We could have done better

May 31, 2005 7:50 AM

I really didn't like the way the drakepool thread in MeTa went yesterday. It reminded me too much of the ripper IRC tragedy. I don't have any answers, but I think that could have gone better.
posted by warbaby to etiquette/policy at 7:50 AM (123 comments total)

I didn't get that feeling at all (re: ripper, irc). It was your typical Metatalk riff session. Of course, that's just my thumb on the pulse of MeFiTaAsk Co Inc.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:54 AM on May 31, 2005

eh? was drakepool on drugs? has he died?
he didn't post to the thread after repeating his request (post no. 4).
i'm confused - how is it like ripper? have i missed something important, or is it completely different?
posted by andrew cooke at 7:57 AM on May 31, 2005

Some good came out of that thread. This is a classic bit of MetaTalk Absurdity:


Please obcordate odinsdream.
posted by odinsdream at 5:02 PM PST on May 30 [!]

Please obdurate fixedgear.
posted by fixedgear at 5:08 PM PST on May 30 [!]

Please obfuscate birdsquared.
posted by birdsquared at 5:10 PM PST on May 30 [!]

Please objurgate climalene.
posted by climalene at 5:18 PM PST on May 30 [!]

Please obrogate Ryvar
posted by Ryvar at 5:25 PM PST on May 30 [!]

Please obturate greasy_skillet.
posted by greasy_skillet at 5:31 PM PST on May 30 [!]

Domo origoto MrRoboto.
posted by yhbc at 5:38 PM PST on May 30 [!]
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 8:01 AM on May 31, 2005

It reminded me too much of the ripper IRC tragedy.

LOL
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:08 AM on May 31, 2005

I went back and read a bunch of his comments carefully.

There was something wrong with drakepool, he had problems and it wasn't just a drama queen show.

It reminded me of the ripper fiasco because drakepool was clearly in more trouble than he knew what to do with and people were callously egging him on.
posted by warbaby at 8:08 AM on May 31, 2005

I would like to participate in your emotional discussion about things that are very important, but I am unable to provide fecal matter.
posted by angry modem at 8:09 AM on May 31, 2005

Ripper IRC tragedy? What's that?

And, what was wrong with the drakepool thread?

Answers, dammit! We demand answers! ;-P
posted by mischief at 8:09 AM on May 31, 2005

