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Is there an ignore/block function? Should there be?
May 25, 2012 4:17 PM   Subscribe

Am I correct that there is no option to block/ignore all posts from a particular member? If so, could I please request that as a feature?

I realize that if it's not a feature, there's probably a good reason for that, but I figured I would put in a request.
posted by désoeuvrée to Feature Requests at 4:17 PM (164 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite

IIRC there is a greasemonkey thingy that can do this. I can't imagine that this would ever be an official site feature.
posted by elizardbits at 4:21 PM on May 25, 2012


There's an "aftermarket" way to do this already: diediedead
posted by en forme de poire at 4:21 PM on May 25, 2012


There's a greasemonkey script that will do that, I believe, but it is not a feature that we ever intend to support natively. We generally don't favor things that create variations in the reading experience - threaded comments, up/downvotes, and killfiles are all things that don't fit in with the overall experience here and would be really fundamental changes to how the site works.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 4:22 PM on May 25, 2012 [9 favorites]


Is there a way to check the infodump to see who has the biggest killfile?
posted by cjorgensen at 4:26 PM on May 25, 2012


Could someone let me know what this MeTa is about? desoeuvree is in my killfile.
posted by found missing at 4:30 PM on May 25, 2012 [19 favorites]


In Metafilter as in life, you got to take the bitter with the sweet.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:30 PM on May 25, 2012 [16 favorites]


But I'm betting that two of your tags, blockmember and ignoremember, will show up as Mefi usernames before we know it.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:32 PM on May 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


This feature is nicknamed "killfiles" and it has been requested many times. Looking back through the Metatalk archives would give a comprehensive picture but the gist is, the mods have said this is something that is not going to happen.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:33 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


cjorgensen: Is there a way to check the infodump to see who has the biggest killfile?

Wouldn't the infodump only contain information about the data within this site, not a greasemonkey script?

On another note, I'd like to request that MetaTalk feature requests, which have clearly been talked to death before, be considered double posts and closed.
posted by gman at 4:34 PM on May 25, 2012 [13 favorites]


Fire Eating Tutorial: How to build a basic fire eating torch
posted by clavdivs at 4:36 PM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Why would I want to feed fire to a torch?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:39 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


*kills files*
posted by jonmc at 4:40 PM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


*files kills*
posted by Night_owl at 4:43 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


I just want a feature whereby I can opt to append "dingbat" to various users as a tag. It would make me feel better.

On a similar note, I'd also like a flag that does absolutely nothing. There are some comments that personally piss me off or annoy me or whatever and I don't want to flag them (even though I know flags are cumulative and it probably wouldn't matter) but I feel that I could move on better after flagging these comments although I would feel guilty flagging things that I didn't actually think should be deleted if I know that it's recorded in some way.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 4:44 PM on May 25, 2012 [10 favorites]


blockmember and ignoremember

#rejectedaustinpowerstitles
posted by adamdschneider at 4:45 PM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yep, not happening. Is actually on the "denied pony requests" list on a page we should be keeping up with better: the Mod Explanations page of the wiki. If you scroll to the bottom there is a good story there about will power.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:51 PM on May 25, 2012 [5 favorites]


I think there is a greasmonkey script that lets you make annotations to member names - User Notes by jacalata?

It's linked from this List of Greasemonkey scripts for Mefi.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:52 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


I'd like to request that MetaTalk feature requests, which have clearly been talked to death before, be considered double posts and closed.

There's a weird intersection where MetaTalk is simultaneously where all the super-hardcore members hang out and where complete newbies come to ask their questions. We don't really want to discourage either group, but it's much more practical to suggest to the hardcore types to just skip repetitive threads than it is to try to teach new members how to search and which threads to read before they post.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 4:53 PM on May 25, 2012 [33 favorites]


Yep, people need to unfollow or quit reading "we've done this before" MeTa threads they are not interested in. The site is already a little hostile to new users and having MeTa available to them is both a little better for Team Mod and better for site cohesion in general. Sorry.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:54 PM on May 25, 2012 [37 favorites]


We generally don't favor things that create variations in the reading experience - threaded comments, up/downvotes, and killfiles are all things that don't fit in with the overall experience here and would be really fundamental changes to how the site works.

I've been thinking about this a lot for some reason lately, and what I really want in terms of problematic interactions on the site is a feature that protects me from myself by keeping me from posting in certain threads. Like, I want to be able to READ certain kinds of threads, but be COMPLETELY PREVENTED from posting anything in them. Like, just no comment box. Honest to God, I think the entire site would be better for it if I personally had this feature available to me.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 4:56 PM on May 25, 2012 [5 favorites]


restless_nomad: We don't really want to discourage either group, but it's much more practical to suggest to the hardcore types to just skip repetitive threads than it is to try to teach new members how to search and which threads to read before they post.

