How long do I have to comment in order to post?

March 1, 2005 12:57 AM

How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man? I tried to post a link to the front page but was told that I haven't commented enough to earn that right yet -- but nowhere can I find stated how many comments I have to make first. I did a MeTa search but either I was unable to refine my search terms properly or the question has never been posed. Does anyone know, or do I have to take this upstairs? It's a damn fine link, too.
posted by cirocco to etiquette/policy at 12:57 AM (26 comments total)

"cirocco has posted no links to (and no comments) MetaFilter"

I don't know exactly how many, maybe ten, but you can always start by making one metafilter comment. :)
posted by dabitch at 1:09 AM on March 1, 2005

I don't recall the amount, but I remember Matt commenting on this and it certainly wasn't many. Ten might well have been the number.
posted by nthdegx at 2:28 AM on March 1, 2005

I think it's three to the blue
posted by airguitar at 4:35 AM on March 1, 2005

Couldn't you have tried to post a few comments before starting this thread? I'm already skeptical of your anticipated FPP because you aren't interested in contributing to anyone else's. Did your buddy do something that you want to give five bucks' worth of publicity, or what?
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:05 AM on March 1, 2005

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
posted by driveler at 5:44 AM on March 1, 2005

42.
posted by smackfu at 5:54 AM on March 1, 2005

More than zero.
posted by puke & cry at 5:58 AM on March 1, 2005

Send your post to me. If I like it, I'll post it and give you credit. (Then I recommend you post comments to not only that thread, but to others as well.) This seems like a better solution than running out and posting comments willy-nilly. Or is that pel mel?
posted by squirrel at 6:04 AM on March 1, 2005

FPP = manhood?
posted by pmurray63 at 6:17 AM on March 1, 2005

FPP = manhood?

I suddenly feel castrated.
posted by DaShiv at 6:30 AM on March 1, 2005

Relax, man. Take a week to ease into the conversation, make some comments, and before you know it, you'll be able to post.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:32 AM on March 1, 2005

took me three.
posted by nyterrant at 7:52 AM on March 1, 2005

Metafilter: comments willy-nilly
posted by odinsdream at 7:52 AM on March 1, 2005

I think it's harum-scarum, squirrel.
posted by goatdog at 8:12 AM on March 1, 2005

Couldn't you have tried to post a few comments before starting this thread?

As squirrel sort of alludes to, it doesn't seem kosher to go around shooting my mouth off with an ulterior motive. I've always felt that commenting should be reserved for when one has something both unique and substantive to add. I'm not a daily visitor, I usually scroll down the front page to the oldest unread thread and start there (never making it to the top), and by the time I get to a discussion, another user has almost always already proffered the same opinion or additional information that I would have.

I'm already skeptical of your anticipated FPP because you aren't interested in contributing to anyone else's.

I guess I always bought into the crazy idea that MeFi is primarily about the links, not the resulting commentary.

Did your buddy do something that you want to give five bucks' worth of publicity, or what?

Aaaaaaaaand then there's the HOSTILITY and SUSPICION with which every filthy five-dollah newb is regarded! Boy howdy, that sure makes me want to get my feet wet. I honestly feel like anything I post in the blue will be met with a "Who the fuck are you?" attitude by a certain MeFi contingent.

How about this -- I'll paste in below the post I was going to make, and any veteran user who finds it entertaining can copy it to the front page. And I'll try to be a little faster on the uptake about participating in threads (jesus, I almost said "proactive" -- someone kick me).

The FPP:

Mesa Vista Press offers not only customized bumper stickers, but also a glimpse into the hearts and minds of its clientele. Their recent orders page shows a hodgepodge of sentiments from America and beyond: the last few dozen stickers MV printed, what they said, and where you can find the cars that bear them.

[and the MI text:]

Chagrined at being unable to find the exact bumper sticker I wanted ("Honk if you enjoy honking,") anywhere, I found a company that would make it for me. I haven't placed the order yet and have no affiliation with this site other than finding this particular page very funny.

Featured here are inexplicable pairings (the same customer ordered "July 4, 1776 - December 12, 2000" along with "Lucky me! I hit the trifecta!" in the same font and colors.) Someone in Waxahachie, TX would like you to know "I attend church at YELLO BELLY DRAGSTRIP," which is less of a head-scratcher than "Lettuce to go!" Somewhere in Hillsboro, NC is a car that is "Powered by Waste Vegetable Oil."
posted by cirocco at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2005

Did your buddy do something that you want to give five bucks' worth of publicity, or what?

nah, maybe he's having a Telethon for a friend in need
posted by matteo at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2005

If you ask me, this nastiness you feel toward new users has nothing to do with being a new user. It says quite clearly in the new user info that you need to participate in threads to get FPP rights. I am also new, but I'm not new to posting to discussion fora, and in my experience people who walk into such fora with a chip on their shoulder often draw this kind of response.

