September 2004 Archives

Matt, did you delete weston's Why/Something/Nothing AskMe thread? Sure, it had some problems, as it was a vaguely-worded question that resulted in initial snarking, but I believe weston meant it as a sincere philosophical question, and it resulted in a number of good philosophy/religion links, as well as some unique personal perspectives. Maybe you didn't notice that it ended up as a very good thread?
posted by Shane to Etiquette/Policy at 1:48 PM PST - 44 comments

So, there's the 'vote reminder' on the top of each and every thread then. That's fabulous, truely. It'd be nicer if it only displayed if a user's $location == 'USA'? I won't mention the amount of worthless VoteFilter posts it'll encourage...
posted by metaxa to MetaFilter-Related at 1:55 AM PST - 6 comments

European (and EuroLovin') MeFites: IRC (irc.turlyming.com:6667, channel #euro) chat tonight at 9:30 GMT about "Vewropa" new community Euroblog in the making. If you haven't seen it yet, the AskMe question that kicked it off is here. The Wiki that will get you up to date is here. Have a look around, and show up tonight to share your opinions.
posted by taz to MetaFilter-Related at 7:36 AM PST - 34 comments

Matt, please drop the MeFi internal search. It doesn't work, and it makes people think they're not double-posting when they are.
posted by Pretty_Generic to Bugs at 6:01 AM PST - 18 comments

Curiosity about posts and comments leads me to ask about the feasibility and ease of generating some use data. Like being able to see who's posts have gotten the most comments, which posts have gotten the most comments period, speed of commenting, things like that, which days get more comments, etc.

Is this doable, has it been done already? Can I see?
posted by fenriq to Feature Requests at 10:57 PM PST - 18 comments

I have no love for Microsoft but this FPP only encourages mean-spirited and dishonest behavior.
posted by b1tr0t to Etiquette/Policy at 8:43 PM PST - 32 comments

The Final Nail. I haven't been reading as much lately---I'm am hoping that the election will be over soon so the excuses are gone for shitty posts. But, there it is.

A double post. It is a Newsfilter post, that isn't even news since it has been talked about for over a decade. It is clearly does not meet the stated standard. It is a classic troll: toss a turd that you *know* will incite much argument, for no apparent reason.. It is a single-link to a newspaper. It is a blatant amount of negative campaigning even while we try to encourage voting with a new link at the top of the page.

For the love of god, it is a self-Godwinizing post!

Matt posted the very next post, 30 minutes later, so there is no chance he didn't see the post.

Yet... it remains there on the blue.

It is the piece de resitance of the the shithole Matt has willingly allowed MeFi to become. I would say amazing if it wasn't so sad....
posted by Seth to Etiquette/Policy at 4:57 PM PST - 104 comments

would anyone else like to see categories like here in metatalk on askme? (mi)
posted by ethylene to Feature Requests at 12:53 PM PST - 25 comments

A repost this may be, but it's highly worthy and should stay on the front page, because the chap has made more 'critters' since I last saw the site, and I very much appreciate being reminded of it, and for flip's sake, it was last posted in 2002.

[more inside]
posted by chrid to Etiquette/Policy at 8:21 PM PST - 21 comments

You have less than a week to register to vote in the US Presidental Election. Please take a moment to check out this voter information guide to help register. If you're already registered or don't live in the US, click here.

That's a great public service announcement, except there's one word wrong. It should be: "If you're already registered or don't vote in the US". Some people live in the US but can't vote, and some don't live in the US but can vote.

Also, I checked that link, since I live in France and want to vote, but it didn't help. There's a bunch of sites for registering, but most of them assume you live in the US. However, overseasvote2004 was very helpful (mentioned here). Help is useful, because it's all a bit complicated.
posted by Turtle to Bugs at 4:59 PM PST - 10 comments

Is there a reason why my really innocuous comment in this thread was deleted? I think I said something like, "Ahhh, the benefits of the scientific method...", or some-such nonsense...

Just wondering if I did something wrong ... or did something go kablooie?
posted by jpburns to Etiquette/Policy at 1:50 PM PST - 7 comments

So now that this little prostitute has enough money for herself...

so that this little chippie can pretend to be Mother Theresa...

