State of MetaFilter, 2017 March 22, 2017 8:26 AM Subscribe
Heya, folks, it's time (and then some!) for a State of MetaFilter post. I want to give everybody an update on how the site is doing financially, and catch y'all up on the major goings-on in both the business and community aspects of MetaFilter in the time since the last State of MeFi post.
The very short version: it's been a weird couple years out there in the world; we've hired a couple staff and wished pb well; and things are financially pretty stable, thanks in significant part to the ongoing generosity of the MetaFilter community whose contributions continue to represent a vital chunk of the site's operating revenue. But come on inside for a much less short version!
~~ About supporting the site ~~
1. Here’s MetaFilter funding page if you want to contribute. Thank you; I can't say enough how fundamental this has been to the site's ability to function.
2. Stripe and PayPal
We continue to support both Stripe and Paypal, for both one-time and recurring payments. Using either is totally fine, as best fits your preference. Stripe is a newer payment processing service that allows us a little more flexibility in how we handle payments, including support for quarterly and yearly recurring payments. It doesn’t require you to set up an account. We’ve built a basic set of payment options on the funding page in addition to the existing PayPal options; if you have a specific funding setup you’d like to use that isn’t there, you’re welcome to contact us directly about setting up a custom plan. Note that the Stripe options are only available to logged-in members.
3. Don't forget to update your credit card info
Recurring donations will stop recurring if your card data on file with PayPal or Stripe expires; if you're doing the new card shuffle when your bank updates your card, don't forget to update that info on PayPal or drop us a line for Stripe contributions. If you get a confusing message from PayPal about a card/contribution cancellation, that's what's up—we promise we're not cancelling your payment on you.
4. Help Mefi through Amazon shopping
If you’d like to support Metafilter a little bit more in an indirect way, you can be sure to do any shopping you do on Amazon by reaching the site through MetaFilter's amazon affiliate link, which you can always find on the funding page as well. A significant amount of Metafilter’s monthly revenue comes from Amazon affiliate income, based on the site replacing/inserting our code in most of the Amazon links people post, but this is another way to try and help Mefi out with revenue while doing something you were already doing anyway.
And if you ever have questions about payment processing or related things, please feel free to drop us a line at the contact form and we’ll be happy to help.
~~ What's happened since the last update ~~
Well, it's been a hell of a stretch since summer of 2015, in big and small ways. Heartening to me is the fact that the MetaFilter community itself has persisted through local events like staffing changes and mefite deaths, and through the weight brought on our community by external events on the internet at large and in world politics. It'd take far too much time and space to cover everything, but I'll talk about some of the major points.
- Financial stability:
We have continued to be in stable financial shape for a while now; the online ad market remains a bit slippery and uncertain and tends to fluctuate periodically, but there have been no sustained downturns and the combination of revenue streams we depend on—primarily ad/affiliate revenue, buffered by the generous ongoing financial support of community members—has stayed reliable vs. our operating expenses. We've been able to continue to maintain, and slowly build, savings to insure the site and our staff against an immediate crisis in the case of any major financial setback.
We'll have to continue to look at where the online ad market is going and make adjustments over time, and I'll talk with the site about that stuff as it comes along, but for the moment I feel good about the way things are operating and don't anticipate any fundamental changes to MeFi's financial model in the near future.
Again, thank you all who have been able to help the site out over the last couple years. It has absolutely made the difference between site stability and savings vs. staffing cuts and difficult site decisions.
- Staffing changes:
Three big changes in the last year and change:
1. As 2015 ended, we brought on Eyebrows McGee as a new part-time moderator, to help relieve some of the strain on the full-time daytime moderation team (LobsterMitten, restless_nomad, and me) by taking on regular 8-hour Saturday and Sunday shifts. Prior to that, the full-time daytime trio had been working a rotating schedule that included out of practical necessity a 16-hour weekend shift most weeks, just to keep the hours covered.
On the practical side, with Eyebrows on the team, our work shifts have become more manageable and scheduling time off is no longer a zero-sum imposition on other team members' already full schedules. More qualitatively, though, the mod team has benefited from adding Eyebrows' distinct experiences and insights to our discussions and collaborative work. When she took maternity leave in the middle of last year for the birth of wee Anna Lucia, it was fairly immediately clear to all of us in her temporary absence how much we had gained in bringing her on board, and we were glad to have her back in the moderation mix later in the year.
2. In April of 2016 we announced that long-time MetaFilter tech wizard pb was taking his leave, a rest he'd more than earned after nine years of work on the site. It was a hard change to contemplate, and daunting; pb has done a tremendous amount to make MetaFilter better and more reliable as a site over the years, and carries a huge amount of institutional knowledge around with him.
Thankfully and unsurprisingly, he was as generous in his departure as he was in his day-to-day work on the site; he gave plenty of warning, and left us with a navigable code base and good documentation, and helped to vet replacement candidates and to train our eventual hire, and the resulting transition has been very smooth as a result. Thanks again, pb, for everything.
3. Of which: after a hiring process that looked both within and outside of the MetaFilter community, we brought MetaFilter community member frimble, a Canadian living in Austria, onto the team as our new part-time tech mage. They've been a quick study on MetaFilter's idiosyncracies, thanks in part to an unlikely familiarity with some of MetaFilter's quirkier technical dependencies (we're all looking at you, ColdFusion), and so we've been able to exceed my initial hopes of just keeping the servers patched and not falling over, as frimble has managed to fix bugs, tweak features, and grant the occasional pony request, and do all that while engaging with the community as a member.
And because we continue to do okay financially, I am looking forward to being able to give frimble more hours this year in service of getting ourselves back on track to accomplish some of the larger items on our development to-do list, some of which have unfortunately had to linger in waiting since early last year with all the disruptions of the tech transition and other site challenges.
- Surviving the internet and global politics
It's hard to overstate how much the events of the last couple years—both in online social spaces and in political developments in in particular the UK and US—have affected MetaFilter and its members.
The continued unspooling of awfulness from factions of online harassment groups on the web and social media has made the internet a more difficult place for people of many stripes to feel safe and comfortable. And while MetaFilter continues to be a refuge by and large from that ugliness, the weight of all that is measurable and has made itself known at times on the site in heated threads and difficult MetaTalk discussions.
But beyond that, the turmoil brought on by Brexit, and by the deeply fractious US presidential race and the disastrous commencement of a Trump administration, has induced in a great many of us an elevated level of stress and worry about the world, the people we care about, and more broadly the current and future dangers facing already oppressed and vulnerable individuals and groups. That, too, has taken a toll on the community even as it has been cause for solidarity and organization and the sharing of needed comfort among this unusual online collective we all find ourselves in.
It's also been a difficult time for the moderation team; the stress and emotional load of navigating all this stuff and supporting the community through such a challenging series of events has made the last year in particular unusually taxing, above and beyond the typical challenges of a US election year's outsized share of political discussion. Finding a way to balance site needs and our own emotional reserves has been and will remain a challenge. But I want to extend tremendous thanks and appreciation to everyone on the team—LobsterMitten, restless_nomad, Eyebrows McGee, taz, goodnewsfortheinsane, and frimble—for muddling through this with me and being an unparalleled group of coworkers. I could not do this without you.
And while it's hard to foresee most of these difficult external issues righting themselves quickly, I believe with great certainty that we can as a community work together to help MetaFilter continue to be a place of kindness and thoughtfulness and, as will likely continue to be needed, a refuge from the darker parts of both the online and geopolitical worlds.
~~ Moving forward ~~
So: we move forward.
I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and it's been an honor and a challenge and both easier and more difficult than I'd guessed. It's an amazing job, working for and with amazing people. And we have right now the gift of relative stability and a community full of intelligent and caring folks, at time when both things sometimes seem in short supply, and I'm grateful for that.
As we look at the next year and the year after that, I think the most important thing we can do as a site, as a group of people who even as we often disagree strongly one with another share a general like-minded optimism for what the internet can do and can be, is to keep trying to make MetaFilter be as good of a place as it can be. To shore up and build out the good things about this site and work together to mitigate the difficulties and sore spots that inevitably arise in a community of thousands when things are rough. To keep pushing for better things; to keep striving to be good to each other.
I'll continue to listen to y'all about how we can, as a moderation team and as a community, accomplish that. How we can not just persevere but keep moving forward.
It's been a tough couple of years and there are ample challenges ahead, but I'm deeply glad for MetaFilter as a community I can belong to and as a place that can offer respite and support to so many people. I want to thank you all for persisting, for being here and being part of this site; you're who makes MetaFilter what it is, and why it makes me goddam proud to be able to say that I'm responsible for this place.
The very short version: it's been a weird couple years out there in the world; we've hired a couple staff and wished pb well; and things are financially pretty stable, thanks in significant part to the ongoing generosity of the MetaFilter community whose contributions continue to represent a vital chunk of the site's operating revenue. But come on inside for a much less short version!
~~ About supporting the site ~~
1. Here’s MetaFilter funding page if you want to contribute. Thank you; I can't say enough how fundamental this has been to the site's ability to function.
2. Stripe and PayPal
We continue to support both Stripe and Paypal, for both one-time and recurring payments. Using either is totally fine, as best fits your preference. Stripe is a newer payment processing service that allows us a little more flexibility in how we handle payments, including support for quarterly and yearly recurring payments. It doesn’t require you to set up an account. We’ve built a basic set of payment options on the funding page in addition to the existing PayPal options; if you have a specific funding setup you’d like to use that isn’t there, you’re welcome to contact us directly about setting up a custom plan. Note that the Stripe options are only available to logged-in members.
3. Don't forget to update your credit card info
Recurring donations will stop recurring if your card data on file with PayPal or Stripe expires; if you're doing the new card shuffle when your bank updates your card, don't forget to update that info on PayPal or drop us a line for Stripe contributions. If you get a confusing message from PayPal about a card/contribution cancellation, that's what's up—we promise we're not cancelling your payment on you.
4. Help Mefi through Amazon shopping
If you’d like to support Metafilter a little bit more in an indirect way, you can be sure to do any shopping you do on Amazon by reaching the site through MetaFilter's amazon affiliate link, which you can always find on the funding page as well. A significant amount of Metafilter’s monthly revenue comes from Amazon affiliate income, based on the site replacing/inserting our code in most of the Amazon links people post, but this is another way to try and help Mefi out with revenue while doing something you were already doing anyway.
And if you ever have questions about payment processing or related things, please feel free to drop us a line at the contact form and we’ll be happy to help.
~~ What's happened since the last update ~~
Well, it's been a hell of a stretch since summer of 2015, in big and small ways. Heartening to me is the fact that the MetaFilter community itself has persisted through local events like staffing changes and mefite deaths, and through the weight brought on our community by external events on the internet at large and in world politics. It'd take far too much time and space to cover everything, but I'll talk about some of the major points.
