June 2003 Archives (all archives)
June 30
MeFi in NYT
MeFi gets a brief (inaccurate) mention in the Times article the (not so) secret diary of a blogger today. "Any of the 171,151 members can nominate a link, but only those voted good enough by the others make it to the front page". Still, at least the author of the piece got his own weblog as part of the research.
June 29
I'm proposing a voting method for taking FPP posts down in Mathowie's absence.
I'm proposing a voting method for taking FPP posts down in Mathowie's absence. Details inside...
Clear, refreshing taste
TextAd graph is dead
The TextAd graph has gone belly-up. I want, nay demand, fancy graphs to go with my Ad expense, and all I got was this lousy error:
The chart could not be generated due to an error in the graphing engine.
The error occurred in C:\metafilter sites\www.metafilter.com\adsystem\log_report.cfm: line 218
216 :
217 :
218 :
The chart could not be generated due to an error in the graphing engine.
The error occurred in C:\metafilter sites\www.metafilter.com\adsystem\log_report.cfm: line 218
216 :
217 :
218 :
I'm an hour behind
I've got AEST (UTC+10) selected as my time zone on MeFi - but it's an hour fast. Any idea why?
June 28
Laughing at you, not with you.
Over the line. Please kill this.
Popup Ad on MeFi
Am I the only one who has gotten a popup ad on the blue page?
130,000 hits per day! (2003)
Say no more about the overload, in fact I rather welcome having something like 130.000 hits in one day, something to brag about in the pub when things get a bit dull. That was after my link crashed Johnny Spencer's artchive of Jamaican and American R&B on the 23rd. In disbelief, I wrote and asked for real? and got: 23rd, June = 133,130 hits or 2.2 GB bandwidth. I had no idea we had that much impact.
June 27
Google has been very slow for the past few days...
Google has been very slow for the past few days (through WorldCom T1.) When loading MetaFilter, it has been hanging on the Google Ads. While I don't want to add '127.0.0.1 pagead.googlesyndication.com' to my host file, I'm not sure of another way to resolve one site affecting another's ability to fully load.
The Search Engine Is Kinda Crap
When I search for the user "signal", I get one hit. I click on it, and see asterisk's home page. Surely that ain't right?
June 26
this thread has no link
this thread has no link.
Matt cited in English 101
Matt has been featured in Shift, Slate, Forbes, Wired, and The New York Times. Now he hits the big time: a citation in a college freshman's English essay.
June 25
An unusual, good thread about religion.
Who said MetaFilter doesn't do religion well? This truly soul-searching thread bears witness to what can be accomplished when the thread-raiders and thread-destroyers are good enough not to intervene and users are good enough to actually weigh in with their considered feelings and thoughts. Isn't it therefore self-defeating to conclude, avant la lettre, that MeFi is only good at certain, non-controversial, non-polemic issues? Why shoot ourselves in the foot if, given the right circumstances - perhaps happenstance, luck or magic - our boots are often so clearly and movingly made for walking? [Please add a thank-you note to all the posters who truly enlarged my perception of a big, weighty issue as is belief or non-belief in God.]
Please use descriptive titles for posts!
RSS feed request: having recently set up the RSS feed plugin in Trillian, it has come to my attention that many people set titles which rather than being descriptive of their threads are just little comments. For example: "Yikes", "Listen Closely", etc.
Please, I'm begging you, use descriptive titles for your posts.
Please, I'm begging you, use descriptive titles for your posts.
What do Mefites do for a living?
What do Mefites do for a living? I know we have just over A Trio Of Librarians, but is there a "most common" choice of career for a Metafilter member, or are most of us unemployed?
I imagine we have a gaggle of programmers & web designers, but are there any welders, boat builders, porn stars, farmers or bassoonists out there? What's the least common profession for a member?
I swear this was discussed once, I couldn’t seem to find it, but maybe it’s time to discuss again?
I imagine we have a gaggle of programmers & web designers, but are there any welders, boat builders, porn stars, farmers or bassoonists out there? What's the least common profession for a member?
I swear this was discussed once, I couldn’t seem to find it, but maybe it’s time to discuss again?
MetaFilter Quizzing Game Show Contestants?
Let's say a MetaFilter member is going to be on a game show in a month... a game show where one answers in the form of a question...
Would it be wrong to ask the various MetaDenizens for great links to quizzes and other sources that might help one prepare for such an undertaking?
(Just a hypothetical question here, no real reason...)
Would it be wrong to ask the various MetaDenizens for great links to quizzes and other sources that might help one prepare for such an undertaking?
(Just a hypothetical question here, no real reason...)
