After deletion, still waiting 24 hours?

February 14, 2002 1:06 PM

If a post is pulled because it is deemed inappropriate(I assume mine went because the subject matter was too close to one you don't wish discussed) are we still subject to the 24-hour rule? Just wondering.....
posted by bunnyfire to etiquette/policy at 1:06 PM (67 comments total)

I honestly wanted to discuss what was going on as far as search engines wanting dinero for high search positioning.....guess it would have been smarter for me to wait about six months.....better yet I wish I had been smart enough to post it two months ago ...honestly not trying to start any crap.

But the link was up for two minutes tops......I honestly will live without making any front page posts, but I am trying to make penance around here by trying to find serious front post material (sheepish grin)....Just wondered about the policy.....
Darn it, I misbehave even when I try to behave......mutter...mutter.....
posted by bunnyfire at 1:13 PM on February 14, 2002

If a post is pulled because it is deemed inappropriate

I was about to email you about it. It was a fairly straight ahead article about signing up with Overture (go.com) and paying for search results. I didn't see anything new or ground breaking, since it's common knowledge that everything at overture is paid for (and has been since they announced it), nor was there anything to discuss besides "use google instead." It didn't seem interesting at all, and I'm pretty sure it would have gotten little response.

are we still subject to the 24-hour rule?

Well, if you clidk on the post link, you'll probably get your answer. It's a good "timeout" feature. Bunny, with all due respect, you seem to be posting a lot of links lately (over 7 this month in a career of only 12), and they don't seem to be all that amazing on their own. Are you just posting to post?

It's a zen thing I suppose, you can't *try* to find something to post on metafilter, because you'll always fail (or it'll just barely be interesting enough). Instead try to simply surf the web, and if you happen upon something amazing, then share it here. And don't be discouraged if you find one link after 2 hours, or one link after 2 weeks, that's just the way these things go. I rarely post more than a couple times per week here. Believe me, especially when I started the site, I tried and tried to find material for the site everyday and it was mostly crap. It was only when I set aside some random browsing time each day that I happened to find interesting material by accident.
posted by mathowie at 1:24 PM on February 14, 2002 [3 favorites]

Matt, I think you should put that last paragraph on the "Post a link" page. A lot of folks could learn from it. Great advice, by the way.
posted by ColdChef at 1:39 PM on February 14, 2002

When I started I was posting something every day and to look at my list I'm surprised at how much Matt let through. Now I try and post maybe once a week although there have been periods were I haven't posted anything at all. Matt's right -- just post things you find interesting. Posting for posting sake isn't fun and often isn't clever.

Look at this post, this post and this post. Because the original items were only partially interesting the actual discussions had nowhere to go. It's the equivallent of turning to someone on the bus and pointing out the obvious 'Its a nice day' or 'This bus is always late...'
posted by feelinglistless at 1:42 PM on February 14, 2002

And don't be discouraged if you find one link after 2 hours, or one link after 2 weeks

Matt, with all due respect, the zen approach is fine, but there is a certain (if invisible) pressure here to post links. There seems to be a correlation between front page posts and ones opinion carrying weight. Maybe it is the "take a penny leave a penny" stop leeching mentality, but it is there.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but in my 10 months here I have posted only 4 times to the front page, I feel terrible about this. Sad to say none of those were a result of Shaolin surfing. I felt obligated to give back to the site. This is no fault of your own or the regulars, it's just the way it is.

Just wanted you to hear from one of the quiet guys in the back of the room.
posted by remlapm at 2:00 PM on February 14, 2002

there is a certain (if invisible) pressure here to post links. There seems to be a correlation between front page posts and ones opinion carrying weight.

I never got this. Rather the opposite. Post it if it's good, not for any other reason. Just think: is it good enough to share with 13000-odd people?
posted by walrus at 2:04 PM on February 14, 2002

but there is a certain (if invisible) pressure here to post links

I've never sensed that or ever considered it, but then I built the place and don't have the context of a random user. What types of things do you think creates this pressure? Do posts add to some sort of respect among other users? If this exists, I'd like to figure out a way to stop it, but I don't see any symptoms.

