A way to request FPPs?

February 2, 2016 10:02 AM

I know that the site is not supposed to be newsfilter, and that the answer to “I wish someone would post on X” is often “post it yourself, hooray”. But there are often topics or stories where I find myself thinking, “man, I wish someone on Metafilter who actually knows something about this field would write up a post about this thing to help me understand it better.” Alternatively, if someone wanted to work on a post but also wanted some help from someone who understands the field/industry/current media landscape around a subject, it would be nice to put out some kind of call/request to see if any of those subject area experts would be up for looking at a draft and offering feedback.

I’m not thinking of anything as formal as an open CFP (call-for-posts) page, necessarily, but I guess that is the closest thing to what I’m imagining. So if you read a book chapter about, say, birth control in 16th century France, or video game glitch fetishism, and there ended your knowledge but there began your interest, there could be a way of saying “are there any Mefites who would like to write a post on this subject, or who would be willing to collaborate on a post on this subject?”

Part of Projects, maybe? I'm curious to see if anyone else would use such a feature, if it turns out to be possible.

posted by a fiendish thingy to Feature Requests at 10:02 AM (53 comments total)

There's nothing like that on the site at this point, no, and I don't really see an obvious path to adding one officially, much as I basically get the idea. That said, it'd be totally okay to have an informal spot on the wiki (maybe there even is one I'm forgetting) to stage that sort of request/suggestion as a list of topics.

My personal strategy for this sort of thing basically comes down to say "man, someone should make a post about x" on twitter, though I don't find myself doing that very often in practice.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:04 AM on February 2, 2016 [3 favorites]

I would say that if it is something you find online that sparks your interest (let's say it's a longread about birth control in video games instead of a book chapter), just go ahead and post that thing. A single link to a fascinating thing on the Web can be a great MeFi post. Not every post has to be a scholarly literature review, and if there are MeFites who have specific knowledge and/or time to dig up additional resources, they can chime in in the comments.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:28 AM on February 2, 2016 [20 favorites]

longread about birth control in video games

Please consider this my ask for this item.

Respectfully yours,
MCMikeNamara
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:30 AM on February 2, 2016 [20 favorites]

So if you read a book chapter about, say, birth control in 16th century France, or video game glitch fetishism, and there ended your knowledge but there began your interest, there could be a way of saying “are there any Mefites who would like to write a post on this subject, or who would be willing to collaborate on a post on this subject?”

I feel like I'm always pointing out alternative solutions to MetaFilter modifications, so sorry if that's getting old.

But this is totally the sort of thing your local librarian would love to help you learn about. Then you could, uh, make the post yourself!
posted by carsonb at 10:43 AM on February 2, 2016

Also, again FWIW, there are 7 posts tagged with 'videogames' and 'glitch'. I hope you find your fetish.
posted by carsonb at 10:45 AM on February 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

I’m not thinking of anything as formal as an open CFP (call-for-posts) page, necessarily, but I guess that is the closest thing to what I’m imagining.

The MetaFilter Wiki has a Drafts and Collaborations section.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:57 AM on February 2, 2016 [6 favorites]

I will second the above recommendations to Just Post It Yourself -- I am no expert on lobster fishing or endangered squirrels or the intersection of astronomy and sanctity of religious sites, but if you do a little digging for supplementary links (or not, as in the case of the lobster one), then your post will at least be broader than "Here's one person's version of the story." or "Here's yet another Thing Causes Cancer post that the biologists are going to rip apart."

Supplementary thing, though -- it doesn't happen often, but can we collectively agree not to go too hard on someone who doesn't include every link or viewpoint? There's plenty of room for the FPP equivalent of both "Hey, did you see that article about..." and "Here is an exhaustive look at the pros and cons of...". Yes, there are some blatantly and willfully slanted FPPs. But it's more constructive to assume good faith and present your case in the comments without accusing the poster of being a shill or stupid.
posted by Etrigan at 11:00 AM on February 2, 2016 [6 favorites]

Post in Jobs with a payment of one cent?
posted by wenestvedt at 11:10 AM on February 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

the man of twists and turns, that is probably the closest to what I'm looking for, but I had no idea it existed, so thanks! It seems kind of moribund, though?

I think some people are misunderstanding what I'm asking for, because I've enthusiastically Posted It Myself several times, on topics that were not my areas of expertise. I'm not lacking for Pluck and Gumption or Access to Paywalled Research through University Library Access Points.

