...or maybe I'm just crazy. March 4, 2014 8:30 PM   Subscribe

Did MeFi just get a new favicon? It looks strangely different all of a sudden.
posted by Chrysostom to MetaFilter-Related at 8:30 PM (92 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

Strange that you noticed that, but didn't notice the noise from the closet.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:34 PM on March 4, 2014 [6 favorites]


Yeah, you're just crazy.

(mine's the same as it's always been)
posted by HuronBob at 8:36 PM on March 4, 2014


What is a favicon? (Seriously.)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:37 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


Are we talking about the explanation point that has not be redesigned in about 162 years?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:38 PM on March 4, 2014


If you're crazy then we're drinking the same crazywater. For the past couple hours I've been convinced that the favicon is slightly different even though I can't identify how.
posted by threeants at 8:40 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


It's the icon that appears on the browser tabs.

My Ask and MeTa ones look the same, but the MeFi one seems...bulkier somehow.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:40 PM on March 4, 2014


Yes! There's a new favicon. It's at a higher resolution so in theory it looks a little better. We're going to get around to updating the other sites too.

If you have the old version you might just have it cached. Browsers like to cache favicons.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:41 PM on March 4, 2014 [7 favorites]


What is a favicon?

The icon that appears in your url space before the url....
posted by HuronBob at 8:41 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


Favicon.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:43 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


heh.. osx, chrome...my favicon is now generic (for metafilter, not the other sub-sites)... you're not crazy, well, not about this... but I'm tech-challenged... :(
posted by HuronBob at 8:45 PM on March 4, 2014


Thanks all for the favicon definition enlightenment.

While we are at it, there now appears to be a faint blue outline to the comments box. Is that new?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:46 PM on March 4, 2014


Well, I kind of don't like it the look of it at all, but progress, I suppose.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:59 PM on March 4, 2014


The blue outline is your browser letting you know which form element has focus and is ready for input. It's nothing we do on this end. You're probably using a Webkit browser like Safari or Chrome. I don't think Firefox or IE add the highlight.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:59 PM on March 4, 2014


Chrome. Thanks pb for the tech education 101. I always thought you called favicons, "the logo on the browser tab".
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:04 PM on March 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


I was just thinking this. Boom. I like it. Now where's the merch!
posted by cashman at 9:37 PM on March 4, 2014


I was just wondering the same thing about an hour ago, and thought it was just me being hypersensitive. Just for my curiosity, pb, could you post a link to a copy of the previous icon? Or abuse your mod privs and actually post the old and new side-by-side? I'm curious to see what the differences are.
posted by benito.strauss at 9:45 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


I was joking, but now I find myself wanting a miniature barbie doll sized fitted hat with the favicon on it.
posted by cashman at 9:55 PM on March 4, 2014


...could you post a link to a copy of the previous icon?

Sure, here they are: current favicon, previous favicon.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:00 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


Is this why in Metafilter I still get the little "loading" thing on the right side of the URL bar? It wasn't happening in Metafilter or MetaTalk but it keeps happening in MeFi (Firefox) and I have to hit "stop" or go mad.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:06 PM on March 4, 2014


Sure, here they are: current favicon, previous favicon.

OMG guys, you honestly see a difference in those?!

I'm sorry, that is making me laugh my ass off. Can you please edit literally everything I do from now on? Your attention to detail (and eyesight!) is astounding.

Hat tip.
posted by rue72 at 11:06 PM on March 4, 2014 [5 favorites]


It's at a higher resolution so in theory it looks a little better.
...
OMG guys, you honestly see a difference in those?!

Am I hallucinating? In one, the M is white, in the other the F is white. That's way more noticeable than a resolution difference.
posted by juv3nal at 11:30 PM on March 4, 2014 [4 favorites]


In one, the M is white, in the other the F is white.

Not when I look at those links (in both, the F is white).

I can't see a difference between them.
posted by rue72 at 11:35 PM on March 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


?
posted by juv3nal at 11:44 PM on March 4, 2014


OMG guys, you honestly see a difference in those?!