- Financial stability:
We have continued to be in stable financial shape for a while now; the online ad market remains a bit slippery and uncertain and tends to fluctuate periodically, but there have been no sustained downturns and the combination of revenue streams we depend on—primarily ad/affiliate revenue, buffered by the generous ongoing financial support of community members—has stayed reliable vs. our operating expenses. We've been able to continue to maintain, and slowly build, savings to insure the site and our staff against an immediate crisis in the case of any major financial setback.
We'll have to continue to look at where the online ad market is going and make adjustments over time, and I'll talk with the site about that stuff as it comes along, but for the moment I feel good about the way things are operating and don't anticipate any fundamental changes to MeFi's financial model in the near future.
Again, thank you all who have been able to help the site out over the last couple years. It has absolutely made the difference between site stability and savings vs. staffing cuts and difficult site decisions.
- Staffing changes:
Three big changes in the last year and change:
1. As 2015 ended, we brought on Eyebrows McGee as a new part-time moderator, to help relieve some of the strain on the full-time daytime moderation team (LobsterMitten, restless_nomad, and me) by taking on regular 8-hour Saturday and Sunday shifts. Prior to that, the full-time daytime trio had been working a rotating schedule that included out of practical necessity a 16-hour weekend shift most weeks, just to keep the hours covered.
On the practical side, with Eyebrows on the team, our work shifts have become more manageable and scheduling time off is no longer a zero-sum imposition on other team members' already full schedules. More qualitatively, though, the mod team has benefited from adding Eyebrows' distinct experiences and insights to our discussions and collaborative work. When she took maternity leave in the middle of last year for the birth of wee Anna Lucia, it was fairly immediately clear to all of us in her temporary absence how much we had gained in bringing her on board, and we were glad to have her back in the moderation mix later in the year.
2. In April of 2016 we announced that long-time MetaFilter tech wizard pb was taking his leave, a rest he'd more than earned after nine years of work on the site. It was a hard change to contemplate, and daunting; pb has done a tremendous amount to make MetaFilter better and more reliable as a site over the years, and carries a huge amount of institutional knowledge around with him.
Thankfully and unsurprisingly, he was as generous in his departure as he was in his day-to-day work on the site; he gave plenty of warning, and left us with a navigable code base and good documentation, and helped to vet replacement candidates and to train our eventual hire, and the resulting transition has been very smooth as a result. Thanks again, pb, for everything.
3. Of which: after a hiring process that looked both within and outside of the MetaFilter community, we brought MetaFilter community member frimble, a Canadian living in Austria, onto the team as our new part-time tech mage. They've been a quick study on MetaFilter's idiosyncracies, thanks in part to an unlikely familiarity with some of MetaFilter's quirkier technical dependencies (we're all looking at you, ColdFusion), and so we've been able to exceed my initial hopes of just keeping the servers patched and not falling over, as frimble has managed to fix bugs, tweak features, and grant the occasional pony request, and do all that while engaging with the community as a member.
And because we continue to do okay financially, I am looking forward to being able to give frimble more hours this year in service of getting ourselves back on track to accomplish some of the larger items on our development to-do list, some of which have unfortunately had to linger in waiting since early last year with all the disruptions of the tech transition and other site challenges.
- Surviving the internet and global politics
It's hard to overstate how much the events of the last couple years—both in online social spaces and in political developments in in particular the UK and US—have affected MetaFilter and its members.
The continued unspooling of awfulness from factions of online harassment groups on the web and social media has made the internet a more difficult place for people of many stripes to feel safe and comfortable. And while MetaFilter continues to be a refuge by and large from that ugliness, the weight of all that is measurable and has made itself known at times on the site in heated threads and difficult MetaTalk discussions.
But beyond that, the turmoil brought on by Brexit, and by the deeply fractious US presidential race and the disastrous commencement of a Trump administration, has induced in a great many of us an elevated level of stress and worry about the world, the people we care about, and more broadly the current and future dangers facing already oppressed and vulnerable individuals and groups. That, too, has taken a toll on the community even as it has been cause for solidarity and organization and the sharing of needed comfort among this unusual online collective we all find ourselves in.
It's also been a difficult time for the moderation team; the stress and emotional load of navigating all this stuff and supporting the community through such a challenging series of events has made the last year in particular unusually taxing, above and beyond the typical challenges of a US election year's outsized share of political discussion. Finding a way to balance site needs and our own emotional reserves has been and will remain a challenge. But I want to extend tremendous thanks and appreciation to everyone on the team—LobsterMitten, restless_nomad, Eyebrows McGee, taz, goodnewsfortheinsane, and frimble—for muddling through this with me and being an unparalleled group of coworkers. I could not do this without you.
And while it's hard to foresee most of these difficult external issues righting themselves quickly, I believe with great certainty that we can as a community work together to help MetaFilter continue to be a place of kindness and thoughtfulness and, as will likely continue to be needed, a refuge from the darker parts of both the online and geopolitical worlds.
~~ Moving forward ~~
So: we move forward.
I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and it's been an honor and a challenge and both easier and more difficult than I'd guessed. It's an amazing job, working for and with amazing people. And we have right now the gift of relative stability and a community full of intelligent and caring folks, at time when both things sometimes seem in short supply, and I'm grateful for that.
As we look at the next year and the year after that, I think the most important thing we can do as a site, as a group of people who even as we often disagree strongly one with another share a general like-minded optimism for what the internet can do and can be, is to keep trying to make MetaFilter be as good of a place as it can be. To shore up and build out the good things about this site and work together to mitigate the difficulties and sore spots that inevitably arise in a community of thousands when things are rough. To keep pushing for better things; to keep striving to be good to each other.
I'll continue to listen to y'all about how we can, as a moderation team and as a community, accomplish that. How we can not just persevere but keep moving forward.
It's been a tough couple of years and there are ample challenges ahead, but I'm deeply glad for MetaFilter as a community I can belong to and as a place that can offer respite and support to so many people. I want to thank you all for persisting, for being here and being part of this site; you're who makes MetaFilter what it is, and why it makes me goddam proud to be able to say that I'm responsible for this place.
I can't imagine having to moderate all the political threads. I already have PTSD. Kudos to you all.
frimble, a Canadian living in Austria
damn furriners taking our jobs!
posted by AFABulous at 8:38 AM on March 22, 2017 [7 favorites]
frimble, a Canadian living in Austria
damn furriners taking our jobs!
posted by AFABulous at 8:38 AM on March 22, 2017 [7 favorites]
Thorough and thoughtful as always.
posted by zerolives at 8:43 AM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by zerolives at 8:43 AM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
Thanks to cortex and the entire mod team for ensuring that, when our Snow Crash-style anarcho-libertarian dystopia finally arrives, I'll have a save haven in the Metafilter-franchised burbclaves.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:45 AM on March 22, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by tobascodagama at 8:45 AM on March 22, 2017 [39 favorites]
Great update. Thanks everyone for all your hard work on the MeFi Free State. Now where do we pledge allegiance?
posted by arcticseal at 8:50 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by arcticseal at 8:50 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Did anyone else have a chill run down their spine at "I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and..."?
posted by Etrigan at 8:53 AM on March 22, 2017 [95 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 8:53 AM on March 22, 2017 [95 favorites]
A solid update, and I am pleased that the state of the MeFi is sound! Yay all the mods! Yay Cortex! May your Menger sponges be fractally deep.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:54 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 8:54 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Thanks for all the mods do to make this place run. For all the long hours, and stress you must deal with. You are appreciated.
And thanks for the detailed update, cortex.
posted by terrapin at 8:59 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
And thanks for the detailed update, cortex.
posted by terrapin at 8:59 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Did anyone else have a chill run down their spine at "I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and..."?
...yes, actually.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:02 AM on March 22, 2017 [56 favorites]
...yes, actually.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 9:02 AM on March 22, 2017 [56 favorites]
Thanks for the update, Cortex, and for helping keep this place an oasis of sanity in the hellscape that is the general internet. Thanks to all the rest of the staff as well.
posted by bondcliff at 9:04 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 9:04 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Did anyone else have a chill run down their spine at "I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and..."?
I had to stop reading Cortex's post at that point until I'd scanned the first few comments for tearful goodbyes.
posted by DingoMutt at 9:05 AM on March 22, 2017 [12 favorites]
I had to stop reading Cortex's post at that point until I'd scanned the first few comments for tearful goodbyes.
posted by DingoMutt at 9:05 AM on March 22, 2017 [12 favorites]
Good work keeping a steady hand on the tiller during all the changes cortex. And kudos to the whole team for finding ways to diversify revenue which is the fundamental reason that the site can remain moderated the way it is.
posted by GuyZero at 9:05 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by GuyZero at 9:05 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ha, jeez. Sorry about the fakeout there; didn't even occur to me that that might read that way. To be clear, my headspace is very much more like "for just about two years now, and...I'm gonna keep at it forever, fuckers, you can't get rid of me that easy".
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:16 AM on March 22, 2017 [173 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:16 AM on March 22, 2017 [173 favorites]
Thank you for the update, and to all the mods for their hard work.
posted by rtha at 9:28 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by rtha at 9:28 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Does the Amazon affiliate link work on the Canadian store? Is there an easy way to make sure it's active for all my purchases? Or is it per-item only?
posted by sixswitch at 9:36 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by sixswitch at 9:36 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Like everyone else, I've been down to my last nerve the past six months, and working on a work project with some difficult personalities. There have been times when I have reminded myself of the outwardly-levelheaded attitude of the moderators here as a guideline for myself when dealing with issues that might have otherwise not been handled very well.
So thank you all for your incredibly hard work and actual inspiration when I needed it.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:36 AM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
So thank you all for your incredibly hard work and actual inspiration when I needed it.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:36 AM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
Oh, yeah. I too kept waiting for the Big, Terrible News while I was reading this. But I am so happy there is none. Thank you, everyone.
posted by veggieboy at 9:37 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by veggieboy at 9:37 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Does the Amazon affiliate link work on the Canadian store? Is there an easy way to make sure it's active for all my purchases? Or is it per-item only?
The international store stuff is a little complicated. Amazon's affiliate stuff is per-region, unfortunately; the .com link works for US, other countries with their own Amazon domains that support affiliate links require e.g. .ca links for Canada associated with separate affiliate accounts. So if you're shopping outside the US .com site, you're out of luck there for now. I started looking into setting up affiliate links for a couple other countries and it's fiddly, but doable, but fell by the wayside like a number of other things, but I'll try to return to that.
