Bolding an entire askme question is annoying

January 29, 2009 11:28 PM

My AskMe question is more important than all the others, so I'm going to make it bold.
posted by null terminated to Etiquette/Policy at 11:28 PM (95 comments total)

Good plan, that way it will stand out.
posted by shadow vector at 11:40 PM on January 29, 2009

MEANINGLESS ONE LINE COMMENT IN BOLD FISHING FOR FAVORITES
posted by loquacious at 11:43 PM on January 29, 2009 [9 favorites]

Mind the falling sky.
posted by katillathehun at 11:44 PM on January 29, 2009

SNARKY COMMENT ABOUT MISSING LINK

POINTLESS REMINDER OF EXISTENCE OF BLINK TAG
posted by loquacious at 11:44 PM on January 29, 2009 [18 favorites]

STUNT POST RECEIEVES QUICK DELETION
posted by Navelgazer at 11:51 PM on January 29, 2009 [3 favorites]

NAVELGAZER CAN'T SPELL WHEN SLEEPY
posted by Navelgazer at 11:52 PM on January 29, 2009 [3 favorites]

So bold. So ironic.
posted by iamkimiam at 11:53 PM on January 29, 2009

WHAT HAPPENED TO BOLD LAUNDRY DETERGENT?
posted by Rumple at 11:53 PM on January 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

SPEAK LOUDLY AND CARRY A TINY FONT
posted by dhammond at 11:54 PM on January 29, 2009 [3 favorites]

I think that proper tuna salad should have both dill and sweet relish, should include hard-boiled eggs, a bit of white onion, maybe some green apple, and just enough celery to give it a bit of crunch.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:57 PM on January 29, 2009 [3 favorites]

Flashing thread.
posted by 517 at 12:00 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

*WAVES FLAG* I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:02 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

While we are on the topic of annoying AskMe Questions, I submit this one from yesterday.

1. "I got Duke at 10-1 btw. Go Devils!" No one gives a rats ass who you bet on, but since you are already counting your winnings, I'll chime in...
2. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. (especially if they are shaped like Mike Kryzewski's dome.)
3. You are not smarter than the bookmakers. They gave you Duke at 10-1 odds because they know that you and every other frontrunner in America will see it as a good deal, forgetting the small detail that Duke feasts on cupcakes, runs up its record, gets a 1 seed and loses in the 3rd round of the tournament every year.
2009: started 18-1
2008: started 22-1 *Lost to WV in 2nd Round
2007: started 13-1 *Lost to VCU in 1st Round (I love Eric Maynor!)
2006: started 27-1 *Lost to LSU in 3rd Round
2005: started 16-1 *Lost to Michigan St. in 3rd Round
2004: started 21-1 *Lost to UConn in 5th Round
2003: started 12-1 *Lost to Kansas in 3rd Round
2002: started 21-1 *Lost to Indiana in 3rd Round
4. NCAA games are not played at Cameron Indoor Stadium. There will not be ACC refs and every time Kyle Singler or Jon Scheyer hits the floor like piggy #1's straw house a charge will not be called.
5. Your favorite basketball team sucks.
posted by clearly at 12:03 AM on January 30, 2009 [12 favorites]

Gotta give the kid props; it was a bold move.
posted by carsonb at 12:04 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

I said, I've got a big stick.
posted by Pronoiac at 12:07 AM on January 30, 2009

BOLD COMMENT IS BOLD.
posted by Pronoiac at 12:07 AM on January 30, 2009 [3 favorites]

@BitterOldPunk: YES.
posted by Nattie at 12:09 AM on January 30, 2009

This thread is probably the most use of the bold tag (and the bold font face) I've seen in a very long time, and it's just reminding me why italics are so friggin' awesome.
posted by Phire at 12:20 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

Haha! With all the questions bold, my italics question style will conquer all!
posted by dirigibleman at 12:54 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

I fixed it.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:02 AM on January 30, 2009

I can't drink anymore coffee, my eyes are getting all buggy.
posted by From Bklyn at 1:06 AM on January 30, 2009

I figured it was just an accident. An anchor/href tag without a valid href shows up as bold.
posted by orthogonality at 1:50 AM on January 30, 2009

dirigibleman: "Haha! With all the questions bold, my italics question style will conquer all!"

Shh!! You're giving Italians a bad name!

...

