Got the hate-on for "I for one welcome our...."

January 29, 2003 4:27 AM

mathowie : I delete a handful of 'I for one, welcome our ___ overlords' comments every day. I used to do the same for vibrating comments. I hate pancake references too. They're all just forms of heckling, attempting to derail any discussion and take attention away, just like an in-the-flesh heckler at a speech. I don't buy the 'but other kids were doing it, mom!' because everyone doing it is being a bad citizen by contributing noise to the site."
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken to Etiquette/Policy at 4:27 AM (94 comments total)

At the risk of being accused of brown-nosing our host, I thought this recent comment was worth bringing front and center. I, for one (had you going there, didn't I?) agree wholeheartedly. Being funny is fine, and some of our most beloved members are big cut-ups, but repeating formulaic catchphrases just isn't funny.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:30 AM on January 29, 2003

ironically, matt deleted the thread about this yesterday stav.
posted by quonsar at 4:41 AM on January 29, 2003

I agree. Time to start new memes!
posted by mischief at 5:14 AM on January 29, 2003

Let all the vibrating overlords and ice-cream pony pancake reference taglines be sent to the rubbish bin of history. For-evah!

This world of cliche-memes is ours!
posted by hama7 at 5:20 AM on January 29, 2003

gentlemen, i propose a $1.2 billion investment program in finding new and sustainable catchphrases so that our children will be able to breathe air that is pancake and overlord free.
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:21 AM on January 29, 2003

but repeating formulaic catchphrases just isn't funny.

You are dead-on Stav. It isn't.

But what about taglines? Tagline competitiveness sort of spawned this type thing, or at least I thought it did.
posted by hama7 at 5:28 AM on January 29, 2003

I had hoped that saying something was "like scabies, if scabies had an odor and made high pitched sounds" would catch on. Guess it was a tad unwieldy.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:32 AM on January 29, 2003

So, does this mean that Cheap 'n' Easy Taglines (tm), such as:

METAFILTER: Like scabies, if scabies had an odor and made high pitched sounds

are out now as well?
posted by JollyWanker at 5:40 AM on January 29, 2003

the new memes will clearly involve character Ê?tîtîS? and japanese emoticons. (>_<)
posted by quonsar at 5:47 AM on January 29, 2003

i meant to say ÊητîτîΣς
posted by quonsar at 5:47 AM on January 29, 2003

nope: Metafilter: Cheap 'n' Easy Taglines (tm)
posted by amberglow at 5:49 AM on January 29, 2003

Comedy is hard.

And not very pretty.
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:20 AM on January 29, 2003

can we have a ban on the word 'meme' please ?
to me , its more irritating than pancakes in sandpaper syrup.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:20 AM on January 29, 2003

Why, sarge, whatever do you meme? ;-P
posted by mischief at 6:38 AM on January 29, 2003

Noise isn't always meme-shaped. Many of the comments in this thread serve as fine examples.
posted by walrus at 6:50 AM on January 29, 2003

the meme generation , thats what it is.

colour me irritated.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:54 AM on January 29, 2003

(ya know how to get rid of these annoyances? don't talk about 'em...)
posted by mkultra at 6:57 AM on January 29, 2003

Bling-y Pancakes.
posted by Shane at 6:58 AM on January 29, 2003

What annoyances ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:02 AM on January 29, 2003

For what it's worth I agree completely, especially with what walrus said. I can't find it now, but there use to be a blurb somewhere (thought it was top-center on the "about" page) that said "The level of discourse here [at Metafilter] is high". Everytime I read through a thread where each person tries to one-up the previous person, not with a rhetorical flourish or a strong argument but a bastardization of the pancake/overlord/vibration theme I think about that line.
posted by vito90 at 7:10 AM on January 29, 2003

the level of discourse around here is quite high. you can tell by the bloodshot eyes.
posted by quonsar at 7:40 AM on January 29, 2003

I for one am sick of the self righteous clap trap already expressed on this beaten dead horse topic--worse than pancake overlords are their late to the party bashers. Or do we need another thread tomorrow?
posted by y2karl at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2003

The only thing worse than "not funny" is the idea of people sitting around, explaining what is "funny".
posted by Dark Messiah at 8:15 AM on January 29, 2003

Dark Messiah, That's funny.

I can explain why, too.
posted by zpousman at 8:20 AM on January 29, 2003

Then we both win. Sodas for all!
posted by Dark Messiah at 8:28 AM on January 29, 2003

Damn, that extra bling graphic kicks ass. Every time I see it I feel like licking it. Or something.
posted by Shane at 8:31 AM on January 29, 2003

clench, people! clench!
posted by quonsar at 9:14 AM on January 29, 2003

the new memes will clearly involve character Ê?tîtîS?