Your standards of callous eggyness are too high for this place.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:10 AM on May 31, 2005

~~~~~~~~~shoa
im fukcin
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:10 AM on May 31, 2005

I prefer to think of it as the ripper IRC victory, personally. A tiny beacon of hope adrift in a sea of infinite stupidity.

The drakepool thread was good, but not great. Just the right balance of mean-spiritedness:humor, but the cumulative effect just wasn't as funny as it should have been.

A classic example of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. Three stars.
posted by Ryvar at 8:14 AM on May 31, 2005

i thought it went fine is that ok dad???
posted by naxosaxur at 8:18 AM on May 31, 2005

mischief: ripper is a gangster!!!
posted by gleuschk at 8:19 AM on May 31, 2005

You're right. We should all watch what we say in case someone who can't take it happens to read our words. Agreed? Okay. Good!
posted by odinsdream at 8:20 AM on May 31, 2005

I don't see any parallels between drakepool and ripper.
posted by mischief at 8:48 AM on May 31, 2005

"You're right. We should all watch what we say in case someone who can't take it happens to read our words. Agreed? Okay. Good!" You callous prick!
posted by arse_hat at 8:50 AM on May 31, 2005

You callous prick!

HEY! None of that fucking strong language, please.
posted by Ryvar at 8:59 AM on May 31, 2005

Oh man Ryvar sorry. Are you OK?
posted by arse_hat at 9:04 AM on May 31, 2005

I really don't like the way this thread is going today. It reminds me too much of the drakepool thread. I don't have any answers, butueaopiihpvaon;p9pn98 4 84p9a yp9#Y
posted by gramschmidt at 9:06 AM on May 31, 2005

What's to not like about it? The guy had already declared his intention to leave, he just wasn't quick and quiet enough to keep the MetaFilter door from hitting his ass on the way out.
posted by baphomet at 9:06 AM on May 31, 2005

Doesn't posting a thread like this render #1's closing of the other thread just a tad pointless?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:10 AM on May 31, 2005

I don't know ripper but I had a funny feeling about drakepool the other day, but it wasn't anything specific.

But warbaby, it's really hard to expect a forum of people who are wandering around a fishbowl to collectively hold out a hand or all be acutely sensitive or whatever - this is MeTa. Does he have an email? - try him.
posted by peacay at 9:11 AM on May 31, 2005

gramschmidt wins
posted by warbaby at 9:12 AM on May 31, 2005

Public, especially MeTa, announcements of leaving Metafilter should be, in principle, relentlessly and even viciously mocked.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 9:16 AM on May 31, 2005

Shit. I had never heard of the Ripper IRC tragedy, or whatever you'd call it. That was intense.

Damn.
posted by Bdave at 9:29 AM on May 31, 2005

"Doesn't posting a thread like this render #1's closing of the other thread just a tad pointless?"

Nah, his closing that thread was pointless at the moment he did it.
posted by mischief at 9:29 AM on May 31, 2005

i told u i was hardcore.
posted by keswick at 9:44 AM on May 31, 2005

I don't have any answers, butueaopiihpvaon;p9pn98 4 84p9a yp9#Y

if you can't null-terminate your string, don't store your string at all.
posted by quonsar at 10:34 AM on May 31, 2005

A fire by day, a pillar of smoke by night.
posted by y2karl at 10:37 AM on May 31, 2005

"if you can't null-terminate your string, don't store your string at all."

Don't be gettin' all uppity on this technical shit, quntsar, it's clearly all too arcane for you.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:00 AM on May 31, 2005

i am very interested in subscribing to your RFC, sir.
posted by quonsar at 11:11 AM on May 31, 2005

drakepool was clearly in more trouble than he knew what to do with and people were callously egging him on.

What peacay said. I feel bad for drakepool, but come on, this is MetaFilter, not Sister Solemnia's Gathering of the Bleeding Heart. If a 98-pound weakling walks into a Hell's Angels convention and tells them they're a bunch of pussies, he's going to get the crap beaten out of him, which is sad for him but not any great surprise. (Note: this analogy is so vague as to be meaningless; any attempts to make one-to-one correlations with any actual happenings on MeFi are pointless and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.)

OK, I've got to go null-terminate my string now.
