skip to main content
October 2001 Archives (all archives)
October 31
This one's for the Chicagoans: I said that I'd plan the next MeFiChi just so
Dan wouldn't have to do it, and I intend to keep my word. So, if you were at MeFiChiI, you might remember me saying something about how MeFiChiII should be at a Rock'n'Bowl. I called
Diversey Lanes tonight and found that they rock five nights out of the week... Wednesdays and Thursdays starting at 10pm, and Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays starting at 8pm. It's been years since I've been there, but last time, not only did the DJ happily listen to my suggestion to play some Pixies, he played
two Pixies songs to kick off the evening.
I was planning on setting the date somewhere in the first half of December, since November is going to be a busy month for me, so my questions are: a) is early December good for my fellow Chicago MeFi goons? and b) on what day(s) of the week (W/Th/F/Sa/Su) would you prefer this to happen?
posted by jason to MetaFilter-Related at 8:00 PM PST - 16 comments
So proflinuspauling said in his linkless thread:
Maybe you can all "think out of the box" for a second here and not freak out if there is one stupid comment with no links. I just thought you all would have interesting insights.
The thing is, if there is "one stupid comment with no links" on the front page of metafilter, there will be more. And then you have an open ended discussion space where anyone can say anything they feel like, bounce topics off each other, without having to be weighed down with facts or links or outside information.
So I'm finally going to write the blockage for linkless posts.
posted by mathowie to Etiquette/Policy at 3:09 PM PST - 29 comments
Html question: how does Matt get the top table to extend all the way to the top, left and right, with no space? How does he get the Meta-logo and Community 'blog graphics to sit flush with the edges of the page?
Whenever I try something like that, there's always space between the edge of the page and the table and between the edge of the table and the images.
posted by signal to MetaFilter-Related at 2:35 PM PST - 12 comments
Taking a cue from the criminal thread, if Metafilter was ever to be made into a movie, who would you like to see playing you? Which actor/actress matches the personality of other MeFi regulars?
posted by Rastafari to MetaFilter-Related at 12:50 PM PST - 45 comments
I think Metafilter is the best thing there is. When I saw the bright ,colorful,sparkling "Spooky Filter" on the home page, I realized what I have been longing for more than anything in the world: being able to choose a brighter color pattern for my personalized viewing pleasure. Am I a heretic ? Will I mercilessly burn at the stake?
posted by Voyageman to Feature Requests at 6:26 AM PST - 15 comments
October 30
Not all webloggers or Mefis live in big cities. Some live in small towns, while others have moved from one to the other. I'm considering moving from the suburbs to a very small town in the middle of nowhere. I've taken care of the logisistics: telecommuting, finding a house and am already married. From those that have done it, what are the downsides? Upsides? Opinions of anyone who's done it would be very helpful.
posted by danec to General Weblog-Related at 8:06 PM PST - 20 comments
What's the policy on posting while under the influence of alcohol?
Drunken posts seem to have increased dramatically since September 11. I'm all in favour - it makes for great silliness and sincerity - but wonder if sober members find it as funny as I do. (
Please don't flame; I paid yesterday!)
posted by MiguelCardoso to Feature Requests at 2:59 PM PST - 42 comments
October 29
What time is it?
It's gametime. What's going down at the metafilter basketball league on
yahoo, ID #95325 password "filtermeta"? For one, me -- to the floor, hard. Come and see the happy mondays play. Play
basketball that is! We'll wheeze and puff so hard you'd think we were blowing down your house instead of trying to grab the rebounds of our weak 9 footers.
And the best part is that you don't have to get a tattoo of a ring of thorns around your arm like all the other athletes, unless you want to.
(12 teams in the league.) The draft begins whenever we start to fill up.
posted by moz to General Weblog-Related at 10:28 PM PST - 4 comments
Whenever I log out of MeFi, the main page comes back up still with the white
(X New) note after "comments." Then, when I try to refresh, I get "Error Occurred While Processing Request," specifically a "Loop error" concerning the QUERY= attribute specifying the query "weblog." Is this just something with my computer at work? (WinNT, IE 5)
posted by arco to Bugs at 9:48 AM PST - 1 comments
Calling stavrosthewonderchicken, mattpfeff, ColdChef, lia, aaron, hincandenza, Kafkaesque, thekorruptor, Summer and all the other indispensable absconders....
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 6:08 AM PST - 80 comments
ok, i've been reading over mefi for the past couple of weeks and i continually hear every other person say "this is a not a good post, etc." i've read the mefi guidelines but simply hanging around when apparently half of the stuff is considered improper, it's kinda hard to distinguish between good versus bad. could someone point me to some older examples or just general ideas. i'd appreciate it.
posted by pooldemon to Etiquette/Policy at 4:40 AM PST - 14 comments
October 28
A quoi sert un site perso ?, or, What's the point of a personal site? An article and discussion in French: "There are at least two reasons to make a personal site, and beyond those reasons, multiple consequences... Worst of all is an article in the press. An article in the press makes you a little crazy. A publication on the web gets its legitimacy in the acknowledgment by the real world, in the "paper" press. "Site of the week" on searchengine.com is good. But that lasts three days. An article on paper, that shows legitimacy to friends who make fun of the web. A big illusion, sure, but an illusion based in legitimacy... 'You have a site, yeah, so what?' they say to me. And then somebody writes about it in a serious newspaper. 'Oh, shit! That's crazy! That's cool! Party! Gimme five!' they say. Except it's no longer me, it's somebody else."
