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October 2005 Archives (all archives)
October 31
Of all the posts I've made, I've yet to figure out how to make posts that
don't start with a link, where the main link begins further into the post (
example). I once tried opening with a closed-anchor tag, but no luck. What's in the secret sauce?
posted by Rothko to MetaFilter-Related at 7:02 PM PST - 11 comments [closed]
I've noticed that some people have a way to link not just to another MeFi page, but to call up a specific comment within the page, which will then appear at the top of the window. I've been unable to discover how this is done. Can anyone help?
posted by Miko to MetaFilter-Related at 7:29 AM PST - 22 comments
Could certain links on a page ignore the setting in my profile for
open links on a new page?
posted by crunchland to Bugs at 6:05 AM PST - 262 comments
October 30
October 29
What, exactly, do you mean when you say "axe-grinding". The term gets thrown around here a lot, maybe more then "strawman" these days.
posted by delmoi to MetaFilter-Related at 10:19 PM PST - 29 comments
October 28
Late entry here also. Minneapolis/ St. Paul: Johnny Holm Band at Primetime Sports Bar up in Burnsville 9:30 tonight
Next weekend: Johnny Holm at Bogarts in Apple Valley November 5th. I will be at both if all goes well. More info at www.johnnyholm.com
posted by wheelieman to MetaFilter Gatherings at 3:26 PM PST - 12 comments
Sudden Boston/Cambridge meetup: tonight! Seriously. I'm in town and I leave tomorrow morning. I have nothing to do tonight. Any takers?
posted by bingo to MetaFilter Gatherings at 12:53 PM PST - 11 comments
This answer is terrible, unsupported, and if the advice given were to be followed, would will lead to nothing but grief if someone were to follow it. It is sufficiently ill-informed and potentially disaster-inducing as to inspire me to request it be deleted rather then simply flagging it and moving on.
posted by mzurer to MetaFilter-Related at 9:00 AM PST - 34 comments
What's the deal with the title of
this post? It doesn't look like it has anything to do with the thread. Is it an odd attempt at self-promotion of some sort?
posted by alms to MetaFilter-Related at 6:33 AM PST - 24 comments
Opera Post Bug Redux? I swear
this was a single post. Here's what I think I did: Typed stuff; hit Preview (to work around the Opera submission bug); hit submit. (Haven't tried to recreate, because I don't want to mess up the thread with more extraneous stuff.)
posted by lodurr to Bugs at 5:49 AM PST - 11 comments
One-link FPPs: there's been a lot of bitching about these as opposed to multiple links. It happens a lot with breaking news, or an unusual site or article. Personally I don't think there's a problem with it per se: multiple link FPPs are not inherintly "better". As an example, come this Friday White House indictments will (likely) rain down, how would the naysayers begin a discussion thread about that?
posted by zardoz to Etiquette/Policy at 12:56 AM PST - 37 comments
October 27
I'm sure this must've been suggested, but I've read a lot of the Newsfilter Debate threads, and I can't recall specifically seeing this. If and when someone has a Newsfilter link, could the prefix
"Newsfilter:" be a cue for a killfile that would block such posts from appearing on the front page for those who wished to avoid same? I for one find threads like Miers' withdrawal (even with only
a one-sentence link) both appropriate and inevitable here, but I can see how others would not. If such a killfile existed and posters played nice, could this be settled once and for all?
posted by soyjoy to Feature Requests at 7:19 AM PST - 58 comments
October 26
I would post this over at ask.mefi, but the thread is closed, so I'll post it here.
A few months ago,
I asked for suggestions with help naming my new fashion blog at work. Thanks to a suggestion from wendell, I now have a greatly named blog column! The link is inside for those who are interested -- I don't want to self-link -- but I just wanted to honor another great ask.mefi success story! Thank you, Wendell ... and thank YOU, Metafilter.
posted by arielmeadow to MetaFilter-Related at 11:34 AM PST - 32 comments
October 25
During my sophomore year in college, my classmates apparently all simultaneously discovered the word "ambiguous." We couldn't go through five minutes of a class discussion without the word being used. It was like, "I'm smart! Look at my new word! Watch me use it in any mildly appropriate way!"
