AskMe becoming New Google April 14, 2004 11:08 AM   Subscribe

a confession: I didn't use Google because a) I'm a lazy, lazy man b) I was curious to see how fast this site "works" for lazy guys like me (7 minutes) and c) I wanted to get the commentary from a generally smart, funny audience
posted by trharlan to Etiquette/Policy at 11:08 AM (128 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble



weren't people just bitching about people who say "use google dumbass" in ask metafilter? who won that debate?
posted by Stynxno at 11:26 AM on April 14, 2004


While abusing AskMe is bad...

Ever wonder if MeFi members actually enjoy being tested like this, if only to avoid work and pat themselves on the back (or ass) for a job well done?
posted by BlueTrain at 11:27 AM on April 14, 2004


Oh, brother. I think reasons a) and b) are indeed trivial, but c) is valid. Google would have yielded the information, surely, and I'm not one to badmouth the search-god, but the insight provided by MeFites is usually far and above what your average Gilligan's Island fansite might proffer. Unless it becomes another "you don't know how to use MeFi right" shit-fest, that is.
posted by maniactown at 11:28 AM on April 14, 2004


the abuse of AskMetafilter is not trivial.

members actually enjoy being tested

*rolls on floor laughing and pointing at trharlan and BlueCHOOCH*

you fuckers need to get lives.
posted by quonsar at 11:36 AM on April 14, 2004


Tempest. Teapot. With any luck, this will only be a three hour tour, though.
posted by weston at 11:41 AM on April 14, 2004


you fuckers need to get lives.

quonsar's contribution index = 4.97

quonsar has posted 81 links and 4949 comments to MetaFilter and 8 threads and 2078 comments to MetaTalk

::ahem::

I'm sorry, what?
posted by BlueTrain at 11:43 AM on April 14, 2004


if you're annoyed somebody's asking a question that's easily googleable, maybe you should just skip the question?

if you're worried about clutter...well, i think that's a different topic. sure, we all want AskMe to be as good as it can be, but criminey, it's not worth a callout.
posted by taumeson at 11:55 AM on April 14, 2004


I'm sorry, what?

so, embarrass yourself further even! when quonsar has to tell you to get a life, you are in some piss poor shape, dude.
posted by quonsar at 11:56 AM on April 14, 2004


a confession: i left the toilet seat up this morning.
posted by keswick at 11:57 AM on April 14, 2004


Have any ask.me threads ever been killed? They seem to not remain like FPPs, but to actually disappear. It would be interesting to see what is not acceptable.

----

I would have no problem with the original idea if it were not wrapped in a ingenuous question. Perhaps:

"Can anyone point to any interesting or funny commentary that has been written about Gilligan's island since it was cancelled? Does anyone have any interesting personal observations about the fab 6?" (or whatever)

Positing it as a simply solved trivia question means that the question will be simply answered and later viewers will not feel they have anything to add. I would like to see the questions improved by everyone, myself included, and so better answers made possible.

Then again there is so much crap in this thread already, that a discussion of the original question is pretty much moot. Please return to your regularly scheduled de-rail.
posted by milovoo at 12:04 PM on April 14, 2004


Have any ask.me threads ever been killed?

I double asked, which was killed.
posted by geoff. at 12:09 PM on April 14, 2004


Can anybody tell me what 12% of 80 is? It's just that I can't be bothered to find a calculator.
posted by naxosaxur at 12:11 PM on April 14, 2004


Learn to use Google, fuckwit.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:18 PM on April 14, 2004


One reason to Google *hard* before you ask:

You might wind up looking like an asshat.
posted by scarabic at 12:34 PM on April 14, 2004


Oh, thank god for this thread! Because otherwise I would probably never have read your AskMe post, scarabic! That's hilarious. I love it.
posted by taz at 1:07 PM on April 14, 2004


So Lovie was short for Lovell? weird.
posted by amberglow at 1:26 PM on April 14, 2004


Could someone turn the tv volume up? Something good's come on and I can't reach the remote.
posted by asshat at 1:33 PM PST on April 14
posted by Blue Stone at 1:42 PM on April 14, 2004


when quonsar has to tell you to get a life, you are in some piss poor shape, dude.