posted by languagehat at 11:35 AM on May 31, 2005

...Ouch! You didn't tell me that was going to hurt so much!

*we see him knock his head on the back wall and stay there for the next 14 hours*
posted by languagehat at 11:37 AM on May 31, 2005

If by "RFC" you mean "The National Association of Email Advertisers' mailing list" then your wish is my command. Enjoy.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:37 AM on May 31, 2005

Hmm...sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.

*is getting eaten by the bear*
posted by schyler523 at 12:09 PM on May 31, 2005

*is eating the bear that ate schyler523*

Mmm, tastes like chicken.
posted by orange swan at 12:14 PM on May 31, 2005

opprobrious "oddball offhandedness = overdose obliviousness" observation overblown, objectionable.
posted by ori at 12:23 PM on May 31, 2005

In Soviet Union, Metafilter posts on you.
posted by scody at 12:23 PM on May 31, 2005

this is a better page to learn about ripper. and this has no correlation to that at all really.
posted by puke & cry at 12:27 PM on May 31, 2005

So, was ripper on #mefi?
posted by mischief at 12:32 PM on May 31, 2005

Hmm...sometimes you eat the bear drugs, and sometimes the bear drugs eat you.
posted by schyler523 at 12:33 PM on May 31, 2005

And here's a page about ripper put together by someone who doesn't think he's burning in hell.

It taught me that Pnutbot is not an obnoxious person pretending to be a robot, but rather is a robot pretending to be an obnoxious person.
posted by nobody at 12:36 PM on May 31, 2005

"if you can't null-terminate your string, don't store your string at all."

no comment
posted by null terminated at 12:38 PM on May 31, 2005

As for drakepull, would anyone like to pull together a user-obituary from the archives?

(A couple places to start: 1, 2).
posted by nobody at 12:42 PM on May 31, 2005

So, this ripper, it *vibrates*?
How many more MeFi cliches can we cram into this thread before Matt closes it, too?
posted by Doohickie at 12:43 PM on May 31, 2005

drakepool was funny, occasionally he had a thomcatspikeish brio that I found interesting, I'm sorry he left
posted by matteo at 12:44 PM on May 31, 2005

Good point, matteo. And very funny, Doohickie. I'll miss how

he'd respond to every single comment in his thread(s). Very

witty, null terminated. I'll miss how his comments were double-spaced.
posted by nobody at 12:50 PM on May 31, 2005

Mmm, tastes like chicken.

Actually, Orange Swan, bear meat tastes like ham.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 1:23 PM on May 31, 2005

"bear meat tastes like ham."

Because they're omnivores! (I'm guessing.) Isn't that interesting? We taste like pork, too.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:57 PM on May 31, 2005

Er, at least the last three Jehovah's Witnesses that came to my door tasted like pork. I can't really say for sure about all of you.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:58 PM on May 31, 2005

So, what did the first three taste like? ;-P
posted by mischief at 2:00 PM on May 31, 2005

Is null-terminating your string like pulling on your drakepool?

/confused

P.S. So JWs are traif?
posted by birdsquared at 2:12 PM on May 31, 2005

Wow, Fuzzy Monster, I just noticed that those are in alphabetical order.
posted by climalene at 2:19 PM on May 31, 2005

OK, who else just got a strange email from Drakepool?
posted by LarryC at 2:19 PM on May 31, 2005

not me, and i'm pissed about it.
posted by quonsar at 2:39 PM on May 31, 2005

oh man, what did it say? my ears are burning.
posted by puke & cry at 2:42 PM on May 31, 2005

Wait, you got an email from Drakepool?! I thought he was totally obliterated!
posted by nobody at 2:49 PM on May 31, 2005

Nobody ever sends me strange emails, so I have to send them myself. Fuckers.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 2:49 PM on May 31, 2005

is drakepool ok? why bring up ripper?
posted by amberglow at 2:53 PM on May 31, 2005

is drakepool ok? why bring up ripper?

To increase the drama quotient?
posted by timeistight at 3:03 PM on May 31, 2005

well, that's not drama so much as death and spurious/dangerous accusations.
posted by amberglow at 3:06 PM on May 31, 2005

amberglow: I wasn't suggesting drakepool = ripper (though lots of people who participated in that thread seem to think in those terms).

I was referring to the group dynamic of a person in trouble being treated as an entertaining spectacle over the net.
posted by warbaby at 3:13 PM on May 31, 2005

I don't have any answers, but I think that could have gone better.
