts.

Of course, I'm only halfway through my 20s, and with the economy going the way it has been, I might yet have to take up stripping.
posted by Caduceus at 4:12 PM on October 14, 2008

Say aardvark. Say it.

That word, along with its lupine cousin, are the two words I hate most. My name is Aaron, see, and I've always had the smug sense of first-of-the-line that comes with it. Those two words trump mine, and I cannot explain how much of a pissoff it is to me.

So don't say it.
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:13 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

Hey, Burhanistan, thanks for the Alan Vega clip. Very appropriate for this thread, somehow.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:19 PM on October 14, 2008

An example, who hasn't tried to come up with large sums of money in a short period of time in their lives?

Man, all that time wasted working and saving when I could have been stripping while selling eggs out of a hatchback.

Your questions are weird, though perhaps not in the sense that they just blew my mind or are particularly out there. Rather, they're poorly written and rambly, two attributes that will most definitely make it difficult for people to provide constructive responses while increasing the odds of your AskMe being deleted.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:20 PM on October 14, 2008

Seriously, sixcolors, get a blog.

I agree! I would read it regularly, and comment from time to time!
posted by kidbritish at 4:22 PM on October 14, 2008

To answer the questions about increasing situational awareness and awareness in general - Marilyn Vos Savant's book Brain Building has numerous exercises that are relevant to the question.
posted by bigmusic at 4:23 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

Your questions also strike me as a little weird. They tend to ramble, it's unclear what problem you're trying to solve, and you reply to a lot of the comments making them seem like chatfilterish questions even if you don't intend them as such. As such they make bad AskMe questions often. They're not bad questions, they just don't fit well here sometimes.

Shorter succint questions, even if they're on odd or offbeat topics would not get the same treatment.
posted by jessamyn at 4:24 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

"Your questions also strike me as a little weird. They tend to ramble, it's unclear what problem you're trying to solve..."

They always just feel like desperate pleas for attention to me. I think a blog would do you well.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 4:27 PM on October 14, 2008 [6 favorites]

"And I'm not even allowed to give my blood away for free."

What are you, gay and prohibited by the Red Cross's irrational and obsolete fear of AIDS?
posted by klangklangston at 4:27 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh, THAT sixcolors.
I should have known.
And I too would happily read your blog.
posted by Floydd at 4:27 PM on October 14, 2008

klang:

It's not the Red Cross (it's Canadian Blood Services and Hema-Quebec), but yeah.

Technically, I'm allowed to "donate" blood inasmuch as I'm allowed to sit there with a tube in my vein and get juice afterwards. But I'd have to put a sticker on my form/bag that tells the blood bank to dispose of my donation as biohazardous waste.
posted by CKmtl at 4:36 PM on October 14, 2008

"What are six colors that represent solar dynamism while simultaneously signaling for Prussian retreat during the Swiss Sonderbund War of 1847?

P.S. Please limit answers to the set of imaginary prime numbers."

1. 8079
2. 16777215
3. 16384050

Well I got 50%. Decent.

Those would be France's flag's colours, converted from Pantone->Hex->Decimal, roughly. They are not prime in reality, therefore are imaginary prime numbers. It is left as an exercise for the reader to prove that they represent solar dynamism. If you're stuck, please refer to the pictures of the Sun on the Front page. ∎
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:36 PM on October 14, 2008 [6 favorites]

They always just feel like desperate pleas for attention to me. I think a blog would do you well.

Yes. They read more as attempts to start conversation than as questions to me.
posted by Tehanu at 4:48 PM on October 14, 2008

Has it been a week already?
posted by amro at 4:48 PM on October 14, 2008 [9 favorites]

They always just feel like desperate pleas for attention to me.

Yep, that's definitely the way they come across. And I think the way they're written, and subsequently self-moderated, tends to rub people the wrong way.

As others have said, I think a blog would be great for you, sixcolors.
posted by amyms at 4:54 PM on October 14, 2008

sixcolors!

Your questions sound like they'd fit on metachat better than AskMe. It's more of loose conversation place as opposed to AskMe's "You must have a specific problem to solve" rule. Plus it has photos of bunnies.

And no, this isn't a "You should go elsewhere" thing, since Metachat is populated by Mefites. It's just a more informal place.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:58 PM on October 14, 2008

I think you seem to ask more ponderous questions of the sort one would discuss late at night while on drugs or in an academic paper or on a (yes) blog. They're very thoughtful, but they're not succinct or really answerable because they're so aimed at provoking a discussion.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 5:17 PM on October 14, 2008

I like your weird questions - they light up my life, and while I would totally read your blog, you should please keep posting them here. But they have to be questions, and most of your questions boil down to "people are strange, amirite?" A good guideline would be - could someone conceivably provide a useful answer? If not, it's not a good question for askme. And when you have a number of questions around a common theme - you sort of have to pick one
posted by moxiedoll at 5:22 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Making a quick $1200 (which can be done)...
Being concerned about friends concealing weapons...
Being amazed by ignorance (including your own)...
Having a friend with trust issues (BTW, we became a lot closer since that post)...

Oh, come on, you know what I mean. An example, who hasn't tried to come up with large sums of money in a short period of time in their lives? Tried to make money by selling eggs, sperm, or plasma? Selling their shit on ebay or yard sales? Stripping? Selling bbq and baked good from the trunk of your car in a student ghetto or ghetto ghetto? Participating in focus groups? Babysitting, house-sitting, or pet-sitting?

Dude, you only address one of your four "concerns everyone has in their 20's", and it is totally beyond me how anyone would think they were going to make $1200 selling barbecue out of the back of a trunk. Veggie burritos might be more like it, but not for a g-note and certainly not in the ghetto (unless you subscribe a Phatty Microbusesque nomenclature for semi-urban lot scenes).

Why assume that everyone has shared your personal experiences? To me, that downplays the parts of your life that make you a unique individual. From your posting history, it seems like you've got some great stories to tell, and, like a lot of other folks in this thread, I'm interested in hearing them. However, I've got to agree that AskMe is not the appropriate venue.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 5:23 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

"Technically, I'm allowed to "donate" blood inasmuch as I'm allowed to sit there with a tube in my vein and get juice afterwards. But I'd have to put a sticker on my form/bag that tells the blood bank to dispose of my donation as biohazardous waste."

Yeah, I remember there was a flap at my school after some Berkeley (I think that's where he was) prof started advising gay dudes to answer like they were celibate, since all the blood gets tested anyway. I tried to get the editorial board to write something about it, but they were all, "But what if Johnny ROTC is defending America and gets blowed up in Iraq and gets teh HIV from some homo terrorist blood donor!" at which point I was like, fine, you're all retarded, whatever. At the least, the Red Cross should knock off all the "We's got no bludz!" bullshit until they let everyone who is willing to say they practice safe sex donate.
posted by klangklangston at 5:24 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

Ooh, deleted threads now show up to the OP with a little thingie next to them. That's new isn't it?
posted by Artw at 5:32 PM on October 14, 2008

Your questions sound like they'd fit on metachat better than AskMe.

Oh hell nooooooooooo.
posted by Stynxno at 5:50 PM on October 14, 2008 [5 favorites]

Metachat seems like a hard club to get into.
posted by oflinkey at 6:24 PM on October 14, 2008

AstroZombie, that was the best suborder Vermilingua gag I've heard all day.
posted by Mister_A at 6:30 PM on October 14, 2008

there are six colours in my head, there are six colours in my head; what, what was that you tried to say? what was that you tried to say? tried to say?
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:02 PM on October 14, 2008

That's new isn't it?

It is. I wasn't even sure if we'd implemented it yet, but it sounds like we did. Hopefully it will make deletions a little less confusing overall for deletees, particularly newer users.
posted by cortex at 7:16 PM on October 14, 2008

You know, I'm like 15 minutes from South-Central, and I am soooo tempted to get in my car and go look for some trunk-BQ!

It's delicious AND you get to help out a struggling 20-something. The Honda Civic carpeting lint really gives it that extra zing!
posted by drjimmy11 at 7:20 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

It is. I wasn't even sure if we'd implemented it yet, but it sounds like we did.

I thought Artw was describing the new behavior of the deleted thread greasemonkey script. Is that not the case?
posted by puke & cry at 7:29 PM on October 14, 2008

Your questions are not only borderline chatfilter, your self-moderation of answers guarantees they will turn out to be more chatfilter than anything else. Youve said youre lonely and I sympathize, perhaps ask.metafilter isnt the best place for you to vent your issues. Id take this deletion as a sanity check. Considering you dont seem to like most of the answers you get here, perhaps a hiatus for a while would be best.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:34 PM on October 14, 2008

This is serious, lol. Freshman year in college, me and my buddies did it all the time. One weekend we made almost $300 dollars selling bbq, rice crispy treats, and cupcakes. We rode around anywhere we saw kids playing, church services letting out, and back on campus where there were tons of frat parties with kids who had the munchies. What made us stop, is that one person claimed that our food made him ill. Whatever, that cocksucker was probably just jealous. We didn't want to get sued or anything, especially the fact we were cooking "under the table", so we stopped.
posted by sixcolors at 7:37 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Youve said youre lonely and I sympathize, perhaps ask.metafilter isnt the best place for you to vent your issues.

I'm not lonely, maybe some parts during the week days, but that is not one of my issues. I will look out for the self-moderation next time though.
posted by sixcolors at 7:40 PM on October 14, 2008

Whatever, that cocksucker was probably just jealous.