The Blort hath spoken.
posted by y2karl at 2:04 PM on April 14, 2004


quonsar: when quonsar has to tell you to get a life,

I'd just like to point out that you've started talking about yourself in the third person, and might want to consider a double-take.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 2:14 PM on April 14, 2004


Another silly thing about people crying "use google dumbass" at every AskMe post is evidenced by 3 of the last 4 posts, which disclaim that they have already tried google, to avoid having their question being asshatted.
posted by maniactown at 2:17 PM on April 14, 2004


can you rephrase that in a language other than yoda-english?
posted by scarabic at 2:19 PM on April 14, 2004


Seriously, I think this sucks. That's why I orginally always planned to make each question cost a buck or something like that, to filter out the lazy folks.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:22 PM on April 14, 2004


Ooh! Ooh! How about we make each Iraq / Bush FPP cost a sawbuck?
posted by keswick at 2:35 PM on April 14, 2004


Last part your forgiven on, everything else makes you a son of a bitch. KESWICK WHERE DID YOU HEAR THE TERM SAWBUCK
posted by Keyser Soze at 3:02 PM on April 14, 2004


Wait, so this "keswick" grinds the same axes over and over? Now I'm pissed!
posted by The God Complex at 3:07 PM on April 14, 2004


the really interesting part is:


member since: November 14, 2000
jimbler has posted no links 1 comment to MetaFilter
and 1 thread and 1 comment to MetaTalk


I mean, who in the world waits for 3 and a half years before posting something on this site and when he/she finally does, it's a thread this lame?
is that a case of multiple usernames? if that is the case it'd really suck.
I wish Matt could trace them and outsource the deletion of multiple accounts to a few volunteers he trusts. I understand it'd be silly to add new stuff to his workload, but I'm sure the whole site would benefit from the deletion of multiple accounts. the risk of abuse is just too massive
posted by matteo at 3:16 PM on April 14, 2004


That's right, it's MYAgendaFilter now, The God Complex.

As for sawbuck, I'm a fan of archaic slang.
posted by keswick at 3:21 PM on April 14, 2004


the risk of abuse is just too massive

I agree. Something must be done!!
posted by he opens a window at 3:22 PM on April 14, 2004


posted by he opens a window at 3:22 PM PST on April 14

Are you about to defenestrate something?
posted by The God Complex at 3:26 PM on April 14, 2004


"I tried Google, but maybe I don't know the right search terms to use, or maybe I don't know some advanced feature of Google which would be helpful in this instance" are fine.

"Oops, I forgot to Google" is not fine, but not worth a callout either. Everyone is stupid some of the time.

However, this post is not either of the above. This post is "I know I'm supposed to try Google first, but I think I'm above the rules so I'm not going to" is not fine and worth a MeTa callout.

IMO. IANMH.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:33 PM on April 14, 2004


I understand it'd be silly to add new stuff to his workload, but I'm sure the whole site would benefit from the deletion of multiple accounts.

I think accounts should be like Hotmail--use it every 30 days or so to make a comment or lose it. Lurkers could post a '.' once a month or something. Also what could be outsourced is having people write every account member and see if they are still interested in having an account. If the email address is no longer valid, bounce them automatically and let them appeal if they want to get back on.

We would find out how big the active membership really is and then be able to set a manageable upper limit and bring on new members with a vetting process--lest we get more badcommies and ChristFollowers--adding members through attrition.

Holgate's and rodii's jerseys would be hung from the rafters as Hall of Famers and their accounts left open.
posted by y2karl at 3:59 PM on April 14, 2004


Flaggrantly saying "hey, I am a lazy ass" is not cool. If someone screws up and doesn't quite get their own searches right, no biggie. I mean, really, some of us have bad days, or we get impatient and frustrated -- the whole concept of AskMeFi is to get help with a problem that is bothering you for some reason, right?

Anyway, just because someone doesn't Google before posting isn't a carnal sin. Come on folks, we're all human. But out-right being lazy and just relying on others -- despite the whole "it's cool to see what MetaFilter comes up with" point -- is just weak. It's not cool and it's making light of a service that could, in all reality, probably be very successful if it cost money.

I like AskMeFi free, and I bet you all do too. So how's about we don't ruin it for everyone. Try your best to research the problem yourself, and then post. Yes, it's a good resource -- so don't run the well dry, if you know what I mean.
posted by Dark Messiah at 4:00 PM on April 14, 2004


It would make iconomy show up more often.
posted by y2karl at 4:00 PM on April 14, 2004


"Ooh! Ooh! How about we make each Iraq / Bush FPP cost a sawbuck?"