You're gaslighting us, aren't you?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:51 PM on March 4, 2014


If the two cloudfront.net files pb linked look the same then maybe even now it's showing a cached version. Forcing a hard reload will probably help — one of CTRL+SHIFT+R, CTRL+F5, or Command+R on most of the common browsers.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 11:53 PM on March 4, 2014 [5 favorites]


It might have been a bit cruel to change something like this while this thread was at/near the top of the blue.
posted by Ghidorah at 11:57 PM on March 4, 2014


If the two cloudfront.net files pb linked look the same then maybe even now it's showing a cached version. Forcing a hard reload will probably help — one of CTRL+SHIFT+R, CTRL-F5, or Command+R on most of the common browsers.

I tried it, and my browser (Firefox) did re-load, but it didn't change the colors of the M or F. Ah well, it doesn't much matter to me, and I'm sure it'll fix itself eventually.

Not gas-lighting! Just old-laptop-using, I guess!
posted by rue72 at 12:35 AM on March 5, 2014


It is weird just how straight away my brain picked up that something was different.

Weird and slightly disturbing.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 12:57 AM on March 5, 2014


"The icon that appears in your url space before the url...."

Note that the favicon is increasingly deprecated and newer browsers no longer show that icon next to the url (though many will use it for tabs).

This is because phishing sites were using favicons for verisimilitude and credibility.

Incidentally, if you use Chrome, there's an extension Favicon Changer, that will allow you to change a site's favicon or set one for a site when it is lacking. This came to my attention because I do use the browser bar bookmarks for my mostest-favoritest bookmarks and it really, really annoyed me when some of them became blanks as the sites themselves removed the favicon setting (that pb, for example, just changed here).

As an indication into just how fucking crazy I truly am, I will do a Google search for an appropriate graphic, bring one to Photoshop, edit it, then use an icon-editor to make a windows icon out of it (not needed for this, but I'm obsessive about app icons, too) so that I'll have some pretty icon that's appropriate for the Nexus 5 XDA subforum I just bookmarked. Because, again, I'm fucking crazy.

So, by the way, that means that I appreciate higher resolution favicons for MetaFilter! Thanks, pb!
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:05 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


The weird thing is that the old version with the white F looks crisp and sharp to me, while the new version with the white M looks blurry.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:20 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


All I see is a picture of Worf's face.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:26 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Yeah, now that we've worked the favicon thing out, can we talk about how there's three posts about Worf and one about a wharf on the front page right now ? Is this some sort of obscure ST:TNG-related geek holiday or something? Is MeFi being trolled by the agents of Michael Dorn? Or just Michael Dorn's agent?
posted by Diablevert at 4:14 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Never mind favicons, what the heck is an explanation point?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:18 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


There's also a post about the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:46 AM on March 5, 2014


Is MeFi being trolled by the agents of Michael Dorn? Or just Michael Dorn's agent?

It's the Dorn supremacy.
posted by zombieflanders at 4:56 AM on March 5, 2014 [3 favorites]


There's also a post about the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.

I'm a native English speaker but then I read a word like "favicon" and feel like a visitor to my own language.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:01 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm a native English speaker but then I read a word like "favicon" and feel like a visitor to my own language.

I keep reading it as "favicoin" and dreaming that the favorites-based cryptocurrency is upon us!
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:07 AM on March 5, 2014 [3 favorites]


We have crossed the Favicon, and there's no going back.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:12 AM on March 5, 2014 [5 favorites]


Is this where I can ask for a Retina-quality iOS home screen icon for AskMeFi and MetaTalk? The current situation is suboptimal.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:14 AM on March 5, 2014


We have crossed the Favicon, and there's no going back.

Isn't that when Julius Cortex famously said "The icon is cast!"?
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:28 AM on March 5, 2014


Faveni, favidi, favici.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:38 AM on March 5, 2014


Ivan Fyodorovich: "Incidentally, if you use Chrome, there's an extension Favicon Changer, that will allow you to change a site's favicon or set one for a site when it is lacking."

The equivalent for Firefox users is Bookmark Favicon Changer.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:59 AM on March 5, 2014


The big thing keeping me from moving to Chrome is the fact that I can't have a bookmarks bar without having favicons (or blank space where the favicons would be). Has that changed?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:20 AM on March 5, 2014


If pb parts his hair on the other side you guys are gonna notice, aren't you?

In other news, why aren't the "current favicon" and "previous favicon" links changing color after I click on them? Other links on the page are changing tickety boo, just as usual.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:04 AM on March 5, 2014


Are there any plans to update the site's few other images (logos, sprites) for high-resolution desktops/laptops?
posted by Sfving at 7:08 AM on March 5, 2014


Out of curiosity, were all the icons changed or just the one for Metafilter.com?