Excuse me?
posted by CKmtl at 7:50 PM on October 14, 2008 [6 favorites]

sixcolors, are you some kind of performance artist? Because otherwise your posts in this thread do not make sense.

Look, the problem isn't fundamentally the questions you want answered. It's all in how you ask the questions and then act like the resulting thread is some kind of knitting circle where you have to respond to every single comment.

If your question is "How do I increase my situational awareness?" then say "How do I increase my situational awareness?". Your questions are chatty, rambling, and include all sorts of extraneous information that doesn't belong.
posted by Justinian at 8:04 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Many of your questions center on not understanding some fundamental aspects of social interaction, which frustrates and confuses you. You can see people all around you getting it, and you can see that you don't get it, but you can't seem to find a path from where you are to where you want to be.

And so this MeTa is kind of sad to me. Because it's an illustration of how, once again, you are expressing confusion and pain at discovering that you are being socially dissonant, without being able to see what it is that you are doing that is causing the problem.

MetaFilter as a community has rules and expectations and customs, just like any other online or real-life community. Some of those social norms are explicitly written (in the FAQ, or in the warning labels on the New Post pages), but a lot are not. Instead, they are implicit, understood through context and custom and, for most people, learned by more or less by osmosis.

And you aren't quite getting the nuances of those explicit and implicit social rules, just like you describe other social situations where you have great difficulty understanding the rules that everyone else seems to understand automatically.

There's not an easy solution, either. (If there were, the many, many detailed answers to your questions would have provided it long ago.) I don't know if you have explored the roots of you social dissonance, but understanding the why's of your situation could conceivably provide you with some of the how's that you are searching for. The tools one would use to mitigate Asperger's are very different from those used to address childhood trauma, for example, even if both manifested as "I'm having trouble dating."
posted by Forktine at 8:08 PM on October 14, 2008 [45 favorites]

Whatever, that cocksucker was probably just jealous.

Words fail me.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:28 PM on October 14, 2008

As for the weird metatalk post, I wasn't the one who made up the weird joke. Personally, I found it offensive and homophobic.

Whatever, that cocksucker was probably just jealous.

Ahem.
posted by donovan at 8:33 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

Metafilter: This is serious, lol.

Now, normally, when using the "Metafilter: [insert quote here]" bit (I'll call it Representative Site Quoting, or RSQ), I'd just let the quote stand on its own, but I am compelled to comment on this one, and point out that this particular RSQ is one that makes me sad to construct, as it points to the very, very confused state of mind that the OP who would write such a thing must be in. Just about everything that sixcolors has written here and in her AskMe threads in the past are somehow summarized and crystallized in this absurd quote, which, by the way, is surely the kind of writing that would be much more at home in, say, a YouTube comment, or some teeny site which I wouldn't know the name of.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:45 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

Holy shit.

This a good time to start selling popcorn and pointy gardening tools from the back of my Hyundai.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:48 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

There's not an easy solution, either. (If there were, the many, many detailed answers to your questions would have provided it long ago.) I don't know if you have explored the roots of you social dissonance, but understanding the why's of your situation could conceivably provide you with some of the how's that you are searching for. The tools one would use to mitigate Asperger's are very different from those used to address childhood trauma, for example, even if both manifested as "I'm having trouble dating."

I've been checked for Asperger's, I don't have it. There's no childhood trauma either, especially in terms of child abuse or whatever. There was some impulse control problems located, but I've outgrown it mostly, and a long time ago. As someone above mentioned, maybe this forum just isn't for me, that's probably the main issue. There's other forums I belong to and no one has problems with my posts. Same thing in real life, some people I have trouble getting along with, other's not.

Ahem.

Wow, this is political correctness out of control. If she had been a woman, I would've called her a "bitch". Would I be promoting internalized sexism? I don't think so, not in that context. I'm queer and so are many people I associate with. "Cocksucker" is used all the time, and is synonymous to "asshole", not "f*gg*t".
posted by sixcolors at 8:53 PM on October 14, 2008

3) How do I spot a whorehouse?

in 1980, in detroit it was very easy - you simply looked for a brick building on the corner of w jefferson and cary street and it had a chalkboard up in the window saying something roughly like this -

"In view of our rights of freedom of speech and association under the 1st Amendment of the Constitution we hereby announce that this is ALEXIS' WHOREHOUSE."

there was also a red theater light for those who couldn't read

half a block down the street was a police precinct building

i guess they couldn't read, either
posted by pyramid termite at 8:58 PM on October 14, 2008

"Cocksucker" is used all the time, and is synonymous to "asshole", not "f*gg*t".

I think we've established that your experiences and opinions are not necessarily representative of everyone else's.

And I'd be willing to bet a shiny new donkey that had she been a woman and you called her a 'bitch', there would have been some objections, regardless of your gender or sexuality.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:59 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

selling popcorn and pointy gardening tools from the back of my Hyundai.

Well, it's good to know that the enterprising Alvy Ampersand experienced his 20s. I experienced mine, too, but I don't have a car to sell anything out of, so I'm glad you're here, Alvy.

I'll take two bags of popcorn.

Oh, and, do you do lawn chair rentals, too?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:01 PM on October 14, 2008

Alright, sure. But I just don't get the accusation about homophobia.
posted by voltairemodern at 9:02 PM on October 14, 2008

Sixcolors: In a question this past April you stated that you were going to receive a Master's degree in May. More recently, you mentioned that you were resuming classes for this semester. Are you going for another advanced degree or were you lying earlier?

I've gone back and read a lot of your earlier posts and the many sincere and concerned answers and suggestions people have provided, and the overall impression I get is of an insecure, not-always-honest, (with yourself or others), self-obsessed and extremely needy person.

I don't know what else to say except that I've learned to avoid getting close to or devoting energy to people like that. Frankly, I have enough issues of my own.
posted by longsleeves at 9:09 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

Sixcolors: In a question this past April you stated that you were going to receive a Master's degree in May. More recently, you mentioned that you were resuming classes for this semester. Are you going for another advanced degree or were you lying earlier?

Neither. Due to some complications I'd rather not go into, I had to drop a course, and that delayed my graduation date.
posted by sixcolors at 9:15 PM on October 14, 2008

Oh, and, do you do lawn chair rentals, too?

No, but I do a hell of a fan dance.

Well, the audience described it as 'hellish', but that's pretty much the same thing.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:20 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

????

longsleeves...BTW, your reply is irrelavant to this post and the deleted post.

????
posted by sixcolors at 9:20 PM on October 14, 2008

Big dogs cock.
posted by Artw at 9:23 PM on October 14, 2008

THIS IS ALL KINDS OF AWESOMENESS.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:28 PM on October 14, 2008

What's that smell? Something's burning? Timmy's in the well?

Oh.

Just another flame out.
posted by youcancallmeal at 9:40 PM on October 14, 2008

Calling your questions weird implies an interestingness that they lack. You aren't even all that weird yourself as far as I can see, just self-absorbed and immature. I do agree, however, that this may not be the place for you.
posted by dg at 9:44 PM on October 14, 2008

Not a flame-out yet, youcancallmeal, we're still busily fanning the sparks in the kindling. Be patient ;-)
posted by dg at 9:46 PM on October 14, 2008

Just another flame out.

...we're still busily fanning the sparks in the kindling. Be patient

Hey, when things get a little slow here between comments, you can keep that flame out feeling alive at flamingcursor.com.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:49 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

THIS IS ALL KINDS OF AWESOMENESS.

Uh. Huh.

It's funny that I'm being judged mostly by people who have very few posts, or have many posts, but none of them reveal any personal flaws or bad experiences. Let me guess, you all don't have any?

I guess it's so much easier to fling shit, when you're hiding behind a wall.
posted by sixcolors at 9:49 PM on October 14, 2008

OH SNAP!!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:51 PM on October 14, 2008

But I just don't get the accusation about homophobia.

I think sixcolors was saying that she thinks the word 'weird' is a derogatory term for gay people. I've come across that usage before but it's so outdated and not at all what anybody else would think that it's just...weird. I think.
posted by frobozz at 9:55 PM on October 14, 2008

Oh, I have plenty of flaws. Hell, I get shit from MeFolk on a regular basis. But then, I'm not batshit insane. Yet. Anyway, my point is that there is no hiding behind any walls here, you just don't ask appropriate questions and then when people point that out, you get all huffy and defensive. Case in point: this thread.

(And kids...I said lame out. Notice the strike through the 'f'. I know. It's subtle.)
posted by youcancallmeal at 9:57 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

THIS IS ALL KINDS OF AWESOMENESS
posted by scottreynen at 9:57 PM on October 14, 2008 [14 favorites]

have many posts, but none of them reveal any personal flaws or bad experiences

You read fast!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:59 PM on October 14, 2008

sixcolors -

Occhiblu explained far better than I can why 'bitch' (and its lovely cousin cunt) is indeed a sexist term.

You've got some great insight from Forkine - could it be that the patterns in your life you've come to AskMe to solve are repeating themselves in this thread? Why might that be?
posted by Space Kitty at 10:17 PM on October 14, 2008

It's funny that I'm being judged mostly by people who have very few posts, or have many posts, but none of them reveal any personal flaws or bad experiences. Let me guess, you all don't have any?

All my posts reveal my weakness which is that I make shitty posts. Now that we have that rather irrelevant ad homenim out of the way, your questions stink.
posted by GuyZero at 10:23 PM on October 14, 2008

Ya know, it might be time to close this thread.
posted by bardic at 10:24 PM on October 14, 2008

Wow, I can't believe that I went from asking about whore houses...to this. What a day.

