Posting differences between AskMe and MeFi October 1, 2006 1:41 PM Subscribe
Too fast... no, wait, too slow! It seems to me like AskMe is moving faster and faster every day in terms of the frequency of posts, especially at the busier times of the day -- it can go as high as a post every 10-20 minutes. Yet MeFi proper seems to be going slower and slower all the time, down to about one post every two hours or so. Am I right? Or crazy? And why?
We need some pretty graphs and charts to fully tackle this question. Actually, that would be the bestest pony ever, a page full of arcane data visualisations (preferably in the style of Collately Sisters' 'currency cat').
posted by jack_mo at 2:06 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by jack_mo at 2:06 PM on October 1, 2006
For the second time this weekend I'm going to post C_D's suggestion for an improved interface to AskMe. Matt, any thoughts?
posted by blag at 2:37 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by blag at 2:37 PM on October 1, 2006
Because making an FPP means someone's going to complain about it, MetaTalk about it, or flag it until it's removed.
I have a bunch of things I wanted to FPP, but it's a lot of work for little payoff and the likelihood of lots of kvetching.
posted by orthogonality at 2:51 PM on October 1, 2006
I have a bunch of things I wanted to FPP, but it's a lot of work for little payoff and the likelihood of lots of kvetching.
posted by orthogonality at 2:51 PM on October 1, 2006
That interface is wicked awesome. I second it, or third it, or whatever.
posted by IndigoRain at 3:07 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by IndigoRain at 3:07 PM on October 1, 2006
Because making an FPP means someone's going to complain about it, MetaTalk about it, or flag it until it's removed.
You could say the same for AskMe questions!
posted by jack_mo at 3:13 PM on October 1, 2006
You could say the same for AskMe questions!
posted by jack_mo at 3:13 PM on October 1, 2006
Amazingly, in that thread, blacklite also built a mockup of AskMe with working client-side filtering. They're both fine, but I'd note that A) blacklite's remains usable when javascript is disabled, and B) the size of the target area for clicking each filter on and off is larger in blacklite's, making it more usable to me. Those are silly details though that can be implemented or unimplemented in minutes.
posted by gsteff at 3:20 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by gsteff at 3:20 PM on October 1, 2006
I would second the idea that the standards for a FPP are so terrifyingly high that many probably avoid making them even when they might have something to contribute.
I know that it's kept me from posting anything so far.
posted by visual mechanic at 3:47 PM on October 1, 2006
I know that it's kept me from posting anything so far.
posted by visual mechanic at 3:47 PM on October 1, 2006
It's surprisingly easy, actually. You just have to go for it.
posted by bob sarabia at 3:57 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by bob sarabia at 3:57 PM on October 1, 2006
I'm content in the knowledge that anything cool I find online will most likely have been found by some other metafilterian more willing to listen to complaints about the post about it.
posted by Tuwa at 4:18 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by Tuwa at 4:18 PM on October 1, 2006
For the second time this weekend I'm going to post C_D's suggestion for an improved interface to AskMe. Matt, any thoughts?
I've never actually seen it (and it won't load for me now). It sure would be nice if people emailed me when they build something complicated like this. I can't track a bazillion threads on all parts of the site for all time.
I have some plans for a tabbed filter interface for the front page of all mefi sites. I'll talk more about it later when I have a working mockup to show.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:18 PM on October 1, 2006
I've never actually seen it (and it won't load for me now). It sure would be nice if people emailed me when they build something complicated like this. I can't track a bazillion threads on all parts of the site for all time.
I have some plans for a tabbed filter interface for the front page of all mefi sites. I'll talk more about it later when I have a working mockup to show.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:18 PM on October 1, 2006
If "they" don't like your FPP, screw 'em.
Odds are they have at least one stinker in their backlog- Unless they're matteo or jonson, goddam them. And I call BS on you, ortho, the last few FPPs from you have been quite interesting and been recognized as such.
Me? I only got one FPP(And a YouTuber at that! Ha!) under my belt because most of my internetting is spent here.
As for AskMe, I support the one question/10 day movement.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:23 PM on October 1, 2006
Odds are they have at least one stinker in their backlog- Unless they're matteo or jonson, goddam them. And I call BS on you, ortho, the last few FPPs from you have been quite interesting and been recognized as such.
Me? I only got one FPP(And a YouTuber at that! Ha!) under my belt because most of my internetting is spent here.