posted by Mo Nickels to Bugs at 8:56 PM PST - 4 comments
For Newbies(and the odd Oldie too): Here's some good and timely advice from Derek Powasek's
Conversation with Matt Haughey, back when MetaFilter only had 2000+ members. It's probably been posted before, but will be new to many of us late-comers.. In fact, it should be read along with the guidelines, IMO(it certainly chastised me...). A good chaser is a link from the About page here at MeFi, where you get
Powazek discussing Metafilter.
Food for thought, to say the least: how important
are original and innovative links? Very.
posted by MiguelCardoso to Etiquette/Policy at 3:54 AM PST - 10 comments
October 27
I seem to remember Matt saying once that front page requests are the single biggest load on the server. Would it make sense to make all links, including threads, open up in a separate window (that can be reused)? People can still refresh the front page if they want the latest links.
posted by EatenByAGrue to Feature Requests at 4:41 PM PST - 9 comments
As a revenue stream, has Matt considered licensing the Mefi code to interested parties who might want to set up a subject specific version at their own sites? The grandest thing about all this are speed and flexibility, a gift in comparisson to the message boards offered elsewhere...
posted by feelinglistless to MetaFilter-Related at 3:12 PM PST - 3 comments
Uh...I know I didn't post that last thread to Bugs. Can anybody else back me up on this?
Is there any way to track if it was somehow (spontaneously?) moved, Matt?
posted by Su to Bugs at 12:02 AM PST - 6 comments
October 26
A
Metafilter Proposal at theobvious.com, supporting pay-for-play, and a few other controls. Pretty well thought out. Of particular interest might be the sliding scale on price. Discuss.
posted by Su to Bugs at 4:58 PM PST - 20 comments
So if TextAds were so successful, what do people think about pushing the TextAds beyond the home page to the top of the main MeFi links of the day? That would allow for a lot more impressions, maybe at a slightly cheaper rate than the homepage ad rate?
I've enjoyed following the links from the TextAds more often than not, so I'm all for more, as long as they stay relatively high quality (I suppose Matt's the ultimate arbiter in this case.)
posted by gen to MetaFilter-Related at 12:36 PM PST - 7 comments
Why is Miguel picking on Soon when only a small % of posts even say where the link is from? Why is that even important? Its usually an endless chain of I got it from this webpage, they got it from another webpage, that webpage was written by the brother of the webmaster, the webmaster sent a carrier pigeon to his brother about his new site, etc.
Webloggers don't own links, webmasters do.
posted by skallas to Etiquette/Policy at 9:35 AM PST - 71 comments
If you want to see how MeFi has evolved, link to two years ago on the front page. On October 26, 1999, there were ONLY 5 posts, three of them from mathowie, and one regarding Star Trek! Talk about evolution! BTW, Matt, did you ever get the Kodak digital camera?
posted by Rastafari to MetaFilter-Related at 8:42 AM PST - 5 comments
October 25
Sometimes, after viewing a thread in MetaTalk, when I hit the back button, the other threads lose the number of new messages since my last visit information. It doesn't seem to happen all the time. (Mac IE5)
posted by willnot to Bugs at 7:10 PM PST - 9 comments
I'm having a computer (Probably Windows) configuration problem and it's getting me down. Maybe some of you can help. Since this is my work computer and I mostly use it for cruising MetaFilter, I'd say it's a highly appropriate topic. (more inside)
posted by dness2 to General Weblog-Related at 4:02 PM PST - 6 comments
"
There have been no links and 1 comment posted since your last visit"
And it's yours. Is there a better sign you're spending too much time on MetaFilter?
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 12:28 PM PST - 19 comments
What's the world view here on posting links to articles that are on a site that requires a paid subscription? Every once in a while, the Wall Street Journal publishes some interesting articles with a unique insight not quite duplicated on a non-subscription site. I'm just trying to avoid a wrist slap here and I couldn't find any threads concerning this using the search function.
posted by billman to Etiquette/Policy at 11:12 AM PST - 3 comments
the plague of double-posts should be preventable through a reasonable search of the site, yes? i mean, if you can find the topic you are about to post, then you would realize there was no need.
but the search is limited by our own keywording. i have spent about half an hour trying to track down the URL of this link i saw a few weeks ago. anyone else remember the spooky (yet hilarious) flash-powered site with the old photograph of the little kid singing "american pie" and "black dog?"
so if i can't find a link that i remember from mefi, how is someone else going to find a link they don't know?
posted by grabbingsand to General Weblog-Related at 8:20 AM PST - 10 comments
is it sad that i mark time by other people's lives? zeldman's mother passed away a year ago, and i clearly remember that time.
i have never met him in person, but the outpouring of love that one man received made a huge impression.