I look at a site like filepile and my participation there is probably like yours. I rarely post things there, but read a lot of it, and comment from time to time. I feel no pressure to put something up, but when I find something compelling I do (which isn't very often).
posted by mathowie at 2:07 PM on February 14, 2002

remlapm:

Matt, with all due respect, the zen approach is fine, but there is a certain (if invisible) pressure here to post links. There seems to be a correlation between front page posts and ones opinion carrying weight. Maybe it is the "take a penny leave a penny" stop leeching mentality, but it is there.

i can't tell you what others think, rem, and i hope that others do not believe your opinions matter more should you post more often. i respect the opinions of others based on their comments, and i respect the links of others when the links they point out are interesting and would otherwise be difficult for me to find. quality, not quantity.
posted by moz at 2:13 PM on February 14, 2002

I don't think there is a placebo here Moz and Matt, it's the nature of bulletin boards.

It's funny you mention FP, because I post there all the time, good or bad files, even offensive things ( do a search for remlapm there and check it out, yeah, I'm that guy). I don't really care what people think of me there, not sure why because there are so many Mefi's.

I honestly don't know what the difference is, maybe people on Mefi take themselves a lot more seriously, which makes it so great. Maybe it is the intelligence thing ( yeah, so Mefi intimidates me ). At any rate, it is not a reflection of you, the site, or the posters here. I just wish I had more to contribute here.

*sniff*
posted by remlapm at 2:23 PM on February 14, 2002

All i can tell you is I never really felt any pressure until recently...then I felt like I wanted to do something to help make this a better place....I agree that none of my posts were gold but I felt that at least they were starting to help things go in a better direction, especially considering where things were headed a week before....I was probably just trying too hard.....but I do believe in a certain amount of serendipity......as soon as i am off 24 hours i have an amazing website that i have been holding out on you people, and I have just now thought of it...but you will just have to wait! Duh! slaps forehead........
posted by bunnyfire at 2:23 PM on February 14, 2002

Patience is your friend, bunny.
posted by ColdChef at 2:35 PM on February 14, 2002

And I've never felt that invisible pressure, either.
posted by ColdChef at 2:36 PM on February 14, 2002

There seems to be a correlation between front page posts and ones opinion carrying weight.

For the past two years I thought that was (l)user ID numbers, and now I discover it's how often you post to the front page?!?

Damnit! Time to get cracking!
posted by Neale at 2:37 PM on February 14, 2002

there is a certain (if invisible) pressure here to post links.

If you feel such a pressure, it comes from inside you. I have been a member well over a year and have posted only 9 front-page links, and never felt "pressured" to post any more than I do.
posted by kindall at 2:37 PM on February 14, 2002

Didn't mean to derail the thread. I'm seeing Jeeves, my Yahoo appointed mefi-therapist later anyway, I'll be sure to bring this up.
posted by remlapm at 2:44 PM on February 14, 2002

> There seems to be a correlation between front page posts and ones opinion carrying weight.

I agree with that, but I think that the correlation I experience is the inverse of the one you experience.
posted by sylloge at 2:45 PM on February 14, 2002

Patience is your friend, bunny

I know....it's just kinda annoying to realize that stuff that people would actually probably really enjoy seeing has been sitting in my favorites folder all this time....it may have to sit there longer than 24 hours as tomorrow is my husband's birthday, and i am taking the day off to spend with him.....there is a world other than cyber-wouldn't hurt to go explore that one for awhile........while we are on the topic, wonder what matt would think of the idea of limiting the number of front page posts per day? Would that enable each thread to get the discussion it deserved-or would every day be a horse race to fling them up?