As for those suggesting that I start a blog. It something I think about, sometimes. I have escapades that I would like to talk about that would be simply inappropriate for the MeFi audience, as well some of the other online communities I participate in...on the other hand, I think certain type of person or audience may enjoy it. Who knows?
posted by sixcolors at 10:27 PM on October 14, 2008

I have escapades that I would like to talk about that would be simply inappropriate for the MeFi audience

Cat declawing? McCain donation bundling? Forced circumcisions/abortions?
posted by jtron at 10:31 PM on October 14, 2008

OK, I can't clarify much in this thread, but I can say that I'm pretty sure when sixcolors said she didn't make up the weird joke, and found it homophobic, she was referring to the joke in this other meta thread she started, which was linked by dersins as an example of her weirdness.

sixcolors is defensive and fighty, but that's probably not helped by people saying "this isn't the place for you". I think Forktine nailed it - this meta is sad, because sixcolors' AskMe history pretty much predicted that she might have trouble understanding this communities' norms like she has trouble with those in the real world.

sixcolors, you said just a few hours ago in a different AskMe thread that "...people define my sense of humor as offensive more than odd (I get that sometimes, but not as much as the former). People either react really positively or really negatively (lost friendships and death theats, seriously). As a result, I'm very careful about what I say now." If you've lost actual, real life friendships and received death threats because of your sense of humor, I'm not sure why you're the slightest bit surprised that you're being perceived incorrectly or received badly here. I'd like to offer you the advice that continuing to participate in this thread won't do you any favors, and, if you do decide to stay a member of the Metafilter community, that bowing out of this now would be a great help to you. You asked your question, and got a rather gracious apology from cortex, and things would have been just fine if it had all stopped there. From here on out, it's probably just going to be a lot of pitchforks and popcorn.
posted by donnagirl at 10:36 PM on October 14, 2008 [6 favorites]

Crap, sorry, meant to link sixcolors' AskMe comment.
posted by donnagirl at 10:38 PM on October 14, 2008

No? I don't think I'd want to meet the people who would buy bbq or muffins from someone's trunk.

Man, best muffins I ever had were some genuine trunk muffins. Ain't nothin' better on a Sunday mornin' than some trunk muffins and some tire coffee.
posted by krinklyfig at 10:38 PM on October 14, 2008 [3 favorites]

Wait, was that supposed to be a euphemism?
posted by krinklyfig at 10:39 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

...none of them reveal any personal flaws...

Let's all talk about all my personal flaws.
They're very important you see, it's because
They're all about ME! They're MY little flaws!
And I need them like stage actors need their applause!
If you all should start talking and wagging your jaws
About me and my flaws, why, it's like Santa Claus
Has come early and stayed til the winter frost thaws,
And brought me a big bag of shiny new flaws!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:41 PM on October 14, 2008 [11 favorites]

sixcolors: you say I'm being judged mostly by people who have very few posts, or have many posts, but none of them reveal any personal flaws or bad experiences

This looks like an example of a way in which you haven't absorbed the social norms of this place. Here are two social norms -- of course they're just guidelines, but they give a general sense of what AskMe is like as a community.

1.) Most members don't post constantly to AskMe.
Most people don't even ask one question per month. This is good, because it means the front page of AskMe moves slowly enough for questions to be seen and answered. If every member asked a question every week, there wouldn't be enough time for all the questions to get answered well. Asking questions constantly doesn't make someone a better member of AskMe;

2.) AskMe questions should mostly be practical, solvable questions, rather than wide-open "here are a bunch of details about my life situation, help me figure out what to do" type questions.
In other words, AskMe isn't mainly an advice column kind of place. This is what people mean by chatfiltery - if it sounds like your question is "here's my situation, let's all talk about it in a general kind of way", that's chatty. Chatty can be a lot of fun, but mostly it is discouraged by the community at AskMe. It's great for somewhere else.
You seem to suggest (in the line I quoted above) that it's important for people here to reveal personal flaws or bad experiences in their AskMe histories - but why? AskMe isn't mainly a place to forge relationships or a group therapy session; when members treat it that way, they are not getting something fairly basic about the site.

BUT - a blog would be a good outlet for all these things, the frequent questions, the personal stories and extra details and allowing readers to build a relationship with you and understand your sense of humor etc.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:43 PM on October 14, 2008 [4 favorites]

If you've lost actual, real life friendships and received death threats because of your sense of humor, I'm not sure why you're the slightest bit surprised that you're being perceived incorrectly or received badly here.

I've actually toned down my posts a lot, to suit the MeFi audience. Maybe I didn't do it well enough. Again this was a past thing, I'm a lot more cautious about what I say to people now.
posted by sixcolors at 10:59 PM on October 14, 2008

Sigh. Regarding "cocksucker" as a synonym for "asshole," the fact that it's only an insult if you use it for a man makes it... yeah. Even tho you say you identify as "queer." You should probably not use the word anymore if you're not sure why that makes it offensive to the rest of us queers, and to non-queers, too.
posted by houseofdanie at 11:33 PM on October 14, 2008 [2 favorites]

youcancallmeal: "(And kids...I said lame out. Notice the strike through the 'f'. I know. It's subtle.)"
I know - I spotted that a fraction of a second after clicking "post comment" (ain't it always the way). I was hoping you'd be kind and not draw attention to my lack of perception, but anyway ...

sixcolors, if you have managed to read all the content posted here and have not found any "personal flaws or bad experiences" you need to work on your comprehension skills.
posted by dg at 11:59 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

idunno about the cocksucker thing. in an australian context, i don't think it carries any kind of homophobic meaning, just as cunt doesn't carry any particularly sexist meaning.

yeah, i know, if you actually pay attention to the words themselves you can see those kinds of meanings quite clearly, but that would be ignoring the entirety of semiotics.

in these cases, the signified is a mildly shocking, generic insult, and the words themselves could easily be replaced by something new - "splourt" for example - and mean the same thing, if only people would pick up on the new term & start using it.

people from different cultures might see things differently, but i think it's quite open for cocksucker not imply any kind of homophobia on the part of the curser.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:08 AM on October 15, 2008

"I've actually toned down my posts a lot, to suit the MeFi audience."

This. You don't have an audience here, you're just another random internet jackoff. We all are, and that's the beauty of this place. You don't have one more than I have one (with the exception of the mods, I guess, and even they do a nice job of keeping their egos out of their moderating duties).

But really, the important question is this -- Why is this thread still open?
posted by bardic at 12:15 AM on October 15, 2008

Thread needs a closin'.
posted by Jofus at 12:23 AM on October 15, 2008

This is the best MeTa thread since the time the Tanner gang set sail for a tropical island that turned out to be a potato chip crumb stuck to the map.
posted by moift at 12:42 AM on October 15, 2008 [3 favorites]

sixcolors, as you've already discovered on your own, metafilter is quite different than your experience in real life. People say things here they wouldn't if they were standing next to you. Maybe your curiosity gets you into trouble sometimes. I know that I've wondered about things that seemed strange and didn't seem quite right to me. Sometimes you find the answer, sometimes you don't. It's no big deal getting a post deleted, Everybody does for various reasons. Don't take it personal. It's not meant that way.

At any rate, there's really no reason to continue this discussion is there?
posted by sluglicker at 12:50 AM on October 15, 2008

You know, a few years ago I never saw 'weird' as an insult. Now I am in a lot of social circles, this one included, where it often is. I feel a little ashamed that I'm becoming such a conformist. I am fortunate that even in my new circle I'm hanging out with the fellow relative-weirdos. I hope that this will never change.

Maybe mods should be a little less offhand and be more explicit when we are criticising people for genuine reasons that their questions can't stand. Maybe weird shouldn't be a deletion reason in itself - chatfilter is sufficient! The core team of Metafilter and the mods probably have a common language, but people on the fringes don't - a little care could save everyone time and result in fewer MeTa threads.

One of the things that I really like about Ask is that when a weird person comes along many people try to meet that person where they are and help them. Lately I tend to see more ostracism than support though. I hope that this is just selection bias and that other site members are still helping the weird person.
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:15 AM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

This thread is making me late for work. I've already been called out for lateness, and year-end appraisals are coming up soon. This thread may cost me my job. If you see me on the sidewalks of Manhattan in a few months panhandling for change, IT IS ALL THIS THREAD'S FAULT.
posted by Evangeline at 4:33 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

I know this is sort of a fringe opinion, but I wish the popcorn/lawnchair talk would go away. Unless you really truly think that someone has abused their relationship to the site -- something I don't think is really on the table in this discussion -- wishing for someone to have a breakdown/flameout/schism is distasteful. I'm aware that my opinion may be an outlier in this arena.

sixcolors, my feeling is pretty similar to Forktine's. I wish you understood things here a little better, but I sort of see that as part of the larger life issue you describe of having a hard time groking the rules of interaction generally. I have the same thing in a lot of ways but it doesn't seem to cause me the dis-ease that it causes you, I can't say why.

You shouldn't have to change your tone to "suit" anyone here, but at the same time AskMe isn't really created to be a one question a week bullshit session either. The main issue from my mod-hat-on perspective is that you ask a lot of questions (allowable within the rules) that seem very similar (which people point out in your AskMe threads frequently) and yet there's no clear sense of ... adaptation, change, acknowledgement, whatever. With a lot of people who ask a lot of questions, there's usually a sense of "hey thanks for your previous answers about X topic, now I'm trying to apply it to Y situation..." and I don't see it here.

