March 2014 Archives (all archives)

March 31

Whoa.

You guys totally got me. So embarrassing! [more inside]
posted by bluedaisy to MetaFilter-Related at 9:30 PM PST - 291 comments

MeFiSwap 2014-1 - The Songbird Swap - Sign-ups are OPEN!

Do you miss using your optical drive? Have you wondered lately how you're ever going to get rid of that three quarters-full spindle of blank CD-Rs? Maybe lately you've been feeling nostalgic for mix-tapes but are unwilling to revisit the Eighties in all their retro glory? Perhaps you're wondering what music gets other MeFites' tables turning? Well have I got just the thing for you! [more inside]
posted by carsonb to MetaFilter-Related at 12:01 PM PST - 80 comments

March 29

I need help finding a comment

Ok, bear with me, I know this is vague: I've been searching fruitlessly for a comment about how one of the greatest predictors for whether or not an elderly woman will end up in poverty is if she owns her home. [more inside]
posted by fozzie_bear to MetaFilter-Related at 8:28 PM PST - 43 comments

Terrible Typos

I have seen people get really anxious about having typos in their comments. To the point that, if they miss the edit window, they'll follow up with a post pointing out their own mistakes. How harsh is the metafilter crowd really? Will people get judgey about a post / disregard the content if there are one or two mistakes in it?
posted by Omnomnom to Etiquette/Policy at 2:21 PM PST - 123 comments

March 27

MefiTV?

Repeatedly asked for in this thread about the closing of TWOP, a subforum for Metafilter to cover TV. Can I suggest a possible trial by allowing members who've taken on a program to make a FPP with a simple round-up of recaps from the web and then to let a thread flourish? With a rule about no spoilers for the trial period, because later on there could be a spoiler free/spoilered-to-smithereens alternate threads. I can get good recaps from a bunch of places online, and committing to volunteer recaps is a Big Chunk of Time. Mostly what I can't get, and loved from TWOP, is snarky smart conversation about a show I love. If the trial leads to great discussions, then a separate section could be made so the front page doesn't get cluttered with TV threads. Nominating: The Vampire Diaries, Scandal, Community, Elementary, Teen Wolf (come back Elizardbits!), Supernatural and I will volunteer happily for Melissa and Joey, a sitcom that I believe is profoundly undercriticised despite huge popularity and weirdly progressive sexual politics and ethics. Ahem.
posted by viggorlijah to Feature Requests at 6:25 PM PST - 444 comments

March 26

For those of us with a finger in more than one internet pie

Would it be possible for the member profile page template to be changed to allow for the entry of more than one personal website? It's possible for those who have more than one internet site to link to them in the free form space further down on the page, so it's not a change of huge import, but still... it might be a nice option.
posted by orange swan to Feature Requests at 6:07 AM PST - 72 comments

March 25

Why is this an acceptable FPP?

This single link FPP is effectively a blog post... [more inside]
posted by MisantropicPainforest to MetaFilter-Related at 6:17 AM PST - 164 comments

I'm looking for a post with a non-linear dissertation

Some years ago (2007-10, I'd guess) there was a post to the Blue which linked to a dissertation. The dissertation was non-linear and the reader would choose the next part of the dissertation to read, and while that was happening, the dissertation wrote itself. Each part of the dissertation was in a little box, and the reader would choose which part to read by clicking on a box next to an already read box. I remember a black background with yellow boxes.
posted by Kattullus to MetaFilter-Related at 4:15 AM PST - 18 comments

March 23

Should Meta posters be able to close their own posts?

In this thread, the OP repeatedly demanded that the thread be closed because it wasn't going exactly the way he'd foreseen, which the mods complied with. The majority of the thread was both on topic and positive (and hadn't necessarily "run its course"), so I'm confused as to why it was closed. Previous closings of Metas always seem to focus on community needs, rather than the feelings of the OP.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear to Etiquette/Policy at 11:39 AM PST - 296 comments

March 21

>save

Just in time for the weekend, the Third MetaFilter Interactive Fiction Contest has drawn to a close! We have three great entries, so venture inside and see what MetaFilter hath wrought! [more inside]
posted by griphus to MetaFilter-Related at 4:35 PM PST - 26 comments

This is important

Sorry, but I need to make a couple of callouts. [more inside]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering to Etiquette/Policy at 3:38 PM PST - 65 comments [closed]

March 18

In search of: MeFi post about alcohol and water safety

The post debunked myths about alcohol consumption and water safety. Can't find the durned thing. [more inside]
posted by Dr. Wu to MetaFilter-Related at 7:30 AM PST - 3 comments [closed]