As far as what the affiliate link applies to, my understanding is that it's effective for essentially the whole shopping session; you get to Amazon via an affiliate link, and then do your shopping for a bit, and whatever you end up purchasing during that visit gets affiliate credit attached to it. So you don't have to revisit via the link for multiple concurrent items or anything like that, but you'd want to revisit via the link for any given shopping session.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:49 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
The international store stuff is a little complicated. Amazon's affiliate stuff is per-region, unfortunately; the .com link works for US, other countries with their own Amazon domains that support affiliate links require e.g. .ca links for Canada associated with separate affiliate accounts. So if you're shopping outside the US .com site, you're out of luck there for now. I started looking into setting up affiliate links for a couple other countries and it's fiddly, but doable, but fell by the wayside like a number of other things, but I'll try to return to that.
As far as what the affiliate link applies to, my understanding is that it's effective for essentially the whole shopping session; you get to Amazon via an affiliate link, and then do your shopping for a bit, and whatever you end up purchasing during that visit gets affiliate credit attached to it. So you don't have to revisit via the link for multiple concurrent items or anything like that, but you'd want to revisit via the link for any given shopping session.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:49 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
It's that we all would like certain Presidents to issue that line, so it's festering in the backs of all our minds, isn't it.
"I've been running the government for just about two months now, following that other Dude's departure, and it's time for me to go away and never come back..." [fake]
posted by Namlit at 9:55 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
"I've been running the government for just about two months now, following that other Dude's departure, and it's time for me to go away and never come back..." [fake]
posted by Namlit at 9:55 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
The entire mefi team is the best of the web. Thank you for all you do.
posted by mochapickle at 9:58 AM on March 22, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 9:58 AM on March 22, 2017 [16 favorites]
As the newest Big Change on MetaFilter, I'd just like to add that I'm incredibly happy to work here.
Cortex touched on it in passing, but the amount of time I have to work on the site should be increasing in the near future, so hopefully we'll be able to finally come back to plans and projects which had to be temporarily shelved last year.
posted by frimble (staff) at 10:27 AM on March 22, 2017 [51 favorites]
Cortex touched on it in passing, but the amount of time I have to work on the site should be increasing in the near future, so hopefully we'll be able to finally come back to plans and projects which had to be temporarily shelved last year.
posted by frimble (staff) at 10:27 AM on March 22, 2017 [51 favorites]
Thanks for the update, and thanks to cortex, LobsterMitten, restless_nomad, Eyebrows McGee, taz, goodnewsfortheinsane, and frimble for keeping everything running smoothly!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 10:27 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by EndsOfInvention at 10:27 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: Ha, jeez. Sorry about the fakeout there.
Cortex, you are THE. GREATEST. EVER. Just saying a mere "thank you" doesn't even begin to cover it.
posted by Melismata at 10:27 AM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
Cortex, you are THE. GREATEST. EVER. Just saying a mere "thank you" doesn't even begin to cover it.
posted by Melismata at 10:27 AM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
veggieboy: Oh, yeah. I too kept waiting for the Big, Terrible News while I was reading this. But I am so happy there is none. Thank you, everyone.
Maybe the Original Post should be amended, adding METAFILTER IS DOING WELL after "The very short version:"? Keep the rest, but just add that note to avoid any more stress? Just a thought.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:29 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Maybe the Original Post should be amended, adding METAFILTER IS DOING WELL after "The very short version:"? Keep the rest, but just add that note to avoid any more stress? Just a thought.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:29 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
WCityMike: Is becoming a choice on Amazon Smile workable?
cortex will probably have something more to say, but here's the official info from Amazon
Also of note: if you currently use AmazonSmile and donate to an organization, make sure that the organization is actually set up to receive donations. As mentioned on the front page, "As long as your organization is listed by GuideStar and meets our eligibility criteria, customers will be able to select your organization. However, no donations will be made to your organization until you complete your free registration."
posted by filthy light thief at 10:38 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
cortex will probably have something more to say, but here's the official info from Amazon
How do I register and receive donations for my charitable organization?* On the "About AmazonSmile" tab (which you can't directly link to), it also notes "Organizations must be registered and in good standing with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) to be eligible to participate," which seems like a pretty critical thing to note up front, like providing a link to the participation agreement, which I linked above but is actually found on other "tabs" on the Amazon Org website. -_-
Registering your organization is easy. In order to register and receive donations, you must be an official representative of an eligible organization, and then follow these easy steps:
- Search for your charitable organization* by name or EIN number and then select the organization you represent. Be sure to confirm you are selecting the correct organization, as many charitable organizations have similar names.
- Create an organization administrator account and accept the AmazonSmile Participation Agreement on behalf of your organization.
- Verify your email address (we recommend that you use an email address that is associated with your charitable organization).
- Submit your organization's bank account information.
- Upload a copy of a voided check or bank statement to verify your organization's bank account information.
Also of note: if you currently use AmazonSmile and donate to an organization, make sure that the organization is actually set up to receive donations. As mentioned on the front page, "As long as your organization is listed by GuideStar and meets our eligibility criteria, customers will be able to select your organization. However, no donations will be made to your organization until you complete your free registration."
posted by filthy light thief at 10:38 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Thanks for all your hard work, team! Can't imagine the challenges of navigating all the threads that I'm lucky enough to (mostly) be able to "nope" right out of. 🙌🏼
posted by Zephyrial at 10:43 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Zephyrial at 10:43 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is a happy post and I am very glad to see it. Thank you for still being here and for everyone and every mechanism that makes that possible.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:47 AM on March 22, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 10:47 AM on March 22, 2017 [5 favorites]
As far as what the affiliate link applies to, my understanding is that it's effective for essentially the whole shopping session; you get to Amazon via an affiliate link,
Any idea if there's a way to set that up via the app? I do most of my amazon shopping there, these days, but it's pretty prodigious, and I'd love to kick credit Metafilter's way.
posted by corb at 10:47 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Any idea if there's a way to set that up via the app? I do most of my amazon shopping there, these days, but it's pretty prodigious, and I'd love to kick credit Metafilter's way.
posted by corb at 10:47 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Thanks for putting this together, cortex. I was half-expecting one of the podcasts to have some sort of sound theater fabrication of you giving a State Of The 'Filter address before a packed house of congress complete with lengthy applause breaks and perhaps a shouted "You lie!" from the gallery. But this works too.
Also, thanks MF team! I have an earnest desire to buy each of you a bottle of scotch during 2017 for what you've had to put up with. You can take that to mean "as a reward" or "as a coping mechanism". If I MeMail you for your address at some point, I'll remind you of the reason why.
posted by hippybear at 10:54 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also, thanks MF team! I have an earnest desire to buy each of you a bottle of scotch during 2017 for what you've had to put up with. You can take that to mean "as a reward" or "as a coping mechanism". If I MeMail you for your address at some point, I'll remind you of the reason why.
posted by hippybear at 10:54 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
I so enjoy working here, and wee Anna Lucia is now giant chubbo Anna Lucia working on teeth with Michelin Man thighs, so that's coming along nicely. :) Plus I got a kitten! Oh, wait, now I have to post a picture, don't I? .... here's a twofer, chubby baby + tiny kitten who is not allowed in the baby's room and definitely not in the baby's crib! (Actually, threefer, that's my metaquilter quilt in the background!) Sorry for the tiny size, my phone is being bizarre.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 10:54 AM on March 22, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 10:54 AM on March 22, 2017 [47 favorites]
Thank you for this, cortex. Metafilter's transparency and engagement of user opinion is one of the site's great strengths, I think.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:01 AM on March 22, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:01 AM on March 22, 2017 [15 favorites]
Hooray! Please, what is the state of the socks?
posted by Going To Maine at 11:09 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Going To Maine at 11:09 AM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thanks so much to cortex for this and to all the mods and frimble for their hard work and dedication to the community!
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:09 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:09 AM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Did anyone else have a chill run down their spine at "I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and..."?
I know, will cortex's bloody reign of terror ever ceas-
I had to stop reading Cortex's post at that point until I'd scanned the first few comments for tearful goodbyes.
Ohhh. Right. Yeah, that's what I meant too.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:17 AM on March 22, 2017 [9 favorites]
I know, will cortex's bloody reign of terror ever ceas-
I had to stop reading Cortex's post at that point until I'd scanned the first few comments for tearful goodbyes.
Ohhh. Right. Yeah, that's what I meant too.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:17 AM on March 22, 2017 [9 favorites]
Thanks a million times over for all the work that you do, mods. Metafilter is just about the only place I like on the internet these days, thanks to your hard work. My husband keeps asking, "Did you hear about [terrible political thing]" and my answer is invariably yes I read about it on Metafilter because the politics threads are the only way I'm able to take in/absorb news and still remain a moderately functional human being.
posted by skycrashesdown at 11:32 AM on March 22, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by skycrashesdown at 11:32 AM on March 22, 2017 [9 favorites]
Did anyone else have a chill run down their spine at "I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and..."?
Firstly - I'd like everyone to remember that some of us are not vertebrates.
Yet, those of us who are proud members of the subphylum Medusozoa also experienced a profound tentacular apoplexy, when we realised that the next words in this sentence were not: " ... that's why I'm now encouraging you all to vote #1 quidnunc kid as our Jellyfish Messiah and Chief Gelatinous Zooplankton Officer".
And you know: those words were probably on the tips of cortex's fingers. But, due to his excellent management over the past years, his profound admiration and care for MeFi, and the fact that he is not severely mentally ill, we just missed having him type those very words out, on this very website.
And yet we were so close! Just think - it's only due to the fact that cortex and the mods have provided, and continue to provide, such excellent stewardship of MeFi, and great service to its community - as well as their constant hard work and open communication with us all, which updates like this ably demonstrate ... yup, these are probably the ONLY things standing in the way of a quidnunc kid-led jellyfish apocalypse. Well ... that and the fact that none of you are actually idiots.
But - I mean, we were like, THIS close. Oh - imagine I'm holding two tentacles close together when I say that. OK, so: how about them mods, huh? Pretty great jellyfish! Or people, or ... whatever they are. Jellypeople? Is that a thing? I don't live on land, so I don't know ... but I assume at least some of you are made of jelly. Or peanut butter.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 11:35 AM on March 22, 2017 [60 favorites]
Firstly - I'd like everyone to remember that some of us are not vertebrates.
Yet, those of us who are proud members of the subphylum Medusozoa also experienced a profound tentacular apoplexy, when we realised that the next words in this sentence were not: " ... that's why I'm now encouraging you all to vote #1 quidnunc kid as our Jellyfish Messiah and Chief Gelatinous Zooplankton Officer".
