Counter-Cliquishness / Cult of Celebrity Callout August 3, 2013 12:24 AM   Subscribe

We've had the regular kind of appreciation thread. Now I think some of our members who aren't on here all the freakin' time deserve an appreciation thread specifically for them.

I think alltomorrowsparties made a really good point in the earlier appreciation thread:

I know this is done with good intentions and all, but it made me feel sad. I've been a member here for quite a while, and yet not made meaningful connections with other members. I also often refrain from commenting because I'm thin-skinned and I had a bad experience once when I differed from the main community stance in a thread, and because often I'll be thinking of writing something and I'll see, oh X has already spoken and everyone loves X and I won't be able to add anything because they have really covered it all. I don't think that elevating some members as being particularly brilliant or insightful helps people like me feel confident about commenting or included. Sure, I, like everyone, have a soft spot for certain members and I think the moderators are all exceptional people, but I think there are a lot of people like me who find the cult of personality brings up feelings of exclusion.

A lot of people who post on Metafilter are brilliant and insightful but the people who get the most appreciation are the people who participate the most, whether that's posting a lot, going to a lot of meetups, being a mod (of course), participating in all the gift exchanges, and so on. I would hate for anyone to feel like the biggest participators are "better" just because they are around more!

Now we have just had a thread that mainly appreciated the biggest participators. That's awesome. But I would like to open a thread to appreciate people who aren't around here every day. I would like to appreciate these people in their own thread rather than something tacked down after hundreds of comments at the bottom of the other one.

Here are my suggestions for this thread:

-There are a lot of people to mention, and mentioning the same names over and over would make this just like the last thread. It would be great to mention people who haven't already been brought up.

-Tell us about people who are new and maybe haven't posted much, don't have any contacts, but have already made notably interesting posts or comments.

-Tell us about people who are around a long time and we don't often see, but from time to time will suddenly appear to drop a bomb of awesomeness.

-People who had a well-put one-liner that made you laugh.

-People who posted something that made a noticeably positive impact to your day.

You get the idea. Something other than the folks with 50+ contacts and FPPs, or maybe someone who does have those things but somehow doesn't seem to get the constant personal attention.
posted by cairdeas to MetaFilter-Related at 12:24 AM (209 comments total) 27 users marked this as a favorite

I will start and I would like to call out Ralston McTodd. I almost never see Ralston McTodd post but I get excited whenever I do, because I know that odds are I will want to fist-pump the air after I read the post they wrote.

My favorite comments I've read from RMcT so far usually involve gender bias or economic issues.
posted by cairdeas at 12:30 AM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


I would like to call out i_am_a_fiesta. She has my favorite username, because of the line in the poem in her profile that it refers to. I'm not sure why, because I don't think it was the intention, but that line makes me feel like I'm about to tear up. It reminds me to be good to my body. I had never seen it before I looked at her profile.

i_am_a_fiesta also says wise and comforting things in comments, too.
posted by cairdeas at 12:41 AM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]


I would also like to call out milk white peacock. Milk white peacock is another username I am always excited to see, because she is so good at making pithy, hit-the-bullseye points, and telling us about things that I didn't know. Here are some of my favorite posts from milk white peacock on (again) gender, parenting/class issues, and life.
posted by cairdeas at 12:55 AM on August 3, 2013


I am really into god particle's delicious tunes!

I kind of felt that way about the previous thread, despite even being mentioned in it, much to my complete surprise. It kind of felt like a Mefi version of (and this'll piss off a certain segment of y'all, so brace yourselves) tumblr's Follow Forever lists. Dundundunnnnn~ Rest assurred that I think Mefi would be absolutely nothing without all the single commenters and meetup-free people.
posted by Mizu at 1:16 AM on August 3, 2013


I've known BlueJae since before I could drive, so this is cheating a little, but she is so damn eloquent whenever she posts that I just wanted to thank her publicly.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:05 AM on August 3, 2013


I'm with you. Metafilter is so great because of the huge number of fantastic people here, not because any one person is super-faboo themselves. (except the mods, whose excellence is disproportionally significant)

The fact that we have all those people mentioned in that other thread - well, that's just icing on the gravy.
posted by aubilenon at 2:10 AM on August 3, 2013 [3 favorites]


Oh, and I want to call out junco for all of his/her comments about the intersection between the environment and politics / financial profit, for telling me interesting facts I didn't know, which is one of the best parts of MeFi for me.
posted by cairdeas at 2:25 AM on August 3, 2013


Shoutout to PercussivePaul! The only Mefite I've ever known in real life before discovering they were also on the site, which I learned after crashing on his couch, and then using his computer late night to check out Metafilter. Got half way through writing a comment and realized it was already logged in to someone else's account.

But man, am I glad I resisted the urge to post some drunk joke comments that night after seeing the quality of his AskMe answers over the years. Very consistent.
posted by mannequito at 2:33 AM on August 3, 2013 [3 favorites]


This post is the perfect example of why I believe Metafilter to be a community of exception al people.

I don't know that I could point out any one other member without slighting perhaps a hundred others.

But this post is the kind of thing that makes me value this community. So thanks
posted by From Bklyn at 3:07 AM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]


I can't count very well, but it seems like the other thread has thousands of different names in it, including at least thirty from the poster of this thread. Sure, there are lots of people citing the same users, and of course there's gonna be a bit of buddy-buddy backslapping based on IRL and friendship and comment frequency. But the claims of cliquishness and cultishness, at least in the title, seem more than a bit unfair. "All the time" is one thing, "all the freakin' time" is an eyeroll.

In short, I want to call out cairdeas, because she's a superstar and nobody forgot her, and also thanks for posting this, I think you're right, an appreciation of the less celebrated but no less bright lights of this community is in order. I just don't think anyone should feel bad because they're popular, or because they like popular people. So let's have a great thread but can we skip being upset about who other people love the most? There's more than enough love to go around.

People all over the world, everybody, join hands, join. Start a love train. Love train.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 5:14 AM on August 3, 2013 [13 favorites]


I want to call out anonymous for asking some of the best AskMe questions ever. Sometimes I feel like s/he is asking questions I would ask. Thanks anonymous, you rock!
posted by Rob Rockets at 5:17 AM on August 3, 2013 [91 favorites]


Something other than the folks with 50+ contacts and FPPs, or maybe someone who does have those things but somehow doesn't seem to get the constant personal attention.

As much as I appreciate the good intentions behind this post, I did that in the last post. I know it can sting to see some names over and over again. At the same time we have a bunch of... population centers for lack of a better word where there are either large groups of MeFites who know each other in real life or other places online (and so have deeper and broader connections to a bunch of people as a group) and there are bunches of people who are just loud or spend a lot of time here or are good with the jokes or whatever.

I don't think Blasdelb expected his thread to go the way it did (many repeated shoutouts to NYC/Boston/SFO people) and I think that any time you ask people to list what they like, or especially who they like, you're going to get the same sort of normal curve. My suspicion is that it will show up in this thread as well.

That said, this comment by Bugbread always makes me smile. Not because of its specific callout quality, but the way it points out the fundamental community-ness of the place with all its warts. Here we all are.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:16 AM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]


Shoutout to jrossi4r for being both sane and hilarous! One of my mommy heroes.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:17 AM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


This morning, I woke to a memail thanking me for pointing the way to something. It made me so happy because it's a subject I care about. Making people's daily lives a little easier, a little more interesting, a little better through the spreading of information... that's a grace that we make for one another here. So I don't think about these threads as matters of popularity, but as ways to recognize that gift.

malibustacey9999 posted a tough personal situation, and her humanity shone through. We memailed back and forth, and she has proved to be a genuinely good and kind person. I may never meet her, but I regard her as someone I'd enjoy as a friend.

Toekneesan is a top-notch human being: erudite, witty, down-to-earth, gracious. He introduced me to the genius of Maria Bamford, for which I thank him.

timsteil's posts about James Brown and the classic "For Grigori" just hit my sweet spot, and I imagine him as a cool wicked uncle, full of raucous stories and tales of underappreciated gems. Thank you, sir.

rumposinc has terrific and compassionate advice. Her sidebarred comment about her cadaver remains one of the most deeply human and understanding things I've ever read here. She is a treasure.

JohnnyGunn dropped a change-my-life bomb on me, and it has helped me every day since I read it.

MuffinMan's perspective on Praying to the Spirit of Barbara was so good to hear. Thank you, MM.

geek anachronism has been candid about the challenges of motherhood, and I want to thank her so hard for that.

wenestvendt, whom I mentioned in the other thread, has a voice that speaks so clearly to me of decency and kindness amid the snark.

When I was grieving, people showed up. They helped. alphanerd and ryanshepard helped me find comfort.

I ramble. I am at one of those cusp points -- a looming birthday -- and have been reflecting on letting some things go and cherishing what matters. Like decency, and kindness, and connection. All of you, and especially those who have taken the time to write, or to chat with me in a thread, or to post something amazing that I didn't know I needed until I read it: Thank you.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:27 AM on August 3, 2013 [6 favorites]


How do people remember people's usernames? I've been around for years, and I have a list of names I know, but I suspect my list is much shorter than most. I hit this site in the aggregate. This makes it easier to not hold grudges, but it also goes a way toward keeping me from feeling a sense of community. I take breaks from here and I often miss the place, but never any individual.

I especially have no idea how one keeps track of those that seldom comment or post.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:32 AM on August 3, 2013 [10 favorites]


I can definitely vouch for wenestvendt's decency and kindness. We used to be neighbors and still live in the same town, and it was pretty awesome finding out he's a MeFite, not the least because it reminded me that y'all are real people out there. Also, his posts are consistently awesome!
posted by Ruki at 7:42 AM on August 3, 2013


I appreciated paulsc's comment because it made me think more deeply about the concept of personal responsibility and put words to something I couldn't previously articulate.

Cute little Billy Henderson, age 4, because his contribution to that thread was deeply honest and heartfelt advice. He doesn't really post that often under that sock puppet, and I don't know who he is, but I've always been rooting for him and hoped that he's okay.

señor Cardgage, because I got a glimpse into how to thoughtfully and sincerely reflect on the unexpected impact of your words, rather than to double down. Doubling down is something I've done in the past, and their gracefulness is a reminder that conversations aren't about digging in or winning an argument, but truly exchanging perspectives.

Finally, thanks for the shout out in the other thread, cairdeas - I always appreciate reading your thoughts as well. :)
posted by anitanita at 7:47 AM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


Thanks for this thread. I love MF because there are so many good ideas & conversation. I try not to be a drive-by poster or commentator, but sometimes it's hard to stay in a thread because of time constraints IRL. This, of course, makes me flakey & inconsistent in the quality of my comments, but I feel like watching the great conversations, seeing the mods and full-time commenters work, and observing a rich combination of kindness, good judgment, and flameouts has made me a better talker & thinker, on the web and IRL. I want to thank everybody who takes a risk to share their thoughts, and takes the time to think about how they'll be read and received. I love to see you every day, even if I still mostly just lurk.

On preview, I've been reminded that everyone needs a hug - me too!
(((((BIG HUG!!)))))
posted by toodleydoodley at 7:54 AM on August 3, 2013 [6 favorites]


When Any_Old_Member makes a comment you really appreciate, or you realize that Unsung_Hero has a history of thoughtful posts, or Person_In_Crisis comments about a deeply sad event in their life, you can comment in the thread about the goodness of their comment, you can favorite them, and you can send a MeFiMail expressing your appreciation, concern, whatever. The George Saunders’s Advice to Graduates: Be Kind post is well worth reading. There are some days and some threads where there's a lot of unkindness. I do love snark as much as any MeFite, but I often see comments and even posts from new or not-well-known members who are clearly nervous about getting slammed, hard. As a community, assumption of good will should be a given. The anonymity and distance of the Internet makes it much harder, but this is a community of smart, thoughtful people, and we can afford the time to clarify, and to disagree without meanness.
posted by theora55 at 8:12 AM on August 3, 2013 [11 favorites]


I would love it if we would stop these callout for awesomeness threads altogether.

Because while the sentiment is nice and while it's nice for the people who get recognized, there will always be people who are missed. And speaking as a person who has never won a popularity contest and has never been eloquent and always been socially awkward, I can tell you from the other side that seeing this kind of thing over and over again sucks. And I get that some of that is my own baggage and I'm an adult and have mostly made peace with the fact that I just will never be one of those people.

But that said, one of the things that I've always liked about Mefi is that it's a place where the socially awkward or nerdy or weird people can go and not be excluded like they have everywhere else in their life and even be embraced, despite, or maybe even because of, their differences. But then these kind of threads come along every so often and can serve as a reminder to some members (or me anyway) that despite the time and effort they might have put into this site that they'll never be one of those people that other people remember. Which, I get it. I know. I just hate the reminders. And if there are other people who are discouraged from posting because they feel like what they say won't really matter, well then that really bums me out too. I guess my answer is to stop reading these threads.
posted by triggerfinger at 9:38 AM on August 3, 2013 [110 favorites]


If you haven't read geneva uswazi's profile you are in for a treat.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:42 AM on August 3, 2013 [34 favorites]


despite the time and effort they might have put into this site that they'll never be one of those people that other people remember

I think if probably helps if you can find social validation in your offline life. In the earlier thread, someone made the insightful comment that a shout-out to one user doesn't make your contributions or life any less valuable-- nothing has been taken away from you. There are some users whose posts I find consistently interesting and insightful. There are other users who I have come to actively dislike. There are many I can't remember and will only notice of their comments are especially noteworthy. It helps no one for me to actively criticize and call out those I dislike so I mostly stay silent about them. But I am not going to stop myself from making a specific shout out to someone's whose work I admire.
posted by deanc at 10:16 AM on August 3, 2013 [7 favorites]


there will always be people who are missed

Triggerfinger, one thing to consider is if these kinds of "never-previously-recognized threads" become really, really common, eventually we'll get to recognizing everyone.