Or we could let the rabble here decide the cost. Crappy question - You pay five bucks. Great question - We give you five bucks.

Smart, interesting people profit from the stupidity and laziness of others. This is the American way.
posted by y6y6y6 at 4:18 PM on April 14, 2004


Holgate's and rodii's jerseys would be hung from the rafters as Hall of Famers and their accounts left open.

Boy, do I miss rodii, at one time he was my MeFi role model. Then he left and I went straight downhill into a life of drugs, prostitution and hunting out of season.
posted by jonmc at 4:37 PM on April 14, 2004


How about you get someone you can trust to help you monitor the site Matt? I mean cmon man I know its hard to trust a lot of the users here but its too much stuff going on at once.

I am surprised whenever I think about all the posts and all the bullshit and only you deleting it. That has to be more work than its worth for you. Don't get me wrong, this site works. Just think about it.
posted by Keyser Soze at 4:43 PM on April 14, 2004


By the way: Kepp askme free, ban stupid question (that would have included me a while ago) accounts. Give one warning, then a month ban. Once more, perma ban.
posted by Keyser Soze at 4:45 PM on April 14, 2004


Smart, interesting people profit from the stupidity and laziness of others.

Often just by going to yard sales.
posted by y2karl at 4:48 PM on April 14, 2004


KESWICK WHERE DID YOU HEAR THE TERM SAWBUCK

That's the funniest thing I've seen all week. Bet you a fin plenty of people know it.
posted by yerfatma at 5:16 PM on April 14, 2004


I found trharlan's confession refreshingly candid and fruitful, in the sense that he's warning others not to follow the same route. This in itself is worthwhile as his stated motives are eerily recognizable.

It takes guts to come out and say something like this and I commend him for it.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:28 PM on April 14, 2004


It took a lot more effort for jimbler to type out his initial question and then his comment in the thread than it would have for him to type "gilligan's island" character names into Google, so perhaps he's really not as lazy as he would have us think.

Or maybe he's just a little bit of an asshat.

*shrugs, scratches head, ponders the near-overwhelming perplexity of the situation, waves to y2karl*
posted by iconomy at 5:52 PM on April 14, 2004


I found trharlan's confession refreshingly candid and fruitful

Miguel, do you have the faintest idea what's going on here, or are you just bounding in with your usual cheery good-will-to-all-mankind? trharlan didn't confess anything, he's calling out an asshat.

*waves to iconomy*
posted by languagehat at 6:05 PM on April 14, 2004


So...does anybody here have any idea what Ward Cleaver's occupation was?
posted by jonmc at 6:17 PM on April 14, 2004


Male White Anglo Saxon Protestant Tool Of The Man? I hear the money is good in that.
posted by keswick at 6:28 PM on April 14, 2004


check here, in the collected writing of Beaver Cleaver (kinda Bushesque, really)
posted by amberglow at 6:31 PM on April 14, 2004


who in the world waits for 3 and a half years before posting something on this site and when he/she finally does, it's a thread this lame?

Well, I'm glad he got his kick in the nuts before he left for another 3 years. We wouldn't want him to hit the road without a little bit of that old MeFi hospitality.
posted by scarabic at 6:35 PM on April 14, 2004


Miguel, do you have the faintest idea what's going on here, or are you just bounding in with your usual cheery good-will-to-all-mankind? trharlan didn't confess anything, he's calling out an asshat.

languagehat: for your own sake as a human being, I'd urge you to contemplate the essential fact that you're but one human being in the world and no more "keyed in" as anyone else. Please accept a world where not everyone - in fact nobody - agrees with you. We're all different: embrace the diversity, will you? Your self-appointed reign as that annoying, predictable Pinocchio cricket is officially terminated. Instead of "correcting" everybody else, perhaps you'd like to actually construct a personality you could call your own?

I say this with affection. But affection is not unboring or less tiresome, I warn you. Build something of your own! You'll feel better, believe me. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:44 PM on April 14, 2004


*waves to iconomy*

If we can get madamjujujive now, we'll have a fourth for bridge.
posted by y2karl at 6:45 PM on April 14, 2004


Male White Anglo Saxon Protestant Tool Of The Man? I hear the money is good in that.

