What was the quickest Best Answer? November 16, 2010 9:48 AM   Subscribe

What was the quickest Best Answer?

After having what I thought might be a hive-mind-stumping question decisively answered in 4 minutes, I'm wondering what the record is.

Ideally, the record holder should be the only Best Answer in the thread, which should itself be marked as Resolved.
posted by Joe Beese to MetaFilter-Related at 9:48 AM (82 comments total)

This is definitely a cortex or FishBike question. I feel like there may be one or two that are even less than four minutes. But not everyone only marks one Best Answer or used the resolved tag, so this may be a tough one to figure out.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:51 AM on November 16, 2010


I'm betting it would be some kind of "what movie did I see" question, where there's only one right answer and it's just a "tip of the tongue" issue and not some obscure French film from the 40s.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:56 AM on November 16, 2010


Sounds like a fairly straightforward Infodump query, so I can give it a try when I get home tonight. Provided you can make it relate to Minecraft in some way.
posted by FishBike at 9:56 AM on November 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


given that
1: there already is a answer marked as best answer within 1 minute of posting already on the ASk front page today

2: I don't see an obvious way to tell how many seconds elapse between posts/replies

3:I'll take a wild guess and say 1 minute


(granted #1, isn't an ONLY best answer, but given that we/you can find this today semi suggests it is not uncommon, and that there is bound to be others that are single best answers within that minute mark)
posted by edgeways at 9:57 AM on November 16, 2010


2: I don't see an obvious way to tell how many seconds elapse between posts/replies

The Infodump records timestamps with millisecond precision.
posted by FishBike at 9:57 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


And here I thought my nine minutes was impressive.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:01 AM on November 16, 2010


I had a 2 minute first answer/best answer that I am particularly fond of. But I'm sure there are others that are even faster first answer/best answers.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:03 AM on November 16, 2010


I remember some being one minute. Was it spirograph?

I also asked a 'what book is this' question that was answered in one minute.
posted by PercussivePaul at 10:04 AM on November 16, 2010


Three minutes.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 10:04 AM on November 16, 2010


I had a one-minuter once. Those were the days, man. Those were the days.
posted by Gator at 10:06 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


I had a question that was answered in 38 minutes... I thought it was a particularly tough question since I had so little to go on, but BAM!

It was answered on the first response.

(ummmm, I just marked it as 'resolved'. Ooops.)
posted by matty at 10:08 AM on November 16, 2010


negative 16 minutes?
posted by edgeways at 10:10 AM on November 16, 2010 [44 favorites]


negative 16 minutes?

Time change!
posted by pb (staff) at 10:12 AM on November 16, 2010


I remember this one. The question ended in "...am I right?" and the best answer ("yes") came in just a few seconds after the post, which was eight pages long, first appeared.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:12 AM on November 16, 2010


Time change!

FTW!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:13 AM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


I answered one in 5 minutes a couple of weeks ago, but I believe I get bonus points for testing the script I suggested to make sure it actually worked for what the OP wanted it to do before posting.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:16 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


My modest proposal is that AskMe be revamped to include a leaderboard and ranking system: the more best answers you get, and the faster you get them, the more points you would be awarded.

Points could then be cashed in to give your answers immunity from mod deletion, or for extra questions per week.

In this way, the most valuable members of the AskMe community would have a greater presence on the site. This could be integrated across all the Metafilter domains using the favorites system, as well.

Suffice it to say, my first invincible post would be about Lady Gaga and the TSA, and how the airport screeners in Israel caused the financial collapse. I'll also work Ayn Rand in somewhere. I'm not sure if there is a question in there, but I figure that if I ramble long enough, I'll find one. NO CRUISES.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:18 AM on November 16, 2010 [4 favorites]


Metafilter: Answering questions before you can even ask them.
posted by deezil at 10:18 AM on November 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


yeah, screw the lady with the cell phone in the Charlie Chaplin film and double that for the Mr modern sunglasses, we got time stamp proof of time shifting goodness right here!
posted by edgeways at 10:20 AM on November 16, 2010




Man, that is some bullshit in the best answering in that Spirograph question.

NO JUSTICE NO PEACE
posted by dirtdirt at 10:29 AM on November 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


I don't understand where this question is coming from. Have you ever answered a question, Joe? Have you ever had a Best Answer? It's not a race, man. Take it from a guy who's answered a question or two in his time. The best Best Answers are the long, slow ones. You've got to take your time, show the querent how much you value what they wrote, that you read it, and that you're a thoughtful answerer. If you just get in and get out, you'll never really achieve great Ask.
posted by Eideteker at 10:35 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


I thought I did well getting a checkmark in 6 minutes, now not so much.
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:36 AM on November 16, 2010


My modest proposal is that AskMe be revamped to include a leaderboard and ranking system: the more best answers you get, and the faster you get them, the more points you would be awarded.

la

also

furthermore
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 10:38 AM on November 16, 2010 [14 favorites]


Upon review, I see that jessamyn's slam dunk of one of my old questions - which I had always known to be prompt - also clocked in at 4 minutes.

