Web 1.0 dinosaur Metafilter modernizes, slowly October 1, 2014 2:06 PM Subscribe
MetaFilter calls to mind a bygone Internet age... Think of it as reddit for grownups.
Specifically I think we are an anklyosaurus.
I disagree, we are very clearly a stygimoloch.
posted by Gygesringtone at 2:21 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I disagree, we are very clearly a stygimoloch.
posted by Gygesringtone at 2:21 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
While MetaFilter’s traffic has since risen back to its pre-dive numbers,
Really?!?! Bitchin'! I did not know this.
posted by Melismata at 2:31 PM on October 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
Really?!?! Bitchin'! I did not know this.
posted by Melismata at 2:31 PM on October 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
I remember the Old Metafilter. Seems like it was just yesterday that Matt would lovingly hand-craft each and every byte the old fashioned way, like his father and his grandfather before him. Now the bytes are cranked out by the millions and billions in a gleaming factory, heartless and cruel in its efficiency.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:31 PM on October 1, 2014 [40 favorites]
posted by double block and bleed at 2:31 PM on October 1, 2014 [40 favorites]
It's not "rearranging the deck chairs", MetaFilter actually predates deck chairs by a considerable margin.
posted by Wolfdog at 2:32 PM on October 1, 2014 [19 favorites]
posted by Wolfdog at 2:32 PM on October 1, 2014 [19 favorites]
A demon from the Styx? Is it just because we can be a bit spiny?
This article was linked in the recent "new theme" thread, and Matt clarified that "syndication" means that the Twitter and Facebook feeds for MeFi are a combination of the Best Of blog posts along with the top new things added to the Popular page.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:34 PM on October 1, 2014
This article was linked in the recent "new theme" thread, and Matt clarified that "syndication" means that the Twitter and Facebook feeds for MeFi are a combination of the Best Of blog posts along with the top new things added to the Popular page.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:34 PM on October 1, 2014
While MetaFilter’s traffic has since risen back to its pre-dive numbers
I always worry a little at third-party accounts of this stuff because it's like a game of Telephone played with tea leaves. Matt's said that traffic (though, notably, not ad revenue near as much) has significantly recovered but I don't know if it's actually reaching some specific previous high-water mark or just better than it had been when it was particularly bad.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:36 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
I always worry a little at third-party accounts of this stuff because it's like a game of Telephone played with tea leaves. Matt's said that traffic (though, notably, not ad revenue near as much) has significantly recovered but I don't know if it's actually reaching some specific previous high-water mark or just better than it had been when it was particularly bad.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:36 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
I remember the Old Metafilter.
It's still there, but not open for comments. Archived in amber. Forever. On a pendant. In a store. Marketed to teens who weren't alive when the web was young.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:36 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
It's still there, but not open for comments. Archived in amber. Forever. On a pendant. In a store. Marketed to teens who weren't alive when the web was young.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:36 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Melismata: While MetaFilter’s traffic has since risen back to its pre-dive numbers...
Keep reading. Matt explains more about what that means:
posted by filthy light thief at 2:39 PM on October 1, 2014
Keep reading. Matt explains more about what that means:
Traffic is probably close to where it was a few years ago before this all happened. So, yeah, things have gotten a lot better. The strange thing is that revenue is a third or a half of what it was two years ago, just because the ad market overall has gotten steadily worse.It's an interesting article, though the text is too big and feels a bit shouty, at least when coming in from MetaFilter and reading Word documents.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:39 PM on October 1, 2014
Specifically I think we are an anklyosaurus.
Ok so this is interesting. It's not anklyosaurus. It's ankylosaurus. I thought it was anklyosaurus my whole life until I took Dinosaur Science in college and heard my professor say it. The kicker here is that one of the main distinguishing characteristics of dinosauria is the positioning of the astragalus, which is an ankle bone. Ankle bone. Anklyosaurus. Ankylosaurus. HOW DEEP DOES THE CONSPIRACY GO????
posted by phunniemee at 2:44 PM on October 1, 2014 [28 favorites]
Ok so this is interesting. It's not anklyosaurus. It's ankylosaurus. I thought it was anklyosaurus my whole life until I took Dinosaur Science in college and heard my professor say it. The kicker here is that one of the main distinguishing characteristics of dinosauria is the positioning of the astragalus, which is an ankle bone. Ankle bone. Anklyosaurus. Ankylosaurus. HOW DEEP DOES THE CONSPIRACY GO????
posted by phunniemee at 2:44 PM on October 1, 2014 [28 favorites]
Someone call the typo police.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:47 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:47 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
oh man this is almost as bad as when I found out that they're really called apatosaurus, not brontosaurus
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:47 PM on October 1, 2014 [24 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:47 PM on October 1, 2014 [24 favorites]
> Specifically I think we are an anklyosaurus.
I must disagree.
posted by benito.strauss at 2:48 PM on October 1, 2014 [8 favorites]
I must disagree.
posted by benito.strauss at 2:48 PM on October 1, 2014 [8 favorites]
cortex, fun fact. When you type apatosaurus into firefox it gives it a red squiggle line. Right click on the red squiggle line for spell correction and firefox suggests brontosaurus.
Type ankylosaurus into firefox it gives you a red squiggle, too. Spell check correction for that one is tyrannosaurus.
Conspiracy. I'm tellin ya.
posted by phunniemee at 2:49 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
Type ankylosaurus into firefox it gives you a red squiggle, too. Spell check correction for that one is tyrannosaurus.
Conspiracy. I'm tellin ya.
posted by phunniemee at 2:49 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
Someone at Mozilla has a pet theory that there's only two kinds of dinosaurs. Sort of a Zoe-and-Zelda deal.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:50 PM on October 1, 2014 [30 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:50 PM on October 1, 2014 [30 favorites]
Tuojiangosaurus is the answer, because it's pronounced Two-wang-oh-sore-us, and that's funny.
posted by pipeski at 2:55 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 2:55 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
Should I eat this pterosaur?
(The Firefox suggestion for "pterosaur" is "pterosaurs". This is my confused face.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:13 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
(The Firefox suggestion for "pterosaur" is "pterosaurs". This is my confused face.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:13 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Of course there are only two kinds of dinosaurs.
Pigeons and seagulls.
posted by maryr at 3:13 PM on October 1, 2014 [18 favorites]
Pigeons and seagulls.
posted by maryr at 3:13 PM on October 1, 2014 [18 favorites]
This interview was weird, I really shouldn't trust phone interviews and was the first one I did over a phone in a while. There's an obvious typo in this sentence where what I'm saying makes no sense "it’s clear that people aren’t going to be starting at Facebook forever" because I said "staring" on the phone. The reporter kind of picked and choosed sentences out of paragraphs of what I said, I read it and felt like I was coming across as way more of an aloof jerk than I think I am.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:15 PM on October 1, 2014 [20 favorites]
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:15 PM on October 1, 2014 [20 favorites]
Sorry ... cannot ... comment in this ... thread ... too ... busy ... clicking ... to make more dinosaurs.
posted by Wordshore at 3:17 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 3:17 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
WALK UP TO THE CLUB LIKE-- what?
posted by gwint at 3:21 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by gwint at 3:21 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
WALK UP TO THE CLUB LIKE-- what?
"way more of an aloof jerk than I think I am"
posted by cashman at 3:25 PM on October 1, 2014 [21 favorites]
"way more of an aloof jerk than I think I am"
posted by cashman at 3:25 PM on October 1, 2014 [21 favorites]
Walk up to the club like A DANCING TYRANNOSAURUS!
posted by barchan at 3:32 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by barchan at 3:32 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yeah there's other obvious typos in this too, like "Haughey, 42, talked to Digiday about the perils of Google, publishers’ current problems with Facebook why he’s already a fan of social network Ello." Uh... missing an "and" there, buddy?
posted by en forme de poire at 3:32 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by en forme de poire at 3:32 PM on October 1, 2014
If traffic has improved a lot have we seen membership deltas change as well? I say we because I am a storkholder in this companye.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:38 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:38 PM on October 1, 2014
Yeah, they cut off the shirt, because IT'S AN EPIC SHIRT.
(I bought it online at lookhuman.com, you can even customize colors/styles)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:41 PM on October 1, 2014 [52 favorites]
(I bought it online at lookhuman.com, you can even customize colors/styles)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:41 PM on October 1, 2014 [52 favorites]
In case it wasn't clear, I think you're a great guy, and that was completely a joke from your comment. That's one of the first rap related memes where I learned of the meme before ever hearing the song.
posted by cashman at 4:00 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by cashman at 4:00 PM on October 1, 2014
From the archive link above, from this FPP
MP3 Power! With Winamp
With that cover? InstaPurchase!
posted by marienbad at 4:06 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
MP3 Power! With Winamp
With that cover? InstaPurchase!
posted by marienbad at 4:06 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I read it and felt like I was coming across as way more of an aloof jerk than I think I am.
