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Comments signal to noise ratios in profile?
June 28, 2010 7:46 AM Subscribe

Pony Request: Signal to Noise ratio on profiles?

I am perhaps overly proud that while I don't make many comments, many of those that I do make are selected as "best answer". In a perfect world I could inflate my vanity by seeing this reflected somewhere in my profile: For instance: "23% of your comments selected as best answers."

posted by seasparrow to Feature Requests at 7:46 AM (227 comments total)

Metafilter is not a game.
posted by empath at 7:47 AM on June 28, 2010 [53 favorites]

Please God no.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 7:48 AM on June 28, 2010 [10 favorites]

I post a lot of quality stuff on Metafilter and Metatalk, and I hardly ever get a 'best answer.' Am I doing something wrong?
posted by crunchland at 7:50 AM on June 28, 2010 [5 favorites]

I'm sure someone could write you a Greasemonkey script or something to add this to your own personal view of the site, but there is absolutely no-how no-way zero chance that we will implement this on Metafilter itself.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:51 AM on June 28, 2010 [6 favorites]

Yeah, no.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:51 AM on June 28, 2010 [14 favorites]

Characterizing a non-best answer receiving comment as "noise" is perhaps not a good start for this discussion. This information can be calculated from the Infodump if you really want to know, and I think it's interesting, but has to be published with caution.

I think having it shown on the profile page might be... problematic. Potential negative impacts include a lot more arguing about marking a best answer at all, more arguing about which comments are marked as best answers, and a dis-incentive to answer anonymous questions.
posted by FishBike at 7:51 AM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

But good on ye!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:51 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

All my answers are the best, even if the OP doesn't agree.
posted by mullacc at 7:51 AM on June 28, 2010 [16 favorites]

I idly wondered about this too.

My conclusion: it would reduce some signal to noise ratio among people who cared religiously about favorites, but it would also reduce the experience of contributing to Metafilter to a popularity contest at the expense of just.. contributing.

Or to put it another way: if every conversation had to have a killer punchline or an awesome fact or an amazing insight it wouldn't necessarily be any better than just talking.
posted by MuffinMan at 7:52 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

My mother says I'm the nicest boy in Toronto.
posted by chococat at 7:54 AM on June 28, 2010 [6 favorites]

Great comments, all. Thank you! I am both amused, flattered and chastised.
posted by seasparrow at 7:54 AM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

AskMe people are a bunch of ninnies. Treu Bleu 4EVA!!!
posted by Mister_A at 7:55 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Metafilter is not a game.

No, it's not, but it can be a good for a community to reward good behaviour. I don't think I like this particular idea, but it might a good thing for us to stay open to the idea of some sort of community validation that would appear on our user pages. Favourites are already in the way of being that kind of thing.
posted by orange swan at 7:56 AM on June 28, 2010

And anyway, if metafilter WAS a game, it should be based on the Genius Index (mine is currently 40)
posted by empath at 7:56 AM on June 28, 2010

Um. With only 27 answers total, I don't think there's a strong enough signal for this to afford bragging rights.
posted by desuetude at 7:58 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

In a perfect world I could inflate my vanity by seeing this reflected somewhere in my profile: For instance: "23% of your comments selected as best answers."

In that same world, your number of "best answers" is divided by your number of "worst questions."
posted by octobersurprise at 7:58 AM on June 28, 2010

This comment right here is the best answer, and fie on ye if you don't mark it as so.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:59 AM on June 28, 2010

I'm sure someone could write you a Greasemonkey script or something to add this to your own personal view of the site,

Number of best answers isn't available anywhere though, right?
posted by smackfu at 8:07 AM on June 28, 2010

I am the best kisser on this whole site.
posted by Mister_A at 8:14 AM on June 28, 2010

I'm so bright my mom calls me son.
posted by fixedgear at 8:14 AM on June 28, 2010 [6 favorites]

Number of best answers isn't available anywhere though, right?

Here are the people with the most best answers.

You could look for yourself on that list, then divide it by your total number of best answers. (If you're not on the list, maybe you don't have so many best answers after all?)
posted by Jaltcoh at 8:16 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

Favorites indicate agreement.
posted by OmieWise at 8:17 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Here are the people with the most best answers.

I demand a recount.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:22 AM on June 28, 2010

GODDAMNIT I ANSWERED YOUR DAMN QUESTION PERFECTLY IN THE FIRST ANSWER AND YOU GAVE THE BEST ANSWER TO SOME OTHER CHUMP AND YOU'VE RUINED MY GODDAMN 100% PERFECT BEST ANSWER RATIO AAARRRRRR

and that's why not.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:23 AM on June 28, 2010 [8 favorites]

In a perfect world I could inflate my vanity...