Fearsomely knowledgeable, this hive.
posted by Joe Beese at 10:43 AM on November 16, 2010


FAMOUS MONSTER THOSE ARE SO GREAT.

Holy fuckwiches, please let's make this happen.

I also think that achievements should be awarded for participation in threads that ultimately become EPIC: taters, the one with Scarabic's body disposal answer, the fedora one, the banjo gifter, I HAVE BEEN SILENCED ALL MY LIFE, etc. Best answer for massive damage!

Finally, Metafilter is fun again--prepare to get pwned N00bs!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:43 AM on November 16, 2010


Time change!

It's just a jump to the left...
posted by banshee at 10:47 AM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


Whenever I think about MetaFilter achievements I revisit this thread and laugh.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:47 AM on November 16, 2010


For the record, I not only answered this question in under a minute, but let the admin record show I fixed a typo in the question first.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:48 AM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


You didn't get a best answer, though.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:51 AM on November 16, 2010


pb, I totally missed that MeTa the first time round--very funny.

So, where are the achievements? I DEMAND THEM.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:53 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


Famous Monster, there's a card game waiting to happen there. MAKE IT SO.
posted by davejay at 10:59 AM on November 16, 2010


negative 16 minutes?
posted by edgeways at 7:10 PM on November 16 [15 favorites +]


Ha! My time travel powers finally pay off!
posted by swordfishtrombones at 11:01 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


Can someone lookup the average length of time it takes for questions about female pubic hair grooming to turn into men fighting with each other about it? I have a current record today of 106 minutes. Thanks!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:04 AM on November 16, 2010 [7 favorites]


I think that would garner the "Bushwhacker" achievement for both camps.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 11:07 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


The fastest answer is to the question that you don't ask.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:08 AM on November 16, 2010


pb: "Looks like there have been 19 best answers in under 60 seconds:"

I once answered one correctly with the same timestamp as the question, although the OP neglected to mark any best answers. Let the record show I was robbed. Robbed!
posted by sharkfu at 11:13 AM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


To unlock the son-of-minya achievement, you actually have to mail mathowie the severed hand for verification.
posted by Eideteker at 11:21 AM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


is this minus typing time?
posted by clavdivs at 11:49 AM on November 16, 2010


cuz.. wittengenstein said "zero"
posted by clavdivs at 11:51 AM on November 16, 2010


I answered this correctly in under a minute, but I'm more proud of questions like this, which took me almost an hour to solve, and this, which took more than an hour.
posted by brina at 12:04 PM on November 16, 2010


I'm just glad jessamyn brought up the pubic hair question because I've been pining for the opportunity to go old skool and say

Metafilter: YAY PANTS OFF TIME
posted by nanojath at 12:24 PM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


(Hmm, I wonder what the LONGEST time is between a question and a best answer?)
posted by nanojath at 12:25 PM on November 16, 2010


In a completely unrelated matter, is there a script out there that can rapidly choose one of six strings ("Yes," "No," "Eat it," "Chuck it," "Get help NOW" and "DTMFA") then click on a "Post Comment" button?
posted by Hardcore Poser at 12:26 PM on November 16, 2010


In a completely unrelated matter, is there a script out there that can rapidly choose one of six strings ("Yes," "No," "Eat it," "Chuck it," "Get help NOW" and "DTMFA") then click on a "Post Comment" button?

Yes,
posted by FishBike at 12:33 PM on November 16, 2010 [6 favorites]


Not under 60 seconds but How can we unlock a house that isn't ours? got accomplished in 17 minutes.
posted by adamvasco at 12:42 PM on November 16, 2010


What's the bestest fast answer?
posted by box at 12:58 PM on November 16, 2010


What's the longest best answer? What's the highest ratio of long best answer to short question? What's the lowest ratio?
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:03 PM on November 16, 2010


What's the highest ratio of long best answer to short question?

I don't think we've got question length in the Infodump yet, do we? We've got answer length though, so the longest best answer query is answerable.
posted by FishBike at 1:06 PM on November 16, 2010


Are the comment lengths in the infodump? You could figure out who wrote the first answer with the most words per minute since the question was asked. (Although someone quoting would probably win.)
posted by smackfu at 1:07 PM on November 16, 2010


Can someone lookup the average length of time it takes for questions about female pubic hair grooming to turn into men fighting with each other about it? I have a current record today of 106 minutes. Thanks!