And by the way, this canned pumpkin thread is an extremely valuable resource. Thanks for this.
posted by Toekneesan at 10:18 AM on August 3, 2013


Shout-out to curious.jp for making this script that hides favourites in profiles. It's just the thing to cure that pesky habit of clicking someone's profile and immediately checking how many favourites they have, which seems like something worth mentioning in a thread about popularity contests.
posted by Lorin at 10:26 AM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


I don't take triggerfinger's comment as being about her own experience at all, but she speaks for a lot of us and I really appreciate the comment. Personally, I've been here a long time but don't have enough time, energy or smarts to be a top player here. I do make a concerted effort to keep my contributions on point or useful. I've also avoided the "awesome" threads -- even in this thread that is supposedly for the less recognized site contributors, I'm not naming names but saying what I always have and always will -- love you all.
posted by vers at 10:32 AM on August 3, 2013 [8 favorites]


I always smile when I see a comment by That's Numberwang! because it reminds me of Numberwang.
posted by arcticseal at 10:36 AM on August 3, 2013 [9 favorites]


PS: For the record I find MetaFilter to be wonderfully inclusive. Intimidating, sure, but not in a "You're not welcome at the cool kids table" way.
posted by Lorin at 10:36 AM on August 3, 2013 [3 favorites]


It's a feature of this place that personality is minimized. There are no avatars, no signatures, no threading, and the flow from comment to comment is relatively unbroken. Personality might matter more for frequent users of AskMefi, where some people might become known for particularly good advice. But Metafilter mostly works because the tone overall is higher, most comments contain some thought and are free of the worst abuses of grammar, spelling and manners that are common in other forums. And it works because anyone can be the person whose experience adds that unique contribution to a thread. If anything, I've always found the known personalities - those whose voice can be recognized without looking at the name below - sometimes tiresome. Still, even those who might seem part of the inner-circle are mostly contained by the overall quality of the site and contributions. I can (start to) read that other thread and still not recognize two-thirds of the names mentioned within, even when they seem like known personalities to each other. People will come and go, burn brightly and then fade away. There was a time when MiguelCardoso would have been the go to name for a list like that, and now that name would probably meet with a 'who?' by half of those who are listed in that thread.

Anyway, just to play the game, in Toronto maudlin is very good at welcoming everyone who comes to meetups. Always seems to be able to engage them right off the bat in whatever topic seems of most interest to them. Don't know if mention of her is most appropriate in this thread or the other.
posted by TimTypeZed at 10:48 AM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]


that despite the time and effort they might have put into this site that they'll never be one of those people that other people remember.

To me, this is a feature, not a bug. I don't like getting overly attached to my online persona -- it starts to cloud my thinking. And frankly, having had the experience of being a "popular" poster on other forums, I got reeeeeeeeeally uncomfortable with it. I start to buy into it too much. There is an addictive/compulsive quality to having that level of attention. It's not healthy.

I really think being more on the down-low is the best way to make use of this or any other online community. It keeps the boundaries healthy. I found it creepy in previous online experiences to have people following me so intently online. Anonymity is precious.

Mainly, though, I like the freedom to reinvent myself without having people hold my posting history up and saying, "But but but, LAST week you were all blah blah blah." To hell with that.

And moreso: when I'm gumming my Jell-o in the old folks' home, am I really going to be saying to myself: "Golly, I'm so proud of that post of mine that got 48 favorites!"

Your value as a human is intrinsic. It has zip-all to do with other people's adulation (or not) of you.
posted by nacho fries at 10:58 AM on August 3, 2013 [10 favorites]


Yeah, I try to keep my contributions constructive for the most part, but I'd prefer not to have any kind of persona attached to my username or have people wonder where I am or anything like that.
posted by LionIndex at 11:01 AM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


This is all on me, but these threads bring me back to mandatory pep rallies, when I would scowl and tried to read my sci fi in the middle of cheering people. I say this not as a hater, but maybe to try to elucidate aspects of discomfort that I, at least, have with these threads
posted by angrycat at 11:10 AM on August 3, 2013 [20 favorites]


Metafilter is so great because of the huge number of fantastic people here, not because any one person is super-faboo themselves.

These things are not mutually exclusive.
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:22 AM on August 3, 2013


I'd like to offer a programmatic but warm callout to other folks with more than 75 best answers who have maintained a best-answer-to-askme-comment ratio of 10% or better (rounded to the nearest whole percent), although I'm sure the arbitrary cut-off values mean I've omitted yet more people whom I appreciate.

26%: verstegan
24%: mdevore
22%: RichardP
21%: FishBike, pocams
20%: Balonious Assault, rumposinc
19%: eschatfische, flex, kathryn, zamboni
18%: Memo, jedicus, peachfuzz
17%: iminurmefi, neroli
16%: MeghanC, Paragon, Perplexity, Pinback, Rhaomi, milkrate, rockindata, zsazsa
15%: ArkhanJG, AzraelBrown, Elsa, chrismear, hades, iconomy, katemonster, mhum, needled, peagood
14%: Corvid, Lame_username, Mister Fabulous, Mizu, Mutant, Pogo_Fuzzybutt, Wolfster, charmcityblues, clearlydemon, drlith, flug, fraula, gyusan, jamaro, jetlagaddict, le morte de bea arthur, misozaki, purpleclover
13%: 0xFCAF, AnnaRat, Jon-o, K.P., Kadin2048, MonkeyToes, Old Geezer, acidic, bartonlong, bcwinters, birdherder, brianogilvie, eriko, fontophilic, googly, holgate, hurdy gurdy girl, juniperesque, mbrubeck, nickrussell, pineapple, ssg, straw, toxic, vers, xil, zengargoyle
12%: Abiezer, Bardolph, JackFlash, Magnakai, Orinda, Pater Aletheias, Slap*Happy, aubilenon, brainmouse, burnmp3s, caek, cocoagirl, davey_darling, dhartung, embrangled, exogenous, gemmy, jeb, junesix, knile, misteraitch, mosk, mrg, seanmpuckett, sharkfu, shelleycat, smoke, suedehead, vacapinta, valkyryn
11%: Admiral Haddock, Brockles, Comrade_robot, DestinationUnknown, ErikaB, Eyebrows McGee, FAMOUS MONSTER, Fiasco da Gama, Greg Nog, Houstonian, ImproviseOrDie, Jeanne, Juliet Banana, MoonOrb, MuffinMan, O9scar, PercussivePaul, Quietgal, RJ Reynolds, Rhomboid, The Michael The, aimedwander, beagle, carsonb, chazlarson, contraption, deezil, fake, ghharr, gingerbeer, gudrun, julthumbscrew, maudlin, mykescipark, olinerd, phoenixy, sciencegeek, treehorn+bunny, zachlipton
10%: Dee Xtrovert, EndsOfInvention, FauxScot, Frowner, Gator, Happy Dave, JPD, Johnny Assay, KathrynT, Kid Charlemagne, Mike1024, Namlit, Nanukthedog, TedW, TooFewShoes, advicepig, amarynth, anildash, backwards guitar, barnone, bedhead, bonehead, carmicha, dancestoblue, dersins, drpynchon, essexjan, gauche, hot soup girl, hydropsyche, infinitewindow, infinitywaltz, jabes, jadepearl, jellicle, jessamyn, jon1270, jquinby, kalessin, kuujjuarapik, mdonley, mullacc, mumkin, niles, null terminated, phunniemee, procrastination, pseudostrabismus, pupdog, rmless, sanka, sbutler, sebastienbailard, shothotbot, supercres, tylerkaraszewski, usonian, vorfeed, vytae, whatzit, zoomorphic
posted by Monsieur Caution at 11:24 AM on August 3, 2013 [28 favorites]


this is a feature, not a bug

I agree with you nacho fries. I like to comment when I have something useful to contribute but I know myself well enough that I can't let gaining "popularity" in this context become a very important part of what I decide to write.

That said, I'll callout kovacs here, whose posts on fitness and workplace issues I particularly appreciate because they clearly come from a place of excellent experience and thoughtfulness. (Weirdly kovacs has a very similar ratio of participation on the blue, green and gray to my own posting history.) (Also we both paid our $5 in a July.) (Also neither of us has a capital letter in our username.) (And we both have a 1 and a 0 in our usernumber.)
posted by gubenuj at 11:35 AM on August 3, 2013


Cute little Billy Henderson, age 4, because his contribution to that thread was deeply honest and heartfelt advice. He doesn't really post that often under that sock puppet, and I don't know who he is, but I've always been rooting for him and hoped that he's okay.

Hey, thanks. I had forgotten about that comment. Relationship-wise, things are still rocky and we're pretty much perpetually on the edge of divorce, but the situation is calmer. I managed to find a full-time job in a new field. My income isn't quite two-thirds what it was, but that's enough to pay the bills and rent a home. More importantly, it's a job that is pretty well insulated from my home life, so work is a bit of an oasis from everything. My life will never be what it could have been, but it's generally tolerable and some days are really good. Oh, and that unplanned baby is seriously the cutest, cleverest, most affectionate child you've ever seen. She's amazing. Glad to have her around.

Don't want to take over the thread or anything, but thought an update might be in order.
posted by cute little Billy Henderson, age 4 at 12:07 PM on August 3, 2013 [14 favorites]


I'd like to call out a genre of comment, rather than a particular commenter. It's the "Actually, I'm a" comment. As in, "actually, I'm an endocrinologist . . . ," and variants thereof. It usually comes up around comment 40 or later, after a whole bunch of general surmises about the nature of some complex aspect of reality.

The form goes something like this.

Post on Childhood Development.

Comments 1-40: Kids need discipline; no, kids need freedom to explore; no, kids need attentive parents; no, kids need the support of a broad-based community of care; and so on.

Comment 41: I'm a graduate student in anthropology, and just completing my dissertation on parenting advice over the past century in five separate cultures. Here are some fascinating things I learned . . . .
posted by ferdydurke at 12:08 PM on August 3, 2013 [35 favorites]


I would like to call out the plate of beans. As the creation of this Metatalk post indicates, it is the most highly regarded member of our community and yet was totally unacknowledged in the previous callout thread.
posted by Anonymous at 12:23 PM on August 3, 2013


Triggerfinger, one thing to consider is if these kinds of "never-previously-recognized threads" become really, really common, eventually we'll get to recognizing everyone.

posted by Toekneesan at 6:18 PM on August 3


And then we can all feel equally loved and special! How wonderful!
posted by Decani at 12:37 PM on August 3, 2013 [3 favorites]


I love you, special Decani. How wonderful you are!
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 12:40 PM on August 3, 2013 [3 favorites]


Don't make me fly to England and forcibly hug you like I do with my misanthropic younger cousin, Decani.
posted by cairdeas at 12:42 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


Here's to all the lurkers and quiet readers too humble to comment!
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:58 PM on August 3, 2013 [15 favorites]


cajalswoon is a quiet member who mostly lurks and also lurked a long time before joining to make this fantastic comment.

I think cajalswoon favorited something of mine and I checked the profile and noted they had been favorited quite a lot for someone with so few comments and it led me to that AskMe which has extra special appeal to me because of the combo of handicapped person and cool factor or hip factor (and humor and wit and so much.more). I loved the suggestions in the discussion to remark "that's how I roll" at appropriate times in the future. I am not in a wheelchair but I am very significantly handicapped, as are my sons, and I see no reason why I can't be one of the cool people. So I always love discussions of that sort. I have a slight permanent limp, as did Mae West, and I like to joke that it just adds to my sex appeal and star quality. :-)

I would have never read that AskMe had cajalswoon not favorited something of mine and also had such an unusually high favorited count for such a low comment count. Curiosity as to how that happened led me to that discussion (and also made me fond of angrycat, possibly mentioned in the cool kids thread, apologies if saying that here is a faux pas). I promptly added them as a contact and I have made it a habit to keep my eye out for other members who are undiscovered quiet gems. When I have time, I will likely check profiles of anyone mentioned in this MeTa, in search of more overlooked gems.
posted by Michele in California at 1:00 PM on August 3, 2013 [3 favorites]


Thanks, Monsieur Caution, for reminding me that my previous MeFi incarnation was (by all sorts of metrics) much more successful than my current one.

Mind you, I have a life away from the keyboard now, so there's that.
posted by pipeski at 1:11 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'd like to offer a programmatic but warm callout to other folks with more than 75 best answers who have maintained a best-answer-to-askme-comment ratio of 10% or better

Dancy dance dancerton. I made 10% at least.

(Personally, I find two open callout threads double awesome.)
posted by Namlit at 1:40 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


I want to call out anonymous for asking some of the best AskMe questions ever. Sometimes I feel like s/he is asking questions I would ask. Thanks anonymous, you rock!

No kidding. Anonymous needs the love too... always going through a terrible breakup, facing legal trouble, worried about getting fired. Anonymous has a tough life, man.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:06 PM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]


More than anyone, anonymous needs a hug.

(((((((((GROUP HUG -- if you want it))))))))
posted by Michele in California at 2:09 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


And by the way, this canned pumpkin thread is an extremely valuable resource.

triggerfinger, good ask. Now I know what to do with all of the pumpkins I let the kids plant!
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:14 PM on August 3, 2013


There are so many people here that have helped me out in small but meaningful ways in the last several years. A lot of times these were things that made impressions not because these people stuck their necks out (although some did) but because they were simply there, sometimes at pivotal moments, sometimes at calm, silent ones. But they were there with kindness or presence or a wise word that I needed at that time.

A Dead Quaker spent a morning at a coffee shop with me when I was going through a massive crisis about my visa on my move over to England. I'll always remember how calm and steady and accepting he was during moments when I must have seemed like a panicked crazypants person.

allkindsoftime...you are a true humanitarian. You experience life fully and were there when I was hurting and you were hurting and your kindness made the world a better place. Making a difference, thank you.

dobie wrote a song that has been my anthem and emotional go-to for YEARS now. It's probably one of my most listened to tracks on Last.fm. And for good reason. THANK YOU. To that end, several other musically talented MeFites have helped me tremendously along my way (and especially when I seemed to be going nowhere): frenetic, Saellys, ludwig_van, bicyclefish, csimpkins, cortex, Karlos the Jackal, sputgop, edlundart, clcapps, ageispolis, setanor, degoao, gergtreble, drezdn, saulgoodman, ORthey, Admira, uncleozzy, flapjax at midnite, The World Famous and so many more.

Errant and I had a brief but amazing conversation outside a pub in Seattle. It stayed with me. He is an immensely compassionate and bold soul.

I can't even begin to tell you how much Fishbike has helped me with the SQL and programming/coding aspects of my dissertation research. I've learned so much and he has been incredibly gracious and sharing with his scripts and instruction.

hardcode also gets a special callout for not only his endless help with coding, scripts, programming, etc. but giving me the warmest welcome to England, showing me around town, introducing me to people and making it possible for me to actually live somewhere and settle in to my sometimes scary new surroundings. It was such a relief and the best gift, especially after I'd been travelling for almost six months straight with no sense of home or familiarity. I love that I know the street in this town that I can turn the corner onto and will likely see his smiling face outside the local with his family and friends there.

hydatius was also crucial in helping make my transition to England possible, but also fun and interesting. He was one of the first people I met here and he has made me feel connected to this place. He gave me so much advice about how to live, how to get along and how to be a successful academic. He has no idea. He also makes great MeFi posts around here, although few and far between.

oogo_booga and Pronoiac! I still have my custom IPA MeFi shirt! I sometimes sleep in it before big presentations. I am such a nerd at heart and you help keep that alive and well.

