A kind word doesn't cost a thing.

September 27, 2015 4:32 PM

A kind word doesn't cost a thing. How about a thread in which we tell other folks here how much and why we appreciate their efforts, so they can be edified by them?

I'll start:

Cortex and the mod team, thank you for making this such a consistently excellent and rewarding place to hang out.
Greg Nog, thank you for always making me laugh.
Artw, your knowledge of and insight into the world of comics is fantastic, and I always look forward to it.
JHarris, you know your games, and I get excited when I see a new post by you.
Zarq, your posts are consistently excellent and interesting, and I always look forward to them.

I'm sure I'll have more later ... now it's your turn!

posted by jbickers to Etiquette/Policy at 4:32 PM (307 comments total)

Thank you, Clavdivs. Without you here doing what you do, this place would fall apart.
posted by Drinky Die at 4:40 PM on September 27, 2015 [7 favorites]

Thanks everybody for keeping me informed and entertained, and for not being too frustrated by my consistently bar-lowering comments.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:44 PM on September 27, 2015

I want to pull a reverse eyeballkid and just say I love you all. Especially eyeballkid.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:46 PM on September 27, 2015 [25 favorites]

A couple of days ago I noticed eight people linked to me. I am honored. Thanks to every one who kindly edifies and entertains me.
posted by Oyéah at 4:46 PM on September 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

poffin boffin, i have been shamelessly quoting your comments on the blue for years now. my friends think i am hilarious and witty, and none of them suspect i am a hollowed out husk masquerading as a human being.
posted by Homeskillet Freshy Fresh at 4:48 PM on September 27, 2015 [66 favorites]

JHarris has been fucking kicking it lately on the blue.
Also: ellieBOA. Great posts.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 4:56 PM on September 27, 2015 [7 favorites]

Also the daily posters: the man of twists and turns, filthy light thief, MartinWisse, Fizz. Great daily finds, amazing posts.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 4:58 PM on September 27, 2015 [10 favorites]

All the mods, who always so kindly answer my questions and delete my screwups and put up with all the yelling that goes on.

Everyone who's ever answered one of my goofy Asks.

Everyone who's ever sent me thoughtful or helpful MeMail.

Everyone who makes glorious puns, which I rush to favorite even though I'm probably abusing the favorite button.

Everyone I've met at a Meetup and then planned to get together with and then totally failed to (I'm sorry, this semester has turned into an Olympic-level luge run).

All the people who keep pushing us to do better.

languagehat, not just for his cool linguistics knowledge but also for working really hard to be a good person.

sciatrix and nadawi for being sciatrix and nadawi.
posted by wintersweet at 5:05 PM on September 27, 2015 [6 favorites]

dialetheia for making an awesome FPP that made me want to participate more on the site.

sciatrix, jaguar, and Frowner for writing things that make me go "yes! that's exactly it!"

Everybody who updates the DS9 and Farscape eps on Fanfare, for making my life better.

Rhaomi for making a Key & Peele post I have been getting through for weeks.

The mods, for their infinite patience.
posted by thetortoise at 5:12 PM on September 27, 2015 [6 favorites]

Mrs. Pterodactyl, it's been almost a year since you sent the Octopus Three to my kid, and he still has them on his nightstand/in his backpack/watching him play Minecraft. Every time I see them, I am reminded of your thoughtfulness and kindness. Not surprisingly, these qualities are also always reflected in your posts.
posted by lyssabee at 5:30 PM on September 27, 2015 [20 favorites]

I am terrible at remembering usernames, but I read a lot of the threads and I am delighted and charmed and inspired and enlightened and generally made a better person by this place every single day. If you're reading this, and don't see your name, I'm sorry! I'm probably talking about you! Thank you, thank you, for everything.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 5:40 PM on September 27, 2015 [8 favorites]

Thanks to everyone who hasn't killed me yet.
posted by jonmc at 5:41 PM on September 27, 2015 [9 favorites]

Not that girl sent me a postcard which was great. I have learned a lot from her advice and personal stories she's shared in AskMe. Jasper44 and jaguar consistently give great kind advice about therapy. cotton dress sock is very eloquent about some of the shit she's dealt with which I think helps other people deal with similar shit.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 5:48 PM on September 27, 2015 [8 favorites]

I'd been meaning to send an email or something about this, but thanks to ActionPopulated for being named after (a line in) a book that turned out to be the best thing I've read in ages.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:57 PM on September 27, 2015 [3 favorites]

I am grateful to the community at large just in general. I am having a terrible, terrible time at work right now and am frankly beside myself a lot with grief about it and it is so heartening to spend time here. Everyone is so kind and so smart, and as grown as I already am, y'all are the type of people I'd like to be when I really truly grow up. Thanks for always helping me celebrate the good and cope when the crummy stuff comes around.
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:04 PM on September 27, 2015 [27 favorites]

I'm glad to have made online friend with a number of MetaFilter, as you not only dazzle me with your participation on this site, but fill my days with joy on other social media, and then sometimes things like postcards or shooting me emails to say hi.
posted by maxsparber at 6:28 PM on September 27, 2015

Thank you everyone who posts in the Steven Universe fanfare threads for turning me from a casual fan into a devoted one. Your discussions are consistently the most interesting and accessible.
posted by Space Coyote at 6:34 PM on September 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

I would have a really hard time making a complete list. I look at my own favorited comments and patterns emerge and I see that I have significant things in common with people who live very different lives. Every memail I have ever received has been kind and thoughtful.

As I have said before, my son loves to read this site and scoots his chair over when he sees that I have it up. At first it was just the cat vids. Now he is fully articulate about a number of things unusual for his age and I thank the community for helping me raise him.

Y'all should watch the eclipse tonight and imagine you are nine again.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 6:36 PM on September 27, 2015 [9 favorites]

I wish I were better at remembering usernames. zarq, JHarris, languagehat - you are great.

Thanks to everyone who has helped broaden my perspectives on feminism, racism, and trans issues.

Thanks to all of the mods (and mod emeriti) for the work you do here.

Special thanks to everyone who has ever favorited a comment or post of mine - the check is in the mail.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:37 PM on September 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

Cannibal Club, you are the greatest one and all, and I will eat you last and with great reverence.

MeghanC, I will never forgive you for moving away from Pittsburgh but nonetheless you're the best thing Metafilter brought to my life so thanks for being spectacular.

And Crone Island, one and all, I raise a taco in your direction.
posted by Stacey at 6:38 PM on September 27, 2015 [9 favorites]

Thank you to the man of twists and turns for consistently interesting posts; to MeFites who have come out for meetups; to folks who have dropped MeMails and otherwise connected. Hugs for friends of Lemurrhea. "Out of the Blue" is terrific. Thank you, mods. hippybear, your comments are so full of heart and humanity; thanks. HuronBob, I am so glad you're here. Thank you to folks who post rabbit hole Ask questions, because I get to spend a little time chasing down questions I never would have thought to ask (and oh, how I love the lost-book-of-my-childhood questions). The mystery button, from jeribus? Was fun! np312's car trouble was also amusing, especially zamboni's answer. Thank you to all who spend time on posts and comments that reach beyond my experience and comfort zone: you have taught me so much, and I am grateful.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:26 PM on September 27, 2015 [4 favorites]

As I have said before, my son loves to read this site and scoots his chair over when he sees that I have it up. At first it was just the cat vids. Now he is fully articulate about a number of things unusual for his age and I thank the community for helping me raise him.

I had honestly never before considered that (of course!) children might be reading, and all of a sudden I am self-conscious about talking more like I am in a bar, and less at a family dinner table. Ahem.

I am also terrible at user names, but I can recognize many people's writing within the first sentence. I love that familiarity and recognition, and I especially love it when I am challenged and forced to reconsider things.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:44 PM on September 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thank you to Eyebrows McGee for having so much amazing knowledge that comes in handy in contentious arguments.

Thank you to poffin boffin and The Whelk for being on the spot with comments that are pretty much perfect.

Thank you to JHarris for all you contribute!

And thank you to every feminist commenter who will not take any crap!
posted by Countess Elena at 7:47 PM on September 27, 2015 [16 favorites]

Thank you to cmyk for the sticky cat story that never stops being funny.

And thank you to mochapickle who says a lot of good stuff in general but specifically a lot of good things about dogs.

And thank you to every person who has memailed or commented about their fruit bowl craigslist success because it makes me feel like a mad genius. Someday I hope one of you fine people will try to sell a bowl of fruit by topping it with a tiny bowl of fruit fascinator and post about it here.
posted by phunniemee at 7:59 PM on September 27, 2015 [16 favorites]

I immediately thought of posters; here are some commenters that are my personal favorites, and frequently flagged at Flagged at Fantastic:

maxsparber, Lyn Never, emjaybee, phunniemee, koeselitz, escabeche, moonlight on vermont, The Master and Margarita Mix, thetortoise, pharm, Too-Ticky. I've forgotten a lot of great commenters I'm sure - just look at my contacts, I usually add people that make insightful/unique contributions. Going To Maine has really impressed me lately too - would make a great mod. Not that we're short on great mods!

dialetheia expresses stuff I would never be brave enough to, the stuff that you feel strongly about but do not realize it until someone else articulates it - amazingly tight mind, great comments.

On a light note, I'm open to feedback about my Mefite-related activities from just two people: my husband and Miko. If Miko gives you feedback, you'd be wise to listen - very very good critical thinking and comments are a joy to read, especially when they swim against the tide.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:04 PM on September 27, 2015 [13 favorites]

JEERS to Pater Alethias for having a locked twitter account so that when he says those things on twitter I cannot retweet them

I have literally been following him on Twittef for half a year because of mutual contacts and only just now realized who he is. Everything makes sense now.
posted by Phire at 8:20 PM on September 27, 2015

I had honestly never before considered that (of course!) children might be reading, and all of a sudden I am self-conscious about talking more like I am in a bar, and less at a family dinner table. Ahem.

Oh don't worry about that. He has been sitting at bars with me for years. The ones that have great food and get so busy that we have to sit at the bar while talking about why I don't want him to play football while we watch it. Which has caused some ire from adjacent patrons who think it is something unpatriotic. Nothing we couldn't handle. Favorite was "Could you please shut up? I'm trying to talk to my dad about brain injuries."

Joseph, phunnie, fffm, drinky and monkey toes are totally on my list, which I will complete. On preview, Ms. Conrad, Miko is a gem.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:37 PM on September 27, 2015 [4 favorites]

There are so many excellent posts and comments every day, and so many users who I appreciate. Thanks Frowner for excellent analysis of so many social justice issues and also for impressive shoe knowledge. Jason_steakums often makes me giggle. Divined by radio is always so articulate and compassionate and wise. Nadawi and rtha and emjaybee and Sciatrix and NoraReed and everyone else who posts awesome feminist insights and makes me want to high-five you through the computer screen, thank you. I really like how often Mrs. Pterodactyl uses exclamation marks. And she is always so smart and nice when she does it! Bulgaroktonos for also being nice and smart and funny. I have been appreciating Ashen's thoughtful perspectives lately. I have a little bit of a socialist crush on You Can't Tip a Buick for all his (? I think?) smart comments inciting revolution. Thank you sockermom for amazing compassion and hard-won wisdom. I always feel like cashman is a refreshing presence in a thread. Joseph conrad is fully awesome is obviously, herself, fully awesome. There are so many more, that's just off the top of my head... thank you to everyone for all the thoughtful & interesting perspectives you bring to this place!
posted by aka burlap at 8:38 PM on September 27, 2015 [9 favorites]

Your favorite poster sucks.

I mean, thanks errbody.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:51 PM on September 27, 2015 [2 favorites]

Sorry you let Salvador Dali do your reconstructive facial surgery. Putting you on my list.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:04 PM on September 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

ALL OF YOU!

Yes, even you who make me wince, and you who make me GRAR at the screen and you who make me open another tab and immediately buy that book, and you who makes me stop breathing for a moment while I digest that 'mind blown' concept, and you who tells so many good stories, and you who has the heart to tell it from your side of the fence, and you who explains there doesn't need to be a fence, and you who has given me some tough love on anonymous occasions, and you who gently redirected me via memail when I first arrived and got fighty, and you who said that comment of mine changed their life, and you who has written a number of comments that have changed my life, and you, you, you you, you, you and you who I would just love to meet in person, and the mods.

Thank you all so very much. A lot of the 'growing up' I have done over the past seven years is directly related the gift of communication and conversation that this place provides.
posted by Thella at 9:07 PM on September 27, 2015 [5 favorites]

I want to thank all the community members who have contributed to askme questions about eating disorders from a position of personal experience. I feel a little bad naming names because I'm sure this is a very incomplete list, but ArbitraryAndCapricious, Ruthless Bunny, sockermom, insectosaurus, Metroid Baby, and especially Sophie1 who is always there with a "memail me if you need someone to talk to."
posted by drlith at 9:08 PM on September 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Earlier this summer, I made the mistake of letting my toxic older sibling back into my life because she begged me to and because I love my niece, and my sister promised me she wouldn't verbally abuse me anymore, that she was told by someone she respected that the way she talked to people wasn't right, and she recognized it now. Then she called last night and she asked me something personal. I told her I wasn't comfortable sharing, and she suddenly went off on me, demanding I tell her because she was family, talking over me when I tried to explain why I didn't feel comfortable, her voice got higher and higher until she was yelling (I'm assuming her husband is on a business trip but I know my niece had gone very quiet suddenly) and sneering and mocking me, and I was too shocked and overwhelmed by the sudden shift to do much other than beg her to please stop and calm down, and it was only because my hands were shaking so badly that my cheek thankfully accidentally hit the hang up/end call because I was standing there like a dummy letting her say those things to me.

And I'm fine, mostly, now, I think, thanks to being able to call one of my best friends who called me again today to let me sob and talk and let me know that my sister was wrong to do that, that I didn't deserve it. But I usually laugh a lot, joke around, I smile, I like to practice feeling at ease, I like to project good vibes outwardly into the world, it's something that is important to me. However, I was feeling so rattled and shaken up today, physically and mentally, and so very dumb dumb dumb that I ever let her into my life again so she could do again what she always has (only to have her casually text me "Sorry if you felt insulted by what I said but it's hard when you find out your own sister doesn't trust you"), that I felt like a wisp of myself all day.

There are so many Mefites I need to thank for the comments re toxic siblings and narcissistic siblings and the importance of distance, and how it's okay to keep that distance, how it's okay to do what you need to to be happy. Thank you thank you thank you.

And earlier this evening, I was half heartedly trying to distract myself from feeling pretty heartbroken, and I was trying to do that here on Metafilter.

So now I especially need to thank cortex for writing out "people's personal hubba hubba trains of thought" in the other Meta thread. And to m for writing "people who might think "Sealioning" is one of those fake sex acts people post to Urban Dictionary" because it's been a little over 24 hours, and I actually laughed out loud in one of those "I have to bury my head in the pillow every time I think about it" cackles. I think I can actually finish and submit my assignment now instead of holding my breath to keep from starting to cry again and ruining yet another pair of contact lenses.

