nominate threads you thought had an impact on MeFi culture and history here.

October 15, 2006 7:23 PM

I just noticed that we have a metafilterhistory tag. This, dear admins, is a brilliant idea, and was a great walk down memory lane. We have cameras, indeed. I was wondering, perhaps, if people wanted to nominate threads they thought had an impact on MeFi culture and history here.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher to MetaFilter-Related at 7:23 PM (89 comments total)

Thanks, I made that! I only wish we could tag stuff in MeTa as well.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:24 PM on October 15, 2006

And AskMeta as well!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:26 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

That's fantastic, jessamyn.

Except, you know, that now the scanned cat is out of the camera bag, people might start putting this tag on their own posts in a doubly-sensed vain attempt to be clever.

Or not. It's still nifty.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:41 PM on October 15, 2006

Well, if that happens, we shall smite them.
posted by danb at 7:53 PM on October 15, 2006

Oddly enough, today I was wondering back through meta threads in the past and found interesting/funny stuff that I was gonna post to metatalk, but here is as good as any

Reaching 500 members.

A proposal to limit members at 10K.

A meta crash due to a...shoddy power plug!


Matt's pegging of metatalk, which seems really right from now.

Early Askmethread.


And Matt breaks the rules! :)


Great moments in music tech.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:11 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

Wow, I never saw that Ask MetaFilter question before, thanks for the links BB.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:16 PM on October 15, 2006

Hmm, I guess I did see it since I posted in it. Who was that guy in MeTa who asked that question that he already answers in Google Answers before...?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:18 PM on October 15, 2006

If these guys ever port the technology over to car stereos, they will effectively kill the CD Changer from the face of the earth

Heh. Even "easy" predictions are easy to get wrong.
posted by smackfu at 8:54 PM on October 15, 2006

The invasion of the cam people has long been one of my favourites, but I don't know if it's mefihistory.
posted by dhruva at 9:15 PM on October 15, 2006

As a latecomer to the party, this was a lot of fun to dig through. Going from 9-11 to the portabella thread ... this place has range.
posted by Bookhouse at 9:59 PM on October 15, 2006

the camgirl invasion was when I first started turning off signups. We couldn't hold all their angst and I had to cut them off.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:02 PM on October 15, 2006

This is awesome. I am, however, surprised that the thread with all those comments in it (you know the one I mean - the one that inspired a whole other domain and site) isn't tagged with this, although I do perhaps seem to remember Mathowie saying that it strains the server when that page is loaded....
posted by anastasiav at 10:04 PM on October 15, 2006

This is the new

MySpace page Their songs are pretty catchy, and the video on their myspace page is hilarious. official website: www.prettyflowers.org
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:04 PM on October 15, 2006

Is the 9622 omission deliberate?
posted by NortonDC at 10:25 PM on October 15, 2006

Is the 9622 omission deliberate?

Nope. I added it. If people can find genesis posts for MonkeyFilter and MetaChat, that would be cool, though the MeCha one is likely in MetaTalk.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:53 PM on October 15, 2006

dhruva: curious link about the campeople. never heard of 'em before, but that's not saying much. without causing me all the trouble of googling or anything, do you know, offchance, whether these cam or e/n communities still exist? there's just something about webcams circa 2001 that free-associates in my head with terms like "shark" and "jump".
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:56 PM on October 15, 2006

Err.. Does this mean we have tag fairies now?
posted by Chuckles at 11:09 PM on October 15, 2006

I have no idea ....I didnt even click the link :)
posted by dhruva at 11:09 PM on October 15, 2006

MetaChat announcement, in which dodgygeezer claims this is its origin.
posted by agropyron at 11:10 PM on October 15, 2006

Most of the history worthy stuff I remember seems to be in MetaTalk, which doesn't have tags alas. The Monkeyfilter and Metachat threads were in Metatalk.
posted by dhruva at 11:11 PM on October 15, 2006

This one will surely go down in AskMefi history.
posted by brain cloud at 11:43 PM on October 15, 2006

Hmm. It seems I've only been present for one historic thread. I guess I'm still a n00b. Please tell me there's something else I can reference when alienating newcomers.