do we all live vicariously through others? is it the mark of a lonely person? or does being an online community member create a new form of emotional attachment, eg, caring a surprising amount for people you have never known?
posted by o2b to General Weblog-Related at 8:14 AM PST - 10 comments
October 24
Many web-loggers include links to items found at Metafiler -- but in their [via ...] only feature 'Metafiler'. Wouldn't it be more correct to include Mefi and the profile name or website of the person who derived the post? Or are we all merely journalists and researchers contributing to a greater whole?
posted by feelinglistless to General Weblog-Related at 4:42 PM PST - 15 comments
Perhaps we need a mini-mini HTML tutorial (linked near to the submit button) for instances
like this? I think we take it for granted that folks know HTML...
posted by owillis to Feature Requests at 3:08 PM PST - 75 comments
If we're at all serious about self-policing and etiquette, shouldn't passive agressive statements like
this deserve at least some chiding? A little more inside.
posted by Wulfgar! to Etiquette/Policy at 2:09 PM PST - 49 comments
October 23
weblogs.com is no longer useful (since I can't set favorites and have to scroll through a list of
X hundred weblogs to see if the ones I am interested in have updated). Question: what else is there?
posted by sylloge to General Weblog-Related at 6:03 PM PST - 18 comments
Sidebar collapse. I think when folks were asking for the sidebar collapse to be brought back, it was not so much to get rid of clutter as it was to free up that 25% of the screen that the front page posts could run into. Even with the sidebar collapsed [and the ads remaining, they're ok with me] I still have a large blue stripe down the right hand side, making it one longass page. Is there a way to wiggle around the front page elements to have the ad present but more side-to-side room for posts, or is this just me and my mac pissing into the wind?
posted by jessamyn to Feature Requests at 5:46 PM PST - 8 comments
It seems like every so often when I click on someone's URL here it's some Gen Y'ers deep thoughts & pouting blog in those horrid microscopic fonts--well, there are the occasional Phil Hartman lookalikes from Portugal, too...
So, um, what are the demographics here at Metafilter exactly or, inexactly, for that matter? Has anyone kept track of this?
posted by y2karl to MetaFilter-Related at 11:44 AM PST - 35 comments
24 hours vs. a day. I really don't like the 24 hour limitation, its not that I want to post twice per day, but I keep odd hours and find some really interesting stuff say in the morning that I'd like to post, but have to wait 24 actualy hours because I posted in the afternoon the previous day.
posted by skallas to MetaFilter-Related at 5:09 AM PST - 24 comments
My customization preferences of opening new windows for links works on one computer and not another. (More)
posted by cyniczny to Bugs at 4:51 AM PST - 6 comments
October 22
Are db queries sortable by Cold Fusion 5 via XML or is the default interface tweak(for NS 1.01)specific to Opera? (more)
posted by MiguelCardoso to Bugs at 11:45 PM PST - 33 comments
The WSJ on MetaFilter:
One site that never fails to captivate me, especially lately, is MetaFilter (www.metafilter.com), a community weblog where members post provocative links and argue about them.
posted by mattpfeff to MetaFilter-Related at 9:50 PM PST - 12 comments
Can the TextAds kick out a new window, so I don't have to leave the warm confines of MeFi and be sent hurtling through the vast expanses of cyberspace into areas unknown, unseen and untrusted? That would be
muy bueno.
posted by jpoulos to Feature Requests at 1:28 PM PST - 22 comments
It seems that many of the posts on the front page show up from Drudge. While we talk about limiting posts from CNN, the Onion, etc., how about a limit as well from Drudge?
posted by Rastafari to MetaFilter-Related at 11:44 AM PST - 17 comments
You have a style element in body. That ain’t kosher, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s causing problems with more standards-compliant browsers.
posted by gleemax to Bugs at 8:55 AM PST - 7 comments
Good thread,
bad thread. Simultaneously posted Metatalk topics in two different styles. No surprise that the thread with the topic as the link has 57 posts while the cutesy thread has none. What other tips and tricks are there for guaranteeing a high click rate into a link and its thread?
posted by werty to Etiquette/Policy at 8:05 AM PST - 11 comments
October 20
What if the URL field on the MetaFilter Post a Link page were screened so it would be impossible or at least difficult to link to the home page of CNN, The Onion, etc.? People could see a message reiterating the guidelines to post to something specific, and it would keep them from annoying people who are annoyed by these kinds of links.
posted by kirkaracha to Feature Requests at 3:05 PM PST - 15 comments
Weekend Humdinger: We lack a term to distinguish repeatedly posted comments in a thread, from front page posts which cover already charted links or territory. Any cute, pithy suggestions to tell one "double post" from the other?
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 2:55 PM PST - 9 comments
metafilter in creative review magazine - if any uk souls have the latest copy which has a feature on usability, and screenshots/editorial of metafilter, could you please post the copy and a scan if possible?
posted by gusset to MetaFilter-Related at 2:09 PM PST - 3 comments
October 19
Just so you know, I was in LA for the last couple days, unannounced (because I didn't want people to take advantage of it).