I take issue with your premise
posted by jpdoane at 8:25 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Of the 16% of my AskMe answers marked "best answer", 76% of those contain the phrase "counter-clockwise swirl."
posted by bondcliff at 8:27 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

You know what is a real travesty? The fact that there can be more than one best answer for a single question! I know, right?
posted by Mister_A at 8:29 AM on June 28, 2010

I don't like the idea as proposed, but if there was a way to give good contributors little awards without making it into a competition, that could be fun. I like Stack Overflow's Badges system.
posted by oulipian at 8:30 AM on June 28, 2010

I would also like to point out that we already have at least one of these, the "I was a back tagging superstar!" thing. Which is neat! Are there any others? Could we add more?
posted by oulipian at 8:33 AM on June 28, 2010

(Score:5, Funny)
posted by Threeway Handshake at 8:34 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

Good lord hell no. Do you want us all to bake you a cookie because you have a few check marks there?
posted by Burhanistan at 8:36 AM on June 28, 2010

Do you want us all to bake you a cookie because you have a few check marks there?

yes.
posted by FishBike at 8:38 AM on June 28, 2010 [6 favorites]

I, too, would like a cookie.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:40 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'd be fine with simply doing away with the "marked as best answer" thing as in many threads, especially relationship filter with fuzzy internals, the OP checks off whatever agrees with their own bias. The "resolved" tag is good, and perhaps instead of "best answer" the OP could actually write a comment about what worked and what didn't.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:41 AM on June 28, 2010

Have you considered baking your own fractions? It's not that hard. You put the one number on top of the other one, then consume it.
posted by Aquaman at 8:41 AM on June 28, 2010

I would also like to point out that we already have at least one of these, the "I was a back tagging superstar!" thing.

It used to display how posts you had tagged. I had done 106. Some others had done close to 700, if not more. Yet we both had the same badge, which kinda diminishes it, you know?

Do it for the karma points or good feeling, not for arbitrary measures of quality which we will never all agree on.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:41 AM on June 28, 2010

I would also like to point out that we already have at least one of these, the "I was a back tagging superstar!" thing. Which is neat! Are there any others? Could we add more?

Please no. Part of the problem with having achievements/badges/trophies/whatever is that people then game and grind the system just to get them. We've already seen this problem with the unfortunately-named favourites and people seeing them as marks of honour or achievement or something, when in reality people use them in a really wide variety of ways.

Really, this is a solution looking for a problem. MetaFilter isn't a MMORG.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:42 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

cortex, I'm sorry but I have no cookies. I have aught but cyclopean dough-nuts, topped with non-Euclidean sprinkles which will sear your mind with the flame of ultimate horror for all eternity. Still, no trans fats so it's not all bad news.
posted by Mister_A at 8:42 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

I, too, would like a cookie.

Cookie? DOUGHNUT.

Splitter.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:43 AM on June 28, 2010

I have 205 Best Answers, and that's only good for 23rd place.

I am the Spider-Man, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the Nanda Devi and the Mel Ott of best-answering.

'A Fifth of Beethoven' is pretty good, I guess.
posted by box at 8:43 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

I, too, would like a cookie.

Sorry, Jessamyn has more favorites, so she gets the cookie.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:45 AM on June 28, 2010

Not only is this a terrible idea, but the whole "best answer" thing is (as I have repeatedly pointed out) so random as to be useless as a metric. I recently provided a hard-to-find answer to a difficult question; the asker thanked me... and awarded himself the "best answer." Askers very frequently don't bother to choose a best answer, and they pretty often choose them in a way that makes little sense to the outside observer. All of which is fine as long as "best answer" is treated as a sweet little bit of ornamentation that means little but can make people feel good, but to treat it as a metric would be absurd.
posted by languagehat at 8:45 AM on June 28, 2010 [4 favorites]

MetaFilter isn't a MMORG.

No P?
posted by crunchland at 8:47 AM on June 28, 2010

You know what would be great right now? Risotto.

Where's my fucking risotto?
/Chef Ramsay
posted by Mister_A at 8:53 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Here are the people with the most best answers.

Dudes, sweet, I made the list!

*happy dance*
posted by Happy Dave at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2010

Part of the problem with having achievements/badges/trophies/whatever is that people then game and grind the system just to get them

People will give too many good answers!!!
posted by smackfu at 9:05 AM on June 28, 2010

You know what would be great right now? Risotto.

Where's my fucking risotto?
/Chef Ramsay

I've got your lemon pepper basil risotto right here! (OK, not really. But I do think I'll make it for dinner tonight.)
posted by mollymayhem at 9:06 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

I do not want a cookie. It is too hot for cookies.

If someone were, however, to start offering mojitos... how could I refuse?
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:06 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

yay cookie.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:08 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

I want to "fave" my sunglasses with this top. Anyone know of a site that handles this?
posted by applemeat at 9:09 AM on June 28, 2010

These non-Euclidean sprinkles... they're made of strings vibrating through multiple dimensions?
posted by Babblesort at 9:10 AM on June 28, 2010

People will give too many good answers!!!

Well har har. But there was an uptick in throwaway one-liners for a while after favourites were introduced, for example.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:11 AM on June 28, 2010

You know what is a real travesty? The fact that there can be more than one best answer for a single question! I know, right?