But you guys delete doubles on the blue. And what better way to teach a new user to search before posting than by deleting a double, and leaving a note with the old post(s) for them to look over. Better than rehashing all the bull shit. Not to mention, this particular type of post just seems like the person making it doesn't have the guts to call a particular person out.

Alright, well, if deleting double MeTa posts is off the table, can we at least get rid of the "double post" flag?
posted by gman at 4:58 PM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


gman, I've taken to finding the nearest tree, confronting it squarely until I have its undivided attention, and yelling "READ THE FAQ" at it at the top of my lungs.
posted by carsonb at 5:00 PM on May 25, 2012 [13 favorites]


Promise, it helps.
posted by carsonb at 5:00 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


If you scroll to the bottom there is a good story there about will power.

Wow I can picture that "Frog and Toad" book now; i can almost feel it in my hands. That was my favorite as a kid (though it may actually have been the only "Frog and Toad" book we owned).
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:01 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


Thanks y'all. That was fast! I did search to see if it had been asked before but I didn't find anything. Wasn't using the right search terms I guess. (And I didn't know how the heck to tag it! I noticed the About/FAQs seem to use "member" rather than "user" so I was trying to do things right. Blockmember does have a nice ring to it though.)
posted by désoeuvrée at 5:01 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


MetaTalk: super-hard core members hang out
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:12 PM on May 25, 2012 [10 favorites]


You're lucky we're wearing the pants, you want me to zip up too?
posted by carsonb at 5:15 PM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Back in a sec, someone is on my lawn yelling at a tree.
posted by arcticseal at 5:18 PM on May 25, 2012 [29 favorites]


I do not want to be exposed to your super-hard core member
posted by found missing at 5:20 PM on May 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


The site is already a little hostile to new users and having MeTa available to them is both a little better for Team Mod and better for site cohesion in general.

Besides it seems most dup metas feature at least one long term member learning they can do something that has been supported for ages; and usually it's only vaguely related tot he pony request.
posted by Mitheral at 5:21 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


I'd like to request a feature that somehow required anyone requesting a feature to see all the previous threads of that same feature request.
posted by DU at 5:35 PM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


You're lucky we're wearing the pants, you want me to zip up too?

How am I supposed to zip these pants with all these fish sticking out of them?
posted by briank at 5:39 PM on May 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


Alright, well, if deleting double MeTa posts is off the table, can we at least get rid of the "double post" flag?

No, sometimes a MeTa post gets deleted as a double. There are other kinds of MeTa posts besides feature requests.
posted by John Cohen at 5:39 PM on May 25, 2012


(Well, maybe not deleted, but at least closed.)
posted by John Cohen at 5:39 PM on May 25, 2012


Sure, we do sometimes, but the last thread on the topic that a quick search turned up was four years old (the wiki link goes to a comment in an initially-unrelated thread) and we're generally fairly permissive of doubles here. Metatalk threads, especially the ones that aren't inherently contentious, aren't really a limited resource.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 5:46 PM on May 25, 2012


Killfiles helped destroy usenet.
posted by Justinian at 5:46 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


I came to kill files, I stayed for the super hardcore members hanging out.
posted by item at 5:55 PM on May 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


      
posted by y2karl at 6:00 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


Actually, to clarify lest someone celebrating Beer O'Clock have a good idea, good-faith MeTas aren't too limited a resource. Mod attention actually is.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 6:00 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


I was joking in my comment above. I was just anticipating the type of metas that would come up if this were a feature.

For the record I've asked for this before as well and been told no.

Begging doesn't help.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:07 PM on May 25, 2012


'Double post' more often refers to the link than it does to the question or request or whatnot, it seems like.
posted by box at 7:07 PM on May 25, 2012


Metatalk threads, especially the ones that aren't inherently contentious, aren't really a limited resource.

Wake up, sheeple! We are already living in Peak MeTa! Before you know it, grar will be $10 a gallon and snark refineries will start shutting down!
posted by Rock Steady at 7:15 PM on May 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


Remember when metatalk would sometimes go days without a post?
posted by cjorgensen at 7:30 PM on May 25, 2012


Remember when metatalk would sometimes go days without a post?

I honestly do not. I mean, I remember the odd two-day (and maybe once or twice even knuckle-biting three-day) stretch, but those are usually events, like blue moons or equinoxes.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:35 PM on May 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


Alright, well, if deleting double MeTa posts is off the table, can we at least get rid of the "double post" flag?