So, is sexism excused when there's a globalization argument to pile on? I just want to make sure.

There's no point getting angry at Faze though.

I strongly disagree.
posted by solistrato to Etiquette/Policy at 11:30 AM PST - 64 comments

Can someone flag the link in RavinDave's comment in this thread NSFW? I understand it is art, but many people can't make that distinction. (like, say, the two women sitting to my left and right in this computer lab)
posted by slhack3r to Etiquette/Policy at 5:50 AM PST - 5 comments

Metafilter meetup in the Vibe Bar, off Brick Lane this Saturday October 2nd (original thread here).
posted by plep to MetaFilter Gatherings at 3:40 AM PST - 15 comments

Four years ago there was a MeFi Election Prediction contest (original thread, results thread). Is rcade still around here? Does he or someone else want to coordinate a contest for this year?
posted by gluechunk to MetaFilter-Related at 10:21 AM PST - 21 comments

Matt, have you ever heard of this out fit - www.sendbackliberty.us

The url takes you to this page...!!

Looks well fishy to me.
posted by dash_slot- to MetaFilter-Related at 1:35 AM PST - 33 comments

filmgeek seems to want to do the right thing here, but he needs admin hope to do it.
posted by scarabic to Etiquette/Policy at 1:13 PM PST - 8 comments

I dislike it when friends of mine in Iraq are accidentally FPP'ed, when I know for a fact that they could potentially get in trouble for even having a weblog and depend upon "anonymity through numbers" to get away with it.

1> Could this link be fixed to point to the true link?

2> Can we establish some kind of method to quote/reference content that cannot, for security reasons, be linked to? Could a few trusted individuals, for example, check out sources/links of material privately?

For instance, I regularly read things in soldier's private journals that I cannot and will not link to because it could get the people in question into serious trouble. I would like to share such things, but if the links become public, then the sources face having their lives destroyed.
posted by insomnia_lj to Etiquette/Policy at 6:19 AM PST - 128 comments

Sheesh. Forgetting the fact that this is a crap FPP, do we have to have this stupid argument again? I get really tired of reading the uninformed, bigoted opinions of anti-religion types with chips on their shoulders. You are free to not believe in God; I am not bothered by your not-believing. But you not-believing is not evidence of intellectual or moral superiority. It's just a choice you made, a choice I can understand and respect. How about some reciprocation already?
posted by eustacescrubb to Etiquette/Policy at 7:21 PM PST - 171 comments

The link in this girlfriend/Powerpoint post has been switched to Goatse. Just a warning for those of you that may have subsequently posted it to your own blogs, or mailed it to your boss or something.
posted by chill to Bugs at 1:28 PM PST - 25 comments

Like many of us, I've got AdBlock installed in Mozilla/Firefox. I've gathered from reading threads that Google textads appear in a number of threads, often with hilarious results. However, I don't see these ads because I've got the iframe or whatever filtered out.

Does filtering the ads affect the pageviews or whatever mechanism is used to pay Matt? If so, I'll happily unblock the ads to keep Metafilter solvent. If not, I'm just as happy to skip them.
posted by stet to MetaFilter-Related at 1:13 PM PST - 17 comments

Amazon referral links in posts. grabbingsand caught another user linking to Amazon with his own referral code in a post. How do people feel about this? A personal referral code is (IMHO) obnoxious, but what happens when people start slipping in referral codes to political sites? Is there even any way to catch this?

