This Could Be the Year!

January 8, 2009 8:19 PM

Hey everybody! MetaFilter is nominated for a 2008 Weblog Award for Best Online Community! The good news is this year FARK is not nominated (2007, 2006) which means right now, we are only losing to a Flickr Group, My Opera and Jennifer Marohasy (who is apparently a one-person community of Climate Change Skeptic(s)). Less than 6000 votes total so far and there are over 80,000 of us. So let's go MetaFighters! Vote Early and Vote Often (once every 24 hours).

Yes, this is the Weblog Awards that has been closely associated with the Pajama-Wearing Warbloggers, but with FiveThirtyEight leading the Political category and some other good blogs looking good, I really think that this year it will wendell.

But also, the much more respected Bloggies are accepting nominations, and even though MeFi, having WON the Community Category 3 times, has been "Hall of Famed" out of competition, I, for one, think it'd be cool if MetaFilter's Own Matt Haughey got the Lifetime Achievement Award the same year his site turns 10. Just sayin'. (scroll wa-a-a-a-ay to the right in Nicolai Nolan's defiantly unorthodox site navigation)

posted by wendell to MetaFilter-related at 8:19 PM (79 comments total)

MetaFilter is nominated for a 2008 Weblog Award for Best Online Community Please Giving Us A Pile Of Traffic From Ballot Stuffing Hordes!

Don't forget to google Ron Paul while you're at it, folks.
posted by cortex at 8:26 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

Wait, there are cooler sites that this one? Matt, can I have my $5 back?

And wouldn't all of Flickr be considered an "Online Community?"

What the heck is "My Opera" and "Jennifer Marohasy?"

And for the record I am a "Climate Change Skeptic." People have been telling me about global warming for at least 15 years, and it is currently 30 degrees outside with freezing rain! How can that even happen?
posted by cjorgensen at 8:28 PM on January 8

For cjorgensen...Sea Ice Ends Year at Same Level as
posted by lee at 8:32 PM on January 8

Yeah, I saw this. Do we really want random extra traffic?
posted by lunit at 8:33 PM on January 8

Oh, and can I be the first to say this post will not wendell? Yes I can!
posted by cjorgensen at 8:33 PM on January 8

I'm totally wearing my green silk cummerbund this year.
posted by longsleeves at 8:35 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

I gather Strobist writes a better script exhortation than Wendell.

Whoever they are.
posted by pompomtom at 8:37 PM on January 8

We only have 300 more votes than the Michael Jackson Fan Forum.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:37 PM on January 8

Al gore sat so the internet could walk. The internet walked so mathowie could run. Mathowie ran so MetaFilter could fly.
posted by Corduroy at 8:45 PM on January 8 [8 favorites]

Bloggies? Are they still around?
posted by ardgedee at 8:47 PM on January 8

I hear we're also up for some guy called Steve's Cool Site of the Day award. But Matt'll have to put their 16-colour GIF in the sidebar. It's only 300x300px.

You'd like Steve, though. He's on Geocities.
posted by genghis at 8:57 PM on January 8 [4 favorites]

....Okay, what exactly is Strobist? I've looked at it and I don't get it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:04 PM on January 8

So let's go MetaFighters!

It was all going so well up until that point.
posted by cashman at 9:09 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

ugh.


Metafilter: [NOT STROBIST]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:10 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]

Fuck the Bloggies. Seriously. They use a completely moronic "you can vote once-a-day so vote over and over again every day for your favorite!" tally system. I'm sorry, but that's fucking absurd.
posted by mediareport at 9:19 PM on January 8

So let's go MetaFighters!

The first rule of MeFight Club is - you do not talk about MeFight Club.
posted by gemmy at 9:20 PM on January 8 [5 favorites]

Mathowie ran so MetaFilter could fly.

That ain't flying, that's falling... with style.

Sure am glad, though, that that flickr group isn't one of the ones I belong to. It'd be tough to be torn like that.

