BuffyFilter?

February 4, 2002 10:36 AM

Buffyfilter!
What would you who want a buffyfilter want? (I've got the url, a hosting provider and matt's permission...) i want to write it in perl/mysql, because i think that that would be fun. i have some ideas, but they are in my head.

posted by goneill to general weblog-related at 10:36 AM (70 comments total)

Why wouldn't you just use the board of a Buffy fan site?

Just wondering.
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:38 AM on February 4, 2002

because they are all awful. trust me, it's impossible to find a good level of discourse. it's kind of like the difference between sportsfilter and espn.
posted by goneill at 10:40 AM on February 4, 2002

Finaly!a place to post my excilint, excilnt fan fiction!
posted by dong_resin at 11:07 AM on February 4, 2002

ok: so buffy, angel, and the new bbc show 'the watcher' are on topic.
special section for star stuff, which i HATE...
special section just for spoilers of current US season.
special like-metatalk section...

not on-topic:
dark angel, alias, etc.
new yahoo news groups

maybe:
columns(?)


posted by goneill at 11:08 AM on February 4, 2002

one more thing...

a spot for dong_resin's fan fiction.
posted by goneill at 11:09 AM on February 4, 2002

special section for star stuff, which i HATE

What else is there? The show probably has one major bit of news a month and since Marti Noxon has picked up the production duties, the writing has been sub par. There are no season long story arcs. It seems like everything has been resolvable in 60 minutes or less lately. Plus I can't really stomach conversations about SMG's new 'do or what a hunk Riley is (it's bad enough that he's coming back).

As for the difference between sportsfilter and espn, espn isn't so bad, at least it has professional sports writers. The Buffy boards are the next best thing to video game boards. I don't know how you can raise the level of discourse if you consider that the people on that board are the people that will be Googling for your site and crashing the party.

Good Luck. (I truly mean that, considering I'm addicted to Angel and would like to see you succeed at this.)
posted by eyeballkid at 11:20 AM on February 4, 2002

When you're done, get busy on the FactsOfLifeFilter!

The world demands more Tootie!
posted by Kafkaesque at 11:25 AM on February 4, 2002

so where is it?
posted by sadie01221975 at 11:35 AM on February 4, 2002

don't be so mean kafkaesque

eyeballkid:
- there is a lot to discuss in buffy and angel. i know, because i have no real friends to discuss it with.
- the party could have good security that keeps the riff raff out.


posted by goneill at 11:40 AM on February 4, 2002

it only resides in my imagination now. do you have suggestions sadie?
posted by goneill at 11:40 AM on February 4, 2002

Slayage.com already does a pretty good job as a Buffy weblog. I don't mean to pee in your cornflakes, 'cause you have a lot of enthusiasm for this project. I'm just not sure why I (rabid Buffy fanatic) would go to yet another site when I can pretty much get the same info elsewhere. Just playing devil's advocate...
posted by acornface at 11:42 AM on February 4, 2002

I'd visit a BuffyFilter site, but like some of the people above I'm a little mystified as to how it would work out in the long run.

But really, that all pales in comparison to the important issue here: Riley is coming back? Ugh?
posted by jess at 11:43 AM on February 4, 2002

Perhaps you need something more general, like a tvfilter or a scififilter...
posted by owillis at 11:53 AM on February 4, 2002

i'm fine with mighty big TV's reviews, actually. no discussion needed. this season's "buffy gets a job" and "dawn gets a zit" storylines have rendered the show useless.
posted by patricking at 12:33 PM on February 4, 2002

I think you just need to subscribe to my e-mail mailing list where I've had a special place in my heart for buffy discourse for the past few years.

(grin)

Uh, no, really, um.. I always hate trying to figure out backstory stuff.. not that I need any back story stuff since I got my TiVo, of course. But like, an episode progression, and all.

Not that I watch buffy or anything or am addicted. Because I can stop anytime I want.
posted by rich at 12:40 PM on February 4, 2002

Not that I watch buffy or anything or am addicted. Because I can stop anytime I want.

Hear, hear! Me too.

*quicky turning down speakers which may have been playing tracks from "Once More, With Feeling."*


Ed
musicals 'r us.

posted by ebarker at 12:43 PM on February 4, 2002

quickly, dammit.