So thanks so very much. Hubba hubba personal trains of thought. Sealioning. My mind's eye is seeing the two merge in animated form (a bunch of cartoon dudes on a train shaped like a sealion, to be specific. I don't want to go so far as to speculate where they're going because I don't want to know).
posted by discopolo at 9:31 PM on September 27, 2015 [13 favorites]

Thank you, discopolo
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:41 PM on September 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

divined by radio is pretty much the best person here
posted by poffin boffin at 9:50 PM on September 27, 2015 [13 favorites]

I've been meaning to write this comment for a while (and even considered making it a Meta post), but this seems like an excellent place for it. Two years ago last July, I read a personal on OKCupid by a trans guy who pressed all my buttons. I pondered that ad for a good week, during which I re-read as many posts/threads about trans* issues as I could find, so I wouldn't have to start at Trans* 101 and hope he had enough spoons to get past the initial conversation. Then I replied.

We picked up our marriage certificate the day the Supreme Court handed down the gay marriage ruling, and we got married on August 1st, just shy of two years after meeting in person for the first time. He's fucking amazing, and I love him more than I have words for, and I wouldn't have met him if not for the people here who shared their experiences so compellingly and patiently.

So, thank you to those who shared your stories and experiences about being trans*. Your comments made a huge difference in at least two lives, and I am very, very grateful to you. And thank you, everyone, for helping create a place that continually challenges me to be a better person.
posted by malthusan at 9:51 PM on September 27, 2015 [119 favorites]

divined by radio is pretty much the best person here

They are good but you are no slouch.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 10:00 PM on September 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

*glares*
posted by eyeballkid at 10:01 PM on September 27, 2015 [10 favorites]

Honestly, I like most of you better than the characters in Fear the Walking Dead.

Some of you.

Maybe.

So there's that.


kidding, i hate still hate you all
posted by eyeballkid at 10:08 PM on September 27, 2015 [9 favorites]

I have crushes on pretty much all of you so I can't really single anyone out. Consider yourself crushed on if you're reading this.
posted by naju at 10:34 PM on September 27, 2015

I love eyeballkid, the quidnunc kid, sfkiddo, sweetkid, Kid Charlemagne, Margot Kidder, Nicole Kidman, and the entire Kid family.

I love jbickers for making this post and cheering me up when I really needed it.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:07 PM on September 27, 2015 [8 favorites]

Every single one of robocop is bleeding's comments should be sidebarred
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:37 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

all the mods / support. no matter how many dumb questions i ask or bad tempered comments i make, they just quietly clean it up and patiently explain why.
posted by andrewcooke at 2:05 AM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

Every single one of robocop is bleeding's comments should be sidebarred You are not so far from that.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:34 AM on September 28, 2015

they just quietly clean it up

Shrieking while wiping up will get you nowhere.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:43 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

To pb, without whom we'd be looking at a blank screen / saying "Is the Metathingy still down?": thank you.
posted by Wordshore at 3:34 AM on September 28, 2015 [21 favorites]

artlung
As I mentioned above, all of you have helped me become a better person (though I had a reasonable foundation to begin with, knuckle shine) but no one on Metafilter has saved my freelance paycheck bacon like artlung. Twice I've posted wordpress 'YALP' Asks, and twice he's come through. Fortunately, he accepted payment the second time. Honestly, anytime I am looking to book online contracts, metafilter is my first go-to.
posted by Thella at 3:36 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thx for the laffs.
posted by telstar at 3:52 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I like our lurkers, ones with or without accounts. Lurk on, you mysterious monitors of MetaFilter!

The rest of you talky types are pretty OK too.
posted by comealongpole at 4:31 AM on September 28, 2015 [10 favorites]

hindmost sent me some really thoughtfully chosen gifts a few months ago when I was going through a rough patch and for that I am forever grateful.

Also thanks to everyone who helped wrench me out of a really bad life situation. something something. meese. tel3path. EmpressCallipygos. Sidhedevil. sweetkid. fraula. guster4lovers. Ruthless Bunny. treehorn+bunny. Dynex.

Countless others too. I would keep going but my autocorrect is driving me batty with everyone's usernames.

Metafilter is the best place on the Internet.
posted by sockermom at 4:42 AM on September 28, 2015 [7 favorites]

I think this is a wonderful post and I am so excited to see so many amazing people recognized (and also super humbled and kind of shy about being mentioned -- I am so glad those octopuses found a good home! It makes me really happy to know that I've been able to help someone and the thought of the little octopuses watching your son play Minecraft will help sustain me through my sad times. Also pleased and very surprised that someone has noticed my use of exclamation points; in fact I put a lot of thought into them and it's thrilling to me that someone noticed!).

I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DC MeFites and also anyone from out of town who has come to a DC meetup ever (and especially Divined by Radio who is probably the best person?). Amazingly great DC MeFites include everybody had matching towels, doctornecessiter, capricorn, zennie, Mr. Zennie who isn't on Metafilter but is awesome, EvaDestruction, C'est la D.C., Skwirl, ZombieFlanders, WarmPlanet, Copronymus, and a whole bunch of other absolutely fantastic people, too many to name (also 100% sure I missed someone amazing so I'm really sorry if it was you!). I am so deeply, deeply fortunate to have these people in my life and I'm constantly amazed that they're willing to put up with my nonsense when they themselves are so great and as wonderful in real life as they are on MetaFilter.

Bulgaroktonos is...okay.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:21 AM on September 28, 2015 [13 favorites]

Bulgaroktonos is...okay.

The sacrifices I make, ignoring time sensitive work to send you cute animal pictures and this is the thanks I get.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:24 AM on September 28, 2015 [11 favorites]

aka burlap: Joseph conrad is fully awesome is obviously, herself, fully awesome.

Seconding this so hard I startled two of the cats (the third one was too far away).
posted by Too-Ticky at 5:32 AM on September 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

I like the compassionate, thoughtful, funny, and quirky-silly. I'm not opposed to one-liners (heck, I do them mys...*cough* anyway), but kneejerk-fly-by's are maybe less to my taste (even if I...ok stop it). I like well-edited and -organized medium-size amounts of text best. I like veritable walls of text less.
I like fpps with reasonable amounts of info and culture and pictures (and cats and/or music); I'm constantly in awe of some people who can write great, concise, literature-worthy, helpful answers on Ask. I get impatient of axes ground and of people who refuse to read carefully but keep talking nevertheless. I like mods who do a responsible job modding. I like people who create usernames that make me chuckle, like phunniemee. I occasionally vote #I, too, and I agree, without clavdivs, nothing would work here.

So pick your names out of the pile, dear readers, and thanks.
posted by Namlit at 5:35 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh! Also a huge shoutout to palmcorder_yajna whose thoughtful and positive contributions to the Pretty Little Liars fanfare threads are matched only by her thoughtful and positive contributions elsewhere on the site. And yellowbinder who makes me giggle and everyone else who posted insightful comments about that bonkers show (including Ian A.T.'s thoughts from his niece).

Also MCMikeNamara who inspires me to live the way I want (fried chicken and gin) both on MetaFilter and on twitter and ColdChef who has sent me unbelievably kind postcards and has THE CUTEST children UGH it is totally unreasonable for one person to have three such adorable children who constantly do awesome stuff, leave some for the rest of us, please, sir. Also poffin boffin and Greg Nog who both make me laugh and Eyebrows McGee who makes me think and also provides a really helpful voice of experience and sanity in education threads and makes them much more readable and MonkeyToes who makes interesting and thoughtful comments and ChuraChura who also makes interesting and thoughtful comments and has a cat named Triceratops! and is a really kind person and shakespeherian who does a good job saying things I wish I were articulate enough to say and ThePinkSuperhero who is awesome and fun and also has adorable kids and KathrynT and showbiz_liz who post really thoughtful comments that I enjoy reading and wow there are just SO MANY good people.

I've tried to throw in as many names as possible because I think it feels really good (if a little overwhelming) to see your name mentioned in something like this. It's very exciting to realize that, of all the names on the screen, someone has noticed yours! That said, of course there are so many great people of whom I'm not thinking and who I like very, very much and whose comments I always appreciate. Really, it's kind of shocking how much MetaFilter ends up meaning to me. If your name's not on here and you're wondering if someone's noticed your comments, they almost certainly have! There's just a really high concentration of great people and it can be hard to remember everyone.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:44 AM on September 28, 2015 [13 favorites]

MeFi Twitter people you are all wonderful and I hope all the good things happen to you.
posted by griphus at 5:51 AM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

Yes yes yes, MeFi Twitter is best Twitter. MeFi Tumblr is no slouch either.
posted by Stacey at 5:53 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

my closest friends all either live in other states or live here but have brand new troublesome babies, and they just fired my only friend at work. i get lonely a lot. metafilter helps. thanks, mefites. i appreciate you.
posted by palomar at 5:59 AM on September 28, 2015 [10 favorites]

I really appreciate academic science lady mefi, especially Barchan, Hydropsyche, maryr, Dialethia, and Sciatrix. Likeatoaster, GregNog, Mrs. Pterodactyl, Horace Rumpole, Discourse Marker, AriTruscan, and the other St. Louis, Washington DC, and Boston area mefites have been welcoming, fun, and awesome at meetups! Smoke and Dip Flash, monkey toes and Toekneesan, Lobster Mitten and Phire, Jeatger and Flex, Eyebrows Mcgee and Divined by Radio: you are all excellent people. Really, all of you are grand and metafilter objectively enriches my life. Hooray!
posted by ChuraChura at 6:14 AM on September 28, 2015 [8 favorites]

People I have especially appreciated during my time here for various varieties of awesome:

Blasdelb
corb
AElfwine Evenstar
Brandon Blatcher
cotton dress sock
hippybear
Jacqueline
Michele in California
msalt
misha
Passillododorconquail Buttonquivorybidododorbacon
Proofs and Refutations
the young rope-rider
zarq
tonycpsu
JHarris
IAmBroom
Monochrome
Dialethia
anemone of the state
Pope Guilty
Blasdelb again
posted by Drinky Die at 6:19 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm awful at remembering names, so I'll just say thanks to every MeFite who is kind, funny, smart, thoughtful, wise, caring, witty, well-informed, or tries to be. This is still my go-to place for keeping up to date and hanging out. A great bunch of people. For every person who posts dumb stuff, I figure you're just learning how to be a person.
posted by theora55 at 6:26 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

madamjujujive
clavdivs
flex
taz
Baby Balrog
frecklefaerie
Pope Guilty
Blasdelb
Brandon Blatcher

and numerous others, past and present.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:39 AM on September 28, 2015

> Also pleased and very surprised that someone has noticed my use of exclamation points; in fact I put a lot of thought into them and it's thrilling to me that someone noticed!

I too notice and appreciate them!

Also, vote #1 quidnunc kid!
posted by languagehat at 6:41 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I would like to thank internet fraud detective squad, station number 9 for having one of the greatest usernames in the history of usernames, but also for always being insightful and kind.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 6:45 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

I continue to appreciate Brockles answering automotive AskMes and wading into related threads on the blue as well.
posted by FishBike at 6:50 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh, also FFFM.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:52 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

CHEERS to Pater Alethias for saying really interesting and thoughtful things about Christianity

JEERS to Pater Alethias for having a locked twitter account so that when he says those things on twitter I cannot retweet them

Well, your problem is that you are following the Twitter account I have under my own name, where I need to keep things private so the people who are thinking boring and thoughtless things about Christianity won't hate me. You should instead follow my @PaterAletheias account which is unlocked and wide open and about 10 seconds old.

Seriously, I've been thinking about how to handle Twitter and public records and privacy concerns for a while now, and my current real-name-but-locked-down solution isn't really working out. I'm going to try adding an unlocked pseudonymous account and let my Real Name account be my boring outward-facing account for PR purposes. I'm sure someone could connect the two with a little work, I just don't want it to be obvious.

So, follow @PaterAletheias for sarcasm and scripture. It's in my profile.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:57 AM on September 28, 2015 [9 favorites]

Thanks to the mods. All of them, current and former. Your patience is an example I try (and fail) to constantly follow.

Thanks to PB for keeping this place running. You're like all those kids in the Kenny Rogers' movie Six Pack all combined into one mega-fix-it-dude. One time I nervously posted a Metatalk thread with a silly suggestion and less than 24 hours later it was implemented and now you can see how many people share your birthday by clicking on the birthday in your profile. PB did that while shotgunning a beer in each hand, just because some knucklehead suggested it might be neat.

Thanks to canine_epigram for following me up a couple of mountains and making our wives worry when we came out way after dark that one time.

Thanks to all my Secret Quonsars over the years.

Thanks to not_on_display for being my twin and a genuinely cool dude who makes posts that I would totally make if I wasn't so lazy.

Thanks to usonian for being an example of someone I've only met once in real life but who I immediately knew was my people.

Thanks to the MeFites who have reached out via MeMail to say hello or compliment me or even that one person who emailed my sock puppet account with a Lucrative Opportunity That Totally Wasn't Some Sort of Multi Level Marketing Thing.

Thanks to Brandon Blatcher for making all those posts about space stuff.

Thanks to ignignokt and Metroid Baby for being funny, interesting people who make neat things including, but not limited to, potato. I still don't understand that fucking Japanese cat game but whatever. x butts are funny.

Thanks to backseatpilot for chiming in with insightful aviation-related comments every time a thread is in need of one.

Thanks to every single person who has posted about feminism, trans issues, homosexuality, racism, or rape. Thanks for transforming me over fifteen years from an ignorant guy who treated all those issues as punchlines to a much more educated person. I'm still ignorant in a lot of ways, I still sometimes put my foot in my mouth, but I'm getting there. I have often found myself saying things to my son like "well, sometimes men love men and that's perfectly normal" or "let me tell you why you shouldn't joke about rape..." or any number of other things my parents would never have said to me in a million years. Bondcliff 2.0 is being brought up to know what's what. You guys did that. You guys fucking did that. Things are changing. Not fast enough, probably, but things are changing. Keep at it because it's making a difference.

Thanks to the MeFites who have become my friends. Whether real life, twitter, Facebook, wherever. Any interaction I have with someone off the site is kind of special.

Thanks to ColdChef for being some sort of undertaker superhero. For someone who witnesses so much sadness in life you somehow manage to bring joy to so many.

Thanks to our Metafilter's Own Celebrities. Y'all know who they are. It's nice to once in a while interact with someone I have heard of outside of Metafilter.

Thanks to all the very cynical Mefites. Reading your posts have made me realize how insufferable cynics can sound, how telling someone "your favorite thing sucks" or "I don't care about the topic of this thread so I will now tell you how much I don't care about it. " makes you look like a jackass, and how judging people for their choices is an awful thing to do. As a result I have become less cynical, less judgmental, less awful. Seriously, thank you.

Thank you to the people who a few years ago argued with my brother about something and drove him away forever because Metafilter is "a bunch of liberals" and now I don't have to worry about my brother ruining Metafilter for me like he did for like a month that time and he's happily hanging over on Reddit.

Thanks to the MeFites who consistently make me laugh. Too many to name.

And most of most of all, thanks to Cortex. YOU KNOW WHY.
posted by bondcliff at 7:03 AM on September 28, 2015 [27 favorites]

JHarris, your Super Mario Maker levels are great, even though I kind of hate you for Three Minute Mile.
posted by Ragged Richard at 7:10 AM on September 28, 2015

*half-rises from seat, nods meaningfully to bondcliff*
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:11 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

Yeah, also want to add to the general acclaim for the MeFi Trans (And Genderqueer) Squad (here and in exile) — though in my case not "for educating me" but for making transitioning seem like an option for someone like me, and for helping me see that there are valid ways to be openly trans that aren't about shocking or explaining or apologizing for anything to cis people.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:13 AM on September 28, 2015 [19 favorites]

Deezil is, as ever, a golden god.

the young rope-rider/internet fraud detection squad no. 9/i think she had another name once but I forgot once heard that I was skipping an NYC dim sum meetup back in 2010 because I was broke, and memailed me to say "don't tell anyone I'm doing this, but I'll spot you $20 bucks so you can come." She did say not to tell anyone, but I think the statute of limitations has expired on that. Thanks.