As for AskMe, I support the one question/10 day movement.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:23 PM on October 1, 2006
c_d's isn't loading right now for me either. Try blacklite's; it does the same thing, but puts the filtering controls in a different location and grabs the data from the page itself, instead of making a redundant XMLHttpRequest (with the added benefit that the code is simpler and the page still works fine if javascript is turned off).
posted by gsteff at 4:24 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by gsteff at 4:24 PM on October 1, 2006
It's surprisingly easy, actually. You just have to go for it.
Yeah! What bob said! Me, I'm a total n00b-dude. I've been here all of three months now and I've just published FPP #15. I've done some posts of which I felt very proud and others of which I was not so proud, including the infamous Ultimate Fighting Cats Video.
The point being . . . don't be afraid to make an ass of yourself. Don't set such impossibly high standards that you never try anything or risk anything. And don't listen to the snarkers who sit off on the sidelines sneering; they never do anything creative anyway.
posted by jason's_planet at 4:29 PM on October 1, 2006
Yeah! What bob said! Me, I'm a total n00b-dude. I've been here all of three months now and I've just published FPP #15. I've done some posts of which I felt very proud and others of which I was not so proud, including the infamous Ultimate Fighting Cats Video.
The point being . . . don't be afraid to make an ass of yourself. Don't set such impossibly high standards that you never try anything or risk anything. And don't listen to the snarkers who sit off on the sidelines sneering; they never do anything creative anyway.
posted by jason's_planet at 4:29 PM on October 1, 2006
the standards for a FPP are so terrifyingly high
*laughs*
posted by mediareport at 4:42 PM on October 1, 2006
*laughs*
posted by mediareport at 4:42 PM on October 1, 2006
Sorry, Matt - I wasn't trying to hassle you into commenting; only making sure that you'd seen it. Next time I spot pony potential I'll fire up Outlook.
gsteff: the one feature that C_D's version has over blacklite's is the only display unanswered questions button - this is a hugely useful feature, imo. The "redundant" XMLHttpRequest would disappear if the code was running on the local web server: notice that blacklite's version is using a static copy of AskMe from 2 months ago, whereas C_D's uses live data - he's scraping (and parsing) 3 pages of the AskMe site every time we load the page. This wouldn't be necessary with access to the db.
posted by blag at 4:47 PM on October 1, 2006
gsteff: the one feature that C_D's version has over blacklite's is the only display unanswered questions button - this is a hugely useful feature, imo. The "redundant" XMLHttpRequest would disappear if the code was running on the local web server: notice that blacklite's version is using a static copy of AskMe from 2 months ago, whereas C_D's uses live data - he's scraping (and parsing) 3 pages of the AskMe site every time we load the page. This wouldn't be necessary with access to the db.
posted by blag at 4:47 PM on October 1, 2006
Yet MeFi proper seems to be going slower and slower all the time
I don't think that's true. Look at the thread stats for June 2006 (red line) and then compare the number of threads on a few days during the last week of the September 2006 archive. They seem about the same, with an increase in September, if anything. Same goes for comparing this September with last year.
posted by mediareport at 5:44 PM on October 1, 2006
I don't think that's true. Look at the thread stats for June 2006 (red line) and then compare the number of threads on a few days during the last week of the September 2006 archive. They seem about the same, with an increase in September, if anything. Same goes for comparing this September with last year.
posted by mediareport at 5:44 PM on October 1, 2006
What ortho (1), visual mechanic (2), and Tuwa (3) said, pretty much.
AskMeFi is easier/less negative/ultimately more useful.
posted by Melinika at 6:01 PM on October 1, 2006
AskMeFi is easier/less negative/ultimately more useful.
posted by Melinika at 6:01 PM on October 1, 2006
I hereby claim October 2nd to be "Day without MeTa". Who's with me?
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:40 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:40 PM on October 1, 2006
Of course people who complain about MEFi being too negative can be too negative themselves. So, just saying so does not make the problem better. I've fought this battle internally and sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.
posted by edgeways at 6:45 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by edgeways at 6:45 PM on October 1, 2006
Why would two sections of the site with two entirely different purposes have the same frequency of posts???
posted by smackfu at 6:53 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by smackfu at 6:53 PM on October 1, 2006
I'm pulling for October 2nd to be the "Day the Number of MeTa Posts Equal AskMe Posts."
posted by yeti at 7:29 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by yeti at 7:29 PM on October 1, 2006
So are you hoping for unprecedented restraint from AskMe or incredulous enthusiasm for Meta?
