The link is what you're supposed to talk about October 14, 2006 12:35 AM Subscribe
Would everyone please cut it out? Pretty please?!
People at Metafilter will complain about anything and everything. Yes, the post could have been more descriptive. But it wasn't. The end.
At least there wasn't the usual pedantry about QuickTime as a file format [except from the whiners about the file crashing Firefox].
posted by birdherder at 12:55 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
At least there wasn't the usual pedantry about QuickTime as a file format [except from the whiners about the file crashing Firefox].
posted by birdherder at 12:55 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
It was a bad means to a good end. Some people focus on the means. What really matters is the end.
posted by vito90 at 12:57 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by vito90 at 12:57 AM on October 14, 2006
Yeah, I feel a little bad about posting about linking style in the blue. I wish I could mark my comment as editorial. There really should be talk pages. It seemed less destructive at the time. But I shouldn't have said that you are doing a disservice to the link by not supporting it.
posted by team lowkey at 1:19 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by team lowkey at 1:19 AM on October 14, 2006
Well put, vito90.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:22 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:22 AM on October 14, 2006
The form of the FPP is also important. However, I knew that it would be a quicktime video by mousing over. So I don't think this particular FPP was too bad. I do hate seeing good content getting taken down due to a shitty FPP though.
posted by delmoi at 1:27 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by delmoi at 1:27 AM on October 14, 2006
vito90 writes "It was a bad means to a good end. Some people focus on the means. What really matters is the end."
Mr. President, shouldn't you be working on getting us out of Iraq, rather than posting on Metafilter?
posted by orthogonality at 1:44 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
Mr. President, shouldn't you be working on getting us out of Iraq, rather than posting on Metafilter?
posted by orthogonality at 1:44 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
If you don't want people to read/look at your link then be obtuse or excessively esoteric or too cool. I just pass over them these days with an occasional snark bomb if I I'm in the mood.
posted by peacay at 2:00 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by peacay at 2:00 AM on October 14, 2006
Who self polices the self police etc
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:52 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:52 AM on October 14, 2006
The shitting in the blue is bad (I was part of it, and I apologize).
As to whether or not more description is really "necessary" or not: well, there's no God on high who will tell us the True Right or Wrong of added description. So we just have to look at it from a functionalist viewpoint: past history shows us that big video links with description produce only a little complaining, while big video links without description produce a lot of complaining. If you would rather have minimal complaining, you should probably use some description. If you would like a lot of complaining, you should probably not use any description.
And if you would like no complaining whatsoever, you should probably post your link elsewhere, because there is almost always a kind of background radiation level of complaining in MeFi.
posted by Bugbread at 3:58 AM on October 14, 2006
As to whether or not more description is really "necessary" or not: well, there's no God on high who will tell us the True Right or Wrong of added description. So we just have to look at it from a functionalist viewpoint: past history shows us that big video links with description produce only a little complaining, while big video links without description produce a lot of complaining. If you would rather have minimal complaining, you should probably use some description. If you would like a lot of complaining, you should probably not use any description.
And if you would like no complaining whatsoever, you should probably post your link elsewhere, because there is almost always a kind of background radiation level of complaining in MeFi.
posted by Bugbread at 3:58 AM on October 14, 2006
there is almost always a kind of background radiation level of complaining in MeFi.
Is that what CNN found (or not?) over North Korea?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:02 AM on October 14, 2006
Is that what CNN found (or not?) over North Korea?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:02 AM on October 14, 2006
I thought there was enough noise in the thread so I didn't comment about it but I also did not click the video because of the lack of description.
posted by sveskemus at 4:46 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by sveskemus at 4:46 AM on October 14, 2006
mathowie and I talked about that post last night, it seemed to get a lot of "I hate it" flags and a lot of "fantastic post" flags and we both thought it was worth keeping. People really should take that sort of in-thread bitching to MetaTalk, and if people flag really egregious instances of thread-shitting, we'll often remove it if it's wrecking the place.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:55 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:55 AM on October 14, 2006
That said, it's really not necessary to flag 20-30 comments in one thread. Flag the 3-4 most urgent ones and we'll see the rest.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:20 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:20 AM on October 14, 2006
I'm assuming the "film" and "animation" tags were added later on?
posted by Stauf at 6:23 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Stauf at 6:23 AM on October 14, 2006
If you don't want people to read/look at your link then be obtuse or excessively esoteric or too cool.
Exactly. And if you insist on being the latter things, 'cause you're just that cool, then be prepared for people to snark about it, because that's life. Yeah, there could have been less snarking in this particular thread, but if it makes even one person think twice about posting that kind of link in the future, it will have been worth it.
And crunchland, this doesn't apply to you. I was surprised to see you so defensive about the post, as though it somehow reflected on your style; your posts are always descriptive enough to let a reader know what they're getting.
posted by languagehat at 6:27 AM on October 14, 2006
Exactly. And if you insist on being the latter things, 'cause you're just that cool, then be prepared for people to snark about it, because that's life. Yeah, there could have been less snarking in this particular thread, but if it makes even one person think twice about posting that kind of link in the future, it will have been worth it.
And crunchland, this doesn't apply to you. I was surprised to see you so defensive about the post, as though it somehow reflected on your style; your posts are always descriptive enough to let a reader know what they're getting.
posted by languagehat at 6:27 AM on October 14, 2006
My apologies for inadvertently causing a MeFi religious war. I had forgotten how nitpicky and ossified this place can be. I stand by the formating for reasons already stated. I'm glad so many people found the film as compelling as I did.