Needed more cowbell.
posted by dg at 3:16 PM on May 31, 2005

yeah. and?
posted by puke & cry at 3:16 PM on May 31, 2005

that was regarding warbaby's comment, damn you dg.
posted by puke & cry at 3:16 PM on May 31, 2005

warbaby is a gangster!!!
posted by grouse at 3:17 PM on May 31, 2005

"...my ears are burning."

...and my penis is burning. I believe that's supposed to mean something in folk wisdom, but I can't remember what.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 3:20 PM on May 31, 2005

see what you did?
posted by quonsar at 3:26 PM on May 31, 2005

MetaFilter: the group dynamic of a person in trouble being treated as an entertaining spectacle over the net.

Sorry, but it just seems so... apropos, y'know?
posted by Specklet at 3:32 PM on May 31, 2005

Why weren't his comments deleted like he wanted? His userpage still shows 52 comments.
posted by nixerman at 3:34 PM on May 31, 2005

I was referring to the group dynamic of a person in trouble being treated as an entertaining spectacle over the net.

I'm not seeing this. Unless your privy to information that hasn't been made public all I see is a guy who decided that he doesn't want to participate any longer. I think it's silly to make a MeTa post about it, but as best I can tell he accomplished his goal and has been obliviated. It's too bad, I loved his posts, there was some sort of weird transcendental vibe about them.

I have no idea if he is in trouble or just writes very strangely. Warbaby, is it possible that your reading more into this than exists? Anyway, it was entertaining, at least until he stopped posting.

EB, I think it means that your new relationship may be a little more 'open' than you are aware of -- you may want to see a doctor.
posted by cedar at 3:37 PM on May 31, 2005

the group dynamic of a person in trouble being treated as an entertaining spectacle over the net.

Does this mean we're taking the self-administered electroshock comment to be literally true.
posted by nobody at 3:38 PM on May 31, 2005

Why weren't his comments deleted like he wanted?

why aren't my comments never deleted like i wanted?
posted by quonsar at 3:40 PM on May 31, 2005

i'm not seeing it either warbaby--my first thought was that he had died and we were being accused of something.
posted by amberglow at 4:27 PM on May 31, 2005

So what's the story behind this? What's the significance to MeFi? I seriously can't figure it out.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 4:41 PM on May 31, 2005

None, really. It's just that Mefi folks having fun at a disturbed person's expense (drakepool's slightly wacko approach to commenting) reminded warbaby of IRC folks having fun at a disturbed person's expense (ripper offing himself like an idiot). I'm not personally saying they're equivalent, but that's the connection, and that's about all there is to it. Like if somebody compared someone else arguing with a sock puppet to Fight Club: it wouldn't mean Mefi had any connection with Fight Club, just that it's something that the situation reminded the poster of.
posted by Bugbread at 4:57 PM on May 31, 2005

....

thanks, bugbread. Now I can sleep tonight.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 4:59 PM on May 31, 2005

A kid overdosed himself live on IRC and we talked about it for days afterward. That's the only connection that I can see.

I think all our comments should be deleted and emailed to us after thirty days. I bet that would make the server run faster.
posted by timeistight at 5:05 PM on May 31, 2005

So what's the story behind this? What's the significance to MeFi? I seriously can't figure it out.
The only significance to MeFi is that it was linked and discussed here, although there were a large number of people who read the thread here and dropped in to #mefi under the impression that that was where it had happened. See here and here.
posted by dg at 5:07 PM on May 31, 2005

YES RIPPER DIED ON #MEFI COME TO #MEFI AND ASK ABOUT RIPPER ALSO OUR CHEAP HOME INSURANCE
posted by Pretty_Generic at 5:11 PM on May 31, 2005

Bugbread's got it. Sorry if I alarmed people. When I said it reminded me, that's all I meant -- vaguely similar group dynamics.

I think drakepool's problems go beyond just being unhappy. I tend to trust (and play) my hunches. This thread ran wild for about three hours before anybody seemed to catch my drift.
I'd say it was languagehat here. Then things were a little less derailed.