I guess it's pretty clear now that I spend my time cleaning crap off metafilter 24/7 these days, and now that I was away, maybe everyone can appreciate how much work it is to snub double-posts, fix html errors, and ban malicious, callous users. I'm not looking for an inbox of thank-yous or twenty brown-nosing comments on this thread, I just feel it's worth saying. Admin duties on metafilter are a lot of work and more than a full time job.
My first attempt at supporting myself with this site will launch on Monday. Some people may not like it. I made it as harmless and innocous as possible. It won't make me rich, but it'll hopefully provide enough money for server upgrades and upkeep. Keep the last couple days in mind if you find anything not to like about The New Thing That Launches Monday.
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 9:42 PM PST - 45 comments
Was today just one big puke-a-rama? A community brain dump? Therapy?
We better start clicking on that donation button.
posted by redhead to Etiquette/Policy at 8:53 PM PST - 3 comments
ProtoFilter or ProtoTalk anyone?
Most double posts and lame threads are unintentional. Search doesn't always work. So would it be possible to have a permanent testing thread here on MetaTalk? I mean a Any Obvious Objections or Good Ideas I Should Know About? sort of thing; where unsure posters could test the waters before committing to either MetaFilter or MetaTalk front pages?(more)
posted by MiguelCardoso to Feature Requests at 11:12 AM PST - 10 comments
Will someone help me find a thread? I tried searching but my memory of the actual text is very vague. The link I'm looking for (sometime recently, like no earlier than last summer I
think) was to a series of arrest mug shots of the same lady over a series of years, showing the effects of long-term drug use (and probably malnutrition and generally leading a street-hooker life). My son needs images for a school drug project, and these were the saddest (not to mention scariest) I ever remember seeing.
Thanks very much!
posted by jfuller to MetaFilter-Related at 10:41 AM PST - 6 comments
October 18
There's a little image (right_banner.gif) at thet top right corner of every page that's not loading for me. It's not broken, it's just not loading. I don't know if I've ever even noticed it before. Is it showing up for anyone else?
posted by rodii to Bugs at 8:24 PM PST - 3 comments
Open I tag on the MeFi main page at thread 11612.
I thought I was just dizzy.
posted by Su to Bugs at 1:37 PM PST - 6 comments
Now that all you crusty- old vets scared off Miguel, I have nothing to read at work. Boy, are you guys boring....
Miguel, oh where for art thou?
posted by thekorruptor to MetaFilter-Related at 11:47 AM PST - 73 comments
I've noticed that MetaFilter in IE doesn't let one "View Source". Is this by design? Given the current state of search it might make sense to allow it. When researching a new link for posting, sometimes its easier just to search for the URL in the source.
posted by harrycaul to Feature Requests at 10:36 AM PST - 16 comments
October 17
Sorry if this is a double post but the search timed out -- why do some members applogise in their front page comment for possible double posting because the search timed out, especially before they've actually got to the point of the actual post in the first place? (more)
posted by feelinglistless to Etiquette/Policy at 3:30 PM PST - 18 comments
Okay... what happened to the painfully funny and popular thread from earlier today that had us offering our own questions to Osama?
I don't normally ask... I attribute any missing thread to a well-deserved deletion by Matt. But I can't imagine what about the thread would have warranted a deletion.
posted by silusGROK to Etiquette/Policy at 2:30 PM PST - 18 comments
nasty flaming over
spelling, for goodness sake.
[
1]
[
2]
[
3 snappy comeback]
what is it about spelling that gets people so riled up?
posted by epersonae to Etiquette/Policy at 12:06 PM PST - 44 comments
What to do when there is no e-mail?
I've been following the thread regarding the film
Waking Life, and found peebo's comments to be quite interesting as (her or his) take on the film was quite different from mine, I was hoping to strike up a conversation via e-mail. Alas, this new poster to MeFi has not supplied an address.
In the interests of discourse (and etiquette management) should this information be required of members?
Also, what's the proper way to get a hold of someone lacking an address? I'm reluctant to post a "hey please e-mail me" message in the thread itself, but I can't think of another means of contact.
posted by aladfar to MetaFilter-Related at 10:02 AM PST - 21 comments
It seems that both
myself and
Qubit are wondering about the search timing out. I did a MeFi Google search to see if anyone had recently linked e-sheep, and it looked safe.
Little did I know. As per Qubit, why does the Metafilter specific search engine time out consistently, letting dumbasses like myself double post?
posted by arielmeadow to Etiquette/Policy at 7:03 AM PST - 10 comments
October 16
Do we have a hot-as-sh17
Palm sync-able page? I've tried using the
sidebar as my sync page but it could use some Palm-oriented tweaks (also, some Palm browsers don't like the XHTML in that file).
(I'll even help out with the template, if wanted.)
posted by teradome to Feature Requests at 9:46 PM PST - 6 comments
is it just me, or has anyone else noticed an increase in nimda traffic today? in comparison to the past week or two, i'm getting hit pretty hard. or maybe you know if there is some kind of second phase to the worm...?
posted by moz to General Weblog-Related at 10:51 AM PST - 5 comments
I was wondering why the Preview Comment page referred to being able to edit it "below" but there was no way to edit. I happened to have my Javascript console open today:
JavaScript Error: http://www.metafilter.com/contribute/post_comment_preview.cfm, line 443:
this.style has no properties.
posted by SEWilco to Bugs at 7:21 AM PST - 2 comments
Bad posts are good for the soul. The over-confident are cut down to size; the timid are reassured they're right to think twice before posting; collective standards are reasserted. Honesty prevails; confessions abound and everyone realizes they're human - at least for a while.