But you know how Eyebrows McGee knows magical amounts about civic engagement, or how ChuraChura can speak to the realities and tensions of modern-day fieldwork? I feel like there are people here who are similarly well-versed in other topics, and I like the idea of having a mechanism to find them prior to making a post near their respective wheelhouses. Zero mefites follow me on twitter, so the Cortex Stratagem™ doesn't work for me.

Also, I'm not talking about subjects where I already have a cool article in hand. I often discover topics during the course of reading books, but I want to know how to find an up-to-date insider view of the subject, who the leading voices are, what the warring factions are, why certain mainstream commenters are DEEPLY suspect, why others are well-respected, what scandals cropped up three months ago, which publications cover the topic with reasonable accuracy.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 11:14 AM on February 2, 2016 [4 favorites]

I'd also like a mechanism for this...I actually asked for a post about the 3 Part religion in the last Vietnam thread. I'm in no position to put a good one together, having spent a grand total of about a month there, but it's perfect fodder for the Blue.
posted by Kreiger at 11:15 AM on February 2, 2016

The thing that gets me about this is that it can be surprisingly hard to find good longform pieces about an interesting topic. I've been spurred to make FPPs both because I found something really cool before that I didn't know that much about and also because I thought of something cool I'd learned about offline. They're both hard for me to pull off super well, because I often have trouble finding good links that can introduce a person to the topic without making posts that are denser than I like to create. (For one thing, no one ever reads all of them in time to comment.)

This goes doubly if you're asking someone to talk about their area of expertise in a FPP because of the no-self-linking rule. Like, if you asked Chura to post about fieldwork, for example--I follow a lot of the same people she does, and there was an interesting Storify Twitter conversation about menstruation in fieldwork which was organized by a person I know we both follow on Twitter and occasionally talk to. I toyed with bringing that here but then thought that I might be too close to it. Does that count as a conflict of interest to bring here? We're serious about that for a reason on the Blue, and subjects that you do know a lot about or conversations that you're paying close attention to are more likely to throw up that sort of conundrum.

For me, a "oh, I'd read the hell out of that!" barometer of interest would be really helpful, but I can't think of a formal way to encourage it. The closest I come is surveying whoever is hanging out in chat about whether they think that $TOPIC is cool.
posted by sciatrix at 12:28 PM on February 2, 2016 [4 favorites]

For me, a "oh, I'd read the hell out of that!" barometer of interest would be really helpful, but I can't think of a formal way to encourage it.

Right, that!

I definitely don’t want to ask people to write things for me to post. But, just like the mods are willing to look at FPP drafts to screen for hotspots that will derail a post, it would be cool for people who know something about a subject area to say “this terminology is no longer used” or “leave out the link by [person], he was caught plagiarizing six months ago”.

A way to say "if anyone is up for being a mentor for a FPP on puppy theater", so that I don't accidentally include a deeply offensive puppy theater treatise that has since been discredited by every puppy theater expert in the field.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 12:51 PM on February 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

I can see the value in a system like this... but for what it's worth, when I saw this post, I took it as a sign to stop puzzling over the fact that nobody's done a FPP about Martha Wash, and just went ahead and did the thing. I'm glad I did, and for the record, I'd be thrilled if mefites with greater knowledge and insight (about club music in the '80s and '90s, or about artist attribution generally) popped into the thread to share!
posted by duffell at 1:08 PM on February 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

As an expert on taxation, it would be really hard for me to write a post about taxes that was not in GYOB territory. I am knowledgeable enough about the topic to have really strong and well-formed opinions about tax policy, which doesn't really make for a good post. It doesn't even make for good comments most of the time. I usually pass by threads talking about tax policy, because my contribution would basically boil down to "I know more about this than you do; I'm right, you're wrong," which does not really promote conversation. Or supporting links are paywalled or possible-self-linking-conflicted.

That said, if anyone wants to post about taxes but feels like they don't have enough background knowledge, they can memail me for help.

I often discover topics during the course of reading books, but I want to know how to find an up-to-date insider view of the subject, who the leading voices are, what the warring factions are, why certain mainstream commenters are DEEPLY suspect, why others are well-respected, what scandals cropped up three months ago, which publications cover the topic with reasonable accuracy.

