Comments on: Linking to everyone is obnoxious and counterproductive

Linking to everyone is obnoxious and counterproductive

interrobang — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 01:53:10 -0800

I find Angry Modem's linking to everyone obnoxious and counterproductive. Could it be possible that one could reject a linkage?

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 02:27:22 -0800

He de-linked me on request, because I found it anti-social. That, I felt, was courteous.

However, his linking (almost) everyone is odd: it makes his page almost unusable, and surely puts a strain on servers when it is called up.

It is his choice tho': why should he not do it, if he'll de-link when asked? Surely, it's between him and Matt, and him & every Mefite individually.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 02:48:16 -0800

And I thought I was special. :(

By: reklaw

reklaw — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 03:10:09 -0800

It is worth pointing out that mefi's "link to me/I link to" interface is slightly unusual -- most social software type things I've used handle each link as something that either goes two ways or no ways (ie. you have to reciprocate in a "this person wants to be your friend, do you accept?" sort of way before a link is formed).

Perhaps that would be a better way of doing it, if the intention is social linking, but then again if the intention is just to let people track contributions from folks they like then it might not be so hot (in that case, there's an argument to be made for outward-only linking). As it stands, the thing has two conflicting uses that it's trying to cater to, and so isn't going to be able to do brilliantly at either.

By: sebas

sebas — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 03:52:21 -0800

I really appreciate the gesture. At least one person linked to me. Thank you Angry Modem!

By: cbrody

cbrody — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 04:01:20 -0800

I can't see the point of this feature at all -- it adds nothing to the MeFi experience. If I want social networking I'll go to a site that does it properly.

By: cbrody

cbrody — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 04:29:57 -0800

...or organise a meetup.

By: ChrisTN

ChrisTN — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 04:41:50 -0800

I don't get it...how can this be interpreted as "obnoxious and counterproductive" or "anti-social"? Pointless and silly, perhaps, but what's the harm to any one of us in being linked (aside from the previously-noted server strain)?

By: crunchland

crunchland — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 04:43:08 -0800

I'm with Chris. Wtf, interrobang? Here's a clue... don't click on his user page.

By: DBAPaul

DBAPaul — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 05:52:17 -0800

Could be a plot to gather email addresses and names from those users who request de-linking. A new way of e-mail harvesting Angry Modem?

By: Stynxno

Stynxno — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:01:31 -0800

haha, this is rich. like chris, how is this "obnoxious and counterproductive" and "anti-social"? I'd appreciate an explanation because I can't fathom why this would bother you. Maybe he likes everyone?

By: stonerose

stonerose — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:05:16 -0800

I winced when I realized what he'd done - it seems like a rather snide way of rejecting the spirit of Matt's efforts. Mind you, I think the 'contacts' feature is worse than pointless, but I'm ignoring it rather than trying to frustrate its intent... particularly in a way that chews up resources. Having made his point, perhaps Angry Modem could be asked to recast his apparent protest (or his clever bit of performance art, if there's no protest intended) in the form of a snappy one-liner on his user-page?

By: angry modem

angry modem — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:06:30 -0800

I was having some (nearly) harmless fun, guys. Number one already emailed me and told me he's wiping my contact list and is imposing a 100 contact limit, after explaining the strain on the server loading the page creates.

You guys should really lighten up. I wasn't going to put you all on some republican mailing list or anything.

By: stonerose

stonerose — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:09:46 -0800

Apr 23 18:37:41 you're why we can't have nice things, angry ;)

Indeed! ;-)

By: ChrisTN

ChrisTN — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:12:24 -0800

Now see what you've all done? I'm going to feel lonely again once I get back to having zero people linking me as their contact. I'll miss you, angry modem!

::runs off to bawl in corner::

By: stonerose

stonerose — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:19:26 -0800

Chris, if you have big Tennessee farmboy hands, I'll put you down as a contact.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:26:57 -0800

I just reckoned, based on how many he links to and how few link back, angry modem has several friends and 16,000+ enemies ;-)

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:34:32 -0800

Apr 23 18:37:41 you're why we can't have nice things, angry ;)

And, case in point, why you do have to watch what you say on #mefi ! ;)

By: ChrisTN

ChrisTN — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:35:27 -0800

Stonerose: I do, and I'm yours! ;-)

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:40:51 -0800

Maybe he likes everyone?

Maybe he's like a dorky guy at a dance, asking every girl to dance with him on the off chance one will say yes.

By: angry modem

angry modem — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 06:59:19 -0800

:-(

By: the fire you left me

the fire you left me — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:00:44 -0800

I'd like angry modem to do some bash scripting for me sometime.