Nah, you're good. I think you came across well.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:07 PM on October 1, 2014 [11 favorites]
Nah, you're good. I think you came across well.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:07 PM on October 1, 2014 [11 favorites]
Yeah, I'm not getting the aloof jerk vibe from it either,
posted by marienbad at 4:10 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by marienbad at 4:10 PM on October 1, 2014
(I bought it online at lookhuman.com, you can even customize colors/styles)
I bought my wife that shirt a few months back! I'm strangely proud that you and my wife have the same shirt!
posted by Twain Device at 4:13 PM on October 1, 2014
I bought my wife that shirt a few months back! I'm strangely proud that you and my wife have the same shirt!
posted by Twain Device at 4:13 PM on October 1, 2014
I remember when y2karl was y1karl, dammit.
posted by jonmc at 4:44 PM on October 1, 2014 [18 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 4:44 PM on October 1, 2014 [18 favorites]
Your contributions to the internet is welcomed and encouraged. Please continue and we all
Thank you in advance for taking the time to participate in the ongoing development of the internet's best tools
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:44 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Thank you in advance for taking the time to participate in the ongoing development of the internet's best tools
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:44 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter calls to mind a bygone Internet age
An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:55 PM on October 1, 2014 [18 favorites]
An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:55 PM on October 1, 2014 [18 favorites]
Specifically I think we are an anklyosaurus.
Speak for yourself I am not even technically a dinosaur.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:09 PM on October 1, 2014 [49 favorites]
Speak for yourself I am not even technically a dinosaur.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:09 PM on October 1, 2014 [49 favorites]
I did think it was weird you had a Macklemore shirt. Thanks for clarifying.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:14 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 5:14 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sorry ... cannot ... comment in this ... thread ... too ... busy ... clicking ... to make more dinosaurs.
WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:18 PM on October 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME
posted by jetlagaddict at 5:18 PM on October 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME
IT WAS AIMED AT CORTEX; THE FLESH IS WEAK IN THAT PARTICULAR SPECIMEN
posted by Wordshore at 5:20 PM on October 1, 2014 [8 favorites]
IT WAS AIMED AT CORTEX; THE FLESH IS WEAK IN THAT PARTICULAR SPECIMEN
posted by Wordshore at 5:20 PM on October 1, 2014 [8 favorites]
Stegosaurus hasn't been changed, has it? It's the best of all dinosaurs, right? Because that's what we should be. Stegosauruses.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:41 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Ghidorah at 5:41 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I prefer to think of us as the lightsaber of the internet. A more elegant website for a more civilized age.
posted by ChuraChura at 6:09 PM on October 1, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 6:09 PM on October 1, 2014 [7 favorites]
OMG, once you get enough dinosaurs they find their own food!
posted by Deoridhe at 6:27 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Deoridhe at 6:27 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I restarted to have dinosaurs in multiples of six. Something is wrong with me.
posted by Deoridhe at 6:31 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Deoridhe at 6:31 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Stegosaurus hasn't been changed, has it?
They might have had feathers.
posted by Gygesringtone at 6:32 PM on October 1, 2014
They might have had feathers.
posted by Gygesringtone at 6:32 PM on October 1, 2014
IT WAS AIMED AT CORTEX
Alas, it failed to grab at me; I am I guess at this point something resembling a clicker aesthete, not really willing to spend time on yet another undersold Cookie Clicker clone. If your game starts with "click on an icon" and you get one of a thing for it and once you have fifteen things you can buy one of another thing that produces 0.1 of the first thing per second and the next thing up will cost you a hundred of the first things, you are officially not producing new work in the form and I will take my incremental attention elsewhere.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:51 PM on October 1, 2014 [22 favorites]
Alas, it failed to grab at me; I am I guess at this point something resembling a clicker aesthete, not really willing to spend time on yet another undersold Cookie Clicker clone. If your game starts with "click on an icon" and you get one of a thing for it and once you have fifteen things you can buy one of another thing that produces 0.1 of the first thing per second and the next thing up will cost you a hundred of the first things, you are officially not producing new work in the form and I will take my incremental attention elsewhere.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:51 PM on October 1, 2014 [22 favorites]
Open the door, get on the floor, everybody walk the MetaSaur...
This week also marks the first time the author of B.C. (and grandson of the creator) acknowledged Evolution.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:52 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
This week also marks the first time the author of B.C. (and grandson of the creator) acknowledged Evolution.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:52 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
A decade we were wondering how much of a shelf life this place had.
You done good, Matt. And you sounded fine in the interview, in my opinion.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:56 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
You done good, Matt. And you sounded fine in the interview, in my opinion.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:56 PM on October 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
Metafiltersaur reaction to new site design, illustrated.
posted by Kabanos at 7:02 PM on October 1, 2014 [23 favorites]
posted by Kabanos at 7:02 PM on October 1, 2014 [23 favorites]
I'm a member of a relic of a bygone internet age? AGAIN? Dammit, it's ISCABBS all over.
posted by rlk at 7:28 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by rlk at 7:28 PM on October 1, 2014
"Haughey, 42, talked to Digiday about (... ) why he’s already a fan of social network Ello."
were they contractually obligated to bring up Ello? So odd.
posted by boo_radley at 8:09 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
You sound like you’d be a fan of Ello.and that's it! So : ??? ????? ?? ????
I think it’s cool. It should be something Facebook and Twitter monitor very closely. There’s something wonderful about taking away all the crud and starting over.
were they contractually obligated to bring up Ello? So odd.
posted by boo_radley at 8:09 PM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
Web 1.0 dinosaur Metafilter modernizes
Dinosaurs lasted 135 million years as the dominant species. Humans have managed about 200,000.
MetaFilter will outlive us all.
posted by maxsparber at 8:39 PM on October 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
Dinosaurs lasted 135 million years as the dominant species. Humans have managed about 200,000.
MetaFilter will outlive us all.
posted by maxsparber at 8:39 PM on October 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
for purposes of this discussion is godzilla a dinosaur
posted by murphy slaw at 8:52 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by murphy slaw at 8:52 PM on October 1, 2014
That MeFi archive link reminded me of Yahoo, which reminded me that I always want to say Stewart Buttersworth.
posted by michaelh at 9:26 PM on October 1, 2014
posted by michaelh at 9:26 PM on October 1, 2014
> MetaFilter will outlive us all.
Not without the queue....
posted by Westringia F. at 11:33 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
Not without the queue....
posted by Westringia F. at 11:33 PM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]
mathowie: There's an obvious typo in this sentence where what I'm saying makes no sense "it’s clear that people aren’t going to be starting at Facebook forever" because I said "staring" on the phone.
Well, if it's any consolation, I for one still start at Facebook. Shit's fucking terrifying most days.
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:48 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
Well, if it's any consolation, I for one still start at Facebook. Shit's fucking terrifying most days.
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:48 PM on October 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
!!
They took a screenshot of the front page with my most recent post! Ok, so it's immortalized with zero comments, but still, I'm unreasonably excited.
(I'm sure it's coincidental, but showing an FPP about a new Canadian feminist magazine certainly could be construed as handy shorthand for "LOOK HOW UN-REDDITLIKE THIS SITE IS". )
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:54 AM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
They took a screenshot of the front page with my most recent post! Ok, so it's immortalized with zero comments, but still, I'm unreasonably excited.
(I'm sure it's coincidental, but showing an FPP about a new Canadian feminist magazine certainly could be construed as handy shorthand for "LOOK HOW UN-REDDITLIKE THIS SITE IS". )
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:54 AM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
Think of it as reddit for grownups.
That's my go to phrase for describing Metafilter. I'm glad other people think of it in the same terms.
posted by Ned G at 2:33 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
That's my go to phrase for describing Metafilter. I'm glad other people think of it in the same terms.
posted by Ned G at 2:33 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
Ankle bone. Anklyosaurus. Ankylosaurus. HOW DEEP DOES THE CONSPIRACY GO????
Pretty deep, in this case.
"Ankle" comes from an proto-Indo-European root that means "bend". The Latin word "angulus" (from which we get the word "angle") comes from this root too, by a different path. There's a disease called ankylosis or anchylosis, that comes from the Greek word ἀγκύλος. It's from that same PIE root, and refers to a disease that fuses joints in a bent position. The paleontologist who named ankylosaurs was struck by the fusion of their bones to form armor, so he named them in reference to that disease, which was ultimately named in reference to the same root that the English word "ankle" comes from. So ankylosaurs really are sort-of named after ankles, in a way.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:22 AM on October 2, 2014 [24 favorites]
Pretty deep, in this case.
