slow, yet golden period? July 23, 2002 10:47 AM   Subscribe

Is MetaFilter going through a slow, yet golden period? Although the number of threads is probably still as high as usual, there seem to be far fewer comments. And yet the quality of posts and specially comments (lots of nice long, considered ones) has been unusually high, imo. Can there be any truth to this? [More inside]
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 10:47 AM (83 comments total)

shutup shutup shutup shutup shutup shutup shutup
posted by mcsweetie at 10:49 AM on July 23, 2002


An example: since the new server kicked in, there's been practically no activity between 09:00 and 13:00 GMT. There are certainly far fewer posts from non-Americans. So much so I'd say it's becoming less international (more strictly U.S.-centred) than it used to be. It's as if us foreigners are waiting for the American East Coast to wake up. Or just lurking. So - is lurking up or is MetaFilter genuinely less busy?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:49 AM on July 23, 2002


I think mcsweetie makes a pretty compelling argument.
posted by crunchland at 10:53 AM on July 23, 2002


It is, afterall, summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, which accounts for the location of a majority of the users. While I am not a huge contributer here, my online time (and computing time in general) has dropped off quite a bit with the onset of warm weather. Could account for some of it.

As for "the longer comments", it is probably just a cycle. When September hits, it will probably return.


posted by lampshade at 10:55 AM on July 23, 2002


I think mcsweetie makes a pretty compelling argument.

Only if you're from the Ring Lardner debating club.
posted by timeistight at 10:58 AM on July 23, 2002


You said it Miguel, europeans ruin everything good. Now that they are gone on holiday, we certainly are in a golden period.

New slogan: For all that is good and holy, keep the EU lurking
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:02 AM on July 23, 2002


europeans ruin everything good

Don't tempt us, Matt, or the posts about the Tour de France, the genius of Jerry Lewis, the superiority of Royales with cheese and, best of all, the pros and cons of EU enlargement to Romania and Turkey will start hopping in like rabbits. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:12 AM on July 23, 2002


Yeah!
posted by Marquis at 11:22 AM on July 23, 2002


Just keep the mayo off the fries.
posted by adampsyche at 11:22 AM on July 23, 2002


what, you don't like fry sauce?
posted by witchstone at 11:23 AM on July 23, 2002


I'm fairly certain that fry sauce is known only to those who have been to Utah. I asked for it in Texas and got "Y'all mean ketchup?" as a response. Repeatedly.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:27 AM on July 23, 2002


it's directly proportional to the amount of mormons in an area. thus it can be found in utah, idaho, and parts of arizona and california. kind of like carrots and green jello.
posted by witchstone at 11:32 AM on July 23, 2002


Since the escaped Mormons are insisting on being cryptic:

fry sauce.

No, not from Utah, just a concerned citizen.

posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:33 AM on July 23, 2002


Actually most of us Europeans have been attending the International Alliance Meeting on Metafilter's Ultimate Destruction. Mostly we just talk about me but occasionally we debate how to choose the right word for a one-word front page post without links.
posted by MUD at 11:36 AM on July 23, 2002


Oh please MUD let's do it before we die!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:37 AM on July 23, 2002


I'll try fry sauce, if I knew what it was.
posted by adampsyche at 11:37 AM on July 23, 2002


Ah. Saw the link. Who wants Thousand Island dressing on fries? ;-)
posted by adampsyche at 11:40 AM on July 23, 2002


it's a conspiracy. watch for exploding mailboxes.
posted by quonsar at 11:41 AM on July 23, 2002


Miguel: When do you enter your slow, yet golden period?
posted by rcade at 11:48 AM on July 23, 2002


Is MetaFilter going through a slow, yet golden period?

Yes. Please stop peeing in the corners, Miguel.
posted by machaus at 11:48 AM on July 23, 2002


Maybe it has something to do with our new friends the �'s
posted by y2karl at 11:52 AM on July 23, 2002


Miguel, you see a slowing of activity, like it, and think it's in spite of the quiet. ("slow, *yet* golden") In fact, the phrase you're looking for is "slow, therefore golden".

Anyways, a golden period is by definition indiscernable except in retrospect. The "golden" isn't a sheen of genuine value -- it's the warm, comfortable haze of memory. I find that a lot of cheerful, optimistic people -- you know, psychopaths -- tend to get that wrong.
posted by luser at 12:02 PM on July 23, 2002


Today on MetaFilterâ?¢ I learned what "fry sauce" is.

Now please excuse me, I have to vomit.
posted by whatnot at 12:08 PM on July 23, 2002


Today, the slow yet golden period.