IMHO, being on MeFi as a good user is not about trying hard to do MeFi a favor by posting this excellent link that's for sure going to go bad in ten minutes (but the poor sods won't even give you FPP rights! "Help me help you!"), and it's not about chasing away potentially good but probably superfluous $5-paying new-generation new users with a worse-than-USENet smugness and unscalable wall of inside references and unwritten rules. It's about making and maintaining a healthy community which posts and discusses the best of the web. There are rules about joining, and they exist for a reason (see monju_bosatsu's comment).

I had an FPP ready for the moment I bought my newusership and was champing at the bit when I found I couldn't post it yet. I toyed with the idea of sending it to mathowie and asking if it was an OK post and could I maybe post it early, since I had been reading MeFi for two years and felt I knew enough. But I didn't ask him, and I did post some comments, and it was fun, not a chore, and I did learn more than I expected about being in MeFi. My first FPP changed over the course of that first week and turned out pretty okay.

</rant>
posted by sninky-chan at 9:50 AM on March 1, 2005

Aaaaaaaaand then there's the HOSTILITY and SUSPICION

Because this has never happened previously. Forget hostility. Remind yourself that you're not a unique snowflake. Once you start to truly believe, you will find your ability to post to Mefi will magically appear.
posted by yerfatma at 9:51 AM on March 1, 2005

I understand why the rule exists, and I don't have a chip on my shoulder -- I just wanted to know, out of curiosity, what the prerequisite number of comments was. I never took issue with the policy, just wanted to know the details. (It seems mildly counterintuitive to me that a site primarily about links, secondarily about discussion, would require an undisclosed amount of discussion in order to post links, but I get why the precaution is in place.)

I really didn't anticipate being accused of being a shill or having an attitude, but man, some of you will snap at anything. If I were a shill, I'm the least-efficient shill ever: lurking for years, attending Meetups...
posted by cirocco at 10:38 AM on March 1, 2005

Take comfort in that my suggestion to make a few posts in the blue ended with a smiley = not hostile at all. Others here weren't hostile either.
posted by dabitch at 10:46 AM on March 1, 2005

If you really have been reading Mefi for a while you should have picked up the fact that you should ignore any percieved hostility because most often its just in your mind and, when it isnt, well those posters are usually worth ignoring anyways and you come out looking better by not stooping to respond.
posted by vacapinta at 10:55 AM on March 1, 2005

cirocco:

it's three. Three comments, a week, and you can post. I only instituted that rule because some people would sign up and post without hanging around long enough to see what a typical post looks like.

That's good that you're only posting when you see a reason to lnicole, I hope you understand that the rules are pretty good at stopping the few people that signup just to post a link to their own site, while allowing new gregarious members to post after some participation.

posted by mathowie at 11:09 PM PST on September 18 (2001)

posted by Lush at 11:01 AM on March 1, 2005

MetaFilter: You're not a unique snowflake.
posted by goatdog at 11:03 AM on March 1, 2005

Others here weren't hostile either.

Oh, absolutely, and I'm sorry that I didn't acknowledge the fact that the majority of MeFiers, including yourself, are amiable and interesting. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. It is kind of unseemly for me to only respond to those who are being total cocks while ignoring more congenial responses, I admit.

vacapinta, I'm not sure how I could read "Did your buddy do something that you want to give five bucks' worth of publicity, or what?" as cordial. And when someone implies that I am abusing a site that I value, it's hard for me to ignore.

On preview: Thanks, Lush! That verifies what nyterrant said.
posted by cirocco at 11:17 AM on March 1, 2005

Aaaaaaaaand then there's the HOSTILITY and SUSPICION with which every filthy five-dollah newb is regarded! Boy howdy, that sure makes me want to get my feet wet. I honestly feel like anything I post in the blue will be met with a "Who the fuck are you?" attitude by a certain MeFi contingent.

Lord almighty in Heaven above. I can't imagine why!
posted by kjh at 11:42 AM on March 1, 2005

Three comments. It lets you get your "sea legs" before you get to change the index page of MetaFilter.com. The concept was simple, just show us you can write and communicate, and then hang out a week and you can post too.
posted by mathowie at 12:18 PM on March 1, 2005