I'm assuming the "film" and "animation" tags were added later on?
Nope, they were part of the original post.
posted by gwint at 6:30 AM on October 14, 2006
I'm assuming the "film" and "animation" tags were added later on?
Nope, they were part of the original post.
posted by gwint at 6:30 AM on October 14, 2006
Yeah, I probably would have added a "[note: quicktime]" message, but I really don't know if that would have satisfied the haters. I guess I just fight the "one link posts are crap posts" mentality wherever I see it, is all.
posted by crunchland at 6:46 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by crunchland at 6:46 AM on October 14, 2006
be prepared for people to snark about it, because that's life
No, that's metafilter, and it's not life, and people don't have to do it. I would have liked to see people show some self-restraint. One complaint about the obvious formatting was enough, not a dozen. It killed any discussion of the movie itself and instead we're left with a pedantic discussion of community norms.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:16 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
No, that's metafilter, and it's not life, and people don't have to do it. I would have liked to see people show some self-restraint. One complaint about the obvious formatting was enough, not a dozen. It killed any discussion of the movie itself and instead we're left with a pedantic discussion of community norms.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:16 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
Man, I missed that because I assumed it was some American Idol bullshit. At least the MeTa pointed me to a neat video...
EVERYONE WINS!
posted by klangklangston at 7:33 AM on October 14, 2006
EVERYONE WINS!
posted by klangklangston at 7:33 AM on October 14, 2006
thanks for reminding me to go back and mark idol as a favorite.
given the film itself, the presentation seems appropriate.
posted by 3.2.3 at 7:56 AM on October 14, 2006
given the film itself, the presentation seems appropriate.
posted by 3.2.3 at 7:56 AM on October 14, 2006
I figure this kind of post comes out of a mindset of "wouldn't it be so very clever if I posted it like this..."
Usually it's not.
posted by smackfu at 8:07 AM on October 14, 2006
Usually it's not.
posted by smackfu at 8:07 AM on October 14, 2006
It killed any discussion of the movie itself and instead we're left with a pedantic discussion of community norms.
At this point it seems like about 50% of Mefi consists of discussing the community's norms, at the expense of there being much community. People are scared to post, you know, because of the scorn that they think will rain down on their head.
Some people just want to enforce the rules for a hobby, the more complex the better (you can see this in action on plenty of other websites too). Self-policing by social shame has weird effects on people.
And yeah, I still post, but that's probably because I don't really give a shit what people on the Interweb say about me.
posted by reklaw at 8:14 AM on October 14, 2006
At this point it seems like about 50% of Mefi consists of discussing the community's norms, at the expense of there being much community. People are scared to post, you know, because of the scorn that they think will rain down on their head.
Some people just want to enforce the rules for a hobby, the more complex the better (you can see this in action on plenty of other websites too). Self-policing by social shame has weird effects on people.
And yeah, I still post, but that's probably because I don't really give a shit what people on the Interweb say about me.
posted by reklaw at 8:14 AM on October 14, 2006
peacay writes "If you don't want people to read/look at your link then be obtuse or excessively esoteric or too cool. I just pass over them these days with an occasional snark bomb if I I'm in the mood."
Yep, especially on a video link.
languagehat writes "And crunchland, this doesn't apply to you. I was surprised to see you so defensive about the post, as though it somehow reflected on your style; your posts are always descriptive enough to let a reader know what they're getting."
But he's been pro surprise posts for a while.
posted by Mitheral at 8:14 AM on October 14, 2006
Yep, especially on a video link.
languagehat writes "And crunchland, this doesn't apply to you. I was surprised to see you so defensive about the post, as though it somehow reflected on your style; your posts are always descriptive enough to let a reader know what they're getting."
But he's been pro surprise posts for a while.
posted by Mitheral at 8:14 AM on October 14, 2006
It killed any discussion of the movie itself and instead we're left with a pedantic discussion of community norms.
Well, it's not like you can fix that now. Oh wait, you can. Just delete all the off-topic posts, like you would if it was on AskMeFi. It was posted less than 24 hours ago and you've given it up for dead.
posted by smackfu at 8:45 AM on October 14, 2006
Well, it's not like you can fix that now. Oh wait, you can. Just delete all the off-topic posts, like you would if it was on AskMeFi. It was posted less than 24 hours ago and you've given it up for dead.
posted by smackfu at 8:45 AM on October 14, 2006
Awesome animation. However, I must admit that I never would have watched it had it not been for this MeTa post. I saw it on the Blue yesterday, but totally skipped it because, let's face it, a one-word link with no explanitory text is a piss-poor FPP.
posted by Afroblanco at 9:12 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Afroblanco at 9:12 AM on October 14, 2006
I propose that instead of immediately criticizing the author of the post in the first few comments, the first few commenters should take it upon themselves to describe the link, and make it a better post. Either that or refrain from commenting. Ah, in a perfect world. When a link is particularly vague, I usually go inside to find out what it's about and what the general consensus about the link is. If others say it's worth it, I'll generally check it out. I try to ignore posting style criticisms.
posted by Roger Dodger at 9:23 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by Roger Dodger at 9:23 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
"overly concerned with minute details or formalisms" -- But it isn't a minute detail. It's a matter of style. The reasons that newspapers have a style book is to make reading the newspaper easier and consistent.