Really? what are the hours? Do they have an affirmative action program for Irish Catholics?
posted by jonmc at 6:46 PM on April 14, 2004


Well, after the breakfast meeting, going out for coffee before lunch, the six martini lunch, the post-lunch nap, the post-nap coffee, and slipping out early, the hours are okay, I guess. I'm sorry, but we can't let a filthy papist mick in the club; unless, perchance, you're from Massachusetts?
posted by keswick at 7:09 PM on April 14, 2004


preemptive strike: that irish-catholic thing was tongue-in-cheek, please put down the Outrage 5000 Raygun, okay?
posted by keswick at 7:10 PM on April 14, 2004


keswick, this is me, champion of the ethnic joke, relax.
posted by jonmc at 7:34 PM on April 14, 2004


Uh-ohhh. I just posted my first ever post to AskMe. I'm guilty of being a long-time lurker, timid commentter, and never before poster. And I have a feeling I've just broken several "good-post bad-post" rules my first time out. (sigh)... Although, I did Google first, my question was pretty Gilligan-esque. Very sorry. Please don't delete me. My online life completely revolves around Meta-Filter and AskMe. I'd be heart-broken not belonging to Me-Fi.
posted by marsha56 at 8:22 PM on April 14, 2004


marsha, your question was interesting. Uncredited roles/cameos usually are.
posted by amberglow at 8:33 PM on April 14, 2004


So...does anybody here have any idea what Ward Cleaver's occupation was? - jonmc

Yep. Insurance was his game. I like to picture him in the hurly -burly whirl of corporate underwriting...his cuffs scuffed with the inks of budding capitalism.
posted by dejah420 at 8:51 PM on April 14, 2004


Thanks, amberglow! I needed that!
posted by marsha56 at 9:05 PM on April 14, 2004


Seriously, I think this sucks.

here, here... if we allow this kind of bs, what will be legal next? man on dog?


Build something of your own! You'll feel better, believe me.

3 gold stars for miguel even if he just woke up and was a little confused.
posted by specialk420 at 9:13 PM on April 14, 2004


well, thank goodness jimbler came along, else we'd have nothing to gnash our teeth and wring our hands about today. Three cheers for jimbler! Metatalk Poster Child for April 14, 2004!

Now the question is, whom shall we vilify tomorrow? I'm all aquiver with anticipation.
posted by crunchland at 10:09 PM on April 14, 2004


AquiverFilter.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:38 PM on April 14, 2004


Well, the lefties can pick on Bush.. The rightwingers can pick on Kerry... And everyone can pick on Nader.. Ready? BREAK!
posted by keswick at 10:41 PM on April 14, 2004


Are people really still discussing this? I am with crunchland here. Well, not with physically, but his comment has my support.

Here is my question. . .

Who is your favorite MeFi villain?

Mine is Miguel. Some people get so pissed off whenever he does anything around here, as if they wait for him to post so they can start freaking out. I honestly get some kind of weird pleasure out of it. Everytime I read a post where someone starts freaking out at Migs, I always (as in everytime - well, except for when he ruined Matt's surprise Xmas gift) think to myself - "Man, what did Migs ever do to THAT guy." It's like Miguel is the one person that people feel that they can let loose on, god bless him. I mean, Migs is the one user whose posts I will always check out, and his comments are always thoughtful and kind (almost to a fault), so what gives?
posted by Quartermass at 11:40 PM on April 14, 2004


My favorite MeFi villain is Quartermass. I like how he sneakily deflects attention to Miguel while his henchmen use a super-acid to burn the hinges off the door to the bank vault.
posted by gsteff at 11:51 PM on April 14, 2004


Miguel is also my favorite Mefi villian, but not for the same reasons, quartermass. You see, he is the Devil, incarnate.
posted by crunchland at 11:54 PM on April 14, 2004


Normally, I would agree with you, Quartermass, but I think Miguel either woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or is still up after an all-night jag. Miguel, you are forgiven this time, but don't make a habit of it, OK?

although ...