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 7:11 AM PST - 47 comments
October 15
PLEASE: If you're posting something related to the recent WTC attacks Current Situation, try and make sure it's new information? And if so, is the URL you are linking to contain new information with plenty of evidence to back it up?
Arrgggghhhhhh!!!!!
posted by machaus to Etiquette/Policy at 9:21 PM PST - 18 comments
As an alternative to machaus's idea (below) couldn't the search engine be searchable within a date range? For example use the MeFi search just over the past month and let google search the rest.
posted by DBAPaul to Feature Requests at 12:44 PM PST - 2 comments
Would exporting a set of older posts out to another DB help the search engine? I find that the search engine is timing out a lot, and the google cache isn't always current enough to help prevent double posts. Plus, the old posts quite often lead to 404 pages.
posted by machaus to Feature Requests at 6:47 AM PST - 17 comments
October 14
A lot of times when I do a search here, I'm generally looking for a specific thread, not a specific comment. I'd like to be able so specify if I want to search only threads, only comments, or both. I imagine that this would help reduce the server load as well as making is a little easier to narrow down your results.
posted by skwm to Feature Requests at 5:29 PM PST - 2 comments
Would it be possible to make every post compulsively go through Spell Check first? It's very distracting but, worse of all, it diminishes the poster, who is unfairly judged on pedantic, orthographic criteria.
posted by MiguelCardoso to Feature Requests at 4:35 PM PST - 47 comments
Not sure if something's been covered by the media? Don't want to look silly by writing, "Why isn't anyone reporting this?" when it's in every newspaper but the ones you're reading? Are you finding that the AP wire doesn't have enough information to satisfy you anymore? Here's where to look.
posted by Mo Nickels to MetaFilter-Related at 2:43 PM PST - 13 comments
October 13
This thread contains at least two (that I could find) examples of how to point out a
double post in a polite and casual manner. But lately, this seems to be the exception rather than the rule. I'm wondering why some threads prompt some fairly
strong language in MeTa and outcry in the threads, and others are allowed to continue.
posted by hipstertrash to Bugs at 5:16 PM PST - 10 comments
How come new admissions are frozen but the number of members(12322 when last I checked)keeps creeping up? Asylum seekers? Sleight of hand on the part of undesirable aliens? I think we should be told...
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 11:41 AM PST - 19 comments
Is it me, or does Mefi's posting and commenting traffic slow down somewhat at the weekend? I would have thought it would shoot up as everyone is at home. Or is Mefi actually the weapon of choice for bored people looking for a distraction from work?
posted by feelinglistless to MetaFilter-Related at 10:49 AM PST - 5 comments
October 12
How uncool is it to not post your name or e-mail? I did a googe search, found a pic of a lady with the same name but she is not me. So I changed my profile.
posted by redhead to Etiquette/Policy at 8:32 PM PST - 24 comments
I claim this thread and all its riches for me and my heirs.
posted by rodii to Bugs at 3:38 PM PST - 219 comments
Metatalk has become too easy to use. Witness the number of posts here in the past couple of days since the new and improved interface. Egad! I already can't keep up with Mefi proper, now look at all these MeTalk posts! [insert more whining here]
Actually, it's not that bad... yet. But what happens when Meta gets so overrun that one person can't parse it all? Is this going to overwhelm Matt even more? Just thought I'd bring it up for discussion.
posted by daveadams to MetaFilter-Related at 1:30 PM PST - 5 comments
I've gone ahead and added the new limit on posting. Only once per 24 hrs now. Let me know if you find any errors.
posted by mathowie to Feature Requests at 12:34 PM PST - 23 comments
What does "topics specific to metafilter" mean, exactly? Specific to "metafilter, the codebase and website" or "metafilter, the group of people who use the mefi codebase"? Reason inside...
posted by jeb to Etiquette/Policy at 12:27 PM PST - 3 comments
British widow thread. (a) Just a news story. (b) Should have been in the previous thread.
But what ought to happen when you find new information on an old topic and the original thread is now a little stale?
posted by sylloge to Etiquette/Policy at 1:28 AM PST - 8 comments
October 11
Is it just me or is there only the Nobel Prize entry on the opening page? Oops, take that back...But what's up with the expanse o'blue?
posted by y2karl to Bugs at 12:47 PM PST - 2 comments
With the fine new interface, perhaps we could do without categories altogether. Although the taxonomy is great, I am now able read MetaTalk chronologically and it feels perfect. The general classification "about Metafilter" is enough. Plus, you get to read everything in a much more exciting way.
P.S. Although I confess to having been a sucker for Metafilter-Specific...