I would like to go on record that I was not fighting over pubic hair.

I have plenty to go around.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:20 PM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


Metafilter: Answering questions before you can even ask them.

In honor of this, I submit the following answers:

- Though not initially successful, the battle of Hastings was decided by the archers,
- AC/DC's Jailbreak
- A .40 S&W is actually more powerful than a 9mm or a .45 ACP
- Siamese cats have very distinctive meows that turn them into a love-em-or-hate-em pet
- Resetting your cable modem periodically will eliminate that issue.

You may use them as the appropriate questions arise.
posted by quin at 1:27 PM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


Find that Waffle, solved in two minutes, blew my mind.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:33 PM on November 16, 2010


The creepy puppet's name is Joshua. Charlie White made him.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:34 PM on November 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


I would've been faster here, but I watched my video link all the way through.
posted by hydrophonic at 2:01 PM on November 16, 2010


Serious Question: What's the slowest best answer? Has anything been answered after a year or more?
posted by 2bucksplus at 2:03 PM on November 16, 2010


We'll tell you later.
posted by nickmark at 2:07 PM on November 16, 2010


Has anything been answered after a year or more?

I think by definition no because the threads close? But I can't remember if they always did or not.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:08 PM on November 16, 2010


A problem is that we can't see the questions that never got asked because the asker saw an older good answer and no longer needed to ask the question.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:31 PM on November 16, 2010


Looks like most all of the fast answers come with very little "extended explanation". Which makes me wonder; how does the question:extended explanation ratio correlate with number of answers. Just to get all XKCD, but I'm thinking there's a gonna be an early curve of "recommend me something blue", a valley of too specific to apply experience to, followed by a "way too much inside" peak of relationshipFilter grar.

More importantly, I think I'm gonna start using more than one front-page destined sentence in askMe.
posted by pwnguin at 2:48 PM on November 16, 2010


I memailed Stitcherbeast the answer to this question in 2009, 5 years after it was asked.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:10 PM on November 16, 2010


(The answer was Kenny/The Kid Brother, a movie about Kenny Easterley)
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:12 PM on November 16, 2010


In honor of this, I submit the following answers:

I've come back to this thread using my time machine, to provide the Metafilter community with the following future-answers:

* I can say from experience that, even though only consenting adults were involved, I still have to register as a sex offender.
* Often it's not that the challengers have a mandate to govern so much as that the incumbents are swept out of office by a tidal wave of populist discontent. Posting MODS=FAGS is just how people throw their weight behind the tidal wave.
* Because it muddies the water with emotive rhetoric, or because it's a widely understood term that's been in popular use since 1603, depending on whether you're for or against.
* Yes, it does sometimes feel like I'm talking to myself.
* It's a sentence fragment.
* In professional settings I find it works best to say "Go choke on a bucket of cock's" (sic)
posted by Mike1024 at 3:35 PM on November 16, 2010


Misfits of Science FTW!
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:54 PM on November 16, 2010