This may explain some the e-mails I received.
posted by thomcatspike at 9:20 AM on January 29, 2003

stavros, thanks for trying.
posted by vito90 at 10:12 AM on January 29, 2003

I for one am sick of the self righteous clap trap already expressed on this beaten dead horse topic

One of the primary reasons for my departure was that no one, not even Matt, could "win" when such a large and vocal minority of this site turned MeFi into adolescent and idiotic ramblings every 2-3 comments. This large and vocal minority isn't interested in thoughtful discussion or respecting one another, but instead focus on petty arguments and stupid one-liners. So whenever someone stepped up to the plate to try and bring useful discussion back to the table, they were invariably shouted down for one reason or another. Sometimes I wonder if MeFi will ever be as inciteful as it used to be. Then I quickly glance at the front page and notice a plethora of very weak links, which wouldn't be so bad...except that they're filled with name-calling and one-liners. LCD...that's MeFi's new status. To entertain at the level of lowest common denominator.
posted by BlueTrain at 11:37 AM on January 29, 2003

I tend to avoid the bickering and meme-wagoning that occurs on the MeFi threads (and consequently rarely post here at MeTa), but it strikes me that the title tags (notably in Jonson's little Nazi post - Tag you're it, now hit the showers!) seem to be the ideal place for users to get all the fun, snarky, and sometimes mildly inappropriate jibes out of the way while still allowing for an interesting conversation to occur in the thread.

Of course the next question will be, how is mathowie going to deal with the rash of cute hearts and symbols that will appearing soon?
posted by KnitWit at 11:51 AM on January 29, 2003

MetaFilter: Ever Inciteful
[tip o' the hat to BlueTrain]
posted by quonsar at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2003

This is what I get for posting from a PocketPC. Damn you quonsar...

::shakes fist::
posted by BlueTrain at 12:19 PM on January 29, 2003

"Inciteful" would be a great name for a weblog.
posted by timeistight at 12:26 PM on January 29, 2003

How come when I passive-aggressively protest the constant "it vibrates", "I, for one.." and pancake comments by not making any, no one cares, but when the creator of the site explicitly says he doesn't like it, all of a sudden people start to take notice? Huh? HUH?!
posted by Hildago at 12:39 PM on January 29, 2003

1. I hate pancake references too.


2. I know a trend worth exploiting when I see one

posted by the fire you left me at 12:42 PM on January 29, 2003

Oh dear God, stop trotting out that pancake graphic. If he says he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it. I took it as a joke, not an affirmative call to arms to make references to pancakes.
posted by Hildago at 12:55 PM on January 29, 2003

"inciteful" = insightful Freudian slip in reference to MeFi.
posted by Shane at 1:01 PM on January 29, 2003

If what's expected here is change, then maybe it's time to start warning and banning people for it. It no longer seems to be a low-grade fever.

Otherwise, I'd say stop whining, live with it, start your own *filter or frequent the many alternatives instead.

It could go either way.
posted by yonderboy at 2:43 PM on January 29, 2003

So could I if enough likker was involved. (Thank you for making my day, Blue Train)
posted by yerfatma at 3:42 PM on January 29, 2003

can we agree not to continually make references to how great metafilter 'used' to be ?
people have been saying how great it 'used' to be ever since it went above 100 users.
I suggest people who keep making these idiotic remarks
bring their pussy face to my ass.
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:48 PM on January 29, 2003

bring their pussy face to my ass.

THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!
THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!
THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!
posted by Skot at 3:56 PM on January 29, 2003

i didnt know you were religous skot!
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:39 PM on January 29, 2003

i'm not touching either one of those.
posted by quonsar at 4:45 PM on January 29, 2003

Well, if nothing else, we may have gotten another meme or two out of this thread.
posted by yhbc at 6:56 PM on January 29, 2003

I, for one, welcome our pancake-and-overlord deleting host. But then again, I've never made a comment consisting only of an overlord joke.

I don't think it's just a juvenile expression ... I think it's a way of showing participation in a community. Of course you can take it overboard -- slashdot has had this problem with the "Profit!!!" phrases and "Natalie Portman" and "Beowulf Clusters" and other things that people keep saying over and over ad nauseum long after they cease being clever. But repeating them is almost like bearing the token "Look! I've got the 411 on the lingo and catch phrases here!"

OK, the masons we ain't, but...
posted by namespan at 7:01 PM on January 29, 2003

OK, the masons we ain't, but...

