Request: a way to filter out particular users.

June 3, 2005 11:51 AM

Hi, would a "filter user comments" option be a lot to ask? There are a few users who just never really say anything useful or contributory, and I think if I could just filter them out it would be nice.
posted by plexi to Feature Requests at 11:51 AM (58 comments total)

Why is this empty post here? Is it because I bozo'd plexi and can't see his comments?

Look for the usernames you don't like and skip their comments. Works for everyone
posted by terrapin at 11:55 AM on June 3, 2005

mefi killfile
posted by puke & cry at 12:11 PM on June 3, 2005

would reading metatalk regularly be too much to ask? there are a few users who always repeat the same tired questions, and i think if they would just read metatalk regularly it would be nice.
posted by quonsar at 12:25 PM on June 3, 2005

mefi killfile

Would not assuming that everyone uses Firefox be too much to ask?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:57 PM on June 3, 2005

I's say ignore 'em, flag their posts, whatever. But I personally think the confusion that would reign wouldn't be worth the filter. Also (and I mean this in the nicest way possible), I think MeFi's got enough snobbery/clique behavior going on, and I feel this would only add to it.

P.S. I can't use Firefox at work. Boo.
posted by Specklet at 1:27 PM on June 3, 2005

There are a few users who just never really say anything useful or contributory, and I think if I could just filter them out it would be nice.

You're just going to end up confused when people respond to my comments that you don't know are there.
posted by Mayor Curley at 1:54 PM on June 3, 2005

So, most importantly, who are these "few users"? ; >
posted by amberglow at 1:58 PM on June 3, 2005

No one in the 14K group, that's for sure!
posted by jonson at 3:08 PM on June 3, 2005

Matt won't allow you to ignore people he's made so much money from. It's that simple.
posted by Doohickie at 3:13 PM on June 3, 2005

I want a filter that will hide my comments from me. I know what I wrote; I don't need to see it again. Hopefully, this will also free up server resources so they can deal with all the unused accounts that slow everything down.
posted by trondant at 3:17 PM on June 3, 2005

Matt won't allow you to ignore people he's made so much money from. It's that simple.

oh for fuck's sake you trumped up self important pile of tedium. don't you think it's more likely that he's not got time to deal with yet another pony when he's got a new kid and a job to hold down?

there was a big debate about taking money because people predicted arseholes like you would have a sense of entitlement at spending all of - gosh - $5 to get in here.

some news for you:
- this place has been flakey for ages. if you didn't realise when you paid, more fool you.
- $5 doesn't buy you rights to anything. surely that, at least, was clear?
- this debate (killfiles) has gone on since time imemorial. the argument is that leaving the noise there makes people fight it. self-censorship, angst, and all the rest of it. it's a fucking feature.

take your small-minded capitalist arrogance (and envy - "so much") and stick it where the light doesn't shine. round here money doesn't buy you influence. where on earth do you get the idea that so little money gives you the right to make snide comments about something you'll never equal in your lifetime?
posted by andrew cooke at 3:27 PM on June 3, 2005

Jeez, andrew, wild overreaction? it's not like the guy poisoned your dog for barking too much.
posted by jonson at 3:32 PM on June 3, 2005

If you want killfiles for now, use the extension.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:35 PM on June 3, 2005

andrew cooke is mathowie's sock puppet.
posted by quonsar at 4:00 PM on June 3, 2005

but dickhooie is just a dick.
posted by quonsar at 4:01 PM on June 3, 2005

mefi killfile
Wow, with this type of a filtering implementation, the site will be regressing a community view for a reader. For those that support it, I had no idea you also enjoy the class, racial, and other classified systems, which separates than unites folks.
Wait a second, we could make this site a true “boyznone.”
posted by thomcatspike at 4:01 PM on June 3, 2005

a true “boyznone.”

boyz getting none? i think it already is.
posted by quonsar at 4:06 PM on June 3, 2005

* grits teeth and smiles at jonson *

i'm sorry, but it really bugs me that paying a trivial amount for something that has been labour of love somehow turns people into customers. that is really screwed up. and when the same person is complaining about the site on one hand and posting threads about it every which way til christmas on the other, it gets worse than cheap.
posted by andrew cooke at 4:09 PM on June 3, 2005

oh for fuck's sake you trumped up self important pile of tedium.

