ya digg?

June 12, 2009 4:50 PM

I've noticed a particularly pronounced uptick in the number of favorites comments are getting. Has Metafilter become funnier, or more salient? Or, you know.
posted by plexi to MetaFilter-Related at 4:50 PM (94 comments total)

At the University, we called this "praise inflation."
posted by adipocere at 4:51 PM on June 12, 2009 [4 favorites]

Before I joined MeFi, I assumed that "favoriting" a comment was simply MetaSpeak for digging/ranking the comment up. Then I realized it was a method of saving funny comments for further consumption later. Now I figure it's some freak combination of the two.

Maybe there are some new members who think how I once did, and favorite any comment they find particularly funny?
posted by espire at 4:55 PM on June 12, 2009

Well, I'm here.

I keed! I keed! or am I? I probobloy am, otherwise that'd be pretty dickish. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
posted by The Whelk at 4:56 PM on June 12, 2009 [2 favorites]

Also, like other Mefites, my entire posting/favoriting behavior is based on keeping my comment/favorite totals in pleasing, repeating patterns. This can dead to poorly thought commenting/favoriting sprees followed by long droughts once balance has been achieved.
posted by The Whelk at 4:58 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

To counter the recession, Matt has done some "quantitative easing" on the favorites. He doesn't realize easy favorites are what brought us to this point in the first place.
posted by qvantamon at 5:01 PM on June 12, 2009 [2 favorites]

I don't know about being a new member, but I never revisit my favorites.
posted by DU at 5:01 PM on June 12, 2009

It's the recipes.
posted by zinfandel at 5:05 PM on June 12, 2009

I blame Time magazine.

(It works for most things.)
posted by Sys Rq at 5:05 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh, and you gotta try this:

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon celery seed
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss cauliflower with oil in a medium bowl. Add spices and toss again to coat. Spread in a single layer in an oiled, shallow pan. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring twice.
posted by zinfandel at 5:06 PM on June 12, 2009 [25 favorites]

Please don't spoil my assumptions that I'm getting funnier. It's not Mefi-wide!
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:06 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

We're just entering entropy. That is all.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:06 PM on June 12, 2009

I don't know about being a new member, but I never revisit my favorites.

"Oh, hi, ...it's you. How did you get this numb-Oh. I did? Okay. Yah I know last night when I favor- right I "clicked your little plus sign hard", I-oh-thank you. But, look I was really, really drunk, and I'm sure you're a nice person. But I really think we just go our separate ways. Okay? Goodbye."
posted by The Whelk at 5:09 PM on June 12, 2009 [3 favorites]

tehloki's 100 favourites/day restriction was lifted.
posted by gman at 5:12 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

tehloki's 100 favourites/day restriction was lifted.

He has so much love to give.
posted by The Whelk at 5:15 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

I see favoriting as a way of telling people I have serious, debilitating crushes on them because I'm not very good with telling people out loud that I have serious, debilitating crushes on them.
posted by heyho at 5:15 PM on June 12, 2009 [3 favorites]

heyho, you too?
posted by sambosambo at 5:19 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

Awkward.
posted by gman at 5:21 PM on June 12, 2009 [2 favorites]

zifandel, I see what you're trying to do there, but seriously, cauliflower? Try adding bacon, or booze or pretty edible bumblebees.

OMG, BACON BUMBLEBEE RUMCAKE!!!!
posted by sambosambo at 5:23 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

What is a bumblebee slushee flavored like, exactly?

oh, and confirmation bias.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:30 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

OMG, BACON BUMBLEBEE RUMCAKE!!!!

i'd destroy it.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:34 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

motor oil
posted by boo_radley at 5:36 PM on June 12, 2009

I totally know why there's been a recent uptick in favorites but I ain't telling. People would stop favoriting as much as they have been if they're aware of the cause. Oh man, but it's so obvious.
posted by Mister Cheese at 5:37 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

heyho, you too?
posted by sambosambo at 8:19 PM on June 12 [1 favorite +]

It's a match made in Meta!
posted by gman at 5:48 PM on June 12, 2009

Ssssshhhh... gman, we're trying to be subtle right here.
posted by heyho at 5:50 PM on June 12, 2009

This favorite bubble will burst, just like it did during the Great Unfavoriting. Enjoy it while it lasts. Soon you'll all be living in haugheyvilles, eating shoe leather and reminiscing about ParisParamus.
posted by stavrogin at 5:58 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

Awkward.
posted by gman at 7:21 PM on June 12 [1 favorite -]

It's getting awkwarder and awkwarder.
posted by heyho at 6:03 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

I generally favorite when I think a comment stands out above the rest because it's (a) insightful or (2) funny. In rare cases I favorite something that neither of the two but seems to be MeFi history in the making.

