I CAN HAS BARGAINS?

November 19, 2008 10:20 PM

Lets not FTP the latest great deal, unless it is a footnote to an interesting post.

With enough effort, an interesting post about CSS could be put together. The latest free eBook on CSS isn't interesting. Neither is the latest free first chapter of a novel. Lets keep things interesting.

posted by b1tr0t to Etiquette/Policy at 10:20 PM (34 comments total)

Flag and move on?
posted by paisley henosis at 10:23 PM on November 19, 2008

I'll see your FTP and raise you a gopher://

Agreed, though. Not really superfantastic front page material.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:32 PM on November 19, 2008 [2 favorites]

I didn't think it was that bad. There have periodically been posts made when there was something really interesting being given away for free (complete Calvin and Hobbes, complete Futurama I think) although they usually get taken down for being pirated.

I thought this was interesting for two reasons:
1. The content itself is not bad, and probably of interest to a fair number of people.
2. It's an interesting distribution and business model for book publishing. I'd never seen an ad-supported ebook before.

Maybe the post would have been better if it had concentrated more on #2 instead of exclusively on #1, but there are a couple of posts about it already. Maybe as more people download and take a look at it (as opposed to just downloading it and going to bed, which given the time is what a lot of people are doing, I assume), they'll be more interesting discussion in this vein.

Of course, if it turns out to be astroturf or spam ... burn them.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:37 PM on November 19, 2008

You know, I just remembered I posted a link to a free ebook about games way back when, so, you know, I think I ought to recuse myself here.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:43 PM on November 19, 2008

If anything, I thought that the CSS book would have a bigger potentially interested audience than the Ruby book post from last year (which happened to generate some interesting discussion in the threads). Don't know if b1tr0t has had a bad day or what, but dumping in the thread AND going MeTa? Hope you have a better day tomorrow, dude!

No affiliation, just got word of it and thought I'd pass it along to my web dev MeFi brethren (and sistren).
posted by spock at 10:44 PM on November 19, 2008

OK, so basically you're saying free books are bad post material. How about free cameras as post material? Would that be/ is that any different? Would it be OK only if people started saying "WE HAVE eBOOKS!" in the thread to ensure that the post enters the halls of Metafilter history and in-jokery?
posted by Effigy2000 at 10:48 PM on November 19, 2008

Agreed it's a little thin as is, and would have been better as a part of a big 'learn CSS' post or something. But I don't really think anything needs to be done about it. Free stuff, dude!

Also, this post needs the callout tag.
posted by carsonb at 11:19 PM on November 19, 2008

ftp sux

scp ftw

itym fpp - ftfy?
posted by Pronoiac at 12:44 AM on November 20, 2008

To be fair, there should be a protocol called FTQ too.

The post could have been better. So it's like 99% of other FPPs. If spock had padded it out with other links to CSS sites just so it wasn't a single link post, it probably would have been worse, just like other posts that add padding to avoid this weird assumption that single links are bad.

I downloaded the book and I'm reading it. I'm glad spock posted it. MeFi is better with the post on the front page than without it. I don't get the callout. In fact, I'm off to favourite the post right now.
posted by GeckoDundee at 1:42 AM on November 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

With enough effort, an interesting post about CSS could be put together.

I assure you, it could not.
posted by cillit bang at 2:33 AM on November 20, 2008 [3 favorites]

Lets not FTP the latest great deal,

Whaaa?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:19 AM on November 20, 2008

I bought a book from sitepoint years ago (PHP 4!) but they relentlessly email about their latest doings. The book was fair to OK, but the fortnightly messages got annoying. Just saying. (yes, I unsubbed eventually)
posted by bystander at 4:11 AM on November 20, 2008

[Your adpromotional item here.]
posted by Space Coyote at 6:00 AM on November 20, 2008

The latest free eBook on CSS isn't interesting. Neither is the latest free first chapter of a novel.

Are you proposing we eliminate all "this previously inaccessible/expensive thing is now available online for free" posts? Because bang goes almost every Youtube post, every Google Video post, and many, many others.
posted by cillit bang at 6:18 AM on November 20, 2008

The latest free eBook on CSS isn't interesting. Neither is the latest free first chapter of a novel.

