Does posting text of the article as a description count as editorializing?

November 15, 2012 9:53 AM

Just wondering why this post was deleted. The text of the FPP was simply a copy/paste of the article posted.

Is it because the article posted wasn't balanced to begin with? Would it have been okay if the poster indicated it was quoted from the article? Sometimes I see deletions for reasons that a single link article should be made more comprehensive, but this one speaks of editorializing.

Can posting text of an article as the description count as editorializing?

posted by czytm to Etiquette/Policy at 9:53 AM (26 comments total)

They put the closing quotation mark in the wrong place, basically.

(Not an especially strong post anyway, but the way the poster did it, it looked like he/she was making those inside-the-fold statements.)
posted by jbickers at 9:54 AM on November 15, 2012

Blockquote is your friend!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:57 AM on November 15, 2012 [3 favorites]

Can posting text of an article as the description count as editorializing?

Yeah it's one of those things that people use to end-run the "no editorializing" thing that is not so great. This is a great topic, I am certain someone will make a better post about it, but we've got to get a little more serious about having people put their quotes in quote format and/or using less question-y or inflammatory quotations so that the threads can develop on their own and people don't come to them all primed for one side of the issue or the other.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:57 AM on November 15, 2012 [4 favorites]

Gotcha, thanks.
posted by czytm at 10:01 AM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, hey!
posted by Floydd at 11:45 AM on November 15, 2012

Yay the system works!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:16 PM on November 15, 2012 [8 favorites]

Welp, that about wraps it up for the case of the missing ring.
posted by davejay at 1:24 PM on November 15, 2012

DOINK
DOINK
posted by boo_radley at 1:30 PM on November 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

"people don't come to them all primed for one side of the issue or the other."

Because that doesn't happen anyway?
posted by allseeingabstract at 1:54 PM on November 15, 2012

Another successful case on the Judge Jess show.
posted by arcticseal at 2:19 PM on November 15, 2012

Because that doesn't happen anyway?

Because setting up slapfights out of the gate increases the chances of slapfights actually happening.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:23 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hate FPPs that are cut-and-pastes of an article with no context so much. Not just because they're generally tendentious, but because they're so goddamned lazy.
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:21 PM on November 15, 2012

I thought it was an issue worth talking about and I had happened to come across the KCET article yesterday via twitter, so I just built a new post around it. I'm glad it could stay up.
posted by Scientist at 4:45 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks, Scientist.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:45 PM on November 15, 2012

No, no, the line is "Thank you, Scientist!"
posted by grog at 7:47 PM on November 15, 2012

Would it have been okay if the poster indicated it was quoted from the article?

I don't know if the whole post should have stayed if only the poster had been clear about the fact that those three paragraphs weren't his words but were quoted from the article. But the post was certainly not OK given that it wasn't clear about that.
posted by John Cohen at 9:34 PM on November 15, 2012

MetaFilter: I'm glad it could stay up.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:01 AM on November 16, 2012

Yay the system works!

I thought the system was working when people used the contact form for things like this. I am a big rules follower and contact form advocate.
posted by sweetkid at 12:48 PM on November 16, 2012

Thanks, Scientist. Thientist.
posted by Talkie Toaster at 3:06 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

I thought the system was working when people used the contact form for things like this.

Well the system included Scientist dropping us a note asking if a repost would be okay (hope that's okay to mention, S) and we said yes, so the overall effect was getting a better post to the front page of MeFi. We're usually pretty okay with contact form email or MeTa posts. If people think there's something that should have some discussion among the community, here is an okay place for it. But I am also a rules follower so I totally hear you here.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:18 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hate FPPs that are cut-and-pastes of an article with no context so much. Not just because they're generally tendentious, but because they're so goddamned lazy.

I pretty much always do this, because I'd rather give a little taste of the article than editorialize on it.
posted by latkes at 3:38 PM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

By "context" I include things like "Jane Jeremiah writes in the latest issue of Cat Fancy", not just framing.

Framing-free posts are cool by me, latkes, for the reason you say. Just cut-and-paste drives me mad.
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:45 PM on November 18, 2012

what is the difference?
posted by sweetkid at 6:47 PM on November 18, 2012

For me, it's jarring to just read paragraphs of one person's prose over someone else's sig.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:00 PM on November 18, 2012

but isn't that the same thing as giving a little taste? I'm confused.
posted by sweetkid at 8:05 PM on November 18, 2012

Yeah, for whatever reason I do tend to prefer a cut and paste paragraph but different strokes for different folks - I know it doesn't work great for everyone.
posted by latkes at 8:09 PM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]