And you know: those words were probably on the tips of cortex's fingers. But, due to his excellent management over the past years, his profound admiration and care for MeFi, and the fact that he is not severely mentally ill, we just missed having him type those very words out, on this very website.
And yet we were so close! Just think - it's only due to the fact that cortex and the mods have provided, and continue to provide, such excellent stewardship of MeFi, and great service to its community - as well as their constant hard work and open communication with us all, which updates like this ably demonstrate ... yup, these are probably the ONLY things standing in the way of a quidnunc kid-led jellyfish apocalypse. Well ... that and the fact that none of you are actually idiots.
But - I mean, we were like, THIS close. Oh - imagine I'm holding two tentacles close together when I say that. OK, so: how about them mods, huh? Pretty great jellyfish! Or people, or ... whatever they are. Jellypeople? Is that a thing? I don't live on land, so I don't know ... but I assume at least some of you are made of jelly. Or peanut butter.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 11:35 AM on March 22, 2017 [60 favorites]
This company's website's on the fast track to the "It List!" Blast fax kudos all around!
posted by Existential Dread at 11:36 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Existential Dread at 11:36 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Good to read this - and thanks for all that you and all the staff do!
posted by leslies at 11:39 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by leslies at 11:39 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lovely update and bonus chubby baby! Thanks to all you mods for everything you do.
posted by ellieBOA at 11:51 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 11:51 AM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Thanks for this, cortex, and a deep thank you to all the mods for their extra-hard work over the past little while.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:57 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 11:57 AM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Thanks, as always, cortex.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 12:12 PM on March 22, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 12:12 PM on March 22, 2017 [11 favorites]
Thank you, cortex et al. This place is still my center of gravity online.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 12:18 PM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 12:18 PM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
thanks for all the solid work you do cortek this is easily one of the top 5 sites I visit for metafiltration services on the Web A+++ good job
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:23 PM on March 22, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:23 PM on March 22, 2017 [10 favorites]
So: the Ship of State has been patched, and the patches seem to be holding well; with any luck the SS Mefi might even get nice new rivets applied at the weak spots. Meanwhile, our mighty officers & crew are keeping an eye out for troubled waters while also making sure nobody clogs the ship's swimming pool filter. Have I got that all right?
posted by easily confused at 12:54 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by easily confused at 12:54 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Y'all are pretty amazing. I have such respect for the entire MeFi team. Thank you for everything that you do.
posted by Sophie1 at 1:02 PM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 1:02 PM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Is the affiliate code compatible with Smile, in that if I have a Smile setting to something not-MeFi and click through from MeFi, I can only pick one to give a portion of my purchase amount to?
posted by Etrigan at 1:20 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Etrigan at 1:20 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thank you for this, cortex.
posted by Kwine at 1:32 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Kwine at 1:32 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thank you for keeping our weirdass tree fort firmly attached to the tree.
posted by griphus at 1:54 PM on March 22, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by griphus at 1:54 PM on March 22, 2017 [33 favorites]
Thanks for the update, cortex, and big thanks to the whole MeFi team for all the great work.
posted by brundlefly at 2:08 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by brundlefly at 2:08 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm relatively new and not very active but I deeply appreciate this site for its expansive tone and intelligent observations. I'm still learning how it all operates (what is "the blue"?). When I made my first blunder, I received an exceedingly polite email from cortex about what I had done wrong and how to fix it. And I got absolution for being so new. That was nice. So far, it's all been nice, and what could be better? Thanks to all of you.
posted by MovableBookLady at 2:34 PM on March 22, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by MovableBookLady at 2:34 PM on March 22, 2017 [23 favorites]
It's a nickname based on the subsite colors. In the Classic theme (formerly the default appearance), the subsites have different color backgrounds... but in Modern theme (which is what most new members are familiar with), the colors aren't very prominent, so it's easy to miss.
"The blue" = Metafilter, the front page, the community blog where people post fun/interesting links
"The green = AskMetafilter, the question-and-answer subsite
"The gray" = MetaTalk, where you are now, the part of the site for talking about the site
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:38 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
"The blue" = Metafilter, the front page, the community blog where people post fun/interesting links
"The green = AskMetafilter, the question-and-answer subsite
"The gray" = MetaTalk, where you are now, the part of the site for talking about the site
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 2:38 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Nice state of the union^Wwebsite, have you considered running for POTUS?
posted by cj_ at 2:39 PM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by cj_ at 2:39 PM on March 22, 2017 [6 favorites]
MeFi for HivePOTUS
* shudder *
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 2:44 PM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
* shudder *
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 2:44 PM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Thank you for the update.
I'm glad to know that the good ship Mefi is doing well even if she is sailing through turbulent waters.
May the deities bless all who sail on her.
Also thank you to all the steadfast crew who keep the site ship shape and barnacle free.
::salutes Captain Cortex::
posted by Faintdreams at 2:59 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm glad to know that the good ship Mefi is doing well even if she is sailing through turbulent waters.
May the deities bless all who sail on her.
Also thank you to all the steadfast crew who keep the site ship shape and barnacle free.
::salutes Captain Cortex::
posted by Faintdreams at 2:59 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
I should also say -- thank you to all the members! We're so lucky here to have such strong support from the community, both financially and ...culturally, if that's the way to say it.
And on a different note, thank you to the people who have kept posting and commenting and kept the non-political parts of the site running, even when there's the hard-to-escape whirlpool of politics threads going on. We've asked a lot of people in the last year, when everyone has been stressed out (to put it mildly), and I appreciate the emotional labor folks have been putting in, to participate here without just constantly going "GAAAAH!" at each other.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 3:05 PM on March 22, 2017 [22 favorites]
And on a different note, thank you to the people who have kept posting and commenting and kept the non-political parts of the site running, even when there's the hard-to-escape whirlpool of politics threads going on. We've asked a lot of people in the last year, when everyone has been stressed out (to put it mildly), and I appreciate the emotional labor folks have been putting in, to participate here without just constantly going "GAAAAH!" at each other.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 3:05 PM on March 22, 2017 [22 favorites]
"The blue" = where people argue about politics
"The gray" = where people argue about people arguing about politics
posted by AFABulous at 3:56 PM on March 22, 2017 [26 favorites]
"The gray" = where people argue about people arguing about politics
posted by AFABulous at 3:56 PM on March 22, 2017 [26 favorites]
Thank you to everyone. I'm just ridiculously grateful.
posted by firstdrop at 3:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by firstdrop at 3:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Metafilter.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how all these nice people got wedged into my internet, or why.
Actually, I'm lying - I don't know how you all got wedged into my internet, but I do know that the "why" part of it is the effort the mods and the user base puts into this place; into engaging with each other with good faith or knowing enough to walk away for a time when the good faith is hard to find.
Glad to hear the site is stable financially and looking forward to being part of this community as we continue to evolve and revolve.
posted by nubs at 3:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Actually, I'm lying - I don't know how you all got wedged into my internet, but I do know that the "why" part of it is the effort the mods and the user base puts into this place; into engaging with each other with good faith or knowing enough to walk away for a time when the good faith is hard to find.
Glad to hear the site is stable financially and looking forward to being part of this community as we continue to evolve and revolve.
posted by nubs at 3:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Lovely update! Thank you cortex and everyone else for my internet home base.
posted by chaoticgood at 3:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by chaoticgood at 3:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thanks, mods! And thanks to the site as a whole for keeping me somewhat even-keeled through the geopolitical horrorshow of the last several months...
posted by TwoStride at 4:17 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by TwoStride at 4:17 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
See, we CAN have nice things! One can only hope it will all Wendell.
Is the regular MeFi (how do you pronounce that, anyway?) contribution $5, the same as in town?
I'll show myself out.
posted by Frayed Knot at 4:43 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Is the regular MeFi (how do you pronounce that, anyway?) contribution $5, the same as in town?
I'll show myself out.
posted by Frayed Knot at 4:43 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Oh my God, thank you all so freaking much.
posted by schadenfrau at 4:51 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by schadenfrau at 4:51 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Honestly, sometimes I'll look at an article or something and be like "but what would Metafilter think of this?" Which really drives home how interesting and engaging this site can be. That wouldn't be the case if not for some seriously devoted moderation. Even when there are disagreements about how things should be run or what should be addressed, this site allows for people to talk through things, and the mods pay attention. A lot of those conversations have helped me change the way I think about many things. Sometimes I and others get grouchy about stuff here, and I think part of it is that there's an understanding that this is actually a place worth participating in.
Or tl;dr thanks cortex and mods.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 4:52 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Or tl;dr thanks cortex and mods.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 4:52 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Updates on the state of the site kind of freak me out when I see them. I'm glad* that everything is going so well, and thrilled that this place is still going. I know the election and the aftermath have been huge strains on the mods, but making the allowance for massive political threads has been a great source of, well, not necessarily comfort, but commiseration for the community, and for me an important outlet at a time where there really aren't all that many people IRL I can talk to about the continuing unpleasantness. Thank you for that, and for keeping this place running, keeping it as welcoming and open as possible. You do good work, all of you, and when the worldwide mod tour makes its winding way to Tokyo, there will be delicious drinks, interesting food, and crashable sofas aplenty (futons, really, we're classy like that).
*glad doesn't really cover it, but I was aiming for a PG post.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:18 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
*glad doesn't really cover it, but I was aiming for a PG post.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:18 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter continues to be a masterclass on a variety of dimensions and I am grateful for all of them. Thank you.
posted by brainwane at 5:22 PM on March 22, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by brainwane at 5:22 PM on March 22, 2017 [8 favorites]
Thanks for all you do, cortex and mods and all. You make this place pretty darn great.
posted by sarcasticah at 6:40 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by sarcasticah at 6:40 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
cortex, mods, fellow MeFites: thank all for your various contributions to this place, whether it is constructive/interesting/funyn comments or Taking Out The Trash.
The last few months have been crazy to watch (e.g., Brexit), much less to live through (e.g., our disastrous election), and the conversations here have helped me understand the world and my place it in far better than I could have if left to my own devices.
Love him or hate him, recently P.J. O’Rourke said, "I mean, you can teach yourself, but I've found with a lot of things that I've taught myself that I needed a better professor."
You, MetaFilter, you are my Better Professor.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:53 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
The last few months have been crazy to watch (e.g., Brexit), much less to live through (e.g., our disastrous election), and the conversations here have helped me understand the world and my place it in far better than I could have if left to my own devices.
Love him or hate him, recently P.J. O’Rourke said, "I mean, you can teach yourself, but I've found with a lot of things that I've taught myself that I needed a better professor."