Some of these inquiries can be addressed with a well-crafted Ask, which could lead you to material that would make a good FPP.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:14 PM on February 2, 2016 [9 favorites]

Seems like this is what Ask already is. People write some pretty detailed responses to these kinds of questions. The links or even the thread itself(?) can be posted to the blue.
posted by michaelh at 1:29 PM on February 2, 2016

This could be an interesting part of our profiles; an "ask me about ______" nametag as it were. It seems like it should be less about writing an FPP on request and more of a willingness to edit for language, clarity, and obvious links. If this were a searchable tag we could get a list of people who feel confident with this topic.
posted by Margalo Epps at 1:46 PM on February 2, 2016 [6 favorites]

:justpost:
posted by Sebmojo at 2:03 PM on February 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

“man, I wish someone on Metafilter who actually knows something about this field would write up a post about this thing to help me understand it better.”

Why not post a question to AskMe?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:07 PM on February 2, 2016 [4 favorites]

We didn't follow through but zarq and I emailed each other back and forth about this. Due to his utter awesomeness as a poster, you can see why I was interested in working with him. I cannot explain his interest in working with me.

I'd drop a memail, myself, to the MeFite you think might be a great resource.
posted by bearwife at 2:10 PM on February 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

The advantage of having some sort of site support for this is that the person asking for help wouldn't have to know who might be a great resource.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 2:17 PM on February 2, 2016 [3 favorites]

Zig-a-zig-ah
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:50 PM on February 2, 2016 [5 favorites]

A single link to a fascinating thing on the Web can be a great MeFi post.

I have in fact long argued that it is the Platonic Ideal of a great MeFi post, but variety is, as they say, the spice of life.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:40 PM on February 2, 2016 [7 favorites]

trouble finding good links that can introduce a person to the topic without making posts that are denser than I like to create. (For one thing, no one ever reads all of them in time to comment.)

There sorta kinda seems like there's a place for "blue" and "blue-longform" where some of the more extensive in depth slow discussions can "live on the front page" for days or weeks at a time.
posted by sammyo at 3:41 PM on February 2, 2016

a place for "blue"
That's "The blue"

and "blue-longform"
That's "your own blog."
posted by Wolfdog at 3:51 PM on February 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

> As an expert on taxation, it would be really hard for me to write a post about taxes that was not in GYOB territory. I am knowledgeable enough about the topic to have really strong and well-formed opinions about tax policy, which doesn't really make for a good post. It doesn't even make for good comments most of the time. I usually pass by threads talking about tax policy, because my contribution would basically boil down to "I know more about this than you do; I'm right, you're wrong," which does not really promote conversation. Or supporting links are paywalled or possible-self-linking-conflicted.

Same, only substitute drugs for taxes. I couldn't post about the stuff I know the most about, professionally, without it being too self-linky. And I find discussions on here of the stuff I know the most about almost impossible to read, for similar reasons. I can help point people in the right directions, though, or at least away from bad sources. You can never go wrong with maias, for example, and I'm glad someone posted her kratom article.
posted by gingerbeer at 5:41 PM on February 2, 2016 [6 favorites]

And I find discussions on here of the stuff I know the most about almost impossible to read, for similar reasons.

The pain is sometimes physical.

Personally, I tend to prefer FPPs where the content itself (which might be only a single link) is really outstanding, rather than the ones that are a compendium on a single subject. I know tastes are different, and a lot of people probably like the compendium posts better.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:12 PM on February 2, 2016 [6 favorites]

MetaFilter: substitute drugs for taxes
posted by hippybear at 7:44 PM on February 2, 2016 [13 favorites]

I get the desire but I feel like it leans toward a wish for the perfectability of FPPs that MetaFilter is really not designed for, whereas a place like BrainPickings or something really is. Part of the value proposition of MetaFilter is that we're all out there with antennae up for interesting things that can be brought back here. A great post doesn't have to be a one-para exegesis of a subject from an expert point of view. It can be, but thank His Noodliness we don't have to wait only for that, or it would be an awfully quiet site. If you post a link of interest about a given topic, chances are very high that a SME in that area will soon show up and throw down, or at least that the collective wit of the userbase will flesh out the thread to include just about everything a perfect FPP would anyway. Post early, post often, post your passion. Don't wait for the grownups to arrive.
posted by Miko at 8:17 PM on February 2, 2016 [4 favorites]

it would be cool for people who know something about a subject area to say “this terminology is no longer used” or “leave out the link by [person], he was caught plagiarizing six months ago”.