I can't get ten comments through a thread here without someone cleverly pointing out a "straw man" argument. Not every argument that is contrary to your own is a "straw man" argument. An unsupported argument is not a "staw man" argument. If you disagree with someone's point, then take the time to attack the logic or the premise of that argument. Don't just call that person a "straw man." It's too ambiguous.
posted by flarbuse to MetaFilter-Related at 7:50 PM PST - 125 comments
Toronto MeFites, let us convene and imbibe. I propose 8 p.m.-ish on the night of November 11 for the time, and the Bishop & Belcher (on Queen West between John & Peter) as the venue, but feel free to reject my arbitrarily selected time and/or venue and appoint your own through some messy and quarrelsome yet democratic process. Time and place are trivial matters compared to the real issue at stake, namely: will Dobbs appear or will he do his
usual tease & withhold?
posted by orange swan to MetaFilter Gatherings at 6:29 AM PST - 17 comments
What's the etiquette on posting stuff you've just seen at somewhere like
BoingBoing? So far this morning, there's been 2 posts that appeared on BB in the last week. I saw them when they first came up there, and thought, "hey, this is neat, people on Mefi would like this," but then decided against posting them here. I know that sometimes one can encounter a flurry of "
Xfilter!!!!" comments by doing something like that.
Should we actively avoid posting things we've seen on other, highly popular link-oriented blogs?
posted by rxrfrx to Etiquette/Policy at 4:24 AM PST - 97 comments
October 24
AnonAskMe often poses embarrassing personal questions. Sometimes I withhold my opinion because, if you're too mousy to attach your name to your question, I don't think you deserve people's signed replies. Does anyone else agree?
posted by cribcage to Etiquette/Policy at 10:59 PM PST - 49 comments
Last week's fundraiser became a sad debacle, and there's certainly no point retreading that ground. But I really like the idea of MeFites raising money for charity, and I think it's fun to make it a competition. I came up with an idea for a new, and hopefully friendlier and less divisive, contest for charity. I'd like to hear what you folks think. [more inside]
posted by Faint of Butt to MetaFilter-Related at 12:09 PM PST - 55 comments
Can anonymous Askers mark best answers? If not, can we get this feature added to the planned anonymous enhancements?
posted by Mitheral to Feature Requests at 8:59 AM PST - 20 comments
October 23
This post already has a
metatalk thread, but I have a different issue/request. For those of us that come in late to a post, it can be damn hard to tell what's been going on with editing (or whether there's been any), such that many comments don't make sense. Is there an * edited * tag or the like that could be applied consistently?
posted by wilful to Feature Requests at 10:24 PM PST - 21 comments
A recent thread on something that happened on World of Warcraft led me to realize we probably have ... quite a few (?) players here on mefi. Anyone up for the idea of creating characters and a guild on a specific server? Please ignore this post if you are not interested.
posted by beth to MetaFilter Gatherings at 7:40 PM PST - 82 comments
What happened to
김치? Because if for nothing else, he actuated
this and i liked it.
plus the caps lock thread kicks this year's anniversay thread in the ash.
posted by philida to MetaFilter-Related at 5:20 PM PST - 5 comments [closed]
MeTa by proxy.
This post has attracted a lot of MetaTalk-like comments, but nobody apparently wants to pony up the effort to start a MeTa thread about it instead of posting their stuff in the FPP. So here y'all go.
posted by Bugbread to Etiquette/Policy at 1:45 PM PST - 64 comments
While editing a comment, highlighting a word and hitting backspace deletes not the word, but the whole comment.
posted by StickyCarpet to Bugs at 12:34 PM PST - 6 comments
Two part question: 1) what are the qualities that give some Metafilter users 'celebrity' status and 2) what are the benefits of having that status? [more inside]
posted by Quartermass to MetaFilter-Related at 12:03 PM PST - 105 comments
October 22
Clicking on the number of comments in my profile brings up this (and I doubt I'm the only one):
The web site you are accessing has experienced an unexpected error.
Please contact the website administrator.