The mods, past and present, have been pretty patient with my sometimes cantankerous moods and styles of communication, and have created a space where I trust y'all enough to risk saying antagonistic shit because I know the mods will rein me in, but only just enough. For me, that's big. Thank you.

Thanks to ColdChef and Radioamy for a great Mardi Gras birthday back in 2009; we met to watch a parade just outside RadioAmy's house, and she had food leftover from a party the night before and brought it out - and there was even birthday cake left over. She is one of the most prepared people I've ever met.

I'm at work and need to go do something so I'll have to come back for part II.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:14 AM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

I think LobsterMitten is awesome.

I am please by the existence of klangklangston and Ivan Fyodorovich.

sio42 is better at French than I am.

Pater Aletheias is pretty cool and I bet he'd really like my friend David O'Hara who is a similarly thoughtful Christian. (How I get in on this secret thoughtful Twitter account?)

Mrs. Pteryodactyl makes the world a better place merely by existing.

In my head canon, Eyebrows McGee is like the real, live version of Leslie Knope.

I'm glad to know OmieWise.

I miss Mutant. I'm glad we still have jb!

I'm blown away by a lot of cstross's fiction. (Especially the early stuff! More of that, please!)
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:17 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I would like to thank NoraReed and EndsOfInvention for their bot making work, which have inspired me to go and write something for the first time in ages.

I would also like to thank Atreides for making all the fanfare posts (and usually comments) that I would've made if I wasn't so lazy.
(Also, honourable mentions to Fearful symmetry, Drezdn, zarq and solomon for much the same reason)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:20 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

This is great. We should tell the people who we love that we love them more often. For my birthday this year, I sent out 100 postcards to 100 friends, telling them why I loved them. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world to hear from them as they received them.
posted by ColdChef at 7:24 AM on September 28, 2015 [39 favorites]

(Mefites made up about 80% of that postcard list)
posted by ColdChef at 7:25 AM on September 28, 2015

Thank goodness anotherpanacea and a fiendish thingy posted in this thread because I totally left them off the list of awesome DC MeFites where they very much belong. This is the problem, you always omit someone important. Thank goodness there is not a limit on posts in this thread!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:30 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I spent an hour yesterday on KathrynT's profile, reading comments of hers that people have favorited heavily.
She is an awesome poster.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:53 AM on September 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

Thanks to everyone who's ever favourited my boring crap. I cherish every little plus. Also thanks to everyone who's not so boring crap I've favourited. You're why I'm always here, constantly refreshing.
posted by h00py at 8:00 AM on September 28, 2015 [7 favorites]

So recently a friend of mine told me that one of her parents had come out as trans and that she was having a hard time with their relationship. (This is not just about her parent being trans: they've always had a difficult relationship.) I felt *so much* more confident about being able to be a good, supportive friend because of trans-related discussions that have gone on here. I know this hasn't always been an easy place for trans members, but I've actually been looking for a place to thank trans Mefites (and people who are no longer here) for that.

Honestly, though, I love you all, even when you irk me.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:02 AM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

—Bulgaroktonos is...okay.

—The sacrifices I make, ignoring time sensitive work to send you cute animal pictures and this is the thanks I get.

Get a room, you two.

A big ol' shoutout to mathowie for starting this circus, and to all the monkeys who make it such an interesting place. As I've said repeatedly, you people have helped me calm down and grow up. MeFi is now the standard by which I judge all forums—Internet and IRL—and I'm usually dismayed by how poorly the others come off in comparison.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:07 AM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

I just want to thank some of the MeFites who are special to me: megazup, Palpaté, oh my, is that worcestershire?, Cosmonostrum, ronco regulating manifold part discontinued, it did have to be snakes fyi, reliqueery, Hanna Barbarella, OSO Subtle Hosiery, robert to pay ernie, comme çi comme ca-ca, Pomegranitranian, oeinlerianaphonieuleuser, Zugzwang Chung, Nounthep — thanks for all the amazing, soul-enriching moments we've shared over the years. Before I met y'all I was like
(   ._. )
and now I'm all like
\( T_T )/
posted by nom de poop at 8:10 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

Thank you to the many people whose posts, and comments, I read - especially on AskMeFi - that make me think "Ah, yeah. That's a viewpoint I have utterly never considered, and I should do."

Wikipedia is great for finding knowledge that you know you want or need. MetaFilter, and AskMeFi in particular, seems great for finding knowledge you did not know existed, but suddenly stumble across and find relevant and invaluable to your own life.

And also thank you to the many people here who write genuinely very funny comments here. More than kuvaton, imgur, twitter and other social media combined I've guffawed, snorted coffee or literally ROFL at stuff written on MetaFilter. It's possibly the last place left on the Internet that I unreservedly, often excitedly, look forward to visiting.
posted by Wordshore at 8:15 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

I can't believe I forgot to add nom de poop and Palpaté. I'll never forget that thread when you two and Unconventional Space Lobster riffed on the election.
posted by Drinky Die at 8:17 AM on September 28, 2015

I am never getting this list done. I thought it was about 30. It is not.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:18 AM on September 28, 2015

So, I just got back from a trip to Chicago, where I got to meet the infamous Chicago MeFites & it was the most fun I've had in an indeterminable amount of time, so I'd like to tell garlic, MCMikeNamara and jessypie that they made my fall.
posted by Zosia Blue at 8:18 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

poffin boffin, for consistently being so funny that I my husband has to check in alarm to make sure that the noises I'm making are laughter and not some sort of choking seizure

Conspire, not just for dropping the science but for so consistently pushing to educate the community on the many ways ableism presents in everyday life

Rustic Etruscan, for his consistent pithy wit

nadawi, for being righteously awesome

and Eyebrows McGee, who consistently has the most fascinating and enlightening "inside baseball"-type knowledge of institutional and historical topics, and who delivers that knowledge in such a clear and educational way, most recently here.
posted by KathrynT at 8:20 AM on September 28, 2015 [8 favorites]

also i miss scody and ArmyOfKittens and hermitosis and i hope one day they are okay with coming back.
posted by poffin boffin at 8:21 AM on September 28, 2015 [20 favorites]

Thanks to ColdChef for dirty birthday cards, drug paraphenalia and Aunt Dodie, Divine Wino for chuckles and several glasses of bourbon, JosephGurl for expense accounted booze, essexjan for well-seasoned steaks, bmarkey for potato chips and beer, and of course the (now MIA) mystery birthday giver.

(and tons of other for great posts and comments)
posted by jonmc at 8:22 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

There are too many awesome people to cover, but here's some that readily come to mind: Combustible Edison Lighthouse for the Infodumpster, Pronoiac for podcast transcripts, carsonb for MeFiSwap, eriko for space stuff, various mods, especially cortex, for indulging my backtagging compulsion, and anyone who appreciated my goofy puns or historical deep dive posts.
posted by zamboni at 8:22 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

So, I just got back from a trip to Chicago, where I got to meet the infamous Chicago MeFites & it was the most fun I've had in an indeterminable amount of time, so I'd like to tell garlic, MCMikeNamara and jessypie that they made my fall.

The Chicago people are all wonderful and these three people are three of the best you could meet!
posted by phunniemee at 8:26 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Having Brockles around makes me feel like I'll never get ripped off by an auto mechanic again.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:30 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Billiebee is the best e-spouse I could wish for. And MartinWisse is one cool Cloggy and I'm fine with him representing my country here.
posted by Too-Ticky at 8:31 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

hermitosis and i hope one day they are okay with coming back.

hermitosis came into my store about a month ago, he seemed to be doing well and had a buff dude with him.
posted by jonmc at 8:31 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Wolfster was the first person to suggest the field of speech-language pathology to me when I was floundering in my search for a new career path, and Stacey put me in touch with the first SLP professional I've had the fortune of speaking with. In the year and a half since posting on AskMe I've done observation hours at local SLP sites, taken a BUNCH of pre-requisite courses, and am now in my first semester as an SLP post-bacc, so I am ridiculously grateful to both of them, as well as everyone else who provided me input on my questions. I still marvel at how people you basically only know as names on a website can have such a dramatic effect on your life!
posted by DingoMutt at 8:31 AM on September 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

Oh also I think prize bull octorok makes a lot of great and funny and thoughtful comments and so does Billiebee.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:35 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

I took HippyBear up on his offer to help review posts for first-time posters and he has been nothing but gracious and patient (I had a million delays in getting a draft to him). Our effort won't be out in September, but it will get there. I didn't know him except from his commenting history prior to reaching out to him and he didn't know me from Adam, but was so immediately willing to help. A mefite true to his word.

I also miss Army of Kittens.
posted by biggreenplant at 8:46 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Just want to thank everyone here. This place has made me more thoughtful, more aware, and better able to put aside my need to respond instead of being present to listen and understand. It seems every post here provides me with new information, new thoughts, new viewpoints, and new perspectives in addition to introducing me to things (film, novels, music, podcasts, TV, games, other) I otherwise would never be aware of.

I'm leery of singling people out, because I will inevitably leave someone out, and that would make me feel bad - Metafilter is a community, and while we have our times of sturm und drang and sometimes people leave, there is still a core feel to this place that never seems to change, and part of that is trying to be inclusive - we're never going to be perfect on that but I love the effort, even when it is hard and trying and is in itself the cause of the sturm und drang.

That being said - a shout out to the mods, both current and retired, who never fail to amaze me in their drive and passion for this place; to the Portland area MeFites who have so nicely come out to meetups both time I have been in that fantastic city; to zarq for his amazing posts on media I love; to mudpuppie for paying for a Minecraft Realm for Mefites (and spouses and assorted other family members) to play on; to fffm because we seem to have the same wacky sense of humour; to joesph conrad is fully awesome for being awesome; and to everyone else - and I mean everyone - without whom this place would not be what it is.

Shine on, you crazy diamonds.
posted by nubs at 8:48 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'd like to thank Eyebrows McGee and crush-onastick for their knowledgeable and thoughtful responses. They are both invaluable members. Sharing wisdom is a great benevolence.
posted by readery at 8:50 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks flex!
Thanks theodolite!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:55 AM on September 28, 2015

I'm back!

* Thanks to Zippy for being one of the few people here who knows what Hosmer Mountain Red even IS.

* Thanks to grahamparks, ursus_comiter, Running Order Squabble Fest, Grangousier, Gordafarin, HandfulOfDust, and essexjan for the welcome to London; and for your patience when I had a geek moment and stopped in the middle of a sidewalk in Islington to freak out about a Hotblack Desiato sign.

* Thanks to romakimmy (with bonus bambino), aqsakal, Triscotini, and Chichibio for a similar welcome to Rome, complete with tipping me off to a hole-in-the-wall salt cod portal. Bonus thanks to aqsakal's wife for the ride back to my hotel.

* Thanks in advance to Parisian Mefites for just generally being awesome enough that I don't feel weird about being about to post another IRL post about a future trip.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:01 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd like to thank the lovely Eyebrows McGee for being a knowledgeable, humorous, wise and very human presence on here. I'm always looking forward to coming across her comments, no matter the subject.
posted by Harald74 at 9:16 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I would like to thank sciatrix for this comment specifically, as it gave me the kick in the ass I needed to start writing. Every time I feel like I'm working on the world's most useless project, I say to myself, "There is someone out there who will read the shit out of this blog." And how can I not keep going in the face of that?
posted by chainsofreedom at 9:16 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

Thank you, jeri! She sent me an incredibly kind memail when my old kitty died last November.

The mods. Oh my stars and garters, the mods. Thank you.

I tried making a list of people whose comments and posts I admire, but there were just too damn many of you. Suffice it to say I kinda have crushes on you all. I like researching and making FPPs, but am a little shy about interacting in the comments. (Maybe because I lurked for so long and it's like suddenly being invited to the cool cocktail party where people are smarter and funnier than you are, and you get all awkward and feel like you're 12 and say weird things and laugh too loud.) But ultimately, this place is full of a kindness that the world needs right now. Thank you!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 9:17 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

/Thank you for bein' a friend/
posted by The Whelk at 9:28 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm going to forget many names because I'm a jerk like that:

Miko and jaguar for their compassion and humanity. Eyebrows McGee for impassioned commentary about education. poffin boffin for being frighteningly intelligent and side-splittingly funny. filthy light thief for all the musics. sciatrix and nadawi for being uncompromising in the best way. It's Raining Florence Henderson for making me giggle for so many years. eriko for dropping the science everywhere about everything. sonascope for the wonderful, lyrical stories.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:34 AM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh, I'd also like to thank stoneweaver for sending me a memail a couple years ago with a very gentle "uh, this is not so great" note about using spirit animal in a thread because it's saved me from sounding like an ignorant doofus on any number of occasions since.
posted by phunniemee at 9:48 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd like to thank the people who send me e-mails and MeMails about stuff that happens on MetaFilter. You're the best. You know who you are.
posted by grouse at 10:05 AM on September 28, 2015

Ivan Fyodorovich, GenjiandProust, rtha, and peagood have been kind in their advice, and helpful in providing perspective. flex's fpps have been an amazing addition to the site. stet and librarina are my pig people. peagood will forever have my thanks for some life-changing advice she gave me years ago; every time I read that particular comment, I appreciate her understanding more and more. Eyebrows McGee's comments are a pleasure to read. sonascope's stories are wonderful, the kind of thing where I want to save them for a quiet moment when I can savor them. Miko, eriko, BitterOldPunk--I really value their contributions here. wenestvedt is a stand-up guy, and I continue to appreciate his decency and practicality. benito.strauss is one of my favorite Mefite commenters. In addition to these folks, and those I mentioned earlier, my awesome Meetup table would include ChuraChura, Toekneesan, Devils Rancher, jquinby, ob1quixote, barchan, RolandOfEld, languagehat, PhoBWanKenobi, Benny Andajetz, KathrynT, bondcliff, 1f2frfbf, garius, and so many more. You have all helped me be a better person. And thank you to jbickers for this post; kindness matters, often more than we know.
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:07 AM on September 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

I'M STILL THINKING.
posted by clavdivs at 10:34 AM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

Aw. Y'all are right swell folks.

*waves to the lurkers*
posted by zennie at 10:43 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd like to thank vickyverky for responding to an offhand comment I made on the blue by sending me a present, for no reason other than to be kind. Also internet fraud detective squad, station number 9, for reaching out to me once when I was feeling kinda awful (although she didn't even actually know that part). I'd also like to thank janey47 for being generally cool and talking to me about Stewart O'Nan. Plus everyone else here for making this my new default place on the Internet.
posted by holborne at 10:46 AM on September 28, 2015

Y'all are pretty great.

ocherdraco has tolerated my sometimes overly earnest nerdthusiasm online and in person, and sometimes even returned it with interest!