(previously discussed a while back)
posted by mkultra to Etiquette/Policy at 11:25 AM PST - 25 comments

I will pay mathowie $10 (or more) to auto delete any post that contains "it vibrates". I'm 100% serious.
posted by jonah to Feature Requests at 11:14 AM PST - 52 comments

Despite all the political squabbles and armchair revolutionaries around here, it's not that often that one of us actually personally pisses off a dictator. So let's all give a hearty congratulations to Hossein Derakhshan, our very own hoder, who recently earned himself an official rebuke by the Iranian theocracy for his tireless efforts in keeping pro-democracy Iranian blogs alive following the mullahs' crackdown on them. Tabrik!
(And cute pic, by the way.)
posted by Asparagirl to MetaFilter-Related at 1:28 PM PST - 47 comments

Is it technically feasible to have a single search page that can search, if so desired, all meta* content at once? Or must I be doomed to a weary life? Searching three things is hard and I need a nap afterwards. Help!
posted by Hildago to Feature Requests at 10:19 AM PST - 6 comments

Whatever happened to the UpdateFilter idea? (Hearing about the FL supreme court overturning the law keeping Terry Schiavo alive reminded me.) Terri was discussed here and here.
posted by amberglow to Feature Requests at 9:59 AM PST - 3 comments

The copyright notice at the bottom of all 3 colours still stops at 2003.
posted by zadcat to Bugs at 5:47 AM PST - 22 comments

Minneapolis Meet-Up
This Saturday, Sept. 25th
7 PM
Elsie's
Be there or, uh, I guess don't be there
posted by Zosia Blue to MetaFilter Gatherings at 8:51 PM PST - 13 comments

I posted a link. Shortly thereafter, I get creepy spam-mail asking me to post links to Joe Blow's slightly-related site. I ignore. Not long, though, until link appears in comments. Does this ever happen to anyone else?
posted by eustacescrubb to Etiquette/Policy at 6:24 PM PST - 23 comments

Enough with the big / strong / italics.
posted by bshort to Etiquette/Policy at 1:26 PM PST - 41 comments

Are MetaFilter members a bunch of negative ninnies? [more]
posted by mathowie to Etiquette/Policy at 1:12 PM PST - 139 comments

Okay so, um, a friend of a friend of mine recently posted an AxMe question that he or she already knew the answer to in order to get it and the (thorough and complete and links aplenty'd) answers into our lovely little database here. Now he or she feels a little guilty for taking advantage of fellow member's credulity. How may I console this friend of a friend?
posted by WolfDaddy to Etiquette/Policy at 12:50 PM PST - 21 comments

Swing the State ad is garbled when not logged in [screenshot]
posted by dash_slot- to Bugs at 10:37 AM PST - 2 comments

"the point of MetaFilter is to find the best and most interesting of the web" - with the growing popularity of such services as del.icio.us (and the super-useful aggregated popular view), and the rise in popularity of the 'link blog' (waxy, anil and kottke for example) is there anyway MeFi can hope to keep up or is the gradual evolution into current-events lead discussion inevitable?
posted by gi_wrighty to MetaFilter-Related at 5:04 AM PST - 49 comments

Small text doesn't mitigate excessive length, karl. It exacerbates it, by making ALL THAT harder to read. What? Are you trying to make less work for those of us who will scroll past it? If you want to be read, leave your Iraq links + editorializing legible and stop pretending they don't take up as much space as they do.
posted by scarabic to Etiquette/Policy at 11:29 PM PST - 46 comments

I have a much bigger problem with the people who shit all over this thread than I do with the thread itself, which was rather cute. I still think it would've been a valid AxMe post even if the "win a gmail invite for being cute" portion hadn't been there.
posted by SpecialK to Etiquette/Policy at 12:30 PM PST - 42 comments

This British soldiers in Iraq torture photos thread is busted.
posted by Irontom to Bugs at 9:42 AM PST - 8 comments

Media related metanoia - I feel that things I (and others) write and post on Metafilter seem to pop up a little too often up as stories, talking points, and as linguistic affectations of the chattering classes, on Public Radio: media succubi and incubi leeching off the juices of Metafilter and the blogoshpere at large. This has been discussed before, and will no doubt be discussed again - as at once a reality, a paranoia, and an irritant.
posted by troutfishing to MetaFilter-Related at 11:08 AM PST - 62 comments

It is good to know, it this time of crisis and calamity and universal bruhaha, that there is still a place in MetaFilter to enjoy the quiet, traditional values of Talk Like A Pirate Day: "Dead Posts Tell No Tales."

Who'll join me in a round of pirate carols?

