Where have all the new posts gone?

October 8, 2011 8:09 AM

I've been looking for distraction for quite some time, but checking metafilter regularly for the last five hours has yielded nothing - just KernType lingering at the top. No new posts. Very disheartening. But it did lead me to wonder - what's the longest period of time between new metafilter posts that has occurred in recent years? All time? Same questions for ask and meta, though at least in my limited experience there's very little downtime between ask questions and there can be days without a meta post.
posted by slide to MetaFilter-Related at 8:09 AM (39 comments total)

You know its like 63 degrees and sunny right now, right? I have homework to do. You want to come over and walk my dog?
posted by shothotbot at 8:14 AM on October 8, 2011 [6 favorites]

Outside is a wonderful place. And you're in New York! So much to do there.
posted by killdevil at 8:15 AM on October 8, 2011

I can think of one way you personally could change that new post drought.
posted by COD at 8:18 AM on October 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

You could always work on making a post yourself.
posted by carsonb at 8:18 AM on October 8, 2011 [3 favorites]

killdevil: "Outside is a wonderful place. "

Don't listen to them, The Big Room is a myth. Stay at your computer.
posted by octothorpe at 8:24 AM on October 8, 2011 [14 favorites]

Who would paint a ceiling blue? It's kinda stupid. Stay inside.
posted by kaibutsu at 8:26 AM on October 8, 2011 [5 favorites]

There was an interesting one, but it was deleted.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:37 AM on October 8, 2011

You know, you read metatalk for a year without participating but it still doesn't prepare you for the onslaught - and yes, I realize this is nothing. Heading out to get some lunch now which will involve (briefly) this "outside" you all make reference to, but alas a long day of work awaits. Perhaps the better strategy would be to focus fully on work, get it done, then have fun, and if the metatalk commentariat can wreak that change in my personality, wonderful. But til then, when I'm awoken at 7 am on a Saturday with a call asking me to revise a cross-examination outline asap, I will continue to seek periodic, momentary solace in new metafilter content without shame damn it!
posted by slide at 8:40 AM on October 8, 2011 [5 favorites]

You're okay, slide, people are just being snarky dorks.

For the data question, it's certainly calculable if someone wants to fiddle with the Infodump; I think someone's even done it before, possibly only for metatalk threads, but in any case I don't see a link on the wiki's analysis page. Maybe someone else will remember where it was.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:53 AM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

I suggest the random link.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:57 AM on October 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

Reddit.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:05 AM on October 8, 2011

Metafilter: people are just being snarky dorks.
posted by oinopaponton at 9:09 AM on October 8, 2011 [11 favorites]

Random link is awesome for those days when the new stuff on the front page just doesn't quite do it for you.
posted by rtha at 9:10 AM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Same advice I gave in an Ask just the other day. Smoke a fatty and head to Central Park.

Random is cool, but try the 5 and 10 years ago links. They rock.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:12 AM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Metafilter: people are just being snarky dorks.

Flagged for redundancy.
posted by shothotbot at 9:19 AM on October 8, 2011

Normally this is the sort of thing I'd tackle but even for the disembodied soul of a community weblog it's way too friggin' beautiful out. You may get better results if you ask this again on a dull dreary workday.
posted by Meta Filter at 9:24 AM on October 8, 2011

The site honestly does seem slower lately (in terms of posting/commenting frequency, not ping latency).
posted by desjardins at 9:36 AM on October 8, 2011

Onslaught? It's like a dozen people in an hour, mostly gently encouraging you to either make a FPP or go outside and have some fun, because it's a beautiful day.

I'm going to go pick up some samosas, and then I'm going to help one of my pals work on some drainage systems for his garden. If you're around town and know which end of a shovel to hold, hit me up.

Have fun with the cross-examination outline.
posted by box at 9:39 AM on October 8, 2011

The site honestly does seem slower lately.

I blame the new mods. Of course I blame them for everything. In fact, I just had to wait in line for 15 minutes at Wal-Mart, all over 45¢ of tomatoes, and it was taz's fault!