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 10:41 AM PST - 7 comments
If there were MetaFilter and MetaTalk RSS feeds that contained all of the information the front pages normally do, and we had permission to mirror them, it could take some server load off the site.
posted by rcade to Feature Requests at 10:06 AM PST - 6 comments
The "my comments" option from the pulldown menu has disappeared again.
posted by aaron to Bugs at 5:29 AM PST - 10 comments
How about a standards-compliant version of
MetaFilter or
MetaTalk?
Disclaimers: (1) ignominious self-link; (ii) tested in Internet Explorer 5.1 and Netscape 6, should work in all CSS-compliant browsers; (c) guaranteed to look hideous in Netscape 4 et al; (IV) XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS validated by W3C.
posted by kirkaracha to Feature Requests at 12:47 AM PST - 26 comments
October 10
nice new interface, matt. (looks like the top menu still needs a bit of a tweak, but otherwise, it's terrific)
posted by judith to MetaFilter-Related at 4:52 PM PST - 28 comments
Interesting article at the On-line Journalism review looking at how Slashdot's users turned to them when the news sites went down during the 9.11 crisis. Although Mefi's reaction has been examined elsewhere in depth, it's interesting to note here how a 'niche' site was able to cope with the demands of its users.
posted by feelinglistless to General Weblog-Related at 2:39 PM PST - 1 comments
I was driving across M.I this morning and heard on lansing local radio that 5 persons had received mail with a white powder in them yesterday.just like the ones in F.L. i will look in to this more. i will post more info and link to local paper if possible.
posted by iac6969 to MetaFilter-Related at 2:27 PM PST - 7 comments
October 9
Add an anchor tag to the MetaFilter "Comments on" page and the MetaTalk "MetaTalk detail" page so clicking on the "Post a Comment" link goes directly to the comment form. This would save scrolling through a long page to post something.
posted by kirkaracha to Feature Requests at 6:34 PM PST - 4 comments
is the site under unusual stress? the last few days i have been getting numerous timeouts and internal errors. a few days ago i installed Windows 2000 Pro and upgraded to IE 5.5 (yes i know 6 is available). i'm not seeing problems on other sites, but the OS and browser change have me paranoid. please tell me it's the high traffic!
posted by quonsar to Uptime at 12:24 PM PST - 3 comments
Just wanted to apologize publically for not closing the italics in my recent posting + thus, apparently, italicizing the whole page (I assume Matt will step in swiftly + correct this.)
-Ryan
posted by ryanshepard to Uptime at 7:18 AM PST - 3 comments
This might be a bad thread, or it might not. Apologies if so. I really can't tell, so I'll just get it off my chest. Now that the bombs are dropping, and violence is in the air again, does it seem to anyone else that the tenor has also gone a little nasty and bloodthirsty on MeFi? (more)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken to MetaFilter-Related at 5:53 AM PST - 14 comments
Strip all HTML from posts, only allow a few basic tags by using [ and ] like those funny message boards do. This could allow hyperlinking and basic formatting without the problems that, e.g., the style attribute brings up. (There’s no way to prevent people from impersonating other users, messing up the page, etc., except by disallowing the use of HTML.) What do you think?
posted by gleemax to Feature Requests at 4:33 AM PST - 9 comments
October 8
Yea I want to know why you guys deleted my post. Some people get away with posting porn sites but I can't post a controversial thread that Tom Gutting wrote in the Houston City Sun. Geez who woulda thought!
posted by redhead to Etiquette/Policy at 10:03 PM PST - 8 comments
The ability to edit a post even after it's been well posted when glaring proof reading edits have been spotted by the well poster...
posted by feelinglistless to Feature Requests at 3:01 PM PST - 3 comments
Can we ban the use of the <font> tag? Or at least run a test to make sure if someone opens an HTML tag they have to close it? If I have to read one more
shrunken thread I'm going to scream.
posted by mrbula to Feature Requests at 2:59 PM PST - 16 comments
didn't want to get beaten senseless for two same-day front page pasts at MeFi so it goes here. GoTo has just announced
their first profitable quarter and a name change. after
this recent thread disucssing the merits of Altavista, i thought i would stir the pot a bit. GoTo profitable? i always thought you couldn't polish a turd. not only have they managed to polish their turd, they are selling it.....?
posted by donkeysuck to MetaFilter-Related at 1:25 PM PST - 7 comments
With the rash of self-links I thought of a quandary. What if someone has a web site that they own, but other people write articles (or take photos, or whatever) for it. The person then links to an article that he didn't write, but is hosted on his web site. Would it be a legitimate link? I would never do this, but I would hesitate to say "that's wrong".
posted by geoff. to Etiquette/Policy at 12:45 PM PST - 6 comments
There have been two people today who have posted two links on the front page. (one being a double post) How do you think limiting people to one front page post a day would work out? Or maybe even one every three days? a week?
posted by corpse to Etiquette/Policy at 12:29 PM PST - 24 comments
Subscription-based sites and weblogs: For better or for worse,
Salon has long been a major staple of weblog news links, including front-page posts to MeFi. Now that their news and politics sections have become
premium exclusives, will they still be useful to webloggers? And if this is the beginning of a trend towards more for-pay and less free content on the web, how will this affect link-based weblogs?