You're welcome to use the site to do whatever you want to try to do with it, but it's better and worse at certain things. Rightly or wrongly, the community gets invested in helping people and this one type of situation -- lots of questions on a similar topic without a lot of evidence of application of past advice/assistance -- tends to not go over well.
posted by jessamyn at 5:37 AM on October 15, 2008 [24 favorites]

It's like pissing into an ocean of...beans?
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 5:40 AM on October 15, 2008

I'm aware that my opinion may be an outlier in this arena.
Nah, I doubt that - only seems that way 'cause the opposite opinion naturally comes from louder, yappier mouths.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:44 AM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

I've been checked for Asperger's, I don't have it. There's no childhood trauma either, especially in terms of child abuse or whatever. There was some impulse control problems located, but I've outgrown it mostly, and a long time ago. As someone above mentioned, maybe this forum just isn't for me, that's probably the main issue. There's other forums I belong to and no one has problems with my posts. Same thing in real life, some people I have trouble getting along with, other's not.

I think that this nicely encapsulates the sorts of problems you have interacting with people. You managed to entirely miss my larger point (basically, that you are having problems interacting and perhaps looking for root causes would be helpful) and instead got focused on the specifics of the examples I had totally made up. I wasn't suggesting that you had Asperger's or had been abused -- I was illustrating how different foundational causes of social dysfunction demand very different approaches if you want to mitigate that dysfunctionality.

Honestly, I'm really full of compassion for you, and understand how difficult and probably hurtful this is being. Like many people, I have friends and relatives who have (for a number of different reasons) the same sorts of problems you describe at connecting with individuals, groups, and societies. They can't see what they are doing wrong, but they feel the pain of each and every rejection very deeply. As you can see from the long and carefully thought-out responses your questions have received, as a community MeFi wants to help you. But there isn't a magical solution, and it certainly can't be found by focusing on the details and missing the main picture.

MetaFilter has a lot of tolerance for weirdness of quite a few flavors. But it doesn't have a lot of tolerance for "doesn't play well with others" social dysfunction. This is an intensely social site -- more like the bonobo cage at the zoo, and not so much the more solitary orangutans. Not everyone gets into the grooming and group sex (that's reserved for the meetups, right?), but the reaction to social dissonance is immediate and very strong. Really, it's a feature, not a bug, of the community; it's what makes it such a pleasant place and keeps things largely on track. (And it doesn't "just happen" -- there is intense and careful moderation to maintain a minimal level of focus and social harmony.)

I hope you don't take your toys and go home. We are all unique snowflakes of individual weirdnesses, and I think there's a place for you here. But unless you can find a way to see and deal with the big picture, while letting go of the nagging details, the exact same problems will continue to play out in both your real life and in your interactions here.
posted by Forktine at 5:52 AM on October 15, 2008 [26 favorites]

Do people post "this thread needs to be closed" solely in the hopes of them being the last non-mod post in the thread, so they can give themselves a nice pat on the back for being so insightful?
posted by Grither at 6:07 AM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

I always thought of "weird" as a compliment. That might just be me, though.
posted by rtha at 6:17 AM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

Grither - Yes.

Now close it already.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 6:21 AM on October 15, 2008

It's funny that I'm being judged mostly by people who have very few posts, or have many posts, but none of them reveal any personal flaws or bad experiences. Let me guess, you all don't have any?
No, I live in a yurt. We don't have many bad experiences since they put non-skid on the steppes.

Wow, I can't believe that I went from asking about whore houses...to this.
We don't have those either. Whore-yurts aplenty, tho.
posted by Bernt Pancreas at 6:27 AM on October 15, 2008

This thread needs to stay open.

At least for a few comments more. Depending on how it goes, it might need to stay open a little longer.

Then it needs to be closed.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:50 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

I propose it closes any time between now and November 14, 09:56 UTC, but not a second later.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:27 AM on October 15, 2008

I would just like to thank jessamyn and forktine for their posts. I don't have a pig in this poke but their posts struck me as kind and thoughtful. Just sayin. Hugs for all!
posted by pearlybob at 7:49 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Please don't close it yet, I'm composing a response that's not of a fan-the-flames variety.
posted by CKmtl at 7:57 AM on October 15, 2008

sixcolors writes "I mean, for someone to find that weird, they must have not experienced their 20s."

Or, you know, don't remember any of it.

sixcolors writes "It's funny that I'm being judged mostly by people who have very few posts, or have many posts, but none of them reveal any personal flaws or bad experiences. Let me guess, you all don't have any? "

See above.
posted by Mitheral at 8:00 AM on October 15, 2008

Sixcolors, I have to admit, I find you very intriguing. You're one of the users who I remember, and about whom I wonder, "who is this person? What do they look like? What does their voice sound like? What do they do and think and talk about?"

You stick out in my mind, which is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. Judging from the less snarky comments here, I'm not the only one.

There's something about you that most of us just don't seem to get, and that crops up in most of your questions as well as here. I think there's something in the way you interact with the world that is different from the way other people interact with the world, and we're each getting frustrated because although we sound like we're speaking the same language, the words mean different things to each of us.

I don't want you to leave MetaFilter; I like having you here.

On the other hand, underneath most of your AskMe questions are deeper, stranger questions that we can neither understand nor answer. We can't help you with those questions, yet you seem to keep asking them. I think you've reached the limit of how helpful we can be, but you keep hitting that wall, hoping it'll break down.

I have deep and strange questions of my own, though they are different than yours. They are questions that are often better to ask my family, or my close friends, or my therapist when I am seeing one. Which doesn't mean ZOMG SEE A THERAPIST YOU CRAZYHEAD, it just means that certain people are better equipped to handle certain questions than we are.

I hope you can filter out the snark and focus on some of the more compassionate answers you've been getting; I think there are kernels of kindness and wisdom here that you can use for good. But ultimately, we will all close our browsers and go home, and I still have no idea what you look like (though I imagine long dark hair in a ponytail), and I am just words on the internet, and what you do with those words is up to you.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:06 AM on October 15, 2008 [3 favorites]

"Cocksucker" is used all the time, and is synonymous to "asshole", not "faggot".

Yes, actually, it is. Let us examine further:

What would you say the gender breakdown is of all the people who at one time or another have sucked a cock? Given that there are more heterosexuals than homosexuals... 90% women, 10% men? 80% women, 20% men? More women than men. And yet, the insult "cocksucker" is thrown nearly exclusively at men. What does that indicate, if not that cocksucker = faggot?

If you're really interested, here's an experiment that you could try out. Drive around the ghetto, student- or otherwise. Drive around your city's financial/commercial district. Drive around the suburbs. Ask men at random what they would think you'd be calling them if you were to call them a cocksucker. If the vast majority of them don't immediately respond "gay", "queer", "fag", "homo", then I'll eat a load of your tainted trunk-BQ.

I have nothing against the words faggot or cocksucker in and of themselves; it's all in their use. And you used it as a dismissive insult to some guy who happened to get sick (or at least claimed to) contemporaneously with your food hawking.

What's most disappointing is that you made a previous MeTa about some perceived homophobic slight, but you seem unable to see the homophobic nature of your using cocksucker as your go-to insult for a man. It gives the impression that you were more concerned about being the butt of a joke in that MeTa-spawning incident than you were with a possible anti-gay undercurrent.
posted by CKmtl at 8:20 AM on October 15, 2008 [5 favorites]

I really don't understand how someone could receive death threats (plural!) for their sense of humor and not see the necessity for changing their behavior.
posted by desjardins at 8:26 AM on October 15, 2008 [4 favorites]

Ever since "Deadwood" I've used the phrase "San Francisco cocksucker" with abandon and glee. So... that's a bad thing?

Also, why doesn't anybody love me?
posted by Evangeline at 8:27 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you think sixcolors is weird you obviously haven't met me yet.

Hi there. Nice to meet you. I like your ears. They remind me of Walter Cronkite. I think you'd make a nice hat.

Do you smell butter? I swear I smell melted butter.
posted by loquacious at 8:29 AM on October 15, 2008

If you think sixcolors is weird you obviously haven't met me yet.

You know, we haven't had enough metatalk threads about loquacious. Thank God you're here to help right that oh so obvious wrong.
posted by Stynxno at 8:43 AM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

In my mind, I always equated "posted by sixcolors to Human Relations" with "posted by anonymous to Human Relations" - with the added bonus of the in-thread moderation.

I don't know if AskMe handles either category well. I know I don't, so I don't contribute to those threads.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:44 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Subj: Sticky situation

So me and Vern went out to the barn to have a little fun with our thoroughbred, Patches, when the alien craft landed. They floated out and sat with us as we played Krazy Klimber on the Atari 2600 we keep in the smokehouse while Saskatchewan burned in the distance. The skinnier alien (I think his name was G'bodialikshnabel) asked if he could see me again sometime after the revolution, but I don't want to be unfaithful to Patches. Then there's Veronica, the crossdressing pygmy tribesman I met in Tangiers two summers ago. I guess what I'm asking is, how do you beat that last stupid level in Krazy Klimber?

...What, you guys have never been through your 20's?
posted by waraw at 8:48 AM on October 15, 2008 [4 favorites]

I know this is sort of a fringe opinion, but I wish the popcorn/lawnchair talk would go away.

Although my reference was supposed to be more of a 'This will wendell' thing rather than an endorsement of piling on/flaming out, I don't like the seemingly gleeful bloodthirstiness that crops up from time to time, and I shouldn't have contributed to the perception that it's an acceptable or encouraged aspect of the community, and I apologize for that.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:51 AM on October 15, 2008

You know, we haven't had enough metatalk threads about loquacious. Thank God you're here to help right that oh so obvious wrong.