That’s what the comments are for. Don’t be afraid of being wrong.

I know the debate is old, but I hate the long posts. I’m always trying to figure out which are the good links, which are the filler, and don’t and up reading any of it.

And I find discussions on here of the stuff I know the most about almost impossible to read, for similar reasons.

The pain is sometimes physical.

MUST RESIST. I written many long ass screeds that went into the trash can.
posted by bongo_x at 10:11 PM on February 2, 2016 [5 favorites]

Probably should have said "don’t be afraid of making a mistake" instead.
posted by bongo_x at 10:12 PM on February 2, 2016

I like this idea (and its oft-mooted cousin, collaborative FPPs). It would help me participate because often I'm not as ready to sound my barbaric yawp as most of the commenters here appear to be.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:08 PM on February 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Seconding Brandon Blatcher. Why not just post a question? "I just read this article on birth control in 16th century France/video game glitch fetishism/whatever, and I'm looking for more perspectives and resources on the subject."
posted by tangerine at 11:54 PM on February 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

This reminds me of this previous MeTa which put forward the idea of a Projects Talk section, to ask for possible collaborators on projects and I think posts were mentioned also.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:10 AM on February 3, 2016 [2 favorites]

If a subject interests you, spend a little time finding a good link or even several. There is no guarantee that experts will show up. There have been really interesting posts that get few responses because they don't lead to discussion. There are barely adequate posts that hit a nerve. Post the thing that you find really interesting, cool, funny, thoughtful, important, and hits *your* nerve. If you post a link that turns out to be totally discredited, or hits on lots of people's grouchiness spot, or whatever, you may get some push back. Also, sometimes MeFites, like other humans, are jerks. There is always room for good posts. There are many interesting topics for discussion that are not posted. That's okay; this isn't expected to be the paper of record.

You may have more expertise than you give yourself credit for. You will gain expertise by making good posts.
posted by theora55 at 6:02 AM on February 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

I would like to know more about puppy theater.

*eagerly awaits FPP*
posted by spinturtle at 7:55 AM on February 3, 2016 [4 favorites]

Some of these inquiries can be addressed with a well-crafted Ask, which could lead you to material that would make a good FPP.

Yeah, but I could also just go and Google it myself to look for accessible articles. Which is what I usually do. My point--which I don't think I actually made clear there--is that just because someone is an expert on the field, they don't necessarily have links to lots of good primers on the subject waiting at their fingertips. Asking experts to construct more FPPs on interesting topics is more like... outsourcing the work of creating a FPP to someone who might or might not have the energy to go about setting it up. I'm happy to help people craft FPPs if they're intimidated by the thought of doing it on their own, but I'm also sort of wary of people going "I wanna hear about animal sex--HEY SCI, MAKE ME A FPP! Find me some links and frame it!"

Making a good FPP is work. And I guess, part of what is making me dubious about this right now is that I think it elides that work, at least to an extent. Are we asking for a system that gives us feedback about whether a proposed FPP is interesting, or a system that matches people with experts on topics who can look over them to make sure the links are good, or what?

I think theora555 has a really good point inasmuch as... well, sometimes jerks are gonna jerk. Because even if the links are good, that kneejerk criticism may well pop up. I still remember a FPP that got posted about sympatric speciation, which is a topic that I know quite a bit about. I have a paper published on the subject and everything! And in that thread, there was a kneejerk dismissive "this is boring because obviously this topic has been discussed to death" comment. I happened to see it and was able to go "the hell it is!", but there's no way that I could have predicted that comment as a professional in that highly specific subfield before the post went up.

Basically, there's nothing you can do to pre-empt people from being jerks. There's nothing you, as the writer of the post, can do to ensure that discussion will go well. There are things you can do to help, but expertise is not a magic cure-all that guarantees that a post on that subject will go swimmingly. I think it's better to just take a deep breath, do the best you can, and jump into the subject with both feet.
posted by sciatrix at 10:19 AM on February 3, 2016 [3 favorites]

Hilariously (not sarcastic word choice, I have actually been laughing about it since discussion started), the calls to “just be brave and post” make me less confident in posting, because it makes me feel like I framed this post very, very badly, and therefore less eager to attempt any future posts ever. Even about puppy theater. :)

When someone posts a Call for Papers in, say, an academic listserv, they are not lazily ordering other people to do research for them, nor are they indicating any fear of writing a paper themselves, nor are they indicating an inability to research a subject on their own. They are saying “I am interested in this subject— is anyone else? Would anyone else be interested in brainstorming? Are there people out there who are secretly interested in this very thing that I am interested in?”

