pancakes are no longer funny

February 5, 2002 7:16 PM

oh stop it with the pancakes already.
posted by palegirl to Bugs at 7:16 PM (114 comments total)

You must admit that pancakes are tasty, though.
posted by ColdChef at 7:20 PM on February 5, 2002

As James Brown says-

"For goodness sakes, take a look at those cakes!"

posted by jonmc at 7:21 PM on February 5, 2002

palegirl, bugs and pancakes just don't go together.


I like the idea of pancake-centric MeFi gatherings. Count me in. Possibilities include DC, Richmond, NY, and (maybe) Denver.

posted by NortonDC at 7:33 PM on February 5, 2002

I'm not sure I want to meet any of you people in person, but heck, I'm in Richmond.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 7:39 PM on February 5, 2002

IHOP shall be the epicenter of the Mefiite takeover of the world...
posted by owillis at 7:46 PM on February 5, 2002

owillis - Weren't you previously located in DC?
posted by NortonDC at 7:48 PM on February 5, 2002

I was gonna buy you a beer, hotdoughnutsnow, but now you can just kiss that goodbye Mr. Misanthropic Richmonder.

Richmond has no good pancakes now that the Main Street Grill closed.
posted by machaus at 7:55 PM on February 5, 2002

are we talking about celebrating pancake day concurrently at IHOP's nationwide? what a cool idea.

and the mefi nation shall rise, melted butter and maple dripping from our ponies

maybe halfway down 95 from dc to richmond ... that there is god's IHOP country.
posted by danOstuporStar at 7:56 PM on February 5, 2002

We just got an IHOP near my house. I hadn't been to one since I lived in Dallas.

MMmmm. I sure have missed the chicken-fried steak breakfast. (With pancakes).

What was this thread about, again? Too much pancakes? Whoops, sorry.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:11 PM on February 5, 2002

Wait, that's too many pancakes.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:12 PM on February 5, 2002

To Pancake. As Lil' Rob says:

"My carrucha got so many pumps and dumps
Hydraulics, custom paint, rims and bumps
Everything I need in my low-low
I go hook it up with them vatos who can hook it up
Wrap it up from the bottom up, homeboy tear it up
When I'm done juice them up, go back out and use some up
Front, back, side to side, corner and pancake
People trip out when they see my carro shake like a Southern California earthquake
I take, many chances on this carrucha that dances"
posted by liam at 8:16 PM on February 5, 2002

I share this sentiment with Palegirl. The pancake thing.. meh.. not so much. It's got a lot of mileage on it.

Why not celebrate february's national pancake day in style, then call it quits on this one before we run out of dead horse?
posted by Hildago at 8:57 PM on February 5, 2002

You know, I had one of my first intimate experiences in an abandoned IHOP in my home town in PA. The IHOP closed in the middle 80's and sat abandoned, blue roof collecting moss, for almost 9 years. When I was a late teenager, this boy I knew and I pried up a piece of plywood and broke the window and crawled in one night. It was eerie, as most of the fixtures were still there, such as the booths and swag lamps, all cloaked in a blanket of darkness and loneliness. We had a Coleman lantern and we crept around the place, among the yellow wood and brass swags lamps, like it was a ghost ship. It was like being in The Goonies. We sat down and smoked a dubious 'herbal' cigarette and, well, one thing led to another. Let's just say I was pleased it was not a 'short stack'.

To this day, when I talk to him, I call him 'pancake'.

*wipes tear from eye*

So, you see, IHOP is very special to me. Pancakes are very special to me. I would hate to see a MeFi without pancakes. That abandoned IHOP is gone now, dozed and replaced by a CVS. But when I come to MetaFilter, it's almost like prying away that plywood and breaking that window and, amid the darkness and dry, dusty shadows, where the spirits of a million pancakes still glow, learning the true meaning of love and human warmth and oneness with myself and the cosmos.

Learn to love the pancakes, palegirl. And the pancakes will learn to love you.

Goodnight.
posted by evanizer at 9:10 PM on February 5, 2002

...because you can never go too far...
posted by obiwanwasabi at 9:12 PM on February 5, 2002

Here's another anti-pancake vote.

Down with inanity!
posted by rushmc at 9:14 PM on February 5, 2002

Up with insanity!
posted by jonmc at 9:27 PM on February 5, 2002

Sideways with everything!
posted by youhas at 9:34 PM on February 5, 2002

I'm glad you all feel supergreat about being in on the widest, lamest and most pointless in-joke of all time. Whatever.
posted by palegirl at 9:38 PM on February 5, 2002

Metafilter: Where all traditions are wrong! Especially when they annoy ME PERSONALLY! Waaah!