Shouldn't you be working?!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:35 PM on May 25, 2012


I should be. Why am I not working? Today has been a complete waste of my life. I didn't even use it to catch up on lost sleep.
posted by Night_owl at 7:39 PM on May 25, 2012


is there a greasemonkey thingy to amend or overwrite a username? I want to see "elizardbits (Eoabelisaurus MeFi)" from now on.
posted by mwhybark at 7:47 PM on May 25, 2012 [4 favorites]


(and maybe once or twice even knuckle-biting three-day)

Oh man, those are great. Email comes alive with messages of hope and despair, fear and dread.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:50 PM on May 25, 2012


Yep, people need to unfollow or quit reading "we've done this before" MeTa threads they are not interested in.

There are (generally) two types of internet users: those who see the internet as being fundamentally social, and those who see it as primarily a repository of the world's information, where if you just use your google/search powers appropriately, you should never have to ask a question. The second group will probably (and unfortunately) always give the first group a hard time. Because, you know, you can't possibly just ask a question at times as part of the social fabric of getting to know people.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:02 PM on May 25, 2012 [7 favorites]


SHHHHH! Don't wake up the sheeple!
posted by maryr at 8:15 PM on May 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


Because, you know, you can't possibly just ask a question at times as part of the social fabric of getting to know people.

Pardon me, I have to go scream violently at a tree.
posted by winna at 8:18 PM on May 25, 2012


So, how 'bout that local sports team?
posted by maryr at 8:29 PM on May 25, 2012


Ugh, I fucking wish. That greasemonkey script won't work because I can't find my word processor to open the script to edit it because it's buried in some random folder somewhere (oh linux, you are wonderful). I mean, I use my word processor every fucking day but this OS is so into the whole searching thing that no one bothered to make file trees transparent in any way. The search fucking sucks too btw. Get what you pay for I guess.
posted by the young rope-rider at 8:49 PM on May 25, 2012


That Frog and Toad story is available for viewing on youtube. One of my favourites!
posted by thylacinthine at 8:51 PM on May 25, 2012


I can't find my word processor to open the script to edit it because it's buried in some random folder somewhere

Can't you open Terminal and just type the name of the app there to run it?
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 9:24 PM on May 25, 2012


Besides it seems most dup metas feature at least one long term member learning they can do something that has been supported for ages; and usually it's only vaguely related tot he pony request.

you know I can hear you talkin' smack about me, don't you
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:35 PM on May 25, 2012


How am I supposed to zip these pants with all these fish sticking out of them?

Fun fact: both fish and taters can be cooked by wrapping them in foil and burying them in hot coals.
posted by hattifattener at 9:37 PM on May 25, 2012


The young rope rider: I know exactly what flavor of unix like os you are using. Just open the terminal and type vim.
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 9:57 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


I can run the app just fine; Greasemonkey wants me to identify a word processor of choice using a dialogue box within firefox (and within Greasemonkey). I don't need to run the program, I need to find its location and the only method it allows me is to poke around various files and folders trying to find a fucking word processor (which is allegedly on some stupid shared drive somewhere).

I mean, there's probably something that I'm missing but I'm pretty sure that the terminal is not it. I just want to block ONE PERSON. ARRGHHHHH

(no one in this thread, so relax, recent activity readers)
posted by the young rope-rider at 10:34 PM on May 25, 2012


also, the obvious thing to do is just copy the script, open a WP, edit it there, and then paste the edited script back into the extension. Well, I can't do that until I find the fucking word processor.

Anyway, I'm sure my partner will be happy to fix the problem for hours and hours tomorrow. That's the whole point of linux anyway.
posted by the young rope-rider at 10:37 PM on May 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


hattifattener: "Fun fact: both fish and taters can be cooked by wrapping them in foil and burying them in hot coals."

What's taters, precious?
posted by Night_owl at 10:37 PM on May 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


TYRR, try /usr/bin/gedit.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:44 PM on May 25, 2012


I don't need to run the program, I need to find its location and the only method it allows me is to poke around various files and folders trying to find a fucking word processor (which is allegedly on some stupid shared drive somewhere).

whereis /[name of word processor], if it isn't /usr/bin/gedit.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 11:05 PM on May 25, 2012


I mean, there's probably something that I'm missing but I'm pretty sure that the terminal is not it.

Try the which command, e.g. which gedit. Also, an executable will probably be in /usr/bin, /bin, /usr/sbin or /sbin.
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:10 PM on May 25, 2012


SUCCESS! Y'all are the best. Now I can block that one person I really want to block. It's like a Christmas miracle in May. God bless and have a solemn and restful Memorial Day.

p.s. COME TO NYC TO HANG OUT WITH US
posted by the young rope-rider at 11:12 PM on May 25, 2012


No young rope-rider, don't block me! What have I ever done to you to earn your wrath? I really need you to see me! {/}
posted by Night_owl at 11:15 PM on May 25, 2012


Like, I want to be able to READ certain kinds of threads, but be COMPLETELY PREVENTED from posting anything in them. Like, just no comment box. Honest to God, I think the entire site would be better for it if I personally had this feature available to me.