This is like the mother of all taglines here now.
posted by y2karl at 7:52 PM on January 29, 2003

Who welcomes overlords to town?
Who keeps the pancakes nice and brown?
We do! We do!

Who has ponys in their room?
Who knows about the vibrating broom?
We do! We do!
posted by yhbc at 8:02 PM on January 29, 2003

How could anyone possibly think the right response to Matt's complaint is more empty-headed banter and precociously unfunny in-joke wackiness? It's like you're daring him to wash his hands of the place.
posted by rcade at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2003

Maybe it was the cracked funhouse-mirror-echoes-of-Miguel rehash pointlessness ambiance of the post itself?

If you build it--they will come.

Seriously, namespan nails it up there. All these annoying things are annoying but everything in moderation, especially all this stick up the ass annoyance.

Matt has to prune this orchard, so his complaint has merit. All these injokes are signals of culture in the anthropological sense. The masons crack was a bullseye.

And yhbc's contribution was inspired badinage that simultaneously evokes the masons, MetaFilter and the Simpsons by rewriting a song from the Stonecutters episode that was a witty take on namespans original assessment.

Where smart people gather, so do smart alecks and wits. Inspired flights of fancy are not the endless repetition of cliches. Get a grip.

We could use less cliches, agreed. But these things arise because they are phatic speech; crosstalk; monkey grooming on the verbal plane. It's necessary in small amounts, provides history and continuity and tacitly expresses friendly intentions, a social lubricant as it were.

We're primates, deal with it.
posted by y2karl at 9:00 PM on January 29, 2003

Amen.
posted by timeistight at 9:15 PM on January 29, 2003

Ow. Some of the posts in this thread have made my gut hurt from laughing.

"We do! We do!" indeed.

So many good taglines, too.

Metafilter: We Groom The Monkeys.

Metafilter: A Social Lubricant.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:27 PM on January 29, 2003

How could anyone possibly think the right response to Matt's complaint ...

How could anyone NOT think that? It's all a state of mind.
posted by mischief at 10:14 PM on January 29, 2003

OK. The 'phatic, cross-talking, monkey-grooming' majority seems to have spoken.

For my part, I just thought the finger-waggling from mathowie (from a thread on an unrelated topic - leaping into a new thread and declaring it bound for deletion) was worth discussion.

I'll repeat, for y2karl and anyone else who has a bit of a problem reading closely, that I personally have nothing against actual humour. Humour is good. Funny is fun. Me likee. A large proportion of my output here has been of a jocular nature. I am in perpetual love with people who can make me laugh, with mad creative hijinx, with people who out of a greatness of spirit share their best stuff, for free. Badinage and banter, when clever, are a joy, as are the banterers, in moderation.

Tired repetion of old jokes that were funny once, if that, do not appeal so much. I happen to agree with the opinion that they are noise, and detract from the quality of the site. Simple as that.

That in-jokes are 'a signal of culture' is obvious, and an indication that there actually is a community with a shared culture (lowest common denominator pace Bluetrain or not) is positive, of course. No one, least of all me, would suggest that it would be smart to eliminate those signs and countersigns that are used to identify fellow members of a group - that would be foolish.

Inspired flights of fancy are not the endless repetition of cliches. Get a grip.

Nice. Reverse the sense of what I have said (in my very first comment in the thread) 180 degrees, and then tell me to 'get a grip'. (Or alternately, since your target is unclear, tell the owner of the site to get a grip.) I've got two short words for you, mate. And they're not 'nice try.'

Carry on.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:32 PM on January 29, 2003

And...
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:28 PM on January 29, 2003

RE: Get a grip--Um, I was addressing the post above where that was written--which was not yours.

Great, take what I write, turn it 180 degrees and say it's about you...
posted by y2karl at 11:40 PM on January 29, 2003

I really do think this is a dead horse. We got the memo sometime back.
posted by y2karl at 11:40 PM on January 29, 2003

OK, fair enough. I must've missed the memo....
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:09 AM on January 30, 2003

I don't have any dispute with your position on cliches, it's just that A)

I read all about this yesterday

and B)

I am so fucking sick of people here preaching and complaining and making themselves right by making x group or person wrong.

Not that I don't do these things, too, but I have managed not starting pointless repeats of the day before's MetaTalk threads to do so for the most part.

You are taking yourself very seriously. Pomposity does not become you.