Tomorrow, the very fast yet silvery ampersand.
posted by Tin Man at 12:09 PM on July 23, 2002


The article on fry sauce was neither slow nor golden.
posted by haqspan at 12:28 PM on July 23, 2002


Nor, indeed, is fry sauce apparently.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 12:34 PM on July 23, 2002


the posts about the Tour de France, the genius of Jerry Lewis, the superiority of Royales with cheese and, best of all, the pros and cons of EU enlargement to Romania and Turkey will start hopping in like rabbits.

Oh dear god, not like RABBITS, please...like ANYTHING but rabbits!!


(Why would anyone eat fries with anything other than Tabasco/Cholula on them?)
posted by rushmc at 12:43 PM on July 23, 2002


Nor, indeed, is fry sauce apparently.
posted by insomnyuk at 12:43 PM on July 23, 2002


MetaTalk has now taken navel-gazing to a whole new level.
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:44 PM on July 23, 2002


Oh my, Hanuman's army is here.
posted by vacapinta at 12:44 PM on July 23, 2002


insomnyuk: was that synchronicity or echolalia?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 12:50 PM on July 23, 2002


or echolalia?
posted by rocketman at 12:57 PM on July 23, 2002


what, you don't like fry sauce?

I'm surprised the Mormons don't just put Jello on their fries.
posted by anildash at 12:57 PM on July 23, 2002


Pink: a little bit of both :)
posted by insomnyuk at 1:00 PM on July 23, 2002


vacapinta: join us, or we'll send sugriva after you.
posted by Marquis at 1:03 PM on July 23, 2002


Mmmm.... fry-sauce-flavored Jello.
posted by Tin Man at 1:04 PM on July 23, 2002


Ahhhhh, three years ago. Now that was Metafilter's slow, golden period.
posted by donnagirl at 1:07 PM on July 23, 2002


Now that was Metafilter's slow, golden period.

...and that is only out-zenned by this.
posted by machaus at 1:23 PM on July 23, 2002


timeistight: What do you have against Ring Lardner? I know some of his work, but I don't get your joke.
posted by bingo at 2:07 PM on July 23, 2002

"Are you lost daddy," I arsked tenderly.
"Shut up," he explained.
Ring Lardner 1885-1933, The Young Immigrants, 1920, chapter 10.
posted by timeistight at 2:15 PM on July 23, 2002


MetaTalk has now taken navel-gazing to a whole new level.

New slogan: "MetaTalk: Taking navel-gazing to a whole new level."
posted by pardonyou? at 2:38 PM on July 23, 2002


witchstone:

fry sauce in CA?

where??! the closest i've been able to find it was in a diner in nevada, and i was oh-so-tempted to ask for a handful of the little buckets to make the return trip home with me but was a little too mild-mannered to trouble the aging waitress.

i'm also a huge fan of tube mustard, which, oddly enough, is also a "therapeutic product for your arms and legs".

ah. that sweet swiss tube mustard, how i miss it so.

maybe one of you holiday-ing europeans need someone to watch your pad? you can pay me in mustard and brie!
posted by fishfucker at 2:43 PM on July 23, 2002


Laugh all you want, but slow, yet golden not only applies to MetaFilter but can legitimately be said of these other equally desirable things:

Honey dripping; the blonde from "Goldfinger" stretching her arm to reach her Martini; sun-dappled tortoises on Seychelles beaches; the Jerry Stiller W.C. prostate scene in "Zoolander"; the rise in value of Krugerrands; any sunrise in Summer; Elaine Stritch; early Tindersticks albums when you're really stoned; hot buttered scones arriving via an octagenarian butler's tray; the afterglow after sex with someone you've just fallen in love with (or can't stop loving after years and years); maple syrup trickling off pancakes on a snowy morning...

*snowy morning/it was a stormy night alert! Switch off as quickly as possible*

But, above all, alone of all things, the time it takes a MetaTalk thread to actually address the question at hand.

For all this is slow, yet golden and ye know it. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:15 PM on July 23, 2002




*bows*
posted by eyeballkid at 3:32 PM on July 23, 2002


aye, miguel. But wouldn't it bother you if someone stormed into your apartment yelling "boogada boogada boogada" dressed as a cop while you were listening to said album stoned? Or if you were sitting in the afterglow of your wonderful sex, and your partner chimes in and says "boy, we've been having some great snorking action lately. let's highlight it and talk about until it doesn't seem so special anymore."

It would bother me.
posted by Ufez Jones at 3:35 PM on July 23, 2002


I have to admit y2karl, you have topped my snarkasm. beautiful.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:37 PM on July 23, 2002


I do get it, Ufez - it's like an unwelcome interruption. Mentioning that something wonderful is happening often kills what's happening with self-consciousness and then invites the sort of sidetracking which of itself replaces and kills the conversation it was meant to extoll.