"Ankle" comes from an proto-Indo-European root that means "bend". The Latin word "angulus" (from which we get the word "angle") comes from this root too, by a different path. There's a disease called ankylosis or anchylosis, that comes from the Greek word ἀγκύλος. It's from that same PIE root, and refers to a disease that fuses joints in a bent position. The paleontologist who named ankylosaurs was struck by the fusion of their bones to form armor, so he named them in reference to that disease, which was ultimately named in reference to the same root that the English word "ankle" comes from. So ankylosaurs really are sort-of named after ankles, in a way.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:22 AM on October 2, 2014 [24 favorites]
Hm, I could really go for a plate of aloo jerk.
posted by Segundus at 4:56 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Segundus at 4:56 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
That's my go to phrase for describing Metafilter
Mine, too. Sometimes I'll see an interesting article on Reddit and either it's posted in a lightly-traveled sub and has no comments, or else it's in a default sub and full of comments about how women/minorities/fat people should shut up and die.
I'll usually check back here to see if somebody has posted it and if the grownups are talking about it.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:42 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
Mine, too. Sometimes I'll see an interesting article on Reddit and either it's posted in a lightly-traveled sub and has no comments, or else it's in a default sub and full of comments about how women/minorities/fat people should shut up and die.
I'll usually check back here to see if somebody has posted it and if the grownups are talking about it.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:42 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
I remember when y2karl was y1karl, dammit.
Haha, remember all the panic about what was going to happen on the 1st Jan, 2000? The papers wouldn't shut up about how the "y2karl problem" was going to start a nuclear war but in the end nothing really happened.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:43 AM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
Haha, remember all the panic about what was going to happen on the 1st Jan, 2000? The papers wouldn't shut up about how the "y2karl problem" was going to start a nuclear war but in the end nothing really happened.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:43 AM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
That's one of the first rap related memes where I learned of the meme before ever hearing the song.
Can you explain it to us not-rap folk?
posted by cjorgensen at 6:22 AM on October 2, 2014
Can you explain it to us not-rap folk?
posted by cjorgensen at 6:22 AM on October 2, 2014
were they contractually obligated to bring up Ello?
Yeah, it's like how every tech story had to mention YO! a few months ago.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:30 AM on October 2, 2014
Yeah, it's like how every tech story had to mention YO! a few months ago.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:30 AM on October 2, 2014
Can you explain it to us not-rap folk?
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, "Thrift Shop [f. Wanz]" [Advisory: Strong Language, R. Kelly References, Use of the word "Hella"]
posted by Rock Steady at 6:45 AM on October 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, "Thrift Shop [f. Wanz]" [Advisory: Strong Language, R. Kelly References, Use of the word "Hella"]
posted by Rock Steady at 6:45 AM on October 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
I miss y2lenny.
posted by maryr at 6:50 AM on October 2, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by maryr at 6:50 AM on October 2, 2014 [9 favorites]
maxsparber: MetaFilter will outlive us all.
Westringia F.: Not without the queue....
Otherwise, we'll end up like Suck, frozen in that moment in time when the site stopped growing, like it's forever June 8, 2001. (NOTE: the site is SFW, unless your work has a filter, in which case the site may be erroneously categorized as "tasteless," when it should be labeled "timeless.")
posted by filthy light thief at 7:35 AM on October 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
Westringia F.: Not without the queue....
Otherwise, we'll end up like Suck, frozen in that moment in time when the site stopped growing, like it's forever June 8, 2001. (NOTE: the site is SFW, unless your work has a filter, in which case the site may be erroneously categorized as "tasteless," when it should be labeled "timeless.")
posted by filthy light thief at 7:35 AM on October 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
Haha, remember all the panic about what was going to happen on the 1st Jan, 2000? The papers wouldn't shut up about how the "y2karl problem" was going to start a nuclear war but in the end nothing really happened.
I was standing in line at 3pm on 12/31/1999 at a convenience store, waiting to pay for gas, when it dawned on me that oh shit, like, the world could end at midnight and I'm totally unprepared except for all the booze and weed and acid back at my place, so I bought every stick of beef jerky they had next to the cash register. And a Gatorade.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 10:01 AM on October 2, 2014 [21 favorites]
I was standing in line at 3pm on 12/31/1999 at a convenience store, waiting to pay for gas, when it dawned on me that oh shit, like, the world could end at midnight and I'm totally unprepared except for all the booze and weed and acid back at my place, so I bought every stick of beef jerky they had next to the cash register. And a Gatorade.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 10:01 AM on October 2, 2014 [21 favorites]
The Firefox suggestion for "pterosaur" is "pterosaurs". This is my confused face.
They hunt in pairs. Firefox is trying to save your fool life, dammit.
posted by yoink at 10:13 AM on October 2, 2014 [13 favorites]
They hunt in pairs. Firefox is trying to save your fool life, dammit.
posted by yoink at 10:13 AM on October 2, 2014 [13 favorites]
MetaFilter is not like Reddit. Reddit has threaded comments. Threaded comments kill the Internet.
posted by escabeche at 11:28 AM on October 2, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by escabeche at 11:28 AM on October 2, 2014 [9 favorites]
I'm surprised that they didn't draw any comparisons to Craigslist.
CL is pretty small, and has managed to stay relevant in spite of a tiny staff, no aspirations to grow beyond the niche that they carved out, and virtually no fundamental changes to their core product over the years. They also seem to have a fair amount of respect for their users.
I get the feeling that the writer of this article is completely aghast at the fact that Matt hasn't tried to sell us out for a quick cash-out.
posted by schmod at 11:35 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
CL is pretty small, and has managed to stay relevant in spite of a tiny staff, no aspirations to grow beyond the niche that they carved out, and virtually no fundamental changes to their core product over the years. They also seem to have a fair amount of respect for their users.
I get the feeling that the writer of this article is completely aghast at the fact that Matt hasn't tried to sell us out for a quick cash-out.
posted by schmod at 11:35 AM on October 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
MetaFilter 1.0 a dinosaur, evolving into a modern day blue peacock?
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 12:01 PM on October 2, 2014
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 12:01 PM on October 2, 2014
hey guys remember FARK..
.
.
.
Oh, wait it's still there.
posted by edgeways at 12:11 PM on October 2, 2014
.
.
.
Oh, wait it's still there.
posted by edgeways at 12:11 PM on October 2, 2014
They called us "quaint"?? Those whippersnappers. I will hit them with my cane. After my nap.
posted by emjaybee at 1:29 PM on October 2, 2014
posted by emjaybee at 1:29 PM on October 2, 2014
they cut off the shirt, because IT'S AN EPIC SHIRT.
Can't sleep, Matt'll eat me.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:40 PM on October 2, 2014
Can't sleep, Matt'll eat me.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:40 PM on October 2, 2014
Many people erroneously say Judd Apatow co-created The Ben Stiller Show, but actually he did that and is credited under his original name, Judd Brontow.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:08 PM on October 2, 2014 [10 favorites]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:08 PM on October 2, 2014 [10 favorites]
octobersurprise: Can't sleep, Matt'll eat me.
I'm not sure how Matt looks like a scary clown, but I'm rather concerned for where Matt is standing. Unless he also has taken up urban exploration and/or house flipping, because that corner looks like it's in terrible shape, and not due to intentional remodeling.
And that is a pretty great shirt.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:44 PM on October 2, 2014
I'm not sure how Matt looks like a scary clown, but I'm rather concerned for where Matt is standing. Unless he also has taken up urban exploration and/or house flipping, because that corner looks like it's in terrible shape, and not due to intentional remodeling.
And that is a pretty great shirt.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:44 PM on October 2, 2014
It's still there, but not open for comments. Archived in amber. Forever.
That mathowie guy should stop using the same text for both the title and the link, because that looks pretty silly with the new design.
posted by effbot at 3:05 PM on October 2, 2014
That mathowie guy should stop using the same text for both the title and the link, because that looks pretty silly with the new design.
posted by effbot at 3:05 PM on October 2, 2014
I prefer to think of us as some form of Calvinosaurus.
posted by arcticseal at 6:15 PM on October 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by arcticseal at 6:15 PM on October 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
I know I ask a lot of fake questions but this one is real: Have you seen a change in the amount of signups and new users since the traffic reboost?
This one is fake: How do you get gum out of a moosehair wig?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:47 PM on October 2, 2014
This one is fake: How do you get gum out of a moosehair wig?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:47 PM on October 2, 2014
while not alienating its notoriously loyal audience.
