Favorites Pony Request February 24, 2005 10:12 PM Subscribe
Pony, pony, pony. Everyone wants a Pony. Here's the one I'd really like: The introduction of the [!] is nice. But I am way more interested in seeing the best, most interesting comments than I care about bad ones getting taken out behind the woodshed. If there has to be a [!] could there also be a [!!!]? In my pony dreams this spits out to a page like the del.icio.us popular list. Or something like that.
p_g: Yeah, I could see how it might slightly have that feel (unfortunately.) But, I have always really liked how Matt flags the most exceptional comments in the sidebar. And I have found there are many, many worthwhile (enlightening, surprising, insightful, ...) comments each day. When I am not so busy I am able to find these. But, *sigh* (new kid, work and all) [** And with the expanding membership and comment quantity, keeping up with the Blue now must tax even the most dedicated reader.] .... If there were just a digest of the best comments!
I imagine(d) the only feasible implementation of such a digest would be group consensus. Of course it could devolve into a popularity contest, but maybe-- just maybe(!)-- it could rise above and really filter the best of the comments. A worthy goal, no?
On preview: I am really not thinking of this plastic/slashdot type of thing where-- in each thread-- comments are filtered based on popularity. More like Matt-and-the-side-bar thing daily, or dailyx5.
posted by limitedpie at 11:36 PM on February 24, 2005
I imagine(d) the only feasible implementation of such a digest would be group consensus. Of course it could devolve into a popularity contest, but maybe-- just maybe(!)-- it could rise above and really filter the best of the comments. A worthy goal, no?
On preview: I am really not thinking of this plastic/slashdot type of thing where-- in each thread-- comments are filtered based on popularity. More like Matt-and-the-side-bar thing daily, or dailyx5.
posted by limitedpie at 11:36 PM on February 24, 2005
But then there'd be call-outs like "wtf - my post had 18 positive comments and did not get picked for the MeFi dance while _____'s post didn't have any nice comments and now it's the belle of the ball." It sounds like less of a pony to me and more like a goat with a strong back.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 5:52 AM on February 25, 2005
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 5:52 AM on February 25, 2005
the [!] already allows you to flag a comment as "fantastic"
though, yeah, it'd be nice to see a collection of all the posts/comments marked 5 or more times with "fantastic" or something like that.
posted by soplerfo at 6:47 AM on February 25, 2005
though, yeah, it'd be nice to see a collection of all the posts/comments marked 5 or more times with "fantastic" or something like that.
posted by soplerfo at 6:47 AM on February 25, 2005
Personally, I would prefer we just plain old avoid having a system that can be gamed, rather than have to undergo all the singing and dancing that comes with mitigating the gaming behavior of assholes.
posted by majick at 8:01 AM on February 25, 2005
posted by majick at 8:01 AM on February 25, 2005
Possibly putting a lag on the digest would prevent people from gaming it. I.e., the digest only contains "best posts" older than, say, a week. Or even after the thread in question is closed. This could be used periodically to make sure you didn't miss anything good but I don't think it'd be enough immediate gratification for anyone to try gaming it.
posted by kindall at 9:41 AM on February 25, 2005
posted by kindall at 9:41 AM on February 25, 2005
Jesus, no.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:10 AM on February 25, 2005
posted by five fresh fish at 10:10 AM on February 25, 2005
Worst. Idea. Ever.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:10 AM on February 25, 2005
posted by five fresh fish at 10:10 AM on February 25, 2005
Can somebody go through MetaFilter every day for me, make a list of the best links and comments, and then email them to me so I don't have to go through them all? Thanks.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:27 AM on February 25, 2005
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:27 AM on February 25, 2005
If the subject of a thread isn't interesting to someone, then "best comments" in that thread probably still aren't that interesting - so why pull them out?
And a lot of posts are quite interesting/funny/clever within context, but shown alone, are just as likely to get a "huh?" response as they are to be appreciated.
Finally, as noted elsewhere, commenting on posting is a way of helping remove the dregs. Let's not try to ride that pony any further than it should go.
posted by WestCoaster at 10:38 AM on February 25, 2005
And a lot of posts are quite interesting/funny/clever within context, but shown alone, are just as likely to get a "huh?" response as they are to be appreciated.
Finally, as noted elsewhere, commenting on posting is a way of helping remove the dregs. Let's not try to ride that pony any further than it should go.
posted by WestCoaster at 10:38 AM on February 25, 2005
So much for pony. Dead Horse.