My theory on the favorites uptick is twofold, but I have no data whatsoever to back it up:
-More people are unemployed or underemployed and have more time to dick around and read Metafilter.
-As Metafilter gets more and more popular, you get more users who just lurk in the background, reading, favoriting, and maybe posting AskMe questions about their MacBook, without actually posting or commenting on the first page. This means there's a higher favorite/comment ratio.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:05 PM on June 12, 2009

I've been doing more favoriting, not so much because the comments I give the thumbs-up to are so great, but to show that I consider the ones I DON'T favorite are crap.
posted by wendell at 6:07 PM on June 12, 2009

Wow, The Whelk is of Sep '08 vintage? He's so loquacious, I'd swear he was a 30k'er at the latest. Kudos on the talkingness!
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:07 PM on June 12, 2009

Wow, The Whelk is of Sep '08 vintage? He's so loquacious, I'd swear he was a 30k'er at the latest. Kudos on the talkingness!

That's a very polite way of saying I'm unemployed.
posted by The Whelk at 6:09 PM on June 12, 2009 [3 favorites]

Damn. I thought he was one of those three-digit people. (Maybe I was thinking of Wendell?)
posted by dunkadunc at 6:11 PM on June 12, 2009

What is a bumblebee slushee flavored like, exactly?

CAN IT BE THAT IT IS CAT-FLAVOURED?
posted by DU at 6:21 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

I must be getting unfunnier, though more consistent.

Perhaps more poetry is called for. In an unasked for kind of way.
posted by Sparx at 6:35 PM on June 12, 2009

DIGG THIS UP TO GO!!! REDWINGS!!!!
posted by ardgedee at 6:35 PM on June 12, 2009

Favoriting is like an e-hug. An awkward, lingering-just-a-little-too-long-with-maybe-too-much-back-patting, e-hug.
posted by jerseygirl at 6:39 PM on June 12, 2009

Actally, Detroit's sucking wind tonight. On home ice, even. What the heck?
posted by ardgedee at 6:40 PM on June 12, 2009

Simple explanation: a greater number of users increases the chances that someone will find a comment interesting, unique, informative, or funny.

Might I also add that I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one that tries to keep "favorites given : favorites received" in an approximate ratio to each other? ( 1:1, in my case). It's my (admittedly very rough) way of reassuring myself that I am contributing to the site as much as I gain.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 6:40 PM on June 12, 2009

Okay, have a salad with bumblebee-mustard dressing, then. See if I care.
posted by zinfandel at 7:01 PM on June 12, 2009

You all are probably just getting better at saying what Mefites want to hear.
posted by graventy at 7:03 PM on June 12, 2009

My faves given:received ratio is 1:4. Does that mean I'm contributing more than my share or less?
posted by DU at 7:06 PM on June 12, 2009

This just sent me to remove some favorites. What was I thinking on some of those? ...and Detroit seems to be sucking *and* blowing, all at the same time.
posted by ersatzkat at 7:16 PM on June 12, 2009

I blame Obama

(It works for most things.)
posted by philip-random at 7:17 PM on June 12, 2009

This just sent me to remove some favorites. What was I thinking on some of those?

[cue dozens of mefites clicking on their profile to check to see if their ratio just dipped into the red zone]
posted by availablelight at 7:31 PM on June 12, 2009

With the economy in the state it is in we are just going to have to get used to this sort of thing.
posted by Iron Rat at 7:45 PM on June 12, 2009

FLEURY!
posted by dirigibleman at 7:53 PM on June 12, 2009

I'm also of the September 2008 vintage, and I am a piquant melange of all of these factors. To wit:

- I favorite the funny every time, so much so that if someone I think is particularly hilarious (The Whelk, Astro Zombie, you know you who are...) favorites something of mine, I feel like a king. A King!