Obviously having an exact style is not important for the site's creator...and that is fine. But until you post in the guidelines what you want or don't want...and that includes no "pedantic discussion of community norms"...then you're going to get 10000 different ideas of style. And 10000 complaints and kudos about such presentation.
Part of making a post is the presentation. This is an art, not a science. Commenting on the art of the presentation is on topic until it is forbidden. If you want to codify the presentation and disallow comments about style then do so or live with the comments.
I've posted without long explanation because I thought it fit the link. I fully expected some would not like the style and some would. I really don't care. It's not my job to please every damn user. Maybe as many users would rather discuss the presentation than the link.
But I can't believe these intelligent adults can't carry on multiple conversations of content or presentation in a single post. Are you really that swayed by others that you can't simply comment as you see fit?
posted by ?! at 9:33 AM on October 14, 2006
Obviously having an exact style is not important for the site's creator...and that is fine. But until you post in the guidelines what you want or don't want...and that includes no "pedantic discussion of community norms"...then you're going to get 10000 different ideas of style. And 10000 complaints and kudos about such presentation.
Part of making a post is the presentation. This is an art, not a science. Commenting on the art of the presentation is on topic until it is forbidden. If you want to codify the presentation and disallow comments about style then do so or live with the comments.
I've posted without long explanation because I thought it fit the link. I fully expected some would not like the style and some would. I really don't care. It's not my job to please every damn user. Maybe as many users would rather discuss the presentation than the link.
But I can't believe these intelligent adults can't carry on multiple conversations of content or presentation in a single post. Are you really that swayed by others that you can't simply comment as you see fit?
posted by ?! at 9:33 AM on October 14, 2006
Shit post.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 9:47 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 9:47 AM on October 14, 2006
Well, it's not like you can fix that now. Oh wait, you can.
As soon as something gets pulled into MetaTalk it's tough to do anything to the thread because it's under hyperscrutiny and people in the MeTa thread are like "what is this thread about? I don't see anything." I removed some asshatted derails from this post and I'll make more of an effort to remove totally content-free "this sucks" commentary if I see it early enough. Everyone else can just flag it and not respond to it in-thread which makes it easier to remove that sort of thing when we see it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:20 AM on October 14, 2006
As soon as something gets pulled into MetaTalk it's tough to do anything to the thread because it's under hyperscrutiny and people in the MeTa thread are like "what is this thread about? I don't see anything." I removed some asshatted derails from this post and I'll make more of an effort to remove totally content-free "this sucks" commentary if I see it early enough. Everyone else can just flag it and not respond to it in-thread which makes it easier to remove that sort of thing when we see it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:20 AM on October 14, 2006
No, that's metafilter, and it's not life
Yes it is. MetaFilter is part of all of our lives, and that's life on MetaFilter. You may not like it, and I may not like it, but it's a fact. (Note: I did not post a comment to snark but to explain to someone who asked why so many people were snarking.)
But he's been pro surprise posts for a while.
Yes, I remember that comment too, and I had the same reaction: that crunchland was being unnecessarily defensive. The complaints are not about one-link posts or posts that don't have bushels of explanation; the complaints are about posts that have no explanation at all, particularly if they link to massive downloads or other problematic destinations, and especially particularly if a significant number of people who take the dive (trusting the poster) decide it shouldn't have been posted in the first place, explanation or no explanation. None of this applies to crunchland, who's rightly celebrated for the excellence of his posting style.
posted by languagehat at 10:31 AM on October 14, 2006
Yes it is. MetaFilter is part of all of our lives, and that's life on MetaFilter. You may not like it, and I may not like it, but it's a fact. (Note: I did not post a comment to snark but to explain to someone who asked why so many people were snarking.)
But he's been pro surprise posts for a while.
Yes, I remember that comment too, and I had the same reaction: that crunchland was being unnecessarily defensive. The complaints are not about one-link posts or posts that don't have bushels of explanation; the complaints are about posts that have no explanation at all, particularly if they link to massive downloads or other problematic destinations, and especially particularly if a significant number of people who take the dive (trusting the poster) decide it shouldn't have been posted in the first place, explanation or no explanation. None of this applies to crunchland, who's rightly celebrated for the excellence of his posting style.
posted by languagehat at 10:31 AM on October 14, 2006
However, it seems more than a little needless for a dozen or so malcontents to pile-on and voice what are, at best, pedantic concerns about the presentation of the thread itself.
It's important for people who don't like the post to say so, especially if it's a lot of people.
It might have been neat to copy the style of the animation MORE, like so:
Rabbit
neat
large
movie
or some such. But it's a great post because it flaunts the conventions, reminding you to step outta that normal routine you have, every now and then.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:35 AM on October 14, 2006
It's important for people who don't like the post to say so, especially if it's a lot of people.
It might have been neat to copy the style of the animation MORE, like so:
Rabbit
neat
large
movie
or some such. But it's a great post because it flaunts the conventions, reminding you to step outta that normal routine you have, every now and then.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:35 AM on October 14, 2006
There are a lot of second-level things that came together to make this post uncomfortable. Posting a link to a video without a proper description in the middle of a workday for most visitors leaves a lot of people floundering. Am I being tricked into something that might embarrass me at work? Is there content that I wouldn't want to broadcast? How loud is the audio? How long is it--or, how long is it until I get to the interesting part? If someone looks over my shoulder, will it look like I'm an intelligent person, or an avant-garde thought leader, or will it look like I'm wasting my time by viewing something stupid? Why is this worth my time?