It's nice having scapegoats.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:00 AM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Onslaught...hmmm.
This could be the a moment to get some more coffee, and let it, er, slide. We're the nicest bunch of people, just equally bored.

Also: "blue ceiling"? Ha. Who the heck painted that large shower grey? Seconding stay inside, from my perspective at least.
posted by Namlit at 10:01 AM on October 8, 2011

Generally best to wait for the zombies and skeletons to burn up before going outside.
posted by R. Mutt at 10:06 AM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

You should go to a pub quiz.
posted by Decani at 10:11 AM on October 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

perhaps a new topic for the never ending Downfall videos?

This Metafilter!!! Nothing new for an hour!!! Will no one listen to my orders!!!

etc etc

/snark
posted by edgeways at 10:11 AM on October 8, 2011

Yeah, I'm the type of person who sees people having a snowball fight and join just in time to accidentally hit someone with a chunk of ice by accident and give them a black eye (happened). My prior comment was hyperbole - guess it didn't come across as such - ah well. It really is a beautiful day - Le Bagel Delight and Brooklyn Bridge Park are hard to beat. But now, back to work and I see metafilter has picked up again so count me satisfied.
posted by slide at 10:12 AM on October 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

There's also the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 years ago links on the front page every day. And since you're so bored, here's 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12 year links for ya too. Mine won't update, but the ones on the front page do every day.
posted by carsonb at 10:27 AM on October 8, 2011

Thanks carsonb - looking at that 12 years ago link makes me feel better. That was a slow day.
posted by slide at 10:41 AM on October 8, 2011

Not as slow as 13 years ago.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:57 AM on October 8, 2011

Metafilter: Smoke a fatty and head to Central Park.
posted by macadamiaranch at 12:26 PM on October 8, 2011

There's 6 issues if MeFi Mag in PDF form.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:07 PM on October 8, 2011

But it did lead me to wonder - what's the longest period of time between new metafilter posts that has occurred in recent years? All time?

I did a little hunting. Here are the quartiles of the gaps between Metafilter posts from 2002 on:

25% 12.40881
50% 31.39483
75% 67.79393

The maximum was (apparently) a week outage in 2004. At least, there seems to be a gap in the metafilter data, and you can see it between this post and this deleted post.

If you want to see plots derived from the infodump file, see here: Plot from infodump
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 2:56 PM on October 8, 2011 [3 favorites]

Please watch for my exciting new spy thriller, The Plot From Infodump, hitting stores this fall.
posted by koeselitz at 3:00 PM on October 8, 2011 [3 favorites]

Awesome! Thanks Philosopher Dirtbike. I love the deleted post that welcomed metafilter back in February 2004 by the way - good to know my question brought that post back into focus. I'm just sad no mod is listed as being responsible for that terrible deletion decision.
posted by slide at 3:04 PM on October 8, 2011

Oh, those gaps are in minutes, in case it isn't obvious.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 3:19 PM on October 8, 2011

The maximum was (apparently) a week outage in 2004.

As late as 2004 the MetaFilter server was in delfuego's closet, one continent or so away from its administrator, where it could die in peace, unattended and locked in the dark.
posted by carsonb at 3:25 PM on October 8, 2011

Oh Em Gee. That random link is awesome!

Metafilter random link
Ask Metafilter random link
MetaTalk random link
Projects random link
Music random link

Thanks for filling my weekend, Jessamyn!
posted by elmer benson at 6:39 PM on October 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

The longest time period of time when there were no posts to the front page of Metafilter started around 13.7 billion years ago, and ended on July 14, 1999.
posted by crunchland at 7:24 PM on October 8, 2011 [3 favorites]

Clever girl.
posted by cashman at 8:45 PM on October 8, 2011

Dude. DUDE.

What the hell.
posted by Eideteker at 4:24 AM on October 9, 2011

The funny thing is - I never look at the IRL page but happened across the broadway walk earlier this week and had I not had to work, I may have joined in! Would have been much better than the day I had...
posted by slide at 8:10 AM on October 9, 2011