You, MetaFilter, you are my Better Professor.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:53 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
WHAT HO, MODS! *waves cheerfully*
WRT to pressure-cooker politics threads of the past six to twelve months: have they driven up the rate of Favorites?
I keep an eye on my Favorites just to see which conversations still attract attention, so I can go back and re-engage. It feels to me like my "Favorited by others" number has climbed more steeply in the past year than it did in the rest of the time I have been a member here.
Is there any data that supports this observation? Or did I just get a lot more sensible/funny/insightful since this time last year? (HAH -- as if!)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:02 PM on March 22, 2017
WRT to pressure-cooker politics threads of the past six to twelve months: have they driven up the rate of Favorites?
I keep an eye on my Favorites just to see which conversations still attract attention, so I can go back and re-engage. It feels to me like my "Favorited by others" number has climbed more steeply in the past year than it did in the rest of the time I have been a member here.
Is there any data that supports this observation? Or did I just get a lot more sensible/funny/insightful since this time last year? (HAH -- as if!)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:02 PM on March 22, 2017
This site actually seems pretty laid back these days if you block political posts, and then I remember they're there, each accumulating thousands of comments over a few days. Are these threads less of a strain on the mods now that the election is over and the anger and frustration is mostly directed outwards, instead of between users on the site?
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:57 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
*bitter laughter*
posted by wenestvedt at 8:09 PM on March 22, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 8:09 PM on March 22, 2017 [7 favorites]
*sad face*
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:49 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:49 PM on March 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Thanks for the update, vortex, and thanks to the mobs for their eden-handed efforts to keep thinks on trank. Say howdy to the Cabal.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:49 PM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:49 PM on March 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
t̺͈̥̙̺͇̒́ĥ̟͓̻͈̦ͫ̐̓ͅe̩̥̒̏̒͗̈̕ŕ̛̙͉̥͕e̯̩͕͖̦ͪ̀̀ ̒͂ͥ҉i͙̼̦͔̺̿̏͛́s̝͉̗̟̻̅͗̏̃ͣ̉͢ ̰̠̮ͫ̅̓ñ̖͈̊ͅo̙̤̹̬̤̔̈́ ̙C̎͗ͫͩ̂҉̫̹͎͚̮̺ạ̼̙̱̗͗ͨ̇b̊ͨͧ̔̾̏ã̛̩̭̘̳͖̲͈̌ͨ̇ͥ̚l̥͈̼̺̙̺͓ͨ̂
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:51 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:51 PM on March 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Thoughtful and well said, as usual.
It's great to hear that the finances are solid and that you're freed up a bit to look ahead toward building on the infrastructure.
Plus I was encouraged by that other stuff at the end about making the internet continue to be the internet we were all hoping for back in the day, at least in this small nook of it, and gosh, Josh, you know? Let's all just do that!
posted by notyou at 9:21 PM on March 22, 2017
It's great to hear that the finances are solid and that you're freed up a bit to look ahead toward building on the infrastructure.
Plus I was encouraged by that other stuff at the end about making the internet continue to be the internet we were all hoping for back in the day, at least in this small nook of it, and gosh, Josh, you know? Let's all just do that!
posted by notyou at 9:21 PM on March 22, 2017
Thanks for the update. And thanks for keeping me sane, MetaFilter!
posted by The Toad at 9:46 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Toad at 9:46 PM on March 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
"The red" = The blood of angry m...people
"The black" = The dark of ages past
posted by desuetude at 11:44 PM on March 22, 2017 [17 favorites]
"The black" = The dark of ages past
posted by desuetude at 11:44 PM on March 22, 2017 [17 favorites]
Sometimes MeFi is a shitshow, especially on the Blue, but I always end up coming back here as part of my internet home. Thank you for all of your hard work <3
posted by yueliang at 12:00 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by yueliang at 12:00 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Long! Live! Meta! Filter!
and the cabal of course.
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 4:42 AM on March 23, 2017
and the cabal of course.
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 4:42 AM on March 23, 2017
Incidentally, I was just thinking while reading this thread how MeFi (particularly the green) is one, nay, the only online community where I don't get anxious that obnoxious peeps will tell me off for asking a "stupid" question. And then I got to LobsterMitten's reply about the nicknames based on colour for the sub-sites and thought, "this is exactly the kind of interaction that sums up what we're all maintaining here".
Let's hear it for the mods! Wonderful update from cortex, thanks everybody! Fantastic work frimble! Ponies for all!*
*ponies not included
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 4:53 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Let's hear it for the mods! Wonderful update from cortex, thanks everybody! Fantastic work frimble! Ponies for all!*
*ponies not included
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 4:53 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Thank you.
posted by AugustWest at 5:20 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by AugustWest at 5:20 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
Welcome MovableBookLady!
And a thousand thanks to Cortex and the team for steering the ship true. Thank you for the wisdom and the laughs and the music.
and the husband
posted by greenish at 5:27 AM on March 23, 2017 [8 favorites]
And a thousand thanks to Cortex and the team for steering the ship true. Thank you for the wisdom and the laughs and the music.
and the husband
posted by greenish at 5:27 AM on March 23, 2017 [8 favorites]
I cannot overstate how much MetaFilter has kept me sane since November 9. I really can't. If I didn't have you guys, I'm pretty sure I'd be a blubbering mess, hiding under my blankets every day. That's not saying that I don't have the occasional day like that....it just happens less frequently than it otherwise would because of you lovely people.
Thanks, mods, for all you do, and thanks MeFiDenizens for elevating the discourse, making me think, and pointing me to all the cute doggos and kitties (Johnny Wallflower, I'm looking at you). You make me better.
posted by cooker girl at 5:50 AM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
Thanks, mods, for all you do, and thanks MeFiDenizens for elevating the discourse, making me think, and pointing me to all the cute doggos and kitties (Johnny Wallflower, I'm looking at you). You make me better.
posted by cooker girl at 5:50 AM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
I could not do without metafilter.
posted by Frowner at 6:20 AM on March 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 6:20 AM on March 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
So thank god for mods and mefites.
posted by Frowner at 6:21 AM on March 23, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 6:21 AM on March 23, 2017 [5 favorites]
Also thank you MeFi and all involved in keeping the site somewhere aesthetically soothing to visit.
I get just text. Which is a rare thing now.
This comment brought to you buy the ice cold shock of needing to view pages on the internet with Adblocker turned off for the first time in months ::sigh::
posted by Faintdreams at 6:28 AM on March 23, 2017 [35 favorites]
I get just text. Which is a rare thing now.
- No annoying or intrusive pop-ups.
- No clickbait ads.
- No clickbait ads with especially gross images attached.
- No images at all.
- No prompts to subscribe, which follow me up / down / around the page when I scroll.
- No gifs or animation or flashing graphics ANYWHERE.
This comment brought to you buy the ice cold shock of needing to view pages on the internet with Adblocker turned off for the first time in months ::sigh::
posted by Faintdreams at 6:28 AM on March 23, 2017 [35 favorites]
I still think someone should run an annual pledge drive, sort of like NPR, but then I think all sorts of stupid shit.
I'd be willing to throw in some prizes, or do matching donations, or whatnot. I'd buy the shirt or the tote bag. Coffee mug?
In fact, I'm off to drop a hundy in the kitty. I expect it to be spent on the best bourbon you can buy.
Autocorrect changed "hundy" to "handy" in the above sentence, lending an entirely different meaning.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:30 AM on March 23, 2017 [7 favorites]
I'd be willing to throw in some prizes, or do matching donations, or whatnot. I'd buy the shirt or the tote bag. Coffee mug?
In fact, I'm off to drop a hundy in the kitty. I expect it to be spent on the best bourbon you can buy.
Autocorrect changed "hundy" to "handy" in the above sentence, lending an entirely different meaning.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:30 AM on March 23, 2017 [7 favorites]
Are there metafilter promotional items? I do not wear or use visibly branded merchandise [said Frowner, adding "I don't even own a television"] but I would totally make an exception for metafilter. I would make an additional pledge of funding support if, in exchange, I got a coffee mug.
posted by Frowner at 6:48 AM on March 23, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 6:48 AM on March 23, 2017 [7 favorites]
Are there metafilter promotional items?
We have a few shirts over on TopatoCo, but haven't run new merchandise in a while. Its something we've talked a few times about returning to (cf. the State of the Socks query above) and I would like to make something happen here later this year.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:57 AM on March 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
We have a few shirts over on TopatoCo, but haven't run new merchandise in a while. Its something we've talked a few times about returning to (cf. the State of the Socks query above) and I would like to make something happen here later this year.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:57 AM on March 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
coffee mug
Ask MetaFilter: Should I Drink It?
Overthinking a Mug of Ground Beans Since 1999
More Inside
NOT TEA-IST
posted by zamboni at 7:35 AM on March 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
Ask MetaFilter: Should I Drink It?
Overthinking a Mug of Ground Beans Since 1999
More Inside
NOT TEA-IST
posted by zamboni at 7:35 AM on March 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
Hurf Durf Coffee Drinker
posted by DingoMutt at 8:00 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by DingoMutt at 8:00 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
This makes me think Metafilter should have a humans.txt something like The Guardian or the New Yorker
posted by Lanark at 8:26 AM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Lanark at 8:26 AM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
11 years a member. Look forward to many more.
posted by josher71 at 8:30 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by josher71 at 8:30 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thanks for the update, cortex.
One question: The Out of the Blue podcast, is that kaput?
posted by Cash4Lead at 8:33 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
One question: The Out of the Blue podcast, is that kaput?
posted by Cash4Lead at 8:33 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thanks so much, cortex. After lurking for several years, I finally ponied up last summer. I'm proud to be part of a community of people who think and treat each other with respect, and thankful for the mods who keep this ocean liner on course.
I know we're free to give more, and I will (as soon as I figure out my taxes!) but I wonder if there isn't some way to encourage more MeFites to do so. (I love the small-d democracy of a $5 membership and wouldn't want to see the elitist and frankly annoying "giving societies" that my alma maters keep coming up with, but there's gotta be *something*... ) I didn't realize until now how overworked the mods are and wish we could get them some more support.
Again, my thanks to all who make this a refuge for thoughtful discussion.
posted by martin q blank at 8:42 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
I know we're free to give more, and I will (as soon as I figure out my taxes!) but I wonder if there isn't some way to encourage more MeFites to do so. (I love the small-d democracy of a $5 membership and wouldn't want to see the elitist and frankly annoying "giving societies" that my alma maters keep coming up with, but there's gotta be *something*... ) I didn't realize until now how overworked the mods are and wish we could get them some more support.
Again, my thanks to all who make this a refuge for thoughtful discussion.
posted by martin q blank at 8:42 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
We have a few shirts over on TopatoCo, but haven't run new merchandise in a while. Its something we've talked a few times about returning to (cf. the State of the Socks query above) and I would like to make something happen here later this year.