If you don't like it, palegirl, don't participate. Change the channel. Jesus.

posted by aaron at 9:42 PM on February 5, 2002

NortonDC: I was, now I'm in La-La Land...

Personally I enjoy the pigs in a blanket, though when I was younger the silver dollar pancakes ruled. Best thing about pancakes at IHOP?

WHIPPED CREAM on HOT CHOCOLATE.

God, it's beautiful.
posted by owillis at 9:48 PM on February 5, 2002

Since when does endless (and effortless) bandwagon-jumping by those too lazy or too ill-equipped to be original, clever or funny constitute tradition??
posted by rushmc at 9:50 PM on February 5, 2002

you think that post makes you clever, aaron?
posted by palegirl at 9:53 PM on February 5, 2002

Good question, rushmc. When your psychiatrist looks over some of your recent MetaTalk posts and gives you an answer, please let us know.
posted by aaron at 9:53 PM on February 5, 2002

rushmc, I bared my soul, fer chrissakes! What more do you want?

Geez.

;-)
posted by evanizer at 9:55 PM on February 5, 2002

Well, palegirl, it seems to have had more traction than anything you've ever posted, now hasn't it?
posted by aaron at 9:55 PM on February 5, 2002

Hey, guys, this is getting mean. Let's cool it, brothers. palegirl, I just think that pancakes are funny (and delicious). I always have. I know it is irritating to hear an in-joke that you don't find funny perpetuated; believe me, as a dorky gay boy in school, I was never privy to the dominant boys' jokes. But you just have to ignore it. It's pretty harmless as silly things go.

So, let's quit fighting and go and have some delicious pancakes, and palegirl can order whatever she wants. I'm buying.
posted by evanizer at 10:00 PM on February 5, 2002

It's entirely harmless. And they occur on every single online community in existence. To even be worked up by them is so ... bizaare.

They also almost never go away, so people really ought to get used to them.

posted by aaron at 10:05 PM on February 5, 2002

So hungry.....

I'm crying right now, and everyone in the lab is looking at me, befuddled.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:05 PM on February 5, 2002

guys :( kiss and make up :(
posted by kv at 10:07 PM on February 5, 2002

I'm all for the pancakes, but I think it is funny that palegirl posted this under "bugs".
posted by Optamystic at 10:08 PM on February 5, 2002

If you don't like it, palegirl, don't participate. Change the channel. Jesus.

Good question, rushmc. When your psychiatrist looks over some of your recent MetaTalk posts and gives you an answer, please let us know.

Well, palegirl, it seems to have had more traction than anything you've ever posted, now hasn't it?

welcome back, aaron. i'm so glad to see that you're posting and contributing to the metafilter community again. we've really missed you. so, tell us all about your wonderful and exotic adventures since you'd left us last: have you a new car? a new woman? perhaps a birdbath to adorn your backyard?
posted by moz at 10:14 PM on February 5, 2002

I'm glad you all feel supergreat about being in on the widest, lamest and most pointless in-joke of all time. Whatever.

Now you're in on it too, palegirl. You try to get out, but it keeps pulling you back in.
posted by kindall at 10:19 PM on February 5, 2002

I'm with you, Palegirl. I never found the pancake jokes particularly funny, but at this point, man...that poor dead horse is starting to look like pudding. Unfortunately Aaron is right, there's no way to tell people that a joke is old if they still find it funny. The best we can do is sit back and watch them snort about pancakes while they adjust their taped-up, black rim glasses.

Ha ha, just kidding guys. You know I love ya. But I'm glad Palegirl posted this, to give some sense of solidarity to the anti-pancake crowd. Some jokes are just too easy.
posted by Doug at 10:20 PM on February 5, 2002

Cliff would look at this thread, and it sure wouldn't make him happy. If not for yourself, do it for Cliff.
posted by owillis at 10:30 PM on February 5, 2002

welcome back, aaron. i'm so glad to see that you're posting and contributing to the metafilter community again.

Great aaron's back. Is that extra a for attitude?

I just ignore the stupid pancake posts, they're simply not funny or very "inside" about anything anymore. I think all the great insider non-jokes should just be left in MeTalk.

posted by skallas at 10:30 PM on February 5, 2002

New car? Nah. New woman? Shit, I wish. I got a "lick me, fucko" t-shirt though.