I am on a list where posts have to be approved and only certain ones are sent out but that probably would be time prohibitive for him-unless he only posted them out certain times a day.....o i am full of ideas today aren't I ?
posted by bunnyfire at 2:53 PM on February 14, 2002

And I've never felt that invisible pressure, either.

I have to a very small degree, but I agree that it comes from within, not from the group. I've only posted two link posts to the front, niether got much response, but I was happy with them. I don't feel the need to post more, and in fact, I feel more pressure not to post unless its pretty outstanding. Too many vultures waiting to give you a 2.4 when the Russians get a 5.9 (DOH!).

Sadly, I think thats where the pressure comes from. You want to post something great, so there's two ways to go about it. Don't post nothing until you find great, or scattergun and hope for greatness to be thrust upon you. And it is true here as elsewhere, that the squeky wheel gets the grease. You want to feel like you belong? BE LOUD. Much evidence suggests that that works ...
posted by Wulfgar! at 2:54 PM on February 14, 2002

bunny, if the link is so amazing now, it'll still be amazing next week, or next month for that matter.

while we are on the topic, wonder what matt would think of the idea of limiting the number of front page posts per day? Would that enable each thread to get the discussion it deserved-or would every day be a horse race to fling them up?

Horse race.

I am on a list where posts have to be approved and only certain ones are sent out but that probably would be time prohibitive for him-unless he only posted them out certain times a day.....

That's the way slashdot, evolt, and most every other community works, by forcing an editor or editoral group to go through every submission and approve or ignore them. It's a lot of work, and not something I wanted to do (not to mention it kills the spontaneity and timeliness). MetaFilter is a more democratic place, anyone can post anything at any time, and hopefully they do it well.
posted by mathowie at 3:01 PM on February 14, 2002

You want to feel like you belong? BE LOUD. Much evidence suggests that that works ...

Have you asked, say, MiguelCardoso, about this? I think that quietly contributing what you can offer best is what gets the most respect here. Like clavdivs, for instance (who I think still has yet to post to the main page), and Carol Anne (who posts a good number of comments and often contributes great links within threads, but goes about it with little fanfare), among others.

NB: I like Cardoso, and not just for his having learned not to step on so many toes.

Horse race.

No wonder no one ever gets their pony.
posted by mattpfeff at 3:20 PM on February 14, 2002

there is a certain (if invisible) pressure here to post links. There seems to be a correlation between front page posts and ones opinion carrying weight.

I wish there was a way to create a correlation between fewer, higher-quality posts and one's status on this board . . . maybe then we wouldn't be falling over each other trying to be omnipresent with our posts and skewing the signal:noise ratio.

And I always thought whether your opinion carried weight ought to depend upon the quality of your argument, not the size of the numbers on the "username has posted x links and y comments to Metafilter" line.

I think some people are worrying too much about status. This site ought to be about providing readers with interesting links and commentary, not about providing posters with egoboo.
posted by mcwetboy at 3:23 PM on February 14, 2002

I like Cardoso, and not just for his having learned not to step on so many toes.

I like him too. But the facts are, he has been very loud, through shear volume. Miguel has learned much. Hopefully, bunnyfire will as well. mcwetboy has it right. If I want ego I'll read elsewhere.

posted by Wulfgar! at 3:35 PM on February 14, 2002

Why not start limiting front page posts to one per week (or perhaps one every 3 days, every 5 days?) It seems that is what "best practices" are anyway. We may then spend more time thinking, researching, preparing, publishing (note: publishing, not posting), and also spend more time thoughtfully "reading" and commenting on others' posts. This may keep the number of posts per day low, and the quality high?
posted by Voyageman at 3:37 PM on February 14, 2002

feelingthepressure
posted by feelinglistless at 3:55 PM on February 14, 2002

MiguelCardoso....my evil twin........
posted by bunnyfire at 3:58 PM on February 14, 2002

.it's just kinda annoying to realize that stuff that people would actually probably really enjoy seeing has been sitting in my favorites folder all this time

