January 2020 Archives (all archives)
January 31
Kaycee Nicole hoax documentary research
Heya, folks! We recently heard from a documentary producer, Celia Aniskovich, who is working on a project related to the Kaycee Nicole hoax that played out during the earliest couple years of MetaFilter's existence. She's spoken with a few key folks already, including mathowie, but is interested to hear from anyone else in the MeFi community who has specific memories of or records from that whole saga. [more inside]
Coronavirus check-in thread
Catch-all thread for mefites living in the virus in Asia or directly affected. No idle speculation or “it hasn’t come here yet but I think...” chat, but actual news, updates and more from people dealing with the virus affecting daily life.
January 30
Mathematical constants, for example, the 72 character limit on post titl
While drafting this FPP, I had to omit words from the title of the article I was linking to in order to fit within the 72 character limit on FPP titles. I noticed today that someone else was bitten by the same "feature", leading to a misspelling of the author's name, until cortex stopped by to fix things manually. While I understand the desire to keep FPP titles concise, I feel like 72 is rather strict, and that we should discuss increasing it. [more inside]
January 28
Personally named pony
Is there a way to make the name portion of the profile available to logged in members only? [more inside]
Fucking Fuck Fuckity Fuck Thread
A place to yell, to let it all out, to vent. Let loose all of your frustrations and anger. This is a void in which you can scream into safely. Fuck it.
January 26
Week 4 Results of the January 2020 Best Post Contest
Happy lunar new year 🌙🐀everyone! Be guided by moonbeams and stardust inside to find your fantastic fourth week results of the January readers' choice contest, with final tallies for overall winners coming next week. ✨✨✨ [more inside]
January 25
I am going to regret this
I made a comment about Stephen King's "The Outsider" referencing what I thought was a well known trope. [more inside]
January 24
Ask.Metafilter question about Libraries of Things?
I thought there had been a post about what the best items were for a library to offer in their Library of Things, but I can't find it. Did I imagine it? [more inside]
~*Glitter*~
For those of you consumed by the mystery discussed in this FPP on the glitter industry—which (secretive) industry is the #1 purchaser of glitter?—the podcasters at Endless Thread appear to have uncovered the answer. It’s...below the fold. [more inside]
Chat: "This house is clean."
As we move through cities, towns, landscapes, some of these places become "haunted" by lost loves, great moments gone by, pain endured while there, and so many other things. Tell me about your hauntings and whether or not the ghosts are still there. [more inside]
January 23
#poctakeover: The White Allies Thread
Following on from the massive work done by the POC community within MetaFilter, it was suggested in that MeTa that we set up a thread as a sort of “White Caucus”. Welcome to that thread! [more inside]
January 22
Calling Out lyssabee
Lyssabee has subjected me to a drive-by act of kindness in response to a comment of mine. Read on. [more inside]
January 21
Disability/ableism thread: access intimacy, taking care of each other
Like previous MeTas, this thread is a space for people affected by ableism to converse, about experiences on and off the site. We're trying to make this a space relatively free of pressure from people who AREN'T hurt by ableism. You get to decide whether ableism affects you. This thread is for everyone to read and for disabled people to (mostly) participate in. [more inside]
January 19
Week 3 Results of the January 2020 Best Post Contest
The penultimate week of your excellent January readers' choice contest has come to an end, so hold on to your fundament for wonderments most luculent and eloquent, because, friends, we have results... [more inside]
January 18
MetaTalktail Hour: technology is cool
This weekend, I'm thinking about little ways that technology is cool. Yes there are lots of negatives about technology and we talk about that a lot on this site... but alongside that, there are a lot of cool things. Is there any tech thing we have that strikes you that way, where you just think, hey that's pretty amazing? [more inside]
January 17
🌏🔭☄️🌌🌠☀️👩🏾🚀🌕
End of another long week, let's carve out a space to talk about something other than politics for those that need that space. Speaking of space, let's talk about astronomy. Open chat to talk about all things astronomical: NASA, JPL, rockets, stars, planets, planetary bodies, galaxies, black holes, life on Mars, is Pluto a planet, satellites, exploration, the moon landing, SpaceX, anything and everything related to the stars up above us. As always, be kind to yourself and to others.