March 17

advertising budget for FY2014 is through the charts

Was extremely confused to see a flashy commercial for MetaFilter preceding a Youtube video. [more inside]
posted by threeants to MetaFilter-Related at 8:47 PM PST - 3 comments [closed]

Proposed feature: inner circle of MeFites

Periodically I've wanted to pose a question to a fair number of anonymous internet strangers, but still wish to keep off the internet itself because people involved might recognize themselves in it, and I want to protect either them or myself. [more inside]
posted by Capri to Feature Requests at 12:06 PM PST - 200 comments

MeFinal Four Pick 'Em

I've started a Metafilter Final Four bracket. Please join in, if you're into that kind of thing. [more inside]
posted by box to MetaFilter-Related at 9:44 AM PST - 147 comments

March 16

Should we keep quotation marks just for "quotations"?

This isn't a callout of any particular person or example, but just something that I've noticed come up from time to time. When people use quotation marks to paraphrase someone else's argument or a thread's sentiment, or to make a point sarcastically, or to speak in a voice that isn't theirs, it can cause confusion at best and bad feeling at worst. I was wondering if it's something we could think about in terms of maybe coming up with some kind of alternative? [more inside]
posted by billiebee to Etiquette/Policy at 8:34 AM PST - 101 comments

March 15

Deleting comments

I'm mostly unaware of the intricacies of the Metafilter community, but I have just had another comment deleted. It wasn't an inflammatory comment, there was no snarkiness or attacking anyone. I was expressing an opinion that female bullying has increased and we need to take this into account when raising girls, and I commented on the direction of feminism too. I'm surprised that it was deleted. [more inside]
posted by inkypinky to Etiquette/Policy at 9:02 PM PST - 1772 comments

March 14

resolved!

I just found the book I was looking for in my very first Ask Metafilter post. I am so happy. [more inside]
posted by changeling to MetaFilter-Related at 3:17 PM PST - 21 comments

March 13

Moving Day!

This Saturday we are planning some downtime of about one hour some time around 10am Pacific. We'll put up a big banner across the top of the site tomorrow to give everyone an additional heads up and post updates to the status blog. [more inside]
posted by mathowie to Uptime at 1:53 PM PST - 256 comments

21000 years in the future, we're still there

It's been over a year now since Plate of Beans, Inc. was founded in EVE Online (well, more like 1 year +1 month), and we've had many new adventures since the previous post on MetaTalk. [more inside]
posted by polywomp to MetaFilter-Related at 6:46 AM PST - 57 comments

March 12

trust your gut?

So a long time ago there was an AskMefi or Mefi post about something to do with intuition, and one of early comments was from someone whose mum and sister got a really bad feeling about going on a camping trip - but they turned out ok. Where was this?
posted by divabat to MetaFilter-Related at 6:55 PM PST - 18 comments

MeFi Radio pre 1.0 beta testers needed

Want to beta test out MeFi Radio, a new iOS 7.x app? [more inside]
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 5:35 PM PST - 27 comments

March 11

If you don't have something nice to say...

I like Obama overall, but I'm not thrilled that the comments saying he "sucks at his job" in this thread was deleted for being polarizing and content-free, while the comment stating, in it's entirety "Why would you want another president? Stop wasting your time with elections. Extend his term indefinitely" was allowed to stand. I really am not accusing the mods of betraying a pro-Obama bias, because I don't think that's what's happening, but the net result is that the conversation in that thread has been altered to make it seem that MetaFilter universally loves Obama, when that's not the case. Is it just the general rule that "So-and-so rules" comments are fine while "So-and-so drools" comments are not? If so, are we happy with this?
posted by 256 to Etiquette/Policy at 6:09 AM PST - 256 comments

March 10

This looks shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels

In the "In fact, there are no places that are not for ladies anymore" thread, which generated a lot of discussion about the incident possibly being fake, user skoosh offered a proposal that strikes me as a fine one, and one I think is worth discussing here. [more inside]
posted by Bunny Ultramod to Etiquette/Policy at 12:45 PM PST - 169 comments

Clarification: Is an active Crowd-Funded post ever okay on MeFi?

I have searched the MetaTalk for this and can't seem to find a definitive answer - apologies if one already exists and I missed it. My question - if something is currently being crowd-funded, but has already met/exceeded it's funding goal - is using it as part of a MeFi post grounds for automatic deletion of the post? [more inside]
posted by Faintdreams to Etiquette/Policy at 4:34 AM PST - 5 comments [closed]

March 9

Ask MetaFilter as parenting aid

We had a very enjoyable dinnertime conversation tonight with our 8-year-old about the Ask MeFi question about the college student whose friend spilled water on her laptop and killed it. It was really great to say, "OK, here's an interesting ethical question, what do you think she should do? What does Mommy think? What does Daddy think?" And then we talked about the various answers people gave, and how we felt about them, and the whole thing was great. It made me want to make this a regular dinnertime feature! MeFi parents, do you use MetaFilter as a teaching or parenting tool, and if so how?
posted by escabeche to MetaFilter-Related at 7:20 PM PST - 117 comments

So, pointing out that Wendy Carlos is trans is instadelete?

