I can't stop commenting said Tom threadjackingly August 7, 2003 2:30 AM   Subscribe

"I couldn't stop posting," said Brad in a one-poster thread. I'm as much for collaborative wordplay as the next guy, but when one person monopolizes a thread like this over the course of several hours, it's the kind of thing that belongs on his own blog.
posted by ed to Etiquette/Policy at 2:30 AM (34 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- Brandon Blatcher



"That's just not kosher", crabbed Tom.
posted by taz at 2:46 AM on August 7, 2003


its better than my previous attempt , i have to say.
i beg for clemency on behalf of my client , your honour ,
he has a rare medical condition , rather like tourettes .
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:05 AM on August 7, 2003


"Call me Mister," said ed, hoarsely.
bradlands.com vs. edrants.com... a MeFi grudgematch.

Maybe if he was going to download his personal collection of Tom Swifties into this Cold Fusion database, he should've done it ten-or-twenty per post, but it fits well in the current "silly season" with Google Voyeurism, the LED webcam and a feud with Linkfilter (not to mention the not-yet-dead Acronym Thread), and it sure beats another thread about who's running for California Governor (Has Mike Hawash filed his papers yet?)
posted by wendell at 4:09 AM on August 7, 2003


Damn, the drugs are kicking in.

Get the fuck away from me, you leathery cheesehostesses! Go model the Jersey dirt!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:46 AM on August 7, 2003


Did I raise trouble?

D-I-R-T? Omigod, he's doing it again!!!
posted by wendell at 4:59 AM on August 7, 2003


"Ed seems to have sour grapes", Tom said chardonnayically.
posted by dash_slot- at 5:05 AM on August 7, 2003


I just looked at that thread for the first time, and realized what this thread was about, and remembered the time I was temporarily banned for doing the same sorta thing with an icebergy partner in crime, except our little adventure was less perhaps somewhat less clever.

Still, what's the harm, eh?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:11 AM on August 7, 2003


Brad has posted 604 comments at Mefi in his three and a half years here—175 of them in that one thread.

I'm not sure whether it's an ironic comment on the collective wordplay in a certain recent thread; genuine enthusiasm for Tom Swifties (we reveal ourselves in strange ways); or a cynical one-off attempt to increase his post count by fifty percent, for reasons unknown.

Whichever it is, it's impressive. And a prime candidate for RSI of the index finger from clicking the Post button.

Tom Swifty punchline removed on medical advice.
posted by rory at 6:18 AM on August 7, 2003


was less perhaps somewhat less clever

Story of life mine be do, also too much.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:40 AM on August 7, 2003


I think it's gorgeous and amazing. I'm envious.

heh: bereft
posted by gleuschk at 7:13 AM on August 7, 2003


it is? I thought perhaps Brad was getting tipsy and thinking up one pun after the other, posting each with a chuckle.. while I sit there staring at the thread and can't think of one, she said blankly.

;)
posted by dabitch at 7:29 AM on August 7, 2003


"This place has gone to hell," tom said devilishly.
posted by crunchland at 7:30 AM on August 7, 2003


Given the total lack of content of the front page post itself ("Tom Swifties, yuk yuk yuk!"), I think Brad's contributions were reasonable, not to mention hilarious. I can't think of any reason to complain unless one were upset that they didn't get the chance to do what Brad did.

it ... cuts against the whole idea of "community weblog"

You're pushing it there. He didn't post them to the front page. The thread was about Tom Swifties. Brad had 175 things to say about Tom Swifties. I still don't get how you or Metafilter was hurt by this.

suggests some desperate need for attention

Much like your own post suggests a desperate need for smugness?
posted by daveadams at 8:07 AM on August 7, 2003


When Mahogne singlehandedly researched and posted the history of CatScan.com and all related scanning sites over there I thought it was really funny and charming. This is maybe a little different, but I guess I still don't see it as peeing on the carpet.

off-topic: What the hell happened to the MeFi DC wiki???
posted by onlyconnect at 8:11 AM on August 7, 2003


The thread was about Tom Swifties. Brad had 175 things to say about Tom Swifties. I still don't get how you or Metafilter was hurt by this.

The academic community frowns on your conclusion.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:21 AM on August 7, 2003


That said, I'll give each and every poster in this thread a big slobbbery kiss†, 'cause it really doesn't matter, and I love you all.


†not gay, especially.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:24 AM on August 7, 2003


I don't think it violated any community norms (heh). The only reason I've seen thread monopolization be an issue is in the case of either:

a) moderation (self- or otherwise) or
b) relentless derail.

In this case, Brad was as on-topic as possible and it wasn't a moderateable situation. Anyone who wanted to contribute could, and he made me chuckle, so I say good on ya, Brad.
posted by norm at 8:27 AM on August 7, 2003


Would it have been better if he put them all in one post. A post that would still have a smaller word count than most of what would be written in any of our clockwork regular, hostile threads?
posted by thirteen at 8:37 AM on August 7, 2003


Brad had 175 things to say about Tom Swifties.

I just love that it's possible to quantify this. Brad, if you're reading, you might want to slap that onto a line of Café Press t-shirts.
posted by rory at 8:42 AM on August 7, 2003


This is such a non-issue. He's done it in ONE thread. If he were in the habit of monopolizing threads we could talk about it. He was having fun, not pissing on anyone's carpet. Ease up.
posted by widdershins at 9:51 AM on August 7, 2003


He was having fun, not pissing on anyone's carpet. Ease up.

i'll hold ya to that attitude.
posted by quonsar at 10:23 AM on August 7, 2003


I'm with the lighten up crowd, so many people take Mefi far too seriously. I thought it was quite funny - and it made for slightly better reading than the BlogSpot one.
posted by carfilhiot at 10:32 AM on August 7, 2003


I guess I'd go with the 'lighten up' crowd, but I'll admit that I was amused when I saw that the thread had gotten so long, and kinda dissappointed and annoyed when I opened it up and saw that it was mostly just one guy.
posted by GeekAnimator at 10:51 AM on August 7, 2003


and kinda dissappointed and annoyed when I opened it up and saw that it was mostly just one guy.

What about when the majority of the Swifties he posted were more clever than those posted pre- and post-Brad's mad dash for hilarity?
posted by j.edwards at 11:02 AM on August 7, 2003


Two words: paragraph breaks.
posted by dhoyt at 11:44 AM on August 7, 2003


what ed said, only naked and petrified, with hot grits down my pants.
posted by quonsar at 11:58 AM on August 7, 2003


and dhoyt, paragraph breaks cannot appear mid sentence.
posted by quonsar at 12:01 PM on August 7, 2003


God, I love MetaTalk!
posted by timeistight at 12:30 PM on August 7, 2003


William Faulkner would like his syntax back.
posted by varmint at 12:31 PM on August 7, 2003


I keep re-reading that to see if I'm being condemned (pistolero? tax policy?). I'm still not sure, but just in case:

A. STFU, Ed!
B. Thanks for the great prose, Ed!

Pick whichever is appropriate.
posted by norm at 12:47 PM on August 7, 2003


Sheesh, ed, talk about monopolizing a thread. Don't you own any mirrors? ;-P
posted by mischief at 4:13 PM on August 7, 2003


this (meta) thread is sillier than the (mefi) thread been criticised.
posted by andrew cooke at 5:32 PM on August 7, 2003


Ed needs editor? This is turning into another Tom Swifties thread!
posted by wendell at 4:08 AM on August 8, 2003


What's wrong with paragraph

breaks in the middle of a sentence?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:59 AM on August 8, 2003


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