Pony: color-coded user names

November 21, 2003 7:39 PM

Colored usernames. How about a per-user defined option to have usernames show up in custom colors to keep track of users I want to read (red) and users I don't (gray) and everyone else (default). Or some other way to highlight when a user I really like posts without having to memorize lots of names.
posted by stbalbach to feature requests at 7:39 PM (42 comments total)

you're going to scroll past the comment to the username first to see if you want to read it?
posted by amberglow at 8:48 PM on November 21, 2003

Thats a great idea stbalbach. That way you can go through life without ever really knowing anybody.
posted by Keyser Soze at 9:33 PM on November 21, 2003

See also.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:33 PM on November 21, 2003

(although I understand that's not exactly what you're talking about, many of those threads address the same ideas)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:34 PM on November 21, 2003

Dibs on mauve. I still like mauve.
posted by yhbc at 9:38 PM on November 21, 2003

This is ridiculous for a plethora of reasons I'm not even going to get into since this has been addressed before. There are MetaFilter-Filters out there off-site that people have created to eliminate the posts/comments of other users, as well as links from certain websites, if you're really interested. Personally, I find the idea hauntingly distasteful.
posted by The God Complex at 9:47 PM on November 21, 2003

I prefer to say "usernames of color"
posted by crunchburger at 10:04 PM on November 21, 2003

I want a mauve pony, please.
posted by DaShiv at 11:09 PM on November 21, 2003

Yes, dammit, I want a roan that not only neighs and launches its forelegs at the sound of "mathowie," but that ingests quaaludes without complaint from time to time.
posted by ed at 12:03 AM on November 22, 2003

i want strobing, multi-colored fog lamps for my cat.
posted by quonsar at 3:53 AM on November 22, 2003

and quaaludes.
posted by quonsar at 3:54 AM on November 22, 2003

Well, I was gonna photoshop up a leg-launching 'lude-munching mathowie-triggered battlepony, but I got drunk instead.

Sue me.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:01 AM on November 22, 2003

We should make all the liberal posters appear in pink.

That would be fab.

:pinkpower:
posted by Mossy at 4:03 AM on November 22, 2003

I want a coloured pony (self link)
posted by Orange Goblin at 4:15 AM on November 22, 2003

The image “http://www.worth1000.com/entries/50500/50897lrTQ.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.
posted by angry modem at 5:36 AM on November 22, 2003

This is all about me, isn't it? Everyone just wants to ignore me! :::cry:::
posted by rushmc at 5:37 AM on November 22, 2003

In the past I've written a couple filter pages in response to requests like this. One which is the much requested kill file, and another which lets users filter out FFPs by user or keyword. They were fun to write, but they aren't something I use. And they only get about 1000 page views a month.

It would be easy to add the functionality to highlight names, but I just don't think it would get used enough to matter. Asking MetaFilter to filter out things you aren't interested in sounds good, but doesn't seem as wonderful once put into practice.

And I'm also interested if anyone actually uses either of those filters.
posted by y6y6y6 at 5:42 AM on November 22, 2003

Not interested in filtering, just highlighting. Filtering is wrong for a lot of reasons IMO. highlighting is a way to make a certain person stand out kind of like scoring.

There are what 17,000 people here? Some really good posters are here, but they only post infrequently and in a long thread and over time it is easy to miss and forget this is someone whose opinion you care about to read and think about. I'm really talking more about threads and not FPPs.
posted by stbalbach at 7:59 AM on November 22, 2003

If an account could have other usernames highlighted to keep track of good posts, that I'd go for. As long as it was limited so that you could only keep track of three or five.
posted by angry modem at 8:05 AM on November 22, 2003

That way you can go through life without ever really knowing anybody.

Somthing like this would help like-minded users create trusted groups which is exactly how human communities work in large groups. MetaFilter is 17000+ people. Who here knows everyone? Currently, it is how often you post that makes how well known you are. There should be a better way.

Angry Modem I agree there would be a limit
posted by stbalbach at 8:07 AM on November 22, 2003

Asking MetaFilter to filter out things you aren't interested in sounds good

It does? Not to me.

And the whole idea of only looking at comments from people "whose opinion you care about to read and think about" is silly. People sometimes say worthwhile things and sometimes idiotic ones. I've often been surprised by seeing an enlightening or even moving comment by somebody I never would have expected it from. If you want "like-minded users" and "trusted groups," create such a group yourself; that's not what MeFi is about.

And Matt hasn't even got time to create the new-user mechanism he's been talking about; you think he wants to start fooling around with different-colored usernames? Sheesh.
posted by languagehat at 8:46 AM on November 22, 2003

I want a feature REQUEST section where; when people actually say what sort of new features they'd like, they're not shouted at by idiots who seem to have little concept of what the word "Request" actually means.