My speeling is usualy better.

posted by ebarker at 12:44 PM on February 4, 2002

I want BuffyFilter. Of course, it would probably make more sense to have PopCultureFilter (say that six times fast!) But I still want BuffyFilter.
posted by headspace at 12:51 PM on February 4, 2002

Lots of good things could be born out of a site that really looks critically at Buffy as an example of a really really good show that has struggled in the way most well-written TV serials struggle. At least, that'd be for my money a good feature of a column, goneil. As for the whole site -- I guess some amount of fan trivia is a natural part, but I'd be more interested in reading if it used Buffy as a something against which you bounced thoughts about TV/entertainment/culture/pancakes in general. Because however much I like a given TV show (and Buffy has been one of the few TV shows in the past ten years that hasn't been for me a guilty pleasure -- I have been a pround fan), there's only so much one can say if one sticks to the substance of the show itself.
posted by BT at 12:52 PM on February 4, 2002

I would dig a more general sci-fi-filter, actually, and I bet a lot of other geeks would too. Something a lot like the SF RoundTable(s) on GEnie used to be.
posted by kindall at 12:54 PM on February 4, 2002

I would dig a more general sci-fi-filter, actually, and I bet a lot of other geeks would too. Something a lot like the SF RoundTable(s) on GEnie used to be.
posted by kindall at 12:54 PM on February 4, 2002

OK: i get the sci-fi thing, i really do - i don't really feel capable of managing such a thing though, i don't really know enough.

I have thoughts and feeling and ideas about what is going on in buffyverse, and how it relates to our universe, and I would like to share them with people. Unfortunately, my friends don't watch buffy, and the people who do watch buffy do not talk about the things that I want them to talk about.

I would like to have a buffyfilter without any fan talk. Is that possible? Perhaps.
I really like what BT just said. I think that that is where we should start.
posted by goneill at 1:03 PM on February 4, 2002

behind the website — buffyfilter.com

goneill and i have previously discussed buffyfilter at length, so i feel qualified to speak to her intentions for the site.

the notion of a buffyfilter was first raised here and here, as part of a metatalk thread about smaller, more topic-specific metafilters (of which sportsfilter is a successful example).

goneill's vision for buffyfilter is to create a buffy the vampire slayer discussion community/weblog with a metafilter-style interface and a metafilter-esque level of discourse, the membership of which would build outward from buffy fans among metafilter members to include buffy fans webwide.

goneill feels that there is a need for such a website because:

• buffy is a quality television program with a (generally speaking) smarter than average fan base; the potential therefore exists for literate and probing discussions to arise from each new episode.
• current internet-based discussion avenues pretty much uniformly suck.

buffyfilter would not be a straight weblog, like the previously mentioned slayage. buffyfilter would be geared more towards discussion. slayage offers news about the show and its stars; buffyfilter would offer viewer opinions, reactions, and predictions. goneill specifically mentioned cordoning off 'spoilers' and 'celebrity crap' because they are only tangentially related to the true purpose of the site (she told me that such stuff would ideally be banned, but that it wasn't practical in the world of tv show fandom).

buffyfilter would be a place to discuss such episode-specific topics as the imminent return of riley (and not what a hunk he is, but what his appearance on the show means to buffy, the character) or such overarching themes as eyeballkid's theory that 'everything is resolvable in 30 minutes or less lately'.

it is reasonable to expect that there would be heavy traffic every tuesday night into wednesday, with much lighter and more general discussion during the rest of the week. could this be accomplished with simply a mailing list? almost, but not quite. and a mailing list alone doesn't really confer the sense of place necessary to building a successful community. a website could do that.

it is goneill's intention, once buffyfilter becomes reasonably successful (a state that is not determined by how many users the site can claim, but by the quality of discussion by the users that are participating), to solicit contributions from sarah kuhn and perhaps even joss himself.

she just registered the domain this morning and posted here to solicit any ideas potential participants might have before she dove into actually building the site. and all you kids could do is snark at her. for shame!

constructive criticism only from here on out, please. oh, and i know that she'd appreciate a couple of posts saying 'hey, what a great idea! i can't wait! do you want money?' or whatever.
posted by mlang at 1:03 PM on February 4, 2002

full disclosure:

goneill & i are in lurve. but that doesn't affect my objectivity at all. i still think this is 'a great idea! i can't wait! i wonder if she wants money...'
posted by mlang at 1:12 PM on February 4, 2002

oh, and i forgot (i know, it's hard to believe that i left anything out, but i did):

how do you keep the riffraff out? follow mathowie's example:

• turn new user signups on and off without warning (force prospective members to lurk (or email goneill) while waiting for signups to come back online. those lacking the requisite buffymania will just give up and leave).
• require a certain number of comments before allowing post to the front page.
• smite those that must be smote.