Fifteen men on deadman's chest
yo-ho-ho! and bottle of rum!
posted by SPrintF to MetaFilter-Related at 8:41 AM PST - 34 comments

Can we start using [more inside] in metatalk? It's a pain to come upon posts like This one after they've had their desired effect and the comment has been deleted. Because you have to basically guess what is being complained about. [MI]
posted by bonaldi to Etiquette/Policy at 10:34 PM PST - 12 comments

This isn't funny. Though I concede that the probability of anyone actually doing it is remote, the comment is nonetheless inappropriate.
posted by Kwantsar to Etiquette/Policy at 11:04 AM PST - 67 comments

MetaMystery: Something was funny about the FP (Front Page) of MeFi for me today: the date stamps on all the FPPs (Front Page Posts) were in Mountain Time (UTC-7) instead of the time zone I had specified, Pacific (UTC-8). Was that some Daylight/Standard time thing happening or did somebody figure out my password and change my specs? If so, please disregard any comments posted in my name so far today. Or is this really me posting this in MeTa? I get so confused.
posted by wendell to Bugs at 5:42 PM PST - 1 comments

MeFi London meetup?
posted by plep to MetaFilter Gatherings at 9:40 AM PST - 32 comments

Worst in -joke evar !
posted by yerfatma to Etiquette/Policy at 7:28 AM PST - 45 comments

"Do the smirking people in [this single link to a photo I just posted to the front page of MetaFilter for no obvious reason and leading to no possibilities other than a Democrat/Republican pissing match] really feel proud for terrorizing a three-year-old girl?" What a pointlessly provocative post. Delete please.
posted by louigi to Etiquette/Policy at 9:47 PM PST - 44 comments

Seasonal Affective Metafilter Disorder : I noticed it's my "Metafilter Birthday" today, and was reminded of my encroaching Seasonal Affective Mood Disorder - which in the past for me, with the shortening of the days in the Northern Hemisphere, has manifested itself in part through excessive Metafilter posting. Does anyone else notice a SAMD effect ? Or perhaps a corresponding Spring or Summer MetaMania™ ?
posted by troutfishing to MetaFilter-Related at 2:54 PM PST - 65 comments

Hey Matt, why was my post about Gunther deleted, or would anyone else care to field that question for me?
posted by Mach3avelli to Etiquette/Policy at 1:59 PM PST - 9 comments

Admin hope has been requested here. Tankoo.
posted by scarabic to Etiquette/Policy at 12:05 PM PST - 3 comments

In the green, I recently posted a question about a poem I once read but couldn't locate. I was asked to post the poem if I found it, which I have. The original thread has been archived, so I'm posting it here. I hope this isn't an etiquette violation. If it is, I'm sorry.
posted by grumblebee to Etiquette/Policy at 11:07 AM PST - 12 comments

How is one link to MSNBC and solicitation of opinions "The Best Of The Web?" Or have we given up on that and just become a political site?
posted by keswick to Etiquette/Policy at 10:02 AM PST - 34 comments

When I try to post a comment to this thread my post is completely missing on the preview screen. The coment is plain text, and I'm using Firefox 0.9.2, which has worked here so far.
posted by Songdog to Bugs at 9:24 AM PST - 1 comments

Is anyone interested in helping to organize a MeFi Searchathon? [More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter Gatherings at 3:45 AM PST - 29 comments

Whoa! I dropped "metafilter.com" into amazon to try and find that alexa site ranking thing, and found out the site appears in 14 books.
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 4:48 PM PST - 27 comments

When not logged in, the date header appears twice on the front page.
posted by eyeballkid to Bugs at 3:25 PM PST - 16 comments

What the heck is with the link on this thread?!
http://master.mx-targeting.com/mx/servlet/MXTarget?
adcontext=http://www.metafilter.com/guidelines.mefi
&contextpeak=0&contextcount=0&countrycodein=US
&lastAdTime=1095099974|1095030164|1095010854|0|10950
posted by tss to Etiquette/Policy at 8:49 PM PST - 8 comments

In an effort to reach a compromise between people who like newsfilter posts and people who simply can't abide by them, do you think we can attempt to economize the length of FPPs such as this one?
posted by sic to Etiquette/Policy at 11:59 AM PST - 43 comments