Now, I don't expect all, or even most, of those questions to be answered in every FPP. But offering nothing is annoying. With this post, you got one word and a file format if you moused over. People want to have at least some notion of what they're getting into before they commit.
That being said, I wasn't put out too much, because by the time I got to it there were 15 or 16 comments that let me know it was something I wouldn't be interested in personally, so I could move on, rather than being left hanging.
The cute-n-coy thing has been done before. It's not new or creative. Give it a rest.
posted by gimonca at 10:47 AM on October 14, 2006
Now, I don't expect all, or even most, of those questions to be answered in every FPP. But offering nothing is annoying. With this post, you got one word and a file format if you moused over. People want to have at least some notion of what they're getting into before they commit.
That being said, I wasn't put out too much, because by the time I got to it there were 15 or 16 comments that let me know it was something I wouldn't be interested in personally, so I could move on, rather than being left hanging.
The cute-n-coy thing has been done before. It's not new or creative. Give it a rest.
posted by gimonca at 10:47 AM on October 14, 2006
I'm still not convinced had gwint posted:
idol Neat, bizzare short film.
...would people still be satisfied. It might have avoided half the chatter and this thread, but the people who would have clicked on it, would have clicked on it. The people who wouldn't, wouldn't have. I think some people need the safety of having everything spelled out for them, and other people are more willing to take a chance. And never the twain shall meet.
posted by crunchland at 10:56 AM on October 14, 2006
idol Neat, bizzare short film.
...would people still be satisfied. It might have avoided half the chatter and this thread, but the people who would have clicked on it, would have clicked on it. The people who wouldn't, wouldn't have. I think some people need the safety of having everything spelled out for them, and other people are more willing to take a chance. And never the twain shall meet.
posted by crunchland at 10:56 AM on October 14, 2006
fuck you with rusty garden implements
Could people just fucking stop it with the "you should get back to work" comments? I work harder than you, very likely. I likely work more hours than you. And while I'm at work, even while taking a break, I'm usually waiting for a set of functional test to finish on the code I've written or a compile to complete or security upgrades to finish.
And now, on a Saturday morning while taking a break from all the things I -should- be doing, I want to kick you in the genitals. Your bullshit is not the best of MetaFilter.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:17 AM on October 14, 2006
Could people just fucking stop it with the "you should get back to work" comments? I work harder than you, very likely. I likely work more hours than you. And while I'm at work, even while taking a break, I'm usually waiting for a set of functional test to finish on the code I've written or a compile to complete or security upgrades to finish.
And now, on a Saturday morning while taking a break from all the things I -should- be doing, I want to kick you in the genitals. Your bullshit is not the best of MetaFilter.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:17 AM on October 14, 2006
My sincere apologies to you Kickstart70, I would never want to stress out a hard working-- what is it? Fire fighter? ER surgeon? Migrant farm worker?-- wait, wtf? you write code? You spend long hard hours writing code? Oh boo fucking hoo you self important prick.
posted by gwint at 11:25 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by gwint at 11:25 AM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
Yeah, cause that thread totally needed yet another "shit post" comment. Sheesh.
posted by Stauf at 11:33 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Stauf at 11:33 AM on October 14, 2006
Hey gwint, bite my ass. What, you're another fucking Mac-user webdesigner? So you don't work for a living at all, then, huh?
Or is this something you do from your mom's basement?
Go have your cheezypoofs and STFU.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:34 AM on October 14, 2006
Or is this something you do from your mom's basement?
Go have your cheezypoofs and STFU.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:34 AM on October 14, 2006
Get a grip, Kickstart.
posted by crunchland at 11:35 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by crunchland at 11:35 AM on October 14, 2006
crunchland: Are you also saying that to the volumes of people who told me to get back to work, as if it was any of their fucking business?
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:37 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:37 AM on October 14, 2006
No. I'm saying it to you. Walk away. It's just a website. Go breathe some fresh air. Get a grip.
posted by crunchland at 11:38 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by crunchland at 11:38 AM on October 14, 2006
It was a shit post, gwint. You didn't even get the fucking title of the video right, you bonehead.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 11:41 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 11:41 AM on October 14, 2006
and fuck you too, even if your advice to leave this website for a while is good.
My original point stands: it's really ignorant to tell people to get back to work when the person saying so doesn't know how much I've already worked this week.
But yeah, I'm stressed all to hell and this shit really did not make my day.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:41 AM on October 14, 2006
My original point stands: it's really ignorant to tell people to get back to work when the person saying so doesn't know how much I've already worked this week.
But yeah, I'm stressed all to hell and this shit really did not make my day.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:41 AM on October 14, 2006
Dude. You don't need to be reading more Metafilter. You need a nap.
posted by gwint at 11:42 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by gwint at 11:42 AM on October 14, 2006
Gwint, you need to stop telling people what they need to be doing.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 11:44 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 11:44 AM on October 14, 2006
Crunchland I respect, but gwint, you're just another pedant asshole, and definitely a 'self-important prick'.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:44 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:44 AM on October 14, 2006
Isn't your break over? And isn't your sockpuppet's break over?
posted by gwint at 11:47 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by gwint at 11:47 AM on October 14, 2006
Ooo...just because two users think you're an idiot, they must be sockpuppets, eh? Request a check from the admins or shut up.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:48 AM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:48 AM on October 14, 2006
Jeez, Kickstart70 you're being baited and you're responding childishly. Take crunchland's advice.
posted by Neiltupper at 12:03 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by Neiltupper at 12:03 PM on October 14, 2006
If you object to the brief style of the post because it doesn't give you enough information to know if you can view the movie at work, fine.