I will allow that I am in a very cranky mood and have been all day, so I'm sorry if I've been too harsh.
posted by y2karl at 1:18 AM on January 30, 2003

Okay, now who's gonna start MemeFilter? Then we can save Matt's poor ailing server for real discussions.
posted by Vidiot at 1:23 AM on January 30, 2003

Pomposity does not become you.

But as the years advance and the grey hairs proliferate, the opposite becomes increasingly true. If not precisely a fair call, one that is worth taking note of, with thanks.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:49 AM on January 30, 2003

monkey grooming on the verbal plane

...could you remove that nit over there then? thanks.
posted by madamjujujive at 5:04 AM on January 30, 2003

Can we stop having things prised from our cold, dead hands too?

Many thanks
posted by Summer at 5:54 AM on January 30, 2003

MetaFilter: We got the memo sometime back.

(Um, should we stop taglining, too? Or is anything okay IF IT IS NOT OVERDONE AND IF IT IS DONE WELL WHEN IT IS DONE?! Hmph.)
posted by Shane at 6:35 AM on January 30, 2003

i think we've all learned something here today.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:39 AM on January 30, 2003

but repeating formulaic catchphrases just isn't funny.

But it gives a community a character. Slashdot would just not be Slashdot without 'FIRST POST!!' and constant Cowboyneal poll options. Even if you want to take a community seriously, you have to take the lifeblood/humor of that community in your stride.

If you can't let the community be fun and be itself, then you might as well just shut up shop, because people don't just want to hang around a site for the intellectual discussion y'know.
posted by wackybrit at 7:11 AM on January 30, 2003

based on the above, it's obviously inappropriate for any of us to quote anyone, or, for that matter, say anything on metafilter ever again. And I, for one, will welcome the beautiful silence.
posted by crunchland at 7:18 AM on January 30, 2003

...............
posted by Shane at 7:36 AM on January 30, 2003

*crickets*
posted by quonsar at 7:43 AM on January 30, 2003

people don't just want to hang around a site for the intellectual discussion y'know.

Maybe it's the fact I've only had one cup of coffee this morning, but if this was meant to be facetious it went right over my head.

Slashdot and fucked company's (to name another) humor is lowbrow. If we believe MeFi to be the Gold Standard of intellectual discourse then what's wrong with setting a higher bar for humor as well?

Some people are good at being funny, and they make you laugh in inventive ways. Some people suck at being funny, and they regurgitate memes because they can't do any better. I assume they can't, because if they could, wouldn't they?
posted by vito90 at 7:51 AM on January 30, 2003

* Bullfrogs. Whippoorwills. The occasional hoot of an owl.*
posted by konolia at 8:33 AM on January 30, 2003

* a rising high-pitched scream -- cut short -- followed by a nervous giggle *
posted by fuckwit at 8:49 AM on January 30, 2003

people don't just want to hang around a site for the intellectual discussion y'know.

I don't think that anyone is calling for a ban on humor, its just pointless, repetitious "inside" jokes that are funny to maybe four or five people anymore and just waste post space, Matt's time and MeFi bandwidth. Humor is fine, humor is great, sometimes we all need to have more of a sense of it, but please things do get old and tired and worn out and that's when its time to move on to new and better jokes. Its the same reason I want to punch anyone who I hear quoting the Princess Bride or Holy Grail! It was funny the first time, maybe even a couple of times after that, now, its obviously gotten old, and I for one welcome anything that ends this big waste of time!
posted by Pollomacho at 8:51 AM on January 30, 2003

If we believe MeFi to be the Gold Standard of intellectual discourse

Big IF!
posted by mischief at 8:52 AM on January 30, 2003

Metafilter: Bullfrogs. Whippoorwills. The occasional hoot of an owl.
Metafilter: repeating formulaic catchphrases.
Metafilter: We're primates, deal with it.
Metafilter: i think we've all learned something here today.
Metafilter: Pomposity does not become you.
Metafilter: We missed the memo.
Metafilter: a call to arms to make references to pancakes.
Metafilter: thanks for trying!
Metafilter: a tad unwieldy

You just can't make this stuff up. Ok, maybe you can...
posted by blue_beetle at 9:24 AM on January 30, 2003

Metafilter: Metatalk

Oh jesus christ no! I've torn the fabric of humor space-time continuity! *UNIVERSE IMPLODES*
posted by Stan Chin at 9:33 AM on January 30, 2003

I'd just like to offer Stavros my support and thanks. I can't imagine what you vibrating-overlords fans are thinking when you defend a practice that Matt has indicated is undesirable. (Probably the same thing the double-post fans are thinking when they say "I don't see what's wrong with having more discussion!") Note to y2karl: the constant repetition of overlord jokes does not constitute "inspired flights of fancy"; I doubt anyone here objects to the latter.
posted by languagehat at 10:45 AM on January 30, 2003

HELP ! HELP ! IM BEING OPPRESSED !

goes off to enjoy the silence........................................
posted by sgt.serenity at 10:54 AM on January 30, 2003

well, I would submit that a great deal of what has passed between stavros and I contains more than a bit of heat and misunderstandings, and I do regret the pomposity remark as it was untrue and unfair. Sin in haste, repent forever or so forth.