MonkeyToes and Eyebrows McGee's contributions here are always thoughtful and often fascinating. Plus MonkeyToes tells me funny pig stories sometimes.

betafilter found a PBS promo clip that had haunted my brain for two decades, I owe them some measure of my sanity.

ignignokt is a nice person who put me at ease when the idea of meeting mefites in real life was new and daunting for me.
posted by Wretch729 at 10:53 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'll never be able to thank everyone I want to thank so instead I'll just say that I hope I can buy you all a round of your favorite beverage and/or give you a high-five sometime soon. As always, my shrillest, harpiest, and most humorless gratitude goes to the MeFi feminist brigade and every last would-be expat to Crone Island. And to all the outspoken anti-misogynist dudes who don't get mad whenever I talk about how much I hate it when men call themselves feminists. Speaking of those dudes, thanks to zombieflanders for constantly making comments that make me say, "Fuck yeah!" out loud, and for still hanging out with me sometimes even though when I first met him, I poked his arm and said, "Oh my god, it's really you? You're real? YOU'RE REAL!" Speaking of DC MeFites, thank you all for welcoming me so warmly whenever I'm in town that the act of leaving your fine company makes my heart ache for days. You are such kind and wonderful human beings and I am so fortunate to know you. Let's get tore up together again ASAP.

Speaking of getting tore up, thanks to all of the rest of the MeFites alongside whom I've been lucky enough to get tipsy, drunk, or merely over-caffeinated. Thanks to everyone who's ever sent me a MeMail, especially when it's accompanied by an invitation to hang out IRL. Thanks to warm_planet and desjardins for (separately! in two different cities!) day-drinking with me this weekend. Thanks to flex for writing not one, not two, but many FPPs and comments that have straight-up changed my life. Thanks to KathrynT for her awe-inspiring compassion and wisdom. Thanks to kanata for being the first MeFite I felt the need to mark as kin. Thanks to Kitteh for being my vegan feminist sister-from-another-mister. Thanks to ChuraChura for being who I want to be when I grow up, even though she's younger than me. Thanks to Anitanola, a self-evidently incredible human being and the only person I've never met who I think about almost every day. Thanks to every woman who has ever shared even a small part of her story here. You are goodness personified and I am forever in your debt. Thanks to everyone who is much smarter than me (read: all of you) for letting me crib off of your notes in the class of life. Thanks to everyone who has let someone else's words here inspire them to do better, here and elsewhere. Thank you thank you thank you.

Also, too: If you're reading this and feeling down, or you hate yourself so utterly that to consider yourself worthless would be a remarkable improvement, I love you. If you're depressed and hopeless and you're pretty damn sure things are never going to get better, I love you. I know we're (probably) strangers and platitudes feel hollow, especially at times like this, but I love you just the same. Thank you for being you and thank you for being here.
posted by divined by radio at 11:03 AM on September 28, 2015 [32 favorites]

goddamn you dbr, why you gotta be throwing all these onions at me
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:06 AM on September 28, 2015 [8 favorites]

I'd like to extend my appreciation to the folks who left for a while and decided to come back (we did notice you were gone and we missed you), the new users who jumped into the discussions here like they belonged just as much as the oldtimers (you do), and everybody making weird shit and posting it to Projects.

Special thanks go out to the people who most frequently favorite my comments, per the Infodumpster: your intellect, bravery, and good taste cannot be overstated.
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:18 AM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

Thank you to the Toronto Mefites, who have to a person been extraordinarily generous, kind and loving even to us shy hangers-on, particularly over the last two extremely shitty weeks, which turned into a meaningful, bonding experience that made me realize how lucky I am to know all of you, whether we are raising a glass and shedding a tear, or busting a right and laughing like maniacs. (Or letting me eat most of your dinner.)

Thank you to JHarris and the members of the MST3K Fanfare club, who make me laugh every week if I can get to my computer on time.

Thanks always to jeather for doggedly persisting and finding my book of childhood memory a full three years after I posted the question.
posted by ilana at 11:34 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Not that girl sent me a postcard which was great. I have learned a lot from her advice and personal stories she's shared in AskMe.

jessamyn, your good opinion means the world to me. I have so much respect for you. I'm glad I finally got on the "sending mail to VT" bandwagon—I was inspired in this, as in so many things, by ColdChef.
posted by not that girl at 11:36 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

There are a plethora of kindnesses I have observed & received on MeFi as well as those indirectly facilitated by MeFi's existence through the old #mefi, MoFi, the 'firc, MeFiChat, MeFi meetups and MeFi friends & acquaintances on Facebook. MeFi & its branches have been a significant part of my life for 14+ years now. Even in the times where MeFi has affected me negatively it has only gotten under my skin because I care a great deal about the community and so many of those here. MeFi collectively provides a wealth of knowledge, advice, a place to learn and a place to gather and connect with some excellent people.

Nothing has brought this home to me more than our recent loss of Aaron (Lemurrhea) who himself was such a kind & caring soul - he is gone too soon. The kindness & support of the Toronto MeFites over the past ten days has been amazing and I want to thank them all from the bottom of my heart: grouse & Meg, maudlin, ricochet & Wendy, Phire & LoRich, grippycat, kilo hertz, mandolin conspiracy & his husband "Ukulele Plot", typewriter, miss_kitty_fantastico, tantrumthecat, ilana & Dan, ThatCanadianGirl, and quaking fajita. I would be remiss if I did not include the kind words & thoughts of avocet, tickingclock, bonehead & LN, Chuck, futureisunwritten, cranberrymonger, zix, Kitteh, sfenders, ZaphodB, MulticellularExothermic, and sardonyx as well. It is an incredible thing that we all had the chance to know each other & Lemur through this site and that we were able to lean on each other in this sad time.

It is hard to express how online friends & friendships can be real and important and even sustaining to those who haven't experienced them. I have gone through this again recently in trying to explain how I was friends with Aaron and how his suicide affects me though we only met IRL enough to count on my hands, we had Facebook messages and meetups encompassing conversations that went beyond small talk. Of course you see people through their online contributions too & if they are personal enough you get to know them pretty well. The loss is deeper in that when you meet online you don't see people IRL as often as you would like; I grieve all the years lost that we could have had more meetups, more drinks, more games and more late-night conversations.

I am blessed with a pile of friends I have met through MeFi - the kindness of ambrosia, peagood, MonkeyToes, librarina, HermitDog, & VioletU in recent days at the forefront of my mind. But so many more lovely & kind people that I know directly or indirectly as a result of my involvement in MeFi: gaspode, tracicle, livii, gomichild, Alvy Ampersand, Alnedra, saucysault, njk, rocket88, fffm, mandyman, anastasiav, baniak & bibliogrrl, mlis & computech_apolloniajones, immlass, Stewriffic, notnamed, Suomynona, Richer, EsElQueso, filmgoerjuan, middleclasstool & his lovely wife, MexicanYenta, parudox, ooga_booga, patita, thisjax, leesh, muteboy, lalex, and zarq who is not only kind & caring but who is the only person I've met who can nerd out on all things MeFi with me for four hours in a NYC courtyard park.

I must shoutout madamjujujive for her lovely self and contributions, divined by radio who made an excellent suan.fm mixtape for me in particular but is also an amazing contributor, the man of twists and turns who is as post-nerdtastic as I am, joseph conrad who so kindly flags my contributions on her twitter, cashman who is totally the man, quonsar for being quonsariffic all these years, Katullus, dejah420, shakespherian, dhartung, Pronoiac, Rustic Etruscan, xarnop, smoke, jessamyn, iconomy, ifjuly, Anitanola, languagehat, showbiz_liz, thatothrgirl, cabingirl, kliuless, ellieBOA, Whelk, Fizz, Lexica, viggorlijah, and my MeFiChat ppl - beryllium, Scientist, asperity, ChuraChura, jeather, frimble, twist my arm <3

I sort of hate doing these things because I will forget someone. I am sorry. I notice way too much around this place as it is, if I kept lists it would be weird and anyway this comment is already too long. I want you to know I notice every favorite I get on my posts & comments & I thank you for your kindness in doing that. It takes a lot for me to contribute here and knowing that people notice & care enough to bookmark what I have shared makes the effort worth it.

MeFi & IRC were my company when I was isolated & lonely in a new country with small children; for better or worse (mostly better I think!) it has been an integral part of my adult life. I want to thank each of you who has done the emotional labor to not pile-on, not threadshit, assume good faith, and all the time it takes to edit your contributions to say your piece carefully, precisely, and without snark or attacks. That is invisible, but I know you are out there doing it, and when you do your kindness makes MeFi a better place.

"Please be kind to each other" is all I have thought since I saw this thread and wrote this comment. You caught me at an emotional time, but thankfully a sober one. Cheers to all of you & to this community I continue to care about a great deal.
posted by flex at 11:46 AM on September 28, 2015 [24 favorites]

No...YOU'RE Schmoopy!
posted by briank at 11:49 AM on September 28, 2015

Get on the schmoop john b!
posted by The Whelk at 11:52 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

Cheers to you, flex, and to everyone else who makes this site great--which is all of you!
posted by leesh at 11:57 AM on September 28, 2015

I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DC MeFites and also anyone from out of town who has come to a DC meetup ever

What Mrs. Pterodactyl said! Thanks to all of the wonderful DC people and DC-visitors for many a good time. I'm so happy that so many of you have become a greater part of my life because y'all rule.
posted by capricorn at 12:20 PM on September 28, 2015

follow @PaterAletheias for sarcasm and scripture

My next bumper sticker.
posted by not that girl at 12:23 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Thanks first to jbickers, who thought to make this post and remind us how important it is to appreciate each other. Seriously, this is amazing. I'm tearing up a bit at work and god, you guys--moments like this are so important to a community, but it's hard to think to actually sit down and take the time to do them. I have so much respect for anyone who thinks to make a place like this.

On that note, I always appreciate halifix for infallibly trying to build up other people, and who is always thinking to do small acts of kindness like surprising me on my birthday with an anxiety-sucking stuffed Worrible for hugging purposes. (He wormed my address out of my partner and it arrived on the actual morning of my birthday! I am impressed by his planning.) I appreciate joseph conrad is fully awesome for similar reasons; she is always taking the time to think about ways to include more people in this community and to build it up and make it strong. And sockermom, whose expanse of compassionate advice is constantly humbling, and Lexica, who is always praising others.

Eyebrows McGee's long, nuanced, contributions to threads on local politics, history, and theology are always interesting and always worth following. Mrs. Pterodactyl is always hilarious, especially when she's bickering with Bulgaroktonos. Feckless fecal fear mongering's bright shining energy and enthusiasm are always valuable, and his comments about food and cooking are always making me laugh.

Like Chura, I appreciate the hell out of Science Lady Metafilter, with a really similar list of people: barchan, maryr, hydropsyche, dialethia, and of course ChuraChura herself, but also hydrobatidae and pemberkins and shelleycat. Seriously, I'm a tiny baby grad student in my field, and you guys routinely bring incredible insights to how I think about my job and incredibly astute career advice. You guys are as much a part of my professional development as my committee members or my grad student friends, and I look up to all of you. (Honorable mention to brundlefly for consistently bringing the cool paleontology posts--I think I wound up citing four of them when I was writing the Tetradopophis fpp earlier this year, and I expect he would have posted about that himself if I hadn't scooped him on it!)

Thanks also to divined by radio, who always makes the most thoughtful comments and fpps and is always a voice of wisdom on feminist topics. Nadawi similarly brings both the kindness and the insight. I appreciate her kind voice especially on perspectives that I think get underserved here, particularly people in non-urban areas, the South, and stay-at-home spouses. I miss byanyothername's perspective more than I can say, and I already miss kagredon and hope she finds it in her to come back soon. I still remember her backing me up when I was a wet-behind-the-ears newbie and she was always incredible in her quick defense of other women here. And stoneweaver, whose thoughtful perspectives on intersectionality and First Nations experiences has taught me a lot.

Deoridhe is one of the most thoughtful people I know, and always reminds me to widen my mind and not immediately dismiss anyone. jaguar is always worth listening to, and her endless energy for building consensus and having women's backs are deeply appreciated. GenjiandProust is eloquent in his community building and always brings respect back to the room. Ivan Fyodorovich's implacable commitment to making communities welcome to everyone is intensely admirable. Ashen's comments always make me pause and think.

Frowner's contributions to topics about gender are incredible, and I always appreciate their gift for nuance on contentious topics. Dr. Mew inevitably brings wisdom about gender, too, and I always look forward to his posts because they widen my perspective. I appreciate kalessin for always trying to build consensus and being optimistic always. Mittens' enthusiasm always delights me beyond eloquence.

And to the multitude of people I'm no doubt missing: I love you guys, too. There are many other people I want to mention here, but I have to run to teach now--I just. I love this whole community and what it can be at its best more than I can express right now.
posted by sciatrix at 12:46 PM on September 28, 2015 [19 favorites]

_{and p.s.--chainsoffreedom, is this blog up? if not, please let me know when you do get around to posting it. I meant it about reading the hell out of such a thing!}
posted by sciatrix at 12:47 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

That comment reminds me that sciatrix is pretty great, too!
posted by Chrysostom at 12:49 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

Argh, I knew I was combining some science ladies and missing others!
posted by ChuraChura at 12:49 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, and I would like to say that I am first in line if sonascope ever writes that book. I would probably buy it even if it was just his comments in a bound volume.
posted by Harald74 at 1:00 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Why does this feel like Valentine's Day in grade school?

*looks in paper bag taped to side of desk*

*sees nothing*

*reaffirms misanthropy*
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:11 PM on September 28, 2015 [22 favorites]

*buys capt. Renault boilermaker*
posted by jonmc at 1:13 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Man, there are too many of you folk to name individually. I am constantly entertained and amazed by the people who frequent this place.

I've been to quite a few meetups, and everyone I've met has been solid sterling, folks. Let me just put this out there- If there's a meetup in your area, it really is worth making the effort to go- some amazing things have happened at meetups.
posted by pjern at 1:16 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Why does this feel like Valentine's Day in grade school?

In third grade there was a new girl in my class who came in and enforced a social hierarchy where none had existed before. Suddenly there were rules about who could sit where at the lunch table and deigning to talk to certain other kids now made you a social pariah.

I decided to use the Valentine's Day mail bag as a suggestion box. In the hubub of the class party I stole a page from a notepad on my teacher's desk and used someone else's pencil (to throw people off the scent should an investigation happen), wrote "You are really mean to everybody. I hate you." and dropped it in her bag.

So what I'm saying is, it could be worse, Capt. Renault.
posted by phunniemee at 1:20 PM on September 28, 2015 [29 favorites]

Capt. Renault, you are really mean to everybody. I hate you.
posted by lock sock and barrel at 1:25 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wait, hold on, never mind. Wrong person.
posted by lock sock and barrel at 1:25 PM on September 28, 2015

looks in paper bag

there is no kapaper bag
posted by Namlit at 1:28 PM on September 28, 2015

Why does this feel like Valentine's Day in grade school?

*looks in paper bag taped to side of desk*

*sees nothing*

*reaffirms misanthropy*

For you, Capt. Renault.
posted by Drinky Die at 1:34 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

For you, Capt. Renault.

That could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:39 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

and p.s.--chainsoffreedom, is this blog up? if not, please let me know when you do get around to posting it. I meant it about reading the hell out of such a thing!

Sadly, no, for I am a perfectionist, and I want to have enough entries that I can roll out on a regular basis. It will be up by the end of the year, though. Watch Projects, and I will also MeMail you (and anyone else who asks) when it is live. :-D

I am really serious that I think about you almost every time I sit down to write, and it has been such a blessing and an encouragement.
posted by chainsofreedom at 1:45 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

"You are really mean to everybody. I hate you."