And I got a promise from the Dalai Lama that on my deathbed I'll receive total consciousness. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

posted by aaron at 10:44 PM on February 5, 2002

Complaining about pancakes? What's next, ponies?
posted by kirkaracha at 11:48 PM on February 5, 2002

Some aspects of a community's usability are more social than technical in nature. A pet peeve of mine is the spontaneous creation and mass adoption of jargon. Jargon, by its very definition describes words or phrases not used or understood by those outside a specific group. It makes those new to a community feel like an outsider, and those using it appear as self-absorbed. It's strange to watch, but we've all witnessed members come up with new acronyms, new in-jokes, and non-sequitors seemingly out of nowhere, and others quickly adopt it as an oft-used phrase. I don't think the intentions of those creating such jargon are nefarious; it's usually a form of shorthand, a new abbreviation done to save typing. What's odd about it is seeing others read and begin using it. It serves as an almost "secret code" that proves they're move involved in the community than their peers, that if you don't know what the abbreviation stands for, you must not read the site enough.

I know I've faned the flames a bit, by taking part in some friday shenanigans like posting the bunny gif with the pancakes or taking a pic of myself with pancakes, but like anything, it's good only in moderation. Making a pointless pancake post on the front page of MetaFilter does in fact look a lot like a wank-a-thon to me and isn't what I consider good for the community. I've already explained that I hate the use of the abbreviation "FPP" and prefer if people just call them "posts" or "metafilter posts" and comments are comments. The shorthand "MeFi" seems jargon-y, but I think it's an obvious enough psuedo-abbreviation that it doesn't throw people for a loop when they see it.

In the past month, I've meet several people face to face that participate occasionally and the first thing they've asked me is "what's that pancakes crap all about?" I don't mind their occasional use in MetaTalk, but their origins as a form of filling a double post with drivel is basically a form of heckling. It kills any discourse and I don't think it's a good thing to encourage the use of it.

A few reminders aaron: you don't have to put paragraph tags in all your posts, if case you have forgotten, the carriage returns are automatically interpreted as line breaks by the server. And palegirl can't simply "change the channel," she has to read everything just like you or I do, and I understand her concern for calling something out as unfunny and unacceptable. You can also lose the attitude, if you expect to interact here in any positive way.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:34 AM on February 6, 2002

You can also lose the attitude, if you expect to interact here in any positive way

Snuh? I don't see aaron doing anything since his return that others don't do regularly. Why the heavy hand, boss man?

posted by sennoma at 3:40 AM on February 6, 2002

Aw rush, maybe we do go over board, but this is a cold cruel world, and it would be colder and crueler without the occasional levity. You can't be serious all the time.

There is something so surreal about pancakes and mefi....the artist in me appreciates it....

But too many pancakes make you puke, so warning noted and heeded.

posted by bunnyfire at 4:02 AM on February 6, 2002

My memory of pancake history is that it originated with "Who here likes pancakes? I love pancakes," as an imaginary example of a link free front page post.

Given that link-free front page posts are now impossible (right?), I would think that pancake posts have lost their scolding element are now just whimsy.

And I like it that way.
posted by NortonDC at 5:17 AM on February 6, 2002

*stands with palegirl and rushmc, glares at pancake people*

*sneezes*
posted by rodii at 5:44 AM on February 6, 2002

*waffling*
posted by bunnyfire at 5:48 AM on February 6, 2002

Well. If there is a NYC pancake gathering, count me in. Welcome back, aaron.

I gotta admit, a thread on the front page about pancakes is pushing it a little. You gotta admit, though...any MetaFilter t-shirt gallery would have to include some syrupy messes on the back, or the sleeves.
posted by adampsyche at 5:54 AM on February 6, 2002

*glares with sneezing people, stands at attention*

*pancakes*
posted by iceberg273 at 6:00 AM on February 6, 2002

rutabaga.
posted by crunchland at 7:33 AM on February 6, 2002

"Pancakes" isn't just an in-joke here; it's become meta-jargon, a way to say "this thread sucks and is about to derail in the worst way so I hereby derail it in an innocent way — who's with me?". It's a way to intentionally lower the signal/noise ratio when the signal is creeping you out.

So, whether it's still cute or not you have to hate what it represents. I won't start the N^th feature-request MeTa thread about front-page categories and volunteer moderators, but that is how Television Without Pity (neé MightyBigTV) handles this and though some complain it works pretty well. Anyway, it avoids most of this kind of mob justice.
posted by nicwolff at 7:34 AM on February 6, 2002

The shorthand "MeFi" seems jargon-y

*standing in front of sacred abbreviation*

No, Boss; not the MeFi, boss!