- I also favorite a lot of the comments I see in the Askme Relationshipfilter stuff, because these are the folks I'd like to meet in real life someday also. The "I been there, too man" people.

- I am also very unemployed, which has blasted my participation on this channel through the roof. Favoriting other people is also a good way of keeping me sane while I die on the vine financially. It's a good stress release to come to Metafilter and laugh at all the silly/clever/WTF/nice-insight-there type stuff.

- I hope people favorite me for the funny also. I love making people on metafilter laugh.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 7:54 PM on June 12, 2009 [3 favorites]

It is becoming increasingly clear that Lipstick Thespian is my alter-ego. The yin to my yang. Superman to my Bizzaro. The cool side of the pillow to my sticky warm side. This rivalry cannot stand. We must destroy each other, or make out furiously and everlastingly.



So what's it gonna be, *sprays breath freshenter* punk.
posted by The Whelk at 8:20 PM on June 12, 2009

It's more of the you know.
posted by carsonb at 8:50 PM on June 12, 2009

Actually, The Whelk is the result of a failed attempt to clone me, wendell, resulting in the creation of my non-evil twin.

But he worked out much better than the first attempt, which resulted in thomcatspike.
posted by wendell at 8:53 PM on June 12, 2009

My daily favorites received has been going down, because I'm just that counter-cultural. Hate it, suckers.
posted by Eideteker at 8:53 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

I don't think its really important if my favorites number in the four digits or linger in three-digit territory.
posted by longsleeves at 8:56 PM on June 12, 2009

It's. sorry.
posted by longsleeves at 8:58 PM on June 12, 2009

How the favorites system was designed (as bookmarks) and how it is being used (as applause or positive reinforcement) are entirely different.

There are two ways to get favorites on Metafilter:

1. Thoughtful or thought-provoking comments and answers, particularly in an area in which you have expertise or direct experience.

2. Wise-ass jokes, snarky put-downs and one-liners. Bonus points if it's about Bush or Cheney.

It's a lot easier to do the latter than the former. Favorites provide an incentive for people to post jokey responses to everything without really contributing to the discussion. Luckily, most people here are pretty thoughtful and don't go overboard, but I do think this could become a problem down the road.
posted by MegoSteve at 9:07 PM on June 12, 2009

I don't have a desired favourites/favourited ratio.

However, I do keep an eye on my favourites:answers ratio. I'm lusting after a ratio of 1. Only the AskMe answers count in the denominator, though favourites from FPP comments, MeTa comments, or AskMe questions can go into the numerator.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:09 PM on June 12, 2009

P.S. Bear in mind I'm one of those snarky one-line people who checks his favorite count whenever he posts anything.
posted by MegoSteve at 9:09 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

I blame Obama

(It works for most things.)
posted by philip-random Joe Beese at 10:17 PM

ftfy.
posted by shiu mai baby at 9:13 PM on June 12, 2009

I disagree. Be funnier, people, please.
posted by desuetude at 9:16 PM on June 12, 2009

I think I lost some favorites today. AND I WANNA KNOW WHY!!!!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:18 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

The Whelkstick Lipspian? The LipWhelk? Lipstick The Whelk? The Thespian Whelklips?

The Whelk-Tempered Thespier?

The center cannot hold. I am old, I am old, I will wear the bottoms of my trousers roll'd.

And why is it exactly that when I contemplate the Janusian idee fixe of a Lipstick/Whelk Separated-at-Birth-or-at-the-Catwalk-Club-Because-SOMEONE-Just-Had-To-Mingle, that George Harrison's magnum opus Within You/Without You is playing on a loop in my melon?
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:21 PM on June 12, 2009

If I may make a clumsy analogy, the favorite system arose much the same way the human brain evolved: Sections and features that developed in primitive times have been adapted by subsequebt evolutionary pressures to new and essentially improvised, opportunistic applications that allow us to say "I love you" or "heh heh you are like me."
posted by longsleeves at 9:26 PM on June 12, 2009

Longsleeves, s'funny, cuz when I look in a mirror I say those two things.