Oh, snap! How much did you buy that snarky comment for? Not too much, I hope, 'cause I saw a whole shelf full of 'em at the dollar store yesterday.

You. You would make a very nice hat. The fact that you would take umbrage at my attempt to make someone feel less alone or less of an outsider is mundanely predictable, if disappointing.
posted by loquacious at 9:03 AM on October 15, 2008 [3 favorites]

Pitchforks and Popcorn will be the name of my band, should I ever develop true musical skill or talent.

Also, weird is a compliment.
posted by owtytrof at 9:06 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

OCEAN : SHRIMP :: JERKSTORE : ?
posted by cortex at 9:07 AM on October 15, 2008

sixcolors : I guess it's so much easier to fling shit, when you're hiding behind a wall.

It's really not, because you run a serious risk of the feces hitting the wall and spattering back on you. Staying behind the wall mainly provides you with cover from other people hurling shit at you.

Ideally, you should maintain your cover while identifying the location of your targets of choice, then you should wait until they have just fired and are likely looking down to grab more ammunition, and you should step out, take aim and let it rip.

The thing that a lot of people don't understand is that flinging shit isn't like firing an automatic weapon where you can spray-and-pray, it really pays to take that extra second, line up the shot and make sure it hits. Think; more sniper, less trench warfare.

The consistency of your projectile is also important, most people are going to automatically choose the hardest feces that they can find, because it will go farther and cause less splash, but sometimes you are operating at close ranges, and have to engage multiple targets, here; the wetter the better.

Don't overestimate your abilities either, there are some targets that are just out of range. You can either let them go, work carefully to use cover to get close enough, but don't try to get them if you know the shot will fall short, you are just wasting ammunition, and could risk pulling a muscle which would leave you defenseless later on.

I hope this quick guide to improvised shit combat helps everyone out there.
posted by quin at 9:14 AM on October 15, 2008 [7 favorites]

If it's any help some friends of mine knew their was a brothel at their neighbours as a wide selection of men would turn up for relatively short periods at a ladies house opposite the back of their house. They were even more sure when a selction of men arrived at the same time, arrested her and her story was all over the local paper.
posted by biffa at 9:33 AM on October 15, 2008

quin: What about the baring of teeth? Does that even enter into the behind-a-wall scenario?
posted by everichon at 10:59 AM on October 15, 2008

Please don't leave sixcolors. Your slight weirdness enriches Metafilter.

I don't think I'd want to meet the people who would buy bbq or muffins from someone's trunk.

We once bought a box of pralines from the trunk of Tee-Eva's automobile. It seemed like the least we could do after she'd given us a late-night lift from Tremé to the French Quarter.
posted by timeistight at 11:06 AM on October 15, 2008

quin: What about the baring of teeth? Does that even enter into the behind-a-wall scenario?

Um, I'd highly recommend not opening your mouth at all.
posted by graventy at 11:32 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

This is the best MeTa thread since the time the Tanner gang set sail for a tropical island that turned out to be a potato chip crumb stuck to the map.

cosigned
posted by Dreamghost at 12:32 PM on October 15, 2008

If she had been a woman, I would've called her a "bitch". Would I be promoting internalized sexism?

yes.

anyway, hope you work out your issues with situational awareness, both physical and virtual.
posted by shmegegge at 12:46 PM on October 15, 2008

OCEAN : SHRIMP :: JERKSTORE : ?

OMG, I know this one, and I suck at analogies. The answer is YOU!
posted by mudpuppie at 1:10 PM on October 15, 2008

It doesn't matter, because in Soviet Russia, BEST SELLER is!
posted by cortex at 1:11 PM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

I wish that had been on the SAT.
posted by Tehanu at 1:15 PM on October 15, 2008

My pending flameout RSS feed doesn't seem to be working, gotta fine-tune the code a little. The massive meltdown marker seems to be working OK, though.

This gem is from a sixcolors AskMe: I know several people who don't know how to ride a bike.

I'd be really, really leery of people like this. Can't be trusted.
posted by fixedgear at 1:22 PM on October 15, 2008

OCEAN : SHRIMP :: JERKSTORE : ?

PR0N?
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 1:25 PM on October 15, 2008 [3 favorites]

Alvy Ampersand: "I know this is sort of a fringe opinion, but I wish the popcorn/lawnchair talk would go away.

Although my reference was supposed to be more of a 'This will wendell' thing rather than an endorsement of piling on/flaming out, I don't like the seemingly gleeful bloodthirstiness that crops up from time to time, and I shouldn't have contributed to the perception that it's an acceptable or encouraged aspect of the community, and I apologize for that."

Yeah, me too. I kind of get caught up in the moment sometimes and forget that not everyone understands the culture here. Plus, having been accused more than once of not working and playing well with others, who am I to point fingers?
posted by dg at 2:22 PM on October 15, 2008

Confession:

I once got an upset stomach from all the cock that I had been sucking, and in my shame I blamed it on some delicious trunk food that I had bought from Sixcolors.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 3:03 PM on October 15, 2008 [11 favorites]

You. You would make a very nice hat.

It's so stimulating being your hat.

Really, though--what does that mean, "you would make a very nice hat"? Am I missing a reference?
posted by elfgirl at 3:52 PM on October 15, 2008

I was interpreting it to mean that he was intending to apprehend, kill, skin, tailor, and don someone as a creative expression of displeasure.

Hannibal Loqter, if you will.
posted by cortex at 4:04 PM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hannibal Loqter, if you will.

Ow!
posted by The Light Fantastic at 4:15 PM on October 15, 2008

Ever since "Deadwood" I've used the phrase "San Francisco cocksucker" with abandon and glee.

McDermott, Evangeline -- Heng Dai
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:34 PM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

cortex: "
Hannibal Loqter, if you will.

Toque-ter, surely?
posted by subbes at 6:31 PM on October 15, 2008

Damn, missed a closing bracket.
posted by subbes at 6:31 PM on October 15, 2008

I was interpreting it to mean that he was intending to apprehend, kill, skin, tailor, and don someone as a creative expression of displeasure.

I wasn't really going to go to all that trouble of preparation. It's more of a ready-to-wear kind of scenario.

Hannibal Loqter, if you will.

That's fucking terrible. I hate fava beans and chianti.
posted by loquacious at 7:11 PM on October 15, 2008

It was Amarone in the book, but nobody but a wine snob woulda got it, so it was changed.
posted by fixedgear at 7:24 PM on October 15, 2008

It's more of a ready-to-wear kind of scenario.

If it fits on your head, then it's a hat.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:56 AM on October 16, 2008

In case Evangeline was feeling too alone, I want to speak up to register my reading of "cocksucker" now as influenced by Deadwood to such an extent as to neutralize its worser connotations in favor of a more general . . . er, fuckery.
posted by cgc373 at 3:24 AM on October 16, 2008

It is as I predicted. Moderators are increasingly just censors. The beauty is that we don't even have to read the freakin' question. Jessamyn says: Your questions... tend to ramble... they're not bad questions, [I recommend you write] shorter succinct questions.

NOW ITS WRITING STYLE PEOPLE! SWEEEET! You get "moderated" for writing style!

But wait! There's more! Then we get this! The problem is Social Norms! What the #$%@! Seriously? Seriously? Cause now we've taken a new brand exciting step! From Moderator to Censorators to NORMARATORS. Yes! The helpful Normarators will a) review your post for compositional style and then determine if your post, even if its a stupid question which there is NO shortage of for gods sake, fits the Normative Environment they hope to maintain. Wow. Nice. Hail the new Normarators. Like moderators of old, but way, like, wiser and like, better able to say what normal is.

@#$% that.

(Hint: if you are a member of metafilter, your normal ain't normal to start with.) The one thing we know, if we read any history or study any science, is that people acclimate to an environment in a cyclical way. Yesterday's moderation wasn't good enough. We need today's Normarators to really get the job done. What's up for tomorrow? Don't worry though. Its all good. You'll all still get to post mindless blah blah crap like the gems y'all generated for this thread. That stuff is gold! Its going nowhere!

I have a recommendation, people. Let's say sometime in the next six months the Normarators take two weeks off. Let's see how fast the site goes to crap. I'm not saying it won't go to crap eventually. But let's see how much added value is going on here. I predict it won't be less than two weeks. When they come back, they might be more humble and willing to limit themselves to the egregious and leave the rest of the site alone. Or, we could just keep going the way we are. That's fun to. There's less to read this way.
posted by ewkpates at 6:34 AM on October 16, 2008

I think someone has a submission to Urbandictionary.com to draft, hmm?
posted by Burhanistan at 6:39 AM on October 16, 2008

ewkpates, I wasn't the moderator of that question. sixcolors has been involved in an ongoing discussion about how her questions appear to others. We've said over and over in MeTa that presentation can count for a lot on the site and matter a lot on how an AskMe question is received. For people who may not be clear how they're coming across, specific information might be helpful. That was mine. You, and anyone else, can take it or leave it.
posted by jessamyn at 6:48 AM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

...
posted by cortex at 6:49 AM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Let's see how fast the site goes to crap. I'm not saying it won't go to crap eventually. But let's see how much added value is going on here. I predict it won't be less than two weeks.

Twenty-four hours. Maximum.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 6:56 AM on October 16, 2008

It doesn't matter who the moderator was, see? Because the suggestion that better worded versions of questions are okay by any Normaratoris the problem.

And no, we can't take it or leave it. The Normarators control speech here.