At that point, they're bestish answers.
posted by owtytrof at 9:13 AM on June 28, 2010

Great comments, all. Thank you! I am both amused, flattered and chastised.
posted by seasparrow at 9:54 AM on June 28

Wow, both of all three of those things! You are an overachiever! (Zing!)
posted by Daddy-O at 9:13 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

I do agree though that people would probably get more upset about not being award the best answer "they clearly deserve" if it was made more visible or counted. As it stands now, it is a little annoying at the time but it passes pretty quickly.
posted by smackfu at 9:14 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Cookie?
posted by desuetude at 9:16 AM on June 28, 2010

Metafilter is not a game.

A good thing too, because I might get hyper-competitive and start throwing elbows and taking out knees.

Just like when I play darts.
posted by quin at 9:21 AM on June 28, 2010

Want to know why cookies me favorite treat? Dat like asking why da sky blue. It just a fact, okay?
posted by ambrosia at 9:21 AM on June 28, 2010

COOKIE!
posted by loquacious at 9:25 AM on June 28, 2010 [4 favorites]

Note: Everyone needs a cookie.
posted by loquacious at 9:26 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

> Just like when I play darts.

I'd really like to see an Xtreme sport that was a hybrid of Rugby and Jarts.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:27 AM on June 28, 2010

You know, my favorite cookie is one made with oil. It's the only baked good made with oil that I like, aside from olive oil polenta cake. It's also the only baked good that I have ever had where I prefer the made-with-oil version to the made-with-butter version. Go figure. As written, however, the recipe has twice as much sugar as it needs.
posted by crush-onastick at 9:27 AM on June 28, 2010

I will say this: I'm a huge fan of favorites as brownie points/rewards. I know a lot of people don't like that they serve that function, but the little "ding" of a few more favorites really does serve a Skinner Box purpose to make me a better user. My writing's gotten much tighter, my answers more directed and careful, my blue comments better-composed, because I want to build something that'll make people click the little + sign. Positive feedback has its place.

(I do agree with the mods that ranking people as having a "signal/noise ratio" is an awful idea, but I wanted to chime in with my not-necessarily-popular stance in favor of favorites-as-community-accolades.)
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:28 AM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

How about you keep a pencil and a piece of paper by your computer to keep a running total?
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 9:30 AM on June 28, 2010

I really liked jessamyn until today.
posted by iconomy at 9:30 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

oulipian: "Stack Overflow's Badges system"

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:31 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

it can be a good for a community to reward good behaviour

I like that MetaFilter depends on the inherent rewards of good behavior rather than on a "gold star" approach. Sure, I feel sort of rewarded when people give a 'best answer' or a favorite to my comments, which is pleasant, but it's also inconsistent enough that I don't ascribe a lot of power or meaning to it, which keeps us all sane. These are very casual and somewhat arbitrary feedback loops. But that's OK, because I also feel rewarded by being part of a really interesting conversation, learning something new every day, having my points responded to directly, being joked with and needled in a friendly way, attending meetups and meeting nice people, always having something interesting to talk about that I saw here, seeing the impact of my contributions, making friends, and corresponding with people around the world. What we're doing here is learning and socializing, and I no more want that to be quantified than I want to walk around in real life with a star on my belly or a sash full of merit badges.
posted by Miko at 9:32 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

Pony: a bucket icon that, with each flag, gains a cock?
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:34 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have typed six words here.
posted by ob at 9:34 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

the problem with cookies are they leave a trace of crumbs behind for google to find
posted by infini at 9:37 AM on June 28, 2010

Dammit, now I'm hungry! THANKS GUYS.
posted by two lights above the sea at 9:38 AM on June 28, 2010

All my answers are the most best.
posted by electroboy at 9:42 AM on June 28, 2010

I have a "World's Greatest Dad" coffee mug. I am not in fact a father, but it seems pretty official.
posted by brundlefly at 9:44 AM on June 28, 2010

I have a "World's Greatest Dad" coffee mug. I am not in fact a father, but it seems pretty official.

Oh, I got one of those, too. It's for not reproducing.
posted by loquacious at 9:46 AM on June 28, 2010 [4 favorites]

This this sentence has two errors.
posted by Jaltcoh at 9:48 AM on June 28, 2010

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: BAD PONY
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: MISSING THE POINT COMPLETELY

On preview: Oh, look, I got one, too.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: DICK MOVE

Boo, I've had that one for ages.
posted by Eideteker at 9:49 AM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

> Oh, I got one of those, too. It's for not reproducing.

I, however, do have a mug that is capable of making copies of itself.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:51 AM on June 28, 2010

I really liked jessamyn until today.

June 28th is almost half a year away from Christmas. Did your heart shrink three sizes today?
posted by adipocere at 9:51 AM on June 28, 2010

I'd like my coffee cup to reproduce and give me another delicious and stimulating cup of coffee please please please.
posted by desuetude at 9:53 AM on June 28, 2010

Where's my fucking risotto?
/Chef Ramsay

IT'S RAW!! You donkey.
posted by norm at 9:53 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

Please no more score keeping.

