MefightClub: not just pew-pew!

December 21, 2010 3:22 PM

Affiliated community news: Yesterday, MefightClub ended a two-week donation drive and donated $4155 to Child's Play charity, an organization that collects donations for toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world.

Go Mefights! It's a great cause, so even though our group donation is a done deal, if you have a few extra bucks this holiday season, consider Child's Play, and tell 'em we sent ya!

posted by stavrosthewonderchicken to MetaFilter-Related at 3:22 PM (28 comments total)

Nice work, team.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:24 PM on December 21, 2010

And if you're baffled by the amount of hospitals to pick from, allow me to plug for Dayton Children's in Dayton, OH; they've been doing well by a friend of mine's diabetic son for quite some time.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 3:38 PM on December 21, 2010

Fresh meat!
posted by Busithoth at 3:38 PM on December 21, 2010

Wow!
posted by roll truck roll at 3:45 PM on December 21, 2010

Well done, nerds! Very well done indeed. (The current CP haul is over $1.4 MILLION for this year!)
posted by Gator at 4:01 PM on December 21, 2010

♥
posted by special-k at 4:03 PM on December 21, 2010

Yeeha! Hugs for everyone!
posted by ocherdraco at 4:07 PM on December 21, 2010

Bravo/a!
posted by joe lisboa at 4:14 PM on December 21, 2010

Yay!
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:18 PM on December 21, 2010

Good stuff. You who die repeatedly, I salute you!
posted by Artw at 4:26 PM on December 21, 2010 [2 favorites]

There is no cabal.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:46 PM on December 21, 2010

I'll thank you not to refer to this as a "CP haul." But well played all the same.
posted by killdevil at 5:01 PM on December 21, 2010

Heroes indeed!
posted by dg at 5:34 PM on December 21, 2010

YES!
posted by clavdivs at 6:05 PM on December 21, 2010

So much for the first rule of MefightClub... Seriously, though, this is great!
posted by TheCavorter at 6:07 PM on December 21, 2010

fgfgfgfg

(I throw my grenades in a noisy celebration in your honor.)

posted by vapidave at 6:28 PM on December 21, 2010

HUXAH!
posted by The Whelk at 9:33 PM on December 21, 2010

Go you!
posted by gomichild at 10:34 PM on December 21, 2010

Update: They just bumped us up to Gold-level sponsorship since we were so close to the goal and we're not just some company donating. This puts us in the same category as Google, Ubisoft, Harmonix, and Nintendo! Go MFC!
posted by JauntyFedora at 12:45 AM on December 22, 2010 [12 favorites]

gg
posted by slimepuppy at 2:55 AM on December 22, 2010

Oh man I cannot wait til next time I'm home and mom is criticizing computer games and I show her THIS.
posted by allkindsoftime at 4:50 AM on December 22, 2010

Suck it Blu! Yay MFC!
posted by Mick at 6:03 AM on December 22, 2010

Thanks to the MeFight Club member who came up with the idea, and to everyone who participated. This is one of the reasons that I don't really game with any other groups these days - MFC is chock full of great people!

Thanks to Matt and MetaFilter too, because without MeFi there would never have been a MeFight Club!
posted by gemmy at 6:44 AM on December 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

MEFIGHTCLUB IS CREDIT TO TEAM
posted by toomuchpete at 8:26 AM on December 22, 2010

MFC is out of control. Their generosity is amazing. I wanted to take a moment to let you know what kind of people they are. There's some anonymizing here, because I'm not sure if sekrit identities will want to be revealed.

Now, anyone can be anything, and most people are like most other people. Most groups are like most other groups. People who play video games? Until recently, my experience led me to believe that most of them are pastier, ill-mannered, foul-mouthed, zit-ridden folks with small biceps. Like me.

I had the good fortune to meet a whole bunch of folks from the MeFight Club in NY and SFO earlier this year. I've played games with the crew in the years prior, but this was the first chance I had to meet the people who were exploding me with grenades, setting me on fire then axing me, or stabbing me in the groinal area. I don't remember the total number of people who were present, but I was surprised to see how... normal they were. Suspiciously normal. Like, some of them were married n shit. Some had babies. And they smelled like roses. I was expecting a trace of burnt gunpowder in the air, but smelled none. I don't think I saw a single pimple amongst the whole crowd, and I was looking.