That's called "logging out".
posted by nanojath at 11:39 PM on May 25, 2012 [10 favorites]


I thought you just added them as a contact:nemesis, and this happened automagically. Oh wait, that's in the feature set for the caba... never mind. Forget I said anything.
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:41 PM on May 25, 2012


What I learn at this site:
•why there were people in the yard screaming at the trees
•that I must be hard core because I log on to MeTa first
posted by Cranberry at 11:58 PM on May 25, 2012

Jesse: You know I don’t get it, why would anyone paint a picture of a door over and over again, like dozens of times?
Jane: But it wasn’t the same.
Jesse: Yeah, It was.
Jane: It was the same subject but it was different every time. The light was different. Her mood was different. She saw something new every time, and she painted it.
Jesse: And that’s not psycho to you?
Jane: Well then why should we do anything more than once? Should I just smoke this one cigarette? Maybe we should only have sex once, since it’s the same thing.. Should we just watch one sunset? Or live just one day?… because it’s new every time; each time is a different experience.”

MeTas are like cigarettes, sunsets and sex.* Let's do it again!

*And sort of like breaking bad too.
posted by iamkimiam at 12:13 AM on May 26, 2012


"Like, I want to be able to READ certain kinds of threads, but be COMPLETELY PREVENTED from posting anything in them. Like, just no comment box. "

There is a extension for Safari that does this: Mefi Gag Order. Check my profile for the link.

It's probably an easy rewrite for Firefox.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:25 AM on May 26, 2012


There are (generally) two types of internet users: those who see the internet as being fundamentally social, and those who see it as primarily a repository of the world's information, where if you just use your google/search powers appropriately, you should never have to ask a question. The second group will probably (and unfortunately) always give the first group a hard time. Because, you know, you can't possibly just ask a question at times as part of the social fabric of getting to know people.

This sort of occurred to me yesterday. I was about to ask a facebook friend a question about some exotic food he photographed prior to eating (ahh, amateur food porn) and I calculated that it would reflect poorly on me not to Google it. And even if it didn't reflect poorly on me to him or most of our friends, I would judge myself for not using the resources [easily] available to me. But just asking the question itself would be a social act that people have done in person since the dawn of civilization. And Googling something and pretending to understand it deeply after a few minutes is kind of pretentious too. I was paralyzed into inaction, choosing neither path, and shortly after a friend of the friend provided a comment that gave me sufficient information to take the laziest path of them all.
posted by aydeejones at 12:29 AM on May 26, 2012 [7 favorites]


Kill flies, not files.
posted by Decani at 12:59 AM on May 26, 2012


In Metafilter as in life, you got to take the bitter with the sweet.

Metafilter turns my bitter into sweet.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:07 AM on May 26, 2012


If you scroll to the bottom there is a good story there about will power.

I don't get it. But now I want cookies.
posted by Hoopo at 1:21 AM on May 26, 2012


Just leaving a comment so people can double check that their killfiles are working.
posted by eyeballkid at 1:33 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


I once wished for this very same pony. In the fullness of time, however, I have discovered that killfiles are ultimately unnecessary. Generally speaking, if a user is being so obnoxious that you feel the need to remove them utterly from your Metafilter experience, it means two things:

1. The problem user is definitely annoying other users.

2. The problem user will eventually flame out and longer be anyone's problem.

It's a self-correcting issue. Killfiles are an inelegant solution to a problem that mere patience solves.
posted by EatTheWeak at 2:18 AM on May 26, 2012 [3 favorites]


Killfiles are an inelegant solution to a problem that mere patience solves.
posted by EatTheWeak at 10:18 AM on May 26

They're also weak. God, if an individual annoys you that much, don't read their posts and ignore their comments. If you can't do that you should be ashamed of yourself. It isn't hard.
posted by Decani at 2:36 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


God, if an individual annoys you that much, don't read their posts and ignore their comments. If you can't do that you should be ashamed of yourself. It isn't hard.

Absolutely. For example, I never read Decani's posts and I always ignore his comments.