We done lost our FPPs, done lost our pancakes, gwinn lose the beloved MeF, the MeTa now? And da monkeys too, Boss? ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:49 AM on February 6, 2002

There are no monkeys, Miguel.
posted by dong_resin at 8:01 AM on February 6, 2002

Snuh? I don't see aaron doing anything since his return that others don't do regularly. Why the heavy hand, boss man?

His posts in this thread seem to have an air of "screw you, this is what I think." I'm saying drop the screw you part and participate in a discussion with others.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:51 AM on February 6, 2002

I don't see aaron doing anything since his return that others don't do regularly.

aaron is the lamest of all trolls who contributes nothing but invective and intolerance to a thread. He is the antithesis of all that is good about Metafilter, and I cringe to see him slink back in. I can only hope that Matt's recent tightening down on trolls will soon result in a permaban.
posted by rushmc at 9:02 AM on February 6, 2002

A pet peeve of mine is the spontaneous creation and mass adoption of jargon. Jargon, by its very definition describes words or phrases not used or understood by those outside a specific group.

Like it or not, this is one of the things that makes a community a community. When this starts happening, you know that what you have has stopped being a random group of people and is fusing itself into an actual community. When it is an ongoing phenomenon, you know your community is healthy and creative because its members are bonding with each other. I think that the alarming thing is that MeFi hasn't produced any new in-jokes recently. Is this perhaps symptomatic of a loss of cohesiveness of the community? If one happened to already see things this way, one might take this as more evidence.

If you still want to be inclusive to newcomers, even with the linguisting hanky-panky, you simply put up a page explaining all the in-jokes and jargon. But it can be argued that most people worth having in the community really needs such a cheat sheet; they will eventually clue themselves in, if they decide to join the community. Joining a community might be seen as an organic process of learning that community's social norms, and not something you can profitably jump-start.

BTW, sometimes MeFi memes do jump outside the community. At the company I work for, we recently compiled a requirements document for an upcoming project. We use a Wiki for all that stuff, so it was easy for me to add "Also, a pony" to the bottom of the list. The project manager thought it was funny enough that he left it there.

Also -- welcome back, Aaron! Perhaps what we have here is a demonstration of a MetaFilter Law of Conservation of Conservatism. "All else being equal, the amount of conservatism at MetaFilter remains roughly constant." For example, if den Beste leaves, Aaron returns.
posted by kindall at 9:06 AM on February 6, 2002

Ditto what kindall said.
posted by ColdChef at 9:52 AM on February 6, 2002

rushmc, enough with the aaron bashing already. We already know that you have it out for him; it's getting pretty old.
posted by Avogadro at 10:01 AM on February 6, 2002

rushmc has a truly pathological fixation with my existence, one so overwhelming he felt the need to post two personal attacks on me in Metatalk last week, despite the fact that at the time I hadn't even logged in for several months, much less posted anything. It's beyond pathetic, and has moved into the extremely creepy category.

I can only speculate about why mathowie has no problem when most people launch attacks on others here that range from snarky to truly vicious, yet then comes down snarkily on only certain users that dare to push back ... especially when other people are openly noting his confusing double standard. But then, I'm also not the only one who noticed that the only two people to say anything even slightly negative about me in that "who do you miss" thread, or towards me since I came back, are rushmc and mathowie himself.

And yes, you can "change the channel." It's called not reading the threads that don't interest you. You have to see a few seconds of a channel on TV before you can decide you want to hit the "up" button on the remote, and you have to see the front page post to decide if you want to read it. If you don't, dont.

If I go to a restaurant and see pancakes on the menu, I don't stand up, start screaming at the all the other customers with pancakes on their plates that their choice of breakfast makes them "wildly lame and pointless" and then storm out the door in a huff. Instead, I turn the page and look at the bacon and eggs selections. Mmmm, bacon.

And thank you to the 99% of you that have welcomed me back so warmly, here and elsewhere on MeFi. Luckily, it's you people that makes this place what it is ... whatever that may be.
posted by aaron at 11:18 AM on February 6, 2002

Luckily, it's you people that makes this place what it is ... whatever that may be.

A place to discuss or not discuss pancakes and pancake discussions.

See? Full circle.
posted by iceberg273 at 11:33 AM on February 6, 2002

Oh poo, I forgot a line in the 2nd-to-last paragraph: "But if someone else did stand up and start screaming such things at the other customers, yeah, I'd probably get up myself and give it right back to that person instead of just sitting there and taking it ... whether my own plate had pancakes on it or an omelet. And I'll bet the most of the rest of the customers in the restaurant would be happy to see me do it, because they really just want to be left alone to order whatever the hell they like."