Well, that's the gist of a fair fraction of MetaTalk posts, in between the occasional ones like this.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:48 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Too-Ticky is my favourite enspousenatrix who sent me a beautiful gift completely out of the blue because that's how she rolls. Mrs Pterodactyl sent me a calming memail when I was losing my mind over my dissertation and also kindly sent me instructions on crocheting octopi (which I've never managed to finish because I'm the world's worst procrastinator - cf dissertation panic). Ivan Fyodorovich is a proper friend. gingerest, rtha, nadawi, divined by radio, monkey toes and too many others are wise, the quidnunc kid (vote #1!), hal_c_on and too many others make me laugh, and everyone who answers on AskMe (not just my own questions) restores my faith in humanity. Thanks to the mods for keeping this place so great and for letting me vent when I need to (especially LM who is really kind and gnfti who I don't see around enough) and to onlyconnect who I miss and Annika Cicada who inspired me to grow out my white hair in a roundabout way and Greg Nog for Lil Friendys. And to greenish for the cat-herding involved in the MefiMusic challenges and for the London Will You Miss Me ear worm. I started with a list in my head but it has now lost all structure and I've forgotten about 99% of the people here who make this place great, so thanks to everyone for being so bloody cool and smart and funny and interesting. I heart you all. (Yes, even you.)
posted by billiebee at 1:50 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I would like to join the pile-on of love for Science Lady Metafilter, which Chura and sciatrix have already described brilliantly.
posted by pemberkins at 1:52 PM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

I would like to thank the other Jacqueline, for being a lot like me in so many ways. Also, RainyJay for sending me AskMe threads by IM that I would otherwise miss because I can't keep up. And also jenfulmoon, jbenben and blueberry, who click my favourite button a lot. Because favourites bring me great joy and happiness.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:03 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Really, I just like people who like me first, apparently.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:04 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Aww, billiebee. All I did was send you some resistors and old computer parts. Honestly!
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:24 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd like to thank all the awesome folks who participate over in FanFare, shared opinion or not, it's become the center of my MeFi universe - a place where I can finally geek out over any number of movies and tv shows that I'm otherwise left stranded on an island and a deflated volleyball with which to discuss.

Special thanks to katemonkey for helping with the posting on Avatar: The Last Airbender, it's made those 60+ episodes a lot easier to handle!
posted by Atreides at 2:48 PM on September 28, 2015

I also vote #2 quidnunc k... WAIT! I MEANT 1! NUMBER 1! NOT 2. JESUS CHRIST.

For real, though, quidnunc kid always makes me laugh with his very odd brand of oddly oddness.
posted by lock sock and barrel at 2:53 PM on September 28, 2015

joseph conrad is fully awesome is entirely incorrect in her assessment of me, but she's pretty good too. All the mods forever, LobsterMitten especially these days.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:30 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

also thank you to any mefite who has ever posted a photo of their dog

also also i had a list of mefite names which always crack me up and i accidentally deleted it from my phone and i'm very upset about it BUT the names i recall are:

memento maury
wonton endangerment
umami dearest

there was someone else whose name is something like eat, pray, love in yiddish and i can't remember what it was and im mad about it
posted by poffin boffin at 3:33 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

I like Yoink. Brandon Blatcher's pretty cool too.
posted by DrAmerica at 3:40 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

nosh, daven, schtup?
posted by clavicle at 3:44 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

I would like to express my particular appreciation for, at minimum, the following overlapping segments of MetaFilter:

- Science Fiction MetaFilter
- Sensible thoughts about religion MetaFilter
- Has actually read some fucking history MetaFilter
- Knows about pinball MetaFilter
- Country people MetaFilter
- Way less straight than I am MetaFilter
- Kind of an anarchist, at least in theory MetaFilter
- Feminism MetaFilter
- Unix dork MetaFilter
- Hating the tech industry from inside MetaFilter
- Trans MetaFilter
- At least as stoned as I am MetaFilter
- Space MetaFilter
- Bad joke MetaFilter
- Language MetaFilter
- Achewood MetaFilter
- lowercase metafilter

You all know who you are, I'm sure. Shine on.
posted by brennen at 3:49 PM on September 28, 2015 [18 favorites]

You guys are okay.
posted by Artw at 4:02 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Especially you.
posted by Artw at 4:03 PM on September 28, 2015 [7 favorites]

There are so many lovely people here! A few who come to mind who have helped me are: jbenben, Eyebrows McGee, MexicanYenta, zizzle, rtha, KathrynT, griphus, young rope-rider, and many others who have given such great advice. Thank you and thank you to the others I haven't mentioned here as well!
posted by floweredfish at 4:03 PM on September 28, 2015

But not you.
posted by Artw at 4:03 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

That guy there though, I don't know.
posted by Artw at 4:04 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Way too many excellent mefites to list! But since there's this opportunity I must say that in a thread not that long ago zarq posted stuff which for my naive self was basically a straightforward "cannot unsee". It was probably the most startling and sudden revelation into what I simply was incapable of seeing. MeFi is often called a learning experience, and so it is for me too, but thanks to zarq I had a suprise-cannot-unsee moment literally in a matter of seconds. MeFi teaches a lot, but not usually in such a sort period of time.

(Details irrelevant, it was an angry thread, memail anyone cares, etc.)
posted by Pyrogenesis at 4:05 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also: en forme de poire, Ludwig Van, sixcolors, Faze, amorphatist, flapjax at midnite.
posted by DrAmerica at 4:09 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

...also tonycpsu, westringia f, languagehat, and every other academic who I'm forgetting right now but who has posted as a specialist in their field: I'm just getting my feet wet in that direction as well and it's just really nice to read your stuff. It makes me more certain that that is indeed the direction I want to go. Thanks!
posted by Pyrogenesis at 4:10 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

So, *shyly clears throat* uh, the last two years have been really tough for a lot reasons - one MeFi. Many people here have inspired me to live life more deliberately - like being more compassionate - and really, really, really do a lot more calling out bullshit on various 'isms. . . and because I work/live around a lot of 50-60 year old white male Fox news watching types it's been. . . tough, particularly professionally. I mean, I didn't shrink from that before but reacting versus deliberate watchfulness is a different kind of thing. And after the last time I cried in my car I realized my own inner reserves of strength were dwindling or not cutting it anymore.

Long story short, I decided to call up the strongest, best group of people I know: the women of MeFi! There's so many great and amazing women here I wished I could carry them around with me. . . so that's what I did! After one absolutely miserable day and a trip to Kinkos and Wal-mart later, I made my own little "Fantastic Flag". (In a KOA campground laundromat at 3 AM - so like my comments it's kind of raggedly done with typos, hee!)

On the back are the names of a lot (but not all!) of great MeFi women. So when I need the compassion of Jessamyn, the toughness and attitude of NoraReed, the creativity of Mrs. Pterodactyl, the dedication of ChuraChura, the stand-up!-edness of Eyebrows McGee. . . I have them with me. Every woman who is on this flag - and I sure couldn't fit them all in, either! - has a strength/insight that is amazing.

I admit it was really cheesy to me at first but over time it's become a talisman. It's been everywhere with me in bags and pockets- I've spilled tea on it and it's gotten dirty but your names which mean so much so me are still there. Sometimes when I think about a particular strength I imagine the names of the women who represent that virtue kind of glowing in my pocket.

So. Thank you everyone on my Fantastic Flag. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being you, and sharing.

*who, btw, are in no order except that's how I picked up various slips of paper I had written them on, some of you so nice you're on it twice!
posted by barchan at 4:24 PM on September 28, 2015 [58 favorites]

barchan, that is just so awesome that I am totally going to copy your idea.
posted by sockermom at 4:27 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

MonkeyToes noticed when I disabled my account and sent me a nice "Welcome Back" when I re-enabled it — got such a nice feeling off of that. At some point a few months ago I noticed that zarq had gone and serial-favorited most of my FPPS. I was a bit too shy to ask him why, but it was noticed and felt like a fist-bump. I'm glad we've moved beyond that incident in the bar. I'm glad Diablevert is back to participating more. I really enjoy her clear sharp thinking and willingness to engage honestly with others. I like the space-bunch — bondcliff and BrandonB and plenty of others — who get together for every space thread to join me in "rockets and planets, comets and robots and probes fuck yeah!". I know I'll think of others after I hit post, but better a partial incomplete list than a perfect one that never happens.
posted by benito.strauss at 4:30 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

Awww. You guys. All of you. C'mere.
posted by duffell at 4:41 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

I feel like I learn new and interesting things every time I read one of Frowner's comments or AskMe answers about/related to clothing and fashion - a topic that usually I have an almost comically clichéd cishetdude's lack of interest in or awareness of. I really genuinely hope there's a book (or two or three) in the works, somehow someway.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:46 PM on September 28, 2015

Why does this feel like Valentine's Day in grade school?

I choo choo choose you! (Because I'm right there with you. I was coincidentally sick on every Valentine's Day from like first grade to fourth, after which valentines got babyish, so.)
posted by mudpuppie at 4:46 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh man, so many. This can't be exhaustive, but:

Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane, EmpressCallipygos, desjardins, MartinWisse, divined by radio, zombieflanders, Rustic Etruscan, pracowity, rtha, NoxAeternum, odinsdream, feckless fecal fear mongering, hoyland, jaguar, ciatrix, jessamyn, nadawi, Miko, kalessin, bile and syntax, and winna for fighting the good fight

DrMew for some very good advice when I thought I was putting my foot in it.

Artw for gamery nonsense

lesbiassparrow and eviemath for academic excellence

barchan for the geoscience

captivepredator for being a real cat

Horace Rumpole for his magnificent Johnson and DiscourseMarker for nekoatsume

MonkeyToes for the turkeys

Mrs. Pterodactyl, wenestvedt, and Slap*Happy for making me like RI just a little more

The Great Big Mulp and ursus_comiter for kindly laughing at my jokes

joseph conrad is fully awesome for being, well, fully awesome, and all her hard work in getting people to post more.

To all the many many people for who posted in the MonthbyWomen and the FirstPostMonth initiatives -- I comment a lot, but making FPPs is a bear, and my hat is off to all of you, serially and together,

and Kattullus, for dragging me here kicking and muttering.

Also, I sill really miss scody, jiawen, and NoraReed, among many others
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:55 PM on September 28, 2015 [9 favorites]

Damn it, I forgot languagehat and Frowner. You, too. And, like the Romans used to end hymns with disclaimers like "We praise you Mercury, who is also Hermes and Thoth, and any other names that you might want to be known by that we have omitted due to ignorance or error." Y'all, too.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:58 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

I like and appreciate so many people here that I hesitate to try to list them for fear of leaving one out. You guys are cool. Thanks for being you.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:01 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Hugs for everyone. Unless you don't want one and hey, that's cool too.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 5:02 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Just a thank you to every person who weighed in on a parenting thread in Ask Me. They have been a great comfort to me on sleepless difficult baby nights.
posted by Pardon Our Dust at 5:09 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Thank you all for being awesome Metafilterians. I ♥ you all.
posted by Lynsey at 5:11 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, thank you to everyone whose come to a meet-up I have called and put up with my ranting and waving of arms. Y'all are more patient than I would be if I had to sit at the same table as me.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:44 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Aw, GenjiandProust, I adored meeting you and coming to your meet-up! You're great!
posted by barchan at 5:55 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Shout out to the lurkers! You are true heroes.

Double shout out to members who comment only very rarely!! You are also heroes.

Triple shout out to members who are generous with their favs!!! It costs nothing and you are unsparing heroes.
posted by dogwalker at 6:02 PM on September 28, 2015 [20 favorites]

I'm also afraid to call people out because I'll certainly miss someone I'd feel bad not to have mentioned. Many of you have become personal friends, many are people I admire from a distance, many have a depth of kindness and compassion I am in awe of, many are beautifully spoken, many have cool arcane knowledge I'm privileged to learn from, many make me laugh out loud, many have strong viewpoints really worth considering and that I am grateful to have been exposed to.

I'd also like to shout out the lurkers and quieter users. I've been to many meetups and one of the greatest pleasures of them is meeting people who post occasionally, rarely or not at all, but who are every bit as fascinating and fun as the ones whose names we see every day.
posted by Miko at 6:28 PM on September 28, 2015 [15 favorites]

I think I say this in all these types of threads, but I want to give a shout-out to Metafilter's incredible long tail, in that probably 75% of the time that a comment on the site really blows me away, it's by someone whose username I don't recognize.
posted by threeants at 6:41 PM on September 28, 2015 [18 favorites]

barchan: And after the last time I cried in my car I realized my own inner reserves of strength were dwindling or not cutting it anymore.

Oh hon, please please remember the rule of oxygen masks - always apply your own first. Self-care is oh so important. When you're tired, rest, please. The best thing you can do is keep on being wonderful you, and part of that is making sure you're getting the care and love you deserve and not trying to take on everything! We've got your back, and that's even when your back is lying down on a soft bed with comphy blankets and something tasty to eat!
posted by Deoridhe at 6:44 PM on September 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

There are so many beautiful people on this site and you all provide such meaty intellectual material to my day to day life. Thank you.

Nattie's comments are always so thoughtful, narratorial and convincing. They have literally changed my life.
posted by honey-barbara at 6:52 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I want to give thanks and hugs to all of you, because MeFi is like my internet fairy godmother. So many of you have given me so much great advice, favourites, added me as a contact, helped me feel like I actually have some insight and something to offer. My life is quite literally in a different place because of MetaFilter, and it is a better and happier place.

Some specific shout-outs:
- jessamyn for being an awesome librarian, wise person and all-round interesting and helpful
- Drinky Die for favouriting a whole bunch of my early posts and comments after I shyly admitted that I get a little rush of validation every time I see someone has actually liked something I said!
- carsonb for organising the MeFi Swap Mixes, which have introduced me to so much new music, and to all of you in my MeFi Swap Mix groups
- taz for being an awesome moderator and giving me some really helpful advice.
- Mizu for my lovely Quonsmas scarf and Cheese Monster for my awesome pepper grinder, as well as julen and all the others who organise Quonsmas
- BAKERSFIELD for consistently making me laugh
- brushtailedphascogale for IRL dissection of MetaFilter
- the fascinating and amazing posts comments from so many of you, yes you, man of twists and turns, zarq, MartinWisse, Artw, sciatrix, nadawi, fluffy battle kitten, ilana, Histhoughtswereredthoughts, Miko, GenjiandProust, language_hat, smoke, DrMew, divined by radio, joseph conrad is fully awesome, Hermione Granger, Secret Life of Gravy and oh gods I could just keep going and going
- the amazing women of MetaFilter and all their honesty, openness and welcomes on The Thread, and to the mods for helping make MetaFilter a place where The Thread could happen
- last but definitely not least, Vigilant, who knows why.
posted by Athanassiel at 6:54 PM on September 28, 2015 [12 favorites]

I temporarily reactivated my account to send a MeMail, but since I'd seen this post as a lurker I just wanted to drop in with some gratitude.

Now, I don't want to list specific names because I'll neglect to mention someone and they'll think they aren't important - but I've had some really nice interactions with people on this site (especially on chat), and I've gotten some great MeMails from people, and I've really appreciated it. Beyond that, I owe huge thanks to people who directly or indirectly helped me understand some aspects of the world differently - that can make a huge difference. But I also owe huge thanks to the people who just post interesting things, or even just stuff like videos of opossums eating bananas (I still think opossums are cute).

So that's a lot of people, but I also just want to express gratitude for the people who have just been really nice, maybe not even to me directly, but who were nice and kind on days when I just needed to see that people could be nice and kind.

Also, thank YOU to the people who thanked lurkers? I'm not sure what makes lurking great, but it works for me.