If no one answers, then hey, go ahead and make your own. But if someone does, cool!

That is the extent of what I was trying to suggest. I didn’t think it would work in Ask, because it seems like it would verge on Chatfilter. “What is the deal with [obscure news story] I read this morning?” seems like it would be rightfully deleted from Ask.

If all I wanted to do was make posts, then hey, no problem. But what I’m asking about is if there could be a mechanism for people who would be interested in the process of collaborating on posts, even if the final post only contains one link and two lines of text.

...which, I guess the answer is no! Although I can't be sure, because again, I seem to have asked this very, very badly. :)
posted by a fiendish thingy at 10:48 AM on February 3, 2016 [6 favorites]

Yeah, and that I am totally in favor of, just to be clear! I'm just not sure what's being asked for. Your comment clarified it a bunch--and that I'm definitely behind. I think a mechanism for that would make posting much less scary for people.

The Wiki, I gotta say, does not seem like a solution to me for two reasons: one, it's clearly not updated, and two, it is hard to find if you don't already know what's there.
posted by sciatrix at 10:51 AM on February 3, 2016

When someone posts a Call for Papers in, say, an academic listserv, they are not lazily ordering other people to do research for them, nor are they indicating any fear of writing a paper themselves, nor are they indicating an inability to research a subject on their own. They are saying “I am interested in this subject— is anyone else? Would anyone else be interested in brainstorming? Are there people out there who are secretly interested in this very thing that I am interested in?”

I guess my view is that making a post is the Call for Papers, and the comment thread is the collaboration/brainstorming. I understand what you are asking for, but I don't understand why making a post to CollaboFilter would be less scary than making a post to MetaFilter.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:59 AM on February 3, 2016 [4 favorites]

With due respect, could we stop trying to frame this as having anything to do with being afraid to post, or posting being "scary"? It is really rubbing me the wrong way.

Liking collaboration is not the same thing as being afraid to post solo.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 11:07 AM on February 3, 2016 [3 favorites]

With due respect, could we stop trying to frame this as having anything to do with being afraid to post, or posting being "scary"? It is really rubbing me the wrong way.

Fair enough. I certainly didn't mean to do that. My apologies.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:12 AM on February 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

Sorry about that! I actually think something like this would be really good for encouraging more people to post, especially first-time posters--but I shouldn't have elided experienced posters who prefer collaboration there, either. I like collaboration too and so would probably use a collaboration forum, and I'm definitely not afraid to throw a FPP up myself.
posted by sciatrix at 11:15 AM on February 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

As mentioned in this thread, this sort of topic has been discussed before, but because the work-arounds (short of posting a question to Ask and building from there) get forgotten. I started the Drafts and Collaborations wiki page that the man of twists and turns mentioned up-thread, but as pointed out, it's pretty dusty because it's not something everyone knows about. And in most efforts to get more people posting, many MeFites offer to be a sounding board or collaborator for future posts (or who else might be like the man of twists and turns, uses their profile to list interesting post topics), but unless you make a note of who offered in those threads, it's forgotten.

I think the only way for a collaboration tool to really get used is if it is institutionalized somehow. But as I see it, such solutions require an alteration or expansion of the site - a new sub-section and "shared drafts" feature, or an optional, searchable flag people can use to indicate "I'd like to collaborate on making posts," and I don't see either thing happening.

While I appreciate a hope for a Call For Papers-type service/feature, I also support people making "thin" posts that provide a lot of opportunity for people to add content. For an example of a news post that has grown in content and details through comments, see Oregon Under Attack, which ended with 3,672 comments. While that puts it in the top ten for threads with the most comments, there's also Sappho's sixth and seventh poems thread, where MeFites were likely the first people to publish translations, two of the mere 89 comments.