It wasn't surprising to open this thread and find that almost all of the comments weren't about the subject of the FPP but about the form of it.
posted by cx to Etiquette/Policy at 8:20 AM PST - 34 comments

Amberglow comes to the UK. Post your pictures and stories here. [One of those clever arrow..arrow things that means more inside]
posted by seanyboy to MetaFilter-Related at 3:26 PM PST - 29 comments

Accesskeys? Maybe "r" for preview and "p" for post?
posted by nicwolff to Feature Requests at 2:40 PM PST - 12 comments

Can we agree not to post any more 9-11 links today? I will Nevar Forget, but it's all been said to death.

Likewise, let's have just one post on December 7th.
posted by Mayor Curley to Etiquette/Policy at 8:32 AM PST - 45 comments

I've had a few questions at AskMe that have had mediocre number of responses. While it could be that those questions were obscure/malformed, I think not. More likely, it's due to the the high turnover rate of queries on Ask Metafilter. Any decent solution for this?
posted by Gyan to Feature Requests at 1:17 PM PST - 39 comments

Not a huge deal, probably previously discussed, a little nitpicky, but a useful reminder:
Proper use of blockquotes in posts. More inside.
posted by Shane to Bugs at 12:08 PM PST - 11 comments

I'd greatly enjoy an anonymous feature on Ask Metafilter. Just last week I was going to ask for tips on buying an engagement ring, but worried the Google Indexing of the question might result in the surprise being ruined for my (now) fiancée. I'd be ok with it not *really* being anonymous (ie, for tracking down abusers, the data would still be stored, just not displayed).
posted by davebug to Feature Requests at 9:34 AM PST - 18 comments

Every time there is a complaint on MetaTalk about a post/type of post on the Metafilter front page, somebody will always say "If you don't like it/them, don't read them." I find this extremely frustrating, and I believe it ignores the real issues. [More Inside]
posted by seanyboy to Etiquette/Policy at 2:50 AM PST - 127 comments

(Sillyfilter) This I Love Music thread is kinda Metafilter-related.
posted by mr.marx to MetaFilter-Related at 12:30 AM PST - 6 comments

Are gay MeFites more comfortable making themselves known as such here than in other general-interest forums? If so, is it the anonymity or the community? Or something else?
posted by NortonDC to MetaFilter-Related at 9:40 PM PST - 47 comments

i am so tired of reading about bush and kerry and what they did and didn't do during the vietnam years ... could we please just give it a break? ... this is nothing but monotonous drum beating ...

(no link ... there's plenty on the front page)
posted by pyramid termite to Etiquette/Policy at 6:44 PM PST - 34 comments

Despite my penchant for terse front page posts, with as little interpretation as possible, I think this is a prime example of a frontpage post done right. Well done, NotMyselfRightNow.
posted by crunchland to MetaFilter-Related at 8:19 AM PST - 24 comments

I believe this has been discussed before, though my clever attempts at searching MetaTalk yielded no aid in framing a picture for reference. (The thread I seem to recall was in response to Kuro5hin toying with the same concept I wish to put forth for discussion.)

It is a seemingly accepted dogma that MetaFilter may be better off with new members, although prior attempts at acquiring new friends have proved to be problematic. So we've thought of using invitations from existing members as a means to introduce new points of view. ?
posted by tenseone to MetaFilter-Related at 7:26 AM PST - 19 comments

Amberglow's Coming To Town!

Just a reminder for any limeys - or other UK residents - who wanna meet & greet Mefi's meeting-upliest person: firmer details on the Wiki link above, ideas and other points can be posted here.