I was going to reply to this with tote baaaag, and then I searched my activity and realized I wrote the same comment in 2014. And 2015. In 2016 I got a Hillary Clinton tote bag, which seemed to appease me, but now the luster is gone and my wishes for tote bags remain. Blame NPR for conditioning me.
(I actually have some reusable grocery bags from Metafilter - back in 2010 we did a local reusable bag swap and some of those bags are still in grocery rotation)
Anyway, I want to send my thanks for the mods for making this a great place to be, especially after this last year of craziness and extra grar. The politics threads have been very helpful, but every so often we're knee deep in it or something crazy happens and I just imagine you guys having to sort it all out.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:44 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was going to reply to this with tote baaaag, and then I searched my activity and realized I wrote the same comment in 2014. And 2015. In 2016 I got a Hillary Clinton tote bag, which seemed to appease me, but now the luster is gone and my wishes for tote bags remain. Blame NPR for conditioning me.
(I actually have some reusable grocery bags from Metafilter - back in 2010 we did a local reusable bag swap and some of those bags are still in grocery rotation)
Anyway, I want to send my thanks for the mods for making this a great place to be, especially after this last year of craziness and extra grar. The politics threads have been very helpful, but every so often we're knee deep in it or something crazy happens and I just imagine you guys having to sort it all out.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:44 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hey, thanks to the crew members, past and present, and to the in-crowd hanging around.
This place is seriously amazing.
posted by nicolin at 8:50 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
This place is seriously amazing.
posted by nicolin at 8:50 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
One question: The Out of the Blue podcast, is that kaput?
I sincerely believe it's just deeply hibernating, but clearly I need to revisit some of my expectations on how to get it produced if actually waking it back up is going to happen. It's one of a number of things that have, well, fallen by the wayside as everything started to get weirder in the world at the tail end of 2015, and if I have one major regret from the last year and a half its that so many of those things have fallen by the wayside under the pressure and distraction of *waves at all this stuff in the world*.
So part of where I am right now is working to get my footing back a bit in terms of revisiting and recharging some of the good stuff that I value so much about this place and not letting the weight of bad stuff out in the world waylay things indefinitely. Out of the Blue may not be first in line there but it's something I do think would be nice to return to and I'm going to put some effort into figuring out how we can make that work.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:56 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
I sincerely believe it's just deeply hibernating, but clearly I need to revisit some of my expectations on how to get it produced if actually waking it back up is going to happen. It's one of a number of things that have, well, fallen by the wayside as everything started to get weirder in the world at the tail end of 2015, and if I have one major regret from the last year and a half its that so many of those things have fallen by the wayside under the pressure and distraction of *waves at all this stuff in the world*.
So part of where I am right now is working to get my footing back a bit in terms of revisiting and recharging some of the good stuff that I value so much about this place and not letting the weight of bad stuff out in the world waylay things indefinitely. Out of the Blue may not be first in line there but it's something I do think would be nice to return to and I'm going to put some effort into figuring out how we can make that work.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:56 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
If we get moar tee shirts, can they be blue or green? Like the blue and the green?
posted by Frowner at 8:58 AM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 8:58 AM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
totebagstotebagstotebagstotebags..... pretty please?!?
posted by easily confused at 9:00 AM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by easily confused at 9:00 AM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
This makes me think Metafilter should have a humans.txt
Ha! I had not seen those before. I'd want to headcheck such a thing with the staff since we vary in how explicitly identified/contactable we are outside of MeFi, but it's a neat notion.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:01 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ha! I had not seen those before. I'd want to headcheck such a thing with the staff since we vary in how explicitly identified/contactable we are outside of MeFi, but it's a neat notion.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:01 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
I did not know about humans.txt files! Thanks for that info Lanark.
posted by JHarris at 9:02 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 9:02 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
wenestvedt: I keep an eye on my Favorites just to see which conversations still attract attention, so I can go back and re-engage. It feels to me like my "Favorited by others" number has climbed more steeply in the past year than it did in the rest of the time I have been a member here.
Heated threads of any sort or color/subsite get more eyes on comments, and in turn, more favorites all around. Participate in those heated threads, political and otherwise, and you're more likely to get more favorites. And generally speaking, the site population keeps increasing, so there are more eyeballs in general, so a popular post or comment 5 years ago would likely get more views, and in turn more favorites, if posted now. That's my non-professional take.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:06 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Heated threads of any sort or color/subsite get more eyes on comments, and in turn, more favorites all around. Participate in those heated threads, political and otherwise, and you're more likely to get more favorites. And generally speaking, the site population keeps increasing, so there are more eyeballs in general, so a popular post or comment 5 years ago would likely get more views, and in turn more favorites, if posted now. That's my non-professional take.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:06 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yes! A totebag with [more inside] on it!
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:10 AM on March 23, 2017 [29 favorites]
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:10 AM on March 23, 2017 [29 favorites]
Google has a humans.txt too, I just discovered, but it's short and uselessly non-specific and says they hire lots of folks.
posted by JHarris at 9:12 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 9:12 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sometimes MeFi is a shitshow, especially on the Blue, but I always end up coming back here as part of my internet home. Thank you for all of your hard work <3
I sometimes think the same thing and wish to vehemently disagree with people on here, but the really great thing about Metafilter is that I can do that and not think that I'm actually a different species to humans, which is a feeling I often get on other sites.
Well done to you all. You've got my measly AU$6.something per month.
posted by h00py at 9:12 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
I sometimes think the same thing and wish to vehemently disagree with people on here, but the really great thing about Metafilter is that I can do that and not think that I'm actually a different species to humans, which is a feeling I often get on other sites.
Well done to you all. You've got my measly AU$6.something per month.
posted by h00py at 9:12 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
This makes me think Metafilter should have a humans.txt something like The Guardian or the New Yorker
There's a Michael McNamara listed as a QA in The Guardian link, and I just had the feeling similar to having a dream where you have a test you didn't study for (this always also manifested itself with me that I was signed up for a class that I'd never attended); what it says about me that seeing my name on a list makes me think, even for a few milliseconds, that I have a job that I've completely forgotten about it is probably something I should get a therapist to work through.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:17 AM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
There's a Michael McNamara listed as a QA in The Guardian link, and I just had the feeling similar to having a dream where you have a test you didn't study for (this always also manifested itself with me that I was signed up for a class that I'd never attended); what it says about me that seeing my name on a list makes me think, even for a few milliseconds, that I have a job that I've completely forgotten about it is probably something I should get a therapist to work through.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:17 AM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
This is great news. Thank you, cortex, and Team Mod.
posted by zarq at 9:42 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by zarq at 9:42 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
vote #1 quidnunc kid as our Jellyfish Messiah and Chief Gelatinous Zooplankton Officer".
Bonus: he goes well with red sauce.
posted by zarq at 9:43 AM on March 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
Bonus: he goes well with red sauce.
posted by zarq at 9:43 AM on March 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
Thanks for the update, and much more thanks to everyone who made the update be good news!
❤️❤️❤️
🎉
🍕 🍺 🎂
🎶 🎷 🦆
posted by aubilenon at 10:15 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
❤️❤️❤️
🎉
🍕 🍺 🎂
🎶 🎷 🦆
posted by aubilenon at 10:15 AM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
And on a different note, thank you to the people who have kept posting and commenting and kept the non-political parts of the site running, even when there's the hard-to-escape whirlpool of politics threads going on.
Seriously. Y'all are, um, really important right now as the rest of us kind of--try to cope. Johnny Wallflower in particular has been bringing the cute and funny things to laugh really well lately, I noticed that. Um.
I don't know what I would do without you guys. I'm not, fairly obviously, in the best place right now--I keep losing my focus and making embarrassing cognitive mistakes and I've been visibly really struggling in the politics threads and elsewhere, and just--
your collective support means a fucking lot to me. especially right now. this site means a lot to me. with all its warts and its overthinking beanplating and its doofy poems about cats and bred and jokes and moments of piercing brilliance and dorky wit and, and, and. In this time in which I am feeling particularly fragile and broken and hanging on to large chunks of my life with my fingernails, I--having y'all is kind of essential for me. Especially right now. Even just having you being here, being yourselves, that's huge for me right now.
communities are kind of like sourdough cultures, I find; sure, it's important to inculcate your culture at first with the kinds of organisms you want to set up house in it, but it's way more important to make sure that the culture's context stays really hospitable to the kinds of organisms you're looking for and not so hospitable to the ones you don't want to set up shop--at least if you ever hope to rise a loaf of bread with the results. So thanks, mods, for the careful cultivation and feeding and keeping everything at the right temperature and tinkering with pH you do here. It's paying off, and it keeps paying off every day.
And thanks to everyone who's here, too, commenting and making posts and reading posts and leaving favorites and being a part of that community. I appreciate that, too; there wouldn't be anything here without all of you either. Since I joined this community, uh, looks like.... about two and a half years ago, I've raved about this space and in large part it's the culture of respect, friendship, and solidarity that keeps making me try to share this place around to everyone I know who might appreciate it. You're a rare breed, you nerds, and I appreciate it. I appreciate you.
Thanks.
posted by sciatrix at 10:22 AM on March 23, 2017 [38 favorites]
Seriously. Y'all are, um, really important right now as the rest of us kind of--try to cope. Johnny Wallflower in particular has been bringing the cute and funny things to laugh really well lately, I noticed that. Um.
I don't know what I would do without you guys. I'm not, fairly obviously, in the best place right now--I keep losing my focus and making embarrassing cognitive mistakes and I've been visibly really struggling in the politics threads and elsewhere, and just--
your collective support means a fucking lot to me. especially right now. this site means a lot to me. with all its warts and its overthinking beanplating and its doofy poems about cats and bred and jokes and moments of piercing brilliance and dorky wit and, and, and. In this time in which I am feeling particularly fragile and broken and hanging on to large chunks of my life with my fingernails, I--having y'all is kind of essential for me. Especially right now. Even just having you being here, being yourselves, that's huge for me right now.
communities are kind of like sourdough cultures, I find; sure, it's important to inculcate your culture at first with the kinds of organisms you want to set up house in it, but it's way more important to make sure that the culture's context stays really hospitable to the kinds of organisms you're looking for and not so hospitable to the ones you don't want to set up shop--at least if you ever hope to rise a loaf of bread with the results. So thanks, mods, for the careful cultivation and feeding and keeping everything at the right temperature and tinkering with pH you do here. It's paying off, and it keeps paying off every day.