posted by Mitheral at 10:24 PM on October 1, 2006
posted by Mitheral at 10:24 PM on October 1, 2006
No one ever listens to me. ::sniff::
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:18 AM on October 2, 2006
posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:18 AM on October 2, 2006
Join the club.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:13 AM on October 2, 2006
posted by blue_beetle at 8:13 AM on October 2, 2006
No seriously, we're starting a club. You should join!
posted by blue_beetle at 8:14 AM on October 2, 2006
posted by blue_beetle at 8:14 AM on October 2, 2006
Posting to AskMe is a fun and rewarding experience. You post a question, and if people have something useful to say, they weigh in with their answers. If they have nothing useful to say, either they don't say anything, or they do say something and their useless reply is deleted.
Posting to MeFi is a dreadful, unrewarding experience. Every post is scrutinized for its "worthiness," with a chorus of people always ready to chime in to tell you that your post is crap. And even if your post isn't judged to be "crap", there's always some keswick standing by to tell you that whatever you are interested in is completely and utterly retarded.
posted by Afroblanco at 9:33 AM on October 2, 2006 [1 favorite]
Posting to MeFi is a dreadful, unrewarding experience. Every post is scrutinized for its "worthiness," with a chorus of people always ready to chime in to tell you that your post is crap. And even if your post isn't judged to be "crap", there's always some keswick standing by to tell you that whatever you are interested in is completely and utterly retarded.
posted by Afroblanco at 9:33 AM on October 2, 2006 [1 favorite]
Afroblanco, that's exactly it. It's why I will probably never post.
posted by chococat at 7:16 PM on October 2, 2006
posted by chococat at 7:16 PM on October 2, 2006
It's why I will probably never post.
Or get a thicker skin. Come on, is the snarking of the asshole element really *that* painful to bear? Post, follow the guidelines and fuck the rest. That's my new motto for all you "oh my stars I'll never post it's too savage for my delicate constitution!" folks.
Post and fuck 'em. Say it out loud until you get the necessary courage. We're pulling for ya, honest.
posted by mediareport at 7:50 PM on October 2, 2006
Or get a thicker skin. Come on, is the snarking of the asshole element really *that* painful to bear? Post, follow the guidelines and fuck the rest. That's my new motto for all you "oh my stars I'll never post it's too savage for my delicate constitution!" folks.
Post and fuck 'em. Say it out loud until you get the necessary courage. We're pulling for ya, honest.
posted by mediareport at 7:50 PM on October 2, 2006
It's not about thin skin, it's more that it seems kind of silly and futile to me.
For every post there's 100 nerds bitching about the proper etiquette. I'd rather just read, frankly.
bookmark this for when i actually post something.
posted by chococat at 8:01 PM on October 2, 2006
For every post there's 100 nerds bitching about the proper etiquette. I'd rather just read, frankly.
bookmark this for when i actually post something.
posted by chococat at 8:01 PM on October 2, 2006
For every post there's 100 nerds bitching about the proper etiquette
...and 8000 nerds who quietly enjoyed the link. Focus on them. Have some faith in the great MeFi unwashed, for crying out loud, and don't let the assholes lead you to think posting is futile. Cause *that's* silly.
posted by mediareport at 10:43 PM on October 2, 2006
...and 8000 nerds who quietly enjoyed the link. Focus on them. Have some faith in the great MeFi unwashed, for crying out loud, and don't let the assholes lead you to think posting is futile. Cause *that's* silly.
posted by mediareport at 10:43 PM on October 2, 2006
How about $1 a question?
That's actually a really good idea.
posted by matkline at 11:15 PM on October 2, 2006
That's actually a really good idea.
posted by matkline at 11:15 PM on October 2, 2006
Sure let's lock out everyone who either can't or won't participate in the revenue collection system, create work for Matt for a measly dollar and generate a sense of entitlement amongst the askers.
posted by Mitheral at 8:26 AM on October 3, 2006
posted by Mitheral at 8:26 AM on October 3, 2006
That's actually a really good idea.
That's a really poor idea. I'm glad I got answers to both of my questions, but I wouldn't have paid $1 to ask either.
posted by yeti at 5:25 PM on October 3, 2006
That's a really poor idea. I'm glad I got answers to both of my questions, but I wouldn't have paid $1 to ask either.
posted by yeti at 5:25 PM on October 3, 2006
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posted by bob sarabia at 1:44 PM on October 1, 2006