Oh and FYI vacapinta and Kadin2048; you guys are going down. *resists urge to "best answer" some of his own comments*
posted by Mitheral at 9:54 AM on June 28, 2010

I really liked jessamyn until today.

Think what would happen if we teamed up!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:55 AM on June 28, 2010

I heard this is the thread where they're giving out cookies. Can I have one too?
posted by slogger at 9:59 AM on June 28, 2010

One time, I tried to order risotto at a restaurant and the waitress wouldn't let me place my order until I told her what risotto was. She was shrill and insistent. I don't know if she was afraid I wouldn't like it and send it back or what (I was maybe 14 at the time).

To this day, every time risotto comes up and my mother is around she yells, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT RISOTTO IS?"

I still love risotto, though.
posted by mmmbacon at 10:04 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

Part of the problem with having achievements/badges/trophies/whatever is that people then game and grind the system just to get them

People will ~~give too many good answers!!!~~ tell the OP what he or she so obviously wants to hear.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 10:06 AM on June 28, 2010

It's not necessary, sorry you don't need to inflate your vanity this way.
posted by fizzix at 10:07 AM on June 28, 2010

So is this a nonsense thread now? Cause I would just like to point out the pending civil war on MetaFilter:

This comment that lightly pokes fun at hipsters currently has 53 favorites.

This comment that angrily defends hipsters is currently sitting at 52 favorites.

The factions are evenly matched and the battle lines are drawn... Who will emerge victorious?
posted by Think_Long at 10:08 AM on June 28, 2010

My mother says I'm the nicest boy in Toronto.

She says that to everyone. Hell, she said it to me last night.
posted by dobbs at 10:13 AM on June 28, 2010 [7 favorites]

June 28th is almost half a year away from Christmas. Did your heart shrink three sizes today?

What makes you think I have a heart? You're cute.

Think what would happen if we teamed up!

I would love that. Can we wear matching black leather catsuits? Just because?
posted by iconomy at 10:16 AM on June 28, 2010

The factions are evenly matched and the battle lines are drawn... Who will emerge victorious?

Let me solve this for you.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:18 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Everything after "overly proud" was just a cacophony of cray-cray.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 10:24 AM on June 28, 2010

Favorites indicate agreement.

And pi is exactly three!

Forget cookies...who wants pi?
posted by kittyprecious at 10:29 AM on June 28, 2010

Think what would happen if we teamed up!

I wonder if I should add an extra user to the Infodump, named All Of Us Are Better Than Any Of Us, that has the combined stats of everyone in mefi history.

One of my favorite things about this place is that we do pretty much team up in the default case.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:41 AM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

grapefruitmoon, how about mojito cookies?
posted by catlet at 10:43 AM on June 28, 2010

You want signal to noise? I have a user number to question ratio of 5355:1. That is a terrific indication that I am efficient as my user number to answer ratio is 17.21:1. Factor in that I have 311 answers for every question I ask on the green and 269 comments for every post on the blue, I have 262 for every post on metatalk and you have a picture of signal to noise ration of a very consistent yet confused young man. If you are still not convinced I even have 7 votes on projects although truth be told some were protest votes.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:45 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

Here are the people with the most best answers.

Incidentally, even if you don't make the list, if you're curious, you can see your own best answers here:
http://mefi.marksmith.org/comments/bested?site=askme&commenter_id=**insert your userid here**
posted by juv3nal at 10:45 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

One time, I tried to order risotto at a restaurant and the waitress wouldn't let me place my order until I told her what risotto was. She was shrill and insistent. I don't know if she was afraid I wouldn't like it and send it back or what (I was maybe 14 at the time).

If only I could send you back in time armed with a well-composed screed explaining to the waitress what a very second-class thing risotto is in a restaurant compared to making it at home. That par-cooking thing can yield decent risotto if the kitchen is careful, but it's not an optimal restaurant dish, really.

Also, this is where I tell you people to make extra risotto so that you can make aracini the next day. Paging languagehat.
posted by desuetude at 10:46 AM on June 28, 2010 [4 favorites]

I know a lot of people don't like that they serve that function, but the little "ding" of a few more favorites really does serve a Skinner Box purpose to make me a better user.

Here, I'll break open the Skinner Box:

[+ 1-9 favorites]: Congratulations, you are a person today!
[+ 10-15 favorites]: You have said something pretty smart or funny! Go, you!
[+ 16-25 favorites]: You are clever indeed! Bask in the warmth of objective self-worth!
[+ 26-50 favorites]: You have said something unexceptional, but early in the thread, and a lot of people agree with it
[+ 51 favorites or more]: Oh happy day! You have done one of
• distilled the forum consensus on a given issue into a few sentences
• told your best old-man story
• posted here for the first time as an already-famous person

Please calibrate your stimulus-response mechanisms accordingly!
posted by furiousthought at 10:51 AM on June 28, 2010 [45 favorites]

I was told there would be risotto, cookies, and mojitos in this thread.

*waits*
posted by elizardbits at 10:55 AM on June 28, 2010

Oh, you're the waitress?