But this is MetaTalk, sort of like the grey people whispering behind the door about how badly or well the others are behaving over on the blue. It's not supposed to affect - not directly; not immediately; perhaps even not at all - what's happening on MetaFilter.

If it did spoil the party - which I doubt - of course I'm sorry. I just wanted to know whether overall participation was down - there was at least one recent thread where this was brought up and confirmed - as this is a reversal of the extraordinary growth MetaFilter has been experiencing for as long as I can remember.

That was all. Your point and example stand, however. So far, I gather that people who've posted here do think it's slower and better. It's the "Shhhh! You'll wake up the kids!" attitude I don't understand. Or are only bitching and complaining, denouncing and finger-pointed considered acceptable now? ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:58 PM on July 23, 2002


Dammit: finger-pointing.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:00 PM on July 23, 2002


...
posted by y2karl at 4:01 PM on July 23, 2002


There is definitely something to be said for being quiet and observing. There's nothing worse than gazing out and the Grand Canyon or Half-Dome or something equally impressive, and having someone next to you explaining ad nauseum about how it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen and how it means so much to them and that this is a magic moment they must never forget and yammer yammer yammer until you want to jump up and down on their larynx a couple of hundred times.
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:43 PM on July 23, 2002


mcsweetie:

shutup shutup shutup shutup shutup shutup shutup

Yeah, God forbid that anyone says anything annoying or controversial.

In your wet dreams, maybe. Nobody's gonna shut me up.


posted by mark13 at 4:48 PM on July 23, 2002


Miguel, I'm starting to realize that you're like MetaFilter's straight-A student. You sit at the front of the class, your homework's always neat, your hair's always combed and you always have your hand up. And the kids in the back of the room always want to push you in a mud puddle.
posted by timeistight at 4:53 PM on July 23, 2002


Thanks for that polite and compassionate way of saying everybody here hates me, timestight. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:10 PM on July 23, 2002


I just wanna cover him in fry sauce.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:10 PM on July 23, 2002


Did I say that out loud?

posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:12 PM on July 23, 2002


I want to submerge him in lime jello, wait till it congeals, jiggle it, then sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".
posted by evanizer at 5:15 PM on July 23, 2002


*tapping soft-shuffle shoes on the floor*

Well God knows I've been waiting long enough, Evanizer! :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:17 PM on July 23, 2002


Hey, Miguel! I don't hate you; I very much enjoy all your contributions. I'm just saying you seem to get up some people's noses. Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.
posted by timeistight at 5:21 PM on July 23, 2002


But this is MetaTalk, sort of like the grey people whispering behind the door about how badly or well the others are behaving over on the blue. It's not supposed to affect - not directly; not immediately; perhaps even not at all - what's happening on MetaFilter.

That's what MetaTalk has become, Miguel, because of meaningless posts like these. Something popped into your head that you really wanted to discuss with the group, and so you started a thread. That's why you have a website. So you can discuss whatever the heck you want to discuss. MetaTalk is about reporting bugs, calling out inflammatory posters/comments, organizing MeFi gatherings, and if I'm not mistaken, that's it. The MetaFilter-related category you posted to is a loophole to bring in your chatter.

MetaTalk used to have an impact, but slowly it has deteriorated into one huge wank-fest. As I said in an earlier MeTa thread, perhaps chatter on the Blue will help build community bonds and diversify the members, however, MetaTalk is not the place for this.

I hate to have to bring this up, especially since most of the contributors are no longer with us, but look at this thread Miguel. Same irreverence for MeTa; same Miguel playpen. You post less, but you haven't changed.
posted by BlueTrain at 5:40 PM on July 23, 2002


That's what MetaTalk has become, BlueTrain, because of meaningless posts like these. Something popped into your head that you really wanted to discuss with the group, and so you started a thread. MetaTalk is about reporting bugs, calling out inflammatory posters/comments, organizing MeFi gatherings, and if I'm not mistaken, that's it. The MetaFilter-related category you posted to is a loophole to bring in your chatter
posted by eyeballkid at 6:00 PM on July 23, 2002


This is three times in the past 3 hours you've followed me, kid. You got something to say, say it. Otherwise, enough with the childish insults. You're embarrassing yourself.
posted by BlueTrain at 6:05 PM on July 23, 2002


Well, this is sort of a stupid thread. On the other hand, BlueTrain's gone and got his knickers in a wad again, which is always fun, so the thread's not a total waste.
posted by Optamystic at 6:08 PM on July 23, 2002


I'm just having trouble keeping up with the BlueTrain Rules of MeFi. Everytime I turn around, you're telling everyone in a thread how it should be run and how things should be done. Or maybe I'm sick of everyone's comments having to pass through the BlueTrain approval process in MeTa. When you come in to a thread, you treat everyone as an inferior. That shit bugs me.