Worst. Idea. Ever.
Wow. Without even trying I came up with the Worst. Idea. Ever. Imagine what horrors I could conjure if I really applied myself ;-)
posted by limitedpie at 11:26 AM on February 25, 2005
Worst. Idea. Ever.
Wow. Without even trying I came up with the Worst. Idea. Ever. Imagine what horrors I could conjure if I really applied myself ;-)
posted by limitedpie at 11:26 AM on February 25, 2005
If you really tried, I don't see how you could top it. You'd just come up with the new Worst. Idea. Ever. Right? But follow your dreams.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:33 AM on February 25, 2005
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:33 AM on February 25, 2005
Congrats, limitedpie!
Perhaps you should suggest some sort of random automated ban-hammer? All users with prime id's must go!
posted by Plutor at 11:34 AM on February 25, 2005
Perhaps you should suggest some sort of random automated ban-hammer? All users with prime id's must go!
posted by Plutor at 11:34 AM on February 25, 2005
What Makes MetaFilter Work...
...is that it is a conversation. It is very much like sitting around at the local pub, yakking it up with buddies. The conversation goes round-table, with everyone getting a chance to put their two bits in. The topic flows naturally, as subsequent speakers subtly -- or blatantly -- change the topic. There's occasional side-conversation, but it rarely overtakes the main conversation.
In conversations, one does not "tag" or "filter" the dialog. To do so would be to remove the essence of conversation. You'd end up with something stilted and unnatural. It would discourage casual participation.
I'm not entirely sure what real-world model fits the tagged-conversation idea. It wouldn't be live discussion, but more like a book: a selected summary of others' words, the highlights of an experts' convention. The big difference, though, is that in the book form the editorial committee generally has some idea of what's important and what's not. In the MeFi form, it would be selection by mob rule.
As we're seeing in the USA these days, re: science education and same-sex marriage, mob rule is not a pretty sight.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:40 AM on February 25, 2005
...is that it is a conversation. It is very much like sitting around at the local pub, yakking it up with buddies. The conversation goes round-table, with everyone getting a chance to put their two bits in. The topic flows naturally, as subsequent speakers subtly -- or blatantly -- change the topic. There's occasional side-conversation, but it rarely overtakes the main conversation.
In conversations, one does not "tag" or "filter" the dialog. To do so would be to remove the essence of conversation. You'd end up with something stilted and unnatural. It would discourage casual participation.
I'm not entirely sure what real-world model fits the tagged-conversation idea. It wouldn't be live discussion, but more like a book: a selected summary of others' words, the highlights of an experts' convention. The big difference, though, is that in the book form the editorial committee generally has some idea of what's important and what's not. In the MeFi form, it would be selection by mob rule.
As we're seeing in the USA these days, re: science education and same-sex marriage, mob rule is not a pretty sight.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:40 AM on February 25, 2005
OMG. I take back the Worst. Idea. Ever. accusation. The D&D version is worster.
posted by five fresh fish at 6:37 PM on February 25, 2005
posted by five fresh fish at 6:37 PM on February 25, 2005
The thing is, five fresh fish, we all do quite a bit of mental filtering of comments in real life situations.
For what it's worth, I don't think limitedpie's idea is the worst ever, or even bad at all. As long as the option is always open to see everything altogether, using various filtering options (which is what we use when we view by category, or keywords, or using our "connections" page) is fine and dandy.
I will always want to see everything that's going on, but, at the moment, when I'm pressed for time, I'll just look in on my contacts page before darting out again. I usually try to catch up later, but each day is getting so hefty with posts that I begin to feel more and more like using other ways to tuck in.
posted by taz at 8:20 PM on February 25, 2005
For what it's worth, I don't think limitedpie's idea is the worst ever, or even bad at all. As long as the option is always open to see everything altogether, using various filtering options (which is what we use when we view by category, or keywords, or using our "connections" page) is fine and dandy.
I will always want to see everything that's going on, but, at the moment, when I'm pressed for time, I'll just look in on my contacts page before darting out again. I usually try to catch up later, but each day is getting so hefty with posts that I begin to feel more and more like using other ways to tuck in.
posted by taz at 8:20 PM on February 25, 2005
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posted by Pretty_Generic at 11:17 PM on February 24, 2005