Excellent, could you bring some taters please?

Thank you.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:57 AM on June 28, 2010

desuetude, maybe you should write me that screed just in case I ever discover the secret of time travel. That waitress is definitely getting a visit. I need to save my fourteen year old self from momentary embarrassment.

Also, I'd like a good recipe for aracini if anyone has one, please.
posted by mmmbacon at 10:58 AM on June 28, 2010

[+ 1-9 favorites]: Congratulations, you are a person today!
[+ 10-15 favorites]: You have said something pretty smart or funny! Go, you!
[+ 16-25 favorites]: You are clever indeed! Bask in the warmth of objective self-worth!
[+ 26-50 favorites]: You have said something unexceptional, but early in the thread, and a lot of people agree with it
[+ 51 favorites or more]: Oh happy day! You have done one of
• distilled the forum consensus on a given issue into a few sentences
• told your best old-man story
• posted here for the first time as an already-famous person

[+ 200 favorites or more]: This comment is the equivalent of McDonald's, and every subsequent person who favorites it is merely further proof of your desperate appeal to the lowest common denominator.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:59 AM on June 28, 2010 [5 favorites]

I sent risotto back, as an adult lady once, saying "um this isn't risotto, it's just rice" and it was ... a thing. I'm not usually one of those send food back people, but it was a slightly fancy place and really, they brought me rice and promised me risotto. The waitress didn't know the difference between rice and risotto and was clearly confused why I was returning it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:59 AM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

grapefruitmoon, how about mojito cookies?

YES PLZ.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:02 AM on June 28, 2010

> Also, this is where I tell you people to make extra risotto so that you can make arancini the next day.

Do this, people. Seriously, you won't regret it.
posted by languagehat at 11:04 AM on June 28, 2010

Yeah, risotto isn't just a fancier name for rice. Did they promise you focaccia as well, and bring you a slice of wonderbread?
posted by mmmbacon at 11:13 AM on June 28, 2010

Hardcore or softcore taters? All discerning diners can tell the difference.
posted by elizardbits at 11:13 AM on June 28, 2010

If you can't remind the guest's mind, then clearly this isn't the fine dining establishment I thought it was.

*heads to Taco Bell*
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:18 AM on June 28, 2010

Talking about arancini, if I have a chance to get more people hooked on the Inspector Montalbano mysteries, then I'll take it. The Inspector is a Sicilian who loves food. They're translated from Italian. The translation is so flawless, it is hard to believe it was translated at all.
posted by vacapinta at 11:22 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

OmieWise: Favorites indicate agreement.

If this were collectively decided as suddenly true, I would, nearly ten years later, finally know how all those people in Florida who accidentally voted for Pat Buchannan felt.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:23 AM on June 28, 2010

[+ 26-50 favorites]: You have said something unexceptional, but early in the thread, and a lot of people agree with it.

These are always the ones that embarrass me when new contacts find them in my profile.
posted by edbles at 11:30 AM on June 28, 2010

I would like to order a cookie pony please.
posted by arcticseal at 11:30 AM on June 28, 2010

double-yay cookie!

Also, mojitos. I had a watermelon mojito last night and it was so bad ass.
posted by ersatzkat at 11:40 AM on June 28, 2010

I have 185 best answers? Holy shit!

I guess I really do know it all.

Now, in fairness, when I am wrong, I am really, really you-make-the-babies-by-holding-hands wrong.

But when I'm right, I'm all you-make-the-babies-with-love-and-cornstarch right.
posted by GuyZero at 11:55 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Can I get a risotto mojito?
posted by fourcheesemac at 11:59 AM on June 28, 2010

it can be a good for a community to reward good behaviour. I don't think I like this particular idea, but it might a good thing for us to stay open to the idea of some sort of community validation

The most effective and efficient form of community validation is found in members conduct and attitudes towards one another. It can be hard for new folks to grok and is subject to the vagaries of interpersonal relationships and all the messiness that sort of thing entails, but pretty much any other structured system belongs in a kindergarten classroom.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:00 PM on June 28, 2010

(translates Alvy) = if you get spousened that's validation, ja?
posted by infini at 12:03 PM on June 28, 2010

Category: bug report
Area/ Product: signal to noise ratio metric on user pages
Description: S:N ratio always reports "0", regardless of post quality/count. Thanks, boo_radley.

Resolution: WONTFIX/ NOERROR This is a product of the reporting user's contributions. Suggest recalibration of self-worth to match reality.
posted by boo_radley at 12:07 PM on June 28, 2010

This comment that lightly pokes fun at hipsters currently has 53 favorites.
This comment that angrily defends hipsters is currently sitting at 52 favorites.