Oh, wait...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:10 AM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


The problem user

Just pluralize that and you've got a band name!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:12 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


The Problem Users

I bet that band would get a good turnout at SXSW.
posted by empatterson at 4:38 AM on May 26, 2012 [4 favorites]


Will Power, it's now or never.
posted by box at 4:50 AM on May 26, 2012


No young rope-rider, don't block me! What have I ever done to you to earn your wrath? I really need you to see me! {/}


Wait...we dated? That year must've been even more substance-filled than I thought. Eesh.
posted by the young rope-rider at 4:54 AM on May 26, 2012


Contact: Nemesis sounds like a terrible movie. Jodie Foster discovers a Romulan Borg has inserted a radio message into the mathematical fabric of the universe, and the crew of the Enterprise must take her back in time to stop it before "all of history is erased."
posted by zarq at 5:44 AM on May 26, 2012 [7 favorites]


I've always wanted a not-quite-killfile (a maimfile?) that alerts me that the comment I'm about to read is by someone I find annoying, but doesn't completely obscure it. Maybe the text could be set in Comic Sans, or faded out to make it hard to read.

I'd like to request that MetaTalk feature requests, which have clearly been talked to death before, be considered double posts and closed.

Arguing about things we've argued about before is a cornerstone of MetaFilter culture. Sometimes this is a good thing, too.

Metafilter turns my bitter into sweet.

Fuck, today's weather in the North is just perfect for blasting Northern Soul.

*loads 'Kev Roberts Top 500' playlist on shuffle*
posted by jack_mo at 6:26 AM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


or faded out to make it hard to read

I doubt more aggravation would improve your response.
posted by Dr Dracator at 6:31 AM on May 26, 2012


Contact: Nemesis

Hannibal Lecter: You know what you look like to me, with your good phaser and your cheap holodeck? You look like a Ferengi. A well scrubbed, hustling Ferengi with a little taste. Good replicators given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor backwater Ferengi, are you, Officer Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed: pure Cetia Alpha 6. What is your father, dear? Is he a space station bar owner? Does he stink of the holodecks?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:32 AM on May 26, 2012 [5 favorites]


My experience on Usenet was that having a killfile wasn't nearly as important as making the target aware they've been killfiled. In that sense, maybe instead we could have a list at the top of the screen whenever we log on, with a list of names of the people who dearly wish we'd shut up.
posted by Mooski at 6:49 AM on May 26, 2012 [7 favorites]


Some people don't have screens large enough to hold all those names.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:58 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


I doubt more aggravation would improve your response.

I was thinking of it more as a 'You probably shouldn't read this, it'll get on your tits' warning, but with the text still available if a later commenter refers to it.
posted by jack_mo at 7:24 AM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


I honestly do not. I mean, I remember the odd two-day (and maybe once or twice even knuckle-biting three-day) stretch, but those are usually events, like blue moons or equinoxes.

That was sort of my point. When was the last time we had an meta-equinox?
posted by cjorgensen at 7:29 AM on May 26, 2012


I just want a feature whereby I can opt to append "dingbat" to various users as a tag. It would make me feel better.

This is what I use Favorites for.
posted by mazola at 7:36 AM on May 26, 2012 [3 favorites]


Yep, not happening. Is actually on the "denied pony requests" list on a page we should be keeping up with better

It's where ponys go to die.
posted by Sailormom at 8:19 AM on May 26, 2012


This is what I'll think of every time I hear 'dead pony' now.
posted by frimble at 8:47 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


Decani, how do you preemptively ignore someone's comments when usernames come after the content? Generally by the time I realize, "oh, no, this comment is by THAT GUY," I'm already annoyed.

(Of course, this works both ways; I rather enjoy the moment about three paragraphs in to a well-written comment when I realize, oh, this is a sonascope story, and have the happy anticipation of several hundred more words of awesome.)
posted by fermion at 9:10 AM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


My experience on Usenet was that having a killfile wasn't nearly as important as making the target aware they've been killfiled. In that sense, maybe instead we could have a list at the top of the screen whenever we log on, with a list of names of the people who dearly wish we'd shut up.

Don't give the trolls a way to keep score.
posted by JimmyJames at 9:39 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


Why don't you just not read the post when you see that particular members name? I'm not trying to be an asshole I'm seriously just wondering.
posted by daydreamer at 9:40 AM on May 26, 2012


The posts are above the usernames.
posted by the young rope-rider at 9:44 AM on May 26, 2012


how do you preemptively ignore someone's comments when usernames come after the content?

User names are yellow, so you can flit your eyes downwards passed the white text to the yellow bit, check the name, then flit your eyes back up to read the text.

