Mefi usage slips into the real world March 9, 2002 3:03 PM Subscribe
I was at an art gallery the other day, signing the comments book for an exhibition. As I wrote my thoughts, I realised I'd slipped into Metafilterese, all personal feelings and heartfelt oaths -- I even wished I could link to something related I'd seen at another exhibition. At the end it took everything not to write my mefi user name at the end. I'm wonder if any other addicts have found their Mefi usage slip into the real world...
Miguel, have you ever thought about creating an electronic web-version of your book in HTML/DHTML, with links, layers and all? I always thought that would be a neat alternative to the printed page. For example, instead of using traditional numeric footnotes, you could use layered DHTML mouse-overs to write little digressions instead of requiring the reader to skip to the back of the book or bottom of the page. Or certain words could be linked to definitions or explanations. Etc.
posted by Karl at 3:51 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by Karl at 3:51 PM on March 9, 2002
yes. feelingempathetic.
posted by nedrichards at 3:55 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by nedrichards at 3:55 PM on March 9, 2002
I've slipped into computerese, but not mefiese... I still remember the time I tried to Ctrl-Z on a whiteboard.
posted by SpecialK at 6:09 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by SpecialK at 6:09 PM on March 9, 2002
Besides working all those punchlinks into my instant message conversations, no metafilter crossover, sorry.
I do remember junior high, though.. I was so addicted to MUDs and BBSs that I could feel my fingers typing whatever I said, whether there was a keyboard there or not. Creeeeepy.
posted by Hildago at 6:35 PM on March 9, 2002
I do remember junior high, though.. I was so addicted to MUDs and BBSs that I could feel my fingers typing whatever I said, whether there was a keyboard there or not. Creeeeepy.
posted by Hildago at 6:35 PM on March 9, 2002
Sometimes I can barely write an email without trying to insert a relevant link of some sort.
a coworker once asked me to turn my car back on because he forgot to "Scroll" up his window... and I have thought the Ctrl+Z thing a few times while writing by hand.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 7:17 PM on March 9, 2002
a coworker once asked me to turn my car back on because he forgot to "Scroll" up his window... and I have thought the Ctrl+Z thing a few times while writing by hand.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 7:17 PM on March 9, 2002
Not MeFi or Web related, but I wish I could TiVo many things in day to day life. I wish I could hit the rewind button or the pause button often.
posted by riffola at 7:59 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by riffola at 7:59 PM on March 9, 2002
Well, when someone IRL repeats a joke to me, I have an almost irresistable urge to yell, "Double Post!!"
posted by jonmc at 8:41 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by jonmc at 8:41 PM on March 9, 2002
You people are all deranged.
posted by Optamystic at 9:01 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by Optamystic at 9:01 PM on March 9, 2002
I often spell things out in my mind, as though I'm typing them. And then there's the rare occasion when I say exactly what I'm thinking (it's weird.) - "Dear Sarah, comma, how are you, exclamation point times two! love from kate ex oh ex oh ex oh".
posted by kv at 9:08 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by kv at 9:08 PM on March 9, 2002
I think this entire thread was just an excuse for feelinglistless to tell us that he went to an art gallery.
It's okay, dude. We know you're one of them cultured fellers. Now keep it down, Fear Factor's on.
posted by Optamystic at 9:18 PM on March 9, 2002
It's okay, dude. We know you're one of them cultured fellers. Now keep it down, Fear Factor's on.
posted by Optamystic at 9:18 PM on March 9, 2002
Last night I dreamed about a bunch of MeFi folks gathering in an abandoned movie theater for a get-together. Funny enough, since I don't know what most of you look like. The dream ended quickly - we were all just getting there, waiting for something to begin. Aren't other people's dreams interesting?
