April 2003 Archives

I really like geourl and wanted to know which metafilter members lived near me, so I programmed it today. If you're logged in, and viewing a member's page that has a zip code, it'll do a lookup for all the other members within a 1/2 degree of longitude/latitude which is about 25 miles. Scroll down on my user page to see everyone near me.
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-related at 1:07 PM PST - 95 comments

Good point quonsar. Matt, is it possible this is a pony that we really don't want?
posted by WolfDaddy to etiquette/policy at 12:46 PM PST - 4 comments

The voice of the Notorious Laurie G is to be heard on NPR's Morning edition today. Laurie Garrett's--whose breezy, chatty email about attending the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland was exhaustively analyzed here in Could This Be True? --journalistic specialty is reporting on modern plagues like HIV and Ebola for Newsday. On Morning Edition, she reported on the spread of SARS from Beijing to the countryside in China, which is--and pardon my Freedom--pretty fucking scary, and the power struggle going on between the factions of Hu Jin Tao and Jiang Zemin (see previous Freedom phrase) in the midst of all this, which is paralyzing the struggle to contain it on all levels, according to Ms. Garrett. On the job, she is a very competent and highly professional reporter.
posted by y2karl to MetaFilter-related at 6:47 AM PST - 72 comments

I was listening to Ode To Billy Joe today on a mix in my car and this afternoon I wrote a journal entry in my moleskin notebook. What's the point? These are two things I learned about on Metafilter and that are now part of my life. What did you first see on Metafilter that is now a permanant part of your life?
posted by adrober to MetaFilter-related at 6:52 PM PST - 43 comments

We all hate "Pepsi Blue" posts, but what if they're part of a pattern? [more inside]
posted by mkultra to etiquette/policy at 4:31 PM PST - 24 comments

meta-opinions about the future of a thread are pointless, and are usually an attempt to lead the thread to premature death. Don't try to pre-judge the outcome of any particular conversation. Either the thread will or will not self-destruct, and may take a direction different from the one envisaged by any of its contributors. Godwin's law has many variants; is there a need for a metafiltrian distillation of it? Has it already been done?
posted by cbrody to etiquette/policy at 1:12 AM PST - 49 comments

I found this funny: urban dictionary lookup: metafilter
posted by cell divide to MetaFilter-related at 1:56 PM PST - 23 comments

Is Metafilter in danger of becoming irrelevant?

We're in desperate need of some new opinions around here.

Can it happen? Is it a technical limitation? What do you think?
posted by mark13 to MetaFilter-related at 10:34 AM PST - 61 comments

How kosher is posting websites in languages other than English? Aren't we missing out on a sizeable - and valuable - part of the Web? The available online translation machines I've tried so far (Babel Fish et al.) are dreadful and hinder more than they help, but I've recently found WorldLingo to be appreciably less bad. MetaFilter users seem, to me at least, to be very interested in - and open to - "foreign" languages. Should posters risk posting a machine translation along with a link to a website in a non-English language, for instance?
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-related at 10:26 AM PST - 17 comments

When I shift click on one of Y2Karl's opuses. The magic blue link info box gets left open and doesn't close when I mouse over another link. Doing the shift-clicking alt-tab shuffle leaves a whole string of them open.

IE6 Win2K.
posted by inpHilltr8r to bugs at 10:11 AM PST - 11 comments

55 characters = 55 links? http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/25409

While I appreciate all the hard work that y2kcarl put into the post, I have to ask, "Are the 55 links useful to anyone?"

I thought the idea was post a link or perhaps several, to point out somethign new and allow for a bit of discussion.

Who has the time/energy to look at 55 sites? Is the post more about style than substance?

Or am I out in left field here as a link minimalist?
posted by Argyle to etiquette/policy at 9:48 AM PST - 94 comments

Kudos for concise posts [More inside]
posted by jaden to etiquette/policy at 9:12 AM PST - 16 comments

Anyone else having problems with comment preview in Mozilla 1.3?
posted by nofundy to bugs at 6:06 AM PST - 5 comments

What are the limits of personal abuse that will be tolerated on Metafilter?
posted by rushmc to etiquette/policy at 5:55 PM PST - 65 comments

prime example of how buttheaded posting tactics are self-defeating.
posted by crunchland to etiquette/policy at 5:58 AM PST - 42 comments