posted by mlang at 1:19 PM on February 4, 2002

general populace: please don't let mlang's fervent posting stop you from replying. no money is necessary for the time being. but thoughts/suggestions are.
posted by goneill at 1:32 PM on February 4, 2002

I'd also go for a generic scifi site over a Buffy-specific one. But that's just me. Good luck with it, goneill.
posted by D at 1:59 PM on February 4, 2002

There have only been three TV shows I have ever watched that have forced me to write related fiction (the "fanfic" word just grates on my nerves):

Star Trek
Highlander
Buffy

All have been very well done (mostly), and as BT noted upstream in this thread, all have struggled. All deal with larger-than-life Grand Themes (mankind's future, good vs. evil, etc.), and all....

wait. I really am a geek.

Ed
putting on beanie, spinning propeller, flying away.

posted by ebarker at 2:08 PM on February 4, 2002

As for the difference between sportsfilter and espn, espn isn't so bad, at least it has professional sports writers.

Espn is indeed a fantastic sports site (with professional sports writers). Sportsfilter is not suppose to replace espn nor even compete with it, which is one reason it doesn't have professional sportswriters.

It would be like comparing cnn with metafilter. It's a comparison of apples and oranges.
posted by justgary at 2:21 PM on February 4, 2002

that's sort of my point with comparing what i want to create with the discussion boards on buffy fan sites. it's different. there are discussion boards on cnn, but we still need metafilter. there are discussion boards on buffy sites, but i think that there is still a need for buffyfilter.
posted by goneill at 2:25 PM on February 4, 2002

I would love to see a buffyfilter. I also am addicted to the show and have no one to discuss it with (except boyfriend, who really doesn't want to talk about it). I'm curious as to how the site would avoid pancakes, though...is there enough to link to out there? Or would there be sort of topic postings, such as Spike's redemption (which is something I would love to talk about)? Perhaps you could avoid endless posts about the previous night's episode by limiting posts to one per character...or there could be a general "last night's episode" post. Sorry, I 'm just thinking out loud. And I can actually think of several academic Buffy articles that I would be posting.

I wish you luck in this...I would *definately* join.
posted by kittyloop at 2:57 PM on February 4, 2002

There's already a whole Buffy-discussion culture on MightyBigTVTelevision Without Pity's Buffy boards. The software is decent, the level of writing and moderation are high (spoilers are well-controlled), and there's a fanfic section.

And Slayage does do a great job of rounding up daily Buffy links.

I just don't see a need.
posted by nicwolff at 3:32 PM on February 4, 2002

But it'd be a shame to waste the cool URL.
posted by nicwolff at 3:36 PM on February 4, 2002

What would you who want a buffyfilter want?

Naked pix of Alyson Hannigan. MMM...willow pr0n.
posted by jonmc at 3:39 PM on February 4, 2002

jon, my man! You may not use Macs, but I knew we had something in common... (Warning: link to hot witch pics.)
posted by nicwolff at 3:43 PM on February 4, 2002

I'm curious as to why you need Matt's permission to do BuffyFilter. Just do it.

You might want to look at Scoop.
posted by jacobw at 3:49 PM on February 4, 2002

I'm in. I too find most of the existing Buffyboards to be pretty sophmoric.

In any event, I wouldn't sweat it too much about whether there's a need for it - if you have a vision of a kick-ass Buffy site, I say start coding.
posted by varmint at 3:56 PM on February 4, 2002

so, what do you do when they cancel the show? Is the whole Buffy phenomenon winding up, or winding down? Or will the show just keep going, and going?

I don't want to be negative, but it seems like an awful lot of work and trouble if they cancel it next season. Better to go for something with a broader appeal, is all I mean.
posted by crunchland at 4:04 PM on February 4, 2002

I agree with crunchland on this. If you start this you need a wider range of discussion. Could be scifi or even broader to include other genre.
posted by bjgeiger at 4:31 PM on February 4, 2002

sci-fi would probably be a better and broader topic. no doubt there are numerous fans of buffy that catch b5, farscape, the raimi shows [xena, hercules - do they even show them anymore?] and a broader discussion base may be the better ideas for the metafilter audience at large.

i've been working at getting something mefi influenced [computer underground related] off the ground using ben brown's discuss, but dear god i'd love to be using something a bit closer to matt's code.
posted by boogah at 5:07 PM on February 4, 2002

the spoiler slayer is a halfway decent buffy related weblog, but the author removed the comments and is kind of snotty about reader input. if you can get past his ego and needless commentary, it's a good place for sorting spoilers.
posted by phooey at 8:03 PM on February 4, 2002

hey. i think i came up with the term "buffyfilter" so i'd like some royalties if the site ever makes it big.