If you spam up the first half dozen comments with this objection, why don't you take a nice long break and couple with a jackhammer.
This ring a bell for anyone: "don't shit in the thread"?
posted by scarabic at 12:05 PM on October 14, 2006
If you spam up the first half dozen comments with this objection, why don't you take a nice long break and couple with a jackhammer.
This ring a bell for anyone: "don't shit in the thread"?
posted by scarabic at 12:05 PM on October 14, 2006
I love it when this happens.
posted by bob sarabia at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by bob sarabia at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2006
So. Anybody have any funny animated gifs?
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2006
Kickstart:
I was one of the people complaining, with you, about other folks mistaking themselves for my boss and telling me to "get back to work". So I say this not as an enemy but as someone who agrees with you, and as suggestions, not orders: Get a grip. Relax.
posted by Bugbread at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2006
I was one of the people complaining, with you, about other folks mistaking themselves for my boss and telling me to "get back to work". So I say this not as an enemy but as someone who agrees with you, and as suggestions, not orders: Get a grip. Relax.
posted by Bugbread at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2006
if people weren't making self-righteous comments about how they're at work and have to be oh so careful about what they click on, i'm sure no one would be told to get back to work
what you do at work is not our problem ... (although a nsfw tag is a common courtesy that you have a right to expect) ... but we do not work for your employer, we do not take money from your employer and we do not have to follow your employer's policies on web-cruising and what software you have available to do it with ... take it up with your boss ... or wait until you're home
but quit whining to us about it
posted by pyramid termite at 12:22 PM on October 14, 2006
what you do at work is not our problem ... (although a nsfw tag is a common courtesy that you have a right to expect) ... but we do not work for your employer, we do not take money from your employer and we do not have to follow your employer's policies on web-cruising and what software you have available to do it with ... take it up with your boss ... or wait until you're home
but quit whining to us about it
posted by pyramid termite at 12:22 PM on October 14, 2006
Well, I guess this wasn't all in vain. I started off simply thinking gwint didn't do a very good job of posting. Now I've learned gwint is an asshole.
The More You Know!
============*
posted by team lowkey at 12:23 PM on October 14, 2006
The More You Know!
============*
posted by team lowkey at 12:23 PM on October 14, 2006
Is no one going to complain that the main problem with the post was that it was on kottke already when it got put here? We've really come a long way as a group.
posted by jonson at 12:58 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by jonson at 12:58 PM on October 14, 2006
pyramid termite : "we do not work for your employer, we do not take money from your employer and we do not have to follow your employer's policies on web-cruising and what software you have available to do it with ... take it up with your boss ... or wait until you're home
"but quit whining to us about it"
True. In both directions: If you are at work, don't whine about SFW stuff not being labelled SFW. Members of MetaFilter are not your employers, and while NSFW is a courtesy issue, labelling stuff SFW is just silly.
Likewise, if someone else complains about SFW stuff not being labelled SFW, don't whine about how they should be working instead. Remember that you are not their employer.
posted by Bugbread at 1:09 PM on October 14, 2006
"but quit whining to us about it"
True. In both directions: If you are at work, don't whine about SFW stuff not being labelled SFW. Members of MetaFilter are not your employers, and while NSFW is a courtesy issue, labelling stuff SFW is just silly.
Likewise, if someone else complains about SFW stuff not being labelled SFW, don't whine about how they should be working instead. Remember that you are not their employer.
posted by Bugbread at 1:09 PM on October 14, 2006
...the people who would have clicked on it, would have clicked on it. The people who wouldn't, wouldn't have.
crunchland, you're wrong. Please see previous comment.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:10 PM on October 14, 2006
crunchland, you're wrong. Please see previous comment.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:10 PM on October 14, 2006
wait, wtf? you write code? You spend long hard hours writing code? Oh boo fucking hoo you self important prick.
And gwint, kindly STFU. You obviously don't know anything about the stress that programmers deal with on a day-to-day basis. Here, read this thread. Oh yeah, and STFU.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:14 PM on October 14, 2006
And gwint, kindly STFU. You obviously don't know anything about the stress that programmers deal with on a day-to-day basis. Here, read this thread. Oh yeah, and STFU.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:14 PM on October 14, 2006
I code for a living. So do half the members of this site. We've all worked long hours. So what? That doesn't give anyone the special right to:
- comment in the blue "Shit post" after a dozen people have done so
- then go to the grey and comment "Hey, I just posted 'Shit post' even though I know I should have tried to discuss it calmly here but I'm allowed to because I work really really hard.
and not expected to get called on it. This thread had actually been pretty civil until Kickstart70 showed up and I guess I reacted strongly to that.
posted by gwint at 1:32 PM on October 14, 2006
- comment in the blue "Shit post" after a dozen people have done so
- then go to the grey and comment "Hey, I just posted 'Shit post' even though I know I should have tried to discuss it calmly here but I'm allowed to because I work really really hard.
and not expected to get called on it. This thread had actually been pretty civil until Kickstart70 showed up and I guess I reacted strongly to that.
posted by gwint at 1:32 PM on October 14, 2006
you know what, just fuck everybody. fuck everything. fuck it all.