... perhaps you'd like to actually construct a personality you could call your own?
Maybe that's my problem - I need to construct a personality. Here I was just assuming that some personality would come along sooner or later that would fit me and I could adopt it. You mean people need to actually create personality out of nothing? I need to think about this.
posted by dg at 11:54 PM on April 14, 2004


Tonight's Metatalk Title Card Bout

In this corner, weighing in at 440 links and 3468 comments to MetaFilter and 152 threads and 2611 comments to MetaTalk, from Lisbon, Portugal, Miguel "The Suave Strangler" Cardoso

And in this corner, weighing in at 26 links and 1904 comments to MetaFilter and 4 threads and 861 comments to MetaTalk, from New York, New York, Language "The Fearsome Fedora" Hat

Stick around after this for the Nature versus Nurture punch-up, it's gonna be a ring-a-ding-dong-dandy!
posted by arto at 12:47 AM on April 15, 2004


Me as a villain! Now that's a role I could sink my teeth into!
posted by Quartermass at 12:48 AM on April 15, 2004


I have a hard time spelling villian! It foils me every time. . .
posted by Quartermass at 12:49 AM on April 15, 2004


Miguel is even the rarest kind of MeFi Villain: the one who does not provoke with assholery, or tomfoolery, but with chattiness.

There are a few dozen infamous personalities on the site who've gained their infamy by baiting others or being a wildcard. There are dozens who've gained obscurity by being nice people. Miguel may be the only infamous nice guy who has, so to speak, finished first.
posted by namespan at 1:54 AM on April 15, 2004


You were right the first time, Quartermass.
posted by gleuschk at 5:48 AM on April 15, 2004


I think if the question "Is Miguel an asset to MeFi or not?" was on that survey, the vast majority of us would say yes.
posted by amberglow at 6:03 AM on April 15, 2004


I would say that statement is half right.
posted by crunchland at 6:20 AM on April 15, 2004


it's odd when he get's angry tho.

anyways, there's a "i know this is a bad link but anyway" post with (oh boy, extra treats) broken links on the front page. and it's bushfilter.

look! shiny meta thing!
posted by andrew cooke at 7:05 AM on April 15, 2004


Miguel is also my favorite Mefi villian, but not for the same reasons, quartermass. You see, he is the Devil, incarnate.

I guess that makes me Miguel's advocate.

Miguel rocks!! Best. MeFite. Ever.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:33 AM on April 15, 2004


Maybe this is taking this too seriously, but I think this really shows contempt for Metafilter and for the effort that Matt puts into the site. ...
it's the disregard for the simple, clear guidelines, and the waste of other people's time that's the problem.
....
jimbler's smugness also really annoys me, so much that...well, Matt's probably nicer than I would be. But I think that a nice, long break from posting to AskMe might be appropriate.
posted by Dasein at 8:26 PM PST on April 14


This exact same logic ought to be applied to the group of people who ceaselessly ignore the guidelines about posting about Iraq, who continually ignore Matt's stated preference for much less of the newsfilter crap, and who then act smug as if they are somehow valiant dissidents who are doing the world a favor by fighting Big Brother.

Yes. The guidelines on AskMeFi should be followed. Those that don't follow them should recieve temporary suspensions.

And yes, the same logic applies to the blue: the guidelines of MeFi should be followed. The idiots who keep posting the same shit everyday in the blue should recieve temporary suspenions as well.
posted by Seth at 8:21 AM on April 15, 2004


miguel fucks up, abuses someone else to cover his STUPIDITY. whats new.He talks of openess and diversity then flashes his gins sneers and chortles for the ignorant to lap up.
posted by clavdivs at 8:26 AM on April 15, 2004


Your self-appointed reign as that annoying, predictable Pinocchio cricket is officially terminated. Instead of "correcting" everybody else, perhaps you'd like to actually construct a personality you could call your own?

Woo-hoo! I finally broke through Migs's crust of bonhomie and got him mad!
*breaks out bottle of port he's been saving for the occasion*
Drinks for the house, and give Miguel a double!

Don't worry, Migs, we still love you even though you've revealed your true self! Now don't you feel better?
posted by languagehat at 8:51 AM on April 15, 2004


Whew. I am so glad Seth showed up to remind us what his site is all about. It has been a few days afterall.
posted by terrapin at 9:20 AM on April 15, 2004


Port? I'll have some port. And some of those little sandwiches, please.
posted by taz at 9:20 AM on April 15, 2004


SethFilter. No one likes SethFilter.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:31 AM on April 15, 2004


This exact same logic ought to be applied to the group of people who ceaselessly ignore the guidelines about posting about Iraq, who continually ignore Matt's stated preference for much less of the newsfilter crap, and who then act smug as if they are somehow valiant dissidents who are doing further the world a favor by fighting Big Brother.

