September 2003 Archives

Tried deleting cookies, logging out and in, but whilst MeFi shows my timezone as set in my preferences, MeTa is a different timezone. Frisbee... sorry... discuss.
posted by Blue Stone to Bugs at 2:51 PM PST - 7 comments

For Discussion: What's with the four Google ads above the sidebar?
posted by ~rschram to MetaFilter-Related at 2:31 PM PST - 19 comments

Product-Filter! Have we been taken over by marketing droids when I wasn't looking?
posted by dejah420 to MetaFilter-Related at 8:20 AM PST - 48 comments

Bad form, stonerose. You may not have agreed with the FPP, but it certainly wasn't made in bad faith. So there's no excuse for linking to the poster's blog just to get in a personal dig.
posted by PrinceValium to Etiquette/Policy at 9:38 PM PST - 73 comments

Our group Web log gets a mention in the NYT.
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 2:39 PM PST - 50 comments

I cite this as an example, and there have been several over the years, for a number of requests for MeFi. (more inside)
posted by ZachsMind to Feature Requests at 10:16 AM PST - 65 comments

Blatantly misleading FPP.
posted by squirrel to Etiquette/Policy at 10:10 AM PST - 20 comments

Drink! Police action! More drink! Noise! Drink! Ice Cream! You thought it would never happen but you were wrong. The first ever MeFi UK meetup in merrie old Oxford, England. Photography occured...
posted by i_cola to MetaFilter Gatherings at 3:39 AM PST - 46 comments

Who's the Poet Laureate of MetaFilter? Sure, we have eloquent and witty members by the dozen, and everyone appreciates their stellar prose. However, our poets deserve recognition and a thread of their own. So, who's the most lyrical among us? I've said before that thomcatspike is the ee cummings of MeFi, and he may be, but stavrosthewonderchicken called me out here for saying so, claiming that clavdis is unequalled. All right, so we have two nominations. Any others? Favorite moments from these two or any other nominees?
posted by orange swan to MetaFilter-Related at 11:17 AM PST - 74 comments

I realize this topic has nothing to do with Metafilter but, does anyone have any idea what has happened over at plastic.com? The site went dead on Tuesday night and I have been unable to get any information? Apologize about this, but would appreciate any information. Thanks in advance.
posted by MAYORBOB to Uptime at 3:52 PM PST - 46 comments

In Japan, don't they use the Lichter Scale?
posted by dhoyt at 2:52 PM PST on September 25 (earthquake thead)

rook! I can see my house from here!
posted by jonson at 11:59 AM PST on September 25(Chinese space program thread)

Hooray! Metafilter's full of ignorant fuckwads! GO TEAM!
posted by cCranium to Etiquette/Policy at 3:03 PM PST - 206 comments

Odd: using Mozilla 1.4, I can't enter text into the text fields on the search page -- but I can paste into them. What's up with that?
posted by me3dia to Bugs at 1:08 PM PST - 5 comments

I can't load the thread: http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/17848. I tried Safari and IE 5.2 for Mac.
posted by BlueTrain to Bugs at 11:08 AM PST - 9 comments

I love using MeFi with the light "plain-text" scheme; could it be extended to Metatalk as well? Nothing fancy; just body, .menu { background: white } and I'll be happy.

(Oh, and a white pony.)
posted by brownpau to Feature Requests at 3:09 PM PST - 10 comments

I'm having a party in Cambridge, ON. MeFi'ers welcome to attend. [more inside]
posted by Melinika to MetaFilter Gatherings at 10:19 AM PST - 13 comments

While sometimes I know the Bush Bad threads wear on a number of us (not to mention the problems with Newsfilter), I wanted to single out today's post by insomnia_lj linking to Bush's UN speech as good. [more inside]
posted by namespan to Etiquette/Policy at 8:13 PM PST - 26 comments

why isn't there an option to open comments on a new window? we have the option to open links to a new window, but i always end up having to right click comments.
posted by joedan to Feature Requests at 2:14 AM PST - 28 comments

"This is MetaFilter, not NewsFilter, asshat": a delightful namecheck from the crucial, irrepressible Misanthropic Bitch, echoing a worthy sentiment and a cause by now well lost. (Received by e-mail, with thanks.)
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 8:55 PM PST - 90 comments

Matt, has the policy on double-posts changed?
[more inside...]
posted by anastasiav to Etiquette/Policy at 11:04 PM PST - 38 comments

I was trying to put less-than and more-than symbols in a post and used the "& # 62/60;" format. It worked in preview, but in actualité, it left a big blank space where the enclosed [witty] comment was supposed to appear.
What's the situation with character entity references here on MeFi? [The FAQ was silent on this, so I ask.]
posted by Blue Stone to Bugs at 5:16 PM PST - 14 comments