I did have a killfile installed here, once upon a time, for a single user. It went fine enough. When I upgraded my OS and failed to save my /.mozilla subdirectory, it didn't occur to me that I no longer had this killfile. Only months later did I remember, "Oh, right, I thought I killfiled this person". By then they had either changed, or I had cooled my head about whatever it was that annoyed me so deeply about this person.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 9:48 AM on May 26, 2012


Blockmember does have a nice ring to it though

Something square peg, something something round hole.
posted by Edogy at 9:56 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


I was thinking of it more as a 'You probably shouldn't read this, it'll get on your tits' warning

Replace "read" with "eat" and that's the kind of warning I need every time I try to eat something with powdered sugar on it.
posted by maryr at 10:00 AM on May 26, 2012 [4 favorites]


"It'll get on your tits": the phrase that means different things, to different people. Like "pants" or "listenable ska".
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 10:16 AM on May 26, 2012 [4 favorites]


If the persons you'd like to killfile are the ones who routinely take over a thread, through some combination of relentlessness, shamelessness and being so amazingly disputable, then any thread they're substantially present in is going to be dead to you anyway. All that killfiling that particular user will do is make a thread you wouldn't want to read effectively unreadable.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:38 AM on May 26, 2012


Yes. Not to mention the others quoting said person, which will just make for confusing reading.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 10:48 AM on May 26, 2012


A killfile that replaced all of a designated user's comments with faux-inspirational quotes or similar mishegoss would be ideal.
posted by elizardbits at 11:01 AM on May 26, 2012 [3 favorites]


Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.

-Aristotle
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:10 AM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


Plonk!
posted by Trochanter at 11:13 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


"Step to me and you best not miss; slow on the draw and I will end you, motherfucker." - Susan B. Anthony.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 11:15 AM on May 26, 2012 [7 favorites]


If the persons you'd like to killfile are the ones who routinely take over a thread, through some combination of relentlessness, shamelessness and being so amazingly disputable, then any thread they're substantially present in is going to be dead to you anyway. All that killfiling that particular user will do is make a thread you wouldn't want to read effectively unreadable.

Actually this is sort of what I would want in an asshole-zapping system: if person x shows up in a thread, eliminate all comments to that post. Of course you can still read the actual post. This would also make picking out posts with decent conversations much easier than it is currently (where you can sort of guess by subject matter, but not exactly).
posted by furiousthought at 11:19 AM on May 26, 2012


It's even harder to read the usernames first when you're on an iPhone. I would also have trouble averting my eyes from something I knew would piss me off. Morbid curiosity, weak will, etc. I know, tough shit. But on preview, I didn't even think about others quoting the person. Gah!

And on AskMe you can't really call people out unless their answer is legitimately problematic and you have something constructive to say. My issue is with someone whose answers aren't necessarily bogus in themselves, but their tone and the persona they project annoy the fuck out of me, as do the unnecessary biographical anecdotes that seem calculated to emphasize a particular accident of chance about which it's in poor taste to brag. Once you start connecting their posts back to the same username, the veiled bragging and self-satisfaction become insufferable, whereas to the Asker they may seem innocuous enough. Anyway, just to explain the circumstances behind the question. I'll figure out the killfile thing or take a chill pill.
posted by désoeuvrée at 11:30 AM on May 26, 2012


Dude, if you want me to stop mentioning my enormous genitals in unrelated AskMe answers, just say so.
posted by box at 11:53 AM on May 26, 2012 [10 favorites]


And on AskMe you can't really call people out unless their answer is legitimately problematic and you have something constructive to say.

However, in MetaTalk you can call anyone out for any reason you want. You think someone's abusing AskMe? Start a thread about it: "User X only is answering questions in AskMe to humblebrag about <whatever>."

Although the drama voyeur in me is loath to say this, you can also just email the mods using the contact form and find out what they think about it.
posted by nooneyouknow at 12:46 PM on May 26, 2012


Why don't you go ahead and tell us which user bothers you so much?

You know you want to.
posted by ryanrs at 12:47 PM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


Please feel free to drop us a note via the contact form if you think someone is doing that annoying "chastise and sort of answer" thing or that "look at me and sort of answer" thing. We may not realize that there is a person who is doing it habitually and annoyingly and we're happy to have a polite and private word with someone if what they're doing is problematic in AskMe over a long period of time.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:54 PM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


Widespread use of killfiles fragments communities and leads to dissolution! DISSOLUTION!