Not every time, though - sometimes I'm polite and wait for the person on the other side to say them.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:37 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

Has Metafilter become funnier, or more salient?

Just the opposite, if anything.

Grade inflation lowers incentive to excel.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:43 PM on June 12, 2009

Well, that's as may be, but as I should have added, sometimes one's hindbrain chirps up and suggests nastiness.
posted by longsleeves at 9:45 PM on June 12, 2009

Grade inflation lowers incentive to excel.

That is why you fail
posted by longsleeves at 9:47 PM on June 12, 2009

Getting favorites on comments is like getting the good-feeling neurochemical rush. It's why I no longer care if I ever go into stand-up comedy. Plus, I don't have to be funny; I can be serious, too! (Really, I can! No, really!)

All that considered though, a few months ago, I looked at my numbers and realized I got a wide majority of faves from the FPP's I post, and to me, well, that's what I loved about MeFi in the first place: the cool links. (/me pats self on the back) A lot of the time I'm surprised I ever get favorites on my comments, given the vast amount of much more useful (or vastly funnier) comments offered.

I just (try to) follow one rule: I always ask myself, "Is what I'm saying here really adding anything positive to the thread?" If yes, hit "Post", and return to the main hall.

Also: wat drugs are you all on lolololoLOLOLOL WATE THIS FEELS GOOD REAL GIOOD I AM ABOUT T
posted by not_on_display at 10:40 PM on June 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

It seems like a good first step here would be establishing that there has, in fact, been an uptick. Without an up-to-date infodump, I can't think of a super quick way to quantify it, but I may take a look in the next day or so. But actually eyeballing such an uptick through casual reading is a feat I kind of question the plausibility of.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:50 PM on June 12, 2009

I am the senior wise-ass jokester here, yet the comments I've gotten the most favorites for lately are my most serious - even my angriest. Are you guys trying to modify my behavior or something?
posted by wendell at 10:56 PM on June 12, 2009

I blame Bill Gates - that works for everything.
posted by Cranberry at 11:35 PM on June 12, 2009

I just delete them all when I feel like start afresh. Which reminds me...
posted by pracowity at 12:19 AM on June 13, 2009

The thing about favorites is that once there's a feedback mechanism in place, people will learn to write comments that get more favorites, so our commenting 'improves' at least in sense of getting more favs. On the other hand, that doesn't really mean that the commenting is getting better overall, since comments that get the most favorites may not be the ones that best foster a sense of community or are helpful for having good conversations. Typically the most favorited comments are the ones with the most bluster and invective.
posted by delmoi at 12:32 AM on June 13, 2009

Speaking of comments, I notice that no matter the content, really lengthy comments get favorited more. Not that there's anything wrong with that, except it's like my mother use to always say:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed ligula dui, feugiat a tristique blandit, viverra nec lectus. In ac velit nec nulla dapibus rhoncus dapibus hendrerit velit. Pellentesque vel dui id enim condimentum mattis. Proin vestibulum lobortis velit, vitae convallis augue congue id. Aliquam rutrum urna sed lorem volutpat tincidunt eget eget dui. Maecenas convallis pretium turpis, eget egestas risus posuere non. Etiam quis adipiscing purus. Sed tincidunt turpis ac diam iaculis adipiscing. Cras ullamcorper cursus lorem, a porta magna consectetur ac. Maecenas ac metus vitae arcu feugiat hendrerit eu a odio. Duis non dolor orci. Pellentesque sagittis rutrum nisi, vel varius felis adipiscing at. Sed ultrices feugiat turpis, in consectetur dui pellentesque viverra. Ut in pellentesque tortor. Etiam vestibulum lacus sit amet tortor tempus ultricies. Integer ac adipiscing sem. Suspendisse at mi et lectus sollicitudin aliquam. Cras non augue vitae ipsum semper ultrices. Integer sollicitudin mollis tincidunt.

Mauris vel mi tortor, eget sollicitudin tortor. Nulla sit amet malesuada dui. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi sagittis tempor mattis. Nulla facilisi. Pellentesque lacinia enim nec nibh euismod eu tristique libero pulvinar. Morbi gravida elit sit amet ipsum cursus nec euismod odio lacinia. Nullam faucibus convallis bibendum. Fusce gravida mauris et mauris gravida iaculis. Nulla facilisi. Maecenas purus mauris, porta at luctus in, dapibus sed risus.

