MetaMetaMetaMetaTalk

July 17, 2009 11:20 AM

Coding Horror Guy celebrates MetaFilter's 10th Birthday by making a post with the title Meta Is Murder and bringing in cortex to explain how MetaTalk "is key to the success of the site because it's a sort of release valve." So relieve yourselves here.

Consider this post a place to spout off on anything that doesn't fit in with the Totally Awesome 10th Anniversary Meetups this weekend or just to point out that wendell screwed up again.

posted by wendell to MetaFilter-Related at 11:20 AM (63 comments total)

*smacks wendell's forehead*
posted by item at 11:31 AM on July 17, 2009

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this will Timothy Treadwell...
posted by Elmore at 11:35 AM on July 17, 2009

Aahhhhh....much better now. Thanks.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 11:38 AM on July 17, 2009

Spout? Relieve ourselves?

I was expecting a hyperlink to an image of a gentleman in homemade stocks, with some funnel crudely clamped to one side, with a tube leading to a black latex mask, carefully sealed to his face.

"Bring out the wendell."
"Wendell's sleepin'."
"Well, I guess you're gonna have to go wake him up now, won't you?"
posted by adipocere at 11:41 AM on July 17, 2009

Yes, you read that right. Murder. I mean it. If enough productive work is replaced by navelgazing meta-work, then people will be killed. Or at least, the community will be.

Everybody always gotta talk shit...
posted by Navelgazer at 11:42 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

I have been sexually rejected by not one, but two guys who later went on to Clown College. I get super nervous whenever I hear a vacuum cleaner because when I was a kid my mom would turn on the vacuum to drown out the sound of her and my dad fighting, which is why I rarely vacuum my apartment, like never. I have had three donuts so far today. Once in college, I pooped my pants a little bit at a Country Steaks all-you-can-eat-buffet and I didn’t leave until I finished my second plate of shrimp. A couple of months ago, I went on a date with my cousin. There is an 80% chance that in the next election I will tell all my friends I am voting for Barack Obama but I will secretly vote for Sarah Palin. When I was a kid, I used to put on my fanciest nightgown and then I would mix orange soda and cream soda in a champagne glass and I would sit in the dark and watch The Love Boat. Consequently I have some weird sexual fantasy stuff about Gopher. And I lied. I have had five donuts today.

Phew, I feel better.
posted by Riki tiki at 11:43 AM on July 17, 2009 [12 favorites]

Yahoo Answers: I have been sexually rejected by not one, but two guys who later went on to Clown College.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:44 AM on July 17, 2009

Back when we did that podcast I really had to sort of bottle up a desire to grab Jeff and Joel through the internet and shout NO, REALLY, YOU NEED TO SET UP A META SECTION OR YOU WILL DIIIIEEEEEE during the conversation; I think I feel as strongly about its necessity as Jeff did about not wanting to go there.

I'm glad they went ahead and did it—I don't think it'd be impossible to continue managing Stack Overflow and its newer sibling with third-party tools and strong enforcement of the "don't do that here [or, really anywhere]" policy, but it'd certainly be relatively painful and I think it'd have ended up hampering the community there somewhat. Though if this means Jeff having to spend a lot more time engaging directly with meta-style issues against his inclination, then, heh, sorry about that, man.

He emailed me the other day to point out that my rep score on Stack Overflow as of that moment was exactly 666. Sweet.

Also, there's someone in the comments to the Coding Horror post who is trying to attribute my use of "let your freak flag fly" to Shrek: the Musical, and I'd just like to clarify for the record that I picked the phrase up from They Might Be Giants, dammit.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:55 AM on July 17, 2009 [5 favorites]

I haven't seen a spectacular flame-out in a while. I could go for one of those.
posted by hellojed at 11:58 AM on July 17, 2009

I have been sexually rejected by not one, but two guys who later went on to Clown College.

Same guy, different grease-paint makeup.

Clowns do that shit all the time. This is why we hunt them for sport on the weekends.
posted by quin at 11:58 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

"Let my freak flag fly" is from an old Crosby, Stills, & Nash tune, "Almost Cut My Hair."

Almost cut my hair
It happened just the other day
it's gettin' kinda long
I could-a said "It was in my way"
But I didn't and I wonder why
I feel like lettin' my freak flag fly
Yes, I feel like, I owe it to someone

Yeah, I listen to CSN and _some ... ^times Y.
posted by adipocere at 12:09 PM on July 17, 2009

Yeah, to be clear, I never imagined that it originated with TMBG; didn't know the CSN reference specifically, but I'd imagined it was hippie-era stuff. But don't go sticking Shrek on me, o stranger on the internet.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:15 PM on July 17, 2009

cortex: "Also, there's someone in the comments to the Coding Horror post who is trying to attribute my use of "let your freak flag fly" to Shrek: the Musical, and I'd just like to clarify for the record that I picked the phrase up from They Might Be Giants, dammit."

