Call Me By My Name: Mefi Newsletter 2, the Denominated August 17, 2021 5:00 AM Subscribe
Okay, friends, cross your fingers and hold onto your butts, because I just pressed "send" on the second issue of the Metafilter newsletter (subscribe here!), and we'll soon see what surprises tinyletter might have in store for us this iteration...
The good news is baby has a name, as you'll discover if you check out this archive version of issue 2. The bad news is that throughout about eleventy billion testing versions, it was extremely difficult to decipher exactly how tinyletter wanted us to designate that name so that it shows up as the actual name, particularly because the view is different in the archived version than it is in the emailed version, and we had some weird results trying to deal with that. For the moment, we are going with newsletter name as subject line, because it seems like that is how things are set up (and it looks right on the archived page) ... but it's odd.
If things turn out nicely, major, major shoutout to pronoiac 🙌who saved my sanity while I was trying to grapple with formatting issues and workflow. If things turn out icky, that's all me!
So. If you have signed up but haven't received the newsletter yet, first wait a bit, because I literally *just* sent it, then if you still don't see it, check your spam, or secondary folders, if your mail is sorted. Gmail filed my test sends under "promotions," for example.
The good news is baby has a name, as you'll discover if you check out this archive version of issue 2. The bad news is that throughout about eleventy billion testing versions, it was extremely difficult to decipher exactly how tinyletter wanted us to designate that name so that it shows up as the actual name, particularly because the view is different in the archived version than it is in the emailed version, and we had some weird results trying to deal with that. For the moment, we are going with newsletter name as subject line, because it seems like that is how things are set up (and it looks right on the archived page) ... but it's odd.
If things turn out nicely, major, major shoutout to pronoiac 🙌who saved my sanity while I was trying to grapple with formatting issues and workflow. If things turn out icky, that's all me!
So. If you have signed up but haven't received the newsletter yet, first wait a bit, because I literally *just* sent it, then if you still don't see it, check your spam, or secondary folders, if your mail is sorted. Gmail filed my test sends under "promotions," for example.
Right now it says "still sending..." — but that's a lot of sending for a not-exactly-huge slate of subscribers (227 atm). I'll see if Josh remembers how long it took last time.
posted by taz (staff) at 5:59 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by taz (staff) at 5:59 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Okay, I've now received this one in email, and it's still sending...
posted by taz (staff) at 6:15 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by taz (staff) at 6:15 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
So, it's a little slow, apparently more grinding than yeeting, but I can identify!
Josh says, "I feel like it went out pretty quick last time, but we did have...three subscribers at the time." :D
posted by taz (staff) at 6:34 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Josh says, "I feel like it went out pretty quick last time, but we did have...three subscribers at the time." :D
posted by taz (staff) at 6:34 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
yesssss!
posted by taz (staff) at 7:18 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by taz (staff) at 7:18 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Retrieved from the promotions folder. "This Is Just to Say" is a great title!
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:18 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:18 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
It also arrived in my gmail inbox under "Promotions", 3 hours ago, it looks good! Also love the title
posted by bitteschoen at 8:21 AM on August 17, 2021
posted by bitteschoen at 8:21 AM on August 17, 2021
Looks great. Thanks for also posting it here.
posted by Ahmad Khani at 9:03 AM on August 17, 2021
posted by Ahmad Khani at 9:03 AM on August 17, 2021
This is just to say, I LOVE IT.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:38 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by iamkimiam at 9:38 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Fantastic job on this. Looking forward to many more!
posted by michaelh at 10:23 AM on August 17, 2021
posted by michaelh at 10:23 AM on August 17, 2021
I have read the newsletter that was in my inbox. It was delicious.
posted by mochapickle at 11:36 AM on August 17, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 11:36 AM on August 17, 2021 [6 favorites]
Sooo... can human concentration affect random numbers?
Also, whose spider is this? thats not my spider
posted by Pyrogenesis at 11:52 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Also, whose spider is this? thats not my spider
posted by Pyrogenesis at 11:52 AM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ooh, the Summer of Soul post went up while I was camping, and I would have missed it without this. So thanks for surfacing it, and everybody go see Summer of Soul, which is great.
posted by fedward at 1:15 PM on August 17, 2021
posted by fedward at 1:15 PM on August 17, 2021
I just signed up (missed the earlier MeTa about this); will I receive this issue, or do I have to wait until a new mailing happens? This is awesome!
posted by heyho at 1:48 PM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by heyho at 1:48 PM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Okay, I think I found the secret button for sending the current letter to new signups! I've pressed that button! (It may take a little while to arrive, if the initial send is an indication)
posted by taz (staff) at 4:11 PM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 4:11 PM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
> can human concentration affect random numbers?
I think this is about the Global Consciousness Project, and there was a Mefi post that mentioned it a couple of weeks after 9/11.
posted by Pronoiac at 4:22 PM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think this is about the Global Consciousness Project, and there was a Mefi post that mentioned it a couple of weeks after 9/11.
posted by Pronoiac at 4:22 PM on August 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thanks, taz! That worked perfectly. (It arrived within a couple minutes of your comment.)
posted by heyho at 4:42 PM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by heyho at 4:42 PM on August 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
Signed up a few hours ago, and the electronic-mail has just come through. Splendid.