Still, no way we're gonna win... too many people will hold Krrrlson against us.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:20 PM on January 8

That ain't flying, that's falling... with style.

Nah, it's throwing oneself at the ground, and missing.
posted by pompomtom at 9:24 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

We vote every day, not because it is easy, but because it is hard!
posted by Corduroy at 9:26 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

....Okay, what exactly is Strobist? I've looked at it and I don't get it.

Strobist is about the effective use of cheap flash units instead of expensive studio lighting.
posted by aubilenon at 9:37 PM on January 8

Be very, very quite.

One of the good things about Metafilter? It's not Pharyngula.
posted by Dumsnill at 10:10 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

I may vote but only if I can get some clarification. Was Gonzo Muppet a kind of hominid who kept those Muppet chickens as pets/livestock or was he some kind of bird creature and those hens were his wives? Or is it supposed to be ambiguous?
posted by Burhanistan at 10:13 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]

MeFi isn't a weblog as such. Or MyOpera isn't a community. Something like that. They're night and day to one another.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:19 PM on January 8

If only there was a way to combine climate change, HIV, 9/11 and Holocaust skepticism…
posted by klangklangston at 10:34 PM on January 8

I, for one, think it'd be cool if MetaFilter's Own Matt Haughey got the Lifetime Achievement Award the same year his site turns 10.

The Bloggies completely misses the point of the lifetime achievement award. You're only supposed to give them to people as a way of saying, "We like you, we do, but we think it's time you move on. Or die. Preferably die, so you can't ruin the pleasant memories we have of you."
posted by stavrogin at 10:35 PM on January 8 [3 favorites]

Further research suggests that Gonzo is in fact an alien and that one of the chickens (he has a hard time telling them apart) is in fact his lover. So, that's cleared up now.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:36 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]

I'd always thought they were like his wives. Didn't know about the alien thing. I'm sort of glad that's cleared up then. Ta.
posted by pompomtom at 11:03 PM on January 8

MetaFilter is nominated for a 2008 Weblog Award for Best Online Community Please Giving Us A Pile Of Traffic From Ballot Stuffing Hordes!

MetaFilter won last week. My henchmen sockpuppets installed Florida voting machines at the Awards site.
posted by terranova at 11:14 PM on January 8

This is just like when they have a movie awards ceremony and those horrible entertainment correspondents are hassling Hollywood's brightest stars who've come out to shine on the red carpet, and the stars say who they're wearing, and then the horrible correspondents ask how they feel about being nominated for whatever they're nominated for, and the stars say, Hey, when you consider the caliber of my fellow nominees, it's just such an honor to be nominated, y'know?, only in our case, replace it's just such an honor to be nominated, y'know? with What, are you fucking kidding me? Have you seen the other nominees? I mean, look at them, what is that shit, is being included in that supposed to be something I should be proud of? I swear to fucking God I will kill myself if I win, it's humiliating enough that collection of unmitigated shit-balls are supposed to be my peers.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:28 PM on January 8 [2 favorites]

*Quietly nominates own blog in prestigious 'List of Stuff I've Read Over the Last Four Years Without Actually Doing Any Sort of Actual Blogging' category*

I think it's my year!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:30 PM on January 8

I'm completely willing to vote early and vote often, but I'm also predicting Strobist will eat the lunch of every kid on that list.

I'd like to be wrong because MeFi really should win.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:54 PM on January 8

I'm voting for Diebold this year.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:05 AM on January 9

And MetaFilter is a member of my very own prestigious webring.
Even though it doesn't link back to the rest of the sites. Or display my kickass 100x60 animated GIF for the Great Big Mulp Top Ten Awesomest Site of the Year Award. What gives?
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:23 AM on January 9

I'll vote for this every day if everyone else on MeFi votes for this just once. Self-links are Ok on MeTa, right?
posted by dg at 12:41 AM on January 9

The Cabal is going to hate this shit.