I'll go now.
posted by Phire at 2:03 AM on January 30, 2009

CAUTION! CAUTION! NUCLEAR LAUNCH DETECTED!
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 3:03 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

Doing the exactly the same thing in MeTa you're complaining about in AskMe... and getting away with it. Well done.
posted by nthdegx at 3:06 AM on January 30, 2009

my metatalk comment is extremely insignificant. look away! look away!
posted by taz at 3:28 AM on January 30, 2009 [2 favorites]

Celery does not belong in tuna salad, or indeed anywhere.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:42 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

Why wasn't this thread null terminated?
posted by gman at 4:09 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

This comment is self-referential.
posted by DU at 4:19 AM on January 30, 2009

This comment is not.
posted by yhbc at 4:36 AM on January 30, 2009

I fixed it.
posted by mathowie

Late to the thread. I give up. Fixed what? This thread still seems broken.
posted by gman at 4:58 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

HAI GUIZ WATS GOING ON
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:10 AM on January 30, 2009

Succes favours the bold.
posted by jouke at 5:16 AM on January 30, 2009

reminding me why italics are so friggin' awesome.

FTFY
posted by DU at 5:28 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
posted by amtho at 5:40 AM on January 30, 2009 [3 favorites]

Late to the thread. I give up. Fixed what? This thread still seems broken.

Don't give up yet gman, here, I'll help. Read the thread starters comment. He's saying he will bold an askme question because he thinks it is more important. Now why would he say a thing like that? All questions are equal on askme, And why would he say it in metatalk? He hasn't actually started an askme thread where the text is bolded so is he lying? Maybe he is trying to say something about a question that he didn't ask himself? What could his point be? And now Matt steps in to say he has 'fixed' it. What could 'it' be if it is not this metatalk thread?
Keep thinking about it.
posted by Catfry at 5:42 AM on January 30, 2009 [4 favorites]

My cat?
posted by gman at 6:02 AM on January 30, 2009

We'll often fix overformatting stuff like this when we see it. My personal pet peeve is pullquotes where someone makes an entire apragraph the anchor for the A HREF so that the entire paragraph is one big blue lump (yes I use the simple stylesheet).
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:20 AM on January 30, 2009

Zombies!
A Head!!
Run!!!
posted by Mister_A at 6:24 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

This is super important. That is why it is underlined.
posted by inigo2 at 6:26 AM on January 30, 2009 [2 favorites]

I actually didn't even notice your nickname when I made that last comment about what was fixed. Having said that, I understand why the poster posted this, but I assumed "I fixed it." meant a link to an example was added by Matt to the original post (which I never saw because I came into the thread recently).
posted by gman at 6:28 AM on January 30, 2009

I always flag such shenanigans.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:30 AM on January 30, 2009 [2 favorites]

My personal pet peeve is pullquotes where someone makes an entire apragraph the anchor for the A HREF so that the entire paragraph is one big blue lump

example
posted by inigo2 at 6:32 AM on January 30, 2009

Doing the exactly the same thing in MeTa you're complaining about in AskMe... and getting away with it. Well done.


Isn't that the whole point of MeTa?

Crap. I think I've been doing it wrong.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:43 AM on January 30, 2009

WHERE EVERYTHING IS BOLD NOTHING IS BOLD
posted by Mister_A at 7:06 AM on January 30, 2009 [2 favorites]

Man you would not believe my peeve collection.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:06 AM on January 30, 2009

Let me ask more plainly. Why is it okay to do something in Metatalk that it's wrong to do in Ask Metafilter?
posted by nthdegx at 7:10 AM on January 30, 2009

Why is it okay to do some things in the bathroom, if it isn't okay to do them in the kitchen?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 7:24 AM on January 30, 2009 [4 favorites]

Anything I do in the bathroom, I also do in the kitchen.
posted by gman at 7:30 AM on January 30, 2009

Let me ask more plainly. Why is it okay to do something in Metatalk that it's wrong to do in Ask Metafilter?

YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY BE SERIOUS.
posted by languagehat at 7:31 AM on January 30, 2009 [3 favorites]

Why is it okay to do something in Metatalk that it's wrong to do in Ask Metafilter?

Because each part of the site is different. I know this is a little A = A but really, MeTa is a lot more informal and people screw around here more, it's like a release valve for tensions and grabassery that isn't allowed on the other parts of the site. So stupid style stuff is usually tolerated with a groan not edited/deleted with gritted teeth.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:34 AM on January 30, 2009

*Whizzes in the punch bowl*

AT LEAST I DIDN'T PUT MY DICK IN THE MASHED POTATOES
posted by Mister_A at 7:35 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

If I may be so bold as to say I have no opinion on this matter...
posted by blue_beetle at 7:38 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

DAMN YOU MISTER_A, I WAS GOING TO MAKE THE SAME REFERENCE.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:42 AM on January 30, 2009

Let me ask more plainly. Why is it okay to do something in Metatalk that it's wrong to do in Ask Metafilter?

Metatalk is slower-paced, lower visibility, and pretty overwhelmingly read and populated only by mefites with an eye on how the sausage is made. There's not as much of a problem with blasting weirdness out to the masses, or as much of a problem with e.g. setting a bad and easily-emulated example. All that combines to make the front page of the grey a bit more of an ongoing experiment than the front page of the green, basically.