Vivamus ac sem quis purus porta semper non sit amet orci. Sed justo est, laoreet non vehicula non, feugiat non augue. Donec congue, nibh vel aliquam ullamcorper, turpis urna vestibulum metus, a volutpat dui dui in orci. In varius risus in ante aliquet sed fermentum tellus hendrerit. Maecenas dignissim condimentum augue. Curabitur sem tellus, pharetra a cursus sit amet, consequat id nulla. Nulla eget lectus libero. Aliquam tempor metus sit amet ante posuere ut congue enim egestas. Nam eget lectus ligula, ac eleifend augue. Donec ut magna at purus condimentum sagittis sit amet in arcu. Nullam ut scelerisque velit. Suspendisse potenti.

Aenean posuere diam vitae lacus malesuada lobortis semper orci dignissim. Pellentesque dapibus consectetur purus, eget posuere nisi porttitor eu. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Ut nec leo eu libero tincidunt sodales pulvinar in est. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Ut accumsan varius nisi id tristique. Aliquam erat volutpat. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. In eu ante semper velit consequat vulputate. Nullam at pretium ipsum. Morbi vitae ligula nisl. Vivamus pretium libero id arcu molestie sagittis. Nunc mauris ipsum, fringilla ac interdum nec, volutpat sed mauris. Nulla commodo lacus id libero interdum scelerisque. Nam mauris nulla, suscipit vitae blandit sed, laoreet et massa. Ut eget tortor sed tortor sodales laoreet. Morbi mattis, purus vehicula porttitor posuere, diam massa feugiat est, molestie sodales metus dolor at ipsum. Proin feugiat fringilla tellus non ullamcorper. Vivamus eget neque nec magna vehicula aliquam. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.

Fusce et ornare tellus. Nullam placerat, ante id rhoncus vestibulum, purus eros sodales turpis, at sodales turpis lectus vitae lorem. Praesent dui neque, aliquam vel suscipit a, egestas a justo. Mauris eu magna sed quam facilisis rhoncus. Integer risus massa, molestie in posuere nec, mattis et est. Vestibulum molestie tristique arcu id elementum. Mauris nec fringilla est. Morbi lacinia consectetur nunc, ut sagittis risus pulvinar sit amet. Quisque blandit dictum tincidunt. Nulla commodo, purus at luctus molestie, elit augue sollicitudin erat, in faucibus risus metus non velit. Donec eleifend sapien non orci laoreet mollis. Donec in tortor velit, laoreet lacinia magna. Sed nec felis nec augue posuere pretium in tincidunt sem. Donec fringilla libero at justo venenatis euismod tincidunt tellus vulputate.

Etiam lorem elit, lobortis ut convallis id, venenatis non est. Morbi vestibulum dolor sit amet tortor tempus fringilla. Ut porttitor pellentesque metus non volutpat. Donec blandit lectus eu turpis rutrum egestas. Sed faucibus, libero quis suscipit sodales, purus massa sodales quam, eget dignissim augue dui vitae urna. Etiam ultrices, ipsum consectetur sagittis euismod, dui lacus fermentum augue, ut varius eros lacus in tellus. Sed sed dolor at sem interdum fringilla. Vestibulum imperdiet magna vitae diam semper vel lobortis massa imperdiet. Pellentesque quis egestas orci. Duis tellus libero, dapibus sit amet sollicitudin sit amet, rhoncus vitae orci. Donec egestas hendrerit dolor a iaculis. Duis ut massa neque.

Aenean id mi odio. Donec venenatis sapien quis sem molestie laoreet. Cras aliquam posuere purus nec sollicitudin. Vestibulum ut odio arcu, vitae volutpat massa. Nunc tristique lorem vitae orci gravida porttitor. Nullam at est ligula, cursus venenatis est. In eu diam dui, at viverra ligula. Quisque ullamcorper lectus sed libero dignissim volutpat. Nunc quis elementum mi. Vestibulum congue malesuada ligula, in pretium lacus pretium quis.

