How did these old comments get so many favorites?

August 9, 2006 8:09 AM

How Phantom Favourites from the Past are rupturing the Fabric of Spacetime and How You Can Help [mi]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 8:09 AM (16 comments total)

Alright, so there's a small but noteworthy group of exceptionally interesting or humorous contributions (mainly comments) from before the introduction of the favouriting system that get favourited a lot now. (I tend to call them Flavourites, along the lines of wine that needs to age to be thoroughly appreciated, but I digress.)

Now, sometimes the timestamps of the adding-as-favourite are more or less spread out over time, such as for this legendary AskMe answer by scarabic. This could be because people remembered the comment spontaneously, and went back and added it, or maybe dug it up via search or personal bookmarks, whatever.

In other instances, however, there's a lot of favouriting going on around a certain date: cf. this humorous comment by ikkyu2, the favourites page for which suggests that this comment was probably linked to (onsite or offsite) from somewhere on or around July 12th.

Now, this is what I'm getting at. I loves me some old-timey Metafilter goodness, so I like it when outstanding comments of yore are discussed in the present age. However, I rediscovered ikkyu2's comment via the "most favourited in the past 24 hrs." page, but sadly there's no way to tell the referrer.

I understand that a "current thread -> link to oldtimey comment -> favourites page" referrer thing could be a pain to implement. So this is not a pony request as such but rather an invitation to share your (I mean *you*, reader) ideas as to how this could be realized. Perhaps a "Most Favourited EVAR" page? Or would this provoke the ire of the "it's not a competition" crowd?

At any rate, something like this could be interesting and useful in creating a canon of past gems.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:11 AM on August 9, 2006 [3 favorites]

When I finally pull the plug, I want my ashes shot out of a canon of past gems. Please alert Johnny Depp in the event of my sudden disappearance.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:54 AM on August 9, 2006

Personally, I don't like canons. Apocrypha, though, that's where the real gems are.
posted by Plutor at 9:03 AM on August 9, 2006

I totally just added that scarabic comment as a favourite. Referrer: this thread. :)
posted by antifuse at 9:20 AM on August 9, 2006

Sometimes I wish that I was a mailman. I think that it would be nice to drive around all day and visit people's houses and workplaces, and bring them mail.
posted by ND¢ at 10:28 AM on August 9, 2006

I'd like my ashes shot out of a Nikon, thankyouverymuch! ;)
posted by Lynsey at 2:24 PM on August 9, 2006

ikkyu2's analysis of Tom Cruise's um, health problems sheds light on the carefully hidden baby. No pictures until her teeth come in and get cosmetically repaired?
posted by Cranberry at 2:33 PM on August 9, 2006

I totally just added that scarabic comment as a favourite. Referrer: this thread. :)

See, now that's what I meant by the Phantom Favourite effect.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:45 PM on August 9, 2006

(I guess this one qualifies as well.)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:48 PM on August 9, 2006

I smell beer.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 5:55 PM on August 9, 2006

Hmmm, reading ikkyu2's comment, I wonder why we haven't seen baby Suri?
posted by caddis at 7:49 PM on August 9, 2006

This is interesting. I had no idea that marking Favs was timestamped. GNFTI, you're taking me to school again.
Anyone remember this gem? It should be immortalized in such fashion.
posted by Hanover Phist at 6:38 AM on August 10, 2006

I smell beer.

I smell insinuation.

"Anyone remember this gem? "

Dude. That is *so* last year. ;)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:10 AM on August 10, 2006

Hmm. Upon re-reading that thread again, maybe we should revive Metafilter Minutes and invite users to post theirs to Metafilter Music.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:12 AM on August 10, 2006

That is a good idea. MeTa it. Also, can we get an RSS feed?
posted by ND¢ at 9:02 AM on August 10, 2006

Also, can we get an RSS feed?

Sure. What are you looking for? I got Welsh football and hurricanes.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:36 AM on August 10, 2006