What's this about?

November 7, 2005 9:41 AM

What's this about?
posted by jenovus to Etiquette/Policy at 9:41 AM (69 comments total)

I don't know if this is a stance against improperly-described posts, but . . . you can read the articles, you know.
posted by jenovus at 9:41 AM on November 7, 2005

I also found that annoying, and it's strange that all of those were posted within the same minute.
posted by tweak at 9:47 AM on November 7, 2005

Odd. I've met nic, and that's not like him.
posted by jonmc at 9:48 AM on November 7, 2005

Looks like SOMEBODY'S having a freakout session.
posted by selfnoise at 9:50 AM on November 7, 2005

I was tempted to make the exact same MeTa post, but then decided against it after seeing his lengthy non-stupid comment history. If someone wants to (briefly) make a point about uninformative link titles by acting like a buffoon for a day... I think that's OK.
posted by rxrfrx at 9:50 AM on November 7, 2005

They're not just posted in the same minute, they're sequential comments. What is that about?
posted by jenovus at 9:51 AM on November 7, 2005

Now I picture nicwolf as a Bobby with a large mustache.

And now I do, too. Thanks.
posted by COBRA! at 9:52 AM on November 7, 2005

I just don't know about that.
posted by greasy_skillet at 9:54 AM on November 7, 2005

whatever it is, it's annoying.
posted by whatnot at 9:56 AM on November 7, 2005

whatever it is, it's annoying.

Sure is.
Hey, there's a really long hair in the bottom of my Ben and Jerry's ice cream container. Gross.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 10:01 AM on November 7, 2005

At least it wasn't a short hair.
posted by puke & cry at 10:12 AM on November 7, 2005

The B&J oatmeal whatever flavor (can't remember the name) is absurdly delicious. I'm also diggin' the cashew variety as well.
posted by Witty at 10:13 AM on November 7, 2005

Hey, there's a really long hair in the bottom of my Ben and Jerry's ice cream container. Gross.

That's not gross, it just means you get free Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
posted by rxrfrx at 10:15 AM on November 7, 2005

Script-automated posting gone awry. Inquiry as to subject at 11.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:18 AM on November 7, 2005

IT'S HAIR OF GARCIA! IT'S A SIGN! YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!
posted by loquacious at 10:19 AM on November 7, 2005

That guy's moustache has made me reexamine life for the better.
posted by selfnoise at 10:19 AM on November 7, 2005

Script-automated posting

pft. tabbed browsing. any minute someone will call for life imprisonment for subversion of single tasking.
posted by quonsar at 10:32 AM on November 7, 2005

What's this about?
posted by klangklangston at 10:33 AM on November 7, 2005

Let me be the first to offer, moustache rides 5p.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:37 AM on November 7, 2005

[removed image because it is loading slower than mefi -- which is quite slow indeed]
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:40 AM on November 7, 2005

*cries*
posted by selfnoise at 10:53 AM on November 7, 2005

mm-hmm
posted by puke & cry at 10:59 AM on November 7, 2005

Perl Hackers are very tribal.
posted by Divine_Wino at 11:07 AM on November 7, 2005

A list of Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavors that are no longer made. Too bad, the peanut butter and jelly flavor sounds delicious. Oh, and Witty, are you thinking of Oatmeal Cookie Chunk?
posted by C17H19NO3 at 11:58 AM on November 7, 2005

"whatever it is, it's annoying"

Not nearly as annoying as poorly described FPPs. Why not just post the letter "A".
posted by mischief at 12:00 PM on November 7, 2005

In the case of the Rick Dangerous Flash, it doesn't even make any sense, as that post was self-explanatory.
posted by nthdegx at 12:18 PM on November 7, 2005

Cool! A surf guitar link within a MetaTalk post. Thanks Mischief.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:28 PM on November 7, 2005

I agree wholeheartedly that underdescribed posts suck. I want to know whether or not I want to click the link before I click the link.
posted by kjh at 12:28 PM on November 7, 2005

Now I must know. What was the image?
posted by knave at 12:29 PM on November 7, 2005

I just don't know
posted by eddydamascene at 12:30 PM on November 7, 2005

"Rick Dangerous Flash ... was self-explanatory"

No, it was not. I have no clue who Rick Dangerous Flash is from the wording of that post.
posted by mischief at 12:32 PM on November 7, 2005

Sir Adrian Dangerous' brother, isn't he?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 12:38 PM on November 7, 2005

That gingerbread ice cream sounds like something holy.
posted by kosher_jenny at 12:39 PM on November 7, 2005

nicwolff sucks more & more every day.
posted by jonson at 12:53 PM on November 7, 2005

I met Ben and Jerry one day, they're nice guys.
posted by nile_red at 1:12 PM on November 7, 2005

just one 'more'.
posted by wakko at 1:24 PM on November 7, 2005

link wray is god.
posted by quonsar at 1:56 PM on November 7, 2005

I kind of think that what nicwolff did here was more in the vein of scientific/technological inquiry than social anarchy. I think he actually made those comments before the posts ever existed.
posted by taz at 1:58 PM on November 7, 2005

Then the proper question is "What's this going to be about?" and the proper forum is MetaChat.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:05 PM on November 7, 2005

I posted this image inline.
posted by delmoi at 2:19 PM on November 7, 2005

I don't know. I just don't know.
posted by louigi at 2:20 PM on November 7, 2005

I would think taz is most likely right, but then why isn't the third example the first comment posted in that thread?
posted by nobody at 2:37 PM on November 7, 2005

On the other hand, if nic had not asked, then Len would not have given this answer. I have no particular interest in tapes, but Len's answer was worth the thread for me.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:50 PM on November 7, 2005

I've got no irons in this fire, but I want to compliment quonsar on the Link Wray (link}. Link Wray can rock anyone off their foundation.. anyone.
posted by reflecked at 3:12 PM on November 7, 2005

I agree with taz. nic’s a classy guy who’s just being diplomatic.