I'd missed the "First two hours of MTV are on YouTube" post, so the newsletter was useful. (Calculates) another sign of getting old; the launch of MTV was much closer to World War Two than it is to today.
posted by Wordshore at 8:18 AM on August 18, 2021
I'd missed the "First two hours of MTV are on YouTube" post, so the newsletter was useful. (Calculates) another sign of getting old; the launch of MTV was much closer to World War Two than it is to today.
posted by Wordshore at 8:18 AM on August 18, 2021
Have gotten three emails of the electronic newsletter, so either my hoster is playing up (not unknown) or I've been sent two destined for other people.
I've just seen the last of these on the big screen and I'm relieved to see that the graphic indent was, in fact, swollen and ripe purple plums. Maybe it's my 52 year old eyes but it looked a bit ... different ... on my small smartphone screen.
Nice plums.
posted by Wordshore at 12:15 PM on August 18, 2021
I've just seen the last of these on the big screen and I'm relieved to see that the graphic indent was, in fact, swollen and ripe purple plums. Maybe it's my 52 year old eyes but it looked a bit ... different ... on my small smartphone screen.
Nice plums.
posted by Wordshore at 12:15 PM on August 18, 2021
They used to be much nicer, but some asshole ate most of them.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:03 PM on August 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:03 PM on August 18, 2021 [4 favorites]
Wordshore, the spot where I found the secret button to send to newer signups shows a notice "x new subscribers have joined since you sent this letter," and "Send them a copy now." And after heyho asked, I had just been sending when I see new people added ... but maybe this is sending also to older newer signups ... I don't know! I'm hesitating to use that now, because I definitely don't want to swamp people with remails!
(also glad you were eventually able to parse the alarming plum. 😅If you think that was bad, you should see our kiwis!)
posted by taz (staff) at 4:00 AM on August 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
(also glad you were eventually able to parse the alarming plum. 😅If you think that was bad, you should see our kiwis!)
posted by taz (staff) at 4:00 AM on August 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
I loved it ! Thanks to everyone involved in making the newsletter happen
posted by motdiem2 at 4:00 AM on August 19, 2021
posted by motdiem2 at 4:00 AM on August 19, 2021
I am not sure if this is my issue or the issues's issue, but when I open a link in Metafilter or Ask, it opens in a new tab which I like. When I open the link in the newsletter, it opens it in the same tab. Is there a way for either you (Meta people) or me to set it to open in another tab without all my links from every site opening in a new tab? Is this a global setting, your setting or can I set that on a site by site basis in my browser? I can use Firefox, Chrome, Vivaldi, Edge or whatever I need to.
posted by AugustWest at 8:18 AM on August 19, 2021
posted by AugustWest at 8:18 AM on August 19, 2021
We could make it open links in new tabs, but then people who don't want a lot of new tabs opening would have to work out how to keep that from happening. We don't have an option of letting people set a choice via tinyletter (we do have that as a choice in preferences on Mefi). In chrome I think you can ctrl-left-click for a link to open in a new tab, or cmd-left-click on a Mac, and pretty much everywhere you can right-click and choose open in new tab.
posted by taz (staff) at 8:35 AM on August 19, 2021
posted by taz (staff) at 8:35 AM on August 19, 2021
Thanks taz. I did not realize it was a preference I set in preferences. No worries. I will adapt and/or improvise.
posted by AugustWest at 8:40 AM on August 19, 2021
posted by AugustWest at 8:40 AM on August 19, 2021
In chrome I think you can ctrl-left-click for a link to open in a new tab, or cmd-left-click on a Mac, and pretty much everywhere you can right-click and choose open in new tab.
Clicking on the scroll wheel should also open in new tab.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 11:14 AM on August 19, 2021
Clicking on the scroll wheel should also open in new tab.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 11:14 AM on August 19, 2021
Taz, with respect, the red lettering for the title...it's catching but were there others tried in beta? A deep gold or bold Lapis/ cornflower Blue?
but Double TA, nice work.
posted by clavdivs at 10:21 PM on August 20, 2021
but Double TA, nice work.
posted by clavdivs at 10:21 PM on August 20, 2021
We don't have an option with the red color there — or font or size or position, or even that it's there at all ... they automatically drop that whole top bit in, and there's no html access for it, which is part of what I was talking about with the weirdness of how the actual title is treated. Whatever is put into the subject line of the email shows up there on top of the archive page, big and red, with the date on top of it, and the author name below. So in email we put the newsletter name in the subject line so that it would look right on the archive page, but that means that in the mail itself, then, the name doesn't show up at all in the body — just in the subject line.
posted by taz (staff) at 12:56 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by taz (staff) at 12:56 AM on August 21, 2021
I can also vouch for Pronoiac's awesome editing skills!
posted by JHarris at 11:41 PM on August 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 11:41 PM on August 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
I realized I hadn't seen this issue, did a search for my Gmail box, and found out I received it ten days ago. Sometimes (and inconsistently) newsletters get filtered into categories like "Updates" and "Promotions," and they never even see my Inbox. Gmail's usability has gone way downhill in the years since I got my invite.
posted by JHarris at 11:50 PM on August 26, 2021
posted by JHarris at 11:50 PM on August 26, 2021
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Kattullus at 5:46 AM on August 17, 2021