By: anastasiav

anastasiav — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:01:24 -0800

I can't see the point of this feature at all -- it adds nothing to the MeFi experience. If I want social networking I'll go to a site that does it properly.

Y'know, despite the social networking roots of the code and the interface, I've never seen it as an actual social networking feature (at least not in the way I think you intend). Its just -- to me, anyway -- a handy one-stop-shopping set of bookmarks -- a way to keep track of the posts and comments of authors I enjoy, espeically since I tend to have blocks of time when I'm away from MeFi entirely.

Sure, the whole friend-muse-crush thing is there, but you don't have to use it if you don't want to. Plus, it is kinda flattering when someone links to you ... especially, I think, if you're a newer or lower-contributing user.

PS: The spellcheck on MeTa is not working for me in Mozilla 1.6 -- it just freezes and sits there forever

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:05:16 -0800

:-(

Oh, all right. But I only know how to slow dance. And if you grab my ass you're getting slapped.

By: carter

carter — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:12:00 -0800

What anastasiav said; it's a neat way for me to bookmark people who post stuff I find interesting, especially those folks with consistent nerdy little fascinations similar to my own, but whose posts I may miss through being busy/away.

By: eas98

eas98 — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:21:31 -0800

Well crap, nobody links to me at all.. :(

By: matteo

matteo — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:28:47 -0800

-- a way to keep track of the posts and comments of authors I enjoy, espeically since I tend to have blocks of time when I'm away from MeFi entirely.

exactly, brava.

You guys should really lighten up

coming from someone whose idea of fun is linking 16,500+ users as contacts, well, it's quite rich

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:47:16 -0800

On a side note:
I'm sure this has come up before but ... why when I link to a Mefite that has no other linking outwards (ie, Contacts: This user doesn't link to any other MetaFilter members. 7 MetaFilter user(s) link to this user), I can't see who those other linkers are - there is no 'View contacts and contributions from contacts' link.

Is this a bug, or a feature?

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:56:10 -0800

See, I don't need XFN contacts to act as status symbols, because I have a Gmail account.

By: mischief

mischief — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:57:30 -0800

I can't fathom why this would bother you.

Cuz they are, you know, that way. ;-P

By: orange swan

orange swan — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 08:36:14 -0800

Dash, type the word "contacts" in after "user" in the address (just that, no underscore, no space) and that will show you your contacts list.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 08:38:19 -0800

Hey, if angry modem hadn't'a done that, I wouldn't have seen how hawt he is. Rowr.

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:02:14 -0800

Thanks, orange swan (it's not my usercontacts that I can't see, it's someone elses) - but why, sometimes, isn't there a link?

By: riffola

riffola — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:08:19 -0800

dash, beause the point is for people to only see usercontacts *if* they link to someone else.

By: filmgoerjuan

filmgoerjuan — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:10:39 -0800

Is this a bug, or a feature?

It's a feature, dash_slot. Riffola mentioned the previous way it worked here and mathowie followed up by saying he would change it to the way it is now.

By: filmgoerjuan

filmgoerjuan — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:11:26 -0800

D'Oh!

By: filmgoerjuan

filmgoerjuan — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:14:30 -0800

I find Angry Modem's linking to everyone obnoxious and counterproductive.

As for angry modem's adding every user to his Contact page, I found it to be a bold statement about the politics of inclusion here on MetaFilter.

We're supposed to be a community of peers here and yet as soon as the Contact option was introduced, it segmented that community. Sudddenly people were forming into cliques...subgroupings of MetaFiltarians...were you one of the cool kids? How many people linked to you? Am I on this person's list? Did they mark me as a friend or an acquaintance? Who is this person I don't know that's marked me as a crush? Not to put too fine a point on it, but the community was a shambles.

But then a voice spoke out and said "I choose not to be part of the cliques, the subgroups, the haves and the have nots. I believe in a community where *everyone* is included, where *everyone* is my Contact, my friend, my acquaintance, my sweetheart, my crush. I choose to add *everyone* to my Contact page".

That voice was angry modem's. And I say God bless the little bastard.

By: trharlan

trharlan — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:41:57 -0800

bravo, juan.

By: rushmc

rushmc — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:50:16 -0800

beause the point is for people to only see usercontacts *if* they link to someone else.

Then, again, what is the point of being able to see other people's usercontact list at all? Seems like it should be one way or the other.

By: angry modem

angry modem — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:54:35 -0800

coming from someone whose idea of fun is linking 16,500+ users as contacts, well, it's quite rich

It was a five line script, man. Let's go get perms.

By: Stynxno

Stynxno — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:55:08 -0800

/me claps for filmgoerjuan

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 10:33:56 -0800

and yet as soon as the Contact option was introduced, it segmented that community. Yeah, that's when it started!