Donec ornare felis at mauris suscipit vitae dapibus orci eleifend. Suspendisse vehicula eros metus, sit amet laoreet erat. Praesent sed velit dui, sed posuere metus. Nullam consequat sollicitudin felis ac tristique. Morbi rutrum feugiat diam, vel malesuada lectus porttitor commodo. Quisque eget leo diam. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Curabitur sit amet quam mi. Proin tempus nunc nec velit accumsan vulputate. Aenean sed eros consectetur enim sagittis convallis. Quisque ullamcorper risus quis quam varius pretium. Proin sit amet nulla nibh. Praesent id dolor quis dolor vestibulum auctor in a leo. Curabitur semper lectus diam. Fusce sit amet condimentum est. Nulla tempor, nisi at pretium elementum, est libero ornare ante, ut placerat turpis urna vel ante. Aenean eu scelerisque purus. Ut posuere lorem in orci feugiat a venenatis neque iaculis. Proin sed mi ligula.

Nullam nec ligula ut metus hendrerit accumsan. Nullam lorem arcu, mollis at suscipit vel, sollicitudin id augue. Sed venenatis risus ut eros commodo viverra. Proin eget mauris ut augue bibendum malesuada at non dolor. Vestibulum sit amet odio ac quam dignissim bibendum sit amet interdum orci. Donec pretium sem vel augue tempus lobortis. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Duis eget imperdiet sapien. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus a lacus id justo dictum suscipit. Cras dui nibh, consequat rutrum molestie ac, euismod ut dolor. Curabitur at ligula vitae lacus laoreet tincidunt sed et sapien. Ut porttitor tempor tellus id lobortis. Nulla facilisi. Sed quam sem, molestie id posuere quis, accumsan ut eros. Nunc vehicula eros et nisi facilisis fermentum. Cras commodo semper dolor, quis posuere diam semper ac. Sed porttitor odio at velit tristique eleifend eget ut lectus.

Nunc convallis hendrerit lorem a aliquam. Proin venenatis feugiat est eget condimentum. Sed non lorem elit, at dapibus lectus. Sed aliquet leo ut ante vehicula ultricies. Mauris dictum turpis diam. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Maecenas non tortor sem, sit amet congue arcu. Sed augue purus, accumsan vitae convallis in, pretium et purus. Nullam nec ornare augue. Sed gravida ipsum vel libero bibendum placerat. Nullam euismod mi sed neque imperdiet ullamcorper fermentum tellus rutrum. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Pellentesque tempor, ipsum sit amet interdum tempus, massa orci viverra eros, a sodales ipsum sapien at felis. Donec vel enim sed ante pellentesque scelerisque vel sit amet elit. In feugiat auctor lorem eu blandit. Suspendisse sed metus turpis. Ut pulvinar mi a erat vehicula aliquam rutrum elit molestie.
posted by champthom at 12:40 AM on June 13, 2009 [2 favorites]

Funny, all your mother used to say to me was "lorem ispum harder harder! dolor god god! god!!"
posted by maxwelton at 2:01 AM on June 13, 2009 [8 favorites]

I used to use favourites as a method of bookmarking - but I recently realised that I now have such a huge, unmanageable pile of unsorted "bookmarks" that it's pointless thinking of favouriting that way. So I relaxed and now use it mainly to agree with people on AskMe.
posted by hot soup girl at 4:30 AM on June 13, 2009

There has been a slow, steady uptick over the last couple years, but while I'm sure some of it's favorite inflation, some of it is generally membership growth, and all these youngsters never knew a Metafilter without favorites, so they're, as a group, going to be less opposed to using them than the old-timers which as a group is, I gather from what I've read in MeTa, less predisposed to using them as "great comment" awards overall.

I went on a sort of favoriting spree in the last year, and found myself often favoriting comments when someone had already said exactly what I was going to say, so I hit + instead of adding redundant noise to the thread. I'm trying to do that less now, and go more to the "bookmark" concept, but when something's really great, it's just really great.

I've never un-favorited anything, though. Laziness, I suppose.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:43 AM on June 13, 2009

But actually eyeballing such an uptick through casual reading is a feat I kind of question the plausibility of.