To be clear, we don't announce it. We don't say, "NO NORMARTORS, CUT LOOSE PEOPLE!". They just quietly step back and see what happens. And I think we should ban bangleboy before the two weeks, just because.

It also alarms me that jessamyn and cortex are unwilling to discuss the impact of their contribution as Normarators. Here's some more ways to see added value: How many "Normarator Interventions" are there per post/comment now, compared to six months ago? One year ago? Two years ago? What if we filter out the interventions staged on those whose got booted, in order to see if its bad players or over-policing of the community?

Control without Accountability. This is a game that no one ever wins.
posted by ewkpates at 7:17 AM on October 16, 2008

Yesterday's moderation wasn't good enough. We need today's Normarators to really get the job done. What's up for tomorrow? Don't worry though. Its all good. You'll all still get to post mindless blah blah crap like the gems y'all generated for this thread. That stuff is gold! Its going nowhere!

Did you go to the Rush Limbaugh school of discourse? I don't think I've read one single comment you've ever written that I agree with and that doesn't piss me the hell off just from the pure asshattery of your argument. You are the absolute proof of the lie that you keep trying to spread here - if the moderators where out to "censor us" then your ass would be gone.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 7:27 AM on October 16, 2008 [4 favorites]

"Normarators"? Really?
posted by schroedinger at 7:57 AM on October 16, 2008 [2 favorites]

Control without Accountability. This is a game that no one ever wins.

Is this where we all dress up like 4channers and heave crates of comments into the harbour?
posted by CKmtl at 8:13 AM on October 16, 2008

Seriously, you just described me as someone unwilling to crunch numbers about site phenomenon. It's like you're railing against a bizarro-universe world in which there are people named Normarators, and those people desperately want to keep things seeeeecret.

I'll talk all fucking day and in as much detail as I can summon about how we do stuff here on the admin side. I've taken the occasional dive into examining the numbers behind stuff like incoming flags, deletions, etc., without noting any fundamental shifts in activity, and we've considerably built up in the last year or two our ability to even track some of this stuff, to make it possible for us to know in more detail what we're respectively doing behind the scenes and see what one another is up to, administratively. I even sort the mefi contact form email into about a dozen categories, because I'm curious about getting a more explicit picture of what stuff comes up in that channel and in what proportion.

"Control without Accountability" is a fever dream. People ask us for info all the time, and we're pretty goddam good about answering.
posted by cortex at 8:13 AM on October 16, 2008 [6 favorites]

ewkpates, you'd probably be able to make a better case if you weren't quite so rambly and vitriolic. What say you try and tighten that shit up and drop the ridiculous 'Normarators' thing (I'm sure it seemed far more clever when you were writing it - I've been there myself), and we'll have us a grown-up discussion, okay?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:16 AM on October 16, 2008

How is Normarators pronounced?

Is it reed or red?

Norm-a-raters?

Norm-arators?
posted by fixedgear at 8:22 AM on October 16, 2008

Ah, but cortex doesn't really talk all day as he claims! HE CAN'T TALK WHILE EATING DONUTS! Right?

Given that the AskMe questions are held to standards and the writing style is part of the question, I don't see anything new. You do get a different outcome when someone has to divine the meaning of your question or when you ask "how iz babby formed". Now if the mods institute a new guideline that all questions should be in the form of Petrarchan sonnets... the Villanelle Group will rise against the iniquity.
posted by ersatz at 8:46 AM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Just call them "Norm" when the show up at the bar, fixedgear. Then ask how life is treating them.
posted by never used baby shoes at 8:49 AM on October 16, 2008

What the fuck.
posted by Tehanu at 8:54 AM on October 16, 2008

Wait, wait. Is it opposite day?
posted by Tehanu at 8:55 AM on October 16, 2008

ewkpates, you know what they tell the guy who complains that it hurts when he bangs his head on the wall.
posted by languagehat at 8:58 AM on October 16, 2008

"Control without Accountability. This is a game that no one ever wins."

Is there an outside control that keeps the mods accountable? Aside from the law, not really. Does that mean that the moderators don't try to be accountable to the user base? No. You can see many examples of times when the mods have changed a decision based on an outcry from the users. If they are not truly accountable, but act like they are, well, that's functionally a distinction without a difference.
posted by klangklangston at 9:03 AM on October 16, 2008

cortex, ewkpates has not engaged you or jessamyn in a way that really deserves a response, and if deletion data is available in the infodump anybody who wants to crunch the numbers really should just do it him-or-herself. That said, I'm also pretty curious about the trend line regarding the number of deletions. Next time you take a "dive into examining the numbers behind stuff like incoming flags, deletions, etc." would you consider sharing them here?
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 9:07 AM on October 16, 2008

Yeah, absolutely. I've been stacking up some graphery projects for a few months now, and one of the interesting things I'd like to see is how the trends on those vs. e.g. active user accounts over time scales.

My general impression at this point is that it's moderate net growth correlated over time with a lot of local noise—this election season in particular has got to have all kinds of weird local maxima going on (cf. 5000+ comment Palin thread and it's solar system of related posts).
posted by cortex at 9:10 AM on October 16, 2008

"Control without Accountability. This is a game that no one ever wins."

Yes but if you play 36 characters that you control simultaneously, then you win every time.
posted by panboi at 9:23 AM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

(cf. 5000+ comment Palin thread and it's solar system of related posts).

If I controlled speech, I'd make cortex learn to punctuate.
posted by jessamyn at 9:35 AM on October 16, 2008 [5 favorites]

That's not a misplaced apostrophe, it's a High Elvish diacritical that represents the junction of love and cosmological metaphors.
posted by cortex at 9:44 AM on October 16, 2008 [9 favorites]

ewkpates, if you're feeling so fucking oppressed that you need to unload all this pissy scorn, perhaps you should consider why on earth you participate on Metafilter, given your contempt for this place.
posted by desuetude at 10:05 AM on October 16, 2008

man, ewkpates is fucking nuts sometimes.
posted by shmegegge at 10:22 AM on October 16, 2008

In between the reckless ad hominem, distortions, and silly nonsense, which seriously, I wonder why some of you bother to post at all... (actually I realized the answer as I checked my spelling: your answers are short... it takes no effort to be short and pointless... whereas I put in serious time to achieve both rambly and vitriolic) some relevant concerns were voiced:

1. I do not have contempt, I have deep affection which propels me to take very seriously changes to the site/community that may alter what I consider the spirit of this process.

2. Desuetude's comment is the type I would normally ignore because it is pure asshattery (Ms. Lightfastaticless, please review the definition of asshattery as it also applies to your post). But this is election time, so I'll give it away for free: We are ethically required to be vigilant guardians of institutions that benefit society, whether or not we agree with their policies. Vote. Even though its likely you won't vote responsibly for the right reasons.

3. I don't think the Normarators want to keep things secret. I want them to live in fear that they will use their powers too liberally. I want to encourage checks on their use of such powers. Some old chinese guy said something about virtue being in the reluctant use of power.

The bigger the system the more likely it is that the majority will oppress the minority, rightly or wrongly, and that those charged with oppression will do so increasingly out of sight of the majority for whom they act because of the apathy of that majority.

This is a virtual country. Look at this thread. Think about what you've posted here. Consider whether you responded as if you were a thoughtful citizen who faithfully upheld your responsibility to what I know we all think of as a fundamentally invaluable place: Metafilter. I know the moderators work hard. Its the rest of you who may be asleep at the switch. Oh, wait, too serious? Where have you been the last eight years? You can go back to being frivolous in another four.
posted by ewkpates at 11:31 AM on October 16, 2008

SENSE OF SCALE
posted by Burhanistan at 11:35 AM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Metatalk: You'll come for the sixcolors flameout, but stay for the ewkpates meltdown.
posted by Space Kitty at 11:38 AM on October 16, 2008 [5 favorites]

How did the election suddenly become part of this?

Heck, I'm a little sympathetic to complaints of potentially overdone moderation, but someone here has the crazy turned up to 11.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:42 AM on October 16, 2008

NORMARATORS R MAVERIX!!!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:44 AM on October 16, 2008

I don't think the Normarators want to keep things secret. I want them to live in fear that they will use their powers too liberally. I want to encourage checks on their use of such powers.

If only there were some public venue wherein mefites could express their observations and concerns and criticisms about use of moderator powers. Alas, alack!

And, you know, we basically spend every day weighing decisions about what needs doing here. There is no reckless, willy-nilly orgy of deletion to rein in, no desire on our parts to go unquestioned in our gleeful, selfish administration of the site. It's a bizarre caricature, as hostile as it is fanciful, that would justify the reaction you're stringing out over your comments here.

Reduced, very generously, to a reasonable argument that being self-aware and humble in our moderation of the site is an important thing, I'd flat out say that I agree with you. But I'm not clear here on whether you believe that I'd mean that, so I might just be spinning wheels here in trying to close the gap between us.
posted by cortex at 11:46 AM on October 16, 2008

Here's some more ways to see added value: How many "Normarator Interventions" are there per post/comment now, compared to six months ago? One year ago? Two years ago? What if we filter out the interventions staged on those whose got booted, in order to see if its bad players or over-policing of the community?

You are aware that nobody is forcing you to be here, yes?
And that this is in fact a private site, run at mathowie's whim, yes?
And, indeed, that you are owed precisely nothing apart from access to the site for your $5, yes?
And further, that the door is thattaway, do be careful not to let it injure you on your way out, thank you ever so much.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:47 AM on October 16, 2008

DON'T LET THE DOOR GO AND HIT YOU WHERE THE DAWG SHOULD BIT YOU
posted by Burhanistan at 11:52 AM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry, I'll go over there now.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:52 AM on October 16, 2008

Stop with the "ewky, yr so overboard". I get that many of you don't care, don't think its a [potentially] serious problem, have trouble reading full sentences, whatever. Point noted!