And I realize my own post just now is indeed snarkier to Matt than I really intended it to be, and implies stuff it shouldn't so I apologize to him ... but truly honestly, Matt, sometimes I just don't get where you're coming from on this subject. Actually, I almost never do, but obviously it's not a pleasant one to bring up.

Iceberg273, you ever notice breakfast places are ... full circles?
posted by aaron at 11:46 AM on February 6, 2002

Iceberg273, you ever notice breakfast places are ... full circles?

Not to mention breakfast plates.
posted by Avogadro at 12:01 PM on February 6, 2002

i missed the thread that raised palegirl's (justified) ire, but i would like the record to reflect that it was originally my idea to have pancake-related local mefi gatherings on shrove tueday/mardi gras/national pancake day.

that being said, i'm a bit sick of the pancake thing myself. do i participate? sure. but is the poor horse so dead that it's decomposing and starting to stink up cetain threads? absolutely.

what it comes down to, i believe, is that there is a time and a place for pancakes. their mention need not be banned from metafilter, but they certainly do not deserve any more BPPs (blue page posts — just kidding, matt) of their own.

and w/r/t aaron's assertion that nothing palegirl's ever posted had 'traction', i must respectfully disagree. i recall one anti-suv post that has had far more traction than she ever intended.
posted by mlang at 12:18 PM on February 6, 2002

Yes, mlang is correct. I had completely forgotten about the SUV threads, and duly give palegirl full credit for them. (SUVs: Way more evil than pancakes. Discuss amongst yourselves.)

By the way, I fully admit the pancake thing's been WAY overdone in the last week. But I think most of that is due to the metacoverage of it more than the blue-page invocation of them itself. There's this thread, someone else somewhere starting an entire thread simply asking what it all meant, etc. (I'd also like to point out I didn't start any of 'em. I'm not even sure I've started one at all besides the very first one.) It builds up and boils over. It's why MeFi could use a cheat sheet that all newbies get at the same time they sign up: So they understand all the little traditions and quirks and fa la la of the place, and don't end up coming here, asking "Why X?" for the 436th time, and causing a giant pissing match because everyone else is so tired of 436 consecutive mentions of the same damn question.

Will the circle be unbroken?

Not to mention breakfast plates.

Ahhhhhh! Dammit typos. Well, there ARE circular rotating restaurants. I don't know how many serve breakfast though.

posted by aaron at 12:33 PM on February 6, 2002

""Pancakes" isn't just an in-joke here; it's become meta-jargon, a way to say "this thread sucks and is about to derail in the worst way so I hereby derail it in an innocent way — who's with me?". "

see, i always thought the mentioning of 'pancakes' was a way of saying 'ok, too much psycho-drama, let's try to ignore it'.

but on behalf of not offending palegirl's sensibilities, let us stop using the word 'pancakes' (or PaCa as us memesnarks refer to it as), and start using a much more wholesome word...

like analfoam.
posted by jcterminal at 1:20 PM on February 6, 2002

Iceberg273, you ever notice breakfast plates are ... full circles?

My head is spinning.
posted by iceberg273 at 1:21 PM on February 6, 2002

Zippity BOP?
posted by daveadams at 2:40 PM on February 6, 2002

I can only speculate about why mathowie has no problem when most people launch attacks on others here that range from snarky to truly vicious, yet then comes down snarkily on only certain users that dare to push back ... especially when other people are openly noting his confusing double standard.

I have a problem with all of it. It's not a right/left conservative/liberal thing where I have a grand conspiracy in my head and target evildoers that only skew right. It's not that I see "no problem" with "most people" launching attacks. If you can think of an easy way I can wipe all of them out, I'm all ears.

Dealing with just two problem people last week involved much hand wringing here in MetaTalk, followed by multiple, carefully worded emails to both people, then after a series of emails, I reinstated them, and now I have to keep checking up on them to make sure they don't stray from whence they were banned. Two people probably took 6-8 hours of my time last week to deal with. That was two out of probably a few dozen problem folks here.

See the folly of chasing down every problem user? I'd love to hear an easier way to deal with things. For your case, you should know better. Someone with a 13k+ userid chapping people's hides gets a free ride becase I don't feel like spending half an hour crafting an email of why they should change their behavior, but I would think you know better aaron, you've been around the block. The way you're reacting to palegirl here seems a bit off is all.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:43 PM on February 6, 2002

A MetaFilter/MetaTalk FAQ. What an interesting idea. Might be worth it to keep down the What? When? Why? questions.
posted by bjgeiger at 2:51 PM on February 6, 2002

"Making a pointless pancake post on the front page of MetaFilter does in fact look a lot like a wank-a-thon to me ..."

