Meta-Etiquette?

May 18, 2010 8:25 AM

I recently posted an AskMe which received no responses. I realize (and knew at the time), the question I asked was quite narrow and didn't expect many responses (it had to do with an esoteric business management theory). So no responses doesn't really surprise me. Yet 5 users marked it as a favorite. I'm interested in finding out why people marked it as a favorite. Is it acceptable MeTa-quette to MeFi-mail them and ask if they're willing to share why they favorited it?
posted by webhund to Etiquette/Policy at 8:25 AM (36 comments total)

Sure. It will also show up on this page, so people may see it later as well.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:29 AM on May 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have often read a question and not had an answer, but have thought "Hmmm, interesting question. Can't wait to read the responses." Maybe that's why they favourited it.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:30 AM on May 18, 2010 [38 favorites]

In case anyone is reading who might be able to answer webhund's question, it's here.
posted by zarq at 8:34 AM on May 18, 2010

Yeah, I'm with ThatCanadianGirl. I often favorite things if I am keenly interested in seeing the answers.

And in fact, once someone memailed me weeks later to say, "Hey, I saw you favorited my unanswered question -- in case you haven't checked up, someone finally posted a really good answer in it that might interest you..."

<3 MetaFilter
posted by hermitosis at 8:34 AM on May 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

For me, Favorite == Bookmark. It's like putting a star next to an email in your email client so that you can go back and find it later.
posted by octothorpe at 8:43 AM on May 18, 2010 [3 favorites]

It usually just means, I have this question too. MeMailing someone to ask why they favorited it might be a bit much. It doesn't exactly take a lot of thought to hit the + button.
posted by smackfu at 8:43 AM on May 18, 2010

MetaFilter <3s you too, hermitosis.
posted by emyd at 8:48 AM on May 18, 2010 [3 favorites]

I usually favourite questions where I am curious what the answers will be. (I understand this is better than my usual route on Metafilter, which involves making comments which are on topic but otherwise noise so stuff shows up in the Recent Activity tab.)
posted by chunking express at 8:56 AM on May 18, 2010

What they said. Sometimes I have a similar question or else I'm just curious to see what an answer might be.

For example, this question, has 51 favorites. Now, 51 people obviously don't have the same issue, but I bet all 51 of us are thinking "Holy crap, I gotta know how this plays out!"
posted by bondcliff at 9:03 AM on May 18, 2010 [7 favorites]

I sometimes favorite questions I can answer, but not at the moment. So just in case the question never gets touched by anyone, I'll drop in and try to help, especially if it is something that has a good chance of not getting a reply.
posted by cashman at 9:22 AM on May 18, 2010

I'm sorry. I didn't respond. I did intern at a place like that pretty early in my career after I graduated from college, but the idea of responding about it seemed really unhelpful. My experience did, anyway. Every month someone had to work with the CFO to do a presentation, and mostly everyone giggled through it and kept saying how bad they were at math heehee teeheehee. It sounded like a good idea that the company president was really proud of, but it made me think my coworkers wanted to appear to be total airheads and idiots.

Like I said, I had nothing helpful to add. I'm sorry.

Sometimes I favorite things I want to read later, or might be helpful for me later.
posted by anniecat at 9:55 AM on May 18, 2010

It sure wouldn't offend me if I was mefimailed about why I favourited something though I might not respond.
posted by Mitheral at 10:16 AM on May 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

I favourite things just to mess with peoples heads.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:29 AM on May 18, 2010 [5 favorites]

I usually favorite questions like "why do people become gynecologists?"
posted by fixedgear at 10:55 AM on May 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

*kitten may or may not be adorable.
posted by bondcliff at 11:25 AM on May 18, 2010

Kitten may or may not go by the name "Yoda."
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 11:42 AM on May 18, 2010

I would pay big money for a bottle of Wicked Good brand Vodka.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 12:11 PM on May 18, 2010

octothorpe : For me, Favorite == Bookmark. It's like putting a star next to an email in your email client so that you can go back and find it later.

For me, Favorite == Life Affirming Indication of Personal Worth and Value. It's like putting a star above their head and telling them that "we like them, we really like them."

But yeah, also for checking back later.
posted by quin at 12:14 PM on May 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

I would pay big money for a bottle of Wicked Good brand Vodka.

I'm still looking for Godless Kentucky Bourbon.
posted by quin at 12:19 PM on May 18, 2010

I favourite things just to mess with peoples heads.

I favorited this comment, but not because I found it funny.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:28 PM on May 18, 2010

I favourite things just to mess with peoples heads.

i usually post things like this to mess with people's heads.
posted by Pollomacho at 1:13 PM on May 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

OMG YOU SHOULD SO MAKE A POST ABOUT THAT
posted by litleozy at 1:51 PM on May 18, 2010

Hey. hermitosis is back.
posted by ellenaim at 3:02 PM on May 18, 2010

*kitten may or may not be adorable.

There is no may or may not, only IS.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:04 PM on May 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

God, people who "leave" Metafilter and then come slinking back are lame.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:22 PM on May 18, 2010

There is no may or may not, only IS.

I see what you did there.
posted by bondcliff at 3:25 PM on May 18, 2010

If you were lame, you wouldn't slink back, so much as hobble.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:23 PM on May 18, 2010 [3 favorites]

I didn't favorite it, but I thought about it. I dig management theory porn, and thought about maybe looking into this thing I had never heard of at a later time.

Also, I think people should be encouraged to ask questions like yours rather than subjecting their poor employees to the management fad of the last-book-I-read willy-nilly.

Ultimately, though, I was overcome by meh instead.
posted by ctmf at 5:06 PM on May 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

2nding that I would be likely to favorite a post maybe because I really like it a heck of a lot, and/or maybe because it sounds interesting/up my alley of interests and I may want to "bookmark" it and come back to it later. I'd never be offended by someone asking me why I favorited something though.
posted by blucevalo at 6:33 PM on May 18, 2010

Hey, webhund, sorry you didn't get any answers; I was interested, too. I added a lame anecdote just now that's probably not what you were looking for, but since you had zero answers I figured why not post it now.
posted by amtho at 7:52 PM on May 18, 2010

I'm pretty sure crash was making a joke there, ifds,sn9. He "left" and "came back," too.
posted by misozaki at 9:03 PM on May 18, 2010

I don't see the problem with a short friendly mefimail asking out of curiosity. The other person doesn't have to answer after all (and it's not like it's a rude or terribly controversial question). I don't answer every message I get, or even read them all, depending on how busy I am or how much I care. But then I don't email or phone my parents regularly either so I'm probably just a bad person.

Actually I should go ring my parents now.
posted by shelleycat at 11:16 PM on May 18, 2010

(Mum and Dad were very happy to hear from me)
posted by shelleycat at 12:12 AM on May 19, 2010 [2 favorites]

I think most people like to receive the occasional random MeFi Mail about any sort of normal or weird question. I think that because I like those sort of MeFi Mails, and I still assume most people are like me, despite considerable experience to the contrary.
posted by FishBike at 5:46 AM on May 19, 2010

Just felt like pointing out—seems like a classic Asker v.s. Guesser thing going on here.
posted by polymodus at 10:11 AM on May 19, 2010

"*kitten may or may not be adorable.

There is no may or may not, only IS.
posted by jessamyn at 11:04 PM on May 18"

Kitten is be adorable? ;)
posted by marienbad at 2:33 PM on May 19, 2010 [1 favorite]