not that there is a cabal, mind you.
posted by From Bklyn at 1:36 AM on January 9

Jesus, isn't election season over yet?
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:30 AM on January 9

Please forgive my obtuseness, but what exactly would be the advantage of winning something like this? Fame doesn't seem that attractive...
posted by amtho at 2:32 AM on January 9

Our 360-degree trend analysis indicates a clear need for an offcameraflash.metafilter.com subsite.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:45 AM on January 9

I was looking through the links in their best blog category and I found the most self-obsessed thing I had ever seen.
posted by delmoi at 4:13 AM on January 9

Is there a category for "suddenly disappeared months ago and nobody noticed"?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:17 AM on January 9

If voting involves more than simply hitting a [+], I'm out.
posted by gman at 4:21 AM on January 9

I think MetaFilter winning that award would be like having everyone think you won the Lottery, without you actually getting any money.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:34 AM on January 9

Fuck the Bloggies. Seriously.

Erm, I meant the Weblog awards, not the Bloggies. Seriously.
posted by mediareport at 4:52 AM on January 9

not that there is a cabal, mind you.

There is a cabal, mind you.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:06 AM on January 9

It's Camilla the Chicken who is Gonzo's lover. She's usually the only chicken wearing red lipstick.
posted by gomichild at 5:23 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]

Or has blue eyelids or something. Anyway she really should DTMF because he claims he can't tell the chickens apart and often goes off with other chickens "accidentally".
posted by gomichild at 5:26 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]

hang on, here I am not calling MeFi by name when linking to them as the best community evah so that there's no random traffic increase and you're doing this???


*pulls remaining hair out*
posted by infini at 6:03 AM on January 9

I will only endorse this if Matt promises to take the award, stick it in a plate of beans, take a picture of it, and use that as the site's logo for one day.
posted by Pastabagel at 6:09 AM on January 9

Strobist? We're losing to strobist?! JUST SNAP YOUR DAMN PICTURES IN THE SUNLIGHT!
posted by Pastabagel at 6:11 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]

I was looking through the links in their best blog category and I found the most self-obsessed thing I had ever seen.

Jayzuz fucking kriste.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:38 AM on January 9

If MF wins, I foresee the following FPP: "Best of the Web is Best of the Web." It will be deleted for the following reason: "too meta."
posted by MarshallPoe at 6:55 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]

Devil's Rancher is looking smart in his Armani sharkskin suit, coupled with a stunning pink paisley silk tie, finished off with a black Fedora from Texas Hatters and Gucci tasseled loafers, for a fresh, yet cosmopolitan look.

Who's making the acceptance speech?
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:56 AM on January 9

Winning a Bloggie can have its privileges.

If it was not for the Bloggies, I would be still living in Mexico with a job I hated.

On the other hand, winning a Bloggie also means that your blog is about to become irrelevant.
posted by dirty lies at 7:13 AM on January 9

Quick, someone get Nate Silverman to check their methodology!
posted by cjorgensen at 7:19 AM on January 9

You mean Nate Silver?
posted by delmoi at 7:37 AM on January 9

I voted for dg. This bit by wendell where he refers to it, 'will wendell', not so much. Too Ricky Henderson.
posted by geekyguy at 7:46 AM on January 9

How the fuck do we rate lower than a Flickr group? AMAEZING!!!!11

On the other hand, winning a Bloggie also means that your blog is about to become irrelevant.

That actually happens when a blogger types" "Hey all, this is my very first post on my blog."
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:56 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]

this is my very first post on my blog

Over a hundred hits; a little random clicking got me two blogs with only that first post and two more with only two posts.

Um, does anyone actually give a shit about these stupid awards?
posted by languagehat at 8:20 AM on January 9

I was looking through the links in their best blog category and I found the most self-obsessed thing I had ever seen.
There should be a warning on any link that leads to a page containing the words "our little Spider spunk-man". Please.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:43 AM on January 9

Did anyone else see "Android Community" on the list, get really excited for a second, then really disappointed?
posted by Pronoiac at 9:00 AM on January 9

Quick, someone get Nate Silverman to check their methodology!
posted by cjorgensen at 8:19 AM on January 9 [+] [!]