From now on, whenever I am tempted to use the word "pancake" I'm going to substitute "wank-a-thon".

This rule applies only on MetaFilter or MetaTalk, however. I expect it wouldn't be proper at IHOP.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:58 PM on February 6, 2002

Dealing with just two problem people last week involved much hand wringing here in MetaTalk, followed by multiple, carefully worded emails to both people, then after a series of emails, I reinstated them, and now I have to keep checking up on them to make sure they don't stray from whence they were banned.

Quite frankly, you're being too good-hearted. Hand-crafted multiple-paragraph emails are, in short, overkill. There's a simpler solution: warn them once, *strongly* (as in 'your behavior is out of line, shape up or ship out'), then ban if they persist. If they want back in, they can wait until the next time new user registrations are turned on. (Or adopt the SA model and have them pay for readmission.)

About 90% of the time, if someone's called out here they're bright enough to repent and change their ways. But it only works if you care about how the community perceives you, and some people just don't give a damn. Trying to 'save their souls' is a waste of time and energy.
posted by darukaru at 3:22 PM on February 6, 2002

I've read this thread with great interest. Thanks all of you for the discussion.

Not to start it up again or anything, but aaron, you wrote:

yes, you can "change the channel." It's called not reading the threads that don't interest you. You have to see a few seconds of a channel on TV before you can decide you want to hit the "up" button on the remote, and you have to see the front page post to decide if you want to read it. If you don't, dont.

Of course I only read the threads that interest me, but aaron, the problem w/ the pancake phenomenon is that it pops up all over the place, in all sorts of threads (usually as an attempt to derail or ruin the tone.) That entire threads are now devoted to the joke proves how far beyond reasonable this whole thing has gone.


posted by palegirl at 3:54 PM on February 6, 2002

"Wait wait wait.... back up a bit now. When are the pancakes coming in the mail?"
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 4:04 PM on February 6, 2002

Palegirl is my new hero. After myself, I mean.

Matt's got it right. This pancake crapola is oh-so-tired. And it kills threads dead.

The pancake-thread-derailing-process is about as interesting as those wacky funsters who quote Monty Python. I keep waiting for them to get over it, while they're busy high-fiving each other over their comic genius.
posted by websavvy at 8:50 PM on February 6, 2002

"We are now... no longer the Knights Who Say Pancake!."

"Pancake!"

"Shh shh. We are now the Knights Who Say Ecky-ecky-ecky-ecky-pikang-zoom-boing-mumble-mumble."


posted by evanizer at 9:23 PM on February 6, 2002

Shit, that's comic genius.
(high fives evanizer)



posted by dong_resin at 9:27 PM on February 6, 2002

(high fives back at dong_resin)

posted by evanizer at 9:47 PM on February 6, 2002

"That entire threads are now devoted to the joke proves how far beyond reasonable this whole thing has gone."

ha! the best jokes are ALWAYS the ones that go beyond 'reasonable'!

fyi.
posted by jcterminal at 10:10 PM on February 6, 2002

what you say?!
posted by dong_resin at 12:41 AM on February 7, 2002

I'd be careful with the monte python jokes on a pancake thread....it only LOOKS like a cute little bunny........
posted by bunnyfire at 3:51 AM on February 7, 2002

You have no chance to survive make your...

Oh forget it. If we keep this up, dong_resin, we may be killed.

*sigh*
posted by evanizer at 9:38 AM on February 7, 2002

"This is an ex-pancake."

so sue me.

posted by ebarker at 1:58 PM on February 7, 2002

I always got the feeling that Matt encouraged the pancake thing, or at least the blanded-down stripped-of-all-aaron's-original-meaning pancake thing, to counteract all the non-obvious inside jokes. You know, to create an "inside" term that was easily accessable to newcomers, thus minimizing alienation.

That said, add one more vote to the anti-pancake crowd.
posted by gd779 at 3:33 PM on February 7, 2002

To pancake or not to pancake (there's the rub).
posted by walrus at 3:55 PM on February 7, 2002

Screw that. Pancakes have lost all their original chiding element. They now represent pure whimsy. Anyone getting upset by pancake references is working really hard to make it happen.