Actually, posts with "points" are often the ones in most danger of inciting flamefests and being less than appropriate.
posted by Su to etiquette/policy at 4:20 PM PST - 22 comments

If you're a gear head you may appreciate video tours (QT) of famous recording studios or if you're passionate about the "pure" art of music you might appreciate this essay. So which are you??? [more...]
posted by victors to bugs at 2:39 PM PST - 5 comments

This is sorta Devil's Advocatey, but I'd like to hear a discussion on this. As an example, I've noticed today that there are a couple of music oriented MeFi posts, which is nothing new, but now that there are a couple music-specific MeFi-like sites out there, would it not be better for people to start getting into the habit of utilizing them? To keep MeFi from remaining as polluted as it is? Or do some feel those MeFi Wannabes should be ignored? I mean, why have multiple MeFis if we're not taking advantage of their presence? And if a decision is made, will that turn into Topic Policing? Is there a solution that can be found before it becomes a problem?
posted by ZachsMind to etiquette/policy at 11:23 AM PST - 43 comments

Tired of double-posting, even though I search'n'search the key words. What am I doing wrong?
posted by theplayethic to etiquette/policy at 7:25 AM PST - 11 comments

MoveableType is cool, but this post is just three generic links and a press release. Just because it's cool software that some of us use doesn't make this a good post. (And from the Post a Thread to MetaTalk page, "if posting about general weblog-related items, please post to Blogroots.com instead.")
posted by kirkaracha to etiquette/policy at 3:46 PM PST - 15 comments

Author writes back! [Well, I sent her the link but still... it's kinda cool.]
posted by adrober to MetaFilter-related at 2:21 PM PST - 13 comments

This thread is interesting to me, because I've held off posting similar content, for fear of reprisal and bandwidth usage. Is there an appropriate way to post 'discovered' content without having the MeFi Hall Monitors yell "SELF LINK! SELF LINK!"?
posted by maniactown to etiquette/policy at 10:38 AM PST - 50 comments

Wierd problem involving Opera 7.1 and the Title tag. The thing don't seem to be showing up, regardless of whether the dhtml toggle is on or off.
posted by kaibutsu to bugs at 11:34 PM PST - 12 comments

So this thread isn't exactly an advertisement, but it does link to a site whose actual purpose seems to be to sell some sort of penis-enlargement-pill.

I'm not saying that the post should get yanked, but I am wondering whether content whose purpose is to advertise a product should really be the subject of a front page post.
posted by bshort to etiquette/policy at 4:25 PM PST - 13 comments

FollowupFilter? I was using the subject of this thread as an example in an email today, and while researching it I noticed that just today there was an update to this story. The original thread is locked, but I not sure this is FPP worthy.
posted by betaray to MetaFilter-related at 3:49 PM PST - 11 comments

Matt, MetaFilter looks like crap in Mosaic 1.0/PC.
Could you do something to fix it please?
posted by me3dia to bugs at 8:57 AM PST - 30 comments

Old farts; hippies; soixante-huitards; baby boomers - there are a few of us on MetaFilter who are over 40, aren't there? To what extent is a lot of internal conflict here attributable to simple generational differences that are commonplace - though no less violent and, I should add, inevitable and ultimately unimportant - in our everyday lives?
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-related at 3:02 AM PST - 95 comments

If you're going to pee all over a thread, considering taking it to MeTa first. Okay, I'll bite. As VulcanMike points out, this really isn't WhiteStripesFilter. Enthusiam is great, but this is just one lame post.
posted by Wulfgar! to etiquette/policy at 2:51 PM PST - 61 comments

Has TextAd revenue been declining? [more inside]
posted by mr_crash_davis to MetaFilter-related at 10:19 AM PST - 8 comments

Maybe this has already been discussed, but I noticed on my "Gypsy" post today that the ads in the discussion were all "Gypsy" and Broadway related. How does that work?
posted by adrober to MetaFilter-related at 9:56 AM PST - 6 comments

In light of the new resident musician showcase, I'd like to ask the professionals: Is there any music composition software (or hardware) that you couldn't live without, adore, and would recommend, or, conversely, would rather warn others to avoid?
posted by hama7 to MetaFilter Music at 6:51 AM PST - 29 comments

Mouseover Madness, Or, The Terrible Title.

