Comments on: I love Metafilter and this is my way of saying thank you and hello.

I love Metafilter and this is my way of saying thank you and hello.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 12:58:25 -0800

I love Metafilter and this is my way of saying thank you and hello. [How could there not be more, inside?]

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 12:59:00 -0800

Hello everyone. As an avid MeFi reader for years and currently but a lowly sprout among the Newbie Influx, i felt it would be appropriate to introduce myself to you all.

The internet may have an immense capacity and a lengthy memory, its attention span has, in some respects, more in common with that of a goldfish. The latest meme gets piled on today, but it'll be largely forgotten about tomorrow. Metafilter is one of the few places that transcends this shortcoming and is somehow more than only a meme repository. Sure, it's 'just a web site', and it's important we keep this in mind in the light of. But a site special enough that keeps me coming back, and has given me more entertainment, amusement and even (dare I say it?) knowledge than many books, films and many other web sites.

Sure, there have been rough patches here and there, and civilised discourse isn't exactly always the dominant overtone in the the blue, grey and green arenas. But where else can you find a jolly person with fish in their pants, a quirky mofo linguist wearing a hat while speaking in tongues, a wondrous chicken that welcomes us n00bs in song, blokes that are willing to put time and effort into creating an alternative home especially for us Euro trash, an established Portuguese penman with an appropriately Mediterranean temperament, a list maker of skill, an insubordinate civilian who lights our path to posting Zen, an annoyingly pc Springfield resident in a rather revealing tracksuit, a brilliant contemporary philosopher who is, well, rather run-of-the-mill, and last but not least, a creative director, a creator who's now gone pro? And that's just naming a very few (albeit not by name).

So, what I guess I'm trying to say is: thank you for good times, and hello. I'll try to be good.

If all this is possible now, then this Internet thing you speak of might just become something really big someday.

By: Keyser Soze

Keyser Soze — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:07:53 -0800

Storm the front! Don't let them get in! YAAAA

Just joking, good job on the post.

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:10:20 -0800

The effort you put into this post is the only thing saving you from certain death. Welcome.

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:14:48 -0800

Welcome goodnewsfortheinsane! Now stop posting crap on meta. In all rights this should propably be deleted. No one cares who you are and no one wants your "introduction." Make good comments and good posts and that'll be introduction enough. For now, however, when I see your name I'll most likely roll my eyes at your narcisism.

on preview: The effort you put into this post is strangely juxtaposed to the amount of thought you put into it.

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:21:25 -0800

One would have to be a real link whore to click all those links. I only got about halfway. Nice enough post; I'm sure someone will be by shortly to disapprove of it. Nevertheless, I liked it.

What I've found out is that it is a lot different being able to post than it is just reading in this place. In the past, I usually stuck to the blue and didn't read too deep into the comments. I figured it was no use if I couldn't chime in when I thought of something to say. Now that's all changed; now when I think of something to say, I can say it and be told how stoopid I am. That is defintely worth the five bucks alone.

By: adampsyche

adampsyche — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:25:20 -0800

Make good comments and good posts and that'll be introduction enough.

Indeed. It's a lot more fun to make a bad first impression by being snarky in threads than making a bad MeTA post.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:30:46 -0800

goodnews, is that really the Sinter Klaus (sp?) story in the Netherlands? about kidnapping and stuff? (from your site)...and welcome!

By: SpaceCadet

SpaceCadet — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:34:36 -0800

Your "more inside" feels like one of those Best of Best of Best of albums where I feel like the same tunes are getting rehashed and I don't really think they're all that great anyway....

Make good comments and good posts and that'll be introduction enough.

Just. Do. It.

By: t r a c y

t r a c y — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:35:29 -0800

i hate these sorts of threads because they bring out that girl who shrieks inanities in all caps - something far worse than goofy n00b introductions.

By: Juicylicious

Juicylicious — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:43:17 -0800

Wow, great post. Welcome!