At last, I am notorious. For being loyal to a dinosaur.
There's a poem in there somewhere.
posted by nubs at 7:49 PM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
At last, I am notorious. For being loyal to a dinosaur.
There's a poem in there somewhere.
posted by nubs at 7:49 PM on October 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
Somehow this thread makes me very happy (which is hard to do right now as I have a bad cough and have been home ill since Tuesday).
posted by ocherdraco at 7:54 PM on October 2, 2014
posted by ocherdraco at 7:54 PM on October 2, 2014
There was a time where 90 percent of my income was coming from Google, so when shit hit the fan, it was awful.
That is the time to jump across the room and pull the plug on that fan. Cleaning up is easier if you don't leave the fan on during a shitstorm. And you only have to wipe your face once after that. If you have the right wipes.
Sorry
posted by Mr. Yuck at 1:43 AM on October 3, 2014
That is the time to jump across the room and pull the plug on that fan. Cleaning up is easier if you don't leave the fan on during a shitstorm. And you only have to wipe your face once after that. If you have the right wipes.
Sorry
posted by Mr. Yuck at 1:43 AM on October 3, 2014
It's still there, but not open for comments. Archived in amber. Forever. On a pendant. In a store.
The amber is Bakelite and the Metafilter inside is plastic.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:42 AM on October 3, 2014
The amber is Bakelite and the Metafilter inside is plastic.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:42 AM on October 3, 2014
For the record (and FTW):
Metafilter: This relic of the Web where people have to go and stick around.
posted by chavenet at 5:55 AM on October 3, 2014
Metafilter: This relic of the Web where people have to go and stick around.
posted by chavenet at 5:55 AM on October 3, 2014
I know I ask a lot of fake questions
<eyes narrow suspiciously>
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 6:58 AM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
<eyes narrow suspiciously>
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 6:58 AM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
This one is fake: How do you get gum out of a moosehair wig?
I have a suspicion that this is also real but you don't want to relive the story behind it.
posted by cooker girl at 7:00 AM on October 3, 2014
I have a suspicion that this is also real but you don't want to relive the story behind it.
posted by cooker girl at 7:00 AM on October 3, 2014
Quick note to site admins: The login page is still displaying the old style, making it a bit of a jarring transition. (I logged out to take in the new look, and then logged back in. )
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:19 AM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by RedOrGreen at 7:19 AM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Get well soon, ocherdraco.
posted by arcticseal at 7:22 AM on October 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by arcticseal at 7:22 AM on October 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
Web 1.0 dinosaur Metafilter modernizes, slowly
cortex: Specifically I think we are an anklyosaurus
Well, if we're modernizing, we're probably Anguirus, which makes sense, given the general peacenik attitude here, and Anguirus' "thorough hatred for war-like predators."
posted by filthy light thief at 7:25 AM on October 3, 2014
cortex: Specifically I think we are an anklyosaurus
Well, if we're modernizing, we're probably Anguirus, which makes sense, given the general peacenik attitude here, and Anguirus' "thorough hatred for war-like predators."
posted by filthy light thief at 7:25 AM on October 3, 2014
The new Metafilter.com looks really pleasant, sleek, and nice. I want to hate it. Kudos to the team.
posted by zennie at 8:28 AM on October 3, 2014
posted by zennie at 8:28 AM on October 3, 2014
Ahh the light the light. The white background is too much for my subterranean eyes.
posted by humanfont at 10:24 AM on October 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 10:24 AM on October 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
Do people who don't like the white backgrounds have their monitors' brightness settings cranked up to 11 or something? Or are you crouching in the recesses of dimly lighted caverns while unnamed monstrosities scuttle and titter in the hidden places where no man dares tread and you don't want to disturb the Dark Troglodyte Lord with the artificial glare of the Angry Sun God?
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:40 AM on October 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:40 AM on October 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
Well, speaking only for myself, I get migraines when I look at white websites, even with my laptop's screen brightness toggled all the way down.
posted by ocherdraco at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ocherdraco at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Found the dark mode button. That could be somewhere more prominent than the sidebar.
posted by humanfont at 11:12 AM on October 3, 2014
posted by humanfont at 11:12 AM on October 3, 2014
you don't want to disturb the Dark Troglodyte Lord with the artificial glare of the Angry Sun God?
SHUT UP YOU'LL WAKE HIM!
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:12 AM on October 3, 2014 [6 favorites]
SHUT UP YOU'LL WAKE HIM!
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:12 AM on October 3, 2014 [6 favorites]
Quick note to site admins: The login page is still displaying the old style, making it a bit of a jarring transition. (I logged out to take in the new look, and then logged back in. )
That seems to be fixed now, but if you make a mistake logging in (e.g., wrong password) I think you are still getting redirected to the old-style screen for the second attempt.
posted by Wolfdog at 11:31 AM on October 3, 2014
That seems to be fixed now, but if you make a mistake logging in (e.g., wrong password) I think you are still getting redirected to the old-style screen for the second attempt.
posted by Wolfdog at 11:31 AM on October 3, 2014
Specifically I think we are an anklyosaurus.
Collectively, however, to paraphrase Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers:
We are the Pachycephalosauri, baby!
Pachycephalosauri are we
We want to be free,
my baby and me
Nevertheless, Pachycephalosauri are we!
posted by y2karl at 12:27 PM on October 3, 2014
I just bought that shirt Matt is wearing so I can proudly proclaim to those around me I'd rather be somewhere else. In case my silence and awkward body posture weren't sufficient clues, of course.
posted by tommasz at 12:31 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by tommasz at 12:31 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Do people who don't like the white backgrounds have their monitors' brightness settings cranked up to 11 or something?
It gives me headaches, too. Reading dark text on white paper makes sense only because PAPER DOESN'T FUCKING GLOW.
posted by double block and bleed at 1:58 PM on October 3, 2014 [6 favorites]
It gives me headaches, too. Reading dark text on white paper makes sense only because PAPER DOESN'T FUCKING GLOW.
posted by double block and bleed at 1:58 PM on October 3, 2014 [6 favorites]
Do people who don't like the white backgrounds have their monitors' brightness settings cranked up to 11 or something?
No, it just gives me eyestrain headaches, no matter the brightness. Even a slightly off-white or creamier white is easier to stand than the searing brightness that is the professional white background. I don't need every website I visit to be dark, but if you spend much of your day in front of a monitor, the searing whiteness adds up. Hence the hissing away from bright white and fleeing towards the warm, dark embrace of the likes of the Dark Mode setting or glorious f.lux.
posted by yasaman at 3:58 PM on October 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
No, it just gives me eyestrain headaches, no matter the brightness. Even a slightly off-white or creamier white is easier to stand than the searing brightness that is the professional white background. I don't need every website I visit to be dark, but if you spend much of your day in front of a monitor, the searing whiteness adds up. Hence the hissing away from bright white and fleeing towards the warm, dark embrace of the likes of the Dark Mode setting or glorious f.lux.
posted by yasaman at 3:58 PM on October 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
It's the update I want to hate, but can't really. That being said, I'm glad the super minimal site still loads in Opera Mini.
posted by Yowser at 1:26 AM on October 4, 2014
posted by Yowser at 1:26 AM on October 4, 2014
"There was a time where 90 percent of my income was coming from Google, so when shit hit the fan, it was awful.
That is the time to jump across the room and pull the plug on that fan. Cleaning up is easier if you don't leave the fan on during a shitstorm. And you only have to wipe your face once after that. If you have the right wipes.
Sorry"
posted by Mr. Yuck
Yeah, that sounds about right.
posted by marienbad at 2:31 AM on October 4, 2014
That is the time to jump across the room and pull the plug on that fan. Cleaning up is easier if you don't leave the fan on during a shitstorm. And you only have to wipe your face once after that. If you have the right wipes.
Sorry"
posted by Mr. Yuck
Yeah, that sounds about right.
posted by marienbad at 2:31 AM on October 4, 2014
Do people who don't like the white backgrounds have their monitors' brightness settings cranked up to 11 or something?
Also, doesn't almost every other website have a white background? Flipping through the couple dozen open tabs on my browser right now and most of them have a professional white background.
posted by octothorpe at 6:41 AM on October 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also, doesn't almost every other website have a white background? Flipping through the couple dozen open tabs on my browser right now and most of them have a professional white background.
posted by octothorpe at 6:41 AM on October 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
Here's where I tell everyone that everyday for the last year and a half, when I burst through the door at work, a medical office, I say out loud "walk in to the club, like WHAT UP, I got a big cock."