Soup, sauce, goose, gander--and here's one person neither complaining about the post linked above nor trashing its thread with personal attacks, and let it be noted, that the one time when he did complain about an Iraq thread he thought of no value, Matt stated this in response.
posted by y2karl at 9:45 AM on April 15, 2004


Let me see...1) People are volunteering their time and expertise to answer people's questions. If someone doesn't like the question, doesn't know the answer, doesn't have time, or just plain doesn't feel like it, he/she won't choose to answer it. 2) The Gilligan's Island question got multiple answers.

What's the problem again?

The only offensive thing I see here is Matt's notion that he should be entitled to charge for the work of others.
posted by rushmc at 9:48 AM on April 15, 2004


Uh oh.
posted by keswick at 10:34 AM on April 15, 2004


Actually the abuse of AskMe is very, very, very trivial.
posted by xmutex at 10:41 AM on April 15, 2004


*reluctantly snatches a glass from Jiminy Cricket's claws, making a face but cheering up all the same*
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:41 AM on April 15, 2004


Gee, rush, do you think if you tried really hard, you could have found a more offensive way to phrase that?
posted by jacquilynne at 11:00 AM on April 15, 2004


that the one time when he did complain about an Iraq thread he thought of no value, Matt stated this in response.
posted by y2karl at 9:45 AM PST on April 15


Why karl, I thought you were the king of cut and pasting? Your statement is not only false, but it is willfully disingenous. You know DAMN WELL that #1 doesn't like the stuff you pull everyday, and you don't care. You don't give a shit about what the guidelines say and you feel that you can do whatever you want.

That's all the Matt has said? Oh really? Explain for me the freaking message on the posting page asking you not to post that crap? Or how about this comment which is one of many and the first one I grabbed:

I've just skimmed this thread and agree more than you think with the original post here. It's getting tiresome and I see MetaFilter held up as a mockery of "the left" increasingly often and say stuff like "jeez, these people (posting at mefi) need to get a grip, the bush/the world/the war's not that bad."

Seriously, it's getting old an unless the latest bit of news really uncovers something major, I don't know why every little damn thing the bush admin does needs to be posted here. It reminds me of all the clinton hatred of the last presidency and it makes me sad to see us all take the discourse down to the nit-picky borderline-conspiracy level. That's for dittoheads, not "reasonably well educated middle to upper-middle class creative professionals." It pains me to watch my friends devote so much energy to this stuff.
posted by mathowie at 8:03 PM PST on December 15


So what's your response to that, y2karl? Oh yeah, I know, you don't give a shit. Because you think this is your own personal stump upon which you can preach whatever you want whenever you want. You don't give a crap about the guidelines or the purpose of the website. So in that sense, you are exactly like the person at issue here who doesn't follow the purpose of AskMeFi and doesn't follow the stated guidelines.
posted by Seth at 12:15 PM on April 15, 2004


Oh yeah, and karl, here is some more analysis that you should address if you wish to defend your actions.

Perhaps you should read the sentiment on that thread, and then try to suggest again that there isn't a clear rejection of your behavior?
posted by Seth at 12:19 PM on April 15, 2004


oy vey.
posted by jerseygirl at 12:22 PM on April 15, 2004


You're talking about it again, in another unrelated thread? Word to the wise: hijacking threads is frowned upon, even if you do have an important message to give everyone. Again. And again. And again.
posted by The God Complex at 12:25 PM on April 15, 2004


I'm not perpetually claiming to channel Matt or chronically trying to tell other people what to do and I don't have any personal vendettas, I know that. I'm not trashing up every thread I hate with my hate-o-grams. If people pee in my threads, I don't go pee in theirs.

You say you care about the community and yet you complain every day in every thread you can, related or not, because you can't stop adding your daily dose of emotional toxic waste. I am only one of a number of people who post about current events and I do not post about them more than once a week or so on average--not daily. You only complain about me. It's personal for you. We never see you going on about Postroad. So be it. I'm not trying to control you. Complain away.
posted by y2karl at 12:28 PM on April 15, 2004


Seth, for the record I don't mind you coming in to opine on what Mefi should be about. This is Metatalk, after all. It's incredibly quixotic, and you open yourself up to scorn, but I admire people who are persistent and I appreciate especially the diversity of opinion. As an atheist liberal Democrat I can do little more than be the nineteenth person to make fun of Bush in any given thread, but as someone who disagrees with the political persuasion of the majority you are in a strong position to debate your point well.