There remain posts on the thread asking WHY WHY isn't she mentioned. It's not like there isn't a fucking simple reason she isn't mentioned. Why is explaining this simple reason cause for comment deletion?
posted by localroger to Etiquette/Policy at 7:06 PM PST - 60 comments

March 8

Ctrl+enter to post/preview?

I was wondering what the community and dev team thinks about adding a ctrl+enter shortcut to post comments. It's something that's fairly common elsewhere on the web, and in my opinion it would be nice to have it here as well. Going to the mouse to click on Post Comment is not exactly a big deal, but it would be cool if there were a keyboard shortcut for those of us who are slightly mouse-averse. [more inside]
posted by Scientist to Feature Requests at 7:44 AM PST - 40 comments

March 7

Warmth. Depth. Fatness.

An intuitive interface. Built-in keyboard access. Three world-class modulators.

Introducing MetaFilter — — — Push the Envelope™
posted by Rhaomi to MetaFilter-Related at 2:03 PM PST - 69 comments

Is Metafilter compromised?

I hate to be the poster child for tinfoil, but... (dons tinfoil hat): I have recently had several comments deleted from threads relating to the Ukraine crisis. [more inside]
posted by NiceKitty to Etiquette/Policy at 5:02 AM PST - 284 comments [closed]

March 6

90: Pic Pedantic

Episode 90 of the MetaFilter podcast was recorded today and runs about an hour and twenty minutes long, covering all the best bits from the MetaFilter universe for February. [more inside]
posted by mathowie to MeFi Podcast at 7:51 PM PST - 32 comments

Another Flag Category?

Similar to fffm's pony request from January, I wonder whether it would be possible to add another flag category or two. [more inside]
posted by spacewrench to Feature Requests at 5:19 PM PST - 74 comments

Twitter's Biggest Pedant

MeFi's Own™ brownpau gets to wear his 8-bit tie while being interviewed on BBC World News' 'Global' programme to discuss being a "punctilious killjoy" as PicPedant on Twitter.
posted by terrapin to MetaFilter-Related at 12:36 PM PST - 26 comments

March 5

Can I have a subtitle contest?

I wonder if it's okay to have a contest where I ask people to suggest possible subtitles for a book I'm writing. I would give the winner a prize, like send them some food from a mail-order place or something (haven't thought that part through yet because first I want to know if this is a verboten thing to do or not). If it's okay, would I post this contest on Projects? or where? I didn't contact staff because I thought this would maybe not be a hardwired policy question. Thank you for feedback.
posted by DMelanogaster to Etiquette/Policy at 3:02 PM PST - 62 comments

So is this cool?

Is it just me? because i'm fairly uncomfortable and annoyed with how this thread has become the "soandso show" of over 1/4 posts by one person... [more inside]
posted by emptythought to Etiquette/Policy at 2:26 PM PST - 419 comments

malware tip links in sidebar lack context

In the sidebar of the main Metafilter site, there's a Feb 21st entry* reading, in total: brainmouse reminds us: "Check out deezil's and samsara's profiles as really fantastic starting points." Say what now? That blurb would benefit from a few more words, like "Concerned about malware on your computer? brainmouse reminds us ..." (* yes, I'm slow)
posted by intermod to MetaFilter-Related at 1:01 PM PST - 24 comments

Worf?

What's with Wharf Worf? [more inside]
posted by Debaser626 to MetaFilter-Related at 6:08 AM PST - 159 comments

March 4

...or maybe I'm just crazy.

Did MeFi just get a new favicon? It looks strangely different all of a sudden.
posted by Chrysostom to MetaFilter-Related at 8:30 PM PST - 92 comments

how to host a successful meetup when new in town

Hello all :) I would like to post a meetup event. I am new to Halifax (Nova Scotia) and several AskMeFi responses suggested this as a good way to make friends. I would like to know the behavior Metafilter participants expect of the "hosts" ... More inside ... [more inside]
posted by partly squamous and partly rugose to Etiquette/Policy at 11:04 AM PST - 52 comments

March 3

Not My Tube

Youtube is Google and coercive. I just tried to simply 'Like' that husky/head-scratch video, and was told I had to log-in. I loged-out permanently several months ago when I couldn't comment without logging in. Deleted all my content, too. [more inside]
posted by Goofyy to MetaFilter-Related at 12:23 AM PST - 131 comments