An interesting combination of sleazy and forthright

January 13, 2006 11:28 AM

mrhappybanjo, here's looking at you. (askme thread + a post to projects for the store in askme)
posted by tozturk to Etiquette/Policy at 11:28 AM (56 comments total)

Huh. That's an interesting combination of sleazy and forthright.
posted by selfnoise at 11:31 AM on January 13, 2006

BTMFW
posted by eddydamascene at 11:35 AM on January 13, 2006

It's really creepy when people self-link in Ask and act all innocent about it: "Has anyone tried this new drink from Pepsi? It's blue! My wife and I love blue, but we're not sure if we're ready to take this step and start drinking blue soda. Has anyone been through a similar experience? Anecdotes? Advice? Thanks in advance!"

Lame! Ban 'im.
posted by bonheur at 11:35 AM on January 13, 2006

I was hoping for a lynching today. I bought some pitchforks and torches at blish.com for just such an occasion.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:36 AM on January 13, 2006

I get paid to think - no one else around here seems to

Touche
posted by Emperor Yamamoto's Eggs at 11:36 AM on January 13, 2006

Hmm...If it's worth anything, it seems that mrhappy got the idea for his site while answering an AskMe question in November.
posted by nobody at 11:36 AM on January 13, 2006

nobody, maybe I'm being too cynical, but that question strikes me as an askme for competitor research.
posted by tozturk at 11:38 AM on January 13, 2006

Ouch! Easy guys! I'm just trying to get some input. I didn't mean to offend.
posted by mrhappybanjo at 11:53 AM on January 13, 2006

Is it true what they say about Blish being a... ...oh... nevermind.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:54 AM on January 13, 2006

Well it seems to have worked. Banning him won't do jack, he has already got the maximum exposure he could get from MetaFilter, minus an FPP. I say, delete his Project and this MeTa thread along with the ban.
posted by Mijo Bijo at 12:12 PM on January 13, 2006

I think someone needs to point out how unfair this is to non-self-linking banjists. We have it hard enough already without having this clown associating our misunderstood instrument with sleaze-bucket self-promotion.
posted by cortex at 12:16 PM on January 13, 2006

"I say, delete his Project and this MeTa thread along with the ban"

Aw, man.

Does blish.com offer refunds on unused merchandise?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:21 PM on January 13, 2006

hey mods what part of BTMFW dont u understand k thnx bai
posted by eddydamascene at 12:23 PM on January 13, 2006

The ask mefi post was a mistake, it's been removed, and he's taken the advice to post it to projects, where it's a perfect place to announce it. I don't think anything worthy of banning or scorn has taken place.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 12:29 PM on January 13, 2006

He posted it by mistake?
posted by orthogonality at 12:32 PM on January 13, 2006

The AskMe question a mistake of what sort?

(a) "I mistakenly hit post on something I didn't intend to ever put on AskMe?"
(b) "I made a mistake in misunderstanding the intent of Askme?"
(c) "I made a mistake by pretending to be a disinterested third party while using AskMe to shill my site?"

(a) is implausible; (b) is reasonable and, yeah, bannination seems like an over-reaction. But (c) is a big 'fuck you', in my opinion, and it's hard to read his deleted question as not being a deceptive attempt to steer traffic to his site at the expense of credulous AskMefites. That's what bothers me most about this.
posted by cortex at 12:35 PM on January 13, 2006

cortex, it does suck, and it is kind of underhanded, to pose as a disinterested outsider to shill his site. I saw the projects post first and didn't read the extended part of the ask mefi question until now.

Still, banning seems a bit harsh, though some attempt at deceiving the community took place, so yeah, c) looks like what happened (I thought it was b) on first quick read).
posted by mathowie (staff) at 12:38 PM on January 13, 2006

Yeah, I'm not trying to legislate use of The Hammer. My instinct is to undo the thing done badly, which would mean nuking the project -- but that's not a reaction to the project posting but rather to the behavior of the poster, so I don't have a spite-free justification.

But I can't find a way to sit easy with his behavior, either. Ethical dilemma, over here. Suffice it to say that I don't truck with the kind of shit mrhappybanjo is apparently inclined to pull.
posted by cortex at 12:43 PM on January 13, 2006

He was clearly attempting to pose as a disinterested third party in askme, despite being affiliated with the site. I'd say that warrants deleting the Projects post, at least, and probably banning.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:48 PM on January 13, 2006

*agrees with monju_bosatsu*
posted by Radio7 at 12:54 PM on January 13, 2006

I say instead of banning him we give him lots of backrubs, but then again I'm on a shitload of E right now. In about 8 hours I'm going to want to run him over with mom's minivan and head down to boystown for some 'roids and a donkeyshow.
posted by Divine_Wino at 12:59 PM on January 13, 2006

Son of a Blish.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:02 PM on January 13, 2006

Has anyone bought anything from smackfu.com?
posted by smackfu at 1:10 PM on January 13, 2006

I bought a laptop from smackfu.com but i got the box and all it had was walmart giftcards in it
posted by Emperor Yamamoto's Eggs at 1:23 PM on January 13, 2006

Bless you EYE. Comments like yours are why I read MetaTalk.
posted by timeistight at 1:31 PM on January 13, 2006

blish is the sound of _____________
posted by quonsar at 1:37 PM on January 13, 2006

that disgusting elephant pic.
posted by InfidelZombie at 1:38 PM on January 13, 2006

*throws torch into water bucket, storms out*
posted by eddydamascene at 1:56 PM on January 13, 2006

The fake Askme question.... Aagh.

Has anyone ever heard of "Banning"? Sounds like a pretty cool concept.