But most of those are ironic favorites.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:19 PM on June 28, 2010

After the big favorites snafu a while back, cortex made a related post. If you read through the blog and check out the book excerpts you can find the answers to many of the arguments that pop up around these types of things. Like "score-boarding" does exist, but in a specific manner. Anyway, I believe this would fall into the non-starter category because it involves a noise (read: negative) component which is not good to include.
I also tend too agree with languagehat on this, and have seen the same things.
posted by P.o.B. at 12:26 PM on June 28, 2010

Pish posh on your "best answers" and "genius index." I was a goddamn BACK TAGGING SUPERSTAR!
posted by marxchivist at 12:27 PM on June 28, 2010

So what marx, I unlocked the You Call That A Fucking Risotto? achievement.
posted by Mister_A at 12:40 PM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

this suggestion is unfair to people like me that provide the community with no signal.
posted by the aloha at 12:41 PM on June 28, 2010

Did you know that you can cook pasta in a risotto-like manner? Orzo is the perfect choice.
posted by fixedgear at 12:58 PM on June 28, 2010

Fixedgear, please elaborate. I know not of this delicious-sounding concept.
posted by 8dot3 at 1:09 PM on June 28, 2010

My mother says I'm the nicest boy in Toronto.

She says that to everyone. Hell, she said it to me last night.

Dad!
I can't even have a minute of privacy! I HATE YOU!

*stomp stomp stomp stomp SLAM*
posted by chococat at 1:31 PM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'm casting +5 intelligence on everyone who comments on metafilter...

MISSED. Damn. There goes my turn.
[fuq decreased his signal:noise ratio by 3%]
posted by fuq at 1:37 PM on June 28, 2010

Orzo risotto recipe. We just make it the same way we'd make risotto, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, sweated, toast the pasta for a few minutes, start adding stock.
posted by fixedgear at 1:41 PM on June 28, 2010 [4 favorites]

http://mefi.marksmith.org/comments/bested?site=askme&commenter_id=**insert your userid here*

Very sad. Tried it and it wouldn't even insert my user ID in the result, much less acknowledge I ever had a best answer. and I have had a few . . . . just a few . . . . don't they count at all? *Whimpers softly.*

This is all because I loathe risotto, isn't it?
posted by bearwife at 2:05 PM on June 28, 2010

...and a dis-incentive to answer anonymous questions.

11078 users have answered anonymous questions

Top Anon-answerers by percentage of total user answers (100 answers minimum):

(percentage anonymous post answers, total askme answers, user name)

30% 101 VioletU
30% 111 politikitty
30% 122 parakeetdog
30% 130 contrariwise
30% 160 RajahKing
30% 160 mercredi
30% 168 biochemist
30% 211 Lady Li
30% 294 cranberrymonger
30% 295 Elysum
30% 3666 Ironmouth
30% 379 stormpooper
30% 426 mai
30% 530 KateHasQuestions
30% 586 nixerman
31% 101 jeeves
31% 120 honey-barbara
31% 173 shaun uh
31% 232 agentwills
31% 259 inturnaround
31% 531 jbenben
31% 589 heatherann
31% 896 whoaali
32% 120 moiraine
32% 158 Omnomnom
32% 488 Potomac Avenue
32% 517 lorrer
33% 124 Locochona
33% 151 murrey
33% 152 yarly
33% 159 Rocket26
33% 198 naplesyellow
33% 199 Serene Empress Dork
33% 218 December
33% 223 teg4rvn
33% 301 anitanita
33% 922 jenfullmoon
34% 126 balls
34% 144 Lobster Garden
34% 155 Tell Me No Lies
34% 342 Lolie
34% 364 bananafish
35% 107 smallstatic
35% 111 keep it under cover
35% 114 browolf
35% 1274 Meg_Murry
35% 133 timoni
35% 174 French Fry
35% 375 Maias
36% 119 Acer_saccharum
37% 110 Bakuun
37% 204 MiffyCLB
37% 211 darth_tedious
38% 1374 kathrineg
38% 139 xm
38% 485 katemcd
38% 789 anniecat
40% 160 meepmeow
41% 299 The1andonly
41% 314 spaltavian
48% 174 foxjacket
49% 621 internet fraud detective squad, station number 9
50% 514 Ashley801

Note: The word "answers" looks really really wrong if you write it too
many times.
posted by Meta Filter at 2:12 PM on June 28, 2010

bearwife: here
posted by ambrosia at 2:12 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

As a related pony, would it be possible to be informed (not publicly, permanently) when my comments are marked as best? Sometimes I will make my best guess, and it would be nice to know if those are ever right -- hey, it could happen.

Contact activity tells me when people I link to give a best answer, but not when I do, so I guess I'd like to link to myself (but wouldn't want to call it that.)
posted by Some1 at 2:53 PM on June 28, 2010

Recent Activity sort of does that, as long as more than 10 people haven't commented after you. More importantly, it lets you see what the best answer was when it wasn't you so that you can see what helped the asker the most.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:28 PM on June 28, 2010

Oh, and

I wonder if I should add an extra user to the Infodump, named All Of Us Are Better Than Any Of Us, that has the combined stats of everyone in mefi history.

That monster is easy to defeat, just ask it how to pronounce "MeFi" and in about 20 seconds its head will just pop off and it will turn into liquid goo.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:31 PM on June 28, 2010

Remember back when some people still thought Favorites & Best Answers wouldn't affect people's attitudes and behavior on the site?