6 days to go and counting... Matt, could you drop a sidebar link to the upcoming UK MeFi Meetup. (discussed here). Oh, and can I have a pony too please.
posted by seanyboy to MetaFilter Gatherings at 10:05 AM PST - 57 comments

Can we bring back the MetaFilter scholarship?
posted by insomnyuk to MetaFilter-Related at 11:53 AM PST - 43 comments

Spell check deletes comment on exit [Opera 6.05]
posted by monkey closet to Bugs at 1:09 AM PST - 23 comments

I should know this, being one of MeFi's last surviving "early adopters" (user #206), but I don't...
MetaFilter's NO multiple-threads, chronological order, NO sigs or avatars, permalinked format for comment pages has become the standard default style for blog comments, used by most blog software out there. (And that format has been, with all its abuses, one of the major reasons why MeFi has been my favorite Web Hangout for most of its 4 years).
So, Matt, why is it so? Did you duplicate some even earlier weblog pioneer I don't remember? Did you just follow a K.I.S.S. methodology? Or was it all/partly about the limitations in the Cold Fusion database or your then-newbie abilities with it? Tell me, for the record, how much credit (or blame) do you think you deserve for "The Way We Do Comments"?
posted by wendell to MetaFilter-Related at 12:22 AM PST - 15 comments

Avast, Cap'n Mathowie! That be a lovely logo you've got there! Arr!
posted by anastasiav to MetaFilter-Related at 9:36 PM PST - 40 comments

This page gives me a pop-up ad every time. It originally happened when I opened the link, but now the MeFi page itself wants me to get a Verizon cell phone. I know that Matt didn't randonly decide to allow pop-up ads on a single thread, so how this must be my fault. What did I do?
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly to Bugs at 1:30 PM PST - 20 comments

I posted this thread yesterday, in which every word was a link to a different site, something I find fun to do (I do provide alt text for each link). A user commented, however, that this practice should be banned, initially because it is 'lame' but later clarified her position. Is this linking style collectively annoying enough to be banned or flameworthy or is really just a matter of individual preference?
posted by moonbird to Etiquette/Policy at 4:06 AM PST - 75 comments

If one were to put together a Metafilter film festival, including undistributed short films that have been linked on the blue, which films would make the cut? Off the top of my head I can think of both A Shoggoth on the Roof and 80s Ending. Any others?
posted by pxe2000 to MetaFilter-Related at 7:39 AM PST - 32 comments

vito90 calls for a Tokyo MeFi meetup somewhere between Oct 4-17. I'm happy to organize.
Please leave comments if you can/want to attend and if so, what days/times are good for you. For those who are living outside of Tokyo, Saturday nights may be better. But lets also consider a Wednesday or Friday night. My location recommendation would be Ebisu but we could also go check out the new location for The Pink Cow in Shibuya too.
posted by gen to Bugs at 10:51 PM PST - 16 comments

The guidelines say: Self-linking also appropriates the use of MetaFilter as your guestbook...

So why is this still here?
posted by dg to Etiquette/Policy at 3:43 PM PST - 75 comments

Salon's feature on the porn chat-room vigilante site Perverted Justice includes the lazy journalist's best friend: non-attributed man on the street quotes from MetaFilter.
posted by rcade to MetaFilter-Related at 6:36 AM PST - 43 comments

It's bad enough he posts a weak, vapid message about basically nothing... but he's done it twice now, within 6 months, using the same links. How long will we continue to allow him to turn metafilter into his own chat room?
posted by crunchland to Etiquette/Policy at 9:42 PM PST - 364 comments

rss.xml is unhappy
posted by soplerfo to Bugs at 12:04 PM PST - 7 comments

Today I posted a small amount of Johnny Cash music from my personal FTP server in rememberance of Johnny Cash. Since I could find no information about the use of FTP's in a threads discussion, I am trying to understand the context of it being wrong or right. Either way: Please dont delete the post until later today. Please?
posted by Keyser Soze to Bugs at 4:54 AM PST - 42 comments

Allright, place your bets for the next celebrity death on the front page for today. Third try's a charm, Mr. President.
posted by Keyser Soze to MetaFilter-Related at 4:02 AM PST - 24 comments

User Cyrano just seconded my recent contention that it seems every "lyrics site" is a pop-up nightmare that would shame most pr0n sites (not that I'd know...). Are there any "lyrics sites" that aren't? Come to think of it (really stupid question follows), are "lyrics sites" even half-way legal, or do they just exist because ASCAP and BMI are not as evil as the RIAA?
posted by wendell to MetaFilter-Related at 10:51 PM PST - 15 comments