And thanks to everyone who's here, too, commenting and making posts and reading posts and leaving favorites and being a part of that community. I appreciate that, too; there wouldn't be anything here without all of you either. Since I joined this community, uh, looks like.... about two and a half years ago, I've raved about this space and in large part it's the culture of respect, friendship, and solidarity that keeps making me try to share this place around to everyone I know who might appreciate it. You're a rare breed, you nerds, and I appreciate it. I appreciate you.
Thanks.
posted by sciatrix at 10:22 AM on March 23, 2017 [38 favorites]
If we're just telling cortex what to do - I'm more interested in LARPTrek than Menger sponges.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:33 AM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:33 AM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
Wow, I have to say, you guys are seriously swelling my heart. The most difficult thing for me is that every day I work (5 days a week) I have to wake up and immediately become immersed in the current horror ... which has been mostly the same horror for the last many months, but even before that it would be sort of whatever the current worst thing is – because these are the threads that tend to evoke the most heated feeling, so the spots that need the most mod attention, and as one of the "night" people (daytime for me, but US overnight shift) it means that there have been hundreds and hundreds of comments posted while I sleep, so I have to try to rapidly get up to speed on where the discussions are standing, what the snarls and difficulties have been onsite, as well as what the updates are on the world/news situation, so that I'm not caught flatfooted trying to negotiate some information or misinformation weirdness or puzzling reference in a thread. It's a quick plunge into some pretty cold water before you have even half a cup of coffee in you, or fully wiped the sleep from your eyes, and can get fairly depressing day after day (especially if your normal preferred thing is walk quietly in soft socks, linger over your coffee, listen to the birds chirping, gentle music, no TV, no bad news, no grouching or fighting first thing in the a.m. – all around anxiety-minimizing soothing morning routine).
But I have a talent for optimism/cheerfulness, and while the last many months have been seriously eroding that, I really, really feel kind of elated at these comments saying how much the site means to everyone. Kind of choking up here, in fact. Thank you all.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:10 AM on March 23, 2017 [36 favorites]
But I have a talent for optimism/cheerfulness, and while the last many months have been seriously eroding that, I really, really feel kind of elated at these comments saying how much the site means to everyone. Kind of choking up here, in fact. Thank you all.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:10 AM on March 23, 2017 [36 favorites]
But I have a talent for optimism/cheerfulness
Sometimes I think this is the only real qualification for some jobs. Don't let it all get you down too much, you (and all the other mods) do good work and if if you make a mistake (not that I've ever noticed one) that it's far outweighed by all the good stuff that goes on.
posted by GuyZero at 11:40 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sometimes I think this is the only real qualification for some jobs. Don't let it all get you down too much, you (and all the other mods) do good work and if if you make a mistake (not that I've ever noticed one) that it's far outweighed by all the good stuff that goes on.
posted by GuyZero at 11:40 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Faintdreams said it well:
MetaFilter: It's like a soothing balm for the brain.
posted by BlueHorse at 11:43 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
MetaFilter: It's like a soothing balm for the brain.
posted by BlueHorse at 11:43 AM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sometimes I think this is the only real qualification for some jobs.
Everything else can be taught.
I work in a technical field. I have four employees. I hire them all on disposition and social skills. I can teach everything else, and those who can't be taught move on. But I can't teach optimism or cheerfulness (probably because, ironically, these are personal shortcomings).
posted by cjorgensen at 12:00 PM on March 23, 2017 [5 favorites]
Everything else can be taught.
I work in a technical field. I have four employees. I hire them all on disposition and social skills. I can teach everything else, and those who can't be taught move on. But I can't teach optimism or cheerfulness (probably because, ironically, these are personal shortcomings).
posted by cjorgensen at 12:00 PM on March 23, 2017 [5 favorites]
For the humans.txt, we've got this faq entry which has some more detail, and has links to each of our profile pages, where some of us have listed real names and twitters and whatnot. (If you need to reach a human here, it's super easy: the contact form is the best way, it's staffed 24/7, and it's linked at the bottom right corner of every page, on our profile pages, and at the top of the FAQ. You can also Mefimail us, though the reply will likely be slower.)
http://faq.metafilter.com/33/Who-is-in-charge-here
But yeah, as cortex says, different folks have different comfort levels about how public to be with their real name/face/address/etc. I'm very grateful that I have a public-facing internet job where I don't have to give out my real name. The normal legitimate reason why you'd want someone to give out their real name is for social reputational pressure, to be accountable/to not be an asshole -- i.e. not to let people hide behind a pseudonym. But in this case, the pseudonym here is longstanding, gives people a track record they can follow to understand what I'm about moderation-wise, discretion-wise, etc, and if I torched my nick here, it'd be losing a real place where I've spend most of my time for the last 11+ years. So I think our pseudonyms here do serve those transparency/accountability functions.
Of course, part of what makes people feel a kinship with this place and trust in the moderation is exactly that mathowie, jessamyn, and cortex were all so comfortable being public real-name personalities in the first place. The pseudonym doesn't give that, especially if (like me) the person is circumspect in what they share about their family, their major life events, etc. It's a weird time culturally, we're navigating this stuff about community on the internet, social media, celebrity-lifestyle-brand-culture expectation about how much access to someone's life is normal, how much privacy is suspicious or cold-shouldery, etc. (I have lots of thoughts about this, sorry to go on a bit of a tangent here.) Anyway - I'm glad to be able to stay pseudonymous here, even though I know it may be a little unsatisfying to others, is my point, and I appreciate the lingering old-internet culture here that's made it okay.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:28 PM on March 23, 2017 [14 favorites]
http://faq.metafilter.com/33/Who-is-in-charge-here
But yeah, as cortex says, different folks have different comfort levels about how public to be with their real name/face/address/etc. I'm very grateful that I have a public-facing internet job where I don't have to give out my real name. The normal legitimate reason why you'd want someone to give out their real name is for social reputational pressure, to be accountable/to not be an asshole -- i.e. not to let people hide behind a pseudonym. But in this case, the pseudonym here is longstanding, gives people a track record they can follow to understand what I'm about moderation-wise, discretion-wise, etc, and if I torched my nick here, it'd be losing a real place where I've spend most of my time for the last 11+ years. So I think our pseudonyms here do serve those transparency/accountability functions.
Of course, part of what makes people feel a kinship with this place and trust in the moderation is exactly that mathowie, jessamyn, and cortex were all so comfortable being public real-name personalities in the first place. The pseudonym doesn't give that, especially if (like me) the person is circumspect in what they share about their family, their major life events, etc. It's a weird time culturally, we're navigating this stuff about community on the internet, social media, celebrity-lifestyle-brand-culture expectation about how much access to someone's life is normal, how much privacy is suspicious or cold-shouldery, etc. (I have lots of thoughts about this, sorry to go on a bit of a tangent here.) Anyway - I'm glad to be able to stay pseudonymous here, even though I know it may be a little unsatisfying to others, is my point, and I appreciate the lingering old-internet culture here that's made it okay.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:28 PM on March 23, 2017 [14 favorites]
Just say it: your real name is CrayfishGlove.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:33 PM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 12:33 PM on March 23, 2017 [10 favorites]
Unmasked!
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:34 PM on March 23, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 12:34 PM on March 23, 2017 [9 favorites]
I realize I didn't write this before: thank you thank you THANK YOU to cortex, restless_nomad, taz, LobsterMitten, goodnewsfortheinsane, Eyebrows McGee, frimble, and vacapinta! You are all wonderful people who have been a huge part in making MetaFilter what it is - a safe space for all kinds of discussions, disagreements, conversations, questions, goofiness, heartfelt confessions and camaraderie of all sorts. You are carrying on the great work that Matt started, and Jessamyn was instrumental in shaping and expanding, and the structure that pb built and maintained.
My prior online community was Discogs, where I devoted a solid chunk of time to geek out over details of music recordings, but the administration and moderation there was the complete opposite of this: changes were made suddenly and without much input from the users, and when there was push-back or questions, the answers and comments were few and far between.
On the other hand, here's MetaFilter, where the moderation and system improvements are transparent and support the community. This really is a community - not just a community weblog. It truly is the best of the web - so many kind people sharing and supporting people around the world, people helping people understand their experiences and views so we can treat each other with more compassion.
{{hugs}}
(And if you need to get away from where you are, we have spare beds and extra rooms, as long as you're OK with crazy boys and pushy pets who want all your attention. Come to New Mexico to hide from the world, or hike and explore the Southwest, or both. Seriously, MeMail me and we can work something out.)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:38 PM on March 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
My prior online community was Discogs, where I devoted a solid chunk of time to geek out over details of music recordings, but the administration and moderation there was the complete opposite of this: changes were made suddenly and without much input from the users, and when there was push-back or questions, the answers and comments were few and far between.
On the other hand, here's MetaFilter, where the moderation and system improvements are transparent and support the community. This really is a community - not just a community weblog. It truly is the best of the web - so many kind people sharing and supporting people around the world, people helping people understand their experiences and views so we can treat each other with more compassion.
{{hugs}}
(And if you need to get away from where you are, we have spare beds and extra rooms, as long as you're OK with crazy boys and pushy pets who want all your attention. Come to New Mexico to hide from the world, or hike and explore the Southwest, or both. Seriously, MeMail me and we can work something out.)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:38 PM on March 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
I also want to extend my sincere thanks to the mods and to the community here. I'm more of a lurker and rarely comment, but I read MeFi every single day. I just looked up my joiner date and almost choked to see that I've been here just shy of FIFTEEN YEARS, which - I can't even... MeFi remains my first stop on the internet and is the only website community I've ever wanted to join (see 'lurker' above) and during the elections it was the only thing that kept me sane.
Seriously, thank you to all our mods. Thank you for giving us a place to share news, have intelligent discussions, reach out and share each others' lives. It's kind of shocking that given the size of the internet there are such few sites like this, but clearly that is because they don't have you.
(And this reminded me that I haven't seen any monthly MeFi charges on my cc in a while, coincidentally since my card number was changed... Will change that now, so thank you for the reminder!)
posted by widdershins at 2:04 PM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Seriously, thank you to all our mods. Thank you for giving us a place to share news, have intelligent discussions, reach out and share each others' lives. It's kind of shocking that given the size of the internet there are such few sites like this, but clearly that is because they don't have you.
(And this reminded me that I haven't seen any monthly MeFi charges on my cc in a while, coincidentally since my card number was changed... Will change that now, so thank you for the reminder!)
posted by widdershins at 2:04 PM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
What an excellent state of the community web log report to read on the 12th anniversary of my joining date.
*faints*
posted by infini at 3:03 PM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
*faints*
posted by infini at 3:03 PM on March 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
The idea of the humans.txt thing is that it should work like robots.txt, a standard place to look - typically aimed at people with no great prior knowledge of the website, maybe doing research or looking for somewhere to apply for a job etc.