Yeah, me neither.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:09 PM on June 28, 2010

I heard there were cookies here-chocolate chip?
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:10 PM on June 28, 2010

Metafilter is not a game.

but...but...but....just last night I took part in a 25 man raid on koeselitz!
posted by furiousxgeorge at 4:11 PM on June 28, 2010 [6 favorites]

I got the side barred cat toy question thus improving my signal quality. Off to make some noise now.

(More accurately, I asked my girlfriend.)
posted by cjorgensen at 4:54 PM on June 28, 2010

Contact activity tells me when people I link to give a best answer, but not when I do, so I guess I'd like to link to myself (but wouldn't want to call it that.)

How to add yourself as a contact (you can call it whatever you want).
posted by ssg at 5:41 PM on June 28, 2010

I just scanned through this briefly but I saw somebody talking about a Badger System and I think we should have that.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:43 PM on June 28, 2010

I've got a hunch that we're not going to get any banjos either.
posted by unliteral at 5:50 PM on June 28, 2010

I got up at 4:25 this morning to fly to a pleasantish midwestern city and sit in a windowless conference room and talk about metrics all day. When I checked into my bland corporate hotel they gave me a warm chocolate chip cookie in a paper sleeve and it made me happier than it probably should have.

Conclusions: cookies are good; it's cool when people weigh in on AskMe when they really know the answer; I should go to bed.
posted by yarrow at 7:25 PM on June 28, 2010

As I see it, MetaFilter is an alphabet game...
posted by not_on_display at 8:06 PM on June 28, 2010

Thanks, ssq. Just don't tell anyone I self link, there's already on masturbation conversation going on.
posted by Some1 at 8:08 PM on June 28, 2010

It would be super if when someone tried to make a metatalk post there was a popup that said 'Please check the archives to see if this has been asked and rejected forty bajillion times already.'

I will make a metatalk post crying for this pony at some point when I have run out of other things to do with my time.
posted by winna at 8:17 PM on June 28, 2010

I've got a hunch that we're not going to get any banjos either.

Not until you take off that fedora!
posted by scody at 12:02 AM on June 29, 2010

Is this where the cookie line starts?
posted by blue_beetle at 6:07 AM on June 29, 2010

Just get behind me.
posted by box at 6:30 AM on June 29, 2010

(Keeping one's signal/noise ratio at an appropriate level is an important part of Metafilter: The Game.)
posted by box at 6:31 AM on June 29, 2010

Learning of the game, you are.
posted by not_on_display at 7:09 AM on June 29, 2010

Man, TWO alphabet threads? It's like Christmas!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:14 AM on June 29, 2010

No way I'm getting sucked into this one.
posted by chococat at 7:38 AM on June 29, 2010

Not quite - it's still only June.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:41 AM on June 29, 2010

Oh dear.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:41 AM on June 29, 2010

pass the soap please
posted by not_on_display at 8:05 AM on June 29, 2010

Question: do Australians sing songs about snow on Christmas?
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:08 AM on June 29, 2010

Rarely.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:09 AM on June 29, 2010

So... what DO Australians sing about? Does Santa come in from the South Pole on a penguin?
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:10 AM on June 29, 2010

They mostly sing about BBQs and kangaroos.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:19 AM on June 29, 2010

Upside-down-ness.
posted by box at 8:22 AM on June 29, 2010

What about wallabies?
posted by catlet at 8:33 AM on June 29, 2010

Vegemite.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:33 AM on June 29, 2010

Wait what happened there?
posted by shakespeherian at 8:33 AM on June 29, 2010

Whoops. Wrong thread. *inserts vuvuzela*
posted by catlet at 8:34 AM on June 29, 2010

Xylophones are a rubbish accompaniment to vuvuzelas. Trust me.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:35 AM on June 29, 2010

Whoops. Wrong thread. *inserts vuvuzela*

Mmf. Careful with that thing.
posted by desuetude at 8:38 AM on June 29, 2010

Zee vuvuzelas, zey are everywhere.
posted by desuetude at 8:38 AM on June 29, 2010

Since we're gaming this, what's the cheat code to get a cookie?
posted by arcticseal at 8:45 AM on June 29, 2010

b-but I had the alphabet thread over there!
posted by lysdexic at 9:17 AM on June 29, 2010

All basically crap, dear. Everyone feels generally haughty, including Justice Kagan (Lord!). Most normal observers patiently question regulatory systems tiered under vuvuzelas, which X-TREME yodeling zeroes.