Mwah.
posted by teponaztli at 7:01 PM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

I'd like to thank Eyebrows McGee and Mrs. Pterodactyl for consistently being wise, funny, gracious and kind. You are who I would like to be when I grow up.
posted by dislegomena at 7:04 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Thank you to all the social justice warriors, clerics, magic-users, bards, true-namers, factotums and paladins for illuminating me as you irk me.
posted by Sebmojo at 7:11 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

A lot of people here have already singled out folks doing the hard work and heavy lifting in threads on feminism and trans issues, and I'd like to thank those people as well because I've learned an incredible amount in those threads. I'd like to give a specific shout-out to Mrs. Pterodactyl and KathrynT for all the personal stories they've shared, usually in threads about women's issues, that could have come straight out of my own head. I have literally, more than once, started to read one of their comments and briefly wondered if I was losing my mind and had made a comment and then forgotten about it, before realizing that one of them had written it.
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:13 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

I wanna thank MattD for representing a point of view that's not very common here, and doing so in a graceful way that adds a useful tension to relevant threads without breaking them.
posted by escabeche at 7:38 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

I normally skip these sorts of threads because in-group schmoopy Does Not Sit Well With Me for various reasons - but thanks to Pater Aletheias for creating a Twitter account to follow his thoughtful & considerate snark, Matt for starting the whole show, and mods past & present for their tireless work in keeping it on track.

Thanks also everybody, most of whom haven't been singled out for special schmoopy, for tolerating and occasionally appreciating my own comments.

But thanks most of all to Metafilter itself just for being there when needed with new ideas, new perspectives, or simply new anecdotes.
posted by Pinback at 8:12 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Well, it would appear it's once again time to thank deezil for his outstanding computer decrapifying how-to. Just shy of four hours ago I was alternating my best angry and sad faces as I realized my computer was sick, and now I'm about to go to bed with a healed pc. Not even nyquil works that fast.

deezil, your malware removal guide let me save my mom's computer several years ago and tonight it saved mine. You are, and continue to be, a goddamned hero.
posted by phunniemee at 8:14 PM on September 28, 2015 [9 favorites]

I like that this makes people feel good, but for some reason I'm ending up feeling 12 years old and uncool. I'm truly not saying that to get shout outs, I just want to point out that there are probably other people who feel sad and alone reading this.
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 8:47 PM on September 28, 2015 [17 favorites]

eriko also needs a shoutout for immediately and thoroughly answering my memail that time I asked him why helicopters were circling my house every day. (Turns out: because they circle my house every day. Apparently I live right under the helicopter idling zone as they wait to get clearance at Midway.)

This remembrance brought to you by the damn helicopter loudly circling my house right now.
posted by phunniemee at 8:52 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

I actually want to add one that isn't self-centered. Or is marginally less self-centered, I guess:

Etrigan, whose advice on timeliness changed my life.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:53 PM on September 28, 2015

I am thankful for all of you and the chance to learn something new here every day.

I'm especially thankful to the people who participate in Secret Quonsar -- the tireless SQ elves and all the people who sign up to exchange. Holidays are hard for a lot of us and the SQ Thank You thread has been a continuing source of joy and good cheer that more than once has carried me straight through into the new year. It's only September but I am already looking forward to this year and all the happy updates.
posted by mochapickle at 8:53 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

As you can imagine there was a lot more info in the explanation from eriko but that's the gist of it.
posted by phunniemee at 8:53 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

And also Fig who favorites so much of the stuff I say, even a lot of stuff I think is not so charming in retrospect, and it always makes me feel special, every time. I hope my doggy gets to meet her doggies some day.
posted by phunniemee at 9:00 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

To Mrs. Pterodactyl and Bulgaroktonos, for letting my drunk self crash on their couch, even though I'd only met them a few hours before. Mrs. Pterodactyl also writes my favorite comments about living in DC, the ones that feel closest to my weird experience living there.

To elephantsvanish, the best host when I visited Seattle, who feels like someone I've known forever even though she only messaged me for the first time a year ago yesterday. Here's to many more travels together.

To all the nurses on AskMe who answered my questions about the field and convinced me that going to nursing school was a good idea: jesourie, vytae, artdesk, probably others I'm forgetting.

To everyone I've ever talked to at at meetup, and everyone who's shown up at meetups I've called even though I'm not a mefi celebrity.

To Frowner, for giving me hope that it's possible for me to have both anarchist-leaning values and a job that doesn't feel like a total affront to those values.

To everybody who has ever said some variation on "people are who they say they are" in relationship asks; remembering this has saved me so much grief.

To all the denizens of crone island, and everyone who works tirelessly to keep feminism threads on track.

And finally to nebulawindphone, who just planted a bunch of ideas in my head for fanfic based on the book that gives me my user name. I have never written fanfic in my life, but I guess it's not too late to start!
posted by ActionPopulated at 9:22 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

There are so many people I appreciate here that it's hard to even know where to start. I still think about good comments and nice exchanges from years ago, so chances are if you've been around here in that time, I have something in my head that you've done or said that I liked and that still comes back every now and again and is useful. So many good people here.

If anybody's reading this and having a bad day or really could use a boost and would like to hear something nice, feel free to say so.

The Noble Goofy Elk, you're very kind and thoughtful in AskMes, especially of people who are feeling low or worthless. You had a wonderful phrase in a question a while ago, that I think of sometimes, describing everyday small human connections as a "micro-economy of love." Also looking at your history just reminded me of the 1980s junior-high perm thread, which is like a slumber party in electronic form.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:26 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

A couple group shout-outs:
Triangle MetaFilter - we'll always have Biscuitpalooza
Sports Talk MetaFilter - especially Boston Sports Talk MetaFilter
Veterinary MetaFilter - always thoughtful and responsible
Online Tabletop RPG MetaFilter - letting me get my fix without having a local group
Diplomacy MetaFilter - I'll always support your attacks, even though you are bound to stab me
Social Justice MetaFilter - for helping me become a better human
And finally
+200K Usernumber MetaFilter - I remember feeling like a hopeless newb for having a +20K usernumber, and it makes me so happy to see new users still coming into the site 10 years later and continuing this amazing tradition
posted by Rock Steady at 9:27 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

I want to thank all of the people here who have said "me too" and made me feel less crazy, and everyone who answered my obscure AskMe queries in mere seconds.

Also, thanks to jbickers for starting this thread because we really needed something positive around here.
posted by mmoncur at 9:36 PM on September 28, 2015

I love MetaFilter. I will always be grateful to zippy for introducing me to this incredible resource and wonderful community.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:51 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'd like to thank something something for being a MeMail lifeline when I was going through a crazy hard time this summer. Also, because she gives great AskMe advice.
posted by purpleclover at 9:52 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I would like to thank all the mefites with whom I have had MeMail conversations with spanning LITERALLY YEARS

You know who you are.
posted by The Whelk at 10:26 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

I totally internet stalked him by reading all of his comments here and decided he was good people before things got serious.

Huh, you never told me you did that. Bet it was a short read. :)

stoneweaver is the kindest, most generous person I know. Having introduced her to MeFi is a real source of pride for me.

I love this community and am continually inspired by it. Thank you all.
posted by joedan at 10:31 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]

Moonorb, you're cool and I'm glad you're here.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:52 AM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

joedan: (looks around, whispering) ok coast is clear. Your wife is seriously good people. Please give her a big hug but don't tell her it's from me. Say it's from like....... "blake." She'll never know, ha ha haaaa.
posted by jake at 1:07 AM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm in, need to thank everyone here who has posted about their lived experiences and helped shine light into the dim, ignorant corners of my mind.

Also thank you to everyone who posts and comments on MeFiMusic, it is such a nice supportive little community over there. Not singling anyone out but some people really do put a lot into keeping the feedback rolling, you know who you are and you're ace, but thanks to everyone who posts there at all. It's constantly surprising how high the quality of stuff people put up there is, and how relentlessly original.

Look away now if you don't have the stomach for schmoop, but thanks MeFi and specifically Jessamyn for being the reason/s I met chrismear - my gamer-buddy, cheese-enabler and husband-to-be.
posted by greenish at 2:15 AM on September 29, 2015 [9 favorites]

I'd not visited music much until very recently when I was working late last week and wanted something new to listen to. I discovered that I could listen to MeFi music at work.

Where I discovered this song which is just staggeringly good and is now loaded onto all my music services and devices (along with several more by the same person).
So, thanks to whoever it was that made that.

Also many other songs and songmakers like this by Eideteker or this by jake for example, but it was that first song that really hooked me on the subsite.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:10 AM on September 29, 2015

Timing! That was greenish, who posted just above you, Just this guy! Btw, congratulations, greenish and chrismear; what lovely news! 🎉
posted by taz (staff) at 3:18 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Eeeee! Thanks JTGy'K. That's so cool.

And thanks taz :D
posted by greenish at 4:34 AM on September 29, 2015

Ooo! You can search for someone’s music posts & get a little player that will play them all in sequence!

(I may or may not be playing all of greenish’s music posts right now...)
posted by pharm at 5:07 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

(I knew it was greenish that made it, it was her post about MeFi music that reminded me how much I'm enjoying it right now, it was sort of an attempt at.. I dunno, like dramatic irony or something, But it genuinely was weird coincidence that jake posted just above her.)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:37 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Lutoslawski, for all the helpful audiology info. prefpara, for the world's nicest comment on my very post FPP, which I was very nervous about. It's Raining Florence Henderson and everyone else with great usernames. And really, everyone on the site, it's the only thing that keeps me together too many days.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 5:52 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

> Also, you have an awesome username, The Noble Goofy Elk, and I like seeing it whenever it shows up on the screen.

Seconded—it's one of the best names on the site!
posted by languagehat at 6:07 AM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Also, narcissism demands that I subscribe to @Mefite_ and find out which of my (universally fantastic, natch) comments was especially fantastic immediately: brb.
posted by pharm at 6:14 AM on September 29, 2015

Oh, and I’d like to thank physicsmatt for taking on the labour of providing deep explanations of abstruse concepts to all & sundry. He does a better job than I would.
posted by pharm at 6:21 AM on September 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

sldownard thank you for making those really amazingly good chicken nuggets that time. I'm sorry you moved before I got to know you better!
posted by phunniemee at 7:09 AM on September 29, 2015

I've been going trough my favorites list because of this thread and I'm realizing that probably, if I were to go through and count, 90-95% of my favorites are given to people I know and enjoy in real life, and it's making me realize the handful of people who have come to meetups but I didn't really connect with because maybe they sat on the other side of the table or mostly go to karaoke when that is a time that I leave or maybe they kept their distance because I strongly suspect I'm not nearly as delightful as I think I am, and they deserve a mention, too.

Specifically, bleep, you came to at least one meetup I was at I think. I know this because you posted in IRL afterwards that you came and left early. I felt horrible because I noticed somebody I didn't know at the table but say anything to you and I don't want to assume things I don't know anything about but maybe that made you feel shitty and unincluded. I can be a real ass sometimes. You say a lot of insightful things around the site and you have since moved away, and I really missed out by not talking to you.
posted by phunniemee at 7:39 AM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Thanks, nobeagle, for getting me hooked up with MeFi in the first place, and for sending me email links to mefi threads, and comments, that you think I will find useful/interesting and that I may have missed reading. Also, for making me coffee in the morning and smooching me at night. Thanks, too, for not smothering me with a pillow in my sleep despite my various faults and failings.

Thanks, flex, for meeting up with me several times per month, consistently making me laugh, and keeping me updated on mefi goings-on. Also, for your encouragement to be brave about making FPPs.

Thanks, schnee, for that time you let my boyfriend live with you for a month and eat all your bread despite him being a veritable stranger to you. That's a big one on top of all the really nice things you've done for me over the years that we've known each other. You are a good egg.

Thanks, wennj, for filling my house up with cats and answering all of my cat questions and for all the work you do with the endless number of homeless cats. My home, and heart, are considerably fuzzier thanks to you.

There are a lot of other mefites who I enjoy around here - too many to name - and on Twitter, too. Y'all are a good group of people to know.
posted by VioletU at 7:40 AM on September 29, 2015

This year has been a real shitshow for me, with a breast cancer diagnosis and losing my best ever cat, and as usual mefi has been a lifeline, both as a distraction from real life and a connection to the outside world when I was not really capable of paying attention to much else.

Thank you specifically to purpleclover, rmhsinc, janey47, ardgedee, five_cents, wenestvedt, research monkey, and witchen, for all reaching out via mefi mail to share their support or stories of survival at a time when they were much needed. And thank you especially to sockermom, who has become a good real life friend over the past year (I know you're all jealous!) and is just as wonderful in person as she is on the site.
posted by something something at 7:50 AM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh, and I forgot to thank Louche Mustachio for not only doing a hilarious drawing of space journey walrus but also starting an entire cafepress store full of space journey walrus items. I am now the proud owner of a huge SJW thermos, which will amuse me all winter as I enjoy my hot soup and tea.
posted by ActionPopulated at 7:52 AM on September 29, 2015 [9 favorites]

Also, I would like to thank the man in charge, using language that he will understand:

congration Cortez
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:53 AM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm proper British so don't expect any comment here until I'm drunk
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:04 AM on September 29, 2015 [9 favorites]

Schmoopy!

I'll echo these echos of thanks, but start (again) with mathowie. You created a space for a community, not for yourself, and thanks to your ongoing dedication, it's still a wonderful place. After various IRC channels of my teen-age years, my first online community was Discogs, which was (and is) still the property of one main person, and he made changes to that community site a number of times over without consulting the community. This sort of thing isn't unique, but MetaFilter has remained of the users and for the users, which is truly magical on the internet.

Thanks to the mods and users who have made it better, more inviting and more diverse. Add my name to those who have learned to be a better person in countless ways, thanks to people who are comfortable enough to share their own experiences, and provide feedback for others.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:17 AM on September 29, 2015

Wait....did we ever got those admin notes cleared up?
posted by mule98J at 8:38 AM on September 29, 2015

Mr. Fig is my favorite person, and the one who introduced me to this place, so I owe him a ton. The Chicago cab.a...erm, group of mefites who regularly hold and attend meetups are great, warm, welcoming, fun, entertaining and all-around wonderful people that always make me regret living in the burbs. Anyone kind enough to attend one of the meetups I've attempted in cities traveled through (raisingsand, ifjuly, RolandofEld, runningwithscissors), with a special shoutout to grandsham who was patient enough to meet me like 4 hours late because my plane was delayed. Anyone who also loves Kanye and defends him more elegantly than I ever could (Ad hominem is missed here! So much Yeezy activity while he's been gone!). Anyone who's made me laugh, which is a lot of people, too many to name. Everyone who's answered my AskMes or commented on my FPPs. Anyone sharing little or big parts of themselves to make this amazing community. Thank you, thank you, thank you - I appreciate your efforts more than you know.
posted by Fig at 8:48 AM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best username needs to be annual MeTa thread, if you ask me. Good new candidates all of the time.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:51 AM on September 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

The Chicago cab.a...erm, group of mefites who regularly hold and attend meetups are great, warm, welcoming, fun, entertaining and all-around wonderful people

Seconding that. I wanna go back to Chicago just so I can go to another meetup with these great folks.
posted by Miko at 8:56 AM on September 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

Thanks to all the Canadians keeping it real here in Metafilter, doing our little bit to prevent cultural hegemony. Double thanks to all the people who didn't grow up speaking English who put up with all the crap around here but who actually give us some much-needed perspective.