2 suggestions. read Watcher's Guide and Watcher's Guide 2.

also, on the official buffy site, they have a good message board with knowledgable people answering questions and discussing buffy-type stuff.
posted by sadie01221975 at 8:52 PM on February 4, 2002

By the way, the Television Without Pity Buffy boards are kind of double-plus-ungood, in my opinion. And the 1984 reference is apt. It's moderated like Big Brother. The board moderators (who double as recappers for all the episodes) were fond of the show in its campier, high school, happy fun-fun days, but now seem to hate it worse than 7th Heaven (which isn't possible. it's just not). So the community there is rather bilious (for the most part, there are signs of change). And the moderators tend to harshly stifle any dissent from the dissent about the show (would that be 'sent'?). It's a pretty darn depressing place, if you're a fan. Buffyfilter would absolutely rock my existence.

And when it ends, we'll reminisce about it in syndication. :) But there's at least a season-and-a-half to go, so code away!
posted by grrarrgh00 at 9:21 PM on February 4, 2002

Reading this thread today inspired me to create TVBlog. Somebody employ me, I have waaaay too much time on my hands.
posted by owillis at 9:27 PM on February 4, 2002

This is all just very clever, deadpan meta-parody, right?

Right?

Please?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:38 AM on February 5, 2002

I'm with stavros, are we not in on some really bad joke? I want to start laughing now, but it's one of those weird I-don't-know-if-you're-telling-a-joke silences currently.
posted by Homeskillet Freshy Fresh at 2:21 AM on February 5, 2002

no. you may not laugh. although i sound like a parody of my usual bratty self, buffy is a really really good show. plus angel will carry on. i'm going to code away. if you are willing to make suggestions, and/or help in some way please email me...

sorry stavros, normally i'm right there with you. i just can't be this time.
posted by goneill at 6:47 AM on February 5, 2002

as goneill's designated attack.dog/lap.dog, please allow me to respond briefly (i promise) to a couple of the points that have been raised.

1. buffyfilter vs. sci-fi.filter?
   there is no doubt that a less specifically-targeted site would draw much more traffic/offer much more content...but goneill has no interest in such a project (she is not a sci-fi fan, just a buffy fan). she is not looking to develop a 'successful' website or to replicate the 'metafilter experience' for science fiction fans; the buffyfilterfounder simply wants to have a place where she can discuss buffy with other like-minded (and like-intelligenced fans). if someone else wants to run with the sci-fi.filter idea, please feel free to do so.
2. splintering of the mefi community?
   never happen. at least not from buffyfilter, which is a supplement to metafilter, not a replacement for it.
3. buffyfilter a parody?
   stavros (of all people) should already know this: everything that goneill does is a parody. but that won't keep her from going forward with this project. at least until she gets bored.
4. oliver's tv blog looks good so far. worth reading. i'd post to the blog itself, but my work computer thinks that the comment links go to 'adult content' and won't let me near. how does one get to be a contributor?

posted by mlang at 8:01 AM on February 5, 2002

full disclosure:

i don't watch buffy but occasionally. i get confused about dawn and glory and what's willow's girlfriend's name? and the girl who was a rat? who are these people?

if anyone wants to start a law&orderfilter, i'm game. except that participants must swear to watch law & order (and all of its offspring) every time it is broadcast. this means, for example, that on wednesday night, all l&ofi members must watch a&e from 7 to 8, tnt from 8 to 9, tnt again from 9 to 10, and nbc from 10 to 11. bonus points will be awarded to those members who can stay awake after that for blind date, shipmates, and change of heart.
posted by mlang at 8:12 AM on February 5, 2002

Sorry if I started an anti-Buffster trend here. BuffyFilter is, of course, just fine. I'm sure SportsFilter seems pretty goofy to people who don't watch sports.