Have you considered getting your own blog, bunnyfire? Seriously.
posted by kindall at 4:31 PM on February 14, 2002

feelinglistless, you'vegainedmyapprobationonceagain.
posted by Lynsey at 5:31 PM on February 14, 2002

Bunnyfire, first of all don't be discouraged, I think that in general your comments are good and your contrarian nature leads to a lot of good discussions, and I think of you(along with about 2 dozen or so others) as one of the main bunch who make Metafilter Metafilter.
It's easy to fall into the trap of worrying about your status here, it's an impressive crew of folks and it's natural to want to impress them back. I've been there.
The lack of reaction to my first front page post so discouraged me that I stuck to lurking for almost TWO YEARS. And when I did finally jump back in the fray the results were not always pretty.
Mat "zen surfing" approach makes a lot of sense. Just do your normal web travels and wait to see something that makes your jaw drop or gets you scratching your head in disbelief or seething with rage. THAT's the link you'll know to post to the front page.
posted by jonmc at 5:33 PM on February 14, 2002

Why not start limiting front page posts to one per week (or perhaps one every 3 days, every 5 days?) It seems that is what "best practices" are anyway.

Fewer is easier to achieve than higher-quality, but fewer does not necessarily lead to higher-quality. There's no guarantee that the average link quality would improve under that system. Conversely, I wouldn't care how many links there were if they were uniformly excellent. Solve the problem that needs solving; don't hope that the solution to perceived problem x will fall into place if you take care of perceived problem y.
posted by mcwetboy at 6:19 PM on February 14, 2002

I don't think of it as status at all, really...after all, every village needs its idiot....somehow even when I want to slink into the wood work it doesn't happen.

I just want to make a nice post to make Matt proud! (sobs into fur......coughs twice, then hops off slowly into the darkness....)
posted by bunnyfire at 8:09 PM on February 14, 2002

>> feelingthepressure

> feelinglistless, you'vegainedmyapprobationonceagain.

Can I take the other side here? Personally, the feelingfoobar comments [1, 2, 3 ...] drive me nuts, and well, that's that. It's my personal taste and that means nothing, so don't take it personally, but I just have to say it.

I don't want to quash your innovative self-expression but consider the Kantian Maxim-izing which we tend to do around here when establishing rules for behaviour: what would happen if everyone did that? Well, imagine if all the comments consisted of only those stupid mood icons all the time and that was it for the conversation. That would suck.

I can't help seeing your feelingfoobar comments as some kind of metafilter username branding exercise and that's what aggravates me. Once again, it is my opinion so take it with a grain of salt. But also maybe think about what kind of contribution it makes to the community (keeping in mind that if it was ever funny or clever, it couldn't possibly be anymore since it took me six clicks to find three of those comments in your history list).
posted by sylloge at 8:13 PM on February 14, 2002

well, it's not like he is insulting anyone or anything like that....and he isn't taking up much bandwidth either. Is it really that much of a deal? Do we really need to be that picky ? and if so could we do it in a private email instead of a public spanking? Just wondering.....
posted by bunnyfire at 8:38 PM on February 14, 2002

well, it's not like he is insulting anyone or anything like that....and he isn't taking up much bandwidth either.

do they offer anything that adds to a thread, or are they something to wade around?

I posted some snarky thing then took it down, I think that's what the approbation thing was about, and I decided to email Stuart about it instead.
posted by mathowie at 8:45 PM on February 14, 2002

> Do we really need to be that picky ?

Yes.

> and if so could we do it in a private email instead of a public spanking?

Yes, I should have done that. (Matt: feel free to delete as appropriate.)
posted by sylloge at 8:48 PM on February 14, 2002

do they offer anything that adds to a thread, or are they something to wade around?

bah. it's perfectly harmless, and it often encapsulates the tone of the thread in a single word. Like anything else, it can be overdone, and I admit that the threads could use some pruning these days. (I'm at least as guilty as the average MeFite of cluttering threads with pointless one-liners.) But personally, I come here not just for the level of discussion, but also for the whole "community" vibe, and that relies on the personalities of the various individuals who comprise it. If we didn't all have our little quirks, if we all had, say, numbers instead of clever handles, it wouldn't work.