Quietgal...you are a total inspiration to me. You show up at meetups and listen and don't say much and your confident presence is absolutely amazing. I wish I knew how to shut up and just be. Plus, you're super smart and sciency!

parmanparman...what can I say? We've leapfrogged all over this planet and found each other again and again randomly in strange places along the way. I can't even begin to say how much that's meant to me. I love you, man.

Pronoiac is amazing and completely underrated. He has consistently been a part of the backstage mechanics of MetaFilter...making playlists, coding things, hosting music and transcripts and such...do people even realize? He is constantly updating the Start-to-Finish podcast without lapse or fail and it's a great thing!!!!

segment7, thank you for all the random SQL/awk/grep/sed help. It's so great to know that you can put a question out there in the world and you are the one that has consistently been like "Oh hey, yeah, you can do it like X!" And it worked! Saved my ass and helped me carry on more times than I can count.

Margaret...I can't remember your MeFi handle at the moment, but you helped me with some video translations and editing and I can't even tell you how grateful I am for that. Sometimes you get along with a project and those last steps are completely daunting. You were like, "Here, lemme do that, it's fun!" and made it happen. At a point when I couldn't even fathom figuring it out. I am so grateful for that and I really wish I could give you proper credit and thank you.

I also want to apologize to anybody I've called out here and are feeling a little bit cringy for my doing so. I know that being publicly mentioned by name is a probably a bit much. I can't help myself. This is me and you are you. Thanks for that and thanks again for understanding that.

I love this place and all the people in it so much.
posted by iamkimiam at 2:50 PM on August 3, 2013 [9 favorites]


May I call your attention to this excellent comment from Now there are two. There are two _______. ? A classic case of "I did not know I was interested in the language naming situation in Central America, but wow, after this comment, I know something new. Thanks!"
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:29 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'd like to offer a programmatic but warm callout to other folks with more than 75 best answers who have maintained a best-answer-to-askme-comment ratio of 10% or better

This is basically my dream callout. Programmatic but warm thanks.

(Not sarcastic.)
posted by purpleclover at 3:35 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


Monsieur Caution, how do you find stuff like that out?
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 3:37 PM on August 3, 2013


Where are you finding the best answer stats?

When set to AskMe, the infodumpster will show you some best answer totals, but I used the raw data and a little Perl script (available via MeMail).
posted by Monsieur Caution at 3:40 PM on August 3, 2013


If no one notices that you've gone, were you ever really there?
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:11 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


Except those who perform to your standard.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:29 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


Technically, shouldn't the opposite of the previous thread be a thread of the least liked->hated mefites? Although I would probably win that one hands down.
posted by marienbad at 4:30 PM on August 3, 2013


The only way I could see that working is if it was self reported, like if everyone posted telling the number of times they've received drunken emails telling them what a cretin they were.
posted by cairdeas at 4:33 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


They could also just report their overall lifelong feeling of malaise and persecution by even elderly people and small children, if they didn't have any specific drunken emails to point to.
posted by cairdeas at 4:35 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


"If you haven't read geneva uswazi's profile you are in for a treat."

I just read it and it is great. Interestingly, geneva joined 2 months to the day before me, and it made me wonder if there was any way to see who joined on the same day as me, and thus shares a mefibirthday with me! (mefiday? Is there a word here for this?)
posted by marienbad at 4:42 PM on August 3, 2013


Apparently I value (comments of) the following people in order:
phunniemee
Ruthless Bunny
ThePinkSuperhero
the young rope-rider
DarlingBri
empath
griphus
jbenben
brainmouse
headnsouth

I have no idea if these people were mentioned previously because I didn't read 97% of the other thread.
posted by KogeLiz at 4:42 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


I wish I could best-answer triggerfinger's remark. I like Metafilter a lot. But you know the nerdy people in high school who went to some sort of alternative college and anointed themselves cool people of the nerdy variety? And then were sort of low-level assholes? This is not the vibe we want to celebrate here! We want to do better!
posted by skbw at 4:47 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


This is not the vibe we want to celebrate here! We want to do better!

I think it's very okay that a community show appreciation for individuals that have merited it, and that we should be encouraged to be happy for those people, even if they aren't ourselves. The default response should not be that we shouldn't appreciate people because we personally feel left out, but that we should learn to value other people's happiness as much as we do our own. Would we like to be appreciated? (I think that is what underlies some of the comments against this kind of thing, as people feel left out.) Then we should learn to be happy when others are appreciated, even if we haven't been recognized. Not to be condescending, but we should see it as an opportunity to develop a virtue of humility -- in valuing others' recognition for their own good -- rather than an expectation that everything has to be even-steven all the time, and that one's personal experience should be the baseline for that equity. A community in which we extol the virtues of others should be a high priority.
posted by SpacemanStix at 5:09 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


cairdeas, you are the best. I'm sure you got called out in the other thread because you are the best, but thank you. You always make an attempt to make mefi a more inclusive, friendly place for the quieter people.

I find myself going back to maya's comment about journaling very frequently because it's just so awesome. I really want to keep a journal but struggle with keeping up the habit, so whenever I start lagging I revisit her comment for a little inspiration.
posted by lilac girl at 5:15 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'd like to call out gman for making consistently strong posts and comments. It is tough to stand up to a bullies whose activities often get promoted here, and he does it with aplomb, when it happens.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:22 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


seanmpuckett, you said the best thing about Southern manners, and I still love it and try to remember to practice it: "Act as if everyone around you is carrying a weapon, or has very large dogs, or has nothing to lose, or has a beautiful sibling that you just might like to go out with." Not only did I notice that comment, I take it to heart as often as possible. Thank you!
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:28 PM on August 3, 2013 [4 favorites]


I think it's an inevitability of human relations in a community for people to gel together, but for me, the groups of friends I have here don't overshadow the people I think are great people. I like what they're doing, so for me, whether they're being overlooked by anyone else doesn't particularly faze me. But, there's people whose presence is sporadic, some who haven't been around in years, who I wish would bring their voices out more often. Assuming they're not already doing so under a new handle. Like vronsky, who hasn't posted in quite a while - always breathed an enjoyable weirdness into threads, and made one of my favorite FPPs. People who post sporadically but well must be really patient. I like the element they add to the communities here; like a passing wave and a smile from an old friend when you're at a party.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 6:22 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


SpacemanStix, when I said "this is not the vibe," by "this" I meant the low-level asshole, former nerd vibe, like I said in my comment. Not a general vibe of showing appreciation. That one is fine. We don't want the latter (appreciation) to bleed over into the former (asshole). That's what I meant.
posted by skbw at 6:30 PM on August 3, 2013


And I have met oh-so-many people like that in real life (beginning in middle school with the snobby nerds with ex-hippie college professor parents, who gave them free access to their pot stashes and shelves full of philosophy books that they completely misunderstood) ... but actually have yet to notice anyone like that here, which is awesome.
posted by cairdeas at 6:34 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


The only way I could see that working is if it was self reported, like if everyone posted telling the number of times they've received drunken emails telling them what a cretin they were.

I have received many emails asking me to shut-the-fuck-up already. I think most of them were sober, though. I honestly appreciated each and every one, and most of them were right. Sometimes, I even do for awhile. Like, now would probably be a good time.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:38 PM on August 3, 2013


Thank you, Monsieur Caution. It was nice to see my name in your "programmatic but warm callout."
posted by misozaki at 6:44 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


titus n. owl, you note on your profile that you don't say much on MeFi. But when you do, it's well worth hearing. If you ever feel like saying more, I'll be listening to that, too.
posted by Elsa at 6:51 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


SpacemanStix, when I said "this is not the vibe," by "this" I meant the low-level asshole, former nerd vibe, like I said in my comment. Not a general vibe of showing appreciation. That one is fine. We don't want the latter (appreciation) to bleed over into the former (asshole). That's what I meant.

Oh yeah, no sweat, skbw. I agree with you on that. I guess I haven't seen a whole lot of people being assholes in appreciation threads, though, or even approaching the line on it. So that's a good thing.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:57 PM on August 3, 2013


And thank you cairdeas for starting this thread. Love your profile pic. Corgi butts are awesome, yo.
posted by misozaki at 6:59 PM on August 3, 2013


I see he's been called out but Pronoiac's podcast frequently makes my day a little Metafiltery-musically happy.
posted by immlass at 7:12 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


Love your profile pic. Corgi butts are awesome, yo.

Swiped it from Metafilterest! Corgi butts are awesome for sure. (As is Metafilterest.)
posted by cairdeas at 7:19 PM on August 3, 2013


Every time I see a comment from migurski, I get a little deja vu.
posted by mikurski at 7:25 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


Big ups to Kid Ichorous for being classical and clever.
RIP Faze, old school troll cool.
Holla at ya boy escabeche, awesome math writer.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:37 PM on August 3, 2013


14%: Corvid, Lame_username, Mister Fabulous, Mizu, Mutant, Pogo_Fuzzybutt, Wolfster, charmcityblues, clearlydemon, drlith, flug, fraula, gyusan, jamaro, jetlagaddict, le morte de bea arthur, misozaki, purpleclover

I'm gonna go ahead and congratulate myself again for being so awesome. Now with 43.4% more proof.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:02 PM on August 3, 2013 [1 favorite]


Every single member can ctrl-F this page and find at least two mentions of their name. You are so awesome that Metafilter itself has called you out twice. Yes, even you.
posted by Ruki at 8:03 PM on August 3, 2013 [9 favorites]


I hadn't seen the previous call-out thread, so I went to look at it, already feeling a bit grumpy and left-out. But surprise, I got a call-out :)

When I posted asking for recommendations of side-scrolling games for iPhone, BrashTech introduced me to Waking Mars. Sebmojo mentioned Swordigo, which became my obsession for several weeks. And actually I'm re-playing it now.

For my webcomics question, rivenwanderer mentioned Curvy, which I loved. And lemonadeheretic came up with Menage a 3, which I still follow. Looking back at that thread I see more cool comics I got distracted from and need to take another look at.

I find myself agreeing with tel3path a lot.

In general, I think all the mefites are kind of cool. I sort of hate posting this because I know I am forgetting some really awesome members who have changed the way I think, or helped me, or made me laugh.
posted by bunderful at 8:04 PM on August 3, 2013 [3 favorites]


Callout for Corduroy, because it makes my day whenever he posts a new song on MeFi Music. You can hear the whole lot over here.

Also Ian K., Sing Or Swim, dacre (especially for El Amor Es Un Juego and his synth-y cover of Time After Time), askmefiguy, and fritley.

I have all of you on my iPod and you are all great and I wish you all the best.
posted by topoisomerase at 8:34 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]


I lurked here for years. Then a couple years ago, I was reading the post on R.E.M. calling it quits, thought back on a couple of moments at their shows that still bring a smile to my face, and realized I really felt like sharing that with all you familiar strangers. So I paid my five bucks and posted a few sentences. Within a few minutes a 'favorite' appeared under my comment, and that made me feel welcome. So I am calling out MeFite aught who, without knowing that's what he was doing, gave me that warm welcome.

In the time since then, I've been one of those folks who reads through a lot of threads, but posts only here and there, 'cause I guess that's just what works for me. And I am cool with that. It's nice to take this opportunity to just say: you're a valued part of my day, MetaFilter. Thanks to all of you. No, actually, make that: thanks to all of us.
posted by fikri at 9:44 PM on August 3, 2013 [12 favorites]


If no one notices that you've gone, were you ever really there?

Yesterday I looked in my contact list, and was very sad to see these friends not around:

Phire
infini
jouke
Burhanistan

Where did you go guys? I noticed, you are missed.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:05 PM on August 3, 2013 [6 favorites]


I would love it if we would stop these callout for awesomeness threads altogether.

Some people are getting attention, but I'm not, therefore no one should? I just can't get behind this attitude. I didn't get a call out in the first thread, nor will I in this one, but so what? Why should that lead me to want to take praise away from others?
posted by Squeak Attack at 10:33 PM on August 3, 2013 [5 favorites]


(A LABORED PARABLE IN THE FORM OF A HYPOTHETICAL CONVERSATION)

I would like to call you out. Yes. You. No, not him over there. Stop looking behind you, because that's the wall.

Let's go over there to the bleachers because, Jesus, one bowl of spiked punch and everyone's shouting.

So, anyway, a lot of us have been going to school together since we were, like, zygotes, because there aren't many good magnet schools, so there are a lot of inside jokes and, you know, shared history and all that shit.

So I was thinking it might be a little tough to come in in the middle and, you know, just jump in and have at it. I mean, maybe it's not, because I think you're pretty cool, but let me have my white knight moment.

ANYWAY. I wanted to tell you that I really liked what you said the other day during that big debate.

And I think it was pretty awesome that you stood up and, you know, laid out your case and all. Because I know I would have been scared shitless, because, duh, Internet, stick your neck out and get a guillotine. So I just wanted to tell you that I noticed and I liked what you said, in case you were, like, thinking nobody cared. Which you're probably not, because you're totally awesome, but if you were, well, I thought maybe you'd want to know.

I'm really glad you came here, and probably so is everyone else, but we get all caught up in the jokes and meta shit. Give it a little while, and one of us will do something and then it'll be A Thing and you'll have been there from the start.

So yeah. I'm gonna go give those guys some shit about their ponytails. Wanna come with? Awesome.
posted by scrump at 11:25 PM on August 3, 2013 [9 favorites]


I'd like to offer a programmatic but warm callout to other folks with more than 75 best answers

Best answer flags are nearly completely useless markers of quality. No, really.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:35 AM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]


Best answer flags are nearly completely useless markers of quality.

Just as "derail" flags normally don't indicate a "fantastic post" and vice versa. Yeah. Makes sense.

We need a statistically-generated callout for "other" flags

(my inside name: Suddenly Surrealistic, aka. Moar Coffee)
posted by Namlit at 3:55 AM on August 4, 2013


I'd like to call out Foci for Analysis. That user name just got me out of a jam in Words With Friends for 22 points.
posted by slogger at 5:09 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


Where did you go guys? I noticed, you are missed.