The threads dg links to would have been included in the top of the post but the Bold, Italic and link buttons weren't working this morning.
posted by warbaby at 5:24 PM on May 31, 2005

Perhaps drakepool was mcgraw again?
posted by sciurus at 5:27 PM on May 31, 2005

I don't see the similarity in dynamics to the ripper situation at all. The thread about drakepool was just the latest in a long line of threads making fun of someone who not only doesn't want to be here any more, but feels the need to tell 20,000 people about it. It is pretty much a tradition that, apart from a few well-meant pleas for the member in question to re-consider, these announcements result in a (usually) friendly pile-on. Perhaps to an outsider they may appear heartless, but there is generally no malice intended by most.
posted by dg at 5:36 PM on May 31, 2005

I got an email from him--he should stay, i told him.
posted by amberglow at 7:17 PM on May 31, 2005

Would buy drakepool again! A+++
posted by Balisong at 7:25 PM on May 31, 2005

>I got an email from him--he should stay, i told him.

>>account closed, thread closed.
posted by mathowie at 11:09 PM PST on May 30 [!]

Don't think that's gonna happpen.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:44 PM on May 31, 2005

warbaby wrote:
"This thread ran wild for about three hours before anybody seemed to catch my drift."

No, no . . . I caught your drift, alright. I just didn't care.
posted by Ryvar at 8:18 PM on May 31, 2005

"I caught your drift, alright. I just didn't care."

There's a tagline for ya!
posted by mischief at 8:23 PM on May 31, 2005

MetaTalk: I just didn't care.
posted by dg at 8:32 PM on May 31, 2005

LLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROYY JENNNKINNNS!!!
posted by fandango_matt at 8:34 PM on May 31, 2005

Well, one of the earliest comments in that thread, from madamejujujive, offered an avenue for discussion wherein perhaps some actual advice might have been offered - and usually, if someone does lay their problem squarely on the table, some people will try to help them. Being dramatic, mysterious, obscure or overly ego ridden will reliably lead to jabbing, and there's not much to be done about that.

One can pretty much assume that problems like this will continue to crop up, because people who are not that familiar with MetaFilter will join, expecting perhaps a rather different environment based on previous experience with community boards. A lot of sites are much friendlier, obviously, either because of the general nature and focus of the site, or because they're small and recruiting new members. MeFi is large and prickly, and those who come here wanting to vigorously participate in political/controversial threads, but also expecting to be treated tenderly will almost certainly get a black eye or two. After that, some will wander away, hurt, and some will stay and learn the ropes. I don't think I'm being too coldhearted when I say that it's pretty much an inevitable culling process at this point.

Among those newer/less-experienced members, some may actually have problems of some sort - though I won't venture an opinion in this case. When (and if) this becomes apparent, it would be good if people could kind of ease off, but don't expect too much, warbaby, because what I often see is that the initiator tends to plow forward, disregarding all clues that this may be the tiniest bit hazardous. But I completely agree that people should apply a little sense and basic humanity, and try to avoid piling on in those cases where someone clearly has a problem.
posted by taz at 9:53 PM on May 31, 2005

"MeFi is large and prickly", Hey so am I!
"and try to avoid piling on in those cases where someone clearly has a problem", I agree taz but I don't see that here. I was not sure if I was reading it right but after exchanging e-mail with some folks here I think it's just one of those misunderstandings that happens on occasion.
posted by arse_hat at 10:13 PM on May 31, 2005

No, I agree arse_hat - I didn't see that this was necessarily the case here. My assumption was more that the poster wasn't really very familiar with the site and probably had different expectations.
posted by taz at 10:29 PM on May 31, 2005

"and probably had different expectations", didn't we all at first? ;-)
posted by arse_hat at 10:32 PM on May 31, 2005

Evolution at work.
posted by justgary at 10:45 PM on May 31, 2005

MetaFilter: Large and prickly.

Like hugging a saguaro cactus.
posted by loquacious at 10:58 PM on May 31, 2005