Again, it can get out of hand, and if someone finds it bothersome, they should feel free to drop that person an email mentioning it. (Of course, with the thin skins around here, god knows what would come of that.) But MeFi has much bigger problems that "feelingblahblah".

In fact, that kind of stuff may help to alleviate some of the problems we're having. You've mentioned recently, Matt, that we've grown so big that personal accountability has gone out the window. I think we could all benefit from looking around and seeing who's here. Know thy neighbor, and you're less likely to let your dog dump on his lawn. "feelingblahblah" makes me aware that my old friend feelinglistless is here, and reminds me to watch myself.

Anyway, I've made much more of this than it deserves, so I'll stop now. You all get my gist.
posted by jpoulos at 9:30 PM on February 14, 2002

Well I always enjoy feelinglistless's signature comments. They sum up the mood of a thread, or his reaction to it. Sometimes they're ironic; sometimes sincere. I like the economy and the style. You just have to learn to interpret the feeling. Granted, this sometimes takes longer than reading three or four paragraphs, but that's part of his charm. So I say spare the lad's life, for now!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:16 PM on February 14, 2002

OK then I am done feeling guilty about it. (I did stress that it was merely an opinion/personal reaction and as such carried no real weight. Not that that would make me feel much better if the shoes were on the other heads or whatever they say in Portgual.)

So, sorry Stuart.

- Stewart
posted by sylloge at 11:36 PM on February 14, 2002

I read a lot of the site, so maybe I see it more often, but it's almost daily now to see Stuart's comments, and I don't want to say "stop Stuart!" as much as "what do you really think?"

I can't recall the exact threads, but there have been some really good exchanges where I saw Stuart leave a comment, and what I'd prefer instead of his trademark thing is to really say something. Would you rather see "feelingscared" or something like "Wow, that is some scary stuff indeed user232, I myself had a problem with an abusive person over email and this is how I handled it..."

I know it's a delicate balance between people being a characteristic part of a community and annoying other members. On the one hand, it does show that the community is a strong one and that real personalities can develop here, but on the other hand, if more than one person did it, or if the one person doing it did it often, it could get old pretty fast. So it's hard to strike a balance, and I guess what I'd prefer is to hear Stuart tell us what he really thinks about a thread instead of simply leaving a trademark vague description.
posted by mathowie at 12:10 AM on February 15, 2002

I am trying to make penance around here by trying to find serious front post material

Perhaps a better way to make penance is to read instead of write. Wish more MeFi visitors would, actually.
posted by anildash at 12:22 AM on February 15, 2002

Bunnyfire,
You want to please Matt with a good Front Pager, and thus the entire community benefits. You get the admiration and respect of everyone. But if it's about respect, I believe you have it, judging by the responses. I know that in my brief time here, I have found your voice to be one of sanity, even if I haven't always totally agreed with you. If you comment, I know that there may be an issue that I should pay attention to.

Anil
I'm with you on that.
posted by ashbury at 12:49 AM on February 15, 2002

I have found your voice to be one of sanity

I am rendered speechless by the irony...think i will just go read now.......
posted by bunnyfire at 4:13 AM on February 15, 2002

bunnyfire - in all seriousness, your continued reference to the problems you have with your psychological balance are not dissimilar to my continued references (curtailed to an extent, deliberately, lately) to my prodigious alcohol consumption. In other words, lame, irrelevant, self-serving, self-referential and disruptive to the Point of The Whole MeFi Thing.

So let's just swear off together, shall we?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:15 AM on February 15, 2002

You drink?
posted by bunnyfire at 5:34 AM on February 15, 2002

Why is it when life throws out FUNNY and IRONIC stuff everybody all of a sudden wants to go all serious on me?