Because now there's a high-contrast color difference between Metafilter and Metatalk (which is fantastic for those of us who are colorblind -- or maybe just fantastic for me, I have weird eyes.) Makes it super easy to identify at-a-glance which sub-site a tab is on.
posted by zarq at 7:22 AM on March 5, 2014


So, the prophesy is true: not even the favicon can be changed without notice.

Next time try changing the site wide font, but just for periods and commas.
posted by davejay at 7:54 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


We've actually rotated all the periods 180 degrees, and so far no one has noticed.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:55 AM on March 5, 2014 [8 favorites]


I noticed, I just didn't say anything because I like it much better this way. You rotated the commas 360 degrees, too.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:00 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


If pb parts his hair on the other side you guys are gonna notice, aren't you?

You mean . . you didn't?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:15 AM on March 5, 2014


Is this where I can ask for a Retina-quality iOS home screen icon for AskMeFi and MetaTalk?

Yes, this is a good place to ask. Not sure what the plans are there.

Are there any plans to update the site's few other images...

Not right now, no. We'll keep it in mind.

Out of curiosity, were all the icons changed or just the one for Metafilter.com?

Just the metafilter.com favicon for now.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:24 AM on March 5, 2014


I just realized that this thread is not actually a joke and the favicon really did change. I had seriously thought that everyone had been Photoshopping their screenshots to mess with us (because this seemed like a plausible hypothesis somehow?). Anyway, yes, for anyone else confused: browser caching really is a thing! Do a hard reload or look at it in a different browser.
posted by beryllium at 8:27 AM on March 5, 2014


Oh, several years ago I did change the side I part my hair on. I don't think anyone noticed.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:32 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh, several years ago I did change the side I part my hair on. I don't think anyone noticed.

You are just saying that so no one will suspect you are the Mirror Universe pb, also known as dq! We would demand the return of the right-way-around pb, except this is just the Reverse Mirror Universe rather than the Evil Mirror Universe, where pb has a goatee.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:37 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


dq has a mole on his right side.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:39 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


GenjiandProust: the Evil Mirror Universe, where pb has a goatee

And his name is nutella.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:03 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh, several years ago I did change the side I part my hair on. I don't think anyone noticed.

I once shaved off a beard, and there were good friends of mine who didn't notice. Well, strictly speaking they had a vague feeling something was different, but couldn't put their finger on it.
posted by philipy at 9:08 AM on March 5, 2014


I once came back downstairs from getting a drink from the kitchen to find my podcast cohost and guest discussing my lack of a beard, despite the fact that I have had a beard for years and, notably, had it two minutes earlier when I went upstairs for said drink.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:11 AM on March 5, 2014 [6 favorites]


And while we're on the subject of changes, I just realised today that the 'categories' under AskMes are now capitalised. I was like, whoa, AskMe looks grown-up. Thanks for Retina icons though!
posted by undue influence at 9:23 AM on March 5, 2014


Heh, yeah, that grew out of someone writing in the other day to be like "uh, why are categories lc on some subsites and Title Caps on others?" and our collective answer was, "uh. Hrm."
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:30 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


"Uh. hrm."
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:32 AM on March 5, 2014 [4 favorites]


pb: " Just the metafilter.com favicon for now."

OK. Thanks!

I know it's a very minor thing that most people probably don't care about, but I love the higher contrast. Thank you!
posted by zarq at 9:56 AM on March 5, 2014


I feel just the opposite - it's a very minor thing that most people probably don't care about, but I can't stand it.

But I'll just use the old one via the extension mentioned above. pb, do you think you could also post before/after versions of the other sites, when you make the changes?
posted by Chrysostom at 9:59 AM on March 5, 2014


I did a hard refresh and I still can't tell the difference. I think y'all are blowing smoke up my ass.
posted by double block and bleed at 9:59 AM on March 5, 2014


Chrysostom: "...but I can't stand it."

Out of curiosity, why?

I mean, for me it's a functionality thing. I couldn't tell the difference between them before and now I can.
posted by zarq at 10:10 AM on March 5, 2014


double block and bleed, click this link and do a hard refresh there. That should get you the new favicon.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:11 AM on March 5, 2014


I feel I'm wasting useful brain power by noticing this.
posted by arcticseal at 10:19 AM on March 5, 2014


zarq, it just looks...weird and blocky and much more in your face. The older icons just feel more understated to me.