Jouke still participates on MetaChat.

It's nice to call people out for things you admire in them. I'm still not really sure why we need a separate thread for that - why there was an assumed category in the first one that these callouts couldn't belong in. Any of these would have been just as appropriate there.
posted by Miko at 5:16 AM on August 4, 2013 [5 favorites]


if there was any way to see who joined on the same day as me, and thus shares a mefibirthday with me

You could check the profiles with numbers +/- around your user profile #.
posted by arcticseal at 5:39 AM on August 4, 2013


I'm forming an external faction of the counter-clique if anyone's interested. Those filthy revisionists must not go unopposed.
posted by Abiezer at 5:46 AM on August 4, 2013 [5 favorites]


Best answer flags are nearly completely useless markers of quality. No, really.

Just to double-check, before posting that, I bothered to eyeball what the top dozen or so folks were getting best answers for, and I didn't think so in their cases. My suspicion (this is probably testable: does best answer ratio correlate with participation in short threads?) is that many people racking up large numbers/percentages of best answers are AskMe's 'long tail,' going into low-response-rate threads with specialist concerns and knocking them out, which in my opinion is praiseworthy.

I wouldn't expect those folks to be getting as many favorites, because as aheckler's graph shows, the average number of favorites varies significantly by question category (that suggests another testable question: does the average favorite count per comment also vary by category as I'd guess it would?). And I wouldn't expect personal recollections and nominations, affected by availability, recency, vividness, selection bias, etc., to capture a lot of what's going on even if it's worthwhile to share them.

So I did give some thought to the limitations and significance of best answers, but I welcome a deeper analysis.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 7:54 AM on August 4, 2013


I didn't think so in their cases

Just to be clear: this means I did see their particular best answer flags as strong markers of quality.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 8:05 AM on August 4, 2013


I'd like to offer a programmatic but warm callout to other folks.... arbitrary cut-off values

Awww . . . I would like to thank the metafilter program and Monsieur for selecting the arbitrary endpoint.

There is something in my eye. I'm going to call my mom robot, and ask if I meet the threshold for an arbitrary hug.
posted by Wolfster at 8:40 AM on August 4, 2013


Yesterday I looked in my contact list, and was very sad to see these friends not around:

Phire
infini
jouke
Burhanistan

Where did you go guys? I noticed, you are missed.
posted by Meatbomb.

Prolly getting sock puppets mended as we speak, yes.
posted by clavdivs at 8:55 AM on August 4, 2013


Wow, cairdeas, I'm overwhelmed! I saw this thread when I was up in the middle of the night with the baby, but then I was convinced that I'd dreamed the whole thing. (Everyone has Mefi dreams, right?)

For my part, I've always appreciated You Can't Tip a Buick's insightful comments about the economics of academia.
posted by Ralston McTodd at 9:22 AM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


anointed themselves cool people of the nerdy variety?

that's preferable to hiding their nerdy laundry in the closet.
posted by airing nerdy laundry at 9:25 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


I like everyone who makes me laugh.
posted by pracowity at 9:51 AM on August 4, 2013 [4 favorites]


Every single member can ctrl-F this page and find at least two mentions of their name. You are so awesome that Metafilter itself has called you out twice. Yes, even you.

Among those mefites who include a timestamp in their sig, something like 1 out of every 6 love the 0 by name. Sometimes twice.
posted by 0 at 9:57 AM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]


Shoutout to Tooty McTootsalot for having my favorite username of all.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:09 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


Okay, shoutout to Baby_Balrog for having my most favorite username. I'm imagining tiny tiny scorch marks on the rug, to-us-unknown miniature dungeons under the kitchen sink and stuff.
posted by Namlit at 11:01 AM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


A shoutout to my fellow language folks (anyone marked in my contacts as "colleague" is presumably either an editor or a linguist): advil, Caduceus, einzelsprachlich, elephantday, eritain, etaoin, lefty lucky cat, limeonaire, myl, ootandaboot, rtha, Sidhedevil, Skyanth, tractorfeed, vickyverky, zeugitai_guy. Some of y'all haven't been seen in these parts for longer than I like; come back soon, y'hear?
posted by languagehat at 12:57 PM on August 4, 2013 [7 favorites]


like if everyone posted telling the number of times they've received drunken emails telling them what a cretin they were.

Having received a few of these, I want to recognize the authors—no names are necessary—for their devotion to my welfare above and beyond the call of duty.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:22 PM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]


That trip and a half guy is a mensch, I tells ya.

(Say, does anyone know if there's a way to use the infodumpster to retrieve really old sidebar blurbs? This question is the real reason for this comment -- I'm really curious but didn't think it merited a contact form or MeTa post. Thought I'd sneak it in here. If anyone notices, feel free to MeMail me. Thanks!)
posted by trip and a half at 1:42 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


languagehat, you've broken my heart.
posted by iamkimiam at 1:55 PM on August 4, 2013 [5 favorites]


I'd really like to give a callout to RogueTech who is forever offering kind and uplifting personal stories on the human relations side of AskMefi.
posted by Shouraku at 2:01 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


Now can we thank those who never post anything?
posted by Ideefixe at 2:12 PM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]


I'd like to call out logicpunk, since he was the other main participant in the very first MeFi thread I ever commented in and we had a really interesting conversation there. Sincere thanks - it was the beginning of a longstanding relationship/obsession with this community.

I'd also like to call out Llama-Lime, who not only makes excellent comments here in science threads but is actually a colleague and friend IRL and who was probably the first person I ever talked about MeFi with in meatspace.

More later!
posted by en forme de poire at 2:17 PM on August 4, 2013


languagehat, you've broken my heart.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:55 PM on August 4 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]


Burn!
posted by sweetkid at 3:06 PM on August 4, 2013


We had to bomb the village to save it.



I love each of you in your own way... granted my love is not necessarily something to be sought after, it extracts a heavy toll.
posted by Divine_Wino at 3:12 PM on August 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


Now can we thank those who never post anything?

I would like to thank everyone who has never posted anything for saving me from wasting even more time on this website than I already do. You guys are the best!
posted by mstokes650 at 4:03 PM on August 4, 2013 [8 favorites]


I think part of the reason I really love reading Metafilter is that probably 90% of the time, when I read a comment that totally wows me, it's by someone I have never once noticed before. To be fair, I am hilariously bad at keeping online identities straight (literally everyone whose username begins with k is the same person to me), but I think this site's greatness is truly built on the fact that there're way more quality peeps than are remotely possible to keep track of.
posted by threeants at 4:22 PM on August 4, 2013 [9 favorites]


> languagehat, you've broken my heart.

Argh, I don't know how I neglected to mark you as "colleague"! It's remedied now, but in my defense, I'm pretty sure you were repeatedly and rightfully called out as fabulous in the previous thread. Anyway, you're definitely one of my crew.
posted by languagehat at 5:51 PM on August 4, 2013


There's more to life than being recognized on a website.
posted by jason's_planet at 5:52 PM on August 4, 2013 [4 favorites]


There's more to life than being recognized on a website.

Yes, there's also lurking in relative anonymity. That's the high life.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:59 PM on August 4, 2013 [6 favorites]


Oh man, speaking of favorite usernames, I have to make a shoutout to Snarl Furillo. I have kind of stolen that name because I ended up calling my dog Snarl Furillo in my mind all the time, I love it so much, and I think of it as what his name would be at a murder mystery dinner party like Miss Conception or something. Hopefully that is not super creepy and/or offensive.
posted by cairdeas at 8:27 PM on August 4, 2013 [3 favorites]


Every single member can ctrl-F this page and find at least two mentions of their name. You are so awesome that Metafilter itself has called you out twice. Yes, even you.

Unless you're using mobile.
posted by dogwalker at 8:28 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


also thanks to zug who has been giving me rad SF-area LGBT softball advice like a mf'in boss.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:47 PM on August 4, 2013


There's more to life than being recognized on a website.

like, much more, though?
posted by en forme de poire at 11:48 PM on August 4, 2013 [7 favorites]


Wow, I had no idea I had more than 75 best answers and have maintained a best-answer-to-askme-comment ratio of 10% or better. That said, I think this metric would be improved if you dropped askme's where no best answer was selected from the denominator of the ratio. It should also be said that I am a big data geek.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:11 AM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


trip and a half, look here.
posted by taz (staff) at 4:47 AM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


I forgot that we archived all the old blogger-sidebar stuff there too, thanks taz!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:11 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


I think this metric would be improved if you dropped askme's where no best answer was selected from the denominator of the ratio.

Anonymous has never ever marked my answer as best. I get that their life must be spectacularly complicated, but really, a little courtesy goes a long way and they might even find that being more appreciative would solve some of their problems offline, too.
posted by gauche at 5:46 AM on August 5, 2013 [3 favorites]


"Anyway, you're definitely one of my crew."

Ooooh, swoon moment! Seriously, I had a small but not-insignificant minute of wondering if I'd unknowingly done or said something around here to get me banned from the linguists corner. I'd also just started watching Orange is the New Black and the whole lunch table horror got in my head. At any rate, you and all the other wordnerds around here are people I deeply respect and admire and I am honored to be amongst you all, mention or no mention.
posted by iamkimiam at 6:41 AM on August 5, 2013


There's more to life than being recognized on a website.

like, much more, though?


I've had some good food.
posted by Miko at 6:43 AM on August 5, 2013 [5 favorites]


There's riding your defeated enemy's horses.
posted by Kattullus at 7:21 AM on August 5, 2013 [4 favorites]


The ocean would get me through a time with no MetaFilter better than the reverse. This may not be true for everyone. Also I have a sunburn.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:36 AM on August 5, 2013 [4 favorites]


Control+F "digitalprimate"

Le sigh.
posted by digitalprimate at 8:03 AM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


That said, I think this metric would be improved if you dropped askme's where no best answer was selected from the denominator of the ratio. It should also be said that I am a big data geek.

We'd need to get properly sabermetric about this, really. Some askers distribute BAs more freely than others; as noted above, Anonymous by definition is as stingy as an asker can be on that front. So I suppose the first step would be to create profiles of BA distributions for all askers, something like Percentage Of Answers Bested that calculates number of answers to their question that they've bested / total answers to their questions given; then for any given BA rewarded to a given user's answer, we can weight that by dividing by the POAB of the asker to determine the weighted value of that particular besting. Call this new weighted value Adjusted Bestness, sum up each answerer's total set of AB values, and you get Adjusted Best Answer Volume; divide ABAV by their total answers given to establish their Adjusted Best Answer Rate.

Of course you'd maybe want to do a cutoff/rolloff adjustment by date for candidate answers so that ABAR isn't dragged down unfairly for long-time answerers by questions asked before BA functionality existed; those questions, while they might have the occasional straggling BA awarded in retrospect, don't have the same sort of flow to them, so we can just regard them as exhibition threads and leave it at that.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:19 AM on August 5, 2013 [5 favorites]


I want to thank tangerine not for overall greatness, but specifically for introducing "Ask Culture versus Guess Culture" to me -- because it is an idea that has stuck with me ever since, and which illuminates a lot of things in my life.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:26 AM on August 5, 2013 [9 favorites]


Can I just say how happy I am to regularly be at a place where the linguists' corner would be compared to the cool table in the lunch room?
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:43 AM on August 5, 2013 [10 favorites]


Indeed! Someone should make a little Greasemonkey script where languagehat's colleagues get a little icon next to their name like the librarian/book thingie or the scientist/microscope gewgaw.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:47 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


I've been going to write something cranky in one of these callout MeTa threads, but I just realized I got a callout, so nevermind.
posted by aught at 8:51 AM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


who have maintained a best-answer-to-askme-comment ratio of 10% or better

Hey I made a list. Yay!
posted by jquinby at 9:57 AM on August 5, 2013


"BA's BA BA POAB ABAV ABAR"
Some linguistic training going on here, or did you swallow you bonsai Baobab tree sideways?
posted by Namlit at 11:05 AM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


This callout is to each and every person to whom I have given 1-4 favourites to over the years. Some are gone but not forgotten. Even with one single favourite between us, know that you made me think, laugh, or marvel:

A Terrible Llama, allkindsoftime, amro, arcticwoman, blue_beetle, bookish, Bora Horza Gobuchul, cairdeas, carsonb, ChuraChura, CKmtl, cmoj, Cool Papa Bell, Countess Elena, crabintheocean, crossoverman, damn dirty ape, Danila, Deathalicious, Decani, delmoi, Deoridhe, DevilsAdvocate, dirtdirt, Divine_Wino, drjimmy11, drlith, edgeways, elizardbits, Elsa, fearfulsymmetry, Fiasco da Gama, fiercecupcake, flashboy, gingerest, googly, humanfont, internet fraud detective squad, station number 9, invitapriore, jacquilynne, jamstigator, Jeanne, JohnnyGunn, k8t, kanata, kavasa, kuujjuarapik, lalex, liketitanic, LobsterMitten, lollusc, lord_wolf, mattdidthat, mattoxic, mintcake!, Mooski, mule98J, naju, Nattie, nax, ND¢, nebulawindphone, ob1quixote, obiwanwasabi, phunniemee, Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey, pseudostrabismus, psmealey, Ragged Richard, Rock Steady, running order squabble fest, Shepherd, Smedleyman, Solon and Thanks, Splunge, srboisvert, stupidsexyFlanders, Stynxno, terranova, the man of twists and turns, ThePinkSuperhero, Think_Long, Tomorrowful, TryTheTilapia, tumid dahlia, vorfeed, WCityMike, Wolfdog, yellowbinder, yhbc, zippy, adamvasco, Adventurer, Alabaster, Ambrosia Voyeur, anansi, applemeat, arcticseal, Area Man, argonauta, atrazine, availablelight, Benny Andajetz, bilabial, billyfleetwood, bitter-girl.com, bq, brevator, Brody's chum, Bugbread, bunnycup, By The Grace of God, Capt. Renault, catlet, Chrysostom, chuckdarwin, corb, craichead, cribcage, dances_with_sneetches, desuetude, DirtyOldTown, drezdn, DrMew, Dumsnill, dunkadunc, Durn Bronzefist, EarBucket, East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94, El Sabor Asiatico, elwoodwiles, enn, entropone, ErikaB, eye of newt, fairytale of los angeles, fatbird, Fee Phi Faux Phumb I Smell t'Socks o' a Puppetman!, felix betachat, FishBike, fleacircus, found missing, freshwater_pr0n, FritoKAL, FunkyHelix, George Clooney, GilloD, gilrain, gingerbeer, gjc, grapefruitmoon, graventy, growabrain, -harlequin-, headspace, hippybear, Homeboy Trouble, HopperFan, humannaire, Ice Cream Socialist, idiopath, infinitywaltz, inturnaround, Ironmouth, item, It's Never Lurgi, jabberjaw, jamaro, jasondigitized, jason's_planet, jbickers, JHarris, Jimbob, John Cohen, jph, Kadin2048, kirkaracha, Kirth Gerson, kmz, kyrademon, ldthomps, lumpenprole, malibustacey9999, mannequito, MaryDellamorte, Meatbomb, mecran01, meese, Mezentian, Mister Cheese, MonkeyToes, moonmilk, mrgrimm, Mrs. Pterodactyl, MrVisible, mrzarquon, Ms. Saint, msalt, MythMaker, Nomyte, notashroom, notsnot, ook, OsoMeaty, owhydididoit, Pater Aletheias, peacheater, peachfuzz, philip-random, porpoise, pracowity, purpleclover, pyramid termite, rebent, revmitcz, rodgerd, roger ackroyd, Rory Marinich, saucysault, scblackman, shoesietart, small_ruminant, sonascope, spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints, SPrintF, stoneweaver, straight, The Light Fantastic, three blind mice, timsteil, treehorn+bunny, Unicorn on the cob, verb, viggorlijah, waxbanks, Wordshore, xarnop, xingcat, XMLicious, yarly, zoomorphic, (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates, [expletive deleted], [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST], 23skidoo, 445supermag, Acheman, ActingTheGoat, adamdschneider, adrianhon, aeschenkarnos, agent99, AgentRocket, Alvy Ampersand, ambrosia, amoeba, angrycat, anildash, Anitanola, Arachnophile, aryma, asavage, Ashley801, Asparagirl, Atom Eyes, Atreides, auto-correct, AzzaMcKazza, b33j, Bardolph, barnone, Bathtub Bobsled, bearwife, BeerFilter, bewilderbeast, bguest, bicyclefish, biscotti, BlooPen, bonehead, bongo_x, Bonzai, Bookhouse, BrianBoyko, brundlefly, caddis, Caduceus, carmicha, Cat Pie Hurts, catchingsignals, cavalier, cazoo, cerebus19, chillmost, Chocolate Pickle, chowflap, circular, clevershark, COBRA!, Cocodrillo, COD, codacorolla, Cold Lurkey, Cranberry, crunchland, crush-onastick, CunningLinguist, cybercoitus interruptus, d. z. wang, Dasein, DaShiv, DavidandConquer, davidjmcgee, dbiedny, dchrssyr, DecemberBoy, dersins, destronomics, dg, dgaicun, Diablevert, DingoMutt, dirtynumbangelboy, disillusioned, divabat, divined by radio, double block and bleed, doublehappy, Doublewhiskeycokenoice, Drastic, Drinky Die, dyoneo, Effigy2000, effwerd, elgilito, ellF, elsietheeel, Elysum, endless_forms, Enron Hubbard, entropicamericana, Eoabelisaurus mefi, escabeche, etaoin, exlotuseater, facetious, fake, Falconetti, fcummins, feelinglistless, Felicity Rilke, felix, FelliniBlank, fight or flight, fingersandtoes, flaterik, fleetmouse, Floydd, Foci for Analysis, footnote, From Bklyn, furiousxgeorge, garius, gaspode, gauche, geek anachronism, gemmy, generic230, George_Spiggott, gerryblog, Ghostride The Whip, GnomeChompsky, Goofyy, gracedissolved, grapesaresour, grobstein, grounded, grouse, h00py, hadjiboy, hal9k, Hardcore Poser, heatherann, Hildegarde, Hollywood Upstairs Medical College, Honorable John, horsemuth, HotToddy, IAmBroom, ibmcginty, ichomp, Ideefixe, ignignokt, ikkyu2, immlass, IndigoRain, infinite intimation, InnocentBystander, insectosaurus, IronLizard, itesser, itstheclamsname, jacalata, Jacqueline, Jairus, Jakey, jayder, jeff-o-matic, jenfullmoon, jenniferteeter, jerseygirl, jetlagaddict, jimmythefish, jingo74, jlowen, Jofus, John of Michigan, jonathanstrange, jonson, joost de vries, jtron, juniperesque, justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow, kaspen, katemcd, katemonster, Kevin Street, Kid Charlemagne, Kimberly, kimdog, KirkJobSluder, Kit W, kitcat, kittens for breakfast, kitty teeth, kkokkodalk, klanawa, kliuless, kmennie, krinklyfig, Kronos_to_Earth, Kutsuwamushi, l33tpolicywonk, ladygypsy, LarryC, le morte de bea arthur, lekvar, Lemurrhea, lilywing13, Lipstick Thespian, lobstah, lodurr, longsleeves, Lorin, lucidium, Lyn Never, M.C. Lo-Carb!, MadamM, Malice, Marie Mon Dieu, Marquis, mattbucher, Mavri, mazola, mediocre, Meg_Murry, MetaMonkey, MexicanYenta, micawber, midnightmoonlight, mippy, MisantropicPainforest, MissySedai, mochapickle, mpbx, Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America, mr_crash_davis, mrbill, mrmojoflying, MrMoonPie, MrOlenCanter, mumimor, munchingzombie, murfed13, mynameisluka, mystyk, nangar, Nelson, Net Prophet, neuromodulator, never used baby shoes, nevercalm, newg, nickrussell, Night_owl, niles, nomadicink, NoraReed, notjustfoxybrown, Now there are two. There are two _______., nowonmai, Occula, ocherdraco, octothorpe, Omnomnom, oneirodynia, opsin, Orange Pamplemousse, orme, ornate insect, overglow, Pants!, parrot_person, pb, peagood, phrontist, pianomover, piratebowling, Pogo_Fuzzybutt, Pollomacho, PorcineWithMe, pts, pulleduphill, Pyry, quadrilaterals, quince, quonsar, radwolf76, ramix, randomstriker, raw sugar, red clover, Rhomboid, Richard Daly, ricochet biscuit, rifflesby, rocket88, rokusan, RolandOfEld, ROU_Xenophobe, RRgal, Rumple, rumposinc, Rustic Etruscan, rusty, ryoshu, saladin, Samuel Farrow, sarabeth, sarling, sciencegeek, sebastienbailard, Secretariat, Senor Cardgage, serazin, SharkParty, shelleycat, showbiz_liz, signal, six-or-six-thirty, Skeptic, Skwirl, skylar, Smart Dalek, snickerdoodle, something something, Sonny Jim, space_cookie, sparklemotion, specialagentwebb, spiderskull, spitbull, spunweb, St. Sorryass, stammer, stavrogin, stet, Stewriffic, swindlehorne, symbioid, Talez, taosbat, tavegyl, Tehanu, tehloki, tellurian, terrapin, that's how you get ants, The Bellman, the quidnunc kid, The White Hat, theBigRedKittyPurrs, TheOnlyCoolTim, TheophileEscargot, thereemix, therewolf, TheWhiteSkull, threeturtles, Tikirific, timeblimp, to sir with millipedes, TooFewShoes, triggerfinger, Trochanter, troybob, Trurl, twirlypen, twoleftfeet, tyllwin, usonian, Uther Bentrazor, vidur, Violet Hour, vitabellosi, vrakatar, vronsky, wanderingmind, wendell, werkzeuger, whoaali, WidgetAlley, Xoebe, yeloson, yoink, ZachsMind, zamboni, zizzle, zug, !Jim, (F)utility, .kobayashi., [insert clever name here], [ixia], ~Sushma~, 0bvious, 1adam12, 235w103, 2sheets, 3491again, 4ster, 5_13_23_42_69_666, 6am, 7segment, a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist, A1batross, aacheson, abc123xyzinfinity, aberrant, Abiezer, abirdinthehand, absalom, aburd, acidic, acorncup, acoutu, Adam_S, adamgreenfield, Addiction, Addlepated, ADent, Admira, advicepig, AElfwine Evenstar, aetg, aihal, Aizkolari, ajarbaday, aka burlap, aladfar, Alexandra Kitty, alexoscar, Alison, alms, amanda, amandapalmer, amarynth, amarynth, amber_dale, ambient2, amelioration, amicamentis, AmitinLA, amtho, amy lecteur, andeles, Andrhia, anelsewhere, anewnadir, antgly, anthom, anthropoid, AnTilgangs, any major dude, apennington, AppleSeed, Apropos of Something, aramaic, arco, Ardiril, Argyle, Armitage Shanks, ArmyOfKittens, arniec, Arqa, artlung, Ashen, asnider, AssassinPrincess, astruc, AsYouKnow Bob, aught, ausdemfenster, Autarky, Autumn, averyoldworld, aydeejones, Ayn Rand and God, Azazel Fel, b1tr0t, backseatpilot, bakerina, Bakuun, Bango Skank, banjo_and_the_pork, baphomet, bardic, barnacles, bartonlong, basicchannel, bassjump, Baud, bcwinters, beagle, bearette, beau jackson, beaucoupkevin, beccyjoe, beelzbubba, belvidere, benito.strauss, bepe, beschizza, Betsy Vane, Betty's Table, bfields, biffa, Big_B, BigLankyBastard, BigSky, BinGregory, biochemist, birdherder, bitteroldman, bitterpants, bjork24, bjrn, bl1nk, blackcatcuriouser, blahblah, blahblahblah, BlahLaLa, Blake, blasdelf, bleep, Bletch, blocked, blucevalo, bluedaisy, bluefly, BlueHorse, BlueJae, bluekrauss, blueyellow, bmosher, BobbyVan, BoldStepDesign, bookman117, boots77, Boxenmacher, brainmouse, brainwane, Brak, brandnew, brandsilence, BrashTech, Breav, breezeway, brenton, briank, Brittanie, Brocktoon, BrotherCaine, bru, buddha9090, BuddhaInABucket, burnfirewalls, Busy Old Fool, butterstick, bystander, bz, caddis, cadge, cairdeas, cali59, Calicatt, callmejay, capt.crackpipe, captaincrouton, carbide, CarlRossi, carter, casarkos, CaseyB, Cash4Lead, caspar babypants, Catch, Catseye, causticgnostic, CautionToTheWind, CelebrenIthil, cell divide, Celsius1414, cgc373, chairface, chambers, Chanther, chara, Charlemagne In Sweatpants, charmcityblues, Chaussette and the Pussy Cats, cheesecake, chickenmagazine, chimaera, chime, Chinese Jet Pilot, chinston, ChipT, chococat, Chorus, Chris Arnade, ChrisHartley, chrismear, Christ, what an asshole, christiehawk, chrominance, chromium.switch, Chrysalis, cimbrog, cirocco, Citizen Premier, CitizenD, citizngkar, Civil_Disobedient, cj_, clarknova, classa, clavdivs, clockzero, clorox, Clyde Mnestra, cmyk, Coatlicue, cobain_angel, Cobalt, cobra_high_tigers, coldhotel, colfax, Combustible Edison Lighthouse, compound eye, computech_apolloniajames, comwiz, Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell, Consonants Without Vowels, contessa, Coobeastie, cooker girl, corey flood, coriolisdave, cotterpin, cranberrymonger, crawfo, creeky, criticalbill, CRM114, cropshy, cthuljew, ctmf, Curious Artificer, curious nu, Currer Belfry, Curry, curuinor, CwgrlUp, Daddy-O, daikaisho, daisyk, damiano99, Damn That Television, danceswithlight, Danelope, Danf, dargerpartridge, darkstar, dave78981, davey_darling, David Fleming, Dean Keaton, dean_deen, deanc, deathpanels, deborah, debv, decagon, December, deep thought sunstar, deern the headlice, DeltaForce, denaps, DestinationUnknown, device55, dfriedman, dhruva, Diagonalize, dialetheia, digaman, dilettanti, dinosaurprincess, dinsdale, diocletian, dios, dirty lies, disconnect, discopolo, django_z, dlugoczaj, dmd, DNye, dogmom, Dojie, Doktor Zed, Doleful Creature, donnagirl, Donnie VandenBos, dontjumplarry, doobiedoo, DoubleLune, dov3, dpx.mfx, Dr Dracator, Dr-Baa, Dreama, dreamattack, DreamerFi, Drexen, driley, drmr2, drunkonthemoon, dskinner, dubusadus, dukes909, Dynex, Earl the Polliwog, easily confused, eatyourcellphone, ecourbanist, ecsh, ed, edbles, Eekacat, eelgrassman, effugas, egeanin, Egg Shen, Eggbix, egypturnash, eisbaer, el io, ElaineMc, eleanna, electrasteph, ElectricBlue, electroboy, ellenaim, elpapacito, Elsa, embrangled, emilyd22222, emilyw, Enroute, epersonae, episteborg, Erasmouse, ereshkigal45, eriko, ersatz, erst, eruonna, espertus, esprit de l'escalier, etc., ethnomethodologist, Etrigan, eustacescrubb, eustatic, EvaDestruction, everichon, Evernix, Everydayville, eviemath, evilcolonel, evilcupcakes, Evilspork, ewkpates, exhilaration, exogenous, explosion, Extopalopaketle, eyeballkid, Eyebeams, F Mackenzie, Faintdreams, Fairchild, fandango_matt, farishta, FatherDagon, Faze, feelinggood, FeistyFerret, fembot, ferociouskitty, fidelity, figment of my conation, fings, finite, fire&wings, fivesavagepalms, fixedgear, Fizz, flarbuse, flex, flod, Flood, Flying Saucer, FlyingMonkey, foodbedgospel, FormlessOne, four panels, foxjacket, fozzie33, Free word order!, freebird, Freen, frenetic, freshwater, frimble, Frobenius Twist, fshgrl, furnace.heart, fuse theorem, fzx101, ga$money, GaGaLoc, galadriel, gallois, GallonOfAlan, game warden to the events rhino, gandledorf, garethspor, Garm, geegollygosh, geekchic, gen, genome4hire, geoff., gertzedek, ghastlyfop, giggleknickers, Gilbert, gingerailment, glass origami quicksilver robot, glasseyes, gleuschk, gnomeloaf, gnuls, goethean, gompa, Gonestarfishing, Good43, goosechasing, Gordion Knott, gorestainedrunes, Gorgik, gorgor_balabala, goshling, grabbingsand, grayber, greatgefilte, greekphilosophy, Green Eyed Monster, greta simone, griselda, Grither, GrooveStix, grubi, guanxi, gubenuj, gudrun, guessthis, GuffProof, gwenlister, Gyan, Gygesringtone, hades, halfling, Halloween Jack, hama7, hank_14, happyroach, harriet vane, Harry, hasna, Hat Maui, hat_eater, Hates_, haveanicesummer, hazyjane, hazyspring, He Is Only The Imposter, heathkit, hegemone, heisenberg, hellboundforcheddar, Henry C. Mabuse, herbplarfegan, Heretic, Herodios, herrdoktor, Hey nonny nonny mouse, heyho, Heywood Mogroot, HFSH, Hiding From Goro, Hiker, hillabeans, hindmost, hippugeek, His thoughts were red thoughts, Hoenikker, Hogshead, holgate, hollyanderbody, hollygoheavy, holterbarbour, Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish, honest knave, honey-barbara, horgand, Horselover Phattie, hot soup girl, hot_monster, hototogisu, humboldt32, hungrysquirrels, Huplescat, hurdy gurdy girl, Hwaet, hydropsyche, I EAT TAPAS, I Foody, iamabot, icathing, idb, IdleRepose, ifandonlyif, iffley, ifjuly, ifranzen, ignorantguru, Ike_Arumba, iknowizbirfmark, illiad, incessant, incomple, inconsequentialist, infinitefloatingbrains, inigo2, introp, Ipsifendus, Iridic, Iron Rat, Iteki, it's a long way to south america, ivey, IzzeYum, jack_mo, jacobian, Jade Dragon, jaduncan, jaguar, jaimev, jammy, jander03, jasper411, jbenben, jcterminal, jeanmari, jeather, jeb, jedcollins, jedicus, jedrek, jeffburdges, Jehan, jenkinsEar, jeremias, jess, Jess the Mess, jester69, jiawen, Jilder, jim in austin, JimmyJames, jnaps, jng, joaniemcchicken, joannemerriam, jodrell banksmeadow, JoeXIII007, Joey Bagels, johngoren, jon1270, jonp72, jouke, jpdoane, Jpfed, jquinby, jsmith78, jsturgill, juiceCake, JujuB, julen, juliaem, julie_of_the_jungle, Juliet Banana, julthumbscrew, jumelle, justonegirl, k8lin, kagredon, kaibutsu, kalapierson, kalessin, kamikazegopher, kaogahiroi, Karmakaze, karst, kat518, KathyK, katiecat, katillathehun, Katine, katyggls, katyjack, kbanas, Kerasia, kerning, kestralwing, Kettle, Kevin S, kidsleepy, killy willy, Kinbote, Kirklander, kitkatcathy, Kitty Stardust, klarck, klausness, Kloryne, knave, knuckle tattoos, koahiatamadl, KogeLiz, kprincehouse, Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese, krautland, krista_p, kurosawa's pal, kurtroehl, La Cieca, laconic skeuomorph, Lain Shakespeare, lakersfan1222, lamechopz, Laotic, latkes, Laura Macbeth, lauranesson, LeanGreen, LeeJay, leesh, Legomancer, lemniskate, Len, Lesser Shrew, letitrain, lewedswiver, Lexica, lgandme0717, libraryhead, librarylis, Lieber Frau, like_a_friend, likeso, lilac girl, lilnublet, limon, lineofsight, LinusMines, Listener, little cow make small moo, littleflowers, LittleMissCranky, livinglearning, Llama-Lime, lleachie, LMGM, localroger, logic vs love, LogicalDash, logicpunk, Logophiliac, Lola_G, lonefrontranger, Long Way To Go, longtime_lurker, looli, loop, LooseFilter, Lord_Pall, lordaych, LordSludge, lore, lost_cause, lottie, loudguitars, lover, lukemeister, lunasol, luvcraft, lwb, lychee, lydhre, lyra4, lysistrata, M Edward, Mael Oui, magstheaxe, magwich, Maisie Jay, majick, Majorita, mamabear, mandal, marble, marginaliana, marienbad, marimeko, markkraft, marriedtotacos, Martha My Dear Prudence, marxchivist, mary8nne, maryh, marylynn, maryr, MasonDixon, massless, mattbucher, MattD, matteo, matty, maudlin, Mayor Curley, mcbeth, me & my monkey, mean cheez, mearls, Megafly, meggan, meghanmiller, mek, memebake, mermily, MesoFilter, Meta Filter, metaBugs, MetaGrrrl, metametacap, Mezentian, mhoye, mhum, miasma, michaelh, Mick, middleclasstool, Midnight Creeper, mightshould, mikeh, mikel, MikeonTV, mikesch, MikeWarot, milarepa, milk white peacock, milkrate, minifigs, mireille, miskatonic, missmagenta, misspat, Mister Fabulous, misterbrandt, mistertoronto, mkultra, mlis, mmf, mmmbacon, mmrtnt, mnology, mobunited, modoriculous, mogcat, moira, moitz, mojohand, molloy, mollymayhem, momtothreedc, mondaygreens, mongonikol, monkey!knife!fight!, monkeyx-uk, monospace, Monsieur Caution, moonbiter, moonlily, mothershock, motty, Mr. Anthropomorphism, mr.curmudgeon, mreleganza, mrfuga0, mrgroweler, MrMerlot, Ms. Next, msali, msconduct, MsKim, mskyle, MsMolly, mstokes650, MuChao, MuffinMan, Muirwylde, multiphrenic, mustcatchmooseandsquirrel, Mutant, muxnaw, mwhybark, myeviltwin, MysticMCJ, Naberius, nacho fries, namesarehard, Namlit, nanhey, Nanukthedog, naoko, NaotoOshima, nasreddin, nat, Nat King Cole Porter Wagoner, nathancaswell, ndg, Neale, needled, needs more cowbell, newdaddy, nicebookrack, nicwolff, nikitabot, nj_subgenius, njk, Noah, nobody, NoraCharles, norm, NorthCoastCafe, No-sword, not that girl, not_on_display, np312, nuffsaid, numinous, obscurator, Obscure Reference, oceanjesse, oceanview, ocschwar, odinsdream, ogunther, oinopaponton, Okapi, old_growler, omaralarifi, omegar, one_bean, OnTheLastCastle, ooga_booga, Ookseer, Optamystic, optovox, Orb, ordinary_magnet, oreofuchi, ormondsacker, orrnyereg, ORthey, orville sash, Ostara, otherwordlyglow, otolith, Ouisch, outdoorslady, owtytrof, oxford blue, p.a, P.o.B., padraigin, paduasoy, painquale, paisley henosis, palegirl, palmcorder_yajna, panamax, PandaMcBoof, pandorasbox, Panjandrum, Paquda, par court, Paragon, Parallax.Error, parallax7d, PareidoliaticBoy, parilous, Partario, patientpatient, patr1ck, patrick rhett, pazazygeek, Peach, peanut_mcgillicuty, Pecinpah, penduluum, Pennyblack, peppermintfreddo, PercussivePaul, permafrost, perrce, perspicio, 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Schlock, rabbitrabbit, radiosilents, rafter, raisingsand, ralan, Rancid Badger, Ranting Prophet of DOOM!, ranunculus, Rarebit Fiend, rbs, rdone, RedEmma, redhanrahan, redsparkler, reflecked, reverend cuttle, revgeorge, Rewind, rhizome, rich, RichardP, right_then, Riki tiki, Ritchie, RJ Reynolds, rmd1023, rmhsinc, Robert Angelo, RobotVoodooPower, roger ackroyd, roll truck roll, rollbiz, Roman Graves, rongorongo, Room 641-A, roomthreeseventeen, rouftop, rough ashlar, routergirl, royalsong, rozaine, rudan49, Ruki, Rumpelstiltskin, ryanshepard, Rykey, Sailormom, Salamandrous, Salieri, salvia, SamanthaK, Samizdata, samofidelis, samthemander, sandra_s, sandraregina, Sara C., Sassyfras, saturnine, scabrous, scalefree, scarello, schmichael, schmod, schoenbc, schyler523, Science!, sciurus, sculpin, seanyboy, sebarnes, secretseasons, SeedStitch, segatakai, Segundus, selfnoise, Serene Empress Dork, sestaaak, setanor, sexyrobot, sgt.serenity, shallowcenter, ShameSpiral, ShawnStruck, sheprime, she's not there, shii, Shotgun Shakespeare, sicem07, sickinthehead, sidartha, sien, signalnine, silkygreenbelly, silly me, Sing Or Swim, sirlikeitalot, sisquoc15, SisterHavana, skintension, Skorgu, Skot, Skygazer, skypieces, Slack-a-gogo, Sleeper, sleepy pete, sleevener, slimepuppy, slogger, slograffiti, slow graffiti, slowlikemolasses, smartypantz, smcniven, smilingtiger, smirkette, snailparade, snap_dragon, Snarl Furillo, snoktruix, snow_mac, snsranch, SNWidget, so_gracefully, sockless, socksister, Sokka shot first, solarion, Soliloquy, solistrato, Solomon, sondrialiac, Sophie1, spaceman_spiff, spaldinggetyourfootofftheboat, Sparx, spec80, spiderwire, spilon, splatta, splice, spock, Squeak Attack, SquidLips, SquidlyDigi, st starseed, St. Alia of the Bunnies, stagewhisper, steef, StephenF, Stephenls, Sternmeyer, stevewoz, StickyCarpet, stinkycheese, stopgap, stormygrey, strangely stunted trees, stratastar, Subcommandante Cheese, sucky_poppet, SugarFreeGum, Sunburnt, sundri, sunnychef88, supercrayon, sureshot, Surfurrus, sveskemus, T.D. Strange, tallthinone, Tandem Affinity, Tanizaki, tantrumthecat, Tarumba, taursir, Tchad, tdismukes, team lowkey, TedW, Tehhund, telegraph, telstar, tenaciousmoon, tepidmonkey, terpia, tessalations999, Tesseractive, teststrip, th3ph17, ThaBombShelterSmith, thankyouforyourconsideration, thanotopsis, thatbrunette, ThatFuzzyBastard, thatswherebatslive, The ____ of Justice, the bricabrac man, The Card Cheat, the christopher hundreds, the fish, the foreground, The God Complex, The Illiterate Pundit, The Master and Margarita Mix, The Noble Goofy Elk, The otter lady, The Owls, The Power Nap, the sobsister, The Wig, the_blizz, the_bone, the_royal_we, the_W, The1andonly, theatro, theclaw, thegreatfleecircus, theichibun, theiconoclast31, thejoshu, TheLastPsychiatrist, theodolite, TheOtherSide, theplotchickens, TheRedArmy, thesocietyfor, This_Will_Be_Good, thread_makimaki, timpanogos, tiny crocodile, titus-g, toerinishuman, togdon, tommasz, TomMelee, tonci, tonycpsu, torticat, tpl1212, TrinsicWS, trip and a half, tristeza, troika, trojanhorse, troll, trondant, Tube, tula, tulip-socks, turducken, Twang, twirlip, twist my arm, twistedonion, two or three cars parked under the stars, TwoBooms, txmon, txvtchick, tylerkaraszewski, uaudio, ubermuffin, ubersturm, umberto, unannihilated, under_petticoat_rule, unixrat, unliteral, up in the old hotel, Upton O'Good, urbanwhaleshark, UseyurBrain, vac2003, Vaike, Valet, valkyryn, vegartanipla, velvet winter, verstegan, Very Nice Person, vibratory manner of working, vibrotronica, vickyverky, Violet Blue, vivzan, vnvlain, voltairemodern, VTX, vuron, wabbittwax, Waitwhat, WalterMitty, wander, wandering_not_lost, waraw, Wayman Tisdale, We had a deal, Kyle, weapons-grade pandemonium, webwench, Wendy BD, Weng, whalebreath, whimsicalnymph, whimsicalnymph, Who_Am_I, wierdo, wigu, wilful, william_boot, willie11, willmize, windykites, Winnemac, wittgenstein, wobh, WolfDaddy, wolfdreams01, Wordwoman, workerant, workingdankoch, WPW, Wuggie Norple, wuwei, xBongzilla69x, xchmp, Xelf, xmutex, xo, xthlc, xtine, y2karl, y6y6y6, yankeefog, yeoz, YoBananaBoy, yoga, You Can't Tip a Buick, You Guys Like 2 Party?, you must supply a verb, You Should See the Other Guy, youandiandaflame, YoungAmerican, Your Time Machine Sucks, yourcelf, yoz, Ys, zachxman, zadcat, zardoz, Zarya, zaxour, Zed, zeikka, Zen_warrior, ZenMasterThis, zennie, zenzizi, zia, Zozo, zsazsa, zueod, zusty
posted by batmonkey at 11:56 AM on August 5, 2013 [39 favorites]