Sheesh. Be that way....I shall cherish this Lucy Ricardo moment all to myself then..........hmmmmm....chicken nuggets for lunch , perhaps.............

sorry hon, the thought of someone with the moniker of stavrosthewonderchicken even SAYING THE PHRASE "in all seriousness" is enough to cause me to collapse in fits of helpless laughter today........

fairwell, my finefeathered friend-today my dh and i roam the land in search of fun and frolic in honor of his 44th birthday-let the fun begin!
posted by bunnyfire at 5:45 AM on February 15, 2002

i highly recommend a strong drink while you are out.
posted by Frasermoo at 5:53 AM on February 15, 2002

mathowie said: it does show that the community is a strong one and that real personalities can develop here

Whatever happened to members becoming well known not because of the force of their personalities, strange quirks, personal and/or mental characteristics, and domination of only one subject, but rather because of the strength of their arguments, intelligence, maturity, and erudition? Give me the latter any day.

posted by Avogadro at 6:02 AM on February 15, 2002

All hail bunnyfire!
posted by adampsyche at 6:03 AM on February 15, 2002

Personally, I love to see the occasional knee-jerk reaction to posts and of course ' the double-post'.

it keeps the place somewhat more true to life.
posted by Frasermoo at 6:15 AM on February 15, 2002

Well, hell, I tried.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:38 AM on February 15, 2002

And valiantly, and that is something I'll drink to.
posted by j.edwards at 6:40 AM on February 15, 2002

I appreciate your efforts stwc.

I am also going to make the following prediction...

Tomorrow, on Metafilter:
The Return of the HampsterDance
posted by goneill at 7:42 AM on February 15, 2002

I was a longtime "lurker" before becoming a member, and have noticed one change in the membership (which therefore leads to a change in the nature/quality/frequency of posts).
kindall touched on this--earlier members seemed more likely to have their own blog, so they'd had plenty of trial-and-error experience with subject posting on their own sites before coming here. Many newcomers (myself included) don't keep a separate blog, so the trial and error takes place here instead.

Although I have a decent history of utterly inane comments here, as anil mentioned, I spend the lion's share of my MeFi time just reading. After all, which is better?
posted by whatnot at 9:05 AM on February 15, 2002

You know, even as everyone agrees with Matt about the whole 'zen surf' thing, by 7 am there are still 7 posts on the front page, and 4 more within another hour.

I agree with whoever said (I think it was Matt, but..) there is a real issue with people *trying* to find front page material instead of surfing about and suddenly going 'hey, wow!'. I think this is also why there's been such a big shift from web-related items to news related posts.

As for pressure to post a front page to have a voice that people listen to, I have 20 links total (including one MetaTalk link) over a 3 year (or so) period. Now, I know hardly anyone really likes me here, and rarely agrees with me (even Matt once said he commonly disagrees with my opinions), but I think that because I take to time to have reasoned, logical opinions, most do read and take time to appreciate what I say. And take it into consideration when posting replies themselves.

Mcwetboy had the right point - this place should be about providing readers good material and commentary. And coupled with Matt's "surf and you will find approach", you get back to unique stuff that isn't just the first copy of front-page news or filtered down links from other logs.

Signal, meet noise.

posted by rich at 9:07 AM on February 15, 2002

*pats rich on the back*
Don't feel bad,buddy. I like ya. And I've only posted 19 links over the same period. People who disagree with you don't necessarily dislike you personally, some of the coolest folk here are people I agree on absolutely nothing with.
Hey, maybe the only reason we haven't been called out or banned is cos we've been here so long, Matt thinks of us as endearing fixtures or something. I can just picture him back in 1999 looking at my first link and scratching his head saying "Who the hell is this guy?"

posted by jonmc at 9:26 AM on February 15, 2002

pressure to post? i feel the reverse. I feel always un-post-worthy, and have only posted about 1/4 of the links i wanted to for a total of 14 or so. Of those, i think i like...maybe 3 of them now. My advice to myself now:

when in doubt, don't click post
posted by th3ph17 at 9:49 AM on February 15, 2002

Mcwetboy had the right point - this place should be about providing readers good material and commentary. And coupled with Matt's "surf and you will find approach", you get back to unique stuff that isn't just the first copy of front-page news or filtered down links from other logs.