So you could just create a humans.txt with a link to the FAQ page.
posted by Lanark at 3:10 PM on March 23, 2017
So you could just create a humans.txt with a link to the FAQ page.
posted by Lanark at 3:10 PM on March 23, 2017
I haven't been able to spend as much time on the site in general as I used to, due to work changes that have me in front of a computer much less than the last job I had, but I still consider this my home on the web, & my refuge in a storm. You're all as much like family as apparitions on a glowing rectangle can be, (Some of you more so, if you had ever met my actual family...) so it's heartening to hear that things are stable & good here in the financial world.
I appreciate the update & I appreciate MetaFilter. Everybody needs a hug!
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:20 PM on March 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
I appreciate the update & I appreciate MetaFilter. Everybody needs a hug!
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:20 PM on March 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
Thank you to cortex, LobsterMitten, restless_nomad, Eyebrows McGee, taz, goodnewsfortheinsane, and frimble (and anyone else I might be forgetting) for all your hard work every day to make this a place I can lurk and sometimes comment and feel sane on the internet.
posted by Squeak Attack at 3:50 PM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Squeak Attack at 3:50 PM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
What faintdreams said!
Also, thanks for the update on things - glad to know that that the ship is sailing onwards. Some of us are going to be puking over the railing from time to time when things get choppy, but steady on that course, good captains.
Speaking as a politics junkie, I also want to give a shoutout to the folks who have been posting stuff that's really interesting and great and that teaches me stuff but is not necessarily political - this is the stuff I originally started reading the site for.
After the cataclysm of November 2016, I anecdotally feel like the site's content is starting to find a level again. I have no cite to back that up, but I feel like every time I load the front page, things have shifted back to a bit of a better balance.
And that's down to what people are posting and what the mods have decided to do with the political stuff - it's a hard balance to maintain, even in the best of times, and not everyone's going to agree on how that's handled, and we're certainly not living through those best sorts of times.
And to all of you who post - whether to Music, Projects, or the front page. Good on ya - keep it up!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:40 PM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also, thanks for the update on things - glad to know that that the ship is sailing onwards. Some of us are going to be puking over the railing from time to time when things get choppy, but steady on that course, good captains.
Speaking as a politics junkie, I also want to give a shoutout to the folks who have been posting stuff that's really interesting and great and that teaches me stuff but is not necessarily political - this is the stuff I originally started reading the site for.
After the cataclysm of November 2016, I anecdotally feel like the site's content is starting to find a level again. I have no cite to back that up, but I feel like every time I load the front page, things have shifted back to a bit of a better balance.
And that's down to what people are posting and what the mods have decided to do with the political stuff - it's a hard balance to maintain, even in the best of times, and not everyone's going to agree on how that's handled, and we're certainly not living through those best sorts of times.
And to all of you who post - whether to Music, Projects, or the front page. Good on ya - keep it up!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:40 PM on March 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Thank the good goddess above that metafilter is swimming along happily. I couldn't take more bad news, more crumbling of my "the world is good" foundation this year. Next months discretionary fund goes to a mefi donation!
posted by Grandysaur at 8:46 PM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Grandysaur at 8:46 PM on March 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
So surprising and glad to see good news lately, that I too didn't quite believe that there wasn't any bad news coming until I got to the first few comments.
Yay Metafilter!
posted by anotherpanacea at 3:33 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yay Metafilter!
posted by anotherpanacea at 3:33 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thank you, cortex, for caring so hard about MetaFilter. Your love for this community shines through every contribution you make, even when you're modding. I've lurked here a long time before I signed up and even with the contentious political issues it seems much warmer here since you took the helm.
I've said this before but I would buy women's underwear with [Fantastic] on the rear.
posted by kimberussell at 3:54 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've said this before but I would buy women's underwear with [Fantastic] on the rear.
posted by kimberussell at 3:54 AM on March 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Raccoons of the Resistance: you can't dismantle capitalism if you have a headache (Guardian). It's not better to burn out than to fade away (*glances meaningfully at sciatrix, who doesn't check MeMail apparently*).
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:10 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:10 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
posted by introp at 7:37 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by introp at 7:37 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Here's another merchandising opportunity. Grilling/barbecue tools made from recycled scrap, guaranteed for life, buffed to a dull finish. We can use the proceeds to pay mathowie to do mod shifts now and then.
The MetaFilter Metal Refit Matte Lifer Matt Relief Meatlifter.
posted by zamboni at 9:57 AM on March 24, 2017 [40 favorites]
The MetaFilter Metal Refit Matte Lifer Matt Relief Meatlifter.
posted by zamboni at 9:57 AM on March 24, 2017 [40 favorites]
This place is the greatest. Thanks for all you do and thanks to everyone who contributes to make this community strong.
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:45 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:45 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I like the idea of a pair of slippers with a [+] on one toe and a [!] on the other. It sad suggested in a merchandise thread ages ago.
Also, hurrah mods!
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:50 PM on March 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Also, hurrah mods!
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:50 PM on March 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Thanks so much for all the work to keep this site going, and the community for supporting it. It's been a haven of sanity for me for the last year or so. *\o/* Cheers or Paul Gross Arms to all of you!
posted by suelac at 4:42 PM on March 24, 2017
posted by suelac at 4:42 PM on March 24, 2017
The MetaFilter Metal Refit Matte Lifer Matt Relief Meatlifter.
Slow clap.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:58 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Slow clap.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:58 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
*clangs meat lifter on lid of grill like the tolling of a great bell*
posted by wenestvedt at 5:33 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 5:33 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I've been spending less time on MeFi lately (ok, ok: less time on the politics posts) for my own sanity so that I can focus on Doing Shit, but every time I finally take a short breather and come back over here to check things out it's like stepping back inn my favorite bar or my childhood library or a best friend's house. I talk about Metafilter more in my life now, by name, and what a great community this is, and a model for moderated online spaces. So I'm so happy to see this update.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:27 PM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by deludingmyself at 7:27 PM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Thank you MeFi team for keeping the place going. I really appreciate having this community around!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:38 AM on March 25, 2017
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:38 AM on March 25, 2017
Deep thanks for you guys who keep this place running so amazingly well, and to all of you here hanging out and being fun and interesting. You have all enriched my life so much!!!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 4:05 AM on March 26, 2017
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 4:05 AM on March 26, 2017
I can honestly say this is one of the few places I frequent that teaches me new words. I've loved it here since about 2000 ish, & it's my grounding go-to, with human, fair mods and a healthy appetite in all to make the world a better place.
Many, many thanks to you, at the helm.
posted by yoga at 6:05 PM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Many, many thanks to you, at the helm.
posted by yoga at 6:05 PM on March 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
tobascodagama: "Thanks to cortex and the entire mod team for ensuring that, when our Snow Crash-style anarcho-libertarian dystopia finally arrives, I'll have a save haven in the Metafilter-franchised burbclaves."
If it is okay, I want citizenship in Mr. Cortex's Blue Heaven.
Also, you folks are amazing, and thanks EVER so much, even if I am too much wretched refuse to be able to afford to fund.
posted by Samizdata at 8:15 PM on March 28, 2017
If it is okay, I want citizenship in Mr. Cortex's Blue Heaven.
Also, you folks are amazing, and thanks EVER so much, even if I am too much wretched refuse to be able to afford to fund.
posted by Samizdata at 8:15 PM on March 28, 2017
the quidnunc kid: "Did anyone else have a chill run down their spine at "I've been running MetaFilter for just about two years now, following mathowie's departure, and..."?
Firstly - I'd like everyone to remember that some of us are not vertebrates.
Yet, those of us who are proud members of the subphylum Medusozoa also experienced a profound tentacular apoplexy, when we realised that the next words in this sentence were not: " ... that's why I'm now encouraging you all to vote #1 quidnunc kid as our Jellyfish Messiah and Chief Gelatinous Zooplankton Officer".
And you know: those words were probably on the tips of cortex's fingers. But, due to his excellent management over the past years, his profound admiration and care for MeFi, and the fact that he is not severely mentally ill, we just missed having him type those very words out, on this very website.
And yet we were so close! Just think - it's only due to the fact that cortex and the mods have provided, and continue to provide, such excellent stewardship of MeFi, and great service to its community - as well as their constant hard work and open communication with us all, which updates like this ably demonstrate ... yup, these are probably the ONLY things standing in the way of a quidnunc kid-led jellyfish apocalypse. Well ... that and the fact that none of you are actually idiots.
But - I mean, we were like, THIS close. Oh - imagine I'm holding two tentacles close together when I say that. OK, so: how about them mods, huh? Pretty great jellyfish! Or people, or ... whatever they are. Jellypeople? Is that a thing? I don't live on land, so I don't know ... but I assume at least some of you are made of jelly. Or peanut butter."
One might think all of Cortex's continuing hard work here is a damning indictment of his mental health.
posted by Samizdata at 8:22 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Firstly - I'd like everyone to remember that some of us are not vertebrates.
Yet, those of us who are proud members of the subphylum Medusozoa also experienced a profound tentacular apoplexy, when we realised that the next words in this sentence were not: " ... that's why I'm now encouraging you all to vote #1 quidnunc kid as our Jellyfish Messiah and Chief Gelatinous Zooplankton Officer".
And you know: those words were probably on the tips of cortex's fingers. But, due to his excellent management over the past years, his profound admiration and care for MeFi, and the fact that he is not severely mentally ill, we just missed having him type those very words out, on this very website.
And yet we were so close! Just think - it's only due to the fact that cortex and the mods have provided, and continue to provide, such excellent stewardship of MeFi, and great service to its community - as well as their constant hard work and open communication with us all, which updates like this ably demonstrate ... yup, these are probably the ONLY things standing in the way of a quidnunc kid-led jellyfish apocalypse. Well ... that and the fact that none of you are actually idiots.
But - I mean, we were like, THIS close. Oh - imagine I'm holding two tentacles close together when I say that. OK, so: how about them mods, huh? Pretty great jellyfish! Or people, or ... whatever they are. Jellypeople? Is that a thing? I don't live on land, so I don't know ... but I assume at least some of you are made of jelly. Or peanut butter."
One might think all of Cortex's continuing hard work here is a damning indictment of his mental health.
posted by Samizdata at 8:22 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
A little late to the party and while I lurk more than I contribute to the site, I am extremely grateful for all that you do, cortex, and everybody else who is part of this site.
posted by theappleonatree at 6:54 PM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by theappleonatree at 6:54 PM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by Wordshore at 8:31 AM on March 22, 2017 [35 favorites]