In short: while it would be keen to have some new features to foster collaboration, posts are not limited by the content in the original post, but are "living" things thanks to the comments from other MeFites.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:25 AM on February 3, 2016 [2 favorites]

Of the ideas tossed out here, I think the only one with potential is a new profile doohickey for "I proclaim myself a SME in this subject. AMA if you want to FPP collaborate."

But, ultimately, collaboration involves good rapport, among other things. Once in a great while, I get memails saying "Hey, can you review my thing and give feedback?" Or "Can you pop into this Ask?" But if it became a regular part of mefi, if I got asked all the time, I might start saying "Nope. I have other things I need to do."

So setting up any kind of system to facilitate collaboration in specific has a lot of potential pitfalls. We already have memail. If you know someone is a SME and think they won't bite your head off, you can already drop them a line. Being able to search site profiles for a formal listing of Stuff I Know will not guarantee that you hit it off with them. Plus, the site isn't set up to list two coauthors. I like getting some kind of acknowledgment that I did that. I already get paid for ghost writing. I don't really want to routinely collaborate with someone and then let them take all the credit. I see no easy means to resolve that aspect.

I was once asked to do a post about a topic I have training in and I was flattered and did the post. The comments were not exactly food for my ego. I haven't posted on that subject again. I did not feel rewarded for doing a 101 intro plus some interesting links. Plus, like others have said, if I have training and deep knowledge and yadda, if I start gathering substantive resources for an epic post, I start feeling like "I should put this on my own blog."

That isn't to discourage you. The TLDR is "In practical terms, I think having a profile option related to this might be useful for serving your stated goal. That is the only practical suggestion I have seen so far, IMO." But it may not be as awesome as you are imagining, so I wouldn't get too giddy about it.
posted by Michele in California at 11:26 AM on February 3, 2016

Just off the top of my head, if such Subject Matter Expert toggle was available on profiles, you could also un-mark it if you get too many inquiries, but if enough people use the toggle, then that should distribute the inquiries (unless you're the only SME on the topic who self-identifies on MetaFilter).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:35 AM on February 3, 2016

That isn't to discourage you. The TLDR is "In practical terms, I think having a profile option related to this might be useful for serving your stated goal. That is the only practical suggestion I have seen so far, IMO." But it may not be as awesome as you are imagining, so I wouldn't get too giddy about it.

Michele, are you talking to me, or filthy light thief?
posted by a fiendish thingy at 11:35 AM on February 3, 2016

With due respect, could we stop trying to frame this as having anything to do with being afraid to post, or posting being "scary"? It is really rubbing me the wrong way.

the calls to “just be brave and post” make me less confident in posting, because it makes me feel like I framed this post very, very badly, and therefore less eager to attempt any future posts ever.

I think that’s because you’re coming across as worrying a lot about making a good post, or the right post, or something. I’m saying that your perspective may be off.

When someone posts a Call for Papers in, say, an academic listserv

We’re not writing papers, encyclopedia entries, articles for the Atlantic or Wikipedia. It’s really "hey look at this cool thing I saw on the internet". If I find I’m interested in knowing more about the subject I have search engines too that I can use.
posted by bongo_x at 11:40 AM on February 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

Part of folks' assumption that a "scared to post" thing is in play is, I think, just the historical weight of that as something that's been discussed in MetaTalk before. So it ends up being on folks' minds when talking about alternate/collaborative/etc post workflows even if it's not what was actually being broached. Just some zeitgeist flowing into the conversation and potentially confusing it a little.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:44 AM on February 3, 2016

MCMikeNamara: "birth control in video games"

In Leisure Suit Larry and the Land of the Lounge Lizards, there's a section where you have to buy a condom. It's a start!
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 9:47 PM on February 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

From 2011: 'Birth Control Brigade,' New Contraception-Focused Video Game, Aims To Educate Teens
posted by vibratory manner of working at 5:18 AM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Talking of calls for posts, did anyone ever find out about the non-edible uses of cheese thing? That's a post I've waited on for months.
posted by Ned G at 5:05 AM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

Well, this thread actually got me to take the plunge and post my first post. It's not very deep, and it's not one of the "cooler" topics I had on my mind, but it did break the ice. So I guess I've got that going for me.
posted by blurker at 8:14 PM on February 17, 2016 [3 favorites]

Yay! That makes me genuinely happy, blurker.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:42 PM on February 17, 2016