But do we really need a different _____Filter for every prime time TV show? I think Oliver's TVBlog makes more sense.
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:43 AM on February 5, 2002

MARTIN
Willow and Tara aren't going out anymore, Glory is dead - Giles killed her/him in a Ripper-like move, and Amy might be a portion of the 'really big-bad who all were friends with the scoobies' big bad.
Geez, sometimes I wonder why i bother with you.
posted by goneill at 8:45 AM on February 5, 2002

Also, magic now seems to be roughly equivalent to heroin, and Willow is "detoxing." I'm hoping against hope that I'm not really, truly being asked to be sympathetic with her struggle. How could any real fan watch the show thinking "Gosh, I sure am glad Willow doesn't use magic anymore"?
posted by bingo at 10:02 AM on February 5, 2002

My mind is still reeling from the knowledge that Matt said this was cool when he has been pretty against other brand-diluting FooFilter spinoffs in the past. (That's not meant as a knock on your project, btw, it just seems like an uncharacteristic mathowie move)
posted by briank at 10:02 AM on February 5, 2002

briank meet jacobw
jacobw, this is briank,
talk amongst yourselves
posted by goneill at 10:47 AM on February 5, 2002

Slayage.com, Spoilerslayer.com, Stake & Cross and TelevisionWithoutPity are my daily rounds. I filter a bit on my own BtVS/ASH blog (in the sidebar of my main blog).

It would be good to have a 'Buffyfilter.com' with all the functionality of Metafilter. I could stop doing my sideblog and post my stuff where somebody'd actually read it.
posted by prolific at 12:35 PM on February 5, 2002

If anyone wants to join TVBlog, slap me an email...
posted by owillis at 1:44 PM on February 5, 2002

This is one of the first clear indications that I've gotten that I am really out of touch with the wacky kids of today.

<voice style="geezer;">I'll just go adjust my truss, shall I?</voice>

Carry on, you wacky kids.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:40 PM on February 5, 2002

I'm right there with you, Wonderchicken.

I admit I don't get the whole teevee blog thing at all. It's television. Once you watch it, it's pretty much over. The appeal of parsing the details of even a well done show like Buffy flies right past me.

Godspeed and all to goneill & owillis, but I'm on the outside, here.
`Course, I'm still on page one of the Tax Collector, so I recognize the weak link in the group discussion chain is likely me.


posted by dong_resin at 9:39 PM on February 5, 2002

Tax Inspector.
Damnit!
You killed my father, boozerni, but you won't get me.
>burp!< /i>
posted by dong_resin at 9:44 PM on February 5, 2002

Just making sure the tag is closed.

I'm on a roll. Time for a hiatus, I think.
posted by dong_resin at 9:48 PM on February 5, 2002

ugh. I love buffy, but a buffyfilter would obviously be northern hemisphere-centric, and a perfect example of the problem with that was goneill's post. Yep! Thanks! Spoiler central.
posted by kv at 10:02 PM on February 5, 2002

I admit I don't get the whole teevee blog thing at all. It's television. Once you watch it, it's pretty much over. The appeal of parsing the details of even a well done show like Buffy flies right past me.

Then let's not discuss music, films, art, etc either. Cause they're like 'over' the minute you've seen/heard them.
posted by prolific at 1:46 AM on February 6, 2002

I guess.
I dunno, tv just seems so of the moment.
It doesn't stay with me.
posted by dong_resin at 7:43 AM on February 6, 2002

TV just gets a bad rap.
posted by prolific at 12:56 AM on February 7, 2002

Yeah. I mean if they want to dress like women, who are we to say?
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:50 AM on February 7, 2002

Yeah. I mean if they want to dress like women, who are we to say?
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:50 AM on February 7, 2002

kafkaesque, what are you talking about?
prolific: it mostly deserves a bad rap, but I am obsessed with buffy. i dream about it. i need therapy, but i think that i should indulge in this, really act like a buffy fan, and that i should get over it that way. i'll blog buffy to get rid of my obsession
posted by goneill at 9:09 PM on February 8, 2002

I'd be all for a BuffyFilter. Sounds like fun. But then I'd also check out a FriendsFilter, NorthernExposureFilter, XfilesFilter, KingoftheHillFilter, and LoonyTunesFilter, because I have no life.

I wouldn't want BuffyFilter to consist of how much people wanna see Willow naked. Or how much so and so rocks or sucks. I'd like to see people actually honestly trying to make heads or tails of the character interaction and plot elements over the past six seasons and explain to me the stuff about the show that I just don't get, cuz I'm rather nerdy that way.

So. When's BuffyFilter gonna have more than "can't create the tables" on it?

posted by ZachsMind at 8:04 PM on March 1, 2002

hey - i would like buffyfilter to be like that. it's been a whole month. i am a loser.
love,
grainne
posted by goneill at 9:16 AM on March 4, 2002

coming soon. (self link)
posted by prolific at 11:26 PM on June 24, 2002