Consider yourself contacted!
posted by Eideteker to Bugs at 10:08 PM PST - 2 comments [closed]
Now that the other contest is over, and since we're building up to Halloween, what sort of contest can we come up with to encourage 11 days of the creepiest/scariest posts ever?
posted by kimota to MetaFilter-Related at 11:05 AM PST - 23 comments
October 21
"
You guys have some sense of outrage over something that was a goof".
O.K., let's play, then, since it's such a funny a goof, apparently. I volunteer for the next MetaSurvivor round -- let's give my many MeFi friends a nice fat chance to vote me off the island. Two requests, though. 500 dollars are bad for my ego, let's make it 1,000. And I don't care enough about CreativeCommons
(sorry!), so if you want to kick me out you have to donate to
these guys. Who wants to play with me?
posted by matteo to Feature Requests at 4:24 PM PST - 66 comments [closed]
It has been demonstrated many times that when searching MeFi, Yahoo does a better job than Google-- maybe the search box on the homepage should use Yahoo?
posted by gwint to Feature Requests at 1:00 PM PST - 19 comments
October 20
A "sort by my comments" thingy on Ask Metafilter would make it easier to monitor threads that one is interested in. There is the potential for abuse, but since the time-limit on questions there has recently been extended, I don't think it would be all that dangerous.
posted by interrobang to Feature Requests at 11:55 PM PST - 13 comments
Am I missing something here? Sure its a good link but its still a double-post and the poster himself states:
"*shrug* sorry, I'm a sucker for his photos. I figured everyone who missed it last time would appreciate it and the people who'd already seen it would like to know he's updating again."
posted by KevinSkomsvold to Etiquette/Policy at 6:19 PM PST - 4 comments [closed]
October 19
Did someone try to steal my awesome account? I just got my password emailed to me, with a statement that I requested it, but... I didn't request it.
posted by The Monkey to MetaFilter-Related at 4:22 PM PST - 18 comments
Announcing the new
MetaFilter Fundraising for Fun project. dios and rothko/AlexReynolds have agreed to let you guys vote with your dollars, for charity. Throw some cash into the till for the guy you want to take a break for a week, and in the end it all goes to
Creative Commons' fundraiser. Think of it as a charity dunk tank: you put down five bucks to toss a few at the guy you love to hate. It'll run for a week, so let's make the fun last.
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 4:07 PM PST - 185 comments
I cannot believe I have been forced to finally start a MeTa post but the continued dios-baiting in
this thread (and with any luck elsewhere) really needs to end.
posted by longbaugh to Etiquette/Policy at 1:21 PM PST - 58 comments [closed]
When posting a new MetaFilter thread, the suggestion to think twice about new hurricane Katrina posts is probably no longer required.
posted by nthdegx to MetaFilter-Related at 12:04 PM PST - 12 comments
So... it appears that
MeFiSwap is dead or becoming dead. Dreama appears to be very busy with a new kid and everything else that happens in life.
Are people interested in reviving this? I would be willing to do the administration aspect. I would NOT be able to start it until about 3 weeks, as I will be traveling and dealing with school related stuff. Undoubtedly my site style/options will not be as slick as Dream's setup, but I see no reason why it would not work.
This post is just to inquire how much interest there is.
posted by edgeways to MetaFilter Music at 11:38 AM PST - 47 comments
Not sure if this has been suggested before (searching on MeTa currently isn't working), but I'll suggest now that FPPs go through a little post-processing to add a
coral cache link to all outbound links in the FPP. It might make sense to have this be an option the post author can click on/off (CNN doesn't need to be protected from traffic, some dude with a Geocities page does).