Much as I'm party to the general atmosphere of sarcasm, I do agree that the hazing of newcomers often borders on cruelty. Maybe new users can have a newbie tag for their first few dozen comments, so that others would know to extend a bit more patience.

On the otherhand, warbaby, I think you are partly (if not mostly) at fault for the lack of constructive comments on this thread. Your analogy was so ridiculously overblown that it provoked an immediate kickback effect. I realize you didn't mean to say that the two treatments were synonymous, but it was still far too provocative.

I'm too lazy to check if it already does, but otherwise the FAQ should advise newbies to don thick skin before venturing into the trench warfare of MeTa or overtly political threads.
posted by ori at 11:27 PM on May 31, 2005

I should also add that the "prickly" metafilter subculture is not totally pervasive. On the contrary, it is generally restricted to certain types of threads. MeTa is a bit of a wild west, of course, but in the case of Ask.Mefi, I have often been pleasantly surprised at how tender people are towards questions that bespeak heartache or personal crisis. That particular species of FPPs that links to esoteric web curiosities are also generally convivial. I don't think the prickly subculture should be leashed; it's as vital as any other.
posted by ori at 11:41 PM on May 31, 2005

Actually, I really don't think it's really a hazing of newcomers - more likely, it's not being aware of newcomer status. When people do check, they often say something like "you're pretty new here, so you may not realize blah, blah, blah".

However, I think a newbie tag would be embarrassing and uncomfortable for the vast majority of new members, who normally slip in unobtrusively and begin their assimilation into the community without a lot of fanfare.

There isn't a "user-warning" on the faq. I think it would be good to have something like that somewhere obvious on the wiki. Not sure if the faq is the best place since it's almost impossible to give fact-based information on this, but more "words to the wise" advice. Sometimes rather silly posts are met with perfectly nice, patient responses, and sometimes rather reasonable posts will draw taunts and criticism.
posted by taz at 11:46 PM on May 31, 2005

On second thought... FAQ only refers to common questions, and doesn't necessarily require pure-fact sorts of answers, so maybe something like "What can a new user expect?" might work fine. Ideas?
posted by taz at 11:51 PM on May 31, 2005

I'm not even going to waste a second of my time wondering if this place is too prickly toward idiots like drakepool and warbaby. That is some seriously retarded, self-second-guessing, coddling-of-inanity. Total spineless bullshit, as if we expect absolutely nothing of newbies and owe them everything. Our reaction toward babbling dullards fresh off the boat is not the criteria by which this community's openness should be judged.
posted by scarabic at 11:52 PM on May 31, 2005

ascerebic: nice!

Maybe new users can have a newbie tag for their first few dozen comments, so that others would know to extend a bit more patience.

Bwahahahaha. No, really . . . ahahahaha. *wipes tears from eyes* Seriously, though . . . *collapses on floor, laughs until he chokes and eventually gags and vomits*

Whewww . . . whewwww . . .


OK, so, yeah - I think that may be the single worst proposal I have ever heard of in a lifetime of bad online community ideas. It would be far, far less painful to newcomers if you just stuck a giant blinking .gif under their names that said "HI I'M NEW AND LOST AND WET MYSELF AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE ABUSE ME."
posted by Ryvar at 12:00 AM on June 1, 2005

scarabic loves the smell of napalm in the morning.
posted by ori at 12:02 AM on June 1, 2005

*carefully steps around Ryvar's vomit and scarabic's napalm on the way to the mop closet*
posted by taz at 12:15 AM on June 1, 2005

*sprinkles sawdust on thread*

*wears a helmet while posting on Metafilter*
posted by schyler523 at 12:21 AM on June 1, 2005

*lights a match*

*explodes*
posted by loquacious at 12:40 AM on June 1, 2005

posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:11 AM on June 1, 2005

heheheh
posted by Pretty_Generic at 1:18 AM on June 1, 2005

MeFi is large and prickly, and those who come here wanting to vigorously participate in political/controversial threads, but also expecting to be treated tenderly will almost certainly get a black eye or two. After that, some will wander away, hurt, and some will stay and learn the ropes.