I applaud the use of the title attribute, but here the text is so long there isn't time to read it before the browser hides it again.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen to etiquette/policy at 6:54 PM PST - 24 comments

?
posted by y2karl to etiquette/policy at 12:57 PM PST - 139 comments

When members disappear, I look for them on milk cartons. [more inside]
posted by Opus Dark to feature requests at 1:24 AM PST - 30 comments

RetroFilter! Since "Eric Conveys an Emotion" was first posted over three years ago, both the contents of the link and the Metafilter community that discussed it have changed. Now that Metafilter has surpassed 25,000 threads, perhaps we could use a forum dedicated to the dredging up of old-school links from Metafilter's past? Alternatively, should we encourage "selective doubleposting" to Metafilter itself?
posted by PrinceValium to MetaFilter-related at 1:11 AM PST - 3 comments

Dennis Murphy : "It kills you that everyone doesn't think exactly like you, right? This is metafilter. There is one post on on this case, and hundreds on the iraq war, most antibush, antiwar, antiright. What more do you want?"
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken to etiquette/policy at 5:56 PM PST - 59 comments

There once was a MeFi thread about a psychological experiment in which people were presented several pictures of women and men and they had to choose the most beautiful among them. The most beautiful chosen were computer generated pictures.
I am unable to find the link and have extensively used the search engine. Anyone care to help me out?
posted by zerofoks to MetaFilter-related at 9:47 AM PST - 18 comments

dhartung was right about this
via /.
posted by andrew cooke to MetaFilter-related at 8:55 PM PST - 35 comments

Is Flash/Fun still just for Fridays? If no (my vote), can we drop the rather annoying "I know it's not Friday..." and its ilk?
posted by PinkStainlessTail to etiquette/policy at 12:20 PM PST - 23 comments

What was your very first impression of MetaFilter, that first time you visited? [More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-related at 1:12 AM PST - 89 comments

Heather Champ gets her wish: Moby does the mirror project.
posted by Pinwheel to MetaFilter-related at 10:12 AM PST - 51 comments

Just want to know more about how the musi.mefi thing is progressing; and of course, requests... [more inside]
posted by folktrash to MetaFilter Music at 8:41 AM PST - 50 comments

can we see the trackback indicator on the Recent Comments version of the front page, too, please?
posted by crunchland to feature requests at 6:12 PM PST - 4 comments

So.... I guess this means Matt was joking, right?
posted by XQUZYPHYR to MetaFilter-related at 2:47 PM PST - 28 comments

Are people who are not logged on, or who do not have accounts, allowed to see MetaTalk threads? I just sent my husband, who is a recording engineer and he got a message saying he didn't have permission to view it.
posted by Lynsey to bugs at 2:39 PM PST - 13 comments

I have been getting 404s when clicking the links to some threads, and when I hit the back button I get a message saying I was going back to a secure setting. Is everything okay?
posted by pxe2000 to bugs at 10:14 AM PST - 3 comments

WAY outta line. Ideologically speaking, I'm far, far closer to y2karl than I am to the victim of this jibe, but it left an awful taste in my mouth.

This is the kind of thing that makes us all look shallow and vituperative. Outside of the importunement of a heartfelt email (already sent), what venue does the average MeFite have for redress when something like this crops up?
posted by adamgreenfield to etiquette/policy at 1:09 AM PST - 79 comments

We've all seen the extensive how-tos of home recording that abound on the internet, but their suggestions can seem unreachable to someone with limited time, knowledge, income, or resources. How do we go from catchy riff to digitally mixing hit Metafilter-Music? Will a free version of Pro-Tools let us easily track up a house band? Should we shell out major dollars for a major software package like Cakewalk, PowerTracks, Cool Edit Pro, et cetera? Or, can the same sounds be achieved with free/share-ware like N-Track Studio or Goldwave & Multi-quence? Surely someone out there can offer some sage advice [...more inside...]
posted by krisis to MetaFilter Music at 4:24 PM PST - 57 comments

I've been trying unsuccessfully to find an old MeFi thread about a guy who provides financial assistance to needy requestors facing large, one-time unexpected expenses. I'm sorry to ask in a forum such as this, but I was hoping for help finding the thread...
posted by quasistoic to MetaFilter-related at 4:02 PM PST - 3 comments

Has anyone noticed a problem with MF and Safari >=0.67? These are the builds with tabs; 0.73, the first public release, went into open beta today. I often find that the MF home page will hang Safari until it's done (spinning cursor, can't scroll, can't leave the page early, no interaction at all.) This doesn't seem to happen with the lofi page (or anywhere else).
posted by Armitage Shanks to bugs at 7:22 AM PST - 21 comments

Fulfilling the MetaFilter Promise. What is your vision of what the MetaFilter (and MetaTalk) project could be or should be? Those here tend to agree that this enterprise is important, so why is it so? What is MetaFilter doing and what might it do? As an exercise in originality, consider posting your ideas before reading the others. (Disclaimer: I'm writing a thesis on Blog Communities, and this one's my fave).
posted by squirrel to etiquette/policy at 5:35 PM PST - 48 comments

It's here! MetaFilter Music.