Well, pb has the fastest best answers all sewn up, but you included some other criteria in your question, so let's start adding those in. Here's the top 25 fastest best answers that were the only best answer to their questions:
Answer #648933: 23 seconds in question "80s Super Hero Program?"
Answer #1963848: 29 seconds in question "Where can I find this watch?"
Answer #1227298: 33 seconds in question "That artist. You know the one."
Answer #2111521: 36 seconds in question "Inventing another word for "pen""
Answer #714349: 44 seconds in question "Can you ID this cartoon?"
Answer #1972659: 47 seconds in question "What was the name of this video game?"
Answer #2197158: 47 seconds in question "Lim ($) = 0"
Answer #750746: 48 seconds in question "Name of popular note-taking technique discussed here before"
Answer #1648283: 48 seconds in question "Keyboard rearranges letters"
Answer #2428032: 48 seconds in question "Help me learn what is underneath Manhattan!"
Answer #758236: 51 seconds in question "Name That Tune"
Answer #2182607: 51 seconds in question "Please help me find the name of the novel where God literally falls to Earth, stone dead, from Heaven."
Answer #1745946: 52 seconds in question "Google is dead"
Answer #487037: 53 seconds in question "jon stewart and body parts. "
Answer #1990706: 54 seconds in question "what where the odd poles with green circles on top we saw in Oahu?"
Answer #1188688: 55 seconds in question "WHATS THIS MOVIE?"
Answer #1870500: 57 seconds in question "Movie in which thieves sync their heist with songs?"
Answer #2162192: 58 seconds in question "I thoroughly recommend this book whose title and author I have quite forgotten"
Answer #2175066: 58 seconds in question "Classic 1900's bike carousel"
Answer #2144062: 59 seconds in question "Help for the Hopelessly Disorganized"
Answer #784310: 60 seconds in question "What Computer app uses this sound?"
Answer #2000872: 60 seconds in question "Hey, that looks like a face!"
Answer #757256: 63 seconds in question "Searching for an intriguing book"
Answer #501780: 64 seconds in question "Freeware that makes little images into huge mosaics?"
Answer #1287181: 64 seconds in question "Cat Power?"
And now if we throw in the requirement to have a 'resolved' tag on the question as well, we get this list:
Answer #1963848: 29 seconds in question "Where can I find this watch?"
Answer #2111521: 36 seconds in question "Inventing another word for "pen""
Answer #1972659: 47 seconds in question "What was the name of this video game?"
Answer #750746: 48 seconds in question "Name of popular note-taking technique discussed here before"
Answer #1870500: 57 seconds in question "Movie in which thieves sync their heist with songs?"
Answer #2162192: 58 seconds in question "I thoroughly recommend this book whose title and author I have quite forgotten"
Answer #2175066: 58 seconds in question "Classic 1900's bike carousel"
Answer #2144062: 59 seconds in question "Help for the Hopelessly Disorganized"
Answer #784310: 60 seconds in question "What Computer app uses this sound?"
Answer #2395884: 68 seconds in question "Identify this movie."
Answer #2434049: 68 seconds in question "distorted human body based on nerves?"
Answer #2100324: 73 seconds in question "Not very Technical"
Answer #2232407: 76 seconds in question "Flash cut?"
Answer #2276154: 80 seconds in question "Typographic poster creator website using words/lyrics"
Answer #2215691: 81 seconds in question "How do I shut off the interior lights in my Jeep when the tailgate is open?"
Answer #1955013: 82 seconds in question "R Kelly is trapped in my trunk!"
Answer #1634713: 85 seconds in question "YASID: Dancing all day?"
Answer #677199: 86 seconds in question "Title of an old movie..."
Answer #2206726: 89 seconds in question "What does this writing say?"
Answer #2246090: 89 seconds in question "Captain Robo Gold Armor 80s Man"
Answer #2303291: 89 seconds in question "Where can I store luggage in Chicago?"
Answer #2193591: 92 seconds in question "Help me find this used games website!"
Answer #2264315: 92 seconds in question "What film is this?"
Answer #521815: 95 seconds in question "What is this post-apocalypse book?"
Answer #2286116: 95 seconds in question "Is this legit, or should I have a fit?"
posted by FishBike at 4:06 PM on November 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


I thought my 21 minutes one was pretty quick. It was the first and only answer, and was marked best after a while. But those are some real quick ones.
posted by vidur at 4:07 PM on November 16, 2010


(Hmm, I wonder what the LONGEST time is between a question and a best answer?)

Here are the 25 questions with the longest interval between the question and the first comment that was marked as a best answer:
Answer #535126: 343 days in question "Case for Canon SD200?"
Answer #1974976: 339 days in question "Pretty Piano Music From Old Serta Commercial?"
Answer #2122964: 335 days in question "The restore did more damage than the crash..."
Answer #526004: 334 days in question "What happened to Sparky?"
Answer #1724287: 332 days in question "What song is this?"
Answer #2280058: 327 days in question "Case-Insensitive LS on Mac OS X?"
Answer #2019823: 325 days in question "Backwards engineer my brownies!"
Answer #1930826: 312 days in question "How can I make myself "job-ready" for a marketing career in 2009?"
Answer #1079205: 311 days in question "Is Guinness Airlifted in from Ireland (or the U.K.) to certain pubs?"
Answer #1350570: 310 days in question "Target Ad Music: Rethinking the Dorm Room"
Answer #715349: 308 days in question "The Cheese Song"
Answer #1328160: 304 days in question "Recording gives me a headache."
Answer #2347065: 302 days in question "+Es Spanish Cat language school in Australia bueno?"
Answer #1126131: 301 days in question "Money money money money."
Answer #1549546: 297 days in question "Who wrote this song?"
Answer #1266690: 289 days in question "Where can I get a new can of sardines which opens with a key?"
Answer #699394: 289 days in question "Buckethead interview"
Answer #2172251: 286 days in question "Can Outlook attachments change themselves?"
Answer #1138179: 281 days in question "Lost Dog"
Answer #671504: 275 days in question "Ouch! Help me shave bloodlessly."
Answer #2114891: 271 days in question "Music that helps drain that game winning three."
Answer #1867603: 262 days in question "How to Create Non-Paginated PDFs from Current Webpage of Firefox?"
Answer #1252386: 259 days in question "Hay una grieta en mi corazon - can you help me fill it?"
Answer #1453390: 252 days in question "Sync Our Flix!"
Answer #1422467: 250 days in question "Where can I find a Samba Thistle's CD online?"
posted by FishBike at 4:25 PM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


What's the longest best answer?