But don't flame people ad hominem, even if they do it to you first. That's just ugly, and it defeats your purpose which is to make Metafilter a better place.
posted by PrinceValium at 12:38 PM on April 15, 2004


Hey Seth, never forget: everything is about you.
posted by bshort at 12:42 PM on April 15, 2004


As one of the people who originally provided jimbler with an answer in that thread (actually, I was first. whee!) I've gotta admit, I really don't hold all that much of a grudge against him/her.

But to think that that post spawned a 100+ comment thread of bile and bitchery... Jesus christ, people. Take a walk outside, please!
posted by GeekAnimator at 12:54 PM on April 15, 2004


y2karl says: and I don't have any personal vendettas, I know that.

CHOO CHOO!
posted by BlueTrain at 1:04 PM on April 15, 2004


Jesus christ, people. Take a walk outside, please!

What did you say? Did you say that to me? Huh? Wanna fight you GEEK!!! I'll teach you a leason or two on bein...

...*whoa* something happened to me there. I think this thread has some bad MOJO and is turing us AGAINST EACH OTHER!!

Someone call a PRIEST!!!!!!!!
posted by Quartermass at 1:19 PM on April 15, 2004


Just to let you know, I'm still aquiver over here.
posted by crunchland at 1:40 PM on April 15, 2004


...and i left the toilet seat up again.
posted by keswick at 1:57 PM on April 15, 2004


CHOO CHOO !

Oh, like that is hate.
posted by y2karl at 2:03 PM on April 15, 2004


No, but it *is* personal.
posted by timeistight at 2:06 PM on April 15, 2004


GeekAnimator - same here.

It seems like the kind of question that can be used to fine tune the guidelines,
but still interesting, and certainly not a problem.

At this point there are approximately 30 posts that are on-topic (of 101)

Maybe it's not so much that people need to get outside, as they need to find some real life friends to make silly noises and small talk with, or maybe there could just be an always-on chat channel for all the shoutouts and in-jokes. (you know, like IRC)

(i.e "...and i left the toilet seat up again.")
posted by milovoo at 2:08 PM on April 15, 2004


You must be new here.
posted by keswick at 2:20 PM on April 15, 2004


You must be new here.
And I thought you were leaving.

I'm just saying that it's really starting to resemble the slashdot discussion boards, which doesn't seem like something to strive for (maybe we still need someone to enter "first post" for every thread, but other than that ...)
posted by milovoo at 2:38 PM on April 15, 2004


I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Horror/Sci Fi writer Stephen King was found dead in his Maine home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Metafilter community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.
posted by keswick at 2:46 PM on April 15, 2004


Whatever happened to that guy who posted all of his comments in the form of little poems? He was fun.
posted by iconomy at 2:52 PM on April 15, 2004


keswick: huh?
posted by xmutex at 2:57 PM on April 15, 2004


Sorry, Slashdot humor.
posted by keswick at 3:04 PM on April 15, 2004


maybe there could just be an always-on chat channel for all the shoutouts and in-jokes. (you know, like IRC)
You mean like the one at irc.turlyming.com:6667 #mefi perhaps?
posted by dg at 3:05 PM on April 15, 2004


So not funny.
posted by Quartermass at 3:13 PM on April 15, 2004


You know, I agree. This place needs to be a lot less entertaining,and "light hearted." We need to tighten our bootstraps, and work a little harder at our little cyber utopia.

I call a moritorium on all humor.
posted by Quartermass at 3:15 PM on April 15, 2004


I call a moritorium on all humor.

I thought we already had one.
posted by timeistight at 3:22 PM on April 15, 2004


Whatever happened to that guy who posted all of his comments in the form of little poems? He was fun.

troybob! I love him! where did he go?
posted by amberglow at 3:27 PM on April 15, 2004


That's the guy, amberglow! Here's his last comment, from December. I loved his comments. We need to get him back here.
posted by iconomy at 4:00 PM on April 15, 2004


Gee, rush, do you think if you tried really hard, you could have found a more offensive way to phrase that?

