On shiftlist we're in the top ten best websites.

August 20, 2002 9:46 AM

We're number [nospoiler]!!! We're number [nospoiler]!! Sorry, the new shiftlist of the 10 best web sites (evah!) is only in print right now, but watch this space to see for yourself very soon. If you want me to run down the list inside the thread, just ask.
posted by maudlin to MetaFilter-Related at 9:46 AM (32 comments total)

well, unless you run down the list in the thread, there's really nothing to bother with here...
posted by quonsar at 10:10 AM on August 20, 2002

Yeah, post the list already. Shift doesn't sell the mag in the states anymore.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:14 AM on August 20, 2002

Yeah,

WHAT.

THE.

FUCK.

MAUDLIN.
posted by interrobang at 10:17 AM on August 20, 2002

The sidebar links to this article, which contains the quotation: "MetaFilter's vibe is an intelligent one, civil, respectful. It's a space where well-thought-out arguments and ideas, supported by good research, are highly valued." There's also a photo of Matt wearing "my robot is going to kick your ass' kind of scowl.

There doesn't seem to be any sort of straight numerical ranking of websites, although one is designated the "Top Pick" in each of 19 categories. Plastic.com is the "Top Pick" for "Community"; I can't even find MeFi.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 10:21 AM on August 20, 2002

Oh sorry -- I was looking at the Shift 100 Sites We Love from last year. I missed Maudlin saying the Top 10 was in print only.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 10:25 AM on August 20, 2002

(Sorry, conference call).

Here you go. It's pretty predictable, actually: maybe I should have opened things up to betting before I posted this. I've included the commentary on MeFi only.

1. Google
2. Napster
3. MetaFilter: "Its brilliance is its simplicity: a community weblog where members post links and discuss those links. The result is a diverse yet surprisingly inclusive community where the focus is on discourse and debate. Despite some cliqueishness (e.g. "pancakes" = "this thread sucks") and the occasional tendency toward sheer polarization (understandably, on topics like the Mideast), the typical Metafilter thread is reasoned, textured and passionate".
4. Gabocorp
5. The Onion
6. Popbitch
7. Salon
8. Heavy
9. eBay
10. The Wayback Machine
posted by maudlin at 10:53 AM on August 20, 2002

I'd've thought Shift would be far too smart to make the usual pendant-bait "But Napster's NOT A BLEEDING WEBSITE" mistake.

also: Gabocorp! Blast from the past!
posted by Sapphireblue at 10:56 AM on August 20, 2002

We beat penicillin!
posted by ODiV at 10:57 AM on August 20, 2002

er. "pedant-bait." the baiting of necklaces is immoral and irresponsible. either you're with us, or against us.
posted by Sapphireblue at 10:57 AM on August 20, 2002

gabocorp? gabocorp????
posted by quonsar at 11:15 AM on August 20, 2002

Napster?!
posted by nicwolff at 11:25 AM on August 20, 2002

So does it bode well for MeFi that it's number three, or ill because it's number three on a list that clearly makes no fucking sense whatsoever?

We're* better than a website that currently doesn't have any content (gabocorp) but not as good as a website that's not a website (napster)? What was number eleven, zombo.com?

*"We" is used here in the royal sense. No ownership of Metafilter is or should be implied.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:46 AM on August 20, 2002

Okay, maudlin, I think the stupefaction over Gabocorp requires some explanation, could you please include the commentary for it as well?

GABOCORP?

Boy, if I were a gay robot zombie waiting for resurrection so I could have vampiric gay robot sex and destroy all gravity, I would NOT depend on Gabo to be my main necromancer squeeze, let me tell you.
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:46 AM on August 20, 2002

In terms of impact, yeah, I'd agree with where Naptster is on the list.
posted by GeekAnimator at 11:47 AM on August 20, 2002

So now I know what the stupid "pancakes" shit was all about. Geez.
posted by beth at 12:03 PM on August 20, 2002

...but Napster's NOT A BLEEDING WEBSITE.

The Number 11 pick: I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! (Jon Stewart, DC loves you.)
posted by Sapphireblue at 12:09 PM on August 20, 2002

Now playing at the Shift Community Theatre: "Waiting for Gabo":

"Gabo! Gabo! Gabo! In '98, the name filled designer forums like whispers of Zorro: Who is Gabo? Where did Gabo come from? As it turned out, the first hero of Flash was a 19 year old student in Puerto Rico -- Alberto Gabriel Mendoza. Mendoza's site was a revelation: some even speculated that he was a Macromedia fabrication. In mid-'99 he promised a web design. Three years later, we still wait. Sophomore slump? Design ennui? Only Gabo knows."