So either they weren't gamers at all, as I had initially suspected, or they were gamers who spent a considerable amount of time bathing and coming up with a backstory to disguise the fact that they were gamers. But then they played video games! Normal people playing video games!

This alone would make me believe that they were supernormal. But I've met some truly generous, nice, and awesome people, who opened their homes and welcomed us in. Who turned a sekrit lair in Bed-Stuy into an extravagant hangout for whiskies from all over the world and a backyard for biscuits, chik0n, and home-cooked awesome. One of us made and brought homemade salsas from the west coast. That person apparently made signs or something that was supposed to communicate the degree of hotness of the salsas, but I didn't see it, and started with the hottest and worked my way down. But by that time, the damage was done. I figured that capsacin, being an organic compound, could be cut by ethanol, so I drank more whisky. Ok, last sentence may be filled with bad science. It all worked out in the end, tho.

The first day in NY was filled with work/family obligations. I got to one guy's Williamsburg apartment around 3am. I was nervous, but who wouldn't be, meeting a bunch of people who've done all sorts of explodey things to each other? Insta-hugs, handshakes, brownies, and Rock Band. At the same place a few days later: roof crew, the sekrit story crew, the fact that the roof wasn't flat as evidenced by the rolling bottles of vodka. Speaking about the vodka: it was Absolut's apple-something-fruity concoction that had Spike Lee's name attached to it. WTF. I don't drink that shit! But I've always held to the belief that the large part of a drink's quality has to do with the company you're sharing it. And it was great company. And another bottle was produced.

We were taken out and shown different parts of the city. I remember hanging out at a bar in Brooklyn that served the best old fashioned I'd ever had. I was introduced to a cocktail called the Aviation. I remember lots of hugs, arcade games, a taco run and a search for the hidden Johnny Walker Blue, which was consumed by the people present in under five minutes.

I remember meeting someone who looked a lot like Paul Schneider, but was clearly not Paul Schneider, because Paul Schneider is clearly a man. Not that this lookalike wasn't a man. But he drank some girly drink. I think it was called the Pink Pinkness and was distilled from tears collected from Justin Beiber fans.

One truly talented guy made metal nameplates for us. I still have mine, attached to my bag. It rocks. And I think of him when I see it, and of the conversations we'd had.

Somehow some high-tech webcamming setup was put into operation, and we were saying hellos and taking off pants for members who weren't able to make it. Our ex-pat-in-Korea was flying his room. I didn't understand. You won't understand.


It's amazing that all these people (40 or so?) were able to coordinate themselves to arrive in the same place, that a handful of people were able to arrange lodging, and that everyone had a good time. Everyone. You should see the thread where we talked about it. I look it up periodically and it reminds me that yeah, people are people. People are awesome. And that these people are terrifically awesome. This Child's Play charity drive was initiated by one person, and everyone chipped in. It's just another example of how privileged I feel to be a part of MFC. The only disappointed was that I didn't find a wife during my time in NY, tho there seemed to be a lot pretty girls in Koreatown making eyes.

I'm just glad that they didn't shut me up the moment I started telling some random stories as I am wont to do. In case you could tell. I am sticking my tongue out at you now. Now I am going to post this.

In short: MeFightClub is filled with awesome people, coming from diverse backgrounds, with expertise in many areas. They're generous, kind, and smart. They get a little less smart with whisky. Yeah, they're kind like any other group of people, like, say, the folks of the blue or the green, here. But they've got mad talents when it comes to needle guns, flame throwers, knives, C4, baseball bats, and pushing bomb-laden carts. If you've got the such skills, find us. We're always looking for fresh meat. I'll be the heavy weapons guy standing next to an ammo dispenser, shooting a minigun everywhere, and constantly, while eating a sandwich. I'll be in back. Way back.

MFC: I SALUTE YOU! MFC NYC MEETUP 2011: FINDING DOK A WIFE!
posted by herrdoktor at 7:45 PM on December 22, 2010 [10 favorites]

I love you, dok.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:42 PM on December 22, 2010

Ya'll rock!
posted by jmd82 at 7:42 AM on December 23, 2010

Go team!
posted by falconred at 8:22 AM on December 23, 2010