Thanks to all the leftists, feminists, trans advocates and other assorted SJWs who also keep it a lot more real that the actual crazy people of the internet. I honestly don't know who I'd be without having read your thoughts and perspectives on life.

I'll throw one out to Juliet Banana who is probably literally the complete polar opposite to me but who seems pretty cool and has somehow gone unmentioned?

And although he's not around nearly enough, Dios is awesome.

To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends, I want to offer my love and respect to the end.
posted by GuyZero at 8:59 AM on September 29, 2015 [13 favorites]

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting a single one of you (it's what happens when you live on a sparsely populated island in the North Atlantic) but I feel like I could sit down and enjoy a drink with any number of you. You are all, as we say here, the best kind. My door (and fridge) are open to any of you who might find yourself here someday.

So many great names mentioned in this thread already, but I wanted to throw Flood in there too. Consider yourself lucky if you post a question about contractors/construction and he answers it. I always appreciate his expertise here and his comments are always right on the money.
posted by futureisunwritten at 10:16 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Chicago cab.a…erm, group of mefites

New username
posted by Going To Maine at 10:25 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best username needs to be annual MeTa thread, if you ask me. Good new candidates all of the time.

YES my two favourite annual threads are Best/Most Entertaining Username and Best Least Favourited Comment of the Year, altho the latter has been plagued with people who DONT UNDERSTAND THE RULES* and i get pissy.


* NOT your own comments and must have LESS THAN 12 favourites
posted by poffin boffin at 10:43 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

[posts the year's most-favorited comment in the underappreciated-comments thread]
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 10:48 AM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

> I've been taking a long leave

It's great to see you back, kalessin—you're missed when you're not around.
posted by languagehat at 10:54 AM on September 29, 2015 [7 favorites]

Late to the party, but this thread made me think about the weird friendships I have with people I've never met. Most of them are from the old MonkeyFilter days and somehow we've kept in touch through Facebook and WTFIWWYP. I'm not going to try to list names because I'll end up forgetting a few, but they know who they are.

Then there are a few who I have met, like flex who organizes the local meetups in the Kitchener/Guelph area, the regulars and semi-regulars (like me) at those meetups, and Capt. Renault who I know WAY too much about from his well-documented adventures via Facebook...and it's always a treat when he and I get the chance to chat over a beer in so-called real life.

And then, of course, there's the quidnunc kid.
posted by rocket88 at 1:41 PM on September 29, 2015

Tonight I toast the B-list, those who don't have the time to engage as often as they'd like, don't quite boast the rapier wit of our highest-profile members, and who never, ever appear on these sorts of lists, or the "best of" threads, or any other celebration-of-members posts.

Steadfast readers, steadfast commenters, who don't shine as bright or as often, but who crack wise, contribute tidbits of information, and fade out for weeks to months at a time.

Our great members are great; their greatness is self-evident. But the consistent quality and humanity and insight provided from the vast swath of members who generally go unsung is also great.

I raise a glass to the really darn good, who never quite make it to the heights of MetaFilter's culture, but are regardless really darn good. I'd even argue that sometimes it's the paint that makes the room, not the art on the walls, and the quiet, steady decency of our general membership is what makes MeFi so stellar.
posted by Shepherd at 2:37 PM on September 29, 2015 [51 favorites]

Cheers to Anonymous. Thank you for articulating your experience. Thank you for your willingness to reach out even while in the middle of your confusion and doubt. Thank you for showing me that it's OK not to be sure, and to seek out advice. You are so brave.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:48 PM on September 29, 2015 [25 favorites]

I'll be here all day if I call out everyone whose username I'm happy to see after "posted by", but really quickly, in the spirit of MonkeyToes' comment above, thanks to all the MeFites who responded to an Ask that I posted anonymously a while ago. I was going through some things that were really stressful and that I had no experience dealing with, and I got some concrete, useful, non-judgmental advice that helped a lot.

Also, thanks a ton to greenish for running the MeFi Music challenges, and in general for setting the tone in Music by being supportive, friendly, and very welcoming to noobs like me!
posted by en forme de poire at 3:43 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

(I'm not linking to that Ask because obviously, but anyone who has responded to an Anon Ask with empathy and a desire to help should feel free to imagine I'm talking about them.)
posted by en forme de poire at 3:46 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Since posting in this thread I've been reading across the blue and green and grey and I've been barraged by usernames I didn't mention but should have. I love everyone here on this whole darn site and I'm a bit annoyed with myself, frankly, for naming names, because I missed tens of thousands of them in my comment above.
posted by sockermom at 4:12 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

*Does happy dancing to see kalessin here!*
posted by bearwife at 4:37 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

i would favorite you all
posted by CancerMan at 5:09 PM on September 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

I have always been a fan of Kattullus. Years in fact. His post in January woke me up and we shared a fine Christmas story. Too me, that means the world. There's a calm. Well, your loved brother.

Q, smock pants. The temple keeper of pants and fish pockets. If and when I ambush you at the local bar, I would cry. Let's get that on film. I love you longest.

Languagehat. Because you terrify me and what could be better then that.
I think Johnny Cash with a dash of Yankee word slinger. Fastest conjunction on the net. I love you because you can see through bull shit and you have a lot of books.

Klangston. Sheeetttt. I envision a wild ride to Vegas with CarsonB at the wheel.
No amyil nitrite.

I appreciate the humor of the whelk, he is truly our moonstone. The brillant Nog and the robocops fantastic riffs. If anyone of you could wrestle the quid kid, I'll help rig it.

Gosh, the Madame, coldchef, YHBC, crash.
The mods. Ya know, cortex had my little shaker skit pegged like 6 days after he joined. Interesting, first person to really, well we know his sorcery. Jessamyn for being Jessamyn and not banning me when I asked if she was related to the writer...oh wait. Taz, for awesome, often unseen help to community.
Vac is extremely funny.
All of you.

NCIS is on and my list is dripping.
posted by clavdivs at 5:12 PM on September 29, 2015 [8 favorites]

And you too, Mr. Cooke.
:)
posted by clavdivs at 5:12 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

One of the benefits of winning all these meetups (did you not know you could win them? that's probably because you lost) is that I have enjoyed the company of many totally amazing Seattle people. In alphabetical order according to my hazy post-drink contact-making and therefore certainly not all-inclusive:

Artw, azarbayejani, blasdelf, cirocco, Cool Papa Bell, DiscourseMarker, dotgirl, dw, egypturnash, Existential Dread, gc, Glibpaxman, grouse (you still count as a Seattle person), hattifattener, hellojed, Jawn, kthxbi, librarina, loquacious, Margalo Epps, mbrubeck, Miss Matheson, Mizu, MoonOrb, mwhybark, nickjadlowe, P.o.B, palegirl, palmcorder_yajna, pymsical, quaking fajita, R343L, Relay, ShooBoo, Slarty Bartfast, spinifex23, stet, The corpse in the library, the man of twists and turns, The otter lady, vapidave (you too), whycurious, y2karl

All of these people are awesome people, and if you do not know them, you should fix that shit. Special shouts-out to bearwife, KathrynT, and palomar, among many many others, who have, to their entire credit, managed to escape my annoying presence. Maybe next time.
posted by Errant at 5:19 PM on September 29, 2015 [9 favorites]

i wanna meet cool seattle people. i never get to meet cool seattle people.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 5:25 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

AcademiaFilter. Advice and shop talk for academics, so appreciated. It's really important to get mentoring from outside of your own fishbowl.
posted by Dashy at 5:30 PM on September 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

outside of your own fishbowl

Or fishpants, for that matter.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:35 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh my god, I don't know how I forgot about this one in the great usernames thread: bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated
posted by en forme de poire at 5:53 PM on September 29, 2015

Steadfast readers, steadfast commenters, who don't shine as bright or as often, but who crack wise, contribute tidbits of information, and fade out for weeks to months at a time.

[Blushes]
posted by ryanshepard at 6:05 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

You are all wonderful people and I will cherish your words as I read them and transcribe them into a statistical aggregate from which I shall build a model on my wall out of yarn and pushpins.

(friendship is statistical aggregates of yarn and beanplates)
posted by mikurski at 7:01 PM on September 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

I'm not gonna name everyone I love here (the wall of text would be getting into Treaty of Westphalia territory), but I would like to take this opportunity to say that one of my life goals is to get invited to a Juliet Banana party.
posted by dogmom at 7:06 PM on September 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

Having only been a part of this community in any official capacity since December, I'm not regretting joining one bit. Lest that seem like faint praise, it's not. Having gotten to know really amazing and interesting people IRL through some recent Toronto meetups, I feel like my world has widened.

We have had the worst meetups imaginable recently - but they were made better by the warm humanity of everyone who was there. We could both cry and laugh our way through the pain. Like flex and ilana say above, this is a real community.

But my world widened before that, too - thanks to all the people who have posted well- informed and interesting FPPs and comments. And funny ones, too.

When people ask me "how do you know that?" my response is, well, THESE PEOPLE RIGHT HERE.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:15 PM on September 29, 2015 [6 favorites]

Also, I'd like to call out usonian's music posts. Nice banjo.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:42 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

klangklangston and Miko. I'm always getting to the bottom of a great, well-reasoned comment and seeing one or the other of those names.
posted by ericthegardener at 8:06 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's always someone different for me-- someone taking time to give good advice or a good tip or send a private message. This week, it's zyxwvut, who I have to thank for suggesting an amazing restaurant and doing it in such terms that I knew I had to visit. And did, and had a wonderful time. In typical Metafilter fashion, he also offered to met there and I hope someday we will.
posted by BibiRose at 8:56 PM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Huge hugs to everyone, and thank you.

There's no possible way I could mention everyone, and I'm afraid to try lest I forget someone important. So many people here whose lives have touched upon or intersected with mine in inspiring ways. I can't possibly do that justice.

You're all wonderful people and I'm So Damned Lucky and deeply grateful to share in your wisdom, your insights, your discoveries, humor and kindnesses here. Thank you.
posted by zarq at 9:21 PM on September 29, 2015 [4 favorites]

A big shoutout to Shmuel510 for this epic ukulele post, which has helped me be a slightly less terrible uke player.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 10:49 PM on September 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

This is why we can have good things. Grazie mille, all.
posted by progosk at 12:01 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I am often hesitant to enter these kind of threads, as I usually feel a little uncomfortable with mefi's 'celebrity culture'. I'm pleased to see how this thread has blossomed into something quite different from that.

There are scores of mefites whose presence kindles a fondness in me - as my ever growing contacts list attests. Far too many to call out. However, I especially enjoy those mefites with unique areas of knowledge, and their willingness in sharing that. Some examples include, but are by no means limited to: etrigan, the man of twists and turns, treehorn+bunny, tedw, herrdoktor, gemmy, physicsmatt, churachura, artw, monsieur caution, martinwisse, justinian, bingregory, cendawenita, bardophile, gaspode, phobwankenobi, solonandthanks, errant, and many, many more.

And also to pour one out for our missing homies. Feel like every time I go back to my contacts list these days there's another sad black bar there. Circle of life I guess.
posted by smoke at 5:56 AM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]

I'm so grateful for Metafilter and the Mefites who make it work.

To the mods who keep us on track: I see little changes and I am loving them.

To JewFilter: Chag sameach you crazy kids.

To all of the women of MeFi, but especially nadawi, sciatrix, jbenben, LynNever, lexica, Juliet Banana, Annika Cicada, showbiz_liz, MonkeyToes, bakerina, cooker-girl, bitter girl, Lexica, Space Kitty, kitteh, palomar, colfax, Dialethia, Hermione Granger, joseph conrad is fully awesome, divined by radio, ocherdraco, emjaybee and probably quite a few more that I have failed to mention.

QueerFilter - the sanest place in the world to get my queer on. Thank you.

L.A. MeFites - I promise I will be at a meetup after Hallowe'en. Until then, it's all Hallowe'en, all October long.

To everyone who runs and participates in Secret Quonsar - I am so looking forward to it this year.

Smooches to your pooches.
posted by Sophie1 at 7:15 AM on September 30, 2015 [8 favorites]

Came in to say what Sophie1 just said about Secret Quonsar: thanks to julen and all the other Quonsmas elves for their amazing organization and coordination, as well as all the folks who just enjoy participating: you bring a bit of happy to a world that needs all it can get.
posted by easily confused at 10:15 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

JHarris. Thanks, man. cya Thursday.

Klang, Zarq, jeez, filthylighthief? jeez.

poff, whelk, heh.

jess, cortex, matt, taz, lobs, insane, allaya, thanks so much. matt. thank you.

all of ya that fight the good fight, especially the ones that don't button. good on ya! I'm looking at you, nadawi.

oneswellfoop.Man, you own, and I'm surprised that no one has said so. You might not say it right, but you say it true.

Thank you monkeytoes. Thank you.

maxsparber. Dude. Keep it up. I mighta said the wrong thing, but it was out of admiration.

jenfullmoon. Thank you so much.

chrysostom (sp?) oceanjesse, we should have drinks!

I know it's probably wrong, but I really miss Blazecock. Are you here man? lemme know.

But yeah, metafilter is the world writ small, and it's something that I cherish. If I missed you, know that I love you.
posted by valkane at 11:13 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, shit, look who I missed:

joseph conrad is fully awesome. Yes. You are.

ob1quixote. Thanks.

Room641-A. cya Thursday.

Please forgive me for being a you know what.
posted by valkane at 11:46 AM on September 30, 2015

Hi ilana!
posted by valkane at 11:47 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Man, I feel like every comment brings up a bunch more people I forgot. I think you are all great!
posted by Chrysostom at 11:52 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

oneswellfoop.Man, you own
No, I only rent. But a very nice location (location, location).

I've been reading this and assembling my own thank-you list, but I appear to have gone over my cloud storage limit, so I'll come back down to earth. Thanks to EVERYBODY. Especially the mods for the heroic act of putting up with me (and if you've collected my deleted comments to shame me with later, it won't work, I'm proud of my sins).

I must repeat my standing offer to any MeFite who's going to be driving up the California coast: when you pass through San Luis Obispo, I will happily buy you breakfast or lunch at the Madonna Inn coffee shop (not dinner, I'm not made of money). I just got a phone message from the one highly esteemed MetaFilterer to take me up on that offer. Pleasantly shocked that ol' Cold Chef still had my number AND knew my birthday. (yes, I'm another year older and deeper into denial) And to quonsar whose own birfday is just a day before mine, reminding me it's coming, thanks and/or curses.

Another special callout to scody and the other lovelies (gals and guys) of the First L.A. Meetups before I left town. And to filthy light thief from the SLO meetup, please come back, KCPR radio needs you (but you'll have to register as a student now).

As I said earlier, way too many people to thank and the award-show-orchestra-in-my-head is playing me off. I tried digging deep into the archives for memory floggers, but I was starting to develop an outbreak of Antibiotic-Resistant Nostalgia and my natural immunity ain't what it used to be (it's all those anecdotes I added to celebrity obit threads recently... I should feel lucky I've run out of living celebrities to anecdote about... and I should not have thought about that on my own b-day... hey, ColdChef, when I stop having these, you WILL be the first MeFite notified).
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:19 PM on September 30, 2015 [9 favorites]

SO, so late to the party, but here to share my platonic internet crushes on both devilsrancher and winna!
posted by ersatzkat at 12:46 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Super-late, but: Iridic and Sticherbeast, for all the weird and esoteric shit they've posted over the years. It's made me appreciably less normal!
posted by inire at 2:25 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

Really most sincerely late, but three cheers to all who help support MetaFilter by making occasional or regular donations.
posted by carmicha at 5:02 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

OMG, how could I forget Thorzdad? I appreciated his words in the male suicide thread we had here recently.
posted by DrAmerica at 6:40 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Quonsar: miss you.
posted by shmegegge at 7:13 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

just to represent a few generations back, thanx to stavrosthewonderchicken, MrBaliHai, dong resin, pikachulolita, eyeballkid, brittney, metrocake, evanizer, rodii, owillis, holgate, vidiot, chicobangs, matildaben, and of course MiguelCardoso.
posted by jonmc at 7:23 PM on September 30, 2015 [7 favorites]

Why does this feel like Valentine's Day in grade school?