You're not objectively pro-dissolution are you?
posted by Justinian at 12:56 PM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


On the subject of not knowing who commented without scrolling to the bottom of the comment, one could request a pony for that. I haven't tried it or anything but it should be possible to format the output markup such that the appearance of the signature line, including its position relative to the comment; above, below, overlaid on the comment in 72 point type at 30% opacity, etc., is controlled by style sheets. I realize that the Lords of MeFi are somewhat loath to make users' experience of the site too different from each other. But it seems worth mentioning.
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:15 PM on May 26, 2012


I'm sure someone of more authority will be along soon to speak up (surprised they haven't already - MetaTalk is so quiet these days), but there is a Greasemonkey script that you can install to block any and all annoying users. I've found it quite useful, myself.
posted by dg at 2:05 PM on May 26, 2012 [5 favorites]


Well, that's a pretty uncharitable thing to say, Paphnuty. No one's forcing you to post here.
posted by Edogy at 2:25 PM on May 26, 2012 [5 favorites]


What kind of happy horseshit is this? I bet you're still sniffing glue and humping that vaguely quonsar-shaped pillow you made out of all those tumbler posts you printed on the backs of copies of your resume. You smell like old wet cheese. Go get folded and spindled.

Dude, what the fuck?
posted by loquacious at 2:53 PM on May 26, 2012 [13 favorites]


I am becoming confused. Who are you quoting, loquacious?
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 2:54 PM on May 26, 2012


Someone we have all killfiled by default.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:57 PM on May 26, 2012


killfile haiku like
seasons passing by, quoting
the trickster god king
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:00 PM on May 26, 2012


It's Memorial Day weekend in the US, time for beer, BBQ and boinking.

You can do those things separately or together, whatever floats your boat.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:24 PM on May 26, 2012


I dunno about the first part of that but I am deploying "You smell like old wet cheese. Go get folded and spindled" for my own sad purposes at the earliest possible opportunity.
posted by furiousthought at 3:34 PM on May 26, 2012


Enormous genitals

Meta
posted by Artw at 4:08 PM on May 26, 2012


If the persons you'd like to killfile are the ones who routinely take over a thread, through some combination of relentlessness, shamelessness and being so amazingly disputable, then any thread they're substantially present in is going to be dead to you anyway. All that killfiling that particular user will do is make a thread you wouldn't want to read effectively unreadable.

On the other hand it could make it easier not to be part of the problem by ensuring you're not going to be the first response to any comments by such a person.
posted by Artw at 4:13 PM on May 26, 2012


Dude, if you want me to stop mentioning my enormous genitals in unrelated AskMe answers, just say so.

Don’t let one person ruin it for the rest of us.
posted by bongo_x at 4:20 PM on May 26, 2012


I used to think I wanted a killfile, but more than once I've been reading along and gotten to the bottom of a long (more than one screen) comment only to find myself thinking "Wait, this really insightful and worthwhile comment was posted by that horse's ass? Huh."
posted by Lexica at 5:14 PM on May 26, 2012 [9 favorites]


restless_nomad: "There's a weird intersection where MetaTalk is simultaneously where all the super-hardcore members hang out and where complete newbies come to ask their questions. We don't really want to discourage either group, but it's much more practical to suggest to the hardcore types to just skip repetitive threads than it is to try to teach new members how to search and which threads to read before they post."

Awww, you take away all of our fun.

*kicks dirt, sulks*
posted by deborah at 6:29 PM on May 26, 2012


(MIMES BEING TRAPPED IN AN INVISIBLE BOX.)
posted by subbes at 6:31 PM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


cjorgensen: When was the last time we had an meta-equinox?

Since post #20000 (on 2010 November 15), there have been four occasions when the gap between consecutive MetaTalk posts was more than two days: I think the most recent gap of more than three days was a bit of unscheduled downtime in 2004.

Before making use of this data, consult your physician.
posted by stebulus at 6:47 PM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


He who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. - Confucius
posted by Meatbomb at 7:41 PM on May 26, 2012


Hey Confucius, you don't have to move the mountain, just walk around it.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:57 PM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


I will donate $100 to charity if metatalk goes more than 4 days without a post going forward from now. Post, not comments. Charity can be defined by the individual breaking the 4 day silence. This can include the individual. (I would prefer an animal or children's charity.)

cortex is the judge on official time between posts, pb gets to arbitrate disputes.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:36 PM on May 26, 2012 [4 favorites]


I can't wait to see the seven hundred and thirty four posts within a 30 sec span if we ever go four days.
posted by Justinian at 8:38 PM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]


So I'm sitting in a bar. It's fleet week here, so there are packs of young guys in uniform making the rounds tonight. Not too long ago I walked inti the bathroom. It is one of those setups where there is one urinal and one stall. I walk in see two marines peering into the stall. I figure their friend is puking and they are just taking care of him. Then I notice there are uniform pants hung over the top of the stall and i start to get confused, maybe the guy is just very carefull about his dress uniform. I then see under the stall two pairs of feet, highly polished dress shoes and a pair of flip-flops and painted toenails. I instantly surmised it was way way too crowded in there so I backed out the door. The problem I still have to use the bathroom.
posted by Ad hominem at 9:28 PM on May 26, 2012


Askme?
posted by cjorgensen at 10:03 PM on May 26, 2012


The first part of this blog post suggests a possible catch-all excuse. Disclaimer: Excuse probably never works.
posted by frimble at 10:20 PM on May 26, 2012


Well long story short I talked to one of the bar staff. He spoke to them and said they were almost finished and he asked them to move to the ladies room.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:47 PM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


I will donate $100 to charity if metatalk goes more than 4 days without a post going forward from now.