posted by harmful to General Weblog-Related at 6:28 AM PST - 18 comments
October 7
Site is just displaying the date - no links no threads. MeTalk looks ok. Its been like this for at least 15 mins.
posted by skallas to Uptime at 10:37 PM PST - 4 comments
Aiiee! Make it stop! Yet another
e-mail spam harvester posted for "discussion". These are generally tiresome and dangerously close to content-free sites that some schlub whipped up between smoke breaks -- the web equivalent of trolls. They're built with a content management system that automatically begs people to send it to friends, thereby collecting the e-mail addresses. And they don't belong on Metafilter. Or has Metafilter changed that much?
posted by dhartung to Etiquette/Policy at 6:39 PM PST - 10 comments
A "take it to MetaTalk" and/or "take it to Email" buttonb below the Comment box? In the heat of the moment it would help to be reminded these options existed.
posted by MiguelCardoso to Feature Requests at 2:57 AM PST - 9 comments
October 6
There seems to be a router problem somewhere on the east coast (looks like globex's mae east facility is having probs), according to my traceroutes. I can barely reach the site. If you're having trouble connecting as well, that's the issue, it's not the server or Jason's t-1 line.
posted by mathowie to Uptime at 2:24 PM PST - 0 comments
October 5
Most people's usernames aren't indicative of their gender. This leads to people automatically assuming all posters are male until proven otherwise, and this seems to be ticking off a number of female posters. Possibly a preference of 'display user's gender next to their username' would be useful? Turned on, it would display the male or female symbol next to the username (or (m)/(f) in text-only mode), if the user's gender is set in the profile. (Say, depending on what letter it starts with.) People not logged in wouldn't see any of this.
posted by darukaru to Feature Requests at 10:03 PM PST - 13 comments
it's official, or as far as i can make it: #mefi at 9pm central time or later. we'd love it if you could come by; the numbers who attend the channel are a bit anemic, right now. and, as of this writing, by we i mean "I". irc.metafilter.com, port 6667.
posted by moz to General Weblog-Related at 8:42 PM PST - 0 comments
my old username is now my newusername.reclycling is good. but can i change my name again and not get flogged for name hopping?(first post warning)
posted by newnameintown to MetaFilter-Related at 12:06 PM PST - 23 comments
I'm currently visiting metafilter with my images turned off in the hope that it will reduce server load just a little. does it?
along the same line of thought, matt, an version of metafilter until server problems are resolved? ala emergency CNN? would it make a difference?
posted by rebeccablood to MetaFilter-Related at 12:01 PM PST - 18 comments
October 4
Statute of Limitations?. The discussion was quite good. It's a timeless topic, still will be relevant 500 years from now. BUT! And it's a big but: I read this article when it came out in the NY Times about a month ago. Can't you presume, correctly, that countless others read it then?
posted by raysmj to Etiquette/Policy at 10:01 PM PST - 4 comments
How about making the membership information opt-in open source. Anyone who wanted could download the membership information in a variety of formats. Users who checked a box in their profile could then use their username on any other site that wanted to use it.
posted by chaz to Feature Requests at 7:33 PM PST - 6 comments
In the past day or so, external links are no longer opening in a new window. I'm using IE 5 for the Mac. I've confirmed the preference didn't change.
posted by willnot to Bugs at 7:08 PM PST - 6 comments
Considering how snopes happy we are, what is the policy on follow-up threads? I just read the 'penis in a bottle' was actually a penis shaped fungus.
[PIC]Would this make a double post? I can't see the benefits of putting this new info into the old thread as no one is going to read it. Shall we let them wander about in ignorance?
posted by skallas to Etiquette/Policy at 4:39 PM PST - 9 comments
Just a quick ask. How's it going? It's only because I'm itching to put my 1998 tetleys bitter cup final ticket online. With the full glorious story of Saracens day in the sun...
[this will make little sense to non UK rugby infected MeFiites]
posted by nedrichards to Ticketstub Project at 4:38 PM PST - 2 comments
Is it me or did Mefi just go down -- is it related to that wierd multiple posting on the front page?
posted by feelinglistless to Bugs at 12:18 PM PST - 3 comments
Today, a user posted SEVEN identical posts on the front page (
here's one). It doesn't appear to be spam. I guess the user doesn't understand how to post threads (You may have to wait a while after hitting the Post button). If I were Matt, this is the kind of idiocy that would make my job suck.
posted by ktheory to Etiquette/Policy at 12:16 PM PST - 8 comments
Haven't been here long, but I've noticed double posts occur on nearly every thread, usually followed by a "shit ... I double posted" post %}
How difficult would it be to add a quick search through the previous posts in a thread such that if the same post had already been made it wouldn't post it again?
Or would that just crunch the overtaxed server too much?
posted by walrus to Feature Requests at 10:02 AM PST - 5 comments
This information may be up here somewhere but I've yet to find it:
What's the lurker/poster/commentator percentages, like, is there a pie chart somewhere?
How many people who sign up eventually lapse/disappear from MeFi or never ever post a link or comment ?