OK, we really need to have "Valentine" as a status in our contacts list.
posted by pjern at 7:43 PM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]

She hasn't posted in awhile, but cairdeas had a unique gift for connecting the dots, seeing important aspects of questions that other people didn't, calling shit out when it needed to be called out, and getting to the heart of the matter with kindness and empathy on AskMe.
posted by alphanerd at 10:21 PM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]

I've only been reading MetaFilter for a few months now, but just wanted to say how grateful I am to have found it. Not to be melodramatic about it, but the intelligence, openness, humour and sensitivity of MeFites is helping restore my faith in humanity. Thanks, everyone!
posted by as_night_falls at 3:31 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

OK, we really need to have "Valentine" as a status in our contacts list.


...must also have a "no Valentine this time either, [Charlie Brown]" tab. Just saying'...
posted by Namlit at 5:41 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

a "no Valentine this time either, [Charlie Brown]" tab

AND NONE FOR GRETCHEN WEINERS


no, no, we are all Glen Coco here.
posted by palomar at 7:18 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

You go, Glen Cocos!
posted by filthy light thief at 7:59 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

I would very much like to encourage everyone who is curious but unsure about going to a meetup to give it a go. I have had much fun thanks to great MeFites in DC, Baltimore, Chicago, Ann Arbor, and would like to give a special shout-out to solarion for meeting up with me in Melbourne earlier this year.
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:03 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]

Thinking about it, I would also rate all (17 I can remember) of the MeFites I have (so far) met in real life as ★★★★★ on #peeple (and with a genuinely positive comment attached).
posted by Wordshore at 10:33 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

dancestoblue & I have become good friends since we met at a meet-up about 3 years ago -- his wisdom & companionship (we do coffee now & again) have been a treasure. He's the only person I met who was actually dead & is now alive, so thanks to whatever power it was that started his heart beating again.

Heyho & I like talking jobs, relationships & photography via memail, & I'm encouraged to take better pictures.

ColdChef is my main snail-mail man!

The rest of you, you know who you are.

platonic internet crushes ... posted by ersatzkat
blushes... it's... mutual :-)
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:03 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Actually, most people don't know this but the correct plural is "Glens Coco."
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:28 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

Thanks to the mods for their patience and wisdom. Thanks to everyone who uses this site for simultaneously making me laugh, showing me wondrous new things, and teaching me how to be a better person. My only regret in life, not having found Meta Filter sooner.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 12:18 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

"Glens Coco."

oh boy, my bleary eyes misread that as "Glans Coco", which is possibly a great name for a boylesque performer? maybe?
posted by palomar at 12:36 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

Thanks to everybody on MetaFilter for being the most amazing, respectful, and intelligent online community I've ever seen. Thanks most of all for teaching me so many things over the years, both in terms of new knowledge and basic skills for relating respectfully to other people. I was just telling a friend in real life a couple of days ago how much I value the blue for exposing me to so many wonderful ideas and having taught me: a) That I'm never as smart or well-informed as I might be tempted to think; b) that learning to be open to correction and admitting mistakes, even if it feels uncomfortable at the time, can be an incredibly powerful leg-up when you're trying to learn and grow; and c) that sometimes it takes other people's help to see your own mistakes even when they should be obvious to you.

Seriously, I love this site and the sense of community here. I don't feel like I've always consistently been as good a member of the community as I would like (I've been boorish and too insistent on some arguments in the past, I barely contribute to MetaTalk and a lot of other important parts of the site, and I haven't managed to make it out to a meetup yet), but you've never let me down all the same. I wish I could call users out by name, but I'm fond of so many of you for different reasons, if I tried, this comment would end up reading like that one really dull book of the Old Testament that's just a long, tedious list of who begot whom. So please just know, in my book, your name is probably somewhere in there.
posted by saulgoodman at 12:39 PM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Are we still accepting submissions? I've posted thrice already but I just wanted to pop back in and say TheWhiteSkull is funny as heck.
posted by DrAmerica at 12:50 PM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]

Of course we are. The thread's open, so why not? Let the party continue... as long as there is still wine and good cheer, no one is late.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:53 PM on October 1, 2015

Until the ship Naglfar, made of human nails, pulls up to the dock. Then it's every entity for themself.
posted by languagehat at 1:14 PM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

as long as there is still wine and good cheer...

I LOST MY HAND! I LOST MY BRIDE!
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:29 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thewhiteskull and Devils Rancher...I love this place.

Artw, the mefi that I grew fond of quickly. He's funny and whip smart in sci-fy posts.

The pinksuperhero best home page.
Filthy light Theif is, IMO, is a posting overlord.

I like to say Dong Resin anytime that's appropriate.
posted by clavdivs at 2:00 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

If I click on one of Filthy Light Thief's posts I wake up months later in an orchard with a long beard.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:21 PM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]

There are too many people to list and so I won't be specific. I'll send the love to everyone. Awesome people posting awesome and interesting things that expand my ways of thinking, feeling, and seeing the world through the tiny screens we all carry with us. I keep coming back and will continue to keep on coming back because you make this place special. The moderators that work behind the scenes to help keep this place running smoothly, the lurkers that hover in the background, and the people that post and comment every single day. Keep on being awesome.

Oh and to the people who gave me a shoutout up above, thanks. I appreciate it. Keep on keeping my fellow MeFites....

:)
posted by Fizz at 3:21 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

(friendship is statistical aggregates of yarn and beanplates)

definitely someone's new username
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:26 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Laaate coming in but these are among the many people here who contribute greatly to the reasons why I love visiting, inpo - some of you might be inactive, but I love reading your legacy, so thank you: It's Raining Florence Henderson, maxparber, Phire, rtha, The Whelk, Miko, scody, Kattulus especially for bringing me here, Frowner, NoraReed, griphus - your posts and comments alike consistently deliver goodness.

Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam, ND¢, Greg Nog, poffin boffin and TheWhiteSkull is funny as heck.

And flapjax at midnite's music posts have yet to show me anything I have either seen before or not enjoyed.

<3 @ /all
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 5:29 PM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

I like to say Dong Resin anytime that's appropriate.

I like to say "Dong Resin" even when it isn't appropriate. I just like to say "Dong Resin." Also "Fishfucker."
posted by octobersurprise at 6:25 PM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]

It's addictive.
posted by clavdivs at 6:47 PM on October 1, 2015

I remember the arguments that The News used to always put out, about how 'the internet' was just an empty vacuous 'thing', not a place, not a community.
I don't think I should post my list (but I am sort of divided because I would very much like to share the names of a massive number of great folks here because there truly are a massive number of folks who deserve recognition, even if they don't see it immediately, further, I recently suggested several times for others to share their love for people before it is ever too late) which I composed over a couple hours during last Monday while I watched the arriving typhoon intensify from my window (Dujuan, it was much milder in my location than many expectations for it), using the infodumpster and my favourites (which exist for All the Reasons except because I 'dislike' something/someone). My list is 3004 words long, hitting 7 pages, at 12pt font. And that is just a straight sequence of usernames of folks that said things that challenged me, helped me, made me laugh, made me smile, made me sad, made me think, made me realize that words shouldn't make me feel so much, made helped me put context to ideas— words could well be (in fact should well be) said on each and their contributions.

I have many times formed questions, only to find someone had asked the same thing, only more clearly, and there were already answers here (so be aware that the people who actually ask each ask are not necessarily the only folks getting helped by the question and answers). But not only have I been helped in growing emotionally and intellectually, I found support here that guided me from depression about feeling like a complete failure through all of my elementary, and then high school career, extending into the same feelings about a first foray into university studies before pinpointing some of my challenges and barriers, leading to joining here, and eventually leading to completion of an honours university degree, then (after recommending teachers college to several people in asks) to getting a post graduate Bachelor of Education, and to becoming certified initially as a teacher of grades 7-12 History and Science in a place with globally recognized standards, and I love it, and I am good at it (sadly there were slim job hopes in the location of training, I'm truly not intending to be 'bragging' [I hope the charity of reading shown to folks here will accept I mean that], I say I am good because I could not enjoy it more, and the feeling of having something I love to do, and can do well, is something else, and I really feel that this place, the environment, the mods current and retired, along with the users aided me in getting to here (the many and varied discussions of 'moderation' and discourse on here go into my thoughts about the role of educator, of facilitator, of 'teacher'); but then after helping me get through all that, I finally found a question to ask, and you have helped me make a place across the world (12 hour time difference exactly)—where I am still learning a new language, and trying not to miss the musical garbage trucks—into my home.
Suffice it to say you are a kind-fine featured, fantastic, fanatic, frantic, fractured, fabulous, phonetically correct—and funny—user base (or would folks like to see some interesting names up in lights?). I have been reading through my list all week, and enjoying revisiting folks comments. (is there a zarq signal? I have had a message in my drafts for like 5 years that I would love to be able to send their way someday)
But hey, it's just the internet, eh, not like the internet will ever matter in the lives of anyone!
posted by infinite intimation at 9:34 AM on October 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Again, a shoutout for deezil. He helped me with a thorny Windows problem that I had a hard time figuring out by myself and I am so glad that I had the courage to ask him. I believe that we all enrich one another's lives on this site and I am deeply grateful.
posted by Lynsey at 11:37 AM on October 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thank you, jessamyn and Drinky Die, for the shoutout. That's high praise, and it made my day :)

There are so many amazing people here that I appreciate, who have directly helped me, or reached out to me privately, or made me laugh or enlightened me, and I too am fearful of missing anyone out :/, but I do want to express specific gratitude, reserving the right to add to this list when my terrible memory refreshes itself.
- Current and former mods. taz and goodnewsfortheinsane have been super helpful and thoughtful and supportive in weird times :)
- sockermom, Drinky Die, sid, billiebee, congen, Michele in California, Eyebrows McGee, congen, rue72, Tehhund - thank you :)
- bleep, flourpot, deathpanels, and Ideefixe share a gift for getting to the heart of a matter with unusual clarity, as well as kindness
- litera scripta manet's comprehensive and thoughtful answers are always appreciated
- Lyn Never, internet fraud detective squad, station number 9, BibiRose, Rosie M. Banks, KathrynT, DarlingBri, moonlight on vermont, MarieMonDieu, smoke, dialetheia, jaguar, feckless fecal fear mongering, DingoMutt, discopolo, salvia, We Put Our Faith In Blast Hardcheese, smorgasbord, Ursula Hitler, emptythought, 26.2, hush, fraula, girlflaneur, Drinky Die, cairdeas, scody, Miko - always appreciated for their hard-earned common sense and empathy. I hope those who've left come back :/
- crazycanuck's insights wrt MSK issues, thank you
- josephconradisfullyawesome's efforts to bring people in and cheerlead good works is awesome :) Also, the man of twists and turns
- treehorn+bunny, your answer to a recent and v important medical question was The Best. Thank you.
- nebulawindphone's answer to my music question was excellent. (imo it wouldn't be a bad idea to consider sharing your musical knowledge with many more people in some more regular way, if that isn't already happening, just a thought. Well I'd like it, anyway. Plz)
- Frowner, koeselitz, Ivan Fyodorovich, Eyebrows McGee, klangklangston, languagehat - broad and deep thinkers I've learned from. *Many* more, this place is full of excellent thoughts and thinkers :)
- prize bull oktorok, showbiz liz, griphus, the uncomplicated soups of my childhood, and The Whelk crack me up 9.99/10 times. The 0.01 times it doesn't happen is usually when I don't it
- I discovered tarvuz' comments in looking through some past questions (for various reasons), and their answers are powerful and have stuck with me.

I'm certain I'm missing people - favourites indicate appreciation, but also, lack of favourites doesn't equal lack of appreciation, just carelessness on my part. (Covering my bases here, yes, but it's also true).
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:58 AM on October 2, 2015 [11 favorites]

And Namlit for being very kind about my bug freakout.
posted by cotton dress sock at 12:01 PM on October 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

I want to thank poffinboffin for so many awesome comments. I tried to MeMail but they have it turned off, so here is an excellent place!
posted by masquesoporfavor at 8:03 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

There are too many people to thank, really. All of you make MetaFilter what it is, and for that you have my thanks.

Thanks to clavdivs, his comments always make me happy. Thanks to Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane and GenjiandProust for being easily convinced to open an account, and making fine use of them. Thanks to The Great Big Mulp, the equally great likeatoaster and all the other wonderful MeFites I met in Providence for adding sparkle and pizzazz to my five years in that city. Thanks to The Queen of Spreadable Fats for being the first person I could talk about MetaFilter with in real life. Thanks to mathowie for buying beer at meetups (and building this place).

Thanks to all the wonderful MeFites I've met and gotten drunk with in real life, from mds35, the only other person to show up at my first ever meet-up, to languagehat, Jessamyn, not_on_display and the other wild folk of Western New England, to UbuRoivas, unliteral, arha and the many wonderful Australian MeFites who met me on a long St. Patrick's Day in Sydney, while my apartment was being firebombed at the opposite side of the Earth, to the various lovely New York MeFites I bounced between during a lovely drink-sodden weekend, The Whelk, newpotato, functionequalsform, ThePinkSuperhero, and jonmc who managed to get four drinks into me in about half an hour.

And thanks to the Reykjavík MeFites, svenni, krilli, aldurtregi, Zero Gravitas, and the many people who've come through the city and said hi, you're all good eggs and I'm looking forward to sharing a city with you again.

On a personal level, I'd like to thank all the people who commented in the birth thread. During days of happy exhaustion it was a constant source of easy dopamine. And special shout out to infini for posting it.
posted by Kattullus at 2:31 PM on October 9, 2015 [8 favorites]

Mudpuppie, for the minecraft realm. Just got me through my final medical school exams. Thank you.
posted by quercus23 at 9:09 PM on October 12, 2015

I FUCKING LOVE YOU ALL! (Yeah, I've had a couple of beers, why do you ask?)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:35 PM on October 16, 2015 [6 favorites]

Literally every time Frowner favorites one of my comments I quietly say "senpai noticed me!" to myself.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 1:22 PM on October 20, 2015 [7 favorites]

Literally every time Frowner favorites one of my comments I quietly say "senpai noticed me!" to myself.

The handle “Senpai” hasn’t yet been claimed.
posted by Going To Maine at 7:36 PM on October 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

You guys were looking for me?
posted by Senpai at 7:50 PM on October 20, 2015 [10 favorites]

OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
SENPAI!!!(#ﾟДﾟ)っ‥･･━━━◆~☆))`ωﾟ)･;’.
posted by Going To Maine at 7:54 PM on October 20, 2015 [4 favorites]

You guys were looking for me?

I just happened to make an extra lunch today, that's all. I-it's not like I like you or anything!!
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 8:11 PM on October 20, 2015 [9 favorites]