Something equivalent to this could be handled on the client side, using some Javascript or a Greasemonkey extension, I suppose, but handling on the server side would be more universal.
posted by adamrice to Feature Requests at 8:21 AM PST - 14 comments
October 18
Can you get a post deleted because it is already posted on your own site? even though the post has good info and had a conversation started? post in question http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/45943
posted by stilgar to Etiquette/Policy at 5:31 AM PST - 4 comments [closed]
October 17
For some reason in my
profile, where it is supposed to say "xx MetaFilter users near this user:" I get "no zip found in the db". I found that strange, as I live in a suburb of DC, but shrugged it off as everyone else living in the cooler parts of town. However, when I got bored and looked into it, I'm
26.87 miles from
darksquirrel. Yet
darksquirrel is
29.78 miles from
jenny18 and they show up in each other's zipcode list. Is this a bug, or have I uncovered the fact that my neighborhood has been blackballed by MeFi?
posted by forforf to Bugs at 8:35 PM PST - 18 comments
Call this Feature Requests/Etiquette: I'd like, upon flagging a comment (in this case, Carbolic's accidental doubling), to be returned to the #name from whence I came, rather than the head of the thread to scroll down.
Further
this thread has been magnificent, at least to the extent that I've gotten, in both well-reasoned argumentation and a lack of calling each other douchebags. I'd like to point out that both Rothko and Dios have been excellent at engaging each other in a way that, while highlighting their disagreement, is about the facts and arguments that each is presenting. Good show you guys. This is why I joined Metafilter.
(You may now commence flaming me for whatever evils I have evidenced in this post).
posted by klangklangston to Feature Requests at 5:46 PM PST - 88 comments [closed]
Ah! The sting of deletion has pricked me for the first time. Without getting into boring specifics (I would assume my offense was off-topicness), I wonder if the policing in AskMe has become more stringent? Guidance from the deleters-on-high would be appreciated--I am all for making the site as useful as possible, and also for not wasting my own time.
posted by _sirmissalot_ to Etiquette/Policy at 3:15 PM PST - 7 comments [closed]
An ability to unmark "Best Answer", I have on several instances accidently clicked the link (it's such a big target). Even a confirmation page would stop this from occuring, I'm not alone right?
posted by geoff. to Feature Requests at 7:57 AM PST - 14 comments
October 16
Nitpicking: The text that says "You are logged in as: Username" uppercases your username, while everywhere else in the site it keeps it in the original case.
posted by smackfu to Bugs at 8:29 PM PST - 29 comments
Can we get the 'post a new thread' link dimmed if we haven't waited enough days? (particularly for meta and ask).
posted by filmgeek to Feature Requests at 6:40 PM PST - 7 comments
This
thread has a checkmark on the front page of AskMe, but no best answers marked inside. Opera on Mac OS 10.3.9.
posted by mzurer to Bugs at 3:29 PM PST - 5 comments
October 15
October 14
October 13
Ghost in the machine. I left my machine with Firefox 1.06 (with Metafilthy installed) logged in to
this Metafilter thread for about 4 hours. When I returned
this comment from all-seeing eye dog was in the comment box and I was logged out. So I couldn't post it, but it was a little confusing.
I suppose this could be a Metafilthy issue, a Firefox issue or something else again. Apologies if this is not the first time that someone has posted this bug. I didn't know what to search for to check.
posted by asok to Bugs at 12:23 PM PST - 10 comments
There was a link in the blue to a cool web app for putting your book collection online. It would automatically pull a cover image from amazon or somewhere, and had a very clean interface. It did social web app stuff too. But its name was too clever and I've forgotten it. Metatalkers, I seek your help...
posted by mecran01 to MetaFilter-Related at 11:56 AM PST - 14 comments
October 12
On Sunday, 10/16,
CTP and I will be holding our first monthly free bike repair clinic in Berkeley. We're offering free repair, free advice/teaching on anything relating to making your bike work. All Bay Area MeFites are invited to come get a free tune-up, help with repairs, or just hang out. [details inside]
posted by scarabic to MetaFilter Gatherings at 3:11 PM PST - 19 comments
October 11
FollowUpFilter: A few weeks back, I
mentioned in AskMe that I was diagnosed with a few rather large kidney stones, and many people in the thread gave me some very useful information, and mentioned that the first course of treatment would be
lithotripsy, which it was. From there, the plot thickens. [MI]
posted by jonmc to MetaFilter-Related at 6:31 PM PST - 61 comments
Anyone remember the link to that dynamically drawn type tree (a recursive tree program that displays a graphic) or the link that was in its comments to the sketchy type tree? After 3 hours of searching I've given up. I really hope u find it in 3 seconds (feel free to brag). Not the one that is made from sounds. Thanks!
posted by uni verse to MetaFilter-Related at 9:03 AM PST - 18 comments
October 10
My second of two comments made in this thread http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/25241 was removed apparently because I disagreed with someone who was complaining that the tangents related to the discussion were not germane to it (http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/25241#399539).