A preposition is something you never end a sentence with!

oops wrong thread
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:59 AM on June 13, 2009

Last night I had the idea of graphing number of favorites (actually, ratio of faves to comments to normalize the growth of the site) against the DJIA. I'd like to see that graph.
posted by DU at 5:31 AM on June 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well clearly, MeFi just keeps getting better and better all the time. It was downright abysmal back before $5 signups were available. In fact there are very few users before 14,500 or so that really contribute anything useful to the site. They mainly just gripe about the good old days, when they should really be embracing the new frontier.
posted by TedW at 6:31 AM on June 13, 2009

I have no response to that.
posted by ook at 8:25 AM on June 13, 2009

I do, but not in a constructive way that will foster polite discussion on the topic at hand, without focusing on individual members.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:20 AM on June 13, 2009

Favoriting is like an e-hug. An awkward, lingering-just-a-little-too-long-with-maybe-too-much-back-patting, e-hug.

If this is true, favoriting will soon be banned in New Jersey high schools.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:36 AM on June 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

The thing about favorites is that once there's a feedback mechanism in place, people will learn to write comments that get more favorites, so our commenting 'improves' at least in sense of getting more favs.


As someone who pays very close attension to style and culture, I think there is a case for a "Metafilter House Style" of posting/commenting (I, for one, write comments in a different way here than other places) created by longtime users, very vocal uses, the moderators, the flag/favorite system, and the original tone and intent of the site and it would be interesting see how that changed and grew over the years but right now I've got to go drink heavily in the afternoon as part of my job.
posted by The Whelk at 10:36 AM on June 13, 2009

I think favorites are interesting... sometimes I click because I agree with the poster and want to "vote" for that answer. Sometimes I find something too hilarious or insightful to lose into the deep bowels of MeFi, so I click. When I'm reading AskMe, I look for favorites to see if anything is getting hive-mind-approval. When on the Blue, I see comments with lots of favorites and end up rereading if I didn't before. Sometimes I see the same idea expressed more than once, and if one of those postings has more favorites (and it's not the first instance), I usually examine a bit why one was better received than the other.

I'm not sure I've ever looked back through my favorites as of yet... So I'm probably not doing it right.
posted by hippybear at 2:49 PM on June 13, 2009

Often, especially if a thread goes on and on and on, by the time I've read all the links and make it to the end my thought it usually "wow, everyone has already said what'd I'd have said, but phrased it more elegantly. So I favorite things and then go scurry back under my rock.

We lurkers like the favorites.
posted by batgrlHG at 7:07 PM on June 13, 2009

...my thought IS usually, argh. See? this is why I lurk!
posted by batgrlHG at 7:09 PM on June 13, 2009

What is a bumblebee transformer slushee flavored like, exactly?

WILL IT BLEND?
posted by zippy at 7:10 PM on June 13, 2009

I'd have more favourites if I weren't always late to threads. I am the Threadkiller.

PS: There's nothing you can do to or with cauliflower to make it edible.
posted by deborah at 8:31 PM on June 13, 2009

PS: There's nothing you can do to or with cauliflower to make it edible.

AskMe begs to differ!
posted by onlyconnect at 10:12 PM on June 13, 2009

Wow, The Whelk is of Sep '08 vintage? He's so loquacious, I'd swear he was a 30k'er at the latest. Kudos on the talkingness!

What?
posted by loquacious at 8:30 AM on June 14, 2009

What?

It's a bit like "That's So Raven!"
posted by The Whelk at 8:35 AM on June 14, 2009

No, they're talking about a $30,000 Kudos Bar made of gold back in September 2008. Talkingness should read "nutrition," and "loquacious" should read "languagehat."
posted by not_on_display at 10:29 AM on June 14, 2009

Not_on_display is my guide to a world I never knew of nor wanted to visit. Kudos!
posted by The Whelk at 10:57 AM on June 14, 2009

No thanks, I'm full.
posted by not_on_display at 11:49 AM on June 14, 2009

AskMe begs to differ!

AskMe lies.
posted by deborah at 1:19 PM on June 14, 2009

"AskMe lies."

It's a plot by the Cauliflower Industry!
posted by batgrlHG at 8:32 PM on June 15, 2009