hey I finally made it
posted by COBRA! at 12:13 PM on August 5, 2013 [9 favorites]


Thanks, Taz!
posted by trip and a half at 12:21 PM on August 5, 2013


omg someone mentioned me. thanks. my ears are hot. why are my ears hot?
posted by exlotuseater at 12:25 PM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


Man, how I have failed you, batmonkey? *weeps*
posted by wenestvedt at 12:28 PM on August 5, 2013 [3 favorites]


omg someone mentioned me. thanks. my ears are hot. why are my ears hot?
posted by exlotuseater

hear ya, how bout some

OPUS DARK!

journalism
Lately, whenever Hitchens begins writing a political column, the ouroboros of cognitive dissonance starts passing out cigars, because sure as hell CH will once again use the same basic ingredient for both target and tactic - willful naivete. Watch for it. It's fun. A baby ouroborus always goes rolling away, happily eating itself.
posted to MetaFilter by Opus Dark at 12:16 AM on October 4, 2004 [$]


and they are as fresh and relevant as todays headlines



Europe and John Kerry

"So there I was slicking back my hair, about to enter a familiar room at MeFi Towers, when suddenly I found myself crossing Delancey; my hair was whipping about in the wind, and I was swinging a surprisngly small European pickle at a wild-eyed ZIP code fetishist who threatened to kill me unless I declared myself inauthentic.