“WHAT. THE. FUCK.” posts can come off as hostile, and can be seen as shitting in threads.

“What’s this about?” can be seen as a way of asking, “Okay...what am I missing here?”

Y’know what I mean, jellybean?
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:19 PM on November 7, 2005

"What's all this then?"


posted by qwip at 3:45 PM on November 7, 2005

Jeez, I quite forgot when I eventually woke up today that I'd done that this morning after getting home from drinking wine, sake, beer, and whiskey till 5 AM. (You should have seen my friend though, he actually had to text me this today: "Dude, where's my car?")

So yeah, it was a drunken mumble-de-coeur against people who think that Metafilter should be a page full of undescribed links, and that I should, what, open them all in separate windows and see which are good? I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been confronted with three indecipherable posts in a row right when my few functioning brain cells most needed clear link summaries, preferably written at a "My Pet Goat" POTUS-readable level.

But I agree in the cold hard light of sobriety that pooping in the threads is Not How It's Done and I do apologize. Drinks on me at the next NY meetup.
posted by nicwolff at 4:59 PM on November 7, 2005

It's too bad that the explanation is so plausible. I was hoping that your question was valid on a much higher level, i.e., that you were finally forcing us to confront the primary and fundamental question, regardless of thread: What is this about?

Oh well.
posted by gramschmidt at 5:49 PM on November 7, 2005

PS. This callout needed a better description too.
posted by nicwolff at 5:49 PM on November 7, 2005

That's what it's about, biotch.
posted by ph00dz at 5:53 PM on November 7, 2005

Hm, there goes my conspiracy theory. You may now take off your tinfoil hats. Make sure to ground yourself first. Or after. Depending.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:21 PM on November 7, 2005

people who think that Metafilter should be a page full of undescribed links...three indecipherable posts in a row

Oh, come on. I'd never heard of Rick Dangerous, but considering that the tags are games, amiga, flash, atari, C64, it's hardly going to be a post about the economies of beetroot farming, is it?

And at the other end of the spectrum (and, for the record, I don't consider that a link to a page consisting entirely of blank tapes is misrepresented by a link title of 'Blank Tapes' - what did you expect? Wax cylinders?), the problem with people describing the links in such detail that there's actually no point visiting them is that people don't bother visiting them. But comment in the thread anyway.
posted by nylon at 6:31 PM on November 7, 2005

Tags don't appear on the front page. Or in the RSS feed.
posted by nicwolff at 6:37 PM on November 7, 2005

Haha, sorry for my inadequate elucidation, nicwolff. I know now how much that bothers you and your oft-pickled neurons.
posted by jenovus at 6:47 PM on November 7, 2005

You can't comment directly from the front page though, can you? The tags are there in front of you on the comment page while you concentrate furiously on your recalcitrant sausage fingers in order to get them to land on the right keys, slowly tapping out the phrase 'what's this about?'. Three times.

But whatever. We'll all be dead in 60 years.
posted by nylon at 6:48 PM on November 7, 2005

Come on nylon, he probably gave it the old Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V. I know I do when I'm having trouble getting my eyes to focus on one point.

CYA disclaimer: this was all good-natured. Nicwolff is, IMO, a class act.
posted by jenovus at 6:52 PM on November 7, 2005

Feature request: Breathalyzer-enabled posting.

Then again, that might grind discussion to a halt. Carry on!
posted by SuperNova at 7:01 PM on November 7, 2005

"his lengthy non-stupid comment history"

Hey, who does this guy think he is? Obviously he's a traitor! A CIA agent! A lilly-livered Rosicrucian! Obviously EVIL!

Stupidly,
Davy the Curmudgeon
posted by davy at 7:16 PM on November 7, 2005

I have noticed that lately it seems a lot of FPPs are lacking useful context. Maybe that's what nic's on about.
posted by blendor at 7:31 PM on November 7, 2005

To explain the FPP I linked - I think it's a terrific link that was posted, but I would like to know more about the music or who created the video. Isn't the effort to bring supporting information to posts what separates mefi from other sites?
posted by blendor at 7:37 PM on November 7, 2005

I don't get it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:05 PM on November 7, 2005

Kirth: never quite in the know are you. As the seasons change and the wind sings through the trees, I wonder, will you ever get it.

-H
posted by Mr T at 8:26 PM on November 7, 2005

Nicwolff: you were so right, though. What the fuck *is* it about.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:33 PM on November 7, 2005

considering that the tags are games, amiga, flash, atari, C64

Can't read tags from the front page.
posted by mischief at 8:45 PM on November 7, 2005

Can't comment from the front page either.
posted by jenovus at 10:38 PM on November 7, 2005

Personally, I don't give a what the fuck, that it may, or may not, be what it is all about.
posted by Balisong at 10:46 PM on November 7, 2005

Mr T: Oh. Now I get it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:17 AM on November 8, 2005

What's all this? What's all this?
Step in time, step in time,
Step in time, step in time...
posted by grateful at 7:30 AM on November 8, 2005

damn hippies
posted by eddydamascene at 8:12 AM on November 8, 2005