June 23
Las Vegas Meetup
Vegas baby, Vegas! Where the drinks are free, the neon lights shine brightly and the streets are coated in a light dusting of high-quality cocaine (or so I hear)!
MeFiVegas is happening November 7th-10th, plenty of time to arrange booking off some vacation time and sending the kids off to grandma's house.
No churlishness allowed.
MeFiVegas is happening November 7th-10th, plenty of time to arrange booking off some vacation time and sending the kids off to grandma's house.
No churlishness allowed.
Posting form not available on thread
Am I the only one that can't post to this thread? Meaning, the posting form isn't available.
I keep getting an error message when I post a new thread.
I keep getting an error message when I post a new thread.
June 20
meatfilter
Comment goes beyond the pale of acceptable comments
"On the other hand, this girl just might wake up with a sore pussy the next day and not even worry about it..." Delmoi's post is offensive, disgusting, insulting, demeaning to women, really creepy, and IMHO, is simply beyond the pale of acceptable comments. I know you should be able to say what you want, but the thread just keeps getting worse and worse. And it's not just Delmoi who's being sickening. Shouldn't this thread be deleted? What's the policy on really offensive stuff?
AppleFilter. It's a new pc. And it's faster. Hold me.
AppleFilter. It's a new pc. And it's faster. Hold me.
June 19
Am I the only one shaking my head at this?
So there's that Hello Kitty vibrator ad by nyxxxx, and now there's an ad saying he ripped Dean King off. I'd post the link to the page that the ad links to, but it apparently sends an email to nyxxxx every single time the page is reloaded. Am I the only one shaking my head at this? [more inside]
San Francisco Meetup
Time to put up or shut up. I propose, once and for all, an SF meetup.
More inside, baby. Don't be scared.
More inside, baby. Don't be scared.
At what point does posting to a thread become pointless?
At the risk of sounding like a newbie (and my user# is embarrassingly large), I have to ask: How long do people read the threads? I often read MeFi in lurk mode, and sometimes don't get around to visiting for a day or two, at which time I will find a thread I would like to comment in, but no one else has posted to for a couple of days. I don't mind missing out on a chance to post a smartass comment, but at times I might have something intelligent to add to the discussion. At what point does posting to a thread become pointless?
Request to update MetaTalk posting page for IE.
Dear Matt: given that most people here use IE, when will you modernize the MetaTalk posting page? You've known for ages that anyone hitting the "Back" button to edit their post will lose everything because of IE browser settings.
When will it be as easy as the MetaFilter one? How is someone who knows no HTML supposed to post to MetaTalk with the appropriate links, bold and italic emphases and whatever?
When will it be as easy as the MetaFilter one? How is someone who knows no HTML supposed to post to MetaTalk with the appropriate links, bold and italic emphases and whatever?
June 18
"Page Has Expired" after preview
After testing links in preview of both Posts and Comments, I hit "back" and get "Page Has Expired". (Dingoes Ate My FPP!) Happens in IE6, but not in Mozilla. Yes, I've eaten all my cookies. Is this something I need a computer to know about?
em-dash rendering problem
June 15
Rediff.com mentions the "ever-popular" MetaFilter in an not uninteresting article.
Rohini Kapur of Rediff.com mentions the "ever-popular" MetaFilter in an not uninteresting article.
June 14
PettyGrudgeFilter
PettyGrudgeFilter. Part of the amusement of Mefi isn't just the content, but getting to know the personalities behind the posts (admit it - if it weren't, why not just make all posts anonymous?). More Inside</small.
June 13
I agree with the sentiments, but that's not a good post.
1. Bush is an assclown.
2. This is not a good FPP, IMO.
Nothing personal, but it has been linked in at least one thread already, and is only a funny picture. Am I wrong (I mean this time)?
2. This is not a good FPP, IMO.
Nothing personal, but it has been linked in at least one thread already, and is only a funny picture. Am I wrong (I mean this time)?
Argyle's Guide to Circumventing "Free Registration" Links
I'm fed up with the "Free Registration" links. There's a way to avoid all that. Read more if you want to know how.
Bring back the via!
Whatever happened to good old via? Lately attributions on MetaFilter have become rarer and rarer. Have we all suddenly started finding our own links the hard way or has the habit sadly declined?
June 12
Paper finished
Mefite squirrel's communications studies paper, as originally mentioned here, is finished, and interesting.
Can't get this posted...
I miss Pete Wilson, to be honest. But, apparently, I can only say it once in that particular thread. I've tried posting the sentiment multiple times in that thread, but when I hit "post" nothing happens. [more inside]
What happened to all the comments that got deleted?