I'd be worried about harassment accusations, but I got an MA that routinely hands me charts with comments like "this ho-bag thinks she got cooties again" and "this douche wants more pain pills." I love where I work.
we are not serious and we love our patients
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:43 AM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'd be worried about harassment accusations, but I got an MA that routinely hands me charts with comments like "this ho-bag thinks she got cooties again" and "this douche wants more pain pills." I love where I work.
we are not serious and we love our patients
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:43 AM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, doesn't almost every other website have a white background? Flipping through the couple dozen open tabs on my browser right now and most of them have a professional white background.
This is unfortunately true. Someone decided a long while back that a bright white background with black or dark gray text and light gray (!) secondary text was The Look for Web 2.0. I would like to kill that person. The Nicer Inverter Chrome extension, though imperfect, is an eyeball-saver for me.
posted by double block and bleed at 1:22 PM on October 4, 2014
This is unfortunately true. Someone decided a long while back that a bright white background with black or dark gray text and light gray (!) secondary text was The Look for Web 2.0. I would like to kill that person. The Nicer Inverter Chrome extension, though imperfect, is an eyeball-saver for me.
posted by double block and bleed at 1:22 PM on October 4, 2014
(I do understand that the opposite is true for some people. I think my wife might have some other extension that turns dark pages white.)
posted by double block and bleed at 1:23 PM on October 4, 2014
posted by double block and bleed at 1:23 PM on October 4, 2014
Can't you just turn the contrast off on your monitor?
posted by aubilenon at 2:25 PM on October 4, 2014
posted by aubilenon at 2:25 PM on October 4, 2014
I'm going to be deeply pedantic here, but I think it's worth saying: Web 1.0 generally refers to static HTML sites, while Web 2.0 refers to sites that use database-backed content platforms (and, later, those that used AJAX).
MetaFilter was never, ever a Web 1.0 site. It was one of the very first Web 2.0 sites.
posted by eschatfische at 3:54 PM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter was never, ever a Web 1.0 site. It was one of the very first Web 2.0 sites.
posted by eschatfische at 3:54 PM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Web 2.0 refers to sites that use database-backed content platforms
Like a bunch of people here, I was around doing web stuff at the time, and that's a definition I can't recall ever seeing before. Web 2.0 was just a bullshit term -- like hipster -- to encapsulate a (web) fashion trend and the birth of The Social Wank as much as it was actually descriptive of anything technical, I think. Although I'll give you the ajax, which was certainly a newish and exciting part of the design toolkit at the time.
Hell, until a few years back when MefightClub became a thing, the single most seen web thing I'd ever made was the Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator, which is well over a decade old, I think.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:06 PM on October 4, 2014 [5 favorites]
Like a bunch of people here, I was around doing web stuff at the time, and that's a definition I can't recall ever seeing before. Web 2.0 was just a bullshit term -- like hipster -- to encapsulate a (web) fashion trend and the birth of The Social Wank as much as it was actually descriptive of anything technical, I think. Although I'll give you the ajax, which was certainly a newish and exciting part of the design toolkit at the time.
Hell, until a few years back when MefightClub became a thing, the single most seen web thing I'd ever made was the Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator, which is well over a decade old, I think.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:06 PM on October 4, 2014 [5 favorites]
Is there a dark mode on iOS8? I love the new look but can't find the elusive "dark mode" for mobile to save my life. Somebody hope me!!
posted by pearlybob at 7:25 PM on October 4, 2014
posted by pearlybob at 7:25 PM on October 4, 2014
Go to the MeFi home page. Is there a "skip" button at the top right of the page? If so, click it. The dark mode button should be visible to you now.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:38 PM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ocherdraco at 10:38 PM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah the "social" and "dynamically generated HTML" aspects of Web 2.0 were around before "Web 2.0" picked up as a term, typically with nerdier sites like Slashdot, MetaFilter, Everything2, Fark, etc, and even stodgy corporate sites were largely dynamically-generated even back in 2000, as I remember being a nerd doing tech support using all of the major computer manufacturer websites starting in 1998.
These enthusiast community sites tended to be very much custom one-off-builds, very much social, but in a more traditional BBS-community sense rather than EYEBALLS ARE THE THING. I was involved in a lot of stuff related to "Web 2.0" at the time (2004-2005) including working with a Ruby developer to get our public-facing website wrapped up in a CMS. At no point did we ever consider any of this "Web 2.0." The term is as anathematic to nerds as "information superhighway" was, but "if we're being honest with ourselves" the big lynchpin at the time that really tied it all together was AJAX, or Dynamic HTML on the client side, even just that alone, but the combination of making browser requests without a page refresh and Dynamic HTML on the client side, combined with everything else that was already long-established, is what made "Web 2.0." Microsoft ultimately "invented AJAX" with Outlook Web Access, but it was up-and-coming sites like Facebook (and definitely NOT MySpace) that really made the AJAX pop.
posted by aydeejones at 11:35 PM on October 4, 2014
These enthusiast community sites tended to be very much custom one-off-builds, very much social, but in a more traditional BBS-community sense rather than EYEBALLS ARE THE THING. I was involved in a lot of stuff related to "Web 2.0" at the time (2004-2005) including working with a Ruby developer to get our public-facing website wrapped up in a CMS. At no point did we ever consider any of this "Web 2.0." The term is as anathematic to nerds as "information superhighway" was, but "if we're being honest with ourselves" the big lynchpin at the time that really tied it all together was AJAX, or Dynamic HTML on the client side, even just that alone, but the combination of making browser requests without a page refresh and Dynamic HTML on the client side, combined with everything else that was already long-established, is what made "Web 2.0." Microsoft ultimately "invented AJAX" with Outlook Web Access, but it was up-and-coming sites like Facebook (and definitely NOT MySpace) that really made the AJAX pop.
posted by aydeejones at 11:35 PM on October 4, 2014
I remember when y2karl was y1karl, dammit.
Pourquoi faut-il que nous ayons assez de mémoire pour retenir jusqu’aux moindres particularités de ce qui nous est arrivé, et que nous n’en ayons pas assez pour nous souvenir combien de fois nous les avons contées à une même personne ?posted by y2karl at 11:55 PM on October 4, 2014 [7 favorites]
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Hell, until a few years back when MefightClub became a thing, the single most seen web thing I'd ever made was the Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator, which is well over a decade old, I think.
Still in beta too, I see. Do you anticipate an official release before 2020?
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:45 AM on October 5, 2014
Still in beta too, I see. Do you anticipate an official release before 2020?
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:45 AM on October 5, 2014
the Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator
And just a couple of clicks in, it tells me to reinvent Cluetrain life-hacks. Enough Internet for today!
posted by effbot at 9:49 AM on October 5, 2014
And just a couple of clicks in, it tells me to reinvent Cluetrain life-hacks. Enough Internet for today!
posted by effbot at 9:49 AM on October 5, 2014
> Still in beta too, I see.
Isn't permanent beta another feature of Web2.0?
posted by benito.strauss at 10:00 AM on October 5, 2014
Isn't permanent beta another feature of Web2.0?
posted by benito.strauss at 10:00 AM on October 5, 2014
I make my living as a rails back-end developer. I understand the difference between static and dynamic websites. I was trying to refer to a certain generation of sites on the web that greatly influenced how sites are styled even now. I think the dominance of the stark black/gray on white design was led by Google, especially with one of the redesigns of GMail, followed by everyone who wanted to be like Google.
All of my complaining about the horror of white backgrounds aside, I'm really glad that Matt & Co. decided to make the dark theme easily accessible to those of us who want it. I'm also glad that the classic themes are still available to those who want them. Most websites have one design and that's that. If you don't like it, you'll have to use Stylish and hope that you can find a style for it that matches what you want and that the creator will keep up with site changes. (or write and maintain your own, if you know how.) Maintaining what amounts to four styles is a pain in the ass that most developers would not want to support. I know I wouldn't if I were a front-end dev.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:14 PM on October 5, 2014
All of my complaining about the horror of white backgrounds aside, I'm really glad that Matt & Co. decided to make the dark theme easily accessible to those of us who want it. I'm also glad that the classic themes are still available to those who want them. Most websites have one design and that's that. If you don't like it, you'll have to use Stylish and hope that you can find a style for it that matches what you want and that the creator will keep up with site changes. (or write and maintain your own, if you know how.) Maintaining what amounts to four styles is a pain in the ass that most developers would not want to support. I know I wouldn't if I were a front-end dev.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:14 PM on October 5, 2014
I think the dominance of the stark black/gray on white design was led by Google, especially with one of the redesigns of GMail, followed by everyone who wanted to be like Google.