And I like pancakes. How about you guys?
posted by NortonDC at 4:32 PM on February 7, 2002

I prefer the come-hither quality of the humble yet sultry flapjack myself.
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:35 PM on February 7, 2002

you have all ruined it for me. I never did--until reading this thread--know exactly what the Pancake thing was about.

i spew out random stuff in real life, so i guess i thought it was just natural. like, Nader Nader Nader!
posted by th3ph17 at 5:49 PM on February 7, 2002

IHOP sucks so much ass.
Original Pancake House, baby...

Went to the one in Los Altos last weekend. Damn impressive!
posted by insomnia_lj at 7:28 PM on February 7, 2002

Oh god.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:39 PM on February 7, 2002

YES YES YES!

wait...damn! Neither New York or Connecticut is participating. *sigh*

Oh well. mathowie, you can go, along with the other MeFiers in the list of lucky states. Is there an IHOP in the Bay Area? I seem to remember one in Oakland, but that was a long time ago.

Hey.... Wouldn't it be cool to get an IHOP to make its "National Pancake Day" charity be MetaFilter? What a great fundraiser!

Pancakes shall ne'er die!

Praise MeFi, from whence all syrup flows; Praise it, all pancakes here below; Praise mathowie above, ye Cabal: Praise ponies, pancakes, and Zippity Bop™.

Amen

I'll go take my medicine now.



posted by evanizer at 8:16 PM on February 7, 2002

Did anyone know that Pancake Day has history... and even merchandise and online cards?! There's even an animated Kiwanis Pancake Day ad. So many pancakes you could just puke!

I'll have the crepes, thanks.
posted by insomnia_lj at 8:50 PM on February 7, 2002

Is there an IHOP in the Bay Area?

Yup, there are IHOPs galore scattered hither and yon all 'round the Bay Area - SF, Santa Clara, San Jose, Redwood City, etc. Here's a list of all the ones in the 408 area code, for instance. (Somebody pick one in Santa Clara and a time early enough in the day and I'm so there....)
posted by youhas at 9:10 PM on February 7, 2002

Great. I have to put up with tens of thousands of foreigners overrunning my city for two weeks and I can't even get a goddamned free short stack?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:21 PM on February 7, 2002

Florida is in, baby.

Almost makes up for having to live here.
posted by dong_resin at 10:13 PM on February 7, 2002

...checks merchandise page...

Liberal, Kansas, eh? Don't tell the Conservative Cabal.
posted by NortonDC at 4:44 AM on February 8, 2002

See you at the Waffle House.
posted by bunnyfire at 4:56 AM on February 8, 2002

matt is particularly lucky, being unemployed and living in a participating state. he can spend the seven hours of the promotion moving from one ihop to the next, collecting a free short stack of pancakes at each: 'the ihop pub crawl'.

(see, matt, there are advantages to joblessness (in addition to the golden hours (one of my all-time favorite weblog posts, incidentally (even though it doesn't mention me); i used to feel exactly the same way about austin (when i was living there and was unemployed))).)
posted by mlang at 7:44 AM on February 8, 2002

mlang, was that an attempt at the most parenthetical comment ever? You even got me to count and make sure you didn't leave one open. Good form.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:33 AM on February 8, 2002

mlang thinks and talks like that in real life.
and poor matt, he can't leave metafilter for too many hours or we might go wild.
posted by goneill at 1:52 PM on February 8, 2002

Saturday.

Up early, go to sparring practice.

Home. Shower.

Out for Pancakes.

The Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity. (tm)

Extra sides of bacon and grits and juice and tea.

Now to nap and dream of a pancake-infused MetaFilter.


posted by ebarker at 9:20 AM on February 9, 2002

rushmc has a truly pathological fixation with my existence, one so overwhelming he felt the need to post two personal attacks on me in Metatalk last week

You forgot the part about how I am stalking you and am parked outside your home this very minute in an unmarked van, peering at your window through my binoculars....

The fact remains that you have a documented history of posting primarily mean-spirited, petty, bitter remarks, often couched in blatant personal attacks against anyone you don't agree with (or who dares not agree with you), which is usually pretty much everyone, it seems. I could create a post of a dozen links to same, but I have better things to do with my time today and will leave it to others to investigate on their own, should they care to.

As far as I'm concerned, you ARE what you post here (as is everyone else here), and you WILL be judged by it. Reputation is identity here. You may try to bully people here for months, go on hiatus a while, then return newly pure and innocent, but some of us don't forget. If you don't like the way you are perceived, look to the vile bile of your rhetoric.
posted by rushmc at 10:48 AM on February 9, 2002

See the folly of chasing down every problem user? I'd love to hear an easier way to deal with things.