I never cared for the pancakes or vibrating brooms, myself.

I do have a soft spot for Simpsons references in that they are the closest to a common touchstone for the greatest number here, much the way the ancient Greeks knew Homer by heart and recited in conversation verses appropriate to the topic, much the same as people my age can quote Bob Dylan lines.

But the overlord thing has been done, if not to death, then to being on a ventilator and dialysis in a comatose state of poor prognosis.
posted by y2karl at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2003

*ejects into vacuum of space, enjoys moment without sounds of Rosey O'Donell singing, pankake overlords, Knight Who Say Ninny-Ninny-Ninny-Woo-Woo or vibrations before head explodes*
posted by Pollomacho at 12:00 PM on January 30, 2003

I'd hit it.

Farkfilter.com

Is this a new meme?
posted by thomcatspike at 2:31 PM on January 30, 2003

much the way the ancient Greeks knew Homer by heart

Man, I knew it was a long-running series, but that takes the cake.

μμμ... κακε.
posted by rory at 5:09 AM on January 31, 2003

Now see, that's fucking funny.

1 Point for Rory.

0 Points for everybody else.
posted by zpousman at 11:40 AM on January 31, 2003

Oh, forgot YHBC. He gets a point too.
posted by zpousman at 11:41 AM on January 31, 2003

I, for one, welcome our non-overlord-welcoming overlords.

Ow. Stop hitting me!
posted by kindall at 7:29 PM on January 31, 2003

At the risk of

a) sounding like a cliche
2) pissing even more people off
third) dragging the bandwidth down even further
finally) adding to the general imbalance of signal to noise

One point! Woo-HOO!
posted by yhbc at 8:13 PM on January 31, 2003

Maybe memes truly are viral. You can't really fight a virus once it sets up good. Probably only competing "antibodies" or negative memes can fight them.
posted by nyxxxx at 4:55 AM on February 1, 2003

nyx: They tried already with 'newsfilter'. Didn't work.
posted by mischief at 5:25 AM on February 1, 2003

Because the memes that fight it are just as bad, if not worse, than the originals.

Now you'll see a bunch of "no more memes" posts everytime someone says something aboubt overlords or pancakes. Then matthowie will come out against that and then you'll get a hundred posts toadying up to him and repeating something he said in that post.

I think this place isn't driven by memes, but attempts at brownosing.
posted by nyxxxx at 6:47 AM on February 1, 2003

nyxxx: I take it that when you visit someone's house for dinner you take care to fart loudly and insult the host for fear of toadying and brownnosing.
posted by languagehat at 7:43 AM on February 1, 2003

But this isn't someone's house. It's a discussion group. I've got no problem with Matt. He can delete what he wants. What I have the problem with is all ya'll who take what he says as gospel.

It would be like someone inviting you over to their house for a discussion and having a bunch of yes men around them. I don't even think that's what Matt want's but it's what happens. Ya'll say something, Matt disagrees, and suddenly everyone pretends that's what they meant all along.

I'd feel a lot more comfortable with this place if that sort of power was distributed into the hands of more people.

And if I'm wrong and this is Matt's private dinner party where people can only talk about what he wants to talk about, then I'll go somewhere else.

But mostly I like the place and I don't think that's what is going on.
posted by nyxxxx at 7:52 AM on February 1, 2003

The pancakes comment is generally used as an inside joke that will go over the head of the poster yet alert old timers that in the opinion of the commenter the thread sucks. Why can't these people just point out instead how they think the thread can be improved? If they feel the need for humor while doing so, why not come up with something more original. Commenting "This sucks" in a thread is pretty much the lame type of comment I would think most of us don't want to have to see. Pancake stuff isn't any different from that as far as I can tell.
posted by xammerboy at 9:01 AM on February 1, 2003

MêmeFilter

"No more mêmes" = latest même.

MetaFilter:

-AKA-

MetaFilter: Plus C'est La Même Chose
posted by Shane at 10:31 AM on February 1, 2003

"..."

Another meme for the bonfire.
posted by mischief at 3:43 AM on February 2, 2003