Now that MeFi Distilled has been dormant throughout September, how are time-challenged and reassurance-seeking users to know what's worth reading on MetaFilter? I wonder how many readers rely on extraneous filters to get a handle on what to follow here. MeFi Distilled is good. Are there any other time-saving devices for those of us too occupied to read every single word?
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 8:10 PM PST - 29 comments

Posting the phone and fax number of an organization for protest seems fair game. Posting the home address of that organization's director, not so much.
posted by headspace to Etiquette/Policy at 12:22 PM PST - 105 comments

The links I posted in the 9/11 thread seem to have inspired an arguement which is derailing the thread. [More inside.]
posted by homunculus to Etiquette/Policy at 10:32 AM PST - 60 comments

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank those MeTa-folks who helped me out with advice on preparing for Jeopardy.

No, I didn't win, but I achieved my personal goal of not spazzing out in front of the cameras and also managed to chit-chat with Alex, answered a few tough questions, and even got a (intentional) laugh out of the audience.

You can watch me on September 15th (check your local listings for times).
posted by jpburns to MetaFilter Gatherings at 2:11 PM PST - 34 comments

The ongoing U.S. vs. rest-of-the-world grudge match is unnecessary and annoying, especially when it's off topic.
posted by PrinceValium to Etiquette/Policy at 1:03 PM PST - 54 comments

Saturday evening's meetup at the Great Dane brewpub in Madison, WI was a success. Fun was had. Beer was consumed. Photos were taken.
posted by aine42 to MetaFilter Gatherings at 11:20 AM PST - 44 comments

So I'm guessing that we've adopted a new unwritten policy on doubleposts?
[example, example, example]
posted by crunchland to Etiquette/Policy at 6:56 AM PST - 14 comments

We needed another gratuitous product pitch? As the worthless Legs McNeil once said: please kill me.
posted by adamgreenfield to Etiquette/Policy at 5:53 AM PST - 5 comments

It's pony time! Well, maybe less of a pony, and more of a Falabella. Anyway, what about a little link on the front page of MeTa that resets your threads and posts update? I often return every half hour or so (I know...) and the count doesn't reset...
posted by twine42 to Feature Requests at 4:55 AM PST - 8 comments

Sources for posts Sept. 8: WaPo, WaPo, WaPo, WaPo. Four out of 20 posts yesterday cited the Washington Post. Was it just that good of an issue, or are we relying too heavily on the same old media for our newsfilter posts? [more inside]
posted by me3dia to MetaFilter-Related at 9:12 AM PST - 44 comments

MeFi: 1, 2, 3 years ago.
Being a big fan O' the side blog I noticed that 4 years ago now works as well... Also, Mefi & Blog are both not in the spell check.
Is it better to post little things like this here? AIM? Email? What's the preferred method of submitting little bugs?
posted by Blake to Bugs at 6:46 AM PST - 12 comments

The First MeFi UK Meetup: Oxford, Friday 26th September

Just a reminder for those that expressed an interest in our last thread - let's finalise details if we can: see this page for plans so far.

Oh, and if you know in advance that you can't make it, post here or on the Wiki, and we'll raise a glass to you in your absence (",)
posted by dash_slot- to MetaFilter Gatherings at 4:21 PM PST - 68 comments

Following up on Frasermoo's MeTa post from the fourth ("How international are we?"), is it possible to start a listing of Canadian MeFi members' postal codes? [more inside]
posted by philfromhavelock to Feature Requests at 10:17 PM PST - 51 comments

I notice that MetaFilter has received some strong critisism over the last few days. Now while the manner of some of the critisism (in the comments at ASM and another site I won't mention) to some extent debase the point that is being made due to name calling and (dare I say it) Ad Hominem attacks on this place (what do I win for using that phrase?), in the stream of hatred, are there some underlying points that should be taken on board?
posted by chill to MetaFilter-Related at 4:09 PM PST - 346 comments

Either my skin isn't thick and warty enough, or this place is merely for those into intellectual masturbation. I thought this comment was uncalled for in response to mine.