CSS 1 (1996) uses black on white in the suggested default stylesheet. I think IE4 (early 1997) followed that suggestion. Gmail was released in 2004.
posted by effbot at 3:02 PM on October 5, 2014
CSS 1 (1996) uses black on white in the suggested default stylesheet. I think IE4 (early 1997) followed that suggestion. Gmail was released in 2004.
posted by effbot at 3:02 PM on October 5, 2014
Web 2.0 was popularized by Tim O'Reilly in 2004 after the web recovered from the dotcom meltdown of 2001-2002. Web 2.0 died with app stores, Facebook, paywalls and walled gardens.
posted by humanfont at 3:15 PM on October 5, 2014
posted by humanfont at 3:15 PM on October 5, 2014
Isn't permanent beta another feature of Web2.0?
That was indeed the joke I was making, yep.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:46 PM on October 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
That was indeed the joke I was making, yep.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:46 PM on October 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Web 2.0 died with app stores, Facebook, paywalls and walled gardens.
Ooh! A visitor from the future!
Can you tell us how exactly do Bill & Ted fit into this blissful future? I've been waiting decades to find out.
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 4:50 PM on October 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ooh! A visitor from the future!
Can you tell us how exactly do Bill & Ted fit into this blissful future? I've been waiting decades to find out.
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 4:50 PM on October 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
In your timeline Tim Berners Lee and Lawrence Lessig are imprisoned by oligarchs and Fox news. Corvids exceed human intelligence. On October 7, 2049 they enslave human kind. Coincidentally it is the 200th aniversary of Poe's death.
posted by humanfont at 5:38 PM on October 5, 2014
posted by humanfont at 5:38 PM on October 5, 2014
This is non, non-non, non-heinous!
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 5:41 PM on October 5, 2014
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 5:41 PM on October 5, 2014
Ah, that's what I heard go whizzing over my head, the punch-line.
posted by benito.strauss at 5:46 PM on October 5, 2014
posted by benito.strauss at 5:46 PM on October 5, 2014
I always thought Web 2.0 referred to companies that might have a chance of turning a profit, so please invest in tech again, thx. Database-driven sites with dynamic content (hello, web boards) were A Thing since the early days as were Javascript widgetry and dynamic server-side languages (hellloooo PHP).
Web 2.0 was marketing glitz to lure seed capital back in - in that regard it worked pretty well.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:33 AM on October 6, 2014
Web 2.0 was marketing glitz to lure seed capital back in - in that regard it worked pretty well.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:33 AM on October 6, 2014
Can dark mode preference be stored with regards to the user name in addition to be cookie (or whatever browser) stored? My computer at work will not save my firefox preferences/cookies/whatever and so every time I go to Metafilter from work I have to re-enable dark mode. I know this is me wanting to skip a single click after I log in, but if it wouldn't be hard to code, it'd be a nice option.
posted by Hactar at 10:16 AM on October 6, 2014
posted by Hactar at 10:16 AM on October 6, 2014
Think of it as reddit for grownups.
I am starting to realize that too. If you look at my web history, I started on Slashdot, Fark, and Plastic.com (a name no one remembers) until I could finally get a Metafilter account. This was back when Metafilter only allowed like 10 signups a day, so I kept clicking until I got in.
Then around 2010, I went to a new job, and everyone was on this site called reddit. I was hooked: so many links and pictures and jokes and news stories! And they did things that get mentioned on Colbert and raised money for charity! I amassed 30,000+ karma commenting on everything I could.
Now it's 4 years later. Reddit is now known for leaking celebrity nude pics, harassing people it thought were the Boston Bombers, MRAs, whatever the hell "GamerGate" is, subreddits about "cute" corpses and upskirt shots, and being generally shitty to women and any minority. The site pushes for "freedom of speech," but is pretty much admitting it cannot afford to piss off racists and sexists and awful people because they would lose too much readership.
It's now gotten to the point where I'm embarrassed to say I heard about something from Reddit. It's time to come back, Metafilter. I never should have left you.
posted by ALongDecember at 5:22 PM on October 6, 2014 [4 favorites]
I am starting to realize that too. If you look at my web history, I started on Slashdot, Fark, and Plastic.com (a name no one remembers) until I could finally get a Metafilter account. This was back when Metafilter only allowed like 10 signups a day, so I kept clicking until I got in.
Then around 2010, I went to a new job, and everyone was on this site called reddit. I was hooked: so many links and pictures and jokes and news stories! And they did things that get mentioned on Colbert and raised money for charity! I amassed 30,000+ karma commenting on everything I could.
Now it's 4 years later. Reddit is now known for leaking celebrity nude pics, harassing people it thought were the Boston Bombers, MRAs, whatever the hell "GamerGate" is, subreddits about "cute" corpses and upskirt shots, and being generally shitty to women and any minority. The site pushes for "freedom of speech," but is pretty much admitting it cannot afford to piss off racists and sexists and awful people because they would lose too much readership.
It's now gotten to the point where I'm embarrassed to say I heard about something from Reddit. It's time to come back, Metafilter. I never should have left you.
posted by ALongDecember at 5:22 PM on October 6, 2014 [4 favorites]
ALongDecember - I remember Plastic, but I call it "that site that killed Suck.com". Because it did - Suck was abandoned to build Plastic, which tanked. Of course, the demise of Suck led me to find Metafilter, so there's that.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:36 PM on October 6, 2014
posted by caution live frogs at 10:36 PM on October 6, 2014
Ocherdracho, Thank you!!! It's taken me a week to figure that out!! I love this!!
posted by pearlybob at 3:31 AM on October 7, 2014
posted by pearlybob at 3:31 AM on October 7, 2014
Metafilter: the plastic.com it's ok to like.
posted by Segundus at 7:58 AM on October 7, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Segundus at 7:58 AM on October 7, 2014 [3 favorites]
I make my living as a rails back-end developer. I understand the difference between static and dynamic websites.Do you know more about this topic than we can possibly imagine?
posted by scrump at 10:46 AM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
I just found Dark Mode and wanted to say YAY! I had been pondering trying to figure out how to greasemonkey a script that allowed me to use the cool new look but do something similar to Dark Mode. Now I don't have to! :D
posted by royalsong at 1:50 PM on October 8, 2014
posted by royalsong at 1:50 PM on October 8, 2014
I would appreciate a way to use Dark Mode with a url argument. I used to read metafilter with javascript turned off, but now I have to turn it on just to get to dark mode.
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 11:27 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 11:27 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Think of it as reddit for grownups.
I guess that's why most of the links are posted on reddit 36 hours earlier.
posted by malapropist at 5:31 PM on October 9, 2014
I guess that's why most of the links are posted on reddit 36 hours earlier.
posted by malapropist at 5:31 PM on October 9, 2014
I guess that's why most of the links are posted on reddit 36 hours earlier.
☂
posted by en forme de poire at 6:21 PM on October 9, 2014
☂
posted by en forme de poire at 6:21 PM on October 9, 2014
I'm happy to wait a day or two just to avoid having to go rummage around reddit.
posted by octothorpe at 7:57 AM on October 10, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 7:57 AM on October 10, 2014 [2 favorites]
It's easy to talk shit on reddit here because the lot of you don't know how to do reddit. Yes, the default subreddits are everything that Metafilter abhors, but there are literally tens of thousands of subreddits, and there are some amazing communities embedded in there. I started unsubbing from the defaults literally almost five years ago. As far as the interesting communities, you just have to find them, and there's not like a search or any other good way yet to reliably find them. A lot of it is word of mouth, which is nice because it keeps the type of people who ruin the default subs away, due to their lack of curiosity. Y'all wanna talk about how reddit is a sexist misogynist community full of brigades of one sort or another. All I know is I long ago unsubbed from shit like that and now my front page is full of people like me, crossdressing bisexuals who are interested in relationship advice and sex positivity, as well as writing advice and tutorials on how to draw. That's reddit, to me. That, or whatever it is you're into, can be reddit for you, if you'd take more than a kneejerk's reaction time to judge the site.
Reddit is what you make of it, and all yall can really cut the elitist bullshit out because reddit generates more interesting content in a day then Metafilter does in a week.
posted by malapropist at 5:52 PM on October 11, 2014
Reddit is what you make of it, and all yall can really cut the elitist bullshit out because reddit generates more interesting content in a day then Metafilter does in a week.
posted by malapropist at 5:52 PM on October 11, 2014
I wasn't necessarily taking shit about reddit, just saying that it's too big and unwieldy to bother trying to find the interesting posts in. Life is short and I'm perfectly happy to wait for someone else to do the heavy lifting of digging out the stories worthy posting here on mefi.
posted by octothorpe at 6:29 PM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 6:29 PM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Reddit is what you make of it, and all yall can really cut the elitist bullshit out because reddit generates more interesting content in a day then Metafilter does in a week.