*storms off in unspecified huff*
posted by quonsar at 1:37 PM on October 14, 2006
*storms off in unspecified huff*
posted by quonsar at 1:37 PM on October 14, 2006
I can't beilive that people are defending this random link to an excutable file. How the fuck is anyone supposed to know what is going to happen to their computer after they open this link. This is a cumminity and it helps if people describe what the fuck they are linking to.
Also, fuck everyone who says that people at work should be working instead of reading metafilter. Get the stick out of your asses and try working data entry for 40 hours a week.
posted by afu at 1:39 PM on October 14, 2006
Also, fuck everyone who says that people at work should be working instead of reading metafilter. Get the stick out of your asses and try working data entry for 40 hours a week.
posted by afu at 1:39 PM on October 14, 2006
Are you happy now?!? You've gone and unspecified quonsar's huff! EVERY PAGE OF METAFILTER DOES A CHECK ON THE VALUE OF QUONSAR'S HUFF BEFORE IT LOADS!!! YOU'VE DOOMED US ALL!!!
JRUN FOR IT!!!
posted by team lowkey at 1:44 PM on October 14, 2006
JRUN FOR IT!!!
posted by team lowkey at 1:44 PM on October 14, 2006
This is a cumminity
*looks around nervously*
Um, ew?
Get the stick out of your asses
Oohh. That kind of cumminity.
posted by gwint at 1:50 PM on October 14, 2006
*looks around nervously*
Um, ew?
Get the stick out of your asses
Oohh. That kind of cumminity.
posted by gwint at 1:50 PM on October 14, 2006
I can't beilive that people are defending this random link to an excutable file.
That, putting aside every other bit of assholeishness from me and others, is the most important statement in this post (and not because of the spelling errors).
posted by Kickstart70 at 1:55 PM on October 14, 2006
That, putting aside every other bit of assholeishness from me and others, is the most important statement in this post (and not because of the spelling errors).
posted by Kickstart70 at 1:55 PM on October 14, 2006
... That doesn't give anyone the special right to:
But that's just it - MeFi is an equal-access, shared medium. We can all say whatever we want, wherever we want to (with certain notable exceptions.) Nobody needs a "special right."
You posted a one-word, one-link post to a video, and apparently didn't expect to get flamed for it. That tells me that you're either new to MeFi, or don't read comments (or MeTa or the FAQ or the posting guidelines) very often.
All of that aside, it's too bad that you did such a bad job in creating your FPP. I genuinely enjoyed the animation that you linked to, and its a shame that more people will ignore it due to bad posting style.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:58 PM on October 14, 2006
But that's just it - MeFi is an equal-access, shared medium. We can all say whatever we want, wherever we want to (with certain notable exceptions.) Nobody needs a "special right."
You posted a one-word, one-link post to a video, and apparently didn't expect to get flamed for it. That tells me that you're either new to MeFi, or don't read comments (or MeTa or the FAQ or the posting guidelines) very often.
All of that aside, it's too bad that you did such a bad job in creating your FPP. I genuinely enjoyed the animation that you linked to, and its a shame that more people will ignore it due to bad posting style.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:58 PM on October 14, 2006
Get the stick out of your asses
Holy shit, this applies to so many more people than what it who it was aimed at.
posted by Stauf at 2:08 PM on October 14, 2006
Holy shit, this applies to so many more people than what it who it was aimed at.
posted by Stauf at 2:08 PM on October 14, 2006
I liked the video and the posting style. You guys need to get some fucking common sense about when to click on things in web browsers.
If the context and target of the link don't inspire you to click on it, then don't. If you're curious about it, maybe follow the link to the comments. How hard is that?
And gwint's user number is half mine, and a quarter yours.
posted by blasdelf at 2:10 PM on October 14, 2006
If the context and target of the link don't inspire you to click on it, then don't. If you're curious about it, maybe follow the link to the comments. How hard is that?
And gwint's user number is half mine, and a quarter yours.
posted by blasdelf at 2:10 PM on October 14, 2006
afu : "I can't beilive that people are defending this random link to an excutable file. How the fuck is anyone supposed to know what is going to happen to their computer after they open this link."
Maybe my understanding of "executable file" is bad, but I was under the impression that (in a Windows platform, at least) it referred to things like com files, bat files, exe files, and the like. Are "mov" files also considered executable files? If so, doesn't that mean all files are executable? What, then, is the purpose of the word "executable"? Or is there something about a mov that makes it executable, while an avi or mp4 or the like isn't?
posted by Bugbread at 2:12 PM on October 14, 2006
Maybe my understanding of "executable file" is bad, but I was under the impression that (in a Windows platform, at least) it referred to things like com files, bat files, exe files, and the like. Are "mov" files also considered executable files? If so, doesn't that mean all files are executable? What, then, is the purpose of the word "executable"? Or is there something about a mov that makes it executable, while an avi or mp4 or the like isn't?
posted by Bugbread at 2:12 PM on October 14, 2006
Yeah, I should totally click on more random words without any context at all. I'm sure my life would be enriched.