Of course, since I'm posting this, I disagree with the removal. If this is standard way, we are limiting the involvement of human opinion in Ask MeFi, and end up with nothing more than regurgitation of facts that could probably be gained much better elsewhere on the internet.
Could the person who moderated this clarify the removal?
posted by Kickstart70 to Etiquette/Policy at 3:22 PM PST - 54 comments
Y2k's
latest post has ensued in a well, shitfest, and it scares me that we can be so mean to each other, We accuse each other for having an opinon and backing it up with more ridicule Its supposed to be a "community" working together to find the best of the web, like Matt dreamed siz years ago, instead "does anybody read the comments down here?" has turned into "MeFi members are hyprocrytes." I beg all of you to get over your foolish pride and start having reasonable disccusions. I know I should have said more inside but everybody should read this, its for your own good.
Aaron from Minneapolis
posted by wheelieman to Etiquette/Policy at 6:19 AM PST - 216 comments [closed]
October 9
Is doing AskMe follow-up threads in MetaTalk an accepted thing now? I have a couple of things that I'd like to give updates on (if anyone cares) but I don't want to get told off. Guidance, O older and wiser ones?
posted by Lotto to MetaFilter-Related at 4:14 PM PST - 26 comments
October 8
Why do Ask Me threads bother to close after 30 days? Wouldn't it be useful to go back and be able to add answers anytime?
posted by dobbs to Feature Requests at 11:00 AM PST - 41 comments
A recent
Vancouver meetup that involved someone I actually
know has reminded me that at one point some folks talked about an
Edmonton meetup. It never seemed to get off the ground, but... Well, I'm a crappy organizer and enough of a desk jockey that I can't for the life of me imagine putting one together, but I'd like it if someone else would pick up from this prod and find a place.
Yes, I'm lazy. Sue me.
posted by ChrisR to MetaFilter Gatherings at 9:35 AM PST - 6 comments
October 7
I don't see that there is any history of collaborative FPPs. Is there any precedence for this? Yes or no, how should one let it known that the post was a collaboration?
posted by snsranch to Etiquette/Policy at 8:08 PM PST - 12 comments
Periodic attempts to refresh MeFi/MeTa, etc. bring up an error message, 'The Document Contains No Data'. What gives?
posted by docpops to Bugs at 2:43 PM PST - 18 comments
October 6
Al Gore speeches baby yeah! And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Question: Why is this site obsessed with Al Gore? I mean, he's no Steve Jobs. :-)
Seriously, though, why? He doesn't represent some Democratic ideal. He wasn't an incredibly successful politician. Hell, he wasn't even all that likable (unlike Clinton).
posted by SeizeTheDay to MetaFilter-Related at 6:27 PM PST - 53 comments
Looks like MeFi edits out div tags in comments, but not div closing tags ...
Viz...
posted by 5MeoCMP to Bugs at 9:52 AM PST - 5 comments
October 5
Hey, MeFiDC Culture Geeks! There's
free classical music at the National Gallery of Art on Sundays. I propose an evening of Martinu, Beethoven, and Schubert on October 9th, possibly followed by a quick jaunt to Chinatown for dimsum and discourse. Those in favor, be at the fountain statue of Mercury at 6:30pm. If this turns the spinning gems over our heads green, perhaps it could be made a regular thing.
posted by brownpau to MetaFilter Gatherings at 11:51 PM PST - 13 comments
nyc mini-meetup: brooklyn represent! since naxos (aka our lady of the hair glued to jonmc's desk) is in a limited timeslot, and because I owe hellbient many (many) drinks...