Jimi Hendrix used the phrase back in 1967. Come on, anonymous Internet commenters, assumption much?
posted by Plutor at 12:16 PM on July 17, 2009

"But for the people who are regulars, the people who develop a certain amount of passionate attachment to the sites, or really, really need to make their voice heard out of day one beyond just normal participation, you have this safe place you can let people ... let their freak flag fly, as it were, without damaging the core function of the site."

MetaFilter: Other People's Freak Flags

MetaTalk: Letting Your Freak Flag Fly Since The Turn Of The Century

AskMeFi: Does This Freak Flag Make My Butt Look Big? (Also see: "Should I Eat This Freak Flag?" and "My Freak Flag Scares My Boyfriend... What Can I Do?")

MeFi Projects: Freak Flags: Behind the Scenes!

MeFi Jobs: What Can Your Freak Flag Do For Us?

MeFi Podcast: Look At All The Freaks. Back Away Slowly and Don't Make Any Sudden Movements....
posted by zarq at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Also, the OED has absolutely nothing on the subject, because it is totally square, man.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2009

(Hendrix's usage predates Crosby et. al. by at least two years.)
posted by Plutor at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2009

You want to hear Meta? Okay, here goes: It really bothers me that in the article linked to from here in Meta, in which the author has a meta discussion about meta discussions, he claims that his new catch phrase is "meta is murder" - and then displays an image claiming that "Meta Means Murder". Well, which is it, Jeff? Huh?!

/meta meta meta meta meta
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:20 PM on July 17, 2009

So all this time i've been reading MurderFilter?
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 12:22 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

I don't really have a freak flag... it's more of a social outcast flag. May I fly that?
posted by wendell at 12:23 PM on July 17, 2009

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posted by carsonb at 12:23 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

So.. um.. yeah. That.
posted by blenderfish at 12:27 PM on July 17, 2009

Flags freaks. Moves on.
posted by nebulawindphone at 12:32 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

I reduced my text size three times and I still can't tell what that is. It looks like something fucking something else, but there's also a strong possibility that right in the middle is some kinda howling KISS face.
posted by klangklangston at 12:33 PM on July 17, 2009

DICKS AND PRICKS AND SUCKING AND FUCKING
posted by Damn That Television at 12:36 PM on July 17, 2009

I feel it's a better tribute with the munging.
posted by carsonb at 12:37 PM on July 17, 2009

klangklangston: "I reduced my text size three times and I still can't tell what that is."

It's Dick Cheney and Marlon Brando sword fighting with whipped-cream on their heads. It's quite stunning, really.

I guess you don't have the right fonts installed.
posted by Plutor at 12:40 PM on July 17, 2009

What I can't figure out is that diagonal bright line. Either it's got a shiny sword or it's pissing really emphatically on something.
posted by nebulawindphone at 12:40 PM on July 17, 2009

It's Link from Legend of Zelda... being hugged by a giant starfish?
posted by oinopaponton at 12:42 PM on July 17, 2009

Ooh! A sailboat!
posted by bonehead at 12:45 PM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]

I believe that would be the pissing elephant.
posted by dead cousin ted at 12:50 PM on July 17, 2009

I picked the phrase up from They Might Be Giants, dammit.

Cortex sings like a girl.
posted by blenderfish at 12:51 PM on July 17, 2009

I guess you don't have the right fonts installed.

Stop the stupid font trick, please!
posted by JeffK at 12:53 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Horse pissing? I just reduced the text size and stood across the room.

That didn't relieve me at all!
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 12:58 PM on July 17, 2009

"meta is murder" - and then displays an image claiming that "Meta Means Murder".

I noticed that too. "Meta is Murder" is a better choice because of it's obvious homage to "meat is murder". I'll grant that the alliteration of "meta means murder" has a bit of a nice ring as well, but I'd still go with the first as the one that should be entered into canon.
posted by quin at 1:02 PM on July 17, 2009

Is it a griffin (gryphon, whatever)? It looks like it might be a griffin facing away and the line is its tail. Maybe an ASCII-camera shy griffin? Or a celebrity griffin avoiding the paparazzi.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:08 PM on July 17, 2009

That, or maybe a peeing angel.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:12 PM on July 17, 2009

I already have a release valve.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:21 PM on July 17, 2009

Is that a tail?
posted by lysdexic at 1:22 PM on July 17, 2009

If all the hippies cut off all their hair. I don't care.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:44 PM on July 17, 2009

So, this post on MetaTalk is a link to a post someplace else about MetaTalk?