You mean Nate Silver?
posted by delmoi at 8:37 AM on January 9 [+] [!]

Nate Silverman's a lot like Nate Silver, except he talks dirty.
posted by lukemeister at 9:15 AM on January 9

Well, I'm sure Nate Silverman has an opinion too.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:13 AM on January 9

I'm off to make a FPP post on the ring light...or maybe I join Strobist. Or maybe I should wait to see who wins the popularity contest?
posted by cjorgensen at 10:58 AM on January 9

Um, does anyone actually give a shit about these stupid awards?

Honestly, even I don't really, but I put this up with the feeling that We The MeFites could throw a couple thousand votes into the pot with little effort, and, besides, I haven't done anything the rest of the membership could snark about for some time (needed to keep up my reputation for lameness).

My henchmen sockpuppets installed Florida voting machines at the Awards site.

They aren't working very well; we're still 60 votes behind MyOpera and 700 votes behind Strobist.

But I stand by my opinion that mathowie deserves the Lifetime Achievement Bloggie. And Nicolai started the Bloggie Awards when he was 16 or 17, so he should be outgrowing it very soon.
posted by wendell at 11:12 AM on January 9

Did David Silver's dad change their name from 'Silverberg' because he didn't want people to know he was Jewish, or am I totally making that up?
posted by box at 11:53 AM on January 9

They aren't working very well; we're still 60 votes behind MyOpera and 700 votes behind Strobist.



Can we send LiveJournal's admins to do site maintenance for Strobist?
posted by terranova at 12:15 PM on January 9

So let's go MetaFighters!

I should get some bumper stickers that use the USMC font but instead of Semper Fi it reads Meta Fi.

On second thought, no. That would probably be a terrible idea.
posted by quin at 12:16 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]

Ah, having visited the awards site, I now see how this works. They make enough categories to ensure that everyone with an internet connection gets an award, so nobody feels left out.
posted by dg at 2:33 PM on January 9

Really sad performance so far.
posted by empath at 2:50 PM on January 9

Btw, where did the Cabal thing come from? I remember reading a bunch of (there is no Cabal) jokes in the alt.music.smashingpumpkins news group as far back as the mid 90s.

Is there some ur-source for that joke that lead to it being in both places?
posted by empath at 2:53 PM on January 9

Ah.
posted by empath at 2:56 PM on January 9

Would this mean that there would be more people like me being members?



Cause I'm not in favor of that.
posted by vapidave at 5:47 PM on January 9

"our little Spider spunk-man".

What on earth does this mean? Isn't this just wrong (in keeping with the whole site)?
posted by ob at 7:54 PM on January 9

She's usually the only chicken wearing red lipstick.

I'd hit it.

Seriously, how can you expect us to vote for Metafilter when the Michael Jackson Fan Forum is a contender? You gotta show some love for the underdog here
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:26 PM on January 9

You gotta show some love for the underdog here

Loving the underdog is illegal in most states.
posted by ColdChef at 1:50 PM on January 10

Sorry, Tennessee!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:39 PM on January 10

IF ONLY PEOPLE AMERICANS WERE THIS ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT VOTING IN 2004 AMIRITE?
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:45 PM on January 11

Should this be in the sidebar? At least, now that it's not on the front of Metatalk?
posted by Kimothy at 11:48 AM on January 12

No, really, these things are ridiculous—they measure nothing and measure it poorly, and function essentially as exercises in self-promotion by the contest organizers. There's no pride in winning, no credibility leant to the site by leveraging the userbase into some weird competitive frenzy of ballot-stuffing.

I refrained from batting wendell on the head with a rolled-up newspaper, but that's about all I can manage.
posted by cortex at 12:00 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]