That's not to say anything goes, but we tolerate a lot more randomness and obnoxiousness here than elsewhere. If people started making a consistent point of bolding the text of their metatalk posts, then we'd have an issue and we'd start shutting that shit down, but as a one-off we'll just go ahead and let it slide with a groan or a bemused chuckle or whatever.

Or what Jessamyn said.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:42 AM on January 30, 2009

So donkey porn is okay on MetaTalk, but not on any of the other sites.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:51 AM on January 30, 2009

Well, Donkey Kong porn would probably do really well on The Blue.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 7:55 AM on January 30, 2009

And who says "Go Devils" at a Duke game? As the child of a Duke employee who grew up making faces behind Krzyzewski's back when I passed his racquetball court, I find this as ear-grating as being called "North Caro-lye-nan" (it's Carolinian!) or ordering a Coke and getting a "pop."

Love 'em or burn 'em in effigy, they're the Blue Devils. BLUE DEVILS. For the love of the blink tag, BLUE DEVILS.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:55 AM on January 30, 2009

I don't think devils burn.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:03 AM on January 30, 2009

You could use AskMe to attain a general consensus about where to find the best donkey porn.
posted by gman at 8:03 AM on January 30, 2009

DAMN YOU MISTER_A, I WAS GOING TO MAKE THE SAME REFERENCE.

Needs more BOLD, grapefruitmoon.
posted by Mister_A at 8:17 AM on January 30, 2009

Metafilter: an eye on how the sausage is made.
posted by ob at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2009

BOLD AND GOLD IS THE WAY TO GO MAN!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:24 AM on January 30, 2009

I can't stress this enough NEVER let the cabal see you blink otherwise they'll be on you like a pack of wolves.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:29 AM on January 30, 2009

Fortune favors the bold.
posted by box at 8:47 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

Anything I do in the bathroom, I also do in the kitchen.

Those are two altogether different types of loaf that we're talking about though.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:51 AM on January 30, 2009

AT LEAST I DIDN'T PUT MY DICK IN THE MASHED POTATOES

THAT'S BECAUSE THIS ISN'T THAT KIND OF PARTY.
posted by shmegegge at 8:53 AM on January 30, 2009

My cat? cool cat, good cat.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:03 AM on January 30, 2009

"How bold one gets when one is sure of being loved"
posted by quin at 9:08 AM on January 30, 2009

"Celery does not belong in tuna salad, or indeed anywhere."

Philistine.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 9:25 AM on January 30, 2009

what
posted by not_on_display at 9:53 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

I Saw The Figure 5 In Gold Bold
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2009

No worse than

repeated for emphasis
posted by electroboy at 10:51 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

Other people read differently formatted text in different tones of mental voice, right?

Bold are loud.
Italics are clearly enunciated.
ALL CAPS are slow, loud, monotone.

Should I just go do this on AskMe?
posted by Pronoiac at 10:56 AM on January 30, 2009

Don your fedora and hie to the green, Pronoiac. Lovely nickname, while we're at it.
posted by Mister_A at 10:57 AM on January 30, 2009

Done, & thanks!
posted by Pronoiac at 11:08 AM on January 30, 2009

Clearly - Yeah, I shouldn't have posted a dumb question without looking in the obvious place first. But my ticket was on the fridge at home and I had a couple of minutes free. I can't defend Duke's record over the past few years, though.

Metroid Baby - There are a couple of cheers that use "go Devils" without calling them the Blue Devils. There's the generic "let's go Devils, *clap clap clapclapclap* and there's also a bit that goes with the fight song where there's a drum beat and then a "go Devils" accompanied by a fist pump arm motion.

(I went to Duke, graduated in 2000.)
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 11:10 AM on January 30, 2009

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



Okay, it's offically time for an Internet Break.
posted by Dr-Baa at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

BitterOldPunk is completely and thoroughly wrong about what belongs in tuna salad. I say this without needing to bold, italicize, or blinkify the text. In tuna salad, there should be tuna, some mayo, maybe a squeeze of lemon juice, and some black pepper. That is all. Relish is an abomination, as is celery. And any mayo except Hellman's/Best Foods (depending on which U.S. coast you're on) is unacceptable.