I don't feel like getting into the sandbox, and I haven't been to ~~law~~ judgement school. Next time I guess I'll just keep it to myself. /end vent
posted by yoga to Etiquette/Policy at 10:31 AM PST - 66 comments

In both browsers on my machine (IE6 and Firebird), this thread appears when I'm logged in, but vanishes when I log out. I've never noticed this before; is there a reason why this happens? This makes me wonder if I've missed other stuff in the past.
posted by deadcowdan to Bugs at 6:56 AM PST - 11 comments

After the n^th post to a new york times (nytimes.com) site that requires a subscription, which was easily circumvented via searching google news for 3 of the words in the quoted article text from the post, I'm wondering if we can do anything programmatically to solve this. Perhaps search through the posted links, and if nytimes comes up without a partner section of the link, put a small note in red on the preview screen. Or at least add this and the comments we've previously made about posting to low bandwidth sites to the posting guidelines.
posted by woil to Feature Requests at 5:29 PM PST - 31 comments

A minor nit, but it's misleading to use a false anchor tag in a link, because people will wrongly assume it's legitimate. The Christian Science Monitor did not declare neoconservatives to be their enemies.
posted by rcade to Etiquette/Policy at 5:45 AM PST - 55 comments

The spit takes thread made me think: why hasn't anybody devised a MetaFilter Drinking Game? (Well, actually, kottke did, indirectly, long ago, but I'm sure we can haul out every MeFi cliche' imaginable and compile them into an excuse for near-life-threatening blood-alcohol-levels. (Might even increase attendance at MeFi MeetUps)

I'll start with the way-too-obvious:
One drink for every thread by Miguel.
Two drinks for every thread NOT by Miguel that mentions Miguel...
posted by wendell to MetaFilter-Related at 1:23 AM PST - 51 comments

"One day everyone will rely on Dong Resin's Joint and MetaFilter". Along with other, less interesting sources. This seems to be the gist of this recent Online Journalism Review column by Mark Glaser. And it sounds good to me. So the question is: what danger is there of what we take to be parochial and almost private actually going mainstream? Is MetaFilter still a secret? What is lost and what is gained if it suddenly goes mainstream on us?
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 6:58 PM PST - 41 comments

Metafilter thread and user growth stats have been updated, along with the top 20 charts. Five consecutive months of no new users means less overall threads and comments, but the Blogstop acronym thread broke the top 3 most commented entries and Tom Swifties broke the top 20.
posted by waxpancake to MetaFilter-Related at 9:01 AM PST - 72 comments

Next Thursday is the second anniversary of Sept 11th. The inundation is already starting both here and in all other media. Mayhap the anniversary will be a good time to talk about anything but (i.e. actively posting non-9/11 material)? Or am I being stone cold and inhuman?
posted by PinkStainlessTail to MetaFilter-Related at 8:39 AM PST - 42 comments

You'd think that someone with an under 8000 user number would know this, but, to my great shame, I don't.
Is the only way to format text in a post to use html tags, or is there some super-secret, tell no one, y'oughta know this already, other method of formatting (I dunno, some weird macro type syntax or something)?
posted by jpburns to MetaFilter-Related at 6:08 AM PST - 32 comments

posted by foo at xx:xx xM PST

Shouldn't this be PDT during daylight savings time?

Should I change my handle to analnewc2?
posted by anewc2 to Bugs at 4:21 AM PST - 4 comments

Is there anyway of telling how strong the 'outside-America' contingent is on MeFi?

How international are we?

Hello from London.
posted by Frasermoo to MetaFilter-Related at 1:49 AM PST - 96 comments

I like the idea that everyone’s comments are on an equal playing field on this site. It doesn’t elevate or exclude anyone. However, I would appreciate a way to screen a comment before I attempt to read it. So as a feature, is there a way to let the individual member decide whether they want the “posted by ‘X’” before or after the post itself?
posted by BlueTrain to Feature Requests at 5:47 PM PST - 45 comments

Although this thread was used before (and the bad spelling!), it had a little more relevance to the accompanying links. Double post? Yes. Included more than the previous post? Yes. Someone forgot to spell check? Yes.
posted by Keyser Soze to MetaFilter-Related at 2:03 PM PST - 24 comments

Seybold SF is next week. Geek-safe venue. Lots of toys. Anyone going to be around specific areas? any conference sessions with mf members as speakers? i'll be the guy with the nametag on.
posted by th3ph17 to MetaFilter Gatherings at 8:52 AM PST - 3 comments

"I just spat coffee all over my computer"
Did you? Did you really?
posted by meech to Etiquette/Policy at 2:33 AM PST - 111 comments

Reminder: MSP Mefi Meetup, Thursday September 4, 7PM at Joe's Garage!
posted by clever sheep to MetaFilter Gatherings at 10:44 AM PST - 34 comments

OK, it's been suggested before in passing, but I can't find an actual feature-request thread, so I'm going ahead and asking: When comments are deleted from a thread, can there be some residue, maybe an asterisk, maybe an icon, indicating that there used to be a comment at that point, so later non-deleted references to said comment aren't so confusing?
posted by soyjoy to Feature Requests at 9:32 AM PST - 21 comments

Having the « Older... | ...Newer » links at the top of a thread [to the left of the date] as well as the bottom would be handy..?
posted by i_cola to Feature Requests at 7:58 AM PST - 11 comments