January 16
Third Annual Metafilter Valentine Mail Exchange!
With the blessing of the lovely and talented mochapickle, I'm keeping up the mefi valentine exchange traditon! Come one, come all, and share a little love! [more inside]
January 15
Site finances update, 1/15/2020
Hey folks, time for a quarterly update on how the site's doing financially, and a reminder that the direct financial support of MetaFilter's membership and readers is fundamental to keeping this place operational. Your help supporting this community is vital, and appreciated. [more inside]
January 13
#poctakeover
Have you noticed an increase in posts about race by people of color lately? It’s not just your imagination. Come and learn about our #poctakeover initiative, and our major takeaways in trying to provide a vision of what a site truly inclusive of people of color would look like. [more inside]
January 12
Week 2 Results of the January 2020 Best Post Contest
Welcome to your week two results of Mefites' choice awards for best post as voted by members — we have such wonders to show you! Please step behind the velvet curtain to view the goods ... [more inside]
January 11
Metatalktail Hour: office supply confessions
Hello weekend! Tonight I’m wondering, do you feel the magic of the office supply aisle at the store? Is there a particular stationery item that speaks to you? Do you covet fancy pens or have a rubber band ball? Let’s hear it. [more inside]
Flight PS752 Check in
Hello all,
This is a check in post for those affected by the recent flight PS752 disaster. [more inside]
January 10
159: Enter The Talkredoers
Kicking off the year with a podcast that tried very hard not to happen, but by god me and jessamyn pulled it off after all, despite reschedules and weird recording problems that cost us a little bit of audio early on. Runs about 80 minutes and features some robot noises. [more inside]
January 9
Chat: Harmony in my head
What are the best live music events you've seen during your lifetime, and why? [more inside]
January 7
A gentle reminder about the intersection of class and culture
I grew up in a working class area. I saw first hand the extent to which people from different backgrounds (including my own immediate family) can be unintentionally dismissive and hurtful about things that are fairly central to some working class folks' culture and identity. I'd like to talk about that a little bit so we can avoid replicating that dynamic quite as much on Metafilter. [more inside]
January 6
Eponysterical
Hey all! As you might have guessed from the post below, there’s a vacancy being created for a new hire to fill, and I’m the one creating the vacancy. I’m going to be leaving Metafilter in the next month or two - not immediately, but soon. I’ve been staff here for almost nine years - by far the longest job I’ve ever held! - and it’s been fantastic, and it’s also time for me to do something else for a while. [more inside]
Hiring a part-time mod
Some news I'm happy to be able to share: we're starting the process of hiring a new part-time moderator for MetaFilter. I've made a post on Jobs about the position, and interested MeFites are encouraged to apply, as are non-MeFi folks with a good feel for the needs of community management and moderation. [more inside]
January 5
🥇 Week 1 Results of the January 2020 Best Post Contest
Thank you most excellent posters and voters for a lovely start to the January Best Post Contest! The first week was a tad short on days but nevertheless full of fantastic posts. Step inside to view Week 1 winners, and remember to keep voting with the Fantastic Flag all month. [more inside]
January 4
💍👑💎
End of another long week, let's carve out a space to talk about something other than politics for those that need that space. Let's talk about jewellery. Do you wear jewellery? Do you make it? Do you have a story about a piece that has been handed down through your family? Is gold your colour or maybe silver? Or do you prefer gemstones and/or diamonds? Are you allergic? Maybe you don't wear it because of your line of work or personal preference, feel free to discuss that here as well, it's an open chat. Feel free to share photos of what you're wearing. As always, be kind to yourself and to others. Cheers.
January 2
Australian Mefites and the bushfires
Hey fellow Aussie Mefites - how are you holding up with the bushfires (and the resulting heat/smoke)? Are you in need of assistance? Let's check in. [more inside]
January 1
Happy New Year, MetaFilter
It's 2020 pretty much everywhere now, if I've done my timezone math right, so: here's to the new year, and to all of us in this weird old online community keeping on together and seeing what we can make of this next year. [more inside]