I've uploaded most of the files people have sent me (I'll be adding more all day today). Lots of great stuff already. Electronica, rock, folk, it's all there. It uses the Andromeda streaming/download server which lets you download songs, stream folders/songs, and lets you make playlists on the fly.

Oh, I also added a new MetaTalk category to discuss music.metafilter.com-related stuff here.
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter Music at 3:31 PM PST - 96 comments

The common wisdom is that MetaTalk is more for venting than preventing; that it's read by an (obsessive) minority of users and that its suggestions and strictures are ineffective. And yet...[More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-related at 7:43 PM PST - 91 comments

The MetaFilter Music channel. I've got another server setup with loads of bandwidth, so I was thinking of this as a new project/feature at MetaFilter: A place to download and stream music created by MetaFilter members. Would anyone be interested in taking part? Do that many MetaFilter members create music?
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-related at 3:57 PM PST - 128 comments

More useless images in threads. When was the last time you saw a relevant image in a Metafilter thread? We talk about it all the time, but is there any point in keeping the img tag?
posted by adrianhon to etiquette/policy at 3:21 AM PST - 87 comments

I tried to load up metafilter earlier and it was taking a while. I noticed at the bottom of my explorer window it said something like "Opening page http://www.b4ta.com/metafilter" Then the page failed to load entirely. I'm confused.
posted by SimStupid to bugs at 8:01 PM PST - 12 comments

Iraqulence - a simple notion for screening Iraq posts. What is Iraqulence? Well, obviously, it is like flatulence in that it's smell can drive many from the Metafilter "room", while those who stay become irritable and fling invectives around.

Iraqulence tends to involve posts about stories which are divisive and could be perhaps framed in a less inflammatory way, yes, but it is also NewsFilterish, tending towards stories which might very well prove - the following day - to have been unfounded ("The US thinks it may have killed Saddam in a bombing attack (but maybe not) or have questionable significance and lack scope - or both ( perhaps "Exclusive Middle East sources have tracked down top Iraqi leader's bolt Hole?" - Not to point fingers too accusingly, as I've broken all these principles many times myself ).
posted by troutfishing to etiquette/policy at 12:58 PM PST - 44 comments

Reasonable and reasoned talk about the war? a global warming thread where people correct themselves and say "climate change"? Is Mefi returning to civility? Which is to say, normality???
posted by UncleFes to MetaFilter-related at 7:56 AM PST - 33 comments

The e-mail undercurrent: how important are private exchanges between MeFi users in day-to-day posting and, indeed, in the running of MetaFilter ? [More inside]
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-related at 8:15 PM PST - 137 comments

What were these links? In the Richard Perle in Guardian Shock! thread, specialk420 posted three links... all of them are mysteriously dead now.... Does anyone know what they were?

midas - ok... let me get this straight - the world is full of bad bogeymen that we have to do something about now.

but bush and his droves of supporters (of which i assume you are one)

dont want to pay for it
posted by specialk420 at 6:48 PM PST on March 21
posted by Espoo2 to MetaFilter-related at 2:49 PM PST - 11 comments

MeFi/MeTa not taking new members - Any one got any idea how long for and what new gadgets we're expecting?
posted by twine42 to bugs at 2:34 PM PST - 16 comments

What's DoubleFelix, and why do I get prompted to log in to it? Matteo directed us all to look at someone's posting record, but when I did, I was prompted to log in...? Did I miss a memo?
posted by crunchland to bugs at 10:49 AM PST - 4 comments

Quotation marks automatically terminate post titles.
posted by Johnny Assay to bugs at 8:33 PM PST - 4 comments

When viewing MeFi in "my comments" or "most comments" mode, selecting "date" from the pull-down menu does nothing. I have to go to "recent comments," then select "date" when in that mode to get it to work. Using IE 6.0.26 on XP, if relevant.
posted by XQUZYPHYR to bugs at 4:40 PM PST - 1 comments

Won't someone please register metafitler.com, with an autoforwarder to MeFi, to make my accidental keyboard dyslexian habits a little less deflating?
posted by armoured-ant to MetaFilter-related at 4:20 PM PST - 40 comments

I recently posted a comment in this thread, but it doesn't show in the 'sort-by-recently-posted' option for the front page of MeFi (which I can't find a way of linking to).