So didn't any right thinking person st^H^H borrow any of his original Flash and post it somewhere? You know, for the community good.
posted by maudlin at 12:21 PM on August 20, 2002

If the list is of the best websites ever, and Napster (the application) was only available at the (now-defunct) napster.com, then it would almost certainly belong on the list.
posted by websavvy at 12:22 PM on August 20, 2002

What is worth talking about is Shift's Celebrity Weblog Awards:

The "What Are They On And How Can I Get Some?" Award Melanie Griffith, Jeff Bridges (tie)

Melanie has turned from "Working Girl" to pseudo New Age Guru. To enter her blog, you must survive the sounds of low-grade Enya-esque drones and the digitized chirping of both bird calls and Ms. Griffith's squeaking invitation to "sign my guestbook." Enter the gates of her misty, waterfall-peppered cyberspace island called "Avalon," wherein Mrs. Banderas attempts to lead you to enlightenment -- extolling the benefits of writing form letters to your dreaming "Inner Self", leading you through Flash-styled specialized-meditation guides, and offering you membership in the "Goddess Club". Whoa. Who'd've thunk she was so immersed in this stuff?

Jeff, on the other hand, has decided to write his rambling notes in massive scrawling cursive font that will have you reaching for the Advil within seconds. But if you stick out the visual monstrosity, you'll be treated to The Dude's random memories of his father, scattered non-sequitors about how to make a labyrinth and much more.

I didn't even know Jeff Bridges had a blog.
posted by me3dia at 12:30 PM on August 20, 2002

the typical Metafilter thread is reasoned, textured and passionate

Community website seeks same.
posted by dhartung at 1:14 PM on August 20, 2002

Go, metafilter! "Reasoned, textured, and passionate" seems like a very nice compliment. (Though also suspiciously like slogan for microchipped sex toy.)
posted by onlyconnect at 1:15 PM on August 20, 2002

*sigh* I swear I didn't see you in preview, dhartung!
posted by onlyconnect at 1:16 PM on August 20, 2002

[after spending a few minutes perusing Jeff Bridge's blog]

Nothing profound, but I kinda like the effect of having almost everything be a scan of his own handwriting. Doesn't strain my eyes at all. It reminds me of my internet literature teacher's website, made entirely with crayon (can't find it anymore, darn). people would email him and ask him, "wow, how'd you do that?", not realizing it was actual crayon.
posted by GeekAnimator at 1:22 PM on August 20, 2002

While I sort of agree that "pancakes" equals a sucky thread, I always thought it happened after pancakes, not that the word was an expression of opinion.
posted by Su at 2:44 PM on August 20, 2002

Here's some pancake history. I have no idea what it all means, though.
posted by timeistight at 3:06 PM on August 20, 2002

if I were a gay robot zombie waiting for resurrection so I could have vampiric gay robot sex and destroy all gravity, I would NOT depend on Gabo to be my main necromancer squeeze, let me tell you

*runs-away-crying*
posted by holloway at 3:28 PM on August 20, 2002

timeistight: I have no idea either, but i think that its just the way it's always been done...
posted by dash_slot- at 6:21 PM on August 20, 2002

Hey, since we're (or, um, you're) #3 Matt, can you update the donate page to see the new amount raised since the end of April? I don't care so much about the people who donated so much as how much support you're getting.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:58 PM on August 20, 2002

"a diverse yet surprisingly inclusive community"

Diverse?! Inclusive?! Great - can somebody post the URL?
posted by m.polo at 8:34 PM on August 20, 2002

... the way it's always been done...

Always ends up with monkeys, doesn't it. Well, except when it ends up with kittens, ponies or pancakes. Or when it doesn't end...
posted by dg at 9:06 PM on August 20, 2002

Many more lists inside the issue. MeFi didn't make it onto 10 Sites Wil Wheaton Quite Enjoys, but mathowie is one of the 10 Top Heavyweights on the Web. [kermit] Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay![/kermit]

1. David Carson and Simon Assaad
2. William Bastone and Daniel Green
3. Rob Malda
4. Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka
5. Robert Siegel
6. Tom Winkler
7. Drew Curtis
8. Matt Haughey
9. David Talbot
10. Evan Williams

Now here's the challenge: do you actually know what websites all these people are associated with? (Hint: only entries 1, 5, 8 and 9 are associated with Shift's top ten web sites, and the rankings of people may or may not match the rankings of their sites).
posted by maudlin at 8:31 AM on August 21, 2002

1. Heavy
2. Smoking Gun
3. Slashdot
4. Somethingawful
5. (I have no idea)
6. Doodie
7. Fark
8. MetaFilter
9. Salon
10. Blogger

I had to use google to look up two of them that didn't ring a bell (smoking gun guys and the doodie guy).
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:38 AM on September 5, 2002