MetaFilter has an editor? More importantly, what happened to all the comments that got deleted? At least delted posts remain in the database, and are accessible. My comment is gone. Apart from the vanity of really liking my comment, I'm not a fan of the now-missing "public record".
Fat jokes aren't necessary.
Was this really necessary? [more inside]
Link check to prevent double posts?
Probably been mentioned before, but how hard would it be to link check on a post to ensure no double posting? You could even mock the poor soul!
June 11
Truly over the deep end, again
suspicions of transfered username
I have my suspicious that a recently more prolific username is being used by someone other than the original registrant. Are we even concerned about people giving or possibly selling thier usernames?
June 10
What happened to the CafePress/LGF thread?
I haven't had my coffee yet this morning, but unless I'm mistaken, the CafePress/LGF thread from yesterday is gone. What happened?
My name is demo, for we are many
please oh please would someone enable new users on mefi again. the shame and humiliation of posting as "demo" is monumentally soul-destroying. Won't anyone think of the children?
June 9
MetaFilter Offline
Was anyone else offline last night between 6 & 11 p.m. PDT besides me?
I think AskMetaFilter would really be a great site, said Jessamyn
Perhaps there should be a sub-site of metafilter where one could post topics without links when they need advice. There have been countless times I would have greatly valued the opinions of metafilter users when it comes to buying technology products, and advice with work and relationships. Sure you can always find some related link to throw in to make the question legitimate by mefi rules... but that's cheating.
June 8
Timestamps in wrong timezone
I'm logged in, but I'm still seeing timestamps in PST (I'm in EST, and my customize page still says that.)
(Win2K/IE6)...and at work so there may be firewall issues.)
(Win2K/IE6)...and at work so there may be firewall issues.)
Global MeFi meet-up
MeFiCon 2004: After the raging success of previous Mefi Meetups, ain't it time we lifted our vision?
Let's play Global Metafilter Meltdown!
Needs:
Mefi members +
Venue of international interest +
Affordability.
Oh, yeah, and someone to organise it....
Let's play Global Metafilter Meltdown!
Needs:
Mefi members +
Venue of international interest +
Affordability.
Oh, yeah, and someone to organise it....
June 7
NYC Meetup
June 6
Similar usernames confuse some readers
On a recent MeTa thread, Vidiot got mixed up over crunchburger and crunchland. Earlier, someone else had done the same with specialk420 and dejah420. Obviously it's imperative that Matt immediately ban similar-sounding user names. [More inside...]
500,000th comment on MeFi.
June 5
Local notices beneath our notice?
Should local concert cancellations be FPP worthy? How about traffic jams? Weather conditions? Other transitory localized phenomena?
Or maybe I really am snarky...
Or maybe I really am snarky...
Date problem when not logged in
A helpful lurker pointed out to me that when you aren't logged in, there are multiple "June 5th"s on the front page.
June 4
Textad too stimulating
Dean may well be the bee's knees, but still.
Another post praising Howard Dean leads to charges of DeanFilter. There may be something to those charges: there have been several uncritical and laudatory Howard Dean posts on MetaFilter over the past few months, some of which seem interchangeable. And, as matteo points out, it's probably only going to get worse. We complain (rightly) when a post reeks of viral marketing; why shouldn't this be any different? Shouldn't we be more skeptical of breathless posts that coo over politicians? Aren't we (well, not me per se, but American voters) being sold something? Dean may well be the bee's knees, but still.
The Return of I/P Filter!
The Return of I/P Filter! And the main link is just a CNN.com story. Can we say Newsfilter? The poster doesn't even try to be objective, rattling on about his "opinion" on (yawn) Bush. And...
Washington Post mention of FPP on chef refusing special orders
Metafilter makes Page 1 of the Washington Post. (Food section, that is.) The author quotes comments in this April 30 thread about a Washington chef fed up with her customers' special orders.
June 2
I miss newbies.
Newbies. I miss newbies. Are there still any newbies out there? Remember newbies? I miss newbies. [More inside.]
Cfquery Errors
It's getting to the point where metafilter is unusable due to all the cfquery errors. It's almost as if there's a 50/50 chance the query will time out and bomb.
June 1
Update text re Iraq
Just a quick quibble - as the war in Iraq is no longer "impending", can we (well, you) edit the Post a Link page to either remove or update the warning to potential warfilter posters?
A Pony made of (Kevin) Bacon
There are so many interesting relationships here. I would enjoy a search function that queried two users and parsed them for shared threads. The output would contain all the threads that both user A and user B posted to--possibly with other criteria, such as key words? If this has been suggested before, I haven't been able to find it.