By: me3dia

me3dia — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:51:03 -0800

Welcome. Now bend over for your introductory spankings. :)

By: Saucy Intruder

Saucy Intruder — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:52:03 -0800

The funny part is that you didn't actually introduce yourself to anyone, as you had promised.

OK. Now, who are all the rest of you?

By: glenwood

glenwood — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 13:58:07 -0800

you love metafilter because it's not full of posts like this one, right?

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 14:11:48 -0800

Well, it didn't used to be.

By: Kafkaesque

Kafkaesque — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 14:33:46 -0800

My god, they cloned Carlos Queveda!

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 14:42:02 -0800

Bravo! Plus points for the work you put into this post, negative points for introducing yourself. Balance = 0. Welcome!

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 14:44:05 -0800

OMG RECOGNITION! Thank you so much baby.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 14:47:41 -0800

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Seriously.

@ Saucy Intruder, I understand that if every single newbie wrote an introductory post like I did it would be ~~a greater mess than it already is~~ a brilliant mess. At the same time I can't speak for anyone else other than myself. I'd say it's one part to honour this superb (or superbly) silly blue web site, and one part to test the waters. Either way, as I said: I'll try to be good.

So, to make amends: my name is Paul, I go by gnfti after a song (won't self link - you can find it on my site under the sidebar header 'tevens') I once wrote, I'm a student of cognitive psychology (in the US that would probably be cognitive science for trivial reasons, most of which bureaucratic). I live in the Hague, in the Netherlands. Any questions? :)

@ Amberglow, it's arguably off-topic, but to answer your question: let's just say that Sedaris didn't make up a whole lot (if any) of his story, but he certainly gave it a major spin - keep in mind that his aim was to write a humorous story about foreign traditions, and he certainly succeeded at that.

In the Dutch psyche, as far as I can judge, the Sinterklaas story is more of a collective mystification, a benign lie we tell our kids to have them look forward to their presents. If there's any threat involved, it's merely in jest. (Full disclosure: I have an English father and a Dutch mother, and my mom told me the truth about Sinterklaas when I was three or four, after my dad had indulged in telling me the scariest of made-up stories about Sinterklaas. Probably thought no harm of it in the light of this 'silly Dutch tradition'. No traumas, either.)

On preview, I guess Quartermass summed it up right there. Thanks for having me.

By: Shane

Shane — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 14:59:04 -0800

Hello and welcome, goodnewsfortheinsane :-)

By: konolia

konolia — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:00:09 -0800

We need a course in Metahistory, mandatory for newbs.

gnfinsane, people get pilloried around here for personal goodbye posts. I don't think hello posts are gonna be met with open arms either.

Specifically drawing attention to yourself around here is a good way to get shot, in other words.

By: The God Complex

The God Complex — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:01:18 -0800

oh my god.

there are more of them.

more blighs.

the horror. the horror.

By: The God Complex

The God Complex — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:02:33 -0800

As an avid MeFi reader for years

i felt it would be appropriate to introduce myself to you all

*hyena laugh*

Miguel? Is that you, you clever old knave?

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:03:06 -0800

I hereby dub this the "MetaFilter Christmas Special" thread.

And you were there, and you were there....

God bless us, every one!

[vomits]

By: BrodieShadeTree

BrodieShadeTree — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:16:25 -0800

*SNIFF*

By: Cryptical Envelopment

Cryptical Envelopment — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:22:04 -0800

God bless us, every one!

[vomits]

So that's why Tiny Tim was tiny. Who knew?

By: weretable and the undead chairs

weretable and the undead chairs — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:53:13 -0800

I am eating some food I purchased at Taco Bell. It's eating away at my insides even as I type this.

By: weretable and the undead chairs

weretable and the undead chairs — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:53:27 -0800

I'm sorry. I meant for that to be a fpp.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:53:56 -0800

gnfinsane, people get pilloried around here for personal goodbye posts.