And then things really got strange."
posted to MetaFilter by Opus Dark at 5:51 AM on March 7, 2004

GOD WHAT FUN.
posted by clavdivs at 12:48 PM on August 5, 2013 [3 favorites]


Man, how I have failed you, batmonkey? *weeps*

I failed too and will now look at the floor.
posted by sweetkid at 1:01 PM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ah...sweetkid? You "failed" by getting more than 4 favourites from me. Which means you should check the other thread.

wenestvedt, I honestly have no idea. Perhaps we are but ships passing in the night. Admittedly, I'm really not on very much anymore as of a couple of years ago, with bursts and binges here and there. Your time may yet come!
posted by batmonkey at 1:06 PM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


OH HEY I GET IT
posted by sweetkid at 1:09 PM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


I had blood drawn today and blame that for being slow on the uptake
posted by sweetkid at 1:09 PM on August 5, 2013


Well, I appreciate everyone everyone else appreciates, and I also appreciate Eideketer.
posted by thinkpiece at 1:24 PM on August 5, 2013


Speaking of people who aren't on here all the time, I haven't seen Babblesort around in awhile (but then, I haven't been around very reliably the last few months or so), which is too bad, because something about his username makes me smile.
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:51 PM on August 5, 2013


EvaDestruction, your username makes ME smile
posted by sweetkid at 1:58 PM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


I want to call out Tanizaki for his efforts to stop amateur legal advice in AskMe from kicking OPs in the butt. His advice is forceful, helpful and reminds people of the limits of what this place can offer them.

Also, Cool Papa Bell for his kind parenting advice.
posted by Omnomnom at 2:16 PM on August 5, 2013 [3 favorites]


I see ole whatsisname isn't on the list. Darn shame.
posted by Mister_A at 2:45 PM on August 5, 2013


Dang I didn't even make batmonkey's secondary list.
posted by elsietheeel at 2:50 PM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


Thanks batmonkey!
posted by bearwife at 3:24 PM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


I want to give a call out to mule98j. Your comments are always worth reading and in my mind you are saying them setting on a porch in a rocking chair and sound like my grandad.
posted by bartonlong at 3:28 PM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


"We'd need to get properly sabermetric about this, really. Some askers distribute BAs more freely than others; as noted above, Anonymous by definition is as stingy as an asker can be on that front. So I suppose the first step would be to create profiles of BA distributions for all askers, something like Percentage Of Answers Bested that calculates number of answers to their question that they've bested / total answers to their questions given; then for any given BA rewarded to a given user's answer, we can weight that by dividing by the POAB of the asker to determine the weighted value of that particular besting. Call this new weighted value Adjusted Bestness, sum up each answerer's total set of AB values, and you get Adjusted Best Answer Volume; divide ABAV by their total answers given to establish their Adjusted Best Answer Rate.

Of course you'd maybe want to do a cutoff/rolloff adjustment by date for candidate answers so that ABAR isn't dragged down unfairly for long-time answerers by questions asked before BA functionality existed; those questions, while they might have the occasional straggling BA awarded in retrospect, don't have the same sort of flow to them, so we can just regard them as exhibition threads and leave it at that.
"

this is what I want every april fools day — baseball cards with stats for profiles

but man everybody knows that BA is totally unreliable in terms of right answer so idk you een starting there

besides for fantasy MeFi, ops+ is undervalued

and AskMe uses a different park adjustment

(and defense values are all made up!)
posted by klangklangston at 3:37 PM on August 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


I am the scrappiest MeFite. I am the David Eckstein of MeFi.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:07 PM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


Aw. I got shouted out. Thanks mannequito, you're rad. Let's hang out sometime. :)
posted by PercussivePaul at 6:03 PM on August 5, 2013


We'd need to get properly sabermetric about this, really

I've think I've successfully implemented the cortex algorithm (POAB, ABAV, etc.), and I've also eliminated from consideration comments posted before Feb. 10, 2005, when best answers launched.

The new rankings overlapped with the earlier results substantially: the ratios and cut-off points come out a little differently, but 75% of the folks at the top of my revised list appeared on the old list. So, fortunately, there's no reason to re-post altered results--everyone from before can safely assume they're doing great. But here are a few more names I would like to call out just as warmly for their adjusted best answer ratios in AskMe:

Alison, Asparagirl, "Confess, Fletch", DarlingBri, EmpressCallipygos, Ghidorah, John Cohen, Kattullus, Lutoslawski, Meg_Murry, Metroid Baby, Michele in California, PhoBWanKenobi, Rosie M. Banks, Ruthless Bunny, SMPA, Sara C., Sunburnt, The Straightener, These Birds of a Feather, batmonkey, benzenedream, bilabial, bricoleur, brina, cairdeas, deadmessenger, elsietheeel, emilyw, escabeche, fingersandtoes, headnsouth, insectosaurus, jeather, judith, kmennie, lollusc, mollymayhem, mskyle, mygothlaundry, oinopaponton, pazazygeek, pwnguin, restless_nomad, rtha, showbiz_liz, tel3path, telegraph, the young rope-rider, wwax, zizzle

In addition to removing the penalty for being an early adopter of AskMe, I have a feeling cortex's algorithm also gives a (much-deserved) boost to Human Relations regulars, who have to be spectacular to get noticed very often in what are on average the longest threads.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 7:26 PM on August 5, 2013 [5 favorites]


And here is where I call out all of the people who have granted me 1-5 favourites over the years. One by one, no matter how you use favourites, you've made me feel that I'm having an impact somewhere, that I'm not invisible. Thank you. It means a lot. At times, as silly as it may sound, it has strangely meant the world at just the right moment.

wenestvedt, it seems we were too hasty in assuming I wouldn't be calling you out!

1000monkeys, 3491again, aeschenkarnos, angrycat, anildash, Anima Mundi, artemisia, Artw, Ashen, Baby_Balrog, Blue Jello Elf, cairdeas, ceri richard, Coatlicue, flibbertigibbet, futureisunwritten, gilrain, grouse, J. Wilson, Jacqueline, jammy, Kitty Stardust, Lentrohamsanin, Michele in California, Mick, missmagenta, Monochrome, muddgirl, naoko, Pantengliopoli, pointystick, roomthreeseventeen, RussHy, scrump, Slap*Happy, Snarl Furillo, spinifex23, stillwater, stoneandstar, Tehhund, thegreatfleecircus, twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious, Year of meteors, acm, anaelith, bettafish, box, brand-gnu, brundlefly, Bwithh, Catch, cjorgensen, ClaudiaCenter, croutonsupafreak, cyndigo, davejay, desjardins, dialetheia, dog food sugar, Dormant Gorilla, Dreama, drezdn, drjimmy11, drlith, DU, EatTheWeak, echolalia67, emkelley, filthy light thief, freshwater_pr0n, gentian, goshling, guster4lovers, Hanuman1960, hecho de la basura, i feel possessed, ignignokt, JuliaIglesias, kestralwing, liza, luckyveronica, lvanshima, marsha56, mazienh, MCMikeNamara, MexicanYenta, MikeKD, minervous, MissySedai, MonkeyToes, mudpuppie, MythMaker, nebulawindphone, nicolin, peagood, perilous, polyester.lumberjack, Potomac Avenue, purplecrackers, rabbitrabbit, Room 641-A, Ruthless Bunny, SaintCynr, saucysault, shelleycat, small_ruminant, Smart Dalek, Solomon, spinturtle, straw, Tanizaki, The Salaryman, theperfectcrime, trip and a half, wwax, wyzewoman, yohko, AceRock, Adventurer, agregoli, amarie, apricot, bardic, bitter-girl.com, bongo_x, brina, Bugbread, bunnytricks, Caduceus, Capri, Catseye, ceiba, clockzero, Cygnet, Devils Rancher, dirtynumbangelboy, double block and bleed, DulcineaX, ecsh, electrasteph, EmpressCallipygos, ErikaB, everydayanewday, Faint of Butt, feral_goldfish, fireflies, FirstMateKate, flex, fraula, gaspode, General Tonic, GenjiandProust, goodnewsfortheinsane, gorgor_balabala, gwenlister, haltingproblemsolved, harujion, Hat Maui, hazel, headnsouth, HighTechUnderpants, humannaire, inire, inturnaround, Jade Dragon, jgirl, june made him a gemini, Katjusa Roquette, khaibit, kid ichorous, kuppajava, L. Ron McKenzie, lasamana, lazaruslong, L'Estrange Fruit, Listener, lokta, longsleeves, Lulu's Pink Converse, lysistrata, M.C. Lo-Carb!, magdalenstreetladies, mduda, Meg_Murry, Metroid Baby, mippy, morganw, mrgrimm, Ms. Next, mynameisluka, nacho fries, nangar, nasreddin, Neofelis, notyou, Occula, ocherdraco, oinopaponton, ooga_booga, PareidoliaticBoy, patheral, peep, penduluum, PinkMoose, Queen of Spreadable Fats, queensissy, quin, regicide is good for you, rokusan, sacrifix, saffry, saveyoursanity, schyler523, seanyboy, Senor Cardgage, shiu mai baby, simoncion, Skygazer, snowleopard, Snyder, Sonny Jim, sotonohito, Spatch, SuperSquirrel, symbioid, tanuki.gao, taz, TedW, The Bellman, The Great Big Mulp, The Light Fantastic, tkchrist, toodleydoodley, Tooty McTootsalot, trunk muffins, vincele, wobh, Wordshore, xingcat, yeloson, yertledaturtle, A Terrible Llama, adamsc, amaire, ambient2, amethysts, anastasiav, and so but then, we, and the call it came from inside the house, andraste, annathea, annsunny, Area Man, Arethusa, arha, Ariadne, ArmyOfKittens, Ashley801, Asymptote, ausdemfenster, avocet, Axle, 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nerdfish, neroli, Nickel Pickle, not that girl, not.so.hip, notashroom, notsnot, numinous, ob1quixote, obeetaybee, ohshenandoah, olecranon, onalark, one teak forest, oneirodynia, oneironaut, onepot, oneswellfoop, onlyconnect, Optamystic, Optimus Chyme, OverlappingElvis, Pants!, pearlybob, phatkitten, Phire, pineappleheart, pintapicasso, plep, pomegranate, porn in the woods, Prairie, prefpara, purenitrous, purplesludge, purpletangerine, Quantum's Deadly Fist, queseyo, Quonab, qxntpqbbbqxl, RainyJay, Ranting Prophet of DOOM!, readery, Reverend John, Rhaomi, rhiannonstone, Rustic Etruscan, Sa Dec, Salamander, Sangermaine, santaslittlehelper, saturnine, Schadenfreudian, schwa, sconbie, serazin, shmurley, Shouraku, shrabster, side effect, six-or-six-thirty, skoosh, Smedleyman, snsranch, Solon and Thanks, sonascope, sonika, spaltavian, sparklemotion, special-k, stenseng, Stephanie Duy, Sticherbeast, stinker, streetdreams, stroke_count, Suddenly, elf ass, suedehead, sugarfish, supercrayon, Superplin, Sys Rq, tabubilgirl, telophase, that's how you get ants, The Ardship of Cambry, the dief, the luke parker fiasco, theBigRedKittyPurrs, TheophileEscargot, theora55, thereemix, These Birds of a Feather, thetruthisjustalie, thsmchnekllsfascists, tilde, timepiece, tingting, Tobu, tomboko, tommasz, treehorn+bunny, tully_monster, TurquoiseZebra, Twicketface, two lights above the sea, two or three cars parked under the stars, tyllwin, Uniformitarianism Now!, ursus_comiter, Uther Bentrazor, Vaike, vers, vickyverky, viggorlijah, vitabellosi, vocpanda, vronsky, wandering_not_lost, watercarrier, We had a deal, Kyle, webmutant, weebil, wires, Wolfster, xarnop, ymgve, you must supply a verb, youhavetoreadthistwice, you're a kitty!, zachlipton, zarah, zardoz, ZeusHumms, zinful, zombiebunny, ?!, [insert clever name here], _DB_, _paegan_, _Seeker_, 2N2222, 4ster, 6ATR, 8dot3, 8k, a box and a stick and a string and a bear, a young man in spats, a.steele, a_green_man, aabbbiee, Abehammerb Lincoln, abirdinthehand, acid freaking on the kitty, aclevername, adamp88, adgl, adrienneleigh, adso, advicepig, Advocate, I, AElfwine Evenstar, Afroblanco, agress, Ahab, aielen, Akeem, alice ayres, almodis, alpha_betty, alvarete, amanda, AmandaA, Amanojaku, amberglow, Ambrosia Voyeur, amerrydance, amyms, anansi, anaphoric, and hosted from Uranus, anderjen, Anderson_Localized, anniecat, anoirmarie, anotheraccount, antgly, antiquated, any portmanteau in a storm, ao4047, aramaic, Araucaria, archivist, arcticseal, Ardea alba, argonauta, arianell, arnicae, artdesk, Artichoke Dance Off!!, arzakh, asciident, Asparagirl, asperity, aspo, AstroGuy, AsYouKnow Bob, atchafalaya, Athanassiel, athenasbanquet, atropos, autoclavicle, Avenger, axon, badgermushroomSNAKE, Badmichelle, Balisong, bangalla, baniak, barnone, BarryP, batikrose, Beacon Inbound, beardlace, Beardman, bebrave!, BeeDo, belladonna, benbenson, beth, bewilderbeast, beyond_pink, BibiRose, Bigbrowncow, bigdamnnerd, bigwoopdeedoo, 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There are two _______., nowoutside, nprigoda, ntartifex, null terminated, nushustu, Nutritionista, obscurator, Obscure Reference, oh really, Oli D., omegar, OmieWise, Omnomnom, OnceUponATime, One Hand Slowclapping, one of these days, OolooKitty, orchidarea, Orinda, orme, ormondsacker, Orrorin, Ostara, outlier, overglow, owhydididoit, oxford blue, P.o.B., paddysat, palegirl, palimpsest, panboi, pandaharma, pantarei70, Paper rabies, paperclip2000, PaperDragon, parakeetdog, parhamr, pecanpies, Pendragon, penguinliz, Penks, permiechickie, Perodicticus potto, perpetual lurker, pete0r, PeterMcDermott, phaedon, Philemon, phunniemee, phyrewerx, picea, pickingupsticks, pickypicky, pilibeen, pimli, pineapple, pinothefrog, pixiecrinkle, plaintiff6r, pluckysparrow, pocketfluff, Pollomacho, polymath, pompomtom, potch, princelyfox, prize bull octorok, problemspace, Pronoiac, prune, pseudostrabismus, psmealey, psycho-alchemy, PsychoKick, pTown, puddles, puke & cry, pupperduck, Purposeful Grimace, pushing paper and bottoming chairs, pywacket, qldaddy, quibx, quincunx, quiteliterally, quivering_fantods, rada, radioamy, radwolf76, Ragged Richard, ramix, randomkeystrike, rangefinder 1.4, raztaj, readygo, recess, redfisch, redfoxtail, Redhush, redtriskelion, reductiondesign, Renoroc, Restless Day, retronic, Rev. 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Strange, t0astie, t2urner, taff, takoukla, TangerineGurl, tantivy, Tapioca, Tarrama, tatiana131, taursir, Tbola, Tchad, tcv, tdismukes, telegraph, tempythethird, Tennyson D'San, tepidmonkey, teraflop, teraspawn, Terminal Verbosity, terrierhead, thack3r, thatguyryan, thatone, ThatSomething, The Card Cheat, the latin mouse, The Power Nap, the sobsister, The Whelk, The_Auditor, the_bone, the_royal_we, thebeagle, thebrokenmuse, thedaniel, themanwho, TheRedArmy, thetoken, thewittyname, Think_Long, thinkpiece, thischarmingirl, thisjax, thivaia, thrasher, Threeway Handshake, thylacinthine, Timmoy Daen, timsneezed, Tin Man, tipsyBumblebee, toastchee, TochterAusElysium, Token Meme, Tomboy, TomMelee, tonycpsu, TooFewShoes, Toothless Willy, town of cats, tractorfeed, transona5, travertina, treepour, triceryclops, tristeza, troy, Trurl, tuesdayschild, Tullyogallaghan, turducken, turgid dahlia, turtlewithoutashell, Twang, tweemy, twiki, Twist, twistofrhyme, txmon, typewriter, UbuRoivas, ukdanae, uncleozzy, Unicorn on the cob, univac, upatree, Urban Winter, v9y, vac2003, ValkoSipuliSuola, vanar sena, vasi, vectr, veids, velvet winter, vespertine, Vibrissae, VickyR, victoriab, viscereal, vivid postcard, vrakatar, vytae, WalkerWestridge, WalkingAround, wallabear, WalterMitty, wander, wansac, waraw, waxbanks, weewooweewoo, wells, Wemmick, wending my way, Westringia F., whatideserve, wheloc, whuppy, wildcrdj, Wilder, willbaude, Windigo, winna, wintersweet, wiskunde, woebot, Woney, woodvine, woodway, worbel, Wordwoman, workerant, WorkingMyWayHome, worldswalker, wormwood23, Wufpak, Wuggie Norple, wuMeFi, Wylla, xena, xenophile, Xenophon Fenderson, Xere, Xoder, Xoebe, yerfatma, yiftach, Ynoxas, yonation, yukonho, yuwtze, ZaphodB, zem, ZenMasterThis, zennie, zeph, zerobyproxy, ZeroDivides, zippity, zippy, zixyer, zizzle, zoel, zoetrope, zoinks, zombieApoc, zombieflanders, zoomorphic, Zophi, Zosia Blue!
posted by batmonkey at 7:36 PM on August 5, 2013 [13 favorites]