The Pretty Flowers thread may do for now (thanks, UbuRoivas, I forgot about that).
posted by brundlefly at 11:51 PM on October 15, 2006

Jeeziz! I'd read references to the KayCeeNicole thread, but I had no idea just how traumatic this event was to the mefi community. What ever happened to Debbie? Struck by lightning? Devoured by a hungry, hungry daschhound? What forces conspire to make such a creature (and do we know whether she's tried again?)
posted by maryh at 1:35 AM on October 16, 2006

I'm pretty sure the mushroom-mushroom thread qualifies, if it's not already on the list. You know, of course, to which I am alluding.

(Is that even proper English?)
posted by blacklite at 3:04 AM on October 16, 2006

If these guys ever port the technology over to car stereos, they will effectively kill the CD Changer from the face of the earth
Heh. Even "easy" predictions are easy to get wrong.

Yea, I laughed when I saw that. I've got exactly such an MP3 cd player in my car and never use it since it's just easier to use an ipod.
posted by octothorpe at 4:04 AM on October 16, 2006

This is my all time favorite comment, in what is surely one of the most memorable AskMes, though I don't know if it reaches historical greatness.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:09 AM on October 16, 2006

The AskMe about fighting the grizzly bear is worthy.
posted by the cuban at 4:20 AM on October 16, 2006

son of minya.
posted by sgt.serenity at 5:04 AM on October 16, 2006

Maybe a bit about the Metafilter clone frenzy. I can't find an original link to the official one that survived (Sportsfilter), but here is when kaibutsu found one that was later killed by its own popularity (and failed software): BookFilter*

MetaTalk posts here and here about the spin-offs.

MetaTalk posts on the clone software Freefilter and Metaphilter.

*- Yes, that was mine.
posted by ?! at 6:06 AM on October 16, 2006

Oh great. As if the posting-pressure wasn't bad enough already, now the golden fleece will be a mod-added "metafilterhistory" tag :)

This is a really cool idea as long as it can't be abused by people adding it to their own posts. I wonder if Mathowie could code something in to check the tags on new posts and those added by non-mods after posting and strip out any "metafilterhistory" ones?
posted by TheDonF at 6:08 AM on October 16, 2006

December 6, 2001: Suggestion of Sportsfilter (and that the domain is still available)

February 3, 2002: First suggestion to "take it to Sportsfilter"
posted by smackfu at 6:25 AM on October 16, 2006

Not to denigrate the spin offs, but aside from musicfilter and ask metafilter, I don't see how the genesis of any of them represent anything historical about metafilter.
posted by crunchland at 6:30 AM on October 16, 2006

Can we add "this may crash your browser" to some of these. FIREFOX IS OVERLOADED CAPTAIN!!!
posted by wheelieman at 6:30 AM on October 16, 2006

Metafilter: We couldn't hold all their angst.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:30 AM on October 16, 2006

Dare I mention my flushing out the smiley-face bomber Luke Helder thus saving mailboxes throughout the midwest?
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 6:39 AM on October 16, 2006

Overdose on IRC?
posted by Otis at 7:03 AM on October 16, 2006

Thanks for this; I just wasted a chunk of the morning reliving 1142 (and getting a weird feeling of deja vu). I was really pissed when Matt closed down all the old threads just before I became a member and could have posted in them.

And check out this reminder of a time when there were no Ks:

Hey, I just noticed that there are only 23 more people needed for there to be an even 1000 MF users.
23. Sign of the illuminati. Beware, Beware.
posted by Neale at 11:24 PM EST on May 25

(What ever happened to Neale?)
posted by languagehat at 7:24 AM on October 16, 2006

KevinSkomsvold writes "Dare I mention my flushing out the smiley-face bomber Luke Helder thus saving mailboxes throughout the midwest?"

Sure, if only for the should have been a tagline Metafilter: "You make me want to go on a weekend-long cross-country bombing spree."
posted by Mitheral at 7:29 AM on October 16, 2006

The Illuminati got him.
posted by cortex at 7:30 AM on October 16, 2006

My humble suggestions:

No link here.

plo chops

Bomb blast in Bali;
Rick Gleason passes away.

