Self link and then purchased ads? Wha?

February 10, 2005 7:07 AM

I hit the blue page the other day and saw a JUST POSTED story that was nothing more than a link to a page where you can buy a t-shirt with a design/slogan on it. (I'm not mentioning/linking-to which one it was because that isn't the purpose of this post). The FPP was deleted within minutes (from when I noticed it). However, today I see that it is listed in the Blogads on the front page. All is as it should be - I'm not complaining - I just think it is interesting that self-linkers apparently (sometimes?) get the opportunity to purchase an ad that they were trying to get for free.
posted by spock to Bugs at 7:07 AM (19 comments total)

I thought self-linkers were encouraged to buy an ad.
posted by frykitty at 7:23 AM on February 10, 2005

Ok. Thanks for sharing.

I for one do NOT welcome our new squid overlords, by the way.
posted by iconomy at 7:23 AM on February 10, 2005

"I thought self-linkers were encouraged to buy an ad."

That certainly makes sense (everything is simple, once explained) I just hadn't considered it before.
Did I mention that, as a baby, I was dropped on my head?
People are simply "prequalifying" themselves as a potential ad buyer when they self-link. If they thought the FPP link would be valuable they certainly just need to be convinced that it is still more valuable than what they will need to pay for it (in ad form).

I might just mention that it is simply a small step from THERE to being allowed to pay for a FPP (Which came to light as a business model for Fark some time ago - causing a variety of reactions). I virtually NEVER click on links, but I do trust a FPP to be legit.
posted by spock at 7:42 AM on February 10, 2005

spock, I don't think the post you're referring to was a self-link, just someone linking to something that they thought was clever in an in-jokey kind of way. There doesn't seem to be any connection between the poster and the people who make the tshirts, at least to me. What makes you think it was a self-link? Did I mention that I was also dropped on my head as a baby?
posted by iconomy at 7:48 AM on February 10, 2005

I think that's the way it's supposed to work. Was it a self-link, or just a bad post, or both? The post a link page says, specifically, this

if you are posting a link to something you have created or were involved with the creation of, please use the TextAd service or the mefi-projects list to announce your work instead of posting a self-linking MetaFilter thread.

I'm still not sure what you're getting at. There aren't any real qualifications for buying a text-ad except for being a MeFi member and I think a few content choices mathowie makes. Self-links generally get deleted as soon as they're brought to the attention of mathowie or myself [that's the "self-policing" part, if you see it and you know it's not legit, let someone know who can fix it]. The whole point is keeping the text-ads for promotions and keeping self-links out of front page posts both by letting people know that they're not okay as well as removing them when they appear. Of course, sometimes one MeFi member will post a link to something another MeFi member has done, either innocuously or not, and those are usually okay, sometimes not. There is no slippery slope. There will not be pay-for-placement front page posts
posted by jessamyn at 7:52 AM on February 10, 2005

Did I mention that, as a baby, I was dropped on my head?

Oh, so now you're blaming some book on your over-the-top histrionics? I can't say I agree, but you need to know one thing: There are plenty of decaf products on the market these days that taste just as good as the real thing.
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:54 AM on February 10, 2005

See also: the Tank04 is a dick thread. We now have a text ad from him too, which isn't a decision I agree with, frankly.
posted by GeekAnimator at 7:57 AM on February 10, 2005

(well, we did when I noticed it last week... the ad seems to be gone now)
posted by GeekAnimator at 8:02 AM on February 10, 2005

What a weird sync... I only noticed that Squid overload blogad yesterday when I surfed Mefia via googles cache... Afaik them big coloful ads on the right are blogads and not related to the cute textads that us mefiosos can buy, where Matt see's the ad before it's approved for the front page.
posted by dabitch at 8:17 AM on February 10, 2005

Even weirder: When I read the Tank04 is a dick thread and clicked to look at his user profile, I was instead directed to this thread from August '02, because the link says /mefi/ instead of /user/. Is this some special punishment for banned members, or a bug?
posted by me3dia at 8:42 AM on February 10, 2005

The problem I just cited starts at thread 37298 and ends at 37302. All those threads have a link construction for the username of www.metafilter.com/mefi/[usernumber], which takes you to a MeFi thread instead of a profile page. The links are correct on the archive page, however.
posted by me3dia at 9:03 AM on February 10, 2005

It wasn't a self-link. Someone just posted a link to the order page of a t-shirt site. I deleted it because everyone complained of pepsi-blueness. Like I said in the reason, if you're going to link to page with a funny t-shirt that has a huge "buy me" button, then you should at least link to the stories that explain the joke.

It was a complete coincidence that they started an ad that day, I was already talking with them about doing something for their new shirt. I was surprised someone linked to their shirt that morning, but it was going around a bunch of blogs. It definitely wasn't a self-link, just a weak post.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:06 AM on February 10, 2005

interesting that deleted threads now tell me "You are not currently logged in. Log in or create a new account."
posted by quonsar at 9:53 AM on February 10, 2005

oops
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:02 AM on February 10, 2005

Apologies. I was not "getting at" anything. Just musing out loud. I'm interested in the business aspects of blogging (along with 'most everything else in the universe) and it was a way of identifying possible ad revenue sources that had not occurred to me before (though it seems quite obvious in retrospect).
posted by spock at 11:01 AM on February 10, 2005

Can someone point me to a post or a page where it might explain who jessamyn is exactly, how he or she relates to mathowie, if at all? When did she get these moderator powers and how far do they go... and all that? I've obviously missed something along the way (not being as active as I once was, probably for the better). Thanks!
posted by Witty at 2:49 PM on February 10, 2005

This is the post where it was mostly discussed, though it was mentioned earlier once or twice. Short answer: as of now, and going back a few weeks, I can edit/delete comments and posts, I don't know who posts the AnonyMe questions to AskMe, I don't have a banhammer [though I could stop a runaway user from posting in an emergency like the login debacle] or other site-adminning abilities, and I mostly stick to keeping AskMe threads on-topic and pulling obvious double-posts from MeFi. My assurances in my previous post here was mostly based on what I think is true about mathowie's own views, not reflections of my own or any ability I have to make that true.
posted by jessamyn at 3:32 PM on February 10, 2005

If I may just ask one more question... other than being a long-time member (based on your userID number), how were you chosen? Is this something you "applied for"? In short, why you? Just curious. Thanks!
posted by Witty at 3:43 PM on February 10, 2005

Maybe this has something to do with it. kidding, kidding
posted by timeistight at 3:55 PM on February 10, 2005