And rightly so.

By: weretable and the undead chairs

weretable and the undead chairs — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:58:20 -0800

btw, welcome gnfti. i find your post to be refreshing and interesting and wish that you would ignore all of your detractors. they are jealous of your good nature and ability to engage in friendly banter.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:04:18 -0800

is my way of saying thank you

next time just send me money.

By: Salmonberry

Salmonberry — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:22:17 -0800

Oh, please don't ignore your detractors. We've had over 2,000 new members (or maybe only 200 new members and 1800 second accounts for previous members, which is what I think happened).

If every new account created a "Hi, I'm new" meta post, the grey would be a giant clusterfuck. So, I vote no to these kinds of posts, even if they are delightful.

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:31:47 -0800

I don't have a problem with having a social thread. But just one every so often. If I wanted to introduce myself as well, I would just tag on to this one. In fact, I think I will: Hi, my name is Paul, just like goodnewsfortheinsane. It really is.

Honest.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:33:22 -0800

Why do so many of the newbs use '@' before another user's name when addressing them? This is something I've never seen until now, and it frightens and upsets me, and I want it stopped, by crikey! Damn kids these days.

By: The God Complex

The God Complex — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:43:36 -0800

*scribbles furiously in his notebook, reminding himself to use '@bosco' at least once a day*

By: Witty

Witty — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:47:04 -0800

I wish I lived in a place that started with 'the'.

I do live just outside of the District of Columbia. But it's not nearly as cool as the Hague. Anyone know of anywhere in the U.S. cool enough to start with 'the'? Am I missing anything obvious?

By: Armitage Shanks

Armitage Shanks — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:52:42 -0800

The People's Republic of Berkeley?

By: sophie

sophie — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:54:11 -0800

Hi goodnewsfortheinsane. Lovely post. I'm happy to be here, too.

There. I've held myself back from saying that for 22 days and I won't mention it again.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:56:25 -0800

"Anyone know of anywhere in the U.S. cool enough to start with 'the'? Am I missing anything obvious?"

Well, there's The Dalles, but it's kind of a shithole.

By: Armitage Shanks

Armitage Shanks — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:59:57 -0800

Des Moines.

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:02:10 -0800

@ stavrosthewonderchicken- Why don't you like the @? Does @ bother you? Personally, I hadn't seen it before either. They didn't mention it at the noob convention in October, although there was a booth there with a banner that said something like "How To Annoy the Old Posters". I grabbed their pamphlet but threw it out before I read it. I think the @ seems like it is a poor man's bullets, separating different thoughts in the same post.

The thought that all those extra @'s driving the email harvesters crazy kinda makes me smile though.

By: ackptui

ackptui — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:04:07 -0800

Long live the heroes of the eighteenth of November!

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:08:19 -0800

oh my god.

there are more of them.

more blighs.

the horror. the horror.

Excuse me, but I never made a post like this to MeTa. So fuck you all good and tight, like, right?

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:10:24 -0800

...oh, and where on WoW are the mefites?

By: McGuillicuddy

McGuillicuddy — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:22:31 -0800

Anyone know of anywhere in the U.S. cool enough to start with 'the'? Am I missing anything obvious?

Las Vegas. El Paso. You get the idea. But it sure isn't The Hague in The Netherlands.

By: dong_resin

dong_resin — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:40:03 -0800

Seems we have our own Indigo Child.

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:09:12 -0800

Hi, my name is Paul, just like goodnewsfortheinsane.

Whoa...my name is Paul too. Trippy.

By: melissa may

melissa may — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:16:34 -0800

dong_resin, dang, I thought this post was sweet, so I feel guilty for laughing myself to bits right now.

By: Secret Life of Gravy

Secret Life of Gravy — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:20:56 -0800

[vomits]
posted by scarabic

Oh no! More vomiting! Well. I will just have to take it to Metatalk

The South?