If you'd like this to succeed, I think it should be better advertised; lots of people won't see it down here. A natural way to advertise it would be its own MeTa post, alas.

Also, I'm a bit unclear about the point of the exercise. As restless_nomad said upthread, these threads aren't a limited resource. What harm is done if MeTa posts are frequent?
posted by stebulus at 7:38 AM on May 27, 2012


No harm. It's just like one of those fire rainbows. Something I don't expect to see.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:40 AM on May 27, 2012 [1 favorite]


Anyone I find sufficiently annoying enough repeatedly enough to want to killfile, I've found annoying enough to know their writing style within a couple sentence and then subsequently ignore. That's probably just me though.
posted by Errant at 1:06 AM on May 28, 2012


He who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. - Confucius

He who gathers small stones in a pile will end up with a mountain.- Confucius' brother.
posted by Sailormom at 5:26 AM on May 28, 2012


He who lets other people gather or carry away stones is probably
spending his time more wisely than any of them. - Confucius' drinking buddy
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:45 AM on May 28, 2012


Who put all those goddamned stones on my front lawn? - Confucius' neighbor.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 5:55 AM on May 28, 2012 [1 favorite]


He who "has a date" when I need to move when I've helped him move like three times in the last two years can go fuck himself, man. — Confucius' former BFF
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:09 AM on May 28, 2012 [1 favorite]


Confucius' former BFF is more attentive to punctuation than most.
posted by stebulus at 9:15 AM on May 28, 2012 [1 favorite]


omg dude my dad is making me move a bunch of stupid rocks wtf why would u want 2 move a mtn - Confucius's son
posted by catlet at 9:23 AM on May 28, 2012 [4 favorites]


I'm with Monkey, just drill through that fucker with magic.
posted by Artw at 10:42 AM on May 28, 2012


Behold: A mountain. - Confucius' mole.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:17 AM on May 28, 2012


Fuck Confucius!
-Han Fei
posted by clavdivs at 8:00 AM on May 29, 2012


No Way!

-- Lao Tse
posted by y2karl at 8:53 AM on May 29, 2012 [2 favorites]


"Wait, this really insightful and worthwhile comment was posted by that horse's ass? Huh."

You're very welcome.
posted by joe lisboa at 10:42 AM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]


Way!

- Ai Weiwei
posted by mwhybark at 10:50 AM on May 29, 2012 [1 favorite]


I told you I was super hardcore.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:37 PM on May 29, 2012


My dad actually spent a good chunk of his late 40s, early 50s, moving rocks for my mother. Those stones were stolen from a riverbank of a golf course in New Hampshire. First, my mother selected the Perfect Rock. Then, my father carried it half a mile back to our car. Then, after arriving home in Vermont from our exotic New Hampshire vacation, my father had to place the rock in one of our gardens. It usually had to be moved at least once, further toward or from the hosta.

So, what I'm really saying, is that probably Confucius's wife just had ornamental plans for the front walk.
posted by maryr at 7:10 PM on May 29, 2012


Well, I see the killfiles are working as planned.
posted by joe lisboa at 7:13 PM on May 29, 2012


mr_crash_davis: "I told you I was super hardcore."

Sadly, I think most here are too young to get that reference.
posted by dg at 7:25 PM on May 29, 2012


mr_crash_davis is a GANGSTER!!!
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 7:47 PM on May 29, 2012


See what I mean?
posted by dg at 7:50 PM on May 29, 2012


"It seems like the group mentality really contributed to it. These people treat it like somehow it's not the real world. They forget it's not just words on a screen."
posted by box at 7:51 PM on May 29, 2012


I wasn't referencing anything, though. I just like to remind people who the gangsters among us are.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 7:52 PM on May 29, 2012


Uh-huh. I believe you.
*rolls eyes*
posted by dg at 7:57 PM on May 29, 2012


*rolls eyes*

*rollseyesat'rollseyes'sufferswhiplashoftheeyeballsgoesblindsuesdgfordamages wins$1miltakesmusiclessonsbecomestreetmusicianmakesHowardSternweeponandwinsAmericanIdol investswiselybecomessuperrichbuysAustraliadeportsdgtoMaldives*
posted by y2karl at 9:29 AM on May 30, 2012


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