Manchester, London & Oxford are already laying out the red carpet (well, this pink rug will do, won't it?) - you're welcome to join us, if you'd like.
Previous discussion here
posted by dash_slot- to MetaFilter Gatherings at 4:35 AM PST - 21 comments

In lieu of http://politics.metafilter.com, there is now http://politics.slashdot.org.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood to Feature Requests at 10:43 AM PST - 60 comments

REMINDER: MeFiSF this Friday, September 10, about 7 PM, Zeitgeist (Duboce & Valencia; nearest BART station: 16th & Mission), back yard, near the pink elephants. See you there!
posted by caitlinb to MetaFilter Gatherings at 8:25 AM PST - 10 comments

trying not to piss community moores here... would this (coupled with a few token links to 'kerry medals fake!" news stories) make an appropriate FPP?
posted by Tryptophan-5ht to Etiquette/Policy at 8:58 PM PST - 18 comments

In a thread from a few weeks ago, someone mentioned an upcoming guest of the RNC would be a man who had a well-documented anti-homosexual agenda. I know, I know. An easy snark: "That's ALL of them! LOLOL" . Any ideas?
posted by dhoyt to MetaFilter-Related at 9:59 AM PST - 29 comments

This really, really sucks. It's quite presumptuous to assume that 17,500 people know everything about the band that you like. Please educate us by providing background information, so we can learn about new things. It's worth the extra effort and will make Mefi a better place.
posted by PrinceValium to Etiquette/Policy at 6:57 AM PST - 25 comments

Mefiswap! Much as I love the swap, I have to ask what is the purpose of having two MefiSwap sites?
posted by asok to MetaFilter-Related at 4:44 AM PST - 8 comments

Now that we have all read and agreed with Taz's post, lets put it into practice: User posts first Front-page Post. The Post is great and well-received. New user even explains where he got it from (not that he had to). Everything's great so far so...let's call him out because it appeared in some older comments AND let's accuse him of outright stealing it! Good work!
posted by vacapinta to Etiquette/Policy at 10:05 PM PST - 21 comments

talespin.net = MetaFilter? Weird.
posted by soundofsuburbia to MetaFilter-Related at 5:19 AM PST - 15 comments

I think I may have found the perfect metaphor for the Mefi network experience: it's like travelling, with high spirits and pleasant anticipation, to visit an out-of-town friend for the weekend - someone you've always liked and with whom you have a great deal in common, but once you get there, they are, like, rushing to put a coaster under your glass, and looking at you nervously as lower yourself into what must obviously be the wrong chair. And they're all like,"Ooh. Could you please not walk on that carpet? It just gets dirty so easily." and "Oh, no! Don't use that soap - it's really just decorative; here's the soap we use." and "Oh. Thanks for taking care of the dishes, but we don't put our glassware in the dishwasher." And when they come into the guest room to say good night, they tell you what time breakfast will be on the table, and then close the window you just opened to alleviate some of the stifling heat. "Insects, you know. We get a lot of 'em out here." And the next morning you have your bags repacked and sitting out on the front porch before dawn, ready for the first possible opportunity to get the hell out of there, and they are all like "Oh, no! You're not leaving so soon are you? We were having so much fun!" [SI more DE]
posted by taz to Etiquette/Policy at 10:37 AM PST - 58 comments

A while back (months) there was a site posted that was basically an interactive flash app that had a whiteboard, webcams, and chat. I've tried searching for it, but I'm just coming up blank. Anyone remember what it was and have a url handy?
posted by angry modem to MetaFilter-Related at 7:44 PM PST - 2 comments

Could AskMe get an XML feed like the main site? Pretty please with a cherry on top?
posted by Masi to Feature Requests at 4:47 AM PST - 17 comments

Just to be clear: the point of MetaFilter is to find the best and most interesting of the web to share with others.
Does this really count as part of that? The post title isn't exactly encouraging level-headed discussion either.
posted by fvw to Etiquette/Policy at 8:25 PM PST - 79 comments

An old thread on the third wave is broken.
posted by weston to Bugs at 4:37 PM PST - 8 comments

Not a huge thing, but... how about reading the thread before posting your additional links? [more inside]
posted by soyjoy to Etiquette/Policy at 9:38 AM PST - 20 comments

DC MeFi/MoFi Meet Up with filmgeek TODAY from 6:30pm on! Location change to the Big Hunt in DuPont (1345 Connecticut Ave). More details at the wiki, and previous MeFi thread here (sorry to post again).
posted by onlyconnect to MetaFilter Gatherings at 9:16 AM PST - 6 comments