When I'm reading a real-world book, I always find myself dying for a 'search' function, to start where I am and search 'Up' for the previous occurrence of a word or phrase, to help me remember a character or event. It's so disappointing to think - "What was her last name again - wait I can search for it... Oh. Yeah. Damn. [riffles through pages looking for familiar patterns in the words]"
posted by kokogiak at 10:00 PM on March 9, 2002
When I'm reading a real-world book, I always find myself dying for a 'search' function, to start where I am and search 'Up' for the previous occurrence of a word or phrase, to help me remember a character or event. It's so disappointing to think - "What was her last name again - wait I can search for it... Oh. Yeah. Damn. [riffles through pages looking for familiar patterns in the words]"
posted by kokogiak at 10:00 PM on March 9, 2002
Metafilter: We're all deranged
Woo Hoo!!! Kinda drunk, and under normal circumstances I'd be totally against this thread because of its limited value, but hey...let's party! MeFi: Shit hits the fan, and we admire the artwork it creates.
posted by BlueTrain at 10:50 PM on March 9, 2002
Woo Hoo!!! Kinda drunk, and under normal circumstances I'd be totally against this thread because of its limited value, but hey...let's party! MeFi: Shit hits the fan, and we admire the artwork it creates.
posted by BlueTrain at 10:50 PM on March 9, 2002
> MeFi: Shit hits the fan, and we admire the artwork it creates.
So, has anyone ever had an installation, in a New York gallery, exploring the shit-hitting-fan idiom literally? Because, I dunno, I'd go to see that.
(See? My post is about art galleries too! So we're back on topic! Right? Right? Ah, hell. You know, this is exactly the kind of uselessly chatty post that Matt probably would just assume see a lot less of, and I know that as I type it, and yet I type -- and I'm not even drinking. I'm a reasonably intelligent person, and yet I toss out a considerably share of inane and/or self-absorbed prattle on forums that I nonetheless care about. Why do I do this? Why do other people do this? Is there a word for this, a label for this particular Net meme? I know I could just erase this, kill the post before it ever sees light of day (something I've gotten in the habit of doing over the years, after enough regrettable USENET gaffes), but in this case I probably won't, because wrapped up in this mess is a few questions I'm at least curious about. But, dude, I swear it'll never happen again. It's the lack of booze! I'm not myself! I LOVE you, honey! Etc.
posted by cortex at 10:59 PM on March 9, 2002
So, has anyone ever had an installation, in a New York gallery, exploring the shit-hitting-fan idiom literally? Because, I dunno, I'd go to see that.
(See? My post is about art galleries too! So we're back on topic! Right? Right? Ah, hell. You know, this is exactly the kind of uselessly chatty post that Matt probably would just assume see a lot less of, and I know that as I type it, and yet I type -- and I'm not even drinking. I'm a reasonably intelligent person, and yet I toss out a considerably share of inane and/or self-absorbed prattle on forums that I nonetheless care about. Why do I do this? Why do other people do this? Is there a word for this, a label for this particular Net meme? I know I could just erase this, kill the post before it ever sees light of day (something I've gotten in the habit of doing over the years, after enough regrettable USENET gaffes), but in this case I probably won't, because wrapped up in this mess is a few questions I'm at least curious about. But, dude, I swear it'll never happen again. It's the lack of booze! I'm not myself! I LOVE you, honey! Etc.
posted by cortex at 10:59 PM on March 9, 2002
s/considerably/considerable and a closing paren at the end.
posted by cortex at 11:02 PM on March 9, 2002
posted by cortex at 11:02 PM on March 9, 2002
I think this entire thread was just an excuse for feelinglistless to tell us that he went to an art gallery.
Several, actually, but let's move on. I think my point is (perhaps I should have articulated this in the original post -- broke linking rules out of hand etc)) that a lot of people here seem to invest an awful lot of time discussing the topics at hand and there must be times when they take their discussions into the real world ... that something they've read here has change their view of the world ... I'd like to think so, otherwise what's the point? Already discussed before etc.
That said there have been a few times when I've seen something in the real world which I thought would make a good post but of course being made of atoms not noughts-and-ones doesn't have a web address ...
You people are all deranged.
The internet does that to you sometimes ... blah gah blah ...
posted by feelinglistless at 2:07 AM on March 10, 2002
Several, actually, but let's move on. I think my point is (perhaps I should have articulated this in the original post -- broke linking rules out of hand etc)) that a lot of people here seem to invest an awful lot of time discussing the topics at hand and there must be times when they take their discussions into the real world ... that something they've read here has change their view of the world ... I'd like to think so, otherwise what's the point? Already discussed before etc.