*laughs and laughs; makes mental note to steal borrow this phrase sometime*
posted by scody at 4:24 PM on June 3, 2005

Yeah, andrew cooke is so sexy and English.
posted by nixerman at 4:39 PM on June 3, 2005

Girls, girls... You're both pretty!
posted by keswick at 6:19 PM on June 3, 2005

plaigarist.

and scody is pretty as hell, but nixerman'll hav eto provide evidence.
posted by jonmc at 6:30 PM on June 3, 2005

Matt won't allow you to ignore people he's made so much money from.

Oh no you din't!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:39 PM on June 3, 2005

i'm sorry, but it really bugs me that paying a trivial amount for something that has been labour of love somehow turns people into customers.

Yeah, ain't life a bitch?
posted by ludwig_van at 6:47 PM on June 3, 2005

Yeah, a $5 payment somhow turns people into pesecuted victims. Excuse me while I wring out my hankie.
posted by jonmc at 6:49 PM on June 3, 2005

jonmc, I have no idea what you're responding to now.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:53 PM on June 3, 2005

the idea that a small fee for particpating has somehow made the contributions of some members less valuable than others. I thought I was agreeing with you. I know we've disageed often, but try not to asssume bad motivations from me, please.
posted by jonmc at 6:57 PM on June 3, 2005

I was just poking fun at andrew cooke's seemingly sincere indignation over the fact that paying for something makes people into customers.

I wasn't trying to assume anything, but I wasn't sure what you were referring to. Sorry for the confusion.
posted by ludwig_van at 7:01 PM on June 3, 2005

the indignation is that it takes so little to change people's social viewpoint. if "customer" were just a tautology for someone that has paid something, there'd be no problem. but instead, there's an assumption that $5 buys you a position where the person at the other end is no longer just some guy making something cool, but someone you can shout at for better service, like he's a waiter and you're the big tipping high-rolling millionaire that gets what he wants.

it ugly and crass. but don't mind me. you just go ahead and smirk. you're probably younger than i am - you're making your own world, and i'm just some old fashioned fart who thinks things should be different. hope you enjoy it. hope you always have enough to pay.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:34 PM on June 3, 2005

just just just. what i want is a style check button.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:39 PM on June 3, 2005

Hi, would a robust server option be a lot to ask? There are a few hours a week when the server just never really says or does anything useful or contributory, and I think if I could just make it come back on it would be nice.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 7:45 PM on June 3, 2005

P.H.P.

Pray He Progresses.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:50 PM on June 3, 2005

Would not assuming that everyone uses Firefox be too much to ask?

yes.
posted by puke & cry at 8:00 PM on June 3, 2005

just just just. what i want is a style check button.

*click*
your tie is too wide.
posted by quonsar at 8:04 PM on June 3, 2005

Hi, would a sense-of-humor plugin be too much to ask? I took Doohickie's post to be a joke. Maybe if he'd included some kind of a queen reference in it, it would be more obvious.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:08 PM on June 3, 2005

No, it wasn't obvious and it wasn't funny because Doohickie is badmouthing the site on every chat page he can find.

Doohickie: post your home address so we can all chip in and mail you your precious five bucks back.

Andrew C. is right on.
posted by Mid at 8:54 PM on June 3, 2005

I agree with andrew cooke except for that snark at Capitalist (because I am one).

If I were to filter out those I don't agree with it would be like talking to myself.

I think Kirth's sense of humor plug-in is a great idea.

My tie is NOT to wide.
posted by Carbolic at 9:04 PM on June 3, 2005

But is it too wide?
posted by Lynsey at 9:19 PM on June 3, 2005

Hi, is it really weird when people start their post with "Hi"?
posted by BoringPostcards at 9:39 PM on June 3, 2005

I hope my posts get ignored by somebody w/ this new pony.
Also, I agree w/ jonmc. No matter what.
posted by PhatLobley at 10:11 PM on June 3, 2005

Bunnypaste!
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:14 PM on June 3, 2005

Actually, I quite liked andrew's burst up there. Nice flow. And it made sense, that helps.

Hey jonmc, looks like you got a sidekick! Hooo-ahh!
posted by fenriq at 11:17 PM on June 3, 2005

andrew cooke writes "it ugly and crass. but don't mind me. you just go ahead and smirk. you're probably younger than i am - you're making your own world, and i'm just some old fashioned fart who thinks things should be different. hope you enjoy it. hope you always have enough to pay."