What is that, boomerang meta?
posted by hippybear at 1:55 PM on July 17, 2009

Relieve myself in here? Nah, I have a shy bladder.
posted by deborah at 2:00 PM on July 17, 2009

It really bothers me that in the article linked to from here in Meta, in which the author has a meta discussion about meta discussions, he claims that his new catch phrase is "meta is murder" - and then displays an image claiming that "Meta Means Murder". Well, which is it, Jeff? Huh?!

If there's one thing Jeff Atwood has completely mastered, it's getting basic facts wrong. This guy writes a blog on software and says stuff like "Nobody can define what makes a problem NP-complete".
posted by 0xFCAF at 2:03 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

JRUN!
posted by ijoshua at 2:16 PM on July 17, 2009

*Uncontrollable screaming!*
posted by The Whelk at 2:43 PM on July 17, 2009

It's not natural, normal or kind -
The faves you so fancifully pine,
The grilled cheese in your mouth,
As you savour the flavour of MeTa.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:26 PM on July 17, 2009

The weird thing about their meta site is that it has a separate reputation system than the normal site. So they explicitly reward people who only hang out on Meta. I'm not a big fan.
posted by smackfu at 3:31 PM on July 17, 2009

It's an interesting thing, yeah. How they'll deal in the long run with degrees of syncing-or-not between meta and the family of main sites is something I'm interested to see. I like that Metatalk is so thoroughly baked into mefi, but the SO sites all have at this point a basically distinct-but-overlapping set of users compared with mefi's one-account-for-everything approach.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:49 PM on July 17, 2009

I used to date a guy who had gone to Clown College.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:42 PM on July 17, 2009

I already have a release valve.

Steer clear of Baron Harkonnen.
posted by GuyZero at 5:11 PM on July 17, 2009

Do I have to read the article? "Cause it's late and I'm tired.

I had a neighbor who was a clown, I used to get him drunk and then harass him with a unicycle. You ain't seen nothing 'till you've seen an angry clown fighting for a unicycle. I'd always give it to him in the end and he'd always get on, angrily, and then crash it - ride down the stairs, crash into parked cars or just plain fall over, all the while shouting, ""Barnum and Baileys! Goddamit! Years! An Art! Goddamit!" CRASH! "ARGH!"
posted by From Bklyn at 5:13 PM on July 17, 2009

I'm gonna guess it's this. So, yeah, Dick Cheney in a sailboat wearing clown make-up.
posted by team lowkey at 5:56 PM on July 17, 2009

the SO sites all have at this point a basically distinct-but-overlapping set of users compared with mefi's one-account-for-everything approach

I was going to say that I didn't like how they had one meta site that tried to cover all their different sites, since the sites have different issues... but it seems to work OK here.
posted by smackfu at 5:58 PM on July 17, 2009

I used to have a crush on a guy who went to clown college.

You know what they say about big shoes.
posted by MrVisible at 6:32 PM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wait, that ascii thing up there is a freak flag?
posted by cjorgensen at 7:48 PM on July 17, 2009

I want a t-shirt that says "Fly Your Freak Flag and Move On".

That should confuse everybody even more than my "Kitten = PopTart" shirt I got as a freebie from a webcomicker. (With less hostility.)
posted by wendell at 7:58 PM on July 17, 2009

White collar conservative flashin' down the street
Pointin' their plastic finger at me, ha !
They're hopin' soon my kind will drop and die but uh
I'm gonna wave my freak flag high, high !
Oww !
posted by adamvasco at 1:17 AM on July 18, 2009

I guess this is as good a place as any to announce my new grandson was just born a few minutes ago. On the Mefi 10th anniversary weekend!
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:05 AM on July 18, 2009 [4 favorites]

Not to be all serious and whatever, but I thought Metatalk was a lot more valuable years back when it wasn't just a "release valve" for bad behaviour. It's too bad that it has become the one place on metafilter where being dickish and abusive is more-or-less allowed. <>
posted by sevenyearlurk at 8:45 AM on July 18, 2009

You've come for an argument? Oh, I'm sorry! This is abuse! Second door, down the hall on your left.

Wanker.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:14 AM on July 18, 2009

"It's too bad that it has become the one place on metafilter where being dickish and abusive is more-or-less allowed."

FWIW, I think you can do this in projects and music as well.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:03 AM on July 18, 2009

Excuse me. May I go to the bathroom first?

[...]

Thank you.
posted by gjc at 5:32 AM on July 19, 2009

OKLAHOMAOKLAHOMAOKLAHOMA
posted by carsonb at 10:19 AM on July 19, 2009

RTFOKLAHOLMAO
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:03 PM on July 19, 2009