Oh yeah, and not only is my user number bigger then yours, but my daddy can also beat up your daddy. How do you like that?
posted by Afroblanco at 2:13 PM on October 14, 2006
Oh yeah, and not only is my user number bigger then yours, but my daddy can also beat up your daddy. How do you like that?
posted by Afroblanco at 2:13 PM on October 14, 2006
Great, now quonsar's huffing! Mmm, glue...
BTW: Comedy gold!!!
Full disclosure: I am not a coder.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:15 PM on October 14, 2006
BTW: Comedy gold!!!
Full disclosure: I am not a coder.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:15 PM on October 14, 2006
You know who couldn't give a rat's ass about this issue?
ZZ Top. They did that song about the sunglasses.
posted by horsewithnoname at 2:23 PM on October 14, 2006
ZZ Top. They did that song about the sunglasses.
posted by horsewithnoname at 2:23 PM on October 14, 2006
This has been a fine way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 2:30 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 2:30 PM on October 14, 2006
mathowie and I talked about that post last night
Do you two really "talk," or do you use some other communications medium?
just curious
posted by Kwantsar at 2:36 PM on October 14, 2006
Do you two really "talk," or do you use some other communications medium?
just curious
posted by Kwantsar at 2:36 PM on October 14, 2006
"Do you two really "talk," or do you use some other communications medium?"
Some other medium.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:47 PM on October 14, 2006
Some other medium.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:47 PM on October 14, 2006
well, 65 hours , thats your fucking ego right away mate.
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:54 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:54 PM on October 14, 2006
Quonsar, you're not a former co-worker of mine, are you? I recognize your style.
posted by evilcolonel at 2:55 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by evilcolonel at 2:55 PM on October 14, 2006
And gwint's user number is half mine, and a quarter yours.
OMG! I bow to gwint's patent superiority! Hell, I don't even know what code is!
posted by languagehat at 3:22 PM on October 14, 2006
OMG! I bow to gwint's patent superiority! Hell, I don't even know what code is!
posted by languagehat at 3:22 PM on October 14, 2006
OMG! I bow to gwint's patent superiority! Hell, I don't even know what code is!
Don't be a jerk. It's pretty obvious he mentioned gwint's user number because someone was sugesting gwint might be "new to mefi".
The bottom line, to me, is that people repeatedly acted the fool inside the thread after the issue had already been raised, both in comments and by flagging the original post. Why? There's absolutely no reason for this other than a some sort of selfish pedantry.
Yeah, there could have been less snarking in this particular thread, but if it makes even one person think twice about posting that kind of link in the future, it will have been worth it.
Um, no, it wouldn't have been worth it. How would people appreciate it if I took it upon myself, as a single entity, to start "policing" threads by wildly derailing them when I disagree with the post? Is that "worth it"? Or is it only worth it when your own subjective pedantry is served?
It's also more than a little disheartening that people will devolve into a juvenile "fuck you--no, fuck you!" back and forth over something like this. Lame.
posted by The God Complex at 3:52 PM on October 14, 2006
Don't be a jerk. It's pretty obvious he mentioned gwint's user number because someone was sugesting gwint might be "new to mefi".
The bottom line, to me, is that people repeatedly acted the fool inside the thread after the issue had already been raised, both in comments and by flagging the original post. Why? There's absolutely no reason for this other than a some sort of selfish pedantry.
Yeah, there could have been less snarking in this particular thread, but if it makes even one person think twice about posting that kind of link in the future, it will have been worth it.
Um, no, it wouldn't have been worth it. How would people appreciate it if I took it upon myself, as a single entity, to start "policing" threads by wildly derailing them when I disagree with the post? Is that "worth it"? Or is it only worth it when your own subjective pedantry is served?
It's also more than a little disheartening that people will devolve into a juvenile "fuck you--no, fuck you!" back and forth over something like this. Lame.
posted by The God Complex at 3:52 PM on October 14, 2006
Why? There's absolutely no reason for this other than a some sort of selfish pedantry.
Or they figured the thread would be deleted so it didn't matter. Isn't that why people fill threads with countless gifs?
posted by smackfu at 4:10 PM on October 14, 2006
Or they figured the thread would be deleted so it didn't matter. Isn't that why people fill threads with countless gifs?
posted by smackfu at 4:10 PM on October 14, 2006
Ugh. Mystery meat posts. It's a taste thing, I know, but I stopped doing them a while ago; they just seem so fundamentally wrong, somehow.
Anyway...
gwint: I had forgotten how nitpicky and ossified this place can be.
Wait, are you saying it *hasn't* been a longtime convention here to let folks know in advance when clicking a link requires opening another application? PDF, MOV, DOC, whatever? Come on, gwint. It's courtesy, you didn't provide it, and it's not nitpicky and ossified to point that part out, at least.
posted by mediareport at 4:16 PM on October 14, 2006
Anyway...
gwint: I had forgotten how nitpicky and ossified this place can be.
Wait, are you saying it *hasn't* been a longtime convention here to let folks know in advance when clicking a link requires opening another application? PDF, MOV, DOC, whatever? Come on, gwint. It's courtesy, you didn't provide it, and it's not nitpicky and ossified to point that part out, at least.
posted by mediareport at 4:16 PM on October 14, 2006
Are "mov" files also considered executable files?