If you look at yesterday on MetaFilter, I think it was a stellar day. Among the fluff, there were a few really amazing finds: the old advertising museum, the coral house, and the roadfood thing were good classic mefi links. The camgirlsgonewild thread was also good, as a classic metafilter-as-weblog-community-debate-corner as people got to discuss issues raised by how some behave in the community and what rights they may or may not have when others choose to do certain things.
posted by mathowie at 10:24 AM on February 15, 2002

The roadfood thing was literally a classic mefi link - it had been posted before. On the other hand it was several months ago, there are many new readers, and the site itself, a good one, is constantly updated. Although I dislike the idea of old threads being considered "dead", is this acceptable double post territory?
posted by liam at 12:09 PM on February 15, 2002

is this a dumb idea? probably.

what if matt added a star to the front page posts he thinks are good? or something (different color text?) often matt comes in here and says "this is good, this was good, that was a classic mefi post."

what if it was denoted on the front page itself?

then people might not be so hot to post something to the front page, but to get their thread called out as exemplary.

myself, I've never felt any pressure to post to the front page, but if that really is a thing that's driving people, why not reward the ones you feel exemplify what you'd like the place to be?
posted by rebeccablood at 12:11 PM on February 15, 2002

not a bad idea rcb, though I'd rather it be democratic, like the [this is good] thing at filepile. If I have some copious free time soon, I may program that.
posted by mathowie at 12:28 PM on February 15, 2002

Would you rather see "feelingscared" or something like "Wow, that is some scary stuff indeed user232, I myself had a problem with an abusive person over email and this is how I handled it..."

I'm away for twelve hours and suddenly a discussion opens up about me. Random thoughts...

I'm going to be perfectly honest. I knew that sometimes I should have been saying more than 'feelingwhatever' anyone who reads my weblog knows (I hope) I can be a bit more constuctive than that. But, I've finally found myself at the mercy of something we can all agree we need more of. Time. I'd look at a thread and see all of the wonderful things people are writing there and I'd want to say something ... but my time is short, so I'd try and encapsulate everything in a single phrase. First instance here, in the Aaliyah thread.

Looking at it now I'm a proud of some of them. But in the main I agree that some of them don't quite fit. They're a bit like someone trying the break into a coversation halfway through only to realise they haven't really got anything to add. And looking at some of those later comments it's all I say, which is a bit embarassing and not really representative of who I am.

So at Matt's direction and the general consensous, I stop.

Instead I'll try this for a while:

Perhaps a better way to make penance is to read instead of write. Wish more MeFi visitors would, actually.

More of a lurker, then. But don't worry if I think of anything constructive to say I'll let you know...
posted by feelinglistless at 3:17 PM on February 15, 2002

dconstructionist
posted by dness2 at 3:32 PM on February 15, 2002

j.umpingonthebandwagon
posted by j.edwards at 3:39 PM on February 15, 2002

kafkaestrada
posted by Kafkaesque at 3:52 PM on February 15, 2002

looking back on it all, this wasn't such a bad metatalk thread after all.....
posted by bunnyfire at 7:04 PM on February 15, 2002

I *still* like feelinglistless' comments. As MC and JP said - they are succinct, terse, to the point. He doesn't need a long convoluted statement to say what he thinks, he does it in two words. I think that's admirable.
posted by Lynsey at 8:14 PM on February 16, 2002

Aaaah ... you guys ....
posted by feelinglistless at 1:09 AM on February 17, 2002

after all, every village needs its idiot....

Oh, dear god....
posted by rushmc at 1:54 AM on February 17, 2002