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:21:35 -0800

dobbs's skill is that he "makes lists"! Reminds me of Mystery Men.

By: Secret Life of Gravy

Secret Life of Gravy — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:23:17 -0800

The house where I live?
The bedroom where I am going now?
The bed where I hope to repose and forget the horror of this page?

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 19:14:56 -0800

Whoa...my name is Paul too. Trippy.

Oh wow, man, yer, like, freakin' me out! I mean, out of 20,000 posters what'r the odds there are three Pauls??????!!!!!!@!!!!!

(Note: the @ is there to annoy stavrosthewonderchicken. And make the email harvesters crazy.)

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 19:29:50 -0800

*Clips toenails, drinks a reddog*

btw: I'm liking you more every minute doohickie.

By: wendell

wendell — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 19:32:52 -0800

Here in Californium, we have lots of cities whose names start with the various Spanish language equivalent of "The": "La", "El", "Las", "Los", the most appropriate of which is the little coastal sinkhole just south of the L.A. Airport, "El Segundo", which I have been told translates literally as "The Second".

I wonder why Second City never opened an improv theater there.

gnfti, you should copy your entire post (MI and all) to your user page, because that's where it really belongs. And, do you pronounce your acronym Guhnf-tee or Guh-nuh-fi-tee?

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 19:53:02 -0800

I'm liking you more every minute doohickie.

Well, you can buy me a beer at the next DFW area meetup. If it's on the west side of the metroplex, I mean. I don't do Dallas.

By: Witty

Witty — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:05:27 -0800

wendell - I'm reading gnfti as "nifty".

By: i_cola

i_cola — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:17:51 -0800

GET.
A.
FUCKING.
LIFE.

;-)

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:42:52 -0800

Witty, that works well, in a gnostic sense.

By: Shane

Shane — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:53:23 -0800

So that's why Tiny Tim was tiny. Who knew?

I've been reading the (so far) excellent Mr Timothy, in which an adult and not so tiny Tim happens to take up residence in a brothel, but so far none of the staff have made any comments in relation to his, *ahem*, endowment. He could be Ron Jeremy Tim for all I know.

By: The God Complex

The God Complex — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 21:53:48 -0800

Excuse me, but I never made a post like this to MeTa. So fuck you all good and tight, like, right?

I know. Just having a bit of fun ;)

Frostwolf (I think that's what server). PVP. Character name is Coldvein.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Sat, 11 Dec 2004 22:41:57 -0800

Excuse me, but I never made a post like this to MeTa. So fuck you all good and tight, like, right?

bligh can flow too. who knew?

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 00:24:33 -0800

> you love metafilter because it's not full of posts like this one, right?

Well, it didn't used to be.

Yes. YES. I'm off to cry now.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 04:21:14 -0800

"Hi. I'm a new member. I'm going to post rubbish like this because I want a MeFi name. "
STFU!

By: flashboy

flashboy — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 04:52:44 -0800

Hmmm. My way of saying thank you and hello was not doing this.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 05:06:42 -0800

It's indeed pronounced nifty, with the silent 'g' as in "MeFi gnostics gnashed their teeth before gnawing away at the gnewbies."

By: adampsyche

adampsyche — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 08:08:16 -0800

Can we just set up our own little play room for the new people for a bit? Maybe with a purple background, and a pit of nerf balls for them to romp around in? kthxbi.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 12:09:38 -0800

Word.

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 13:07:22 -0800

Who are you people? I thought this was self-policing MetaFilter. Instead I'm looking at some creepy cuddle party. How can anyone not see this post for being utter and complete crap designed to brown-nose its way into notoriety. Gnfti, get a life, a blog, or whatever, but do not post crap to meta. I don't care where you live, what you study, or about your stupid name, okay? Welcome to fucking metafilter. Don't fuck it up.