*hugs andrew cooke*

We aren't all ugly and crass...
posted by schyler523 at 12:05 AM on June 4, 2005

Filtering comments is silly, but filtering front page posts, now that would be something!

Imagine: a world without y2karl posts...
posted by kjh at 12:55 AM on June 4, 2005

Hmmmm... maybe I should whip a GreaseMonkey script that will "disappear" FPPs that have lots of small text.
posted by grouse at 2:19 AM on June 4, 2005

Well boxed cooke old boy , if i remember rightly , five dollars entitles you to no more than a big mac meal in the us.
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:14 AM on June 4, 2005

The price of participation in a community is the maturity to handle all content which falls within the accepted community standards of taste and tone. If you're so personally weak that you feel somebody's words must not exist in your world, then you should leave for someplace where they will never exist.

Oh, and it would make an unreadable mess of a lot of threads.
posted by Ryvar at 4:32 AM on June 4, 2005

oh for fuck's sake you trumped up self important pile of tedium.
And so say all of us. Well, me anyway.
posted by dg at 4:36 AM on June 4, 2005

Gunter glieben glauchen globen
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 9:53 AM on June 4, 2005

Seems like that would take the community out of this Community Weblog.
You trumped up self important pile of tedium.
posted by Floydd at 11:19 AM on June 4, 2005

if "customer" were just a tautology for someone that has paid something

Now you're on the right track.

but instead, there's an assumption that $5 buys you a position where the person at the other end is no longer just some guy making something cool, but someone you can shout at for better service

No, that's actually an assumption you're making about an assumption that someone else is supposedly making. A whole group of people actually. So it's quite a stretch. There's no need to go off on some self-righteous rant about what's crass and ugly in the world because one guy says something that you don't like.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:26 AM on June 4, 2005

Hey jonmc, looks like you got a sidekick! Hooo-ahh!

Wait, wait. I didn't even know the position was open! Damn, I look good in a cape, too.
posted by Gucky at 1:54 PM on June 4, 2005

Doohickie, you should do yourself a favor and avoid the grey entirely for a little while, as jonson advised in this thread.
posted by iconomy at 2:57 PM on June 4, 2005

Wait, wait. I didn't even know the position was open! Damn, I look good in a cape, too.

a female sidekick? Hmmm? The costume is form-fitting....
posted by jonmc at 4:09 PM on June 4, 2005

Matt said long ago that he was opposed to killfiles because they would be antithetical to the purpose of the site. I mean, he spcifically didn't include them. Maybe he wrote that in his book or something. I dunno.

Since then he's flirted with the idea, however. For MeFi Pro, for example.

But I think his original decision was the right decision. And not having threading, too. Right now there's only one level of filtering available to us, and that's not reading the comments in a given thread. For the most part, we're forced to deal with other. I think that's a good thing. You add threads and killfiles to mefi, and the place will change radically very fast. The sense of community will be badly injured, I think.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 5:07 PM on June 4, 2005

Uh, Mid, I didn't say it was obvious. And "badmouthing"? I read some of his posts, and he's expressing an opinion. Is MeFi so fragile that it can't survive some criticism, however unfair or misguided? If you're happy with it, why do you care what Doohickie says about it?

Boy, do you some of you need that humor plugin.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:42 PM on June 4, 2005

Boy, do you some of you need that humor plugin.

Agood comedian never blames his audience, Kirth. Just saying.
posted by jonmc at 7:50 PM on June 4, 2005

For the most part, we're forced to deal with other. I think that's a good thing.

You and I generally play black and white on every single major MetaTalk 'issue' that comes up, but on this one we're in total agreement.

You add threads and killfiles to mefi, and the place will change radically very fast. The sense of community will be badly injured, I think.

Exactly. Imagine I get sick of AlexReynolds one day, and then he starts a MeTa thread at the exact same time someone starts yet another bitching-about-uptime thread. I'd be sitting there all alone in the uptime thread wondering where all my friends went. "Hello? Hello?? Is anybody out there?? . . . Where are all my e-pals?"

The whole thing sounds like a plot to give us lonely and socially-isolated losers a chance to dig ourselves in deeper. No thanks.
posted by Ryvar at 8:46 PM on June 4, 2005