Best. Double Post. Ever.
posted by yhbc at 7:33 AM on October 16, 2006

Is this where "It vibrates?" originated? My memory is so bad.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:45 AM on October 16, 2006

Tony Danza: Uncut. Ok, talk to you later.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:58 AM on October 16, 2006

Yeah, I was gonna nominate Tony too.
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:03 AM on October 16, 2006

I nominate this as a great moment in Mefi history. I felt like I got to know a lot of people that day.
posted by Alison at 8:21 AM on October 16, 2006

Speaking of feeling like I got to know a few people, I remember this great thread where we all discussed the crazy things we believed when we were kids. Does anyone have the link?
posted by arcticwoman at 8:38 AM on October 16, 2006

arcticwoman: This?
posted by Otis at 8:57 AM on October 16, 2006

Otis, that was way before my time, but a great thread nonetheless. Thanks anyway.
posted by arcticwoman at 9:07 AM on October 16, 2006

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.
(In my defense it was a perfect Simpsons quote.)
posted by kirkaracha at 9:27 AM on October 16, 2006

I have fond memories of the "best double post" thread yhbc nominates, not least because it contains the comment:

I, for one, welcome our new languagehat overlord.

And as I said here:

I'm still bitter that bondcliff's proudest internet moment has vanished without trace. It was one of the funniest things I've ever read on MeFi. Oh, the self-righteous policing! Ah, the mock innocence! And then: "I'm beginning to think this was posted before. I'm such an ass." Beautiful. Just beautiful. And all that beauty, all that crazed frothing and happy baiting, is no more.

I don't suppose anyone has a mirror...
posted by languagehat at 9:38 AM on October 16, 2006

son of minya
posted by quonsar at 10:29 AM on October 16, 2006

Will Insomnyuk Buttock Sprinkles get stuck in your unclefucking fuckwit slender douchebag?
posted by quonsar at 10:33 AM on October 16, 2006

I don't think I've ever felt as connected to the world until I learned I wasn't the only kid to find porn in the woods.
posted by educatedslacker at 10:50 AM on October 16, 2006

Awesome, I'd been wondering whether I dreamt that one about how to dispose of a body. Er... I just was, OK? No reason.
posted by penguin pie at 11:12 AM on October 16, 2006

educatedslacker writes "I don't think I've ever felt as connected to the world until I learned I wasn't the only kid to find porn in the woods."

My "Thank god I'm not a freak" thread were the two on manubrium cracking.
posted by Mitheral at 11:48 AM on October 16, 2006

Crunchland: Maybe you're correct. But I mentioned the spin-offs because history isn't always about the triumphs. I think the failure of the spin-offs taught a few lessons about Metafilter. (I don't think of the current Musicfilter and Ask-Metafilter as spin-offs, but more branches of the same Metafilter tree.)

In the first week Bookfilter had over 1000 signups. (Most from Metafilter.) But the software couldn't keep up with the users and so many wanted to post that each thread barely had time to stay on the front page. But the software just couldn't keep up. I tried a second clone software and it too failed often. When it came back months later, the thrill was gone.

The spin-offs were a frenzy in early 2003 that proved that an integral part of Metafilter was mathowie and his software. By keeping it going and having it consistent Metafilter stayed strong. It also proved how valuable the admins are to these type sites.

I think they also proved there were some subjects the users wanted to see separated from the main threads of Metafilter, but most users really don't want a bunch of (subject)filters.
posted by ?! at 1:03 PM on October 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

AlexReynolds flameout?
posted by scarabic at 1:09 PM on October 16, 2006

And what about that one MeTa thread that got NO comments for about 48 hours, except for a long string of monologue from the OP?
posted by scarabic at 1:14 PM on October 16, 2006

AlexReynolds flameout?

BALEETED. Hence untaggable.
posted by cortex at 1:28 PM on October 16, 2006

Lofi is showing a cold fusion error if you are not logged in.
posted by horsewithnoname at 1:48 PM on October 16, 2006

yes! that was the one I was thinking of horsewithnoname! LOVED that
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:00 PM on October 16, 2006

wow, his user page is nutty though.
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:01 PM on October 16, 2006

acarabic, that would be the Jim Jones thread.