And some of us are just too st00pid to go away.

And about the n00b tag: what Ryvar said.

Actually, I really don't think it's really a hazing of newcomers - more likely, it's not being aware of newcomer status. When people do check, they often say something like "you're pretty new here, so you may not realize blah, blah, blah".

Here's the way it struck me back in November:

Me: Hi everyone! I'm new!

quonsar: [flame, flame, flame]

Me: Ouch that hurt! *gets embarrassingly defensive*

Yeah, along the way, amberglow and scarabic said something like "you're pretty new here, so you may not realize blah, blah, blah", but that didn't sink in until much later. The first impression was the greeting from quonsar, Ryvar, Steve_at_Linnwood, etc. (And I think putting a n00b tag wouldn't help that any.)

All that said, I don't think the way MeFi greets new users is broken. It's not unlike any other fraternal organization: The asswipes screen out the weak by hazing them early on. By surviving the hazing, those who hang around have developed and displayed a commitment to the organization.
posted by Doohickie at 4:41 AM on June 1, 2005

"a commitment to the organization"

ugh. Nothing personal, Doohickie, and I guess I know what you mean, but that just reminds me of some of my bad old days in the U.S. ick and ptooie.
posted by taz at 5:11 AM on June 1, 2005

ambers got all the love we need folks.
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:27 AM on June 1, 2005

My take on the drakepool situation was that he realized that MeFi was taking up an awful lot of time and attention and the best way to go cold turkey was to get his account deleted. It seems like a fairly responsible decision on his part, and it should be respected. Some people can handle the crack MeFi in moderation, and some people can't. We don't need to make it into a cry for help in the wilderness to make sense of it.
posted by anapestic at 5:35 AM on June 1, 2005

metafilter: babbling dullards fresh off the boat
posted by quonsar at 6:38 AM on June 1, 2005

metafilter: participating vigorously
posted by deborah at 7:41 AM on June 1, 2005

I nominate scarabic as the official MeFi greeter and Welcome Wagon host.
posted by warbaby at 7:57 AM on June 1, 2005

Fuck. I was supposed to get hazed?

*paddles self*
posted by stet at 8:48 AM on June 1, 2005

Evolution at work.

Uh-oh. Bevets has now been summoned.
posted by ericb at 9:09 AM on June 1, 2005

I love you people. Really.

*slips on Ryvar's vomit, curses, jumps into ball of fire left by loquacious to remove stench*
posted by languagehat at 9:21 AM on June 1, 2005

stet... the cool people are just let in. They don't get hazed. (Then again, cool people don't paddle themselves...)

Sorry, taz, if you didn't like my statement. It's the best way I could find to explain the dynamic from my frat boy days. It's kind of like that here (but not quite).
posted by Doohickie at 9:34 AM on June 1, 2005

The FAQ already has a "What can you expect from MeFi et al" - it reads something to the effect of:

Before posting ANYTHING to ANY of the boards, lurk a while and read lots of previous posts.

It's not like the acerbic nature of some (many) posts or that the treatment of cluelessness is anything less than vitriolic (aside from AskMeFi - which is the way it should be, IMO) is hidden from non-members or new members.
posted by birdsquared at 9:43 AM on June 1, 2005

Where was the abuse other than here in drakepool's "I'm leaving!" thread? That kind of attention-seeking behavior has never been tolerated and has always been answered by abuse. It's one of the few cases where I think abuse is acceptable.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 9:52 AM on June 1, 2005

I thought that the post was less "Look everyone! I'M LEAVING LOOK AT ME LOOK LOOK LOOK!" and more along the lines of the mistake people make of sending a "please remove me from this list" email to everyone on a mailing list.
posted by redfoxtail at 4:51 PM on June 1, 2005

Yeah, that's possible. I shouldn't take for granted that a newbie would know to email Matt directly and not post to MeTa.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 5:50 PM on June 1, 2005

The closest I got to hazing was four spouses. I think I got off pretty easy on the n00b experience.

Then again, I had been lurking for a long time and had gleaned the general feeling of the place was one that required a thick skin.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:12 PM on June 1, 2005