What's up with that?
posted by dash_slot- to bugs at 8:39 AM PST - 10 comments

I know this is old. But is the item at the bottom of the page going to happen this year?

"I'd like to do a MetaFilter picnic gathering at Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco some time this summer."

Could it happen this year? I was planning to take a trip to San Fransisco some time this year. Two birds. One stone. Could be fun.
posted by y6y6y6 to MetaFilter gatherings at 8:04 AM PST - 10 comments

MetaFilter: Such a powerful force, it has "Googlewashed" the term "Googlewash".
Now, let's try a really challenging meme: OW! (which actually started here to give credit where it's... OW!
posted by wendell to MetaFilter-related at 1:07 AM PST - 5 comments

I'm having trouble reconciling this MetaTalk post with this user page and oh, this first comment and this later comment.
I'm thinking not the same person...

Hijacked account? somebody borrow mom's password?
posted by y2karl to MetaFilter-related at 4:39 PM PST - 26 comments

Tired of war-related threads? Yes. Tired of non-war threads that feel the need to make reference to the fact that they are not war-related? Yes again.
posted by nthdegx to etiquette/policy at 11:50 PM PST - 33 comments

Holy trackback, Batman! I like Howard Dean as much as the next guy, but is it a good idea to allow images embedded into trackbacks?
posted by PrinceValium to bugs at 2:24 PM PST - 48 comments

The list of MeFi-tags seems to be down. Anyone got a copy?
posted by zerofoks to MetaFilter-related at 11:47 AM PST - 11 comments

i seem to recall mathowie expressly forbidding postroad from ever posting a debka link again. since postroad continually flouts even basic metafilter guidelines and seems to regard this forum as his personal colostomy bag, i think he needs a time out.
posted by donkeyschlong to etiquette/policy at 9:26 AM PST - 92 comments

With all this talk about finding ways to make Matt money, I've come up with the answer...
posted by crunchland to MetaFilter-related at 5:24 AM PST - 20 comments

Would it be possible to offer for purchase the complete (and, if possible. updatable online) MetaFilter and MetaTalk archives? Would enough people buy it for it to be worthwhile for Matt, revenue-wise? How much would such a treasure cost? Could it be produced on demand, to minimize costs? I know I'd buy it.
posted by MiguelCardoso to feature requests at 6:49 PM PST - 46 comments

The clocks went forward an hour in the UK at the weekend, so the GMT timing on posts is now an hour too early ...
posted by feelinglistless to bugs at 3:22 PM PST - 17 comments

Right...so we've got Google TextAds on MeFi, and that's great and all, really it is...but what, exactly, are they related to?

I mean, aren't TextAds directed advertising? I.e. I search for learning styles and on the right are some text ads related to learning styles.

What's the "search term" (for lack of a better phrase) used on MeFi, or, for that matter, the comments?
posted by taumeson to MetaFilter-related at 11:54 AM PST - 6 comments

Got Standards? With a least two "metafilter-like" open source projects currently in active development and potentially hundreds of foofilters on the horizon, isn't it time we began discussing at least the standard parameters for submitting to a foofilter site? (more inside)
posted by danOstuporStar to MetaFilter-related at 10:00 AM PST - 34 comments

is there a way to undo a trackback? does there need to be one?
posted by complex to bugs at 5:51 AM PST - 4 comments

An 'export my comments' feature. [more inside]
posted by rory to feature requests at 1:29 AM PST - 22 comments

Side scroll at 800x600 to about 900px wide in MeTa comments pages.
posted by SpecialK to bugs at 11:51 AM PST - 8 comments

Who's a trusted user? I need someone to edit my link here from "http://www.metafilter.com/www.agsfb.com" to "www.agsfb.com"
i tried looking all over mefi to see if i could find anyone to contact instead of posting here first...thanks
posted by car_bomb to etiquette/policy at 10:49 AM PST - 36 comments