That said there have been a few times when I've seen something in the real world which I thought would make a good post but of course being made of atoms not noughts-and-ones doesn't have a web address ...
You people are all deranged.
The internet does that to you sometimes ... blah gah blah ...
posted by feelinglistless at 2:07 AM on March 10, 2002
there must be times when they take their discussions into the real world
For me, MeFi tends to discourage real-world discussion - especially, casual, veneer discussion about current events and pop culture. Many of my real-world aquaintances are uncannily reflected by some of the characters (and caricatures) who hang about MeFi, so, I pretty much know where a vocal-corded discussion is likely to go. The short, often discouraging trip to the bottom of a MeFi page is a much less strenuous journey than its real-world counterpart - and since both journeys so often arrive at the same deserted, echo-empty, graffiti-thick last stop, why not buy the sweeter ticket, and take the easier ride?
posted by Opus Dark at 3:24 AM on March 10, 2002
For me, MeFi tends to discourage real-world discussion - especially, casual, veneer discussion about current events and pop culture. Many of my real-world aquaintances are uncannily reflected by some of the characters (and caricatures) who hang about MeFi, so, I pretty much know where a vocal-corded discussion is likely to go. The short, often discouraging trip to the bottom of a MeFi page is a much less strenuous journey than its real-world counterpart - and since both journeys so often arrive at the same deserted, echo-empty, graffiti-thick last stop, why not buy the sweeter ticket, and take the easier ride?
posted by Opus Dark at 3:24 AM on March 10, 2002
[this is good]
posted by adampsyche at 9:06 AM on March 10, 2002
posted by adampsyche at 9:06 AM on March 10, 2002
If it weren't for meaningless prattle, I'd probably never post at all. I know that we're not supposed to be too "conversational", but I can't really help it. Here's why: I've been hanging around these parts for quite a while, and I've had every argument about "issues of substance" that I care to have. Ever. Online or off. I'm probably not going to change (random conservative person)'s mind on anything, and s\he's probably not going to change mine. I'm sick to death of running around in ideological circles on MeFi, and everywhere else.
I have, however, come to value and enjoy the sense of community I've found here. For example, I rarely agree with aaron, but I truly like the guy. So, I choose not to engage in contentious conversation, and instead I enjoy his posts for what they are: well reasoned, well written, engaging arguments with which I often disagree. I read William F. Buckley for the same reason.
As the only liberal agnostic in a large, conservative, Southern Baptist, family, I have honed my ability to enjoy people's company without engaging them in too much "meaningful" conversation. Not to say that we should be babbling like we're in a chatroom, but I don't think that cheerleader posts, and "attaboy" posts should be verboten. If we prohibit people from encouraging one another, then the only things that a person reads are criticisms of his ideas or links or whatever. It really sucks that these criticisms are considered valid and "signalicious" posts, but the hundreds of people who may have clicked on the link and really enjoyed what it had to offer are silent, because they don't want to be perceived as adding "noise".
As a result, of this "cheerleading=noise" mentality, we get too many threads that devolve into snarkfests, because the first person that commented in the thread was one who thought the link sucked. The creator of the thread then checks back on his baby and sees that some knucklehead has missed the entire intended point of the Post, and has, instead, decided to make some bitchy comment about the design of the page in question (after all, everyone on earth is a professional web developer, right?)
Okay, I'm rambling a bit (in a post about rambling, no less. I'm Meta-rambling.) Point is, real life communities are based on, among other things, mutual respect and admiration. I believe that Metafilter is too. Maybe expressing those sentiments more often wouldn't be such a bad thing.
posted by Optamystic at 10:26 AM on March 10, 2002
I have, however, come to value and enjoy the sense of community I've found here. For example, I rarely agree with aaron, but I truly like the guy. So, I choose not to engage in contentious conversation, and instead I enjoy his posts for what they are: well reasoned, well written, engaging arguments with which I often disagree. I read William F. Buckley for the same reason.