But it's still threaded.
posted by escabeche at 6:59 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
But it's still threaded.
posted by escabeche at 6:59 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yep, and those two things -- the threadedness and the fact that reddit only has a decent s/n if you dig around to select specific subreddits -- mean that a good reddit experience is almost certainly a very narrow/specialized one. The fact that I don't need to limit my view of MetaFilter means that I end up seeing & learning things here that I would never in a million years see if I narrowed myself down to the subreddits that I thought I would like. When I look at the things I've favorited here, they're all over the place, and the most memorable ones are the ones that are so far out of my typical interests & experiences that they opened up whole new worlds to me. (And that's true for comments as well as posts.)
In a way, I guess, Reddit feels kinda like suburbia to me. There are gems, to be sure, like that amazing Szechuan place with the 600-item menu on the wall, but you have to drive all over creation to get to there, and then you're in the middle of a stripmall with nothing else except a pak-n-mail and a mattress shop and an Applebee's across the street, so you better be in the mood for some Szechuan. Whereas here, it's walkable -- the sort of place where you can wander from postoffice [thread] to school [thread] to gallery [thread] to library [thread] and generally run into some folks you know having a pretty good conversation.
So yeah, stuff ends up here 36 hours after reddit, but that's because MetaFilter is doing exactly what it says in the blue & gold letters on its tin: it filters. And it filters through a community that has a far broader tastes than any one of us alone.
posted by Westringia F. at 8:24 PM on October 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
In a way, I guess, Reddit feels kinda like suburbia to me. There are gems, to be sure, like that amazing Szechuan place with the 600-item menu on the wall, but you have to drive all over creation to get to there, and then you're in the middle of a stripmall with nothing else except a pak-n-mail and a mattress shop and an Applebee's across the street, so you better be in the mood for some Szechuan. Whereas here, it's walkable -- the sort of place where you can wander from postoffice [thread] to school [thread] to gallery [thread] to library [thread] and generally run into some folks you know having a pretty good conversation.
So yeah, stuff ends up here 36 hours after reddit, but that's because MetaFilter is doing exactly what it says in the blue & gold letters on its tin: it filters. And it filters through a community that has a far broader tastes than any one of us alone.
posted by Westringia F. at 8:24 PM on October 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
But it's still threaded.
That's a feature, not a bug.
posted by malapropist at 9:46 PM on October 11, 2014
That's a feature, not a bug.
posted by malapropist at 9:46 PM on October 11, 2014
it's too big and unwieldy to bother trying to find the interesting posts in
the fact that reddit only has a decent s/n if you dig around to select specific subreddits
I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, what are YOU into? Whatever it is, no matter how small the niche interest, you can find a community that's into it on reddit. I really don't get the virulent anti-reddit sentiment on this site, except that it's something that Metafilter percieves as a rival.
It's kind of like Stanford vs. UC Berkeley. Go to Cal's campus and they'll tell you that Stanford is their rival. Go to Stanford's campus, and they'll tell you that Cal only thinks Stanford's their rival.
posted by malapropist at 9:57 PM on October 11, 2014
the fact that reddit only has a decent s/n if you dig around to select specific subreddits
I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, what are YOU into? Whatever it is, no matter how small the niche interest, you can find a community that's into it on reddit. I really don't get the virulent anti-reddit sentiment on this site, except that it's something that Metafilter percieves as a rival.
It's kind of like Stanford vs. UC Berkeley. Go to Cal's campus and they'll tell you that Stanford is their rival. Go to Stanford's campus, and they'll tell you that Cal only thinks Stanford's their rival.
posted by malapropist at 9:57 PM on October 11, 2014
I really don't get the virulent anti-reddit sentiment on this site
Well, some people on the site really don't like Reddit, for a variety of reasons; many of those reasons aren't incompatible with what you like about it, they're merely orthogonal. A lot of other people have less strong feelings, or more mixed feelings.
A lot of people on Reddit really, really don't like Metafilter or will only acknowledge a qualified respect for aspects of it; others have more mixed feelings.
Ultimately, Reddit has some major issues with how it presents itself to people not already years invested in its underlying value, and it's to a degree quixotic to try and convince those people to somehow suddenly give a shit about putting in the effort to get to the not-crap, less visible parts of it even if you personally know how to do so and appreciate the value of it; likewise, I have read some very good comment chains on Youtube but don't much expect people to go looking for that from Youtube. Very big sites, especially, contain multitudes; not everyone is going to feel particularly generous about looking for the best variations therein.
As much as there are folks on Metafilter who actively, vocally dislike Reddit for one reason or another and to varying degrees, there are also people on Metafilter who have what feels like an outsized fixation on the idea of Mefites disliking Reddit, and that is something I feel like is being represented to some extent in your comments here, even if I sort of get where you're coming from with them.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:33 PM on October 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
Well, some people on the site really don't like Reddit, for a variety of reasons; many of those reasons aren't incompatible with what you like about it, they're merely orthogonal. A lot of other people have less strong feelings, or more mixed feelings.
A lot of people on Reddit really, really don't like Metafilter or will only acknowledge a qualified respect for aspects of it; others have more mixed feelings.
Ultimately, Reddit has some major issues with how it presents itself to people not already years invested in its underlying value, and it's to a degree quixotic to try and convince those people to somehow suddenly give a shit about putting in the effort to get to the not-crap, less visible parts of it even if you personally know how to do so and appreciate the value of it; likewise, I have read some very good comment chains on Youtube but don't much expect people to go looking for that from Youtube. Very big sites, especially, contain multitudes; not everyone is going to feel particularly generous about looking for the best variations therein.
As much as there are folks on Metafilter who actively, vocally dislike Reddit for one reason or another and to varying degrees, there are also people on Metafilter who have what feels like an outsized fixation on the idea of Mefites disliking Reddit, and that is something I feel like is being represented to some extent in your comments here, even if I sort of get where you're coming from with them.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:33 PM on October 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
> I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, what are YOU into? Whatever it is, no matter how small the niche interest, you can find a community that's into it on reddit.
But that's my point! To use reddit, I have to only look at stuff that I already think I'm into, which means I won't get exposed to the stuff I don't know that I'm into, or stuff that I'm not usually into but is interesting in a specific instance. What I'd want is a curated skim: something that gives me the cream from across all the small niche-interest subreddits. And I'd want to be able to take in & contribute comments as part of a cohesive discussion, not as a tree with collapsed branches.
The people who use MeFi to the exclusion of reddit do so because MeFi's attributes are something they prefer: they don't want threaded comments, they don't want to filter. It's a choice based on preference. Of course many MeFites are adamant about it; that's why they chose to be here and not on reddit! No doubt the reverse is also true. But that's not a rivalry so much as a vi/emacs argument: people using whatever suits them best and defending their reasons when the question comes up.
:wq
posted by Westringia F. at 10:55 PM on October 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
But that's my point! To use reddit, I have to only look at stuff that I already think I'm into, which means I won't get exposed to the stuff I don't know that I'm into, or stuff that I'm not usually into but is interesting in a specific instance. What I'd want is a curated skim: something that gives me the cream from across all the small niche-interest subreddits. And I'd want to be able to take in & contribute comments as part of a cohesive discussion, not as a tree with collapsed branches.
The people who use MeFi to the exclusion of reddit do so because MeFi's attributes are something they prefer: they don't want threaded comments, they don't want to filter. It's a choice based on preference. Of course many MeFites are adamant about it; that's why they chose to be here and not on reddit! No doubt the reverse is also true. But that's not a rivalry so much as a vi/emacs argument: people using whatever suits them best and defending their reasons when the question comes up.
:wq
posted by Westringia F. at 10:55 PM on October 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
the virulent anti-reddit sentiment on this site
You must be reading a different site to me, most responses to reddit I see here are more along the lines of "it's not my cup of tea", rather than "burn it with fire". That's my feeling about reddit anyway. I prefer it here.
posted by arcticseal at 11:42 PM on October 11, 2014
You must be reading a different site to me, most responses to reddit I see here are more along the lines of "it's not my cup of tea", rather than "burn it with fire". That's my feeling about reddit anyway. I prefer it here.
posted by arcticseal at 11:42 PM on October 11, 2014
I really don't get the virulent anti-reddit sentiment on this site
I don't hate it, but I don't think I want to be associated with it. You yourself admit that it's a bit of a curate's egg.
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:35 AM on October 12, 2014
I don't hate it, but I don't think I want to be associated with it. You yourself admit that it's a bit of a curate's egg.
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:35 AM on October 12, 2014
I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, what are YOU into? Whatever it is, no matter how small the niche interest, you can find a community that's into it on reddit.