Who are the top ten/twenty posters?
What percentage of total overall posts are by the aforementioned?
Is MiguelCardoso an android ala the Buster Friendly Show in Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Does he ever sleep?
Re: the CNN comment--I came here post 9/11, not via Brill's Comment and I do use MeFi to check breaking news. But then I don't know shit from poop web-wise...
But the non-news posts are what made me sign up.
posted by y2karl to General Weblog-Related at 9:47 AM PST - 4 comments
OK, there were 40 front-page posts yesterday. Just for laffs,
here's a MetaFilter front page filter. Change the number after the ? in the URL to change the highest numbered user whose posts you'll see. Old school!
(
Here's the source.)
I'll make this filter private soon, 'cause I just wrote it to support this suggestion: I think something like this should be a MetaFilter preference. Anyone else?
posted by nicwolff to Feature Requests at 12:23 AM PST - 33 comments
October 3
Anyone else getting screwy date and (MeTa) topic headers? They're overlapping the text in some cases.
I remember someone asking about the HTML coding for these recently, so maybe it's been changed, and not quite right. Matt, I've got cropped screen caps if you want.
IE5.5/Win98
posted by Su to Bugs at 3:29 PM PST - 1 comments
If you don't contribute front-page links, you probably haven't seen the
post a link page where Matt pleads with users to show some restraint with WTC links. Should he put it in a bigger font?
posted by rcade to Etiquette/Policy at 1:22 PM PST - 29 comments
I know that this would require a lot of coding, Matt, but I would literally pay for a "thread tracking" feature. (more in comments)
posted by tweebiscuit to Feature Requests at 11:09 AM PST - 7 comments
So how's ColdFusion5, Matt? Curious because the last couple of days have been very slow, and I'm getting lots of timeouts.
Or is it that you've been in there tweaking stuff? Has there been another huge surge in traffic?
posted by Su to Uptime at 10:13 AM PST - 5 comments
I just saw something I haven't seen in such a concentrated form before, so let me ask this question: Should a poster 'moderate' his post? Play talk-show host so to speak..?
posted by Perigee to Etiquette/Policy at 8:06 AM PST - 24 comments
October 2
Could the user comments page (
./search_comments.cfm?user_ID=XXXX) be set to return only the most recent 20 or so threads posted to, with an option to show the full list at bottom? Increasingly, I'll check the front page just to see if any new threads have been posted, then pop over to my own user comments list to follow up on recent threads I've been interested in and commented on (
easier than re-find them on the crowded front page). I'm thinking this might help reduce server bandwidth and db querying, and return the page more quickly.
Unless I'm the only one that goes to my user comments page with any regularity, in which case it's not likely to make much difference. :)
posted by hincandenza to Feature Requests at 10:49 PM PST - 1 comments
the past couple of days I have been having a problem when i hit the back button out of a thread, to the home page. It sends me to the home page, but to midway through October 1. The post about depression. It seems sort of random, but it keeps happening to me.
Is this happening to anyone else?
posted by hotdoughnutsnow to Bugs at 7:34 PM PST - 4 comments
Library weblogs are in the news this month in both the major librarian print publications: Library Journal [linked] and American Libraries [print only]. I have nothing special to say about this, but it's one more notch on the keyboard for webloggers.
[reg required, user: melvildewey@hotmail.com pass: librariansrule]
posted by jessamyn to General Weblog-Related at 2:08 PM PST - 1 comments
thanks, everyone, who came by #mefi last night. we had 7 or 8 people on at once, which is a new record i think (!). i'd like to ask anyone who has an opinion: should we meet at a specific night of the week (mondays, for example), or should it be open to whenever you would like to come by? it is possible to agree on a specific time (9pm CST, earlier, later...)? what do you guys think?
posted by moz to General Weblog-Related at 8:44 AM PST - 5 comments
Why is it, even if you click only once on "post" and then remove all digits from the keyboard until some error message appears, resist temptation to click again and in fact close MeFi just to avoid posting at all, you are still rewarded, minutes later with a double post?
Double posts imply frenetic clicking but this is just true...
posted by MiguelCardoso to Bugs at 8:41 AM PST - 7 comments
October 1
I don't think Bas67's recent deleted post linking to the Onion should have been deleted. I think that was good stuff. I was going to post the comment:
They should translate that text into the appropriate language(s), put it on leaflets, and drop it throughout Afganistan, Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank. It might make certain individuals think twice.
Was it really beyond the Pale? Can someone educate me? Or was it the material around the post on that page (which I didn't read)?
posted by ParisParamus to Etiquette/Policy at 9:30 PM PST - 5 comments
We should be able to refer to a topic (i.e. whole of thread) using single link - in a way that will allow us to send it via email to other people who are likely to be interested, but don't use metafilter regularly.
posted by vinod to Feature Requests at 2:13 AM PST - 3 comments
I noticed an odd trend recently in the way a couple new people were posting and I think I've uncovered a problem. (more)
posted by mathowie to Etiquette/Policy at 12:16 AM PST - 100 comments
![[PIC]](http://www.well.com/~doctorow/mold.jpg){kind=link}