As the only liberal agnostic in a large, conservative, Southern Baptist, family, I have honed my ability to enjoy people's company without engaging them in too much "meaningful" conversation. Not to say that we should be babbling like we're in a chatroom, but I don't think that cheerleader posts, and "attaboy" posts should be verboten. If we prohibit people from encouraging one another, then the only things that a person reads are criticisms of his ideas or links or whatever. It really sucks that these criticisms are considered valid and "signalicious" posts, but the hundreds of people who may have clicked on the link and really enjoyed what it had to offer are silent, because they don't want to be perceived as adding "noise".
As a result, of this "cheerleading=noise" mentality, we get too many threads that devolve into snarkfests, because the first person that commented in the thread was one who thought the link sucked. The creator of the thread then checks back on his baby and sees that some knucklehead has missed the entire intended point of the Post, and has, instead, decided to make some bitchy comment about the design of the page in question (after all, everyone on earth is a professional web developer, right?)
Okay, I'm rambling a bit (in a post about rambling, no less. I'm Meta-rambling.) Point is, real life communities are based on, among other things, mutual respect and admiration. I believe that Metafilter is too. Maybe expressing those sentiments more often wouldn't be such a bad thing.
posted by Optamystic at 10:26 AM on March 10, 2002
"journeys so often arrive at the same deserted, echo-empty, graffiti-thick last stop, why not buy the sweeter ticket, and take the easier ride?"
Miguel: "whos Godot"
Clavdivs: "...like...waiting-for-the-dope...get it."
(pulls out monte cristo, fresh from Havana...no flag this year)
while asking various people for a light at a 'installation', I recieved some amazing responses. what is it about asking someone to borrow fire. why would one sign a book? i sign my movie rentals under dead 'gonifs'. using morris rudensky now.
opty-MeFi-MeTa can devolve into chat. but its dam fine chat. and most is like...an elevator ride. a few words, not to loud, and dont hold up the car....elevator...lift...the space.
Dong Resin: {flips switch, green led turns red}
posted by clavdivs at 12:30 PM on March 10, 2002
Miguel: "whos Godot"
Clavdivs: "...like...waiting-for-the-dope...get it."
(pulls out monte cristo, fresh from Havana...no flag this year)
while asking various people for a light at a 'installation', I recieved some amazing responses. what is it about asking someone to borrow fire. why would one sign a book? i sign my movie rentals under dead 'gonifs'. using morris rudensky now.
opty-MeFi-MeTa can devolve into chat. but its dam fine chat. and most is like...an elevator ride. a few words, not to loud, and dont hold up the car....elevator...lift...the space.
Dong Resin: {flips switch, green led turns red}
posted by clavdivs at 12:30 PM on March 10, 2002
What cortex said, and Optamystic too.
I myself recently wanted to compliment evanizer's comment about fold_and_mutilate actually being a bot, which would have been along the lines of "Presenting the Evanizer! It slices, it dices, makes hundreds of julienne fries in seconds." But (believe it or not) I do try to practice some restraint in not derailing every thread I follow. Still, always being serious is no damn fun either.
Optamystic's closing point about mutual respect and admiration hit home. I don't feel all that respectable or admirable myself, but if I can get any credit for at all for at least trying not being a complete asshole, I'm happy.
posted by StOne at 12:37 PM on March 10, 2002
I myself recently wanted to compliment evanizer's comment about fold_and_mutilate actually being a bot, which would have been along the lines of "Presenting the Evanizer! It slices, it dices, makes hundreds of julienne fries in seconds." But (believe it or not) I do try to practice some restraint in not derailing every thread I follow. Still, always being serious is no damn fun either.
Optamystic's closing point about mutual respect and admiration hit home. I don't feel all that respectable or admirable myself, but if I can get any credit for at all for at least trying not being a complete asshole, I'm happy.
posted by StOne at 12:37 PM on March 10, 2002
stOne, I want to share evanizer's bot comment with everyone I know, simply because I know that THEY would find use for it.
posted by Wulfgar! at 1:37 PM on March 10, 2002
posted by Wulfgar! at 1:37 PM on March 10, 2002
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posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:12 PM on March 9, 2002