Here are the 25 longest best answers:
Answer #1885308: 27950 characters in question "Don't know why they didn't offer a plain-text list "
Answer #1308474: 24735 characters in question "Wrong religion?"
Answer #2278674: 22497 characters in question "So this law, it's eternal?"
Answer #959058: 21798 characters in question "What "Rules for Life" should I pass on to my 15 year old brother?"
Answer #2117415: 19163 characters in question "Family Tree Research, How?"
Answer #1256299: 17309 characters in question "is there hope for someone who is highly narcissistic yet falls short of actually having narcissistic personality disorder?"
Answer #496603: 16072 characters in question "Shortwave Noise Filter (literally)."
Answer #2225610: 15447 characters in question "Save me from having to hire a data enterer."
Answer #1279002: 14981 characters in question "Can a taxi driver get rich without winning the lotto?"
Answer #451908: 13801 characters in question "sorry, we have detected you live in another licensing area"
Answer #657682: 13783 characters in question "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo, pick a love and make a go."
Answer #494768: 13703 characters in question "Friendly concern?"
Answer #1584338: 12865 characters in question "English-major cliche"
Answer #343027: 12856 characters in question "What is Quality? How does one measure it?"
Answer #1613615: 12640 characters in question "How can I hone my problem solving skills?"
Answer #1955285: 12366 characters in question "Tell me about the treatment of abuse in adults. "
Answer #2084652: 12307 characters in question "How do I win an election?"
Answer #678408: 12270 characters in question "Why the dearth of female philosophers?"
Answer #1627831: 12256 characters in question "video camera buying advice sought"
Answer #573706: 12186 characters in question "What is a reasonable offer for a new car?"
Answer #132028: 12055 characters in question "Music: Just what exactly is 'key'?"
Answer #1979178: 11933 characters in question "Is it depression and am I making it worse?"
Answer #2273239: 11805 characters in question "What am I missing here, to get this thing fired up and online?"
Answer #1313710: 11648 characters in question "Shower Planning?"
Answer #2204868: 11562 characters in question "Brooklyn, get in mah belly!"
posted by FishBike at 4:33 PM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


23 seconds, yee haw!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:34 PM on November 16, 2010


Has anything been answered after a year or more?

Nope, the latest answers are 366 days after the question was posted, which I assume is just leap year stuff. The top 25 list doesn't go below 364 days though, so there are a fair number of answers that are right at or very near the 1 year closure date.
posted by FishBike at 4:37 PM on November 16, 2010


Particularly happy about this one.
posted by azarbayejani at 7:06 PM on November 16, 2010


And now if we throw in the requirement to have a 'resolved' tag on the question as well, we get this list:

I've added the resolved tag to the ID this cartoon question. I'd forgotten how fast that question was answered!
posted by 6550 at 7:40 PM on November 16, 2010


The creepy puppet's name is Joshua. Charlie White made him.

Look, lady, I've never met Charlie White in my life and anyway the insult thread is three posts farther up the page.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:12 PM on November 16, 2010


This is MetaTalk. They're all insult threads.
posted by box at 8:29 PM on November 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


Ha, one of those was mine! Alas. I could have done better than 57 seconds, but I took time to grab the IMDB link.
posted by st looney up the cream bun and jam at 8:51 PM on November 16, 2010




FishBike: Have you ever done a list of the longest posts ever, from all over mefi?
posted by Mike1024 at 12:58 AM on November 17, 2010


Here is my future answer:

Bill Wyman: former Rolling Stone / metal detecting afficionado / ephebophile
posted by Meatbomb at 5:24 AM on November 17, 2010


FishBike: Have you ever done a list of the longest posts ever, from all over mefi?

Actually that's pretty easy to get from the infodumpster that Combustible Edison Lighthouse made, although it only does one sub-site at a time.
posted by FishBike at 5:27 AM on November 17, 2010


> The Infodump records timestamps with millisecond precision

That is so hot!
posted by ifjuly at 8:09 AM on November 17, 2010


I'm impressed that some people can type a correct answer in sentence form in under 60 seconds. show-offs.
posted by theora55 at 9:50 AM on November 17, 2010


Six.
posted by krinklyfig at 7:32 PM on November 17, 2010


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