Ugh. Seriously, I don't think banning is too harsh. And I hate banning, usually. If someone made a straightforward self-link, I'd be a lot more forgiving in terms of being willing consider that it was an honest mistake. This was just baldfaced lying and cheating. Scummy McScummerston.
posted by taz at 2:10 PM on January 13, 2006

that elephant was not disgusting, he was excreting.
posted by quonsar at 3:23 PM on January 13, 2006

ban that motherfucker.
posted by puke & cry at 4:17 PM on January 13, 2006

Ouch! Easy guys! I'm just trying to get some input. I didn't mean to offend.
posted by mrhappybanjo at 11:53 AM PST on January 13

No you're fucking not just trying to get some input. You posted that AskMe question pretending like you just happened across the site in question and wanted to know what's up. You're a scammer just like the rest of the whoops-did-I-do-that self-linkers. Whether or not mathowie bans you are a bad person and you will die alone and unloved.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 4:42 PM on January 13, 2006

Or, maybe more to the point, whether or not mathowie bans you and/or you die alone and unloved and/or are a fundamentally bad person, that was a total shithole thing to pull.
posted by cortex at 4:59 PM on January 13, 2006

Optimus, my friend, you need to sort out your issues sometime. MeFi is just a website.
posted by Firas at 6:03 PM on January 13, 2006

well, I don't really care if the guy dies alone and whatever else, but he is a shitsmear.
posted by puke & cry at 6:11 PM on January 13, 2006

MeFi is just a website.

Correction: it's a really good website that has had a huge influx of self-linkers and scam artists in recent months. If we can't trust posts on the blue and green to be honest, what's the point of participating?
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:17 PM on January 13, 2006

I'm continuing this conversation against my better senses, which are screaming at me that I shouldn't have posted my earlier comment to this thread either, but I'll venture this: no ethical system I'm familiar with (I tend to be utilitarian when it comes to low-impact things) makes a lonely 'unloved' death a fair trade for an arbitrary guideline against slight selfishness on even a really good website.
posted by Firas at 6:22 PM on January 13, 2006

a huge influx of self-linkers and scam artists in recent months

500 self-linkers and scam artists are preferable to one Optimal Chump.
posted by quonsar at 6:45 PM on January 13, 2006

A better burn is "Otiose Slime" but I could hardly expect you to come up with that, quonsar.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:46 PM on January 13, 2006

don't you mean quonsass?
posted by puke & cry at 6:48 PM on January 13, 2006

my chumps, my chumps
posted by quonsar at 6:53 PM on January 13, 2006

H-h-how about p-puke and die, huh?
posted by nobody at 7:09 PM on January 13, 2006

Now, now, girls. You're all pretty.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:10 PM on January 13, 2006

actually, puke & die isn't too bad of a name. I kinda like it better than my current name.
posted by puke & cry at 7:24 PM on January 13, 2006

no ethical system I'm familiar with (I tend to be utilitarian when it comes to low-impact things) makes a lonely 'unloved' death a fair trade for an arbitrary guideline against slight selfishness on even a really good website.

Granted. You could give OC the benefit of the doubt, though, and assume that he is implying the equality of lonely, unloved death with the overarching qualities of the person who so acted, rather than with the single act itself.
posted by cortex at 7:28 PM on January 13, 2006

Why do the equally valuable posters quonsar and Optimus Chyme hate each other so much?

Also, this asshole should be banned. There is far too much trust in good faith around here. What he did was clearly intended to deceive us.
posted by interrobang at 7:42 PM on January 13, 2006

Wow. When thoughtful folks like taz and monju_bosatsu both say banning isn't too harsh, I have to start wondering what Matt's thinking by letting blatant bullshit like this slide. For what it's worth, Matt, every time you let one of these go, you encourage someone else to try it. I'm honestly at a loss as to why you've apparently decided to slack off on banning folks for this kind of obviously intentional offense just at the moment we seem to be seeing more of it.

*shakes head, walks away*
posted by mediareport at 8:00 PM on January 13, 2006

And you go off on poor OmieWise, who's only trying to help.

*shakes head, walks away, falls into manhole*
posted by languagehat at 8:16 PM on January 13, 2006

*shakes head, walks away, falls into manhole*

And the cycle of tragedy versus comedy is complete.
posted by interrobang at 8:24 PM on January 13, 2006

...or is it a circle?
posted by interrobang at 8:25 PM on January 13, 2006

*shakes head, walks away, clenches manhole*
posted by quonsar at 9:57 PM on January 13, 2006

I banned him hours ago, when I re-read it and saw he was gaming us.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:32 PM on January 13, 2006

Banjo players rejoice! Retribution is at hand. Fear not, you players of pure intent, keep an honest hand at the drum and you will triumph.

Hear Me! All these masquerading dogs with their temptating mysterious online profits and laptops in the mail, sinners! Witness the power of the god mathowie to banish them all to the bottomless bitbucket of no return. Repent sinners!

Now join me, brother Earl and brother Lester in prayer to The Foggy Mountain.
posted by Mr T at 10:54 PM on January 13, 2006

my chumps, my chumps, my fugly-shady bumps.

Fucking sand-twatted hellshit douchenozzles. I just lost the game.

Sometimes I really, really hate you, quonsar. Most of the time you make my heart sing with the purest joy and love for life itself, what with your surgically precise snarking. But this time, this time there's only pain.
posted by loquacious at 11:03 PM on January 13, 2006

well, that's good to know.
posted by puke & cry at 11:09 PM on January 13, 2006

Unintentionally eponysterical.
posted by dhartung at 3:14 AM on January 14, 2006