saturday oct. 15th, spuyten duyvil, 7pm. (spike hill, sputnik, other suggestions welcome)
posted by dorian to MetaFilter Gatherings at 7:20 PM PST - 83 comments
Note: The deleted post of mine was supposed to be saved as a draft...I didn't mean to publish it on my own site. I've just found cutting and pasting code is easier than typing it (blogger to mefi). If you note, I've re-drafted it, and as it is a relavent and news-worthy topic, would like to see it reposted.
posted by rzklkng to Etiquette/Policy at 8:18 AM PST - 39 comments
I hate to rehash this old problem, but as of 11:00 am EST, 4/10 Front Page Posts are of the Newsfilter variety. I've noticed that since Katrina hit, the Newsfilter problem has gotten much much worse. Is there a way to stem the tide?
posted by Edible Energy to Etiquette/Policy at 8:13 AM PST - 88 comments
October 4
RIP Fish Daddy . An update for
this thread. I bought my fish anti-biotics, but sadly it was too late and he passed this morning. I also bought a test kit for amonia, nitrite and nitrate and am pleased to report that all is well with the water, suggesting that I am not the bad fish-taker-carer I feared I might be. A little bit of nitrate, but it seems that's not actually toxic. Anyway, thanks to all who offered advice.
posted by duck to MetaFilter-Related at 8:45 PM PST - 9 comments
Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I'm after a large number (100-200) of participants in a future art project, and wasn't sure if AskMefi was a good place to raise the subject or not.
Is it acceptable? Would doing it here be better?
posted by lemonfridge to Etiquette/Policy at 4:53 PM PST - 19 comments
Is
this what MetaFilter's about? I don't want to point fingers at eriko specifically, but come on, people. Are we going to have to institute a swear jar? Or a polysyllabic personal insult jar?
There comes a time when you need to step away from your keyboards, folks. Take a few minutes outside, maybe find a tree to sit under and do some breathing exercises.
I've never done a "call-out" on anyone in the year (well, not quite) that I've been here, but this really bothers me. People are suffering and you are arguing. You know what they say about not being part of the solution, folks. Again, this is NOT just eriko. You know who you are. I've never wanted to leave the site before today. But I paid my money; why should I leave? Why should anyone leave? Can we try to get along instead?
posted by Eideteker to Etiquette/Policy at 10:37 AM PST - 178 comments
October 3
This (and the several preceding posts in the thread by this user) are inappropriate and embarrassing, I think.
posted by Jon-o to Etiquette/Policy at 10:11 PM PST - 6 comments [closed]
Sometimes, when you click on a tag in the tags list, you get something like
this. Does this mean the post got deleted?
posted by Irontom to Bugs at 6:23 AM PST - 6 comments
October 2
Administrator:
This post includes a NSFW-link to playboy.com (the article is SFW, the banner ads are not) - without specifying it. Sorry. Before something like
this happens again...is there any way to fix or delete the link?
posted by iviken to Etiquette/Policy at 3:16 PM PST - 7 comments [closed]
Live preview ignores tag order incorrectly. [more inside]
posted by Chuckles to Bugs at 5:59 AM PST - 6 comments
The metafilter.com domain name seems to be dying. It resolves if I access the internet one way, but not if I use my other connection. Here's
proof it's not just me.
posted by cillit bang to Bugs at 5:13 AM PST - 7 comments
Not sure if this has been done yet, but: I'd like to thank all you MeFi-type-persons for all you've done for those of us displaced by Katrina. I know the relief fund helped me out quite a bit. Kudos, folks. Kudos. You're good people. I don't care what anybody else says.
posted by brundlefly to MetaFilter-Related at 12:53 AM PST - 7 comments
October 1
Deleted threads should have their own place on this site somewhere. Not only could they be accessible for reference, but many are funny as hell.
posted by tsarfan to Feature Requests at 10:52 PM PST - 39 comments
You can't flag your own replies to an AxeMe
(suck it, haters) as a "Best Answer." This sucks in those rare events you did not get your question answered satisfactorily and you want to leave a resolution for posterity.
posted by keswick to Feature Requests at 5:54 PM PST - 16 comments