Obviously, this is totally individual taste.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:21 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


This situation is in flux! Matt is brewing up a new batch of icons for all the sites. The current icon will soon be the new old icon.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:23 AM on March 5, 2014 [4 favorites]


...I need to lie down.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:25 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


pb: This situation is in flux! Matt is brewing up a new batch of icons for all the sites. The current icon will soon be the new old icon.

Exciting! Yay! Down with the usurper favicon! Long live the one true favicon!
posted by Rock Steady at 10:35 AM on March 5, 2014


Just to sympathize with Chrysostom, it looks "off" to me as well.

But I'm known to have more attention to detail than is necessary for a satisfying life. And I know that in a couple of weeks I'll adjust to it.

And thinking about it, I'll bet if you had introduced completely different new icons it wouldn't nag at me. It's the fact that it's almost the same as the previous one, but not exactly, that itches my brain a bit. Is this the uncanny valley writ small?
posted by benito.strauss at 10:36 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Chrysostom, thanks for explaining!
posted by zarq at 10:38 AM on March 5, 2014


The good news -- and it is good -- is that everybody (everybody!) gets used to anything after a sufficient amount of time. I say this as someone who hated my company's new logo so much that I wanted to quit, but months down the line I just don't notice it any more. Sometimes it is acceptance (rather than comedy) that results from tragedy plus time.
posted by davejay at 10:42 AM on March 5, 2014


New retina-friendly apple touch icons have been deployed. New favicons are still on the way.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:43 AM on March 5, 2014


Matt is brewing up a new batch of icons for all the sites

Comic Sans mixed with Marquee!
posted by arcticseal at 10:44 AM on March 5, 2014


fāvorites+īcon=făvĭcon? Yuck.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:49 AM on March 5, 2014


You can make your own here.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:05 AM on March 5, 2014


Sys Rq, if Wikipedia is to be believed, the term dates back to 1999.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:06 AM on March 5, 2014


Not disputing that. Just sayin' yuck.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:28 AM on March 5, 2014


pb: New retina-friendly apple touch icons have been deployed. New favicons are still on the way.

Sooooo much better. Thanks, Matt!
posted by Rock Steady at 11:38 AM on March 5, 2014


Okay, looking at Rock Steady's before-and-after image, the coloring has switched back now?

I can only assume you are using this to distract the site's obsessives while you do something nefarious somewhere else. Are you draining all our FaveCoin accounts? Probably replacing them with WorfBux. Did I miss a cabal meeting?
posted by benito.strauss at 12:08 PM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Reading about the origin of the favicon gives a lot of insight into why web standards are such a mess. This stuff was all designed and implemented basically on a whim.
posted by zixyer at 2:55 PM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Yeah, and then I had to cleanup that mess in IE7.

But now I look back & realize that we did the right thing. Seriously, how risky was this feature?

Except they violated several W3C standards when they built that feature... such as not requiring resources to exist at predefined locations and using a space the in the link rel property...

It caused me no end of headaches.
posted by jeffamaphone at 4:47 PM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


But thank you guys, PB and Matt, for updating it.

For those of you who wonder what the old favicon looked like on a retina screen: https://www.dropbox.com/s/aumtiorwr2x6tlk/favicons.png

It was driving me crazy.
posted by jeffamaphone at 4:49 PM on March 5, 2014


The new favicons are now live.

...the coloring has switched back now?

Yes, it's yellow Ms all around now.
posted by pb (staff) at 5:02 PM on March 5, 2014


Still just MeFi that has changed from the original version?
posted by Chrysostom at 8:40 PM on March 5, 2014


No, they all have new favicons now.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:56 PM on March 5, 2014


Would it be possible to get old/new versions, as you provided for MeFi way up in the thread? It's silly, but I want to use the old ones.

Thanks.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 PM on March 5, 2014


Sure, here they are:

mefi: current, previous.
ask: current, previous.
meta: current, previous.
music: current, previous.
projects: current, previous.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:57 PM on March 5, 2014


Those differences are certainly less notable than Cortex's beard.
posted by philipy at 11:48 AM on March 6, 2014


Sure you might notice the difference, but did you notice the gorilla walk by while you were looking?
posted by Nanukthedog at 3:49 PM on March 6, 2014 [4 favorites]


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