Was that offensive?? It wasn't meant to be. Seemed like a pretty straightforward statement of opinion to me, but if it came across otherwise, I'm sorry. Was it because I used the word "offensive?"
posted by rushmc at 4:19 PM on April 15, 2004


I just emailed him, iconomy : >
posted by amberglow at 4:31 PM on April 15, 2004


No way, so did I ;)
posted by iconomy at 4:40 PM on April 15, 2004


we rock, no?
I hope troybob will show.

that's why we need him back
posted by amberglow at 5:31 PM on April 15, 2004


sideshowtroybob.

keswick: You must be new here.
milovoo: And I thought you were leaving.

That was good repartee.
posted by ashbury at 5:52 PM on April 15, 2004


Seth, if I offered to send you money, would you STFU?
posted by five fresh fish at 6:54 PM on April 15, 2004


Yes. But I have a minimum. ;-)
posted by shepd at 7:58 PM on April 15, 2004


oh, big ol' meta.

Instead of charging for a AskMe (which would be pretty impractical) why not just charge a day (or week) worth's of posting? If you want an askme, you give up posting for a stretch. That way the question would have to be important enough for you to sacrifice something.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:06 PM on April 15, 2004


...and i left the toilet seat up again.

*hoots, gibbers, drinks noisily from bowl*
posted by quonsar at 9:40 PM on April 15, 2004


i liked this thread better when we were talking about our favorite mefi villains.

for the record, mine's quonsar.
posted by joedan at 11:19 PM on April 15, 2004


I think charging for AskMe is an interesting idea. Knowing Matt as well as I do (which is to say, not at all) I'm betting he'd use the money for mefi scholarships or something equally deserving.
posted by iconomy at 4:36 AM on April 16, 2004


I agree with you, iconomy, I think that is exactly what he would do. However, I would never use it (as a person with a question) if I had to pay - and then, would I contribute? Hmm. Probably, yes.

But my situation is fairly unusual in that I don't really use credit cards anymore. I have one US debit account that I use for any online transactions. Any "virtual" (non-local) work that I do gets paid to that account, and that's what I use to pay for my hosting and whatever else I buy online (mostly, but only very, very occasionally, books). I can't use this account at all for "simple money" things. Where I might not hesitate to give 5 or 10 euros to a worthy cause (which I do, sometimes, in person, locally), I can't use this account to do the same thing online because I could easily come up short when I have to pay for registrar and hosting fees, etc.

I didn't contribute to Matt's gift, for example, though I would have liked to, and I haven't bought any text ads, simply because I have to really carefully confine how I use whatever "card' money is available to me.

The real point of this overlong comment, though, is to say that outside of the U.S. most people don't use credit cards in the same way that they use whatever money might be in their pocket. I used to use credit cards every single day when I was still in the U.S. - for anything... taxicabs, fastfood, grocery. When I left the States, I paid off every single card, and the amount I paid was enough to have a bought a small house only a few years earlier.

When I moved to Greece, first of all I saw that people didn't use credit cards to pay for simple transactions at all. (And then for a long while we had so little money that I didn't even think about credit cards for a long, long time.) Now, I just resist getting back into the whole credit card culture.

That was a lot about me, but I've talked to one or two other (non-U.S.) MeFites before who have assured me that the rest of the world doesn't necessarily use credit cards as freely as people in the States do, and that not every single person has a credit card. If you ask y6Y6Y6, who organized the thing for Matt, I bet he would tell you that he had to deal with a lot of alternative ways of receiving donations from people outside the U.S.

Finally, this has nothing to do with you, my darling iconomy, though it may seem that I am responding to you (No! I love you! I kiss you!). I am only expressing my long-pent-up ideas regarding all the "for-cash" ideas frequently suggested here as a way to weed out the bad guys. I am not a bad guy, but the whole "for-money" concept would nevertheless absolutely weed me out.

Sorry for the harangue.
posted by taz at 5:32 AM on April 16, 2004


Metatalk: MeFi's very own Arkham Asylum
posted by DaRiLo at 6:06 AM on April 16, 2004


Why did ShepD respond to a question asked of Seth? Is this a case of one user, two aliases?
posted by five fresh fish at 9:40 AM on April 16, 2004


nah...Shepd's a libertarian, not an idiot ; >
posted by amberglow at 3:49 PM on April 16, 2004


Then I await Seth's response with bated breath. I dearly want to offer him money so that he'll go away.

My. Between this and my response to pandaharma, I'm beginning to look curmudgeonly...
posted by five fresh fish at 10:01 PM on April 16, 2004


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