Another boring comment, desperately edited for great hilarity. I joke! Keep listening: massive numbers of professional quintets regularly syncopate their ululating vuvuzelas with xylophones? Yeah, zany!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:23 AM on June 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

Briefly, I must state that the other alphabet thread is superior in that y'all are doing it wrong.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:26 AM on June 29, 2010

Claptrap!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:33 AM on June 29, 2010

Damned if I'm going to make any more Australia jokes.
posted by box at 9:37 AM on June 29, 2010

Ever wonder where the other thread is? Is it outside us or just another organ inside us?
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 9:56 AM on June 29, 2010

For a nice summer avocado salad, I thaw some frozen shrimp (the ones in nordic land are yummy), lettuce, tomatoes, a pear if its there, avocado, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and a dollop of Caesar dressing topped off with some cheese flakes of a particular kind.
posted by infini at 11:04 AM on June 29, 2010

syncopate their ululating vuvuzelas

Needs an NSFW tag.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 11:19 AM on June 29, 2010

GYONSFWT
posted by not_on_display at 11:48 AM on June 29, 2010

Ha!
posted by scody at 11:52 AM on June 29, 2010

I'm getting some noise in your signals.
posted by mullacc at 1:18 PM on June 29, 2010

SYGYONSFWTWTSDS
posted by Crabby Appleton at 1:42 PM on June 29, 2010

Jesus wept.
posted by scody at 1:44 PM on June 29, 2010

How original.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 1:55 PM on June 29, 2010

I see, we're doing this thing again.
posted by quin at 2:17 PM on June 29, 2010

No fair. I'm not an asshole NOR do I know the alphabet. I'm going to play outside.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:20 PM on June 29, 2010

Jammer of the Alphabet Thread, Slambrosia!
posted by not_on_display at 4:06 PM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Kobiyashi couldn't swallow it.
posted by Miko at 5:27 PM on June 29, 2010

Lame. I meant Cat Pants Hurts.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:29 PM on June 29, 2010

Me oh my. I posted in the wrong thread. *sigh*
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:30 PM on June 29, 2010

NOOOooooooooooo! CAT PANTS HURRRRRRTS!
posted by not_on_display at 9:04 PM on June 29, 2010

O Cana—

*trampled by police*
posted by Sys Rq at 10:18 PM on June 29, 2010 [3 favorites]

Pere Ubu
posted by not_on_display at 8:53 PM on July 5, 2010

Quantified guts, but the gut of the quantifier is unquantified.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:31 PM on July 5, 2010

Ruckzuck
posted by not_on_display at 11:23 AM on July 6, 2010

Sare Jahan se accha yeh hindustan hamara *hm hm hmmmm hhm hm*
posted by infini at 11:41 AM on July 6, 2010

Top Ten Tamil Songs of Two-Thousand Nine
posted by not_on_display at 3:27 PM on July 6, 2010

Unusual Ululations in the UK!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 6:10 PM on July 6, 2010

Vuvuzelas!
posted by Sys Rq at 6:27 PM on July 6, 2010

Why vuvuzelas?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:46 PM on July 6, 2010

You know, like, because.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:33 PM on July 6, 2010

Xucking hell.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:33 PM on July 6, 2010

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ- wait, what was that? Sorry, couldn't hear you over my vuvuzela. It does appear someone doesn't know their XYZs though.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:31 AM on July 7, 2010

Aardvarks! Wait..is this how it works?
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:10 AM on July 7, 2010

Baloney!
posted by infini at 9:50 AM on July 7, 2010

Cut it out, you guys.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 10:08 AM on July 7, 2010

Dude, you messed it up! Aa, Ab, Ac !
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:20 AM on July 7, 2010

Can't a person make a mistake around here? Geesh!
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 10:53 AM on July 7, 2010

Absolutely incorrect, again.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 11:30 AM on July 7, 2010

CCCCCCCCOMBO BREAKER!!!
posted by Eideteker at 12:25 PM on July 7, 2010

Calphabet threads are the new black.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:37 PM on July 7, 2010

Didn't know there was a double-dip rule on the second round!
posted by not_on_display at 4:43 PM on July 7, 2010

Didn't you? Who's for a game of questions?
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:23 PM on July 7, 2010

Eye Am! What do you get when you cross an ostrich egg with a chevrolet?
posted by not_on_display at 6:42 PM on July 7, 2010

Feathered but can't fly, fins but can't swim, nine feet tall, seventeen feet long and stuck head first in the sand?
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:35 PM on July 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Good guess, but maybe an Ova Nova?
posted by Sys Rq at 11:41 PM on July 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ha ha ha, next question, please.
posted by not_on_display at 12:02 AM on July 8, 2010

Is this all there is?
posted by not_on_display at 4:06 PM on July 8, 2010

Just keep dancing.
posted by box at 5:04 PM on July 8, 2010

Keep on keepin' on.
posted by Sailormom at 7:35 PM on July 8, 2010

Let's stay together.
posted by not_on_display at 10:13 PM on July 8, 2010

Mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm
posted by not_on_display at 2:29 PM on July 9, 2010

No you di'n'.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:39 PM on July 9, 2010

Oooo, I think I did.
posted by not_on_display at 4:30 PM on July 9, 2010

Percy Sledge!
posted by box at 8:43 PM on July 9, 2010

Quaker Oats: It's the Right Thing to Do
posted by Sys Rq at 8:57 PM on July 9, 2010

RAINBOW ALL THE WAY WHOA!
posted by Burhanistan at 11:42 PM on July 9, 2010