Otherwise, enough with the childish insults. You're embarrassing yourself.

Classic BlueTrain.
posted by eyeballkid at 6:20 PM on July 23, 2002


Passion is good, people.

And when it isn't, it's often greatly amusing.

Carry on as you were.

P. S. When you're all finished, I know of a good doc--anti-psychotics and tranquilizers out the yin, strictly hush/under-the-counter stuff.

(I'm wondering if some of you couldn't get legitimate prescriptions...)
posted by precocious at 6:26 PM on July 23, 2002


::shrugs::

You're opinion of me is irrelevant, because you can send me junk mail, flame me via e-mail, etc...it's an open door. However, keep it off the site. I'm doing my best to curb my arrogance; I suggest you try the same.

Classic BlueTrain

You've made your share of messes. I'm trying to clean up mine. Why don't you back off and let me?
posted by BlueTrain at 6:27 PM on July 23, 2002


Because you do it so noisily?
posted by Kafkaesque at 6:37 PM on July 23, 2002


However, keep it off the site. I'm doing my best to curb my arrogance; I suggest you try the same.

I call bullshit on that. I don't even read MeFi that much anymore, but anytime I do, you seem to be chiming in on what's proper. Apologizing once when you're called on being a jackass doesn't mean anything.
posted by tj at 6:42 PM on July 23, 2002


On a personal note, I'd like to say I respect what BlueTrain said and have e-mailed him about it. It's all about agreement and disagreement and that's how it should be. But you wrong, BT! ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:44 PM on July 23, 2002


I thought BlueTrain was a girl?
posted by evanizer at 7:39 PM on July 23, 2002


ooh it makes me wonder
posted by y2karl at 7:57 PM on July 23, 2002


I thought BlueTrain was a girl?

Well, BT's referred to itself as "Mom" one thread over, I suppose BT could be a he with parental role issues, or it could be TV slang.

But yeah, Mig, I'm thinking BT's female (the many other possibilities are rather interesting, though.)
posted by precocious at 8:53 PM on July 23, 2002


let's not start confusing bluetrain and bt, ok? i know for a fact that bt is not a mother. bluetrain, i have no idea.
posted by mlang at 9:16 PM on July 23, 2002


BlueTrain.

I'll leave the in-depth stuff to Tamim.
posted by yhbc at 9:25 PM on July 23, 2002


BlueTrain.

Oh, like that's a big help. You might as well have pointed us to here.
posted by crunchland at 10:04 PM on July 23, 2002


Oh man, crunch - that was hilarious!!!
posted by cyniczny at 10:06 PM on July 23, 2002


Yeah, God forbid that anyone says anything annoying or controversial.

In your wet dreams, maybe. Nobody's gonna shut me up.


...? nevermind!
posted by mcsweetie at 10:11 PM on July 23, 2002


fishfucker: fry sauce in CA? where??!

well, i don't have actual hard addresses, but hunt down a mormon and tie him up until he tells you the secret fry sauce location in that sector.

sorry to interrupt the circle jerk. carry on!
by the way, yanking on your penis won't make it bigger. that's a myth.
posted by witchstone at 7:42 AM on July 24, 2002


I'm doing my best to curb my arrogance --BlueTrain

Priceless.
posted by rushmc at 9:44 AM on July 24, 2002


Pssst... Witchstone... it does so. Temporarily, at least... But its not healthy. Eventually the poor thing throws up and faints.
posted by Perigee at 9:57 AM on July 24, 2002


born in utah and i had no idea what fry sauce was. i always went to Arctic Circle for ice cream.

and, as a californian most of my life, i must say i'm still in that dip-anything-in-ranch-dressing thing. Asked for some at the Brooklyn Tavern and they looked at me like i was crazy.

[perigee, with practice it can throw up more than once before it faints!]
posted by th3ph17 at 11:06 AM on July 25, 2002


Only if you're under 30.
posted by timeistight at 11:20 AM on July 25, 2002


Mmm... fry sauce... course, everyone has their own recipe... but mostly it's just catchup and mayo. Some add some pickle juice... others Tabasco... some Old Bay.

Laugh all you will... but I like fry sauce.

As for the slow, golden period. Well, I was out of town. It's probably over now, though.

: )

(BlueTrain, man, who pissed in your Wheaties?)
posted by silusGROK at 10:49 PM on August 16, 2002


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