The first Mac OSX trojan was deliverable in a .mov file.
posted by Kickstart70 at 4:34 PM on October 14, 2006
The first Mac OSX trojan was deliverable in a .mov file.
posted by Kickstart70 at 4:34 PM on October 14, 2006
It's pretty obvious he mentioned gwint's user number because someone was sugesting gwint might be "new to mefi".
Yeah, excuse me for giving him the benifit of the doubt. gwint's posting of a one-word, one-link FPP wasn't due to naivete. It was the product of carefully-calculated obliviousness.
posted by Afroblanco at 4:47 PM on October 14, 2006
Yeah, excuse me for giving him the benifit of the doubt. gwint's posting of a one-word, one-link FPP wasn't due to naivete. It was the product of carefully-calculated obliviousness.
posted by Afroblanco at 4:47 PM on October 14, 2006
Just out of curiosity, is there anyone out there who originally thought qwint's posting style was wrong or bad, and after all of these comments and the comments in the original thread, changed their minds and now think what he did was ok? Is there anyone out there who originally thought qwint's posting was fine and now think what he did was wrong?
After all of this, has it amounted to anything at all?
posted by crunchland at 5:07 PM on October 14, 2006
After all of this, has it amounted to anything at all?
posted by crunchland at 5:07 PM on October 14, 2006
The first Mac OSX trojan was deliverable in a .mov file.
posted by Kickstart70 at 4:34 PM PST on October 14 [+] [!]
I'm pretty sure that was a hoax, wasn't it?
posted by trey at 5:39 PM on October 14, 2006
Work harder you cock sucking commie butplug with a mouth. Get your fucked up teeth fixed, smelly faced shitter nostril, while your at it. It seems to me they must have a special circumcision for liberals that removes their fucking balls as well as their manliness. How else to explain the impotent womanly whining? A good askMeta question in the making...
posted by econous at 5:40 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by econous at 5:40 PM on October 14, 2006
...aaaaaand
SCENE.
Thanks for coming everybody. See you at the wrap party.
posted by gwint at 5:45 PM on October 14, 2006
SCENE.
Thanks for coming everybody. See you at the wrap party.
posted by gwint at 5:45 PM on October 14, 2006
We need a MetaTalk post like that one that points to this thread.
Is Metafilter really this complicated, abusive and hilarious? It's been so long since the last 300 post flameout that I can't remember. Officially contains one of my favorite sentences of all time: "Get the stick out of your asses(sic)."
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 5:48 PM on October 14, 2006
Is Metafilter really this complicated, abusive and hilarious? It's been so long since the last 300 post flameout that I can't remember. Officially contains one of my favorite sentences of all time: "Get the stick out of your asses(sic)."
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 5:48 PM on October 14, 2006
econous: I am giggling like a schoolgirl - took me a bit but I got there and I'm glad.
posted by Sparx at 6:10 PM on October 14, 2006
posted by Sparx at 6:10 PM on October 14, 2006
After all of this, has it amounted to anything at all?
I learned what the effect of flagging 20-30 comments in one thread would be. That'll come in handy next time.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 6:51 PM on October 14, 2006
I learned what the effect of flagging 20-30 comments in one thread would be. That'll come in handy next time.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 6:51 PM on October 14, 2006
Are "mov" files also considered executable files?You're really grasping at straws here, trying to come up with random shit that obliquely justifies your asshat comments. Please stop.
The first Mac OSX trojan was deliverable in a .mov file.
Kickstart70 at 4:34 PM PST on October 14 [+] [!]
posted by blasdelf at 9:15 PM on October 14, 2006
No, you are!
posted by smackfu at 9:56 PM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by smackfu at 9:56 PM on October 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
Does anyone use the "title" feature in the "a href" tag these days? It could've been embedded in the one-word link to good effect.
posted by DenOfSizer at 11:56 AM on October 15, 2006
posted by DenOfSizer at 11:56 AM on October 15, 2006
PLEASE NOTE WHEN SOMETHING IS VIDEO/NOT TEXT. SOME OF US USE BROWSERS (like on my PDA) THAT DO NOT HAVE A "HOVER".
I can only say that like every time this comes up. You can look back for yourself.
posted by Eideteker at 10:56 PM on October 17, 2006
I can only say that like every time this comes up. You can look back for yourself.
posted by Eideteker at 10:56 PM on October 17, 2006
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
We're not talking about a boring one-link newsfilter post: "iraq" or "afghanistan" or something so insidious. Rather, it was a link to a very interesting short film (very much the "best of the web" and in the spirit of the site) without the warning labels desired by a seemingly vocal minority of Metafilter users. Setting aside for a moment the argument of whether or not these labels are or should be required, the actual comments themselves about what a "shit post" it was are far more destructive to the site than the perceived transgression could ever be.
In a broad sense, I understand that this is nothing new. I've been around the Mefi block, if you will, and I remember similar things happening somewhat frequently when I was a more active user several years ago. I do not, however, remember people so vociferously attacking what is, at its core, a very cool link. During my aforementioned "active" days, there wasn't even a function that allowed users to flag a post. Now that there is, it seems even more absurd for people to vent their spleens so openly. At the very least, if, after several people have already mentioned the issue you still feel the need to voice your concerns, do it in the grey. That's what it's here for.
On a final note, it was somewhat bizarre to see people express such displeasure after other users had described, in the first several comments, what the post was about. Was it really that inconvenient? (I'm genuinely curious about this and not trying to snark)
posted by The God Complex at 12:36 AM on October 14, 2006