Regarding the Blue Devils, a friend of mine who's a Duke fan has, for the last few seasons, taken to calling douchebags. Given how they've been playing, it seems to fit.
posted by rtha at 12:25 PM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

mmm.... grabassery.....
posted by JeffK at 12:37 PM on January 30, 2009

What you are describing, rtha, is no more tuna salad than a transmission is a sports car. Tuna salad can be so much more, if only you'd let it. Why do you hate tuna salad so? Tuna salad is a joyous, happy, optimistic food -- a food for picnics and springtime, a filling and satisfying food as comfortable nestled next to a leaf of Bibb lettuce as it is spread between two slices of cheap white bread. It is not some tawdry quick fix, hastily flung into a bowl and consumed with the same spoon used to scoop the mayo! Respect the tuna salad!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:59 PM on January 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

Here's my personal recipe for tuna salad:

One can of Bumble Bee tuna in oil.
One generous dollop of mayonaisse
One tablespoon Dijon mustard
A handful of diced red grapes
A handful of chopped celery
A palmful of dill
One thermometer's worth of mercury
A spray of lime juice

Many people skimp on the mercury. This is a mistake. You simply will not get that "fresh from the fisherman's net" flavor without it.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:19 PM on January 30, 2009

Marisa: but, but, but, but I love the taste of struvite in my lunch! But the mercury ruins it!

Dear God, can someone help us reconcile these problems?
posted by mephron at 1:38 PM on January 30, 2009

Fans of struvite can substitute the mercury with trichloroethylene. This will also give your tuna that authentic old fashioned taste.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:43 PM on January 30, 2009

In tuna salad, there should be tuna, some mayo, maybe a squeeze of lemon juice, and some black pepper. That is all. Relish is an abomination, as is celery. And any mayo except Hellman's/Best Foods (depending on which U.S. coast you're on) is unacceptable.

One generous dollop of mayonaisse
One tablespoon Dijon mustard
A handful of diced red grapes
A handful of chopped celery
A palmful of dill
One thermometer's worth of mercury
A spray of lime juice

You're all wrong. It should be: solid white tuna, little mayo, yellow mustard, celery, Old Bay.

If you're feeling crazy, slice some artichoke hearts and add some black beans.
posted by Pax at 1:58 PM on January 30, 2009

Man.. I keep telling everyone: powdered fibreglass is the key -- I repeat: KEY -- ingredient in tunafish salad. Otherwise, you're never going to end up killing anyone. At least that's what momma used to say.
posted by not_on_display at 2:07 PM on January 30, 2009

SPINNING HEADLINES LEAVE READERS NAUSEATED
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:14 PM on January 30, 2009

A little mustard in tuna salad is okay. I'm in a mixed marriage (my partner despises mayo), so when I'm making tuna salad for the both of us, it goes something like this:

Tuna
lemon or lime juice
mustard
some chopped red onion
black pepper
diced avocado
marinated artichoke hearts (if we have some; mix in a little of the marinade, especially if the tuna is water-packed)

I maintain that relish and celery are right out.
posted by rtha at 2:19 PM on January 30, 2009

I maintain that relish and celery are right out.

Heathen.

I'm from a simpler time, when tuna salad means tuna + mayo + relish. Maybe it's not a simpler time, maybe it's just my mother is from Minnesota, where Velveeta is considered a "food." Anyhow. Relish is totally necessary. None of your fancy artichokes will be sullying my tuna.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2009

Metafilter: a release valve for tensions and grabassery.
posted by killdevil at 3:50 PM on January 30, 2009

Tuna Salad is the first meal I learned to prepare for myself.

Tuna salad is when you make two holes on the can with a screwdriver, one to let the air in and and the other to suck the contents out.
posted by dirty lies at 4:47 PM on January 30, 2009

gman writes "Anything I do in the bathroom, I also do in the kitchen."

Remind me never to accept a dinner invitation.
posted by krinklyfig at 5:42 PM on January 30, 2009

The key to tuna salad is making the tuna as dry as possible. This is a gross and disgusting procedure which I learned how to do in the kitchen of a health food restaurant, where we made tuna salad in giant metal bowls every other day and we didn't use no Nasoya mayonnaise or fancy pants dolphin safe tuna or organic celery neither, no sir. You squeeze the tuna with your hands, fistful by fistful, until all the water has dripped out and it is super dry and flaky, even. Then you add
* Mayonnaise (I use Dukes, myself, and only Dukes but your favorite health food place uses the big Sysco plastic vat and it's none the worse, really)
* Finely chopped celery
* Finely chopped red onion
* Dill - in Maryland you add Old Bay but in North Carolina that will make people uneasy
* Pepper
* a finely chopped dill pickle
And that is tuna salad for the gods, and the gods charge like $8 a pound for it at chichi health food restaurants.
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:50 PM on January 30, 2009

Bold are loud.
Italics are clearly enunciated.
ALL CAPS are slow, loud, monotone.


SMALL CAPS IS TIME-CONSUMING.
posted by davejay at 7:41 PM on January 30, 2009

ǝʍ llɐɥs ɥʇıʍ ɹǝʌo sıɥʇ ʇǝƃ ʇsnɾ s,ʇǝl
posted by dmd at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2009 [1 favorite]