By: cosmonik

cosmonik — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 17:15:48 -0800

You don't brown-nose your way into MeFi notoriety; you whine and act e-hard, complain about n00bs and tell them to STFU, maybe post some right-wing links and tell people 'that's how it is'. Any time anyone lets their guard down, you jab them in the grill, and while they're stunned, shank them with your sharpened toothbrush.

For more hints, cf Fark.

By: adampsyche

adampsyche — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 18:04:46 -0800

What elwoodwiles said.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 20:07:31 -0800

Can someone explain why everyone's being shitty about a well-thought out and well-researched post? Sure, if every neoFite did this, it'd be chaos, but I seriously doubt anyone else will, so click the links and fucking enjoy yourselves for once.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 22:12:55 -0800

Well, sorry Optimus. I clicked them all and found it nothing special. And yes, I am made a little testy by new folks who use MetaTalk to be cheeky, drop names and get attention, and even more annoyed by other new folks who tell me to shut up and enjoy it. As elwood wiles said, I don't recognize this place half the time, and the new shit doesn't excite me much.

To put it another way, let's just say I wouldn't spend two years trying to join a site that resembled this post. I kinda wonder why some people waited so long to join if they clearly have no regard for the norms here.

I'm pretty excited to see someone use "neoFite," though! Good on ya!

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 22:51:56 -0800

I am made a little testy by new folks who use MetaTalk to be cheeky, drop names and get attention...

We wouldn't want that to catch on, now would we?

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 23:39:54 -0800

The way I look at it is that the blue is prime real estate and should not be ruined by shitty posts like this, this, or this - and that's just on the front page. The green should be as troll and snark free as possible, and hopefully avoid stupid questions like konolia's recent megablunder. The signal-to-noise ratio should be very, very high. But this is MetaTalk, and I'd say this post is pretty Metafilter-related. It's not that bad.

But oh ho ho, y'all'd rather spend 74 comments defending angry modem, who is bar fucking none the worst, repeat worst, poster MeFi's ever had. Well done, guys.

By: Opus Dark

Opus Dark — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 01:49:38 -0800

I am a muffled sigh, pressing against the glass.

By: taz

taz — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 05:40:11 -0800

Love ya, Opus.

*hugs gnfti*

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 14:01:26 -0800

Dear ancientFites,

I'm in. We can close the door now. Oh, and while we're at it, you can up the $5 to $20 now, Matt. After conversion it was only 3.90 Euros anyway - exactly how much I value MeFi. And next time someone asks for a pony, just have some wannabe-neoFite dress up as one.

I'm trying just trying to adapt to ~~the norms~~ the norms here, people.

</apparently obligatory sarcasm>

Thanks Opus. Thanks taz, ya mushy retroFite.

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 18:15:22 -0800

Anyone know of anywhere in the U.S. cool enough to start with 'the'? Am I missing anything obvious?

Yes.

Bronx.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 18:42:41 -0800

It's not that bad.

Which is perhaps the best that can be said about it. And I'm not surprised you were able to find an even stupider thread out there. However, setting up the angry modem thread as a straw man doesn't make this thread suck any less.

BTW, gnfti, "norms" refers specifically to everything that's not in the guidelines. Which is a lot. The guidelines don't go very far and aren't very specific. They cover the basics. The rest of everything else, like "don't use MeTa for personal messages" is just convention and consensus on the part of the members. No, it isn't set in stone, and yes, it changes over time, but some regard for the norms would indeed be nice - that is, if you're here to belong. If you're here to overturn and destroy, then do as you please.

By: If I Had An Anus

If I Had An Anus — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 13:45:16 -0800

Happy birthday (for the 3rd time already), g-nifty. May your longboat always sail west.

By: gramschmidt

gramschmidt — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 15:03:33 -0800

This is the site of the phantom birthday party for gnfti.

Consider yourself wished, happily!

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 05:46:47 -0800

Awww... thanks guys!

See, kids? Vanity threads pay off, in the end.