I think that we're basically in agreement on the qualities of Reddit. I agree that there's lots of good stuff in there; I just don't have time and/or energy to go find it.
posted by octothorpe at 4:21 AM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think that we're basically in agreement on the qualities of Reddit. I agree that there's lots of good stuff in there; I just don't have time and/or energy to go find it.
posted by octothorpe at 4:21 AM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, what are YOU into? Whatever it is, no matter how small the niche interest, you can find a community that's into it on reddit.
In the first place, the serendipity of well-composed FPPs on topics that one is not necessarily into, or even possibly unaware of, is a big plus when casually reading MetaFilter.
In the second, one can concentrate on enjoying whatever section of MetaFilter one prefers - the Blue, the Green, the Grey, or, erm, is FanFare supposed to be purple or violet? - without having to worry that elsewhere on the site there may be anything incredibly scummy like creepshots, MRA harassers, rape-victim persecution, under-the-counter assault rifle sales, hacked nude celeb image galleries, large-scale corporate AstroTurfing ad campaigns, human-flesh-search-engine mobs and online witch hunts, blackmail and doxxing schemes... good lord, reddit requires a separate "Controversies" section for its Wikipedia entry?!?
(And this is coming from someone with a reddit account who has posted there on occasion and continues to swing by regularly.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:39 PM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
In the first place, the serendipity of well-composed FPPs on topics that one is not necessarily into, or even possibly unaware of, is a big plus when casually reading MetaFilter.
In the second, one can concentrate on enjoying whatever section of MetaFilter one prefers - the Blue, the Green, the Grey, or, erm, is FanFare supposed to be purple or violet? - without having to worry that elsewhere on the site there may be anything incredibly scummy like creepshots, MRA harassers, rape-victim persecution, under-the-counter assault rifle sales, hacked nude celeb image galleries, large-scale corporate AstroTurfing ad campaigns, human-flesh-search-engine mobs and online witch hunts, blackmail and doxxing schemes... good lord, reddit requires a separate "Controversies" section for its Wikipedia entry?!?
(And this is coming from someone with a reddit account who has posted there on occasion and continues to swing by regularly.)
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:39 PM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Whatever it is, no matter how small the niche interest, you can find a community that's into it on reddit.
I haven't found that to be true regarding my niche interest, which is math. There are math subreddits, but they're very low qualiity compared to the sites that are actually dedicated to math, like MathOverflow or even Math StackExchange.
posted by escabeche at 4:44 PM on October 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
I haven't found that to be true regarding my niche interest, which is math. There are math subreddits, but they're very low qualiity compared to the sites that are actually dedicated to math, like MathOverflow or even Math StackExchange.
posted by escabeche at 4:44 PM on October 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
No one said there would be a 'high quality' community, just that there would be one, which seems to be the case.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:27 AM on October 13, 2014
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:27 AM on October 13, 2014
Yeah, I checked out r/movies hoping for some intelligent film discussion but there's not much depth there.
posted by octothorpe at 6:28 AM on October 13, 2014
posted by octothorpe at 6:28 AM on October 13, 2014
scrump: "I make my living as a rails back-end developer. I understand the difference between static and dynamic websites.
Do you know more about this topic than we can possibly imagine?"
No. I'm sorry if I came off that way. Like a lot of people, I fumble my way along each day, hoping for the best; that maybe I'll learn something so it will be easier the next day. There's a lot of days where I feel like I don't know anything about the topic. On really bad days, I wonder if I wouldn't be happier somewhere driving a forklift like I did for a while over 20 years ago. Forklifts are fun to drive. I've never had to fix an ugly hack on a forklift that was completely incomprehensible to me, done three years before by someone who no longer worked for the company . Then again, on good days, I get into a zen-like flow, the keyboard clacks happily under my fingers and the work day passes in a flash, which never happened when I drove a forklift.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:01 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Do you know more about this topic than we can possibly imagine?"
No. I'm sorry if I came off that way. Like a lot of people, I fumble my way along each day, hoping for the best; that maybe I'll learn something so it will be easier the next day. There's a lot of days where I feel like I don't know anything about the topic. On really bad days, I wonder if I wouldn't be happier somewhere driving a forklift like I did for a while over 20 years ago. Forklifts are fun to drive. I've never had to fix an ugly hack on a forklift that was completely incomprehensible to me, done three years before by someone who no longer worked for the company . Then again, on good days, I get into a zen-like flow, the keyboard clacks happily under my fingers and the work day passes in a flash, which never happened when I drove a forklift.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:01 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, "back-end developer" == "I suck at Javascript"
posted by double block and bleed at 2:10 PM on October 14, 2014
posted by double block and bleed at 2:10 PM on October 14, 2014
There is some amazing discussion going on at Reddit, much better than the cliquey non-threaded stuff going on here, and in so many different flavors than is afforded to Metafilter due to its sort of format. Not to disagree with Doctor Zed above, but there actually is a lot of serendipity involved in reddit, especially considering the best discussion rises to the top. There's no such thing there as threadshitting, because trolls simply get downvoted or deleted. I'll see a thread title that looks interesting, and open the thread guaranteed the top comment's gonna be something decent to read. That's almost never the case here. Usually the top comment is some kneejerk reaction by some regular here, someone who sees something in the title they're vaguely familiar with, and posts their reaction without even RTFA.
Seriously, just that one issue, it's so blatant here. If you've seen it once, you know how to look for it: so many people on this site don't RTFA before commenting. You guys have gotten better in the last, oh, year and a half? Not sure what the catalyst was but before that, it was just guaranteed that the first 5 to 20 comments were gonna be 1) someone's kneejerk reaction based on the keywords in the title of the article they didn't read, and then 2) other people's kneejerk reactions to those reactions that constitute the arguments you regulars have been having on this site for years.
So yeah, why do I even come here still? Well Doktor Zed is right, there is indeed an element of serendipity to Metafilter's format, and apart from that it's hard to resist a popular website where you can actually post whatever you want on the front page. I just hate how elitist the most active users are here. Yeah, no doubt there is definitely some great discussion going on here from time to time. I love when someone directly involved in the subject matter of an FPP pops up and gives his two cents. I mean though, that happens on reddit too. Like, all the time. More often than here.
Not to mention, redditors aren't elitist. There are literally thousands of humble, informative, entertaining communities where any of you would be welcome, and in those specific niches there is serendipity to be found, with the sidebars, the comments, the linking between different subs. I have never seen anyone on reddit bash Metafilter, indeed I've rarely seen anyone acknowledge Mefi there, but those that have are usually highlighting the best parts of this website, not the worst. Whereas (and this is where I have to disagree with you arcticseal) almost every time I see reddit mentioned here, at least if it's not a direct FPP link to content, it's to ridicule reddit.
I'll say this much for Metafilter though, without it I don't think I would have ever heard of, say, Porpentine, the interactive fiction writer, and her games really touched me deeply. I think that's the kind of serendipity that was spoken of above.
posted by malapropist at 12:08 AM on October 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Seriously, just that one issue, it's so blatant here. If you've seen it once, you know how to look for it: so many people on this site don't RTFA before commenting. You guys have gotten better in the last, oh, year and a half? Not sure what the catalyst was but before that, it was just guaranteed that the first 5 to 20 comments were gonna be 1) someone's kneejerk reaction based on the keywords in the title of the article they didn't read, and then 2) other people's kneejerk reactions to those reactions that constitute the arguments you regulars have been having on this site for years.
So yeah, why do I even come here still? Well Doktor Zed is right, there is indeed an element of serendipity to Metafilter's format, and apart from that it's hard to resist a popular website where you can actually post whatever you want on the front page. I just hate how elitist the most active users are here. Yeah, no doubt there is definitely some great discussion going on here from time to time. I love when someone directly involved in the subject matter of an FPP pops up and gives his two cents. I mean though, that happens on reddit too. Like, all the time. More often than here.
Not to mention, redditors aren't elitist. There are literally thousands of humble, informative, entertaining communities where any of you would be welcome, and in those specific niches there is serendipity to be found, with the sidebars, the comments, the linking between different subs. I have never seen anyone on reddit bash Metafilter, indeed I've rarely seen anyone acknowledge Mefi there, but those that have are usually highlighting the best parts of this website, not the worst. Whereas (and this is where I have to disagree with you arcticseal) almost every time I see reddit mentioned here, at least if it's not a direct FPP link to content, it's to ridicule reddit.
I'll say this much for Metafilter though, without it I don't think I would have ever heard of, say, Porpentine, the interactive fiction writer, and her games really touched me deeply. I think that's the kind of serendipity that was spoken of above.
posted by malapropist at 12:08 AM on October 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by cortex (staff) at 2:07 PM on October 1, 2014 [41 favorites]