I don't think there IS an easy way to police the community. Personally, I would hope for a consistent policy of being aware of people's posting patterns. When someone consistently trolls, spews contentless personal attacks or invective, and seems more interested in insult than issue, I think it's time for that person to go.

We all probably cross back and forth over various lines--or flirt with them--daily, but someone who consistently chooses to live on the far side of the line that you have drawn clearly doesn't belong here. They disrespect not only the individual members that they slur, but also the very community itself.

And trying to hide behind a "politically persecuted" wall is disingenuous and dishonest. It has nothing to do with politics or agreement/disagreement. It has to do with civility and decent behavior toward one's fellow human beings.

The call is yours, obviously and rightly, but I go on record asking that you watch this poster to ensure that he does not repeat his abuses of the past. It seems to me that the board has enough problems controlling newer, would-be trolls without encouraging that sort of behavior by letting a proto-troll rampage unchecked.
posted by rushmc at 10:58 AM on February 9, 2002

rushmc, enough with the aaron bashing already. We already know that you have it out for him; it's getting pretty old.

Thanks for the tip, Avogadro, but I shall continue to reserve the right to express my objection to posters whose behavior I find objectionable and in flagrant violation of the site standards.
posted by rushmc at 11:02 AM on February 9, 2002

Isn't vile bile redundant?

rush, go get some ice cream..you will feel much better. Unless you object to aaron being nice to bunnyfire, in which case there is no hope for you, as ben & jerry don't have a milk of magnesia flavor.
posted by bunnyfire at 11:36 AM on February 9, 2002

Bob Dole doesn't like it when you refer to yourself in the third person.
posted by NortonDC at 11:48 AM on February 9, 2002

Bob Dole will have to get over it. If Liddy wins the election, she will be Bunnyfire's senator, replacing Jesse Helms.....
posted by bunnyfire at 12:05 PM on February 9, 2002

<Dan Aykroyd as Bob Dole>I'll take you on with my one good arm!</Dan Aykroyd as Bob Dole>
posted by NortonDC at 12:18 PM on February 9, 2002

rushmc, I'm not trying to start anything here, man, generally speaking I like reading you, but you're taking your role in a website to which you are merely one voice out of hundreds a bit to heart, aren't you?

Do you really take your activities here this seriously?
Is that even a good idea?
posted by dong_resin at 1:28 PM on February 9, 2002

Isn't vile bile redundant

Perhaps conceptually, but not grammatically.
posted by rushmc at 2:56 PM on February 9, 2002

you're taking your role in a website to which you are merely one voice out of hundreds a bit to heart, aren't you?

Am I? How so? I have not suggested that I am more than "merely one voice out of hundreds." People present their cases for what they believe is bad for Metafilter on MetaTalk every day--I believe that is it's purpose? So wherein lies the difference?
posted by rushmc at 2:59 PM on February 9, 2002

You bitches is such drama queens! Lighten up, y'all.
posted by evanizer at 3:28 PM on February 9, 2002

Just seems like a whoooole lot of energy spent for something as ephemeral as weblog discusion, is all.
posted by dong_resin at 3:41 PM on February 9, 2002

Or, what evanizer said.
posted by dong_resin at 3:43 PM on February 9, 2002

Just seems like a whoooole lot of energy spent for something as ephemeral as weblog discusion, is all.

Perhaps. And yet people expend a great deal more here every day, arguing everything from cam girls to what to call a front page post to who has double-posted a double-post call out to how many blank lines one should use when posting.

By comparison, objecting to the unpleasant tone of an aggressive, rude poster hardly seems trivial.
posted by rushmc at 3:48 PM on February 9, 2002

When someone consistently trolls, spews contentless personal attacks or invective, and seems more interested in insult than issue, I think it's time for that person to go.

Man, not only does he have a psychological fixation on me (five posts, all about trying to get me banned, within a five-hour span), he's got a classic case of projection as well.
posted by aaron at 3:56 PM on February 9, 2002

Ben & Jerry's Mama Michelle Phillip's Milk of Magnesia and maple syrup swirl.........Rush, go get a spoon. And a pancake.
posted by bunnyfire at 5:53 PM on February 9, 2002

Well, since this thread is about to drop off the MeTa page, never to be heard from again, I'd like to end it by saying one final word in response to both the original problem that spurred Palegirl into creating this thread and to the argument that seems to have ensued so late in the game:

Pancakes

Thank you and goodnight.

posted by evanizer at 7:05 PM on February 9, 2002

Pancakes? What are pancakes?
posted by feelinglistless at 4:07 PM on March 2, 2002