I just gave you one batmonkey so now you have to do it over.

...I kid, I kid.

But now I call you out for doing so much to get us closer to Decani's super sweet, idealistic, and unabashedly enthusiastic prediction that we would all be loved and recognized for being as special as we are. :)
posted by cairdeas at 7:45 PM on August 5, 2013 [3 favorites]


Now can we thank those who never post anything?
posted by Ideefixe


Yes, I actually do want to call out a member who has never posted anything in the history of their handle for being one of the most interesting people I have talked to on MeFi. Totally serious. I won't mention their name but there's pretty much only one person I talk to who never posts, so if they somehow see this they can assume it's for them!
posted by cairdeas at 7:52 PM on August 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ooh...that was worth waiting for; I'm in very good company. Thanks for the data Monsieur Caution!
posted by elsietheeel at 8:10 PM on August 5, 2013


I've made this callout before, and it's not exactly the point of this thread, but there are times when a thread is getting heated, or when somebody says something on here that just gets your goat, and you craft a good zing or a lengthy paragraph about Why That Idiot Is Wrong On The Internet, and then, instead of clicking "Post" you close the window, or you take a little walk, or you breathe deeply and count to ten. Your restraint, at least some of the time, makes this a better place, and we could all learn from your example.

So, I'm calling out all the people who have made this a better place by being the better person, by not engaging the troll, by not adding heat to an already heated thread, by flagging it and really actually moving on. I don't know who you are, obviously, but I like your style.
posted by gauche at 6:22 AM on August 6, 2013 [23 favorites]


> And here is where I call out all of the people who have granted me 1-5 favourites over the years.

Good lord, have I really never favorited you even once? But, but, every time I see your name I have that warm "Oh yes, I like that poster" feeling! I just went back and favorited a post of yours I remember fondly so I'll be included next time we do this.
posted by languagehat at 7:53 AM on August 6, 2013 [2 favorites]


re: geneva uswazi's profile, I managed to hold it in until I reached
8. Turning my basement into a vivarium, but I accidentally dropped my hydroponic clay aggregate in some oxalic acid. Is there any way to leach the acid out of the clay pellets, or is it a lost cause? BTW: I am a cat.

Now I can't stop giggling. I am never going to be able to read askmefi again without mentally adding on "BTW: I am a cat." at the end of every question.
posted by inertia at 10:52 AM on August 6, 2013 [9 favorites]


batmonkey: "...scruss, scrute, scunning..."

GODDAMNIT

tears of bitter woe
posted by scrump at 11:16 AM on August 6, 2013 [4 favorites]


re: geneva uswazi's profile, I managed to hold it in until I reached

I will go on record here and now to say that geneva uswazi's profile is the single funniest thing on Metafilter. I read it and then forget it every year or so. I've usually lost it by #3.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 2:36 PM on August 6, 2013 [1 favorite]




I am never going to be able to read askmefi again without mentally adding on "BTW: I am a cat." at the end of every question.

If there were a greasemonkey script to do this, I would finally figure out what greasemonkey is and deal with obtaining it.
posted by cairdeas at 5:33 PM on August 6, 2013 [4 favorites]


I would like to thank bibliogrrl. She knows why.
posted by mochapickle at 7:32 PM on August 6, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ctrl+F InsertNiftyNameHere = (nothing)

Ah, well. Not a problem really. I don't even much like myself, so I guess we all agree on that point, which I will choose to view as a common connection that I share with fellow mefites.

If I could, though, I would like to take this moment to apologize to [insert clever name here]. I lurked here for quite a while and noticed that user name, and I thought it was pretty clever. Then, when I finally signed up, I apparently forgot that I saw that user name on this very site. I've felt very badly ever since realizing it, and I've often thought of sending a MeFi mail to [insert clever name here] to apologize, but I never could find the courage to do so. Phew! Glad I finally got that off my chest.

And, lastly, I don't come to Mefi to be liked. I visit because I find it great for learning new things, the insightful discussions that occur here, and the outstanding humor that so many mefites have.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 10:26 PM on August 6, 2013 [4 favorites]


Wow! Four favorites (so far... I'm guessing there are many more to follow) that reinforce disdain for me on Mefi. Fair enough. Nothing wrong with people having opinions, and I truly appreciate the honesty. I'll do my best to cease commenting in the future, but I think I still may post questions to AskMe from time to time. I apologize if that bothers some folks, but, if nothing else, I guess you could think of it as an opportunity to berate me or at least try to stealthily sabotage any situations I ask about.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 12:15 AM on August 7, 2013


OK, InsertNiftyNameHere: I'll disdain you, since that's what you're trolling for. In a thread where folks are sincerely expressing thanks and sharing genuine connections, Ctrl+effing your own name without bothering to read any of the comments (and then complaining when you don't find yourself in less than 200 comments) is a derail at best and an insult at worst.
posted by mochapickle at 4:18 AM on August 7, 2013


Yeah, this is basically a happy thread, so if you're not happy then feel free to state your grievance.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 5:06 AM on August 7, 2013


cairdeas: "If there were a greasemonkey script to do this, I would finally figure out what greasemonkey is and deal with obtaining it."

I took a swing at a Greasemonkey script to do this last night (append "BTW, I am a cat" to Ask questions), but therein lies madness and none shall return from the gibbering halls.
posted by jquinby at 5:49 AM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


Ah, well. Not a problem really. I don't even much like myself, so I guess we all agree on that point

Everyone someone needs a hug.
posted by billiebee at 7:26 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


INNH, I think the favorites may actually have been for your last lines: "And, lastly, I don't come to Mefi to be liked. I visit because I find it great for learning new things, the insightful discussions that occur here, and the outstanding humor that so many mefites have" -- or because they respect and appreciate your honesty in the first bit. I definitely wouldn't parse those favorites as disdain.
posted by en forme de poire at 9:31 AM on August 7, 2013 [6 favorites]


I totally CTRL+F'd my own name in both threads as well, btw. Human nature!
posted by en forme de poire at 9:32 AM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


As one of the people who favorited it, yes:

I visit because I find it great for learning new things, the insightful discussions that occur here, and the outstanding humor that so many mefites have.

is exactly why I did so. That seems like exactly the right reason to come here.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:13 AM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


I totally CTRL+F'd my own name in both threads as well

You mean there are some people who didn't? I just assumed everyone would do that. Like, maybe every so often. Or every fifteen minutes. not me i hardly looked at all no really
posted by billiebee at 10:29 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


oh my god I am so not control-Fing my name. Either result would bring me out of the Spock-like focus I am sort of trying to maintain today. That said, I understand the compulsion to do so.
posted by angrycat at 10:41 AM on August 7, 2013


It's pleasantly masochistic.
posted by billiebee at 11:03 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


jquinby: "but therein lies madness and none shall return from the gibbering halls."


BEHOLD.

The matching isn't perfect, so not every question comes from a cat. Plenty do, though.
posted by jquinby at 11:14 AM on August 7, 2013 [12 favorites]


The first one made me do a real-life lol, so I'd like to give a callout to jquinby!
posted by billiebee at 11:27 AM on August 7, 2013


I FEEL LIKE TONY STARK NOW
posted by jquinby at 11:33 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


As one of the people who favorited it, yes:

I visit because I find it great for learning new things, the insightful discussions that occur here, and the outstanding humor that so many mefites have.

is exactly why I did so. That seems like exactly the right reason to come here.


Me too, so it looks like you have heard from everyone who favorited it and none of them did it to express disdain for you at all, but rather appreciation/agreement. Don't be so hard on yourself... I worry that there might be a lot of times in life when you might see disdain when it's not there, and I feel for you if that's the case because I would not want you to unnecessarily suffer. (Or any kind of suffer, but especially not unnecessarily.)
posted by cairdeas at 11:33 AM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


BEHOLD

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first one made me LOL too, even though I knew what was coming...
posted by cairdeas at 11:36 AM on August 7, 2013


I think it actually makes it better / funnier that only some of them are from cats.
posted by cairdeas at 11:37 AM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


The best part of this is that my brain starts automatically thinking up cat-related solutions before it stops itself.

Like, "How should I get there without a car? BTW, I am a cat." -- my brain starts wanting to ask, "What is your normal daily range like? How many miles could you run in a day?"
posted by cairdeas at 11:47 AM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]



If this kind of thing stresses you out, you can opt to not see favorites. In my experience, it's substantially improved my enjoyment of MetaFilter.


You can still see your own favorite count though, so I never get how this is supposed to help. Unless you never look at your own profile.
posted by sweetkid at 11:49 AM on August 7, 2013


BEHOLD

O_O

please make this available to me.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:54 AM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]


I linked to the greasemonkey script in my profile, in the event that you are also easily amused.
posted by jquinby at 11:56 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


that wasn't directed at jessamyn...I hadn't previewed before I posted.
posted by jquinby at 11:58 AM on August 7, 2013


Don't worry, she had already moved onto other things. She's a cat.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:00 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


WASITACATISAW

=^..^=
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:01 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


Batmonkey, thank you for making my day. Well, maybe not my entire day, but at least a few minutes. Thanks!
posted by chowflap at 12:40 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]



Don't worry, she had already moved onto other things. She's a cat.


Yes, she jumped up, ran across the room, and sat over there. For no reason.
posted by sweetkid at 12:41 PM on August 7, 2013


It could have been farting. Sometimes my dog scares himself out of a deep sleep by farting. He leaps up, runs a few feet away, then lies back down and goes to sleep. Just saying.
posted by cairdeas at 1:15 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


So someone like InsertNiftyNameHere wouldn't have been easily to tell that 4 favorites were tied to any one particular comment

I hope this doesn't ruin the site for you, but finding that out is as easy as clicking the "Favorited by others" number.

I still do like having favorites off in-thread, because, as you say, every comment appears equal. And even if I do sometimes obsess about which jokes people found funny, it's way healthier to do that in a Metafilter-Is-Not-A-Contest way.
posted by aubilenon at 5:13 PM on August 7, 2013


Greasemonkey script has been slightly updated for further cat revelations.
posted by jquinby at 5:20 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


I have them off, it works well for me.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:40 PM on August 7, 2013


Me too. They're there if you want 'em, but no need to look at 'em.
posted by Miko at 8:03 PM on August 7, 2013


That makes me sad. I design, personalize, and handcraft each of my favorites before sending them, and you're not even looking at them? Also, I make them with fresh ingredients and don't use any preservatives. So if you haven't refrigerated them, you better just throw them out.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:18 PM on August 7, 2013 [6 favorites]


jquinby, this is amazing. Thank you!
posted by inertia at 8:38 PM on August 7, 2013


B
posted by slothhog at 12:42 AM on August 8, 2013


So here's the Pony request: a "favoriting harder" feature that overrides peoples false-or-other-type-of-modesty scripts. I know I know, i'd can't be worked by hitting the keys harder. So, some type of morse code.
posted by Namlit at 8:04 AM on August 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


According to a recently released study, liking things on community forums feeds on itself.

"“The biggest obstacle to success is just being noticed,” Dr. Watts said."— Internet Study Finds the Persuasive Power of ‘Like’ (NYT).
posted by Toekneesan at 12:37 PM on August 8, 2013


jquinby thanks so much! I'm working in a quiet room with my brother & sister in law and they're actually *working* and I've got my hand over my mouth snorting with laughter!
posted by toodleydoodley at 1:34 PM on August 8, 2013


I also added MeTa as a user-included page...
posted by toodleydoodley at 1:37 PM on August 8, 2013


Thanks, batmonkey! I feel so ... ummm ... special?
posted by terrapin at 12:29 PM on August 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'd like to call out likeso, both for being an awesome host to a lonely new expat and for always seeming to have the right thing to say in feminism threads.
posted by Blasdelb at 11:51 AM on August 20, 2013 [2 favorites]


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