Amusingly enough, I couldn't remember his name, but finally remembered that he said "pish tosh" in one comment, and searching for that turned up the thread.
posted by yhbc at 2:02 PM on October 16, 2006

late again, dammit
posted by yhbc at 2:03 PM on October 16, 2006

Ah Jim. We've never seen the like of your soliloquy, nor will we again.

And Alex. We've seen the likes of your flameout before, and I'm sure we will once more.
posted by scarabic at 2:29 PM on October 16, 2006

Whatever happened to Stan Chin's gold star?
posted by davehat at 2:32 PM on October 16, 2006

I heard that he traded it for hookers and blow.
posted by horsewithnoname at 2:50 PM on October 16, 2006

Matt wrote: MetaFilter was down for about three hours this morning because of a shoddy power chord.

A shoddy power chord? What, from an old Boston album or something?-
posted by pracowity at 2:59 PM on October 16, 2006

Too bad the neu thread is lost to posterity. It did, however, create a memorable Miguel quote.
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:08 PM on October 16, 2006

Suppose you killed somebody ...
posted by dg at 3:28 PM on October 16, 2006

Although i can no longer locate either of them, the "how many five year olds could you take" and the "whats the best way to dispose of a body" both stick in my mind. Come to think of it both would probably be deleted for being hypotheticalfilter nowadays.

On preview, that's one of them down. Thanks, dg.
posted by juv3nal at 3:30 PM on October 16, 2006

Too bad the neu thread is lost to posterity.

Aargh! I was all set to smugly link to a cached version like I did the last time the subject came up, but it looks like it's really gone this time! Damn you, internet!

*shakes fist at ether*
posted by languagehat at 5:16 PM on October 16, 2006

First thread about the iPod.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:31 PM on October 16, 2006

I find it interesting that the 9/11 attack post was/is the only post by karen.

I wish I knew what ever happened to Keith Brown... and Fiona Elise.
posted by terrapin at 7:35 PM on October 16, 2006

Oh late to the party as always, but throwing in a fervent vote for the pretty_generic & the hooker askme thread - and the followup, which I think was in Meta. I love those threads: they gave me this picture I will always cherish, of all the mefites as anxious uncles, simultaneously cheering the boy on and worrying terribly about what his mother will say when she finds out. Yes. History for the big headed german whore, I say!
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:47 PM on October 16, 2006

First thread about the iPod.

That doesn't go where you think it does.
posted by smackfu at 8:06 PM on October 16, 2006

Mind jogged by jessamyn's article: the Vienna phonebook question should definitely be part of this.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:25 PM on October 16, 2006

How about that one where the guy who made it showed up, because he worked down the hall from some member? (Was it a software package or book or something?)
posted by smackfu at 8:34 PM on October 16, 2006

I just want to take this moment to say: I love you guys.
posted by Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson at 8:42 PM on October 16, 2006

That doesn't go where you think it does.

Sorry, must proofread more!

http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/11744
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:31 AM on October 17, 2006

How about that one where the guy who made it showed up, because he worked down the hall from some member? (Was it a software package or book or something?)

Wasn't that a question about a poem, where someone who worked near the poet went and just asked him directly? Or something....
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:43 AM on October 17, 2006

I thought it was some column in a computer magazine from like 1983.
posted by gleuschk at 7:11 AM on October 17, 2006

Aha. You were right, it was a poem. (But I was also right, it was in a computer magazine.)
posted by gleuschk at 8:48 AM on October 17, 2006

It's not history yet but the Woz comment will be.
posted by Mitheral at 9:14 AM on October 17, 2006

Okay, it's killin' me now and my google skills are deficient.
I'm almost certain I commented in it, too, but trawling through my old answers is making my head hurt.
Anyone know where the heck that "how many 5 year olds could you take on before they overpower you?" askme is?
posted by juv3nal at 4:54 PM on October 17, 2006

http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/40645
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:56 PM on October 17, 2006

You rule, IRFH.
posted by juv3nal at 7:39 PM on October 17, 2006

Aha.

You have mad search skillz, yo.
posted by smackfu at 7:44 PM on October 17, 2006

I've added all of these, I'm pretty sure. If people can dredge up other ones, I can put the tag on them. Ah, memories!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:08 PM on October 17, 2006

This thread that attracted boastful miscreants is classic MetaFilter.
posted by Mitheral at 2:20 PM on October 26, 2006