O.K. - I understand the concept of Ponys. Queue image of spoilt girl jumping up and down whilst screeching "Pony! Pony! Pony!" But this was more like a conversation between vague friends before Xmas.

MatHowie: You want something for Xmas.
stbalbach: Socks would be quite nice.
posted by seanyboy at 9:00 AM on November 22, 2003

As a color blind individual, I am against color coding in all its forms.
posted by Captain_Tenille at 9:15 AM on November 22, 2003

When you find a user you like, book mark their user page. I think most browsers these days have the ability to poll for updates to the page (here I'm hoping that the dynamic nature of the way MeFi pages are built won't constantly be reporting false updates). If the polling doesn't work, then just manually drop into see if any of your favorites have new comments/posts.
posted by willnot at 9:29 AM on November 22, 2003

Or, I think Matt had at one time become taken with the idea of individual RSS feeds for each user. I don't use RSS myself that much, but I can see where something like that would be wicked cool. Maybe one day after all of the other things get's done, we can look forward to that treat.
posted by willnot at 9:32 AM on November 22, 2003

highlighting is a way to make a certain person stand out kind of like scoring

Another quick hack, aside from willnot's perfectly reasonable notion of just keeping track of that user's page:

click through to the userpage of any user yer interested in. Then, you've got a visited-link coloration on their username anyway, at least for the duration of your history. Not elegant, not powerful, but simple.
posted by cortex at 9:54 AM on November 22, 2003

That way you can go through life without ever really knowing anybody.

We do that anyway. You can never truly know anyone but yourself.
posted by kindall at 10:46 AM on November 22, 2003

We do that anyway. You can never truly know anyone but yourself.

yeah man but how can you really know yourself? I mean really? I mean how can you know anything? oh shit the matrix!
posted by mcsweetie at 10:55 AM on November 22, 2003

If this gets done let it be client-side, with javascript and some style sheet goodness and cookies.
posted by trondant at 11:02 AM on November 22, 2003

languagehat, highlight certain users so they stand out from the crowd as deserving of special note for their quality comments and unique backgrounds and perspectives. Or do you mean I should read every single comment of every single FPP with equal attention and scrutiny? I don't have the time unfortunately and a mechanisim to tag those users is what I'm interested in.

Thanks for the suggestions willnot and cortex those are certainly doable. Indeed even add a link to the users comments page from my user-profile page so I can go there on occasion and read up on what they have been posting.
posted by stbalbach at 11:55 AM on November 22, 2003

let it be client-side, with javascript and some style sheet goodness

#cat .fog_lamp {display:strobe; color:multi}
posted by quonsar at 12:35 PM on November 22, 2003

well I thought it was a good idea! my username would be pink.
posted by mcsweetie at 12:58 PM on November 22, 2003

I'm sure it would be.

I'd request a jungle camoflauge pattern, myself.
posted by jonmc at 1:34 PM on November 22, 2003

i like those stars that follow your cursor around. couldn't we have those too?
hmm. can you post javascript here?
posted by andrew cooke at 1:56 PM on November 22, 2003

Maybe not stars, but there's always this thing... *looks for aspirin*
posted by Galvatron at 2:45 PM on November 22, 2003

Actually, if you're using a browser that supports user stylesheets and attribute selectors, you can make this happen without mathowie having to do anything :)

For example, Firebird users can add the following code to userContent.css in their Application Data\Phoenix\Profiles\...\...\chrome folder to color stbalbach's name red and mcsweetie's name pink:

a[href$="user.mefi/1915"], a[href$="user.mefi/3502"] { color: red !important; }
a[href$="user.mefi/7106"] { color: pink !important; }
posted by milov at 3:36 PM on November 22, 2003

a[href$="user.mefi/986"], { drugs: true !important; }
posted by trondant at 4:55 PM on November 22, 2003

Maybe not stars, but there's always this thing... *looks for aspirin*

Hee hee. I forgot about that one. There was also the bright orange kottke-thread. That's kinda color-coding, innit?

a[href$="user.mefi/1915"], a[href$="user.mefi/3502"] { color: red !important; }
a[href$="user.mefi/7106"] { color: pink !important; }

Now that's cool, and a good client-side solution for stbalbach. Everyone goes home happy. Yay!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:21 PM on November 22, 2003

That's awesome milov.. but I can't get it to work under IE. Seems to have limited support for CSS.
posted by stbalbach at 8:27 PM on November 22, 2003

Not sure how it works, but if you use I.E. You may also be able to configure Privoxy to do this for you as well.
posted by seanyboy at 2:12 AM on November 23, 2003

Could we have vigilante encounter groups who go to the homes of those mefites whose comments diverge from the accepted liberal hegemony and re-educate them as more caring online citizens?
posted by biffa at 4:29 AM on November 25, 2003

Sounds good to me.
*taps billy club against thigh*
posted by languagehat at 8:54 AM on November 25, 2003