Cortex: I believe that the moderators are well intentioned. Seriously. If I didn't, I wouldn't try to reason with you, I'd just go the full propaganda route. Remember what they say about the road to hell. Are you trying to make me feel guilty about "Normarators"? Its working a little. Its still funny though.

We are 190 (mostly useless) comments into this thread. Was censoring a poorly written askme question worth me having to invent "Normarators"? I don't think so. I think it would have been better to leave the question up and never to have heard the term.

Numbbagle: I didn't pay $5. I pledged alliegence you numbbagle. I'm not sure what you think a community is. I'll give you a hint: Its not something you participate in only because everyone agrees with you allowing you to bask in the reflected glow of your own image.

Burhanistan: I forgive you because you are obviously named after a fake country. It must be painful.
posted by ewkpates at 12:01 PM on October 16, 2008

oh man, if only all of our comments could be as useful as ewkpates' comments. i think ewkpates should be the "Usefulness Normarator" of the site.
posted by shmegegge at 12:04 PM on October 16, 2008

Was censoring a poorly written askme question worth me having to invent "Normarators"? I don't think so. I think it would have been better to leave the question up and never to have heard the term.

You had to invent it, yes. Something about town hall meetings comes next, I think.

But yes: deleting a poorly written askme question was worth your weird aggressive comments, because the alternative—not deleting problematic stuff because you personally think the site would be better if we never deleted stuff—would be a pretty lousy way to keep this place running. I hear you that you don't like deletions, and I'm not wholly unsympathetic to that line of reasoning, but it's a reverse baby-bathwater argument: never throw out any bathwater, because there might be a baby!

I have a headache and am being cattier than I'd generally like to be, but it's hard not to when you're being (can you really not recognize this?) such a wall-to-wall jerk here despite your apparent impression that everyone else in this thread is the problem.
posted by cortex at 12:10 PM on October 16, 2008 [2 favorites]

NORM!arato[a]rs
posted by SpiffyRob at 12:11 PM on October 16, 2008

Was censoring a poorly written askme question worth me having to invent "Normarators"?

"And if the mods had taken up my invitation to participate in a series of Town Hall events..."
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:11 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Dammit, cortex.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:13 PM on October 16, 2008

Numbbagle: I didn't pay $5. I pledged alliegence you numbbagle.

...

I'm not sure what you think a community is.

...

I'll give you a hint: Its not something you participate in only because everyone agrees with you allowing you to bask in the reflected glow of your own image.

You are really quite clearly unaware of my history with this site if you think that's what I think...
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:17 PM on October 16, 2008

If I didn't, I wouldn't try to reason with you, I'd just go the full propaganda route.

NOW ITS WRITING STYLE PEOPLE! SWEEEET! You get "moderated" for writing style!

But wait! There's more! Then we get this! The problem is Social Norms! What the #$%@! Seriously? Seriously? Cause now we've taken a new brand exciting step! From Moderator to Censorators to NORMARATORS.

If this is only partial propoganda, I'd hate to see what your full propaganda looks like.

I appreciate that you've toned down your rhetoric but really it seemed like some sort of performance art approach to my statement that style matters. Yours was crazy-sounding and people responded in kind and now you're all "hey I can string a complete sentence together and I didn't just recommend that the moderators take two weeks off with a bunch of oogy boogy talk tossed in about the election for good measure.... wha happen?"

You are railing against a problem that mostly doesn't exist, and to the extent that there might be a problem (as and hosted from Uranus asked about) we'll find some numbers for you. Short of that -- and yeah we're not taking two weeks off -- what do you think needs to be done?

I do not want to live in fear of how cortex and vacapinta and mathowie and pb and I moderate this site. I don't think fear is a good motivator and we run this site with that, among other things, in mind. Your suggestion that you think this is a good idea is, to me, not a good idea.
posted by jessamyn at 12:23 PM on October 16, 2008

What do I need to say to get one of those school-yard insult user names?
posted by solipsophistocracy at 12:35 PM on October 16, 2008

I am a wall to wall performance artist jerk. This has no relevance, unless it is okay to marginalize or ignore jerks. How should power be exercised? With increasing reluctance. Nobody likes full propaganda. "The problem mostly doesn't exist" but we are here because someone thought the moderation was excessive and the justification was pretty wishy washy. So when you say it doesn't exist, how reassuring is that? How do people not get that this is a participation based community, like a country, and that like this great nation participation = quality?

Fear is an excellent motivator. We should all be afraid that what we post here, or in the case of the moderators what we keep from being posted, erodes our authenticity, credibility, and the quality of individual expression. Metafilter is a big deal. I am concerned sometimes that performance art obscures message, but I have to weigh that against a world with no performance art and a pile of valueless high school sentence fragment banter.

I'm sorry solipsophistocracy. Not only do I like your name, I'm starting to tire. Performance art is a sprint, its not a marathon. Wait until it comes around again on the guitar. You gotta to sing loud if you want to stop war. Put a quarter in the hat.
posted by ewkpates at 12:44 PM on October 16, 2008

solipsophistocracy? More like objectivistadhominenema, amirite?!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:45 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

I dub thee "solipsophooltocrapcy".
posted by cortex at 12:45 PM on October 16, 2008

Too slow, Joe.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:48 PM on October 16, 2008

Whatever, It's Ruining Whorence Schmendrickson.
posted by cortex at 12:57 PM on October 16, 2008 [4 favorites]

How do people not get that this is a participation based community, like a country, and that like this great nation participation = quality?

This is wrong. See for instance: digg, reddit.
posted by Axle at 1:01 PM on October 16, 2008

Was censoring a poorly written askme question worth me having to invent "Normarators"? I don't think so.

I beg to differ.
posted by fixedgear at 1:05 PM on October 16, 2008

I must be getting old and/or soft in the head, because I can see some sense in what ewkpates is saying. It's a little hard to spot in amongst the spittle-soaked rhetoric, but there are some hints of gold there. The thing is, those are the parts that nobody is disagreeing with, so it's like a one-man echo chamber for the rest of his screeds and they drown out the good stuff.

Plus, being a 14ker he must be at least partially cool.
posted by dg at 1:30 PM on October 16, 2008

Two for the price of one! Sweet deal.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 1:36 PM on October 16, 2008

Am I the only one thinking of Norma Rae? So confusing. I keep thinking that sixcolors is the normarator.
posted by amro at 1:37 PM on October 16, 2008

He is the normarator. Didn't you go through our collective 20's?
posted by solipsophistocracy at 1:40 PM on October 16, 2008

Whoops, She is the normarator.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 1:40 PM on October 16, 2008

"Metafilter is a big deal."

Time to turn off the computer & go for a walk, I think. Metafilter is a website where random people link to random stuff (or ask random questions) and then talk about it (or attempt to answer them). So no, not really a big deal.

I say that with love for teh MeFi, but also an attempt for a larger perspective.
posted by epersonae at 1:53 PM on October 16, 2008

Man, I get letters like this every day.
posted by klangklangston at 2:13 PM on October 16, 2008

Burhanistan ain't no fake country, chump. Just wait until the Soviet era ICBMS hastily leftover rain down on your crazy ass.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:24 PM on October 16, 2008

I've been reading MeFi since sometime in the year 2000. I've been reading MeTa since...well, I don't remember, but sometime BEFORE AskMe started, because I remember it being discussed. I know you, ewkpates, are probably in the same boat.

ewkpates: "It is as I predicted. Moderators are increasingly just censors...NOW ITS WRITING STYLE PEOPLE! SWEEEET! You get "moderated" for writing style!...

No. Moderators have ALWAYS edited/deleted for style. There is not an upward trend "as you predicted", you just have bad memory.

"But wait! There's more! Then we get this! The problem is Social Norms!"

Uh, the problem with sixcolors is that they don't get social norms. That's not the problem with the question, that's the problem with the poster that results in them writing those questions, or commenting the way he/she has in this thread. The thread wasn't deleted for "violating social norms". It was deleted for being a rambly chatfilter non-question three-in-one. The reason the question turned out that way is because the writer has a poor grasp of social norms.

Let's use a physical example. Let's say Bob really, really loves his wife, Alice. Just loves her incredibly. So one day, he gets off work and jumps in his car to go home. He runs that car as fast as he can, racing to get home. He is driving 200 mph on the freeway. And a policeman sees him and tickets him for speeding. Bob says "But I really love my wife and I want to see her right away!!" The policeman, writing the ticket, says "Maybe you love her a bit too much".

In this example, is love now against the law? Has the fascist state declared war on love? No. What's against the law is speeding, and it's no more or less against the law than it was 50 years ago. Love may be the REASON the law was broken, but the law wasn't "don't love", but "don't speed", and speeding is what got the guy ticketed.

(And regarding the whole "election election election" stuff, if you watched the news, you'd know that Aso has declared that, despite what he said in print, he won't be calling an election, probably this whole year, and that the election will probably be at the end of his tenure in 2009.)
posted by Bugbread at 2:38 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

"I am a wall to wall performance artist jerk. This has no relevance, unless it is okay to marginalize or ignore jerks. How should power be exercised? With increasing reluctance. Nobody likes full propaganda. "The problem mostly doesn't exist" but we are here because someone thought the moderation was excessive and the justification was pretty wishy washy. So when you say it doesn't exist, how reassuring is that? How do people not get that this is a participation based community, like a country, and that like this great nation participation = quality?"