Metafilter: Let's go get perms.

[nb: in the UK, a 'perm' is a curly hair do...]

By: timeistight

timeistight — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 10:46:38 -0800

We're supposed to be a community of peers here and yet as soon as the Contact option was introduced, it segmented that community.

I suspect that your tongue is in your cheek there, filmgoerjuan, but if not, I'm sorry you feel that way.

Personally, I find the IRC backchannel clique much more devisive.

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 10:58:48 -0800

Don't be silly, people! It REVEALED the cliques, it didn't create them!

Commence McCarthy-esque hearings for Cabal members and subsequent Donkey (or Monkey) court. Then punish 'em, kids!

By: xmutex

xmutex — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 11:19:36 -0800

How does someone add/view their contacts anyway? I don't see a link for the page anywhere.

By: riffola

riffola — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 11:24:03 -0800

timeistight: I suspect that your tongue is in your cheek there, filmgoerjuan, but if not, I'm sorry you feel that way. Personally, I find the IRC backchannel clique much more devisive.

whhhoOOOOOOOOOSSSssshhh!!

By: filmgoerjuan

filmgoerjuan — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 11:28:05 -0800

xmutex: you add contacts by going to someone's userpage and clicking the "Add ____ as a contact" link. You'll then be able to fill out a form that lets you establish what your relationship (if any) is to that user. Once you've linked to other users, your own userpage should display a "View contacts and contributions from contacts" link. Click on that to view the list of people you've linked to and who have linked to you.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 11:37:56 -0800

I just put the 100 contact limit in place, and deleted all of angry modem's contacts, as his contact page was crashing the db server.

I myself like to tweak online things whenever they come out so I don't blame anyone for playing with the limits, it just pointed out all the places I forgot to induce limits or data checks. I think at this point, all those things have been fixed.

I also changed the way the "view contacts page" thing works -- as long as someone either links to you or you link to someone, you can view it.

By: filmgoerjuan

filmgoerjuan — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 11:49:28 -0800

Personally, I find the IRC backchannel clique much more devisive.

I'm sorry you feel that way. I suspect your issue might not be with the #mefi channel specifically, but with IRC in general. My experience has been that #mefi is very inclusive — heck, there are even non-MetaFilter people who have been welcomed with open arms — but it takes a bit of getting used to the fast-paced nature of the place.

I mean, I don't hang out with those freaks anymore and it will be a cold day in hell before you'll ever find me lowering myself to join in their elitist little snarkfest. But I will defend to the death their right to be a bunch of narcissistic, self-important, know-it-alls.

Um, defend to their death, that is, not mine.

By: angry modem

angry modem — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 12:05:17 -0800

[nb: in the UK, a 'perm' is a curly hair do...]

As far as I know, it is in the states as well.

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 12:47:14 -0800

Oh. OK, well, that's good then....

By: Shane

Shane — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 12:52:35 -0800

I mean, I don't hang out with those freaks anymore and it will be a cold day in hell before you'll ever find me lowering myself to join in their elitist little snarkfest.

Are they talking about me? They're talking about me, aren't they? Damn them.

[nb: in the UK, a 'perm' is a curly hair do...]

As far as I know, it is in the states as well.

Well, ya know, a perm can also be for a permanent wave or a beehive too, I think. You mean it's ONLY for curls in the UK? I find that absolutely fascinating. No, really.

By: ChrisTN

ChrisTN — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 13:09:28 -0800

Hey, if angry modem hadn't'a done that, I wouldn't have seen how hawt he is. Rowr.

I'm sayin'! Big ol' Iowa farmboy hands, indeed!

By: jennyb

jennyb — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:00:17 -0800

It was a five line script, man. Let's go get perms.
posted by angry modem at 9:54 AM PST on June 22

That was funny. I think I'll add angry modem as a contact.

By: callmejay

callmejay — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:01:24 -0800

All I want to know is what was wrong with meeeee? :-(

By: t r a c y

t r a c y — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:23:58 -0800

Hey, if angry modem hadn't'a done that, I wouldn't have seen how hawt he is. Rowr.

he looks neither angry, nor modem....!

By: lkc

lkc — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 20:47:05 -0800

Better than the stuff he does as lysol. He's got a little more etiquette here than at slashdot. No GNAA crapfloods and first posts.

By: angry modem

angry modem — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 08:06:07 -0800

lkc: the proper address of that would be this one, for future reference.

By: lkc

lkc — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 21:23:06 -0800

Hehehe, ya know i thought it was, actually, but i couldnt find meatbox in my address cache. I had to google for it. Actually I would have never made the connection if i hadnt seen that right after I had tried to figure out who the hell was linking to me in the first place. (I only read slashdot for the trolls, anyway).