You forgot to add "...to me."
posted by languagehat at 6:23 AM on November 20, 2008

Actually I have been trolling some of the black Friday sale sites lately, and the deal-of-the-day sites, but since I hardly ever buy stuff I'm not exactly in the know, and I would love it if there was an active thread somewhere where people listed this kind of thing. Especially if those people were MeFites and that somewhere was MetaFilter.
posted by headnsouth at 6:28 AM on November 20, 2008

FPP, not FTP.

I suck at the internets.


Are you proposing we eliminate all "this previously inaccessible/expensive thing is now available online for free" posts?

I'm suggesting that if the point of your post is that XYZ is now free then you have a pretty weak post.

Don't know if b1tr0t has had a bad day or what, but dumping in the thread AND going MeTa?

My comments in the post should be deleted, this is more of a MeTa issue.
posted by b1tr0t at 6:30 AM on November 20, 2008

I hear there are free donoughts, ice cream and some other stuff I can't remember. Oh, wait, sorry, that was on election day
posted by fixedgear at 6:59 AM on November 20, 2008

free donoughts

Isn't that b1tr0t's point - that it would have been better to do nought in this case?
posted by lukemeister at 7:03 AM on November 20, 2008

... and of course there's cortex's motto,

First, donut harm.
posted by lukemeister at 7:05 AM on November 20, 2008 [1 favorite]

I think it was a great find, and something I probably wouldn't have discovered elsewhere. It fits under the big MetaFilter tent. The beauty of MetaFilter is that you can disagree with me, and I can call you a fucktard.
posted by Mister_A at 7:24 AM on November 20, 2008

I think the link is fine and the post reads a bit dry and sales-y but not so much that it seemed like a problem. We do indeed see occasional "this is a free book/movie/album/thing online" posts now and then, and they're just part of the mix here. As long as they're done in moderation (god I miss being able to use that word without feeling compelled to wink) it's no biggie.

My biggest complaint is the "for limited time" aspect, which I think does hamstring the thing a bit as archive material and is a good argument for building a beefier, more discussion- and contemplation-friendly post so that there's something to live on past the damned promotion. But, again, it didn't seem terrible.

b1tr0t, yeah, next time please do just go straight to metatalk. An iffy post is one thing, but an iffy post with fight-starting comments off the bat is something worse.

How about free cameras as post material?

That was actually a pretty shit post, but 2001 was a long, long time ago. Just because something made the cut seven years back and spawned an in-joke doesn't make it an example of good posting criteria. I'm not really willing to consider "we have cameras" a legitimate defense of anything in this context; it's more liability than asset.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:32 AM on November 20, 2008

Speaking of, I never did catch the follow-up: did anyone get their cameras, or did Amazon shut it down and refund everyone's money?
posted by middleclasstool at 7:41 AM on November 20, 2008

Oops
posted by Artw at 9:03 AM on November 20, 2008

I thought this was a great post. I downloaded the book and so far it seems like just the kind of stuff I'm interested in. I would not mind at all if there were more FPPs like this. I wasn't interested in Artw's gaming post, but I can just skip it. As you can just skip this one.
posted by desjardins at 1:13 PM on November 20, 2008

I'm not really willing to consider "we have cameras" a legitimate defense of anything in this context; it's more liability than asset.

Shit, I had the "We have cameras" defense up there with the Chewbacca.
posted by djgh at 2:11 PM on November 20, 2008

And now a message from our sponsors.
posted by oxford blue at 6:08 PM on November 20, 2008

Anyone want a free Dr. Pepper?
posted by Class Goat at 11:42 PM on November 20, 2008

[completely off-topic]
[[thrown in here because I reckon here's as good a spot as any]]

Can somebody with some style do up a FPP about meteors and the crazy sky-up-lighting meteor that freaked out alberta tonight?

Because that was cool, and if I tried to create a post for the blue it would suck.
posted by Acari at 12:41 AM on November 21, 2008

Acari,

Does this free, limited-time blog post help?
posted by lukemeister at 6:18 AM on November 21, 2008

Yeah, that helps,
if only for this youtube video
posted by Acari at 10:25 AM on November 21, 2008

Acari,
I will do a post if better videos turn up, and especially if meteorites are found.
posted by lukemeister at 12:00 PM on November 21, 2008

Can somebody with some style do up a FPP about meteors and the crazy sky-up-lighting meteor that freaked out alberta tonight?

It has been done.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:47 PM on November 21, 2008

Ah, I was looking in the other moany thread for the comment that prompted that, and getting a little confused. Thanks for the tip-off!
posted by Artw at 10:42 PM on November 21, 2008