If anyone can rearrange this paragraph so that it comes within 10km of making any sort of sense, I'd appreciate it. Cake as a reward is an option.
posted by panboi at 2:44 PM on October 16, 2008

I'll give it a go:

"I am a jerk. It is okay to ignore jerks. How do people not get that this?"

Now where's my cake?
posted by dg at 3:04 PM on October 16, 2008

Oh shit, remove extraneous "that" when you read that, please.
posted by dg at 3:04 PM on October 16, 2008

Man, I miss davy sometimes.
posted by jtron at 3:07 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Stop with the "ewky, yr so overboard".

No.

Man, I miss davy sometimes.

You and me both. When he went off the deep end, he was entertaining.
posted by languagehat at 4:19 PM on October 16, 2008

Huuuuuh?!?

I have a sudden urge to start singing, "It's time for the Normarator! It's time for the Normarator!"

It doesn't matter who the moderator was, see? Because the suggestion that better worded versions of questions are okay by any Normaratoris the problem.

And no, we can't take it or leave it. The Normarators control speech here.

To be clear, we don't announce it. We don't say, "NO NORMARTORS, CUT LOOSE PEOPLE!". They just quietly step back and see what happens. And I think we should ban bangleboy before the two weeks, just because.

It also alarms me that jessamyn and cortex are unwilling to discuss the impact of their contribution as Normarators. Here's some more ways to see added value: How many "Normarator Interventions" are there per post/comment now, compared to six months ago? One year ago? Two years ago? What if we filter out the interventions staged on those whose got booted, in order to see if its bad players or over-policing of the community?

Control without Accountability. This is a game that no one ever wins.
posted by sixcolors at 4:30 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Any data points in the cocksucker survey yet, six?
posted by CKmtl at 4:44 PM on October 16, 2008

Ok - now this post has become weird.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 5:06 PM on October 16, 2008

Any data points in the cocksucker survey yet

Results have been dribbling in all day.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:12 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

Exit poll (pole) joke.
posted by cgc373 at 5:54 PM on October 16, 2008

CKmtl: "Any data points in the cocksucker survey yet, six?"

It's been coming in fits and spurts.
posted by dg at 6:01 PM on October 16, 2008

You said a mouthfull there, buddy!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:04 PM on October 16, 2008

Oh, the irony of using me as your straight man.
posted by CKmtl at 6:09 PM on October 16, 2008 [2 favorites]

Why? Cause you were a back tagging superstar?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:10 PM on October 16, 2008 [2 favorites]

Yes, I admit it: I'll do anything for a punchline.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:23 PM on October 16, 2008

Punchline 'em in the dick.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:51 PM on October 16, 2008

Cake as a reward is an option

WARNING THE CAKE IS A LIE REPEAT THE CAKE IS oh i give up
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:16 PM on October 16, 2008

Oh, and this?

Oh, the irony of using me as your straight man.
posted by CKmtl at 9:09 PM on October 16 [+] [!]


Why? Cause you were a back tagging superstar?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:10 PM on October 16 [+] [!]

Aces.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:17 PM on October 16, 2008

How about the eNormorator?

"This could be huge!"

sixcolors, a bunch of us are weird. *puts on bee costume, and using tongs, gingerly inserts hamburger patties along the interior perimeter of loquacious' belt* Also fascinating. Rock on. Don't go. I've taken some NASTY flack from people here, and fuck those guys. Just slap another layer of varnish on your shiny self and be strong, bubeleh. Norms are overrated. Never look upon them with an unjaundiced eye.

ewkpates, I like your zazz, but dude, that is all so far from constructive criticism that this informed mefi-zen can't really enjoy it, but only back away slowly from it, flinching. Noisy ow. Tone it up and try me later.

This thread was totally cool.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:58 PM on October 16, 2008

I am a wall to wall performance artist jerk.

No, you were trying too hard and far too predictable. I wish I could say minds were blown, cherished and long-held convictions were shaken to their respective cores, and paradigms were shifted like all get out, but you're already yesterday's passing amusement.

You do deserve credit for unintentionally spawning the Normarator meme that will eventually result in two MeTas asking what it means and four MeTas demanding that people stop using it, but that just basically puts you in the same league as the dude who was quoting SCIENCE!!! and the "summary marks" guy.

Why? Cause you were a back tagging superstar?

Ohhhhh!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:03 PM on October 16, 2008

Also, weird is the norm, just some folks don't feel the need to beat everyone over the head with it.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:10 PM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

yeh, if somebody was beating me over the head with 'it', i probably would've already guessed by then that they were a bit weird.
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:24 PM on October 16, 2008

Weird is weird and norm is norm, and never the twain shall meet.
posted by amyms at 11:27 PM on October 16, 2008

It's all relative to your cousin.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:38 AM on October 17, 2008

There are three kinds of people in this world:

1) Folks who say that other people are weird. These people are stultifyingly normal.
2) Folks who say they themselves are weird. These people are normal and obnoxiously pretentious.
3) Folks who don't really talk about "weird" much. These people are frequently both weird and interesting.
posted by Bugbread at 1:09 AM on October 17, 2008 [5 favorites]

There are three kinds of people in this world

There are two kinds of people in this world:

Those who finish their sentences and those who
posted by amyms at 1:18 AM on October 17, 2008

...finish other people's sentences for them.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:52 AM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

no, there are 10 kinds of people in this world:

those who understand binary,

and those who don't.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:50 AM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

Country : Metafilter

Government:
President For Life : M A Howie (BLESSINGS ON HIS NAME)
SuperNormarator : Cortex W Jesus
Executive Normarator : Jessamyn A Aksme
Foreign Ambassador : V A Pintamilk

Population : 65,000
Currency : Meuro
Exports : Crude Snark, Cameras, Ponies
National Sport : Control without Accountability

History (excerpt):
The virtual country of Metafilter was formed in 1801 and its people were quickly suppressed under the iron heel of the MetaGovernment (for their own good). Freedom of speech is declared a crime against nature (Later, nature is declared a crime against science and is sentenced to 30 years to life with no option for parole).

Amongst many of the challenges and ordeals the country has faced has been the Sockpuppet Rebellion, The SEO Wars, The Battle of Pepsi Blue and The Lolcat Insurrection. Victory was achieved primarily through the use of a new terrible weapon of war - The Banhammer (since rebranded as The Lovehammer).

In order to appease the masses, the MetaTalk Council was formed in which citizens could express concerns, issues and complaints. Those who made complaints about living in such a utopian paradise would cheerfuly get into special black vans to be taken away for re-education (often involving a scientific method of correcting a misalignment of your head using a mallet and an anvil). These people were never heard from again. It remains a puzzling mystery that the government is investigating with due vigour.

National Anthem : O Metafilter

O Metafilter
O Metafilter
Look after our poor
Our huddled and our sick

Shun the unbelievers
Protect our proud utopia
And punch them in the dick

Excerpt from the Encylopedia Metafilterania
posted by panboi at 4:58 AM on October 17, 2008 [9 favorites]

2) Folks who say they themselves are weird. These people are normal and obnoxiously pretentious.

loquacious, you've been called out!
posted by blasdelf at 5:20 AM on October 17, 2008

I suppose you're right there, blasdelf! But I wouldn't characterize loq as "obnoxiously pretentious" so much as "pretentiously obnoxious".
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:45 AM on October 17, 2008

Don't get me wrong, though. It's a likable trait, in his case. Mostly.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:55 AM on October 17, 2008

todd lokken
posted by fixedgear at 6:03 AM on October 17, 2008

Please be nice to Todd, he hasn't done anything worthy of such mockery and doesn't really deserve to be an InJoke.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:13 AM on October 17, 2008

I would happily pay another $5 to change my user name to "Normarator." If name changes can't be done, I will write "Normarator" on a piece of tape and stick it on my computer screen myself.

The whole stream of consciousness thing was a little precious, and the abuse of Jessamyn and Cortex was uncool, but the coining of that word almost makes this thread worth it.
posted by Forktine at 6:50 AM on October 17, 2008

The whole thing makes me nostalgic for Radiskull and Devil Doll.
posted by jessamyn at 6:54 AM on October 17, 2008

Some of you weirdos are pretty fucking funny.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 8:48 AM on October 17, 2008

I do not advocate reading this thread starting from the bottom, for anyone else who might contemplate trying that.
posted by pineapple at 10:13 AM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

Government:
President For Life : M A Howie (BLESSINGS ON HIS NAME)
SuperNormarator : Cortex W Jesus
Executive Normarator : Jessamyn A Aksme
Foreign Ambassador : V A Pintamilk

What, no love for the Minister of the Interior?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:08 AM on October 17, 2008

Minister of the Interior Bungle would be a good name for a band.
posted by cortex at 11:10 AM on October 17, 2008

Minister of the Interior Bunghole would also be good.
posted by fixedgear at 11:18 AM on October 17, 2008

Their concert rider would have to include a provision for TP.
posted by cortex at 11:26 AM on October 17, 2008

Their concert rider would have to include a provision for TP.

Like this?
posted by longsleeves at 12:31 PM on October 17, 2008

More like this.
posted by fixedgear at 1:38 PM on October 17, 2008

Unless they were Indian.
posted by pineapple at 1:50 PM on October 17, 2008

How about eNormicom? (ah, turn of the century satire.)
posted by epersonae at 1:52 PM on October 17, 2008