Why was my AskMe question about a web template nixed?

February 16, 2004 10:47 PM

So that I can avoid doing so again in the future: Why was my AskMe question about a web template nixed?
posted by oissubke to Etiquette/Policy at 10:47 PM (30 comments total)

1. Matt has repeatedly stated that he plans to code a hard limit into Ask MetaFilter, allowing users one question every three(?) days. You have participated in these discussions, so you certainly must be aware of his opinion regarding posting frequency, and yet you post two questions within the first four hours the server was back up. Excessive.

2. A significant proportion of your Ask MetaFilter questions have been directly related to your Web Design company or how you/your wife/your cat/Ted from Accounting can make money. Excessive.

3. You've butted heads with Matt regarding your posting to Ask MetaFilter in the past and, even if benign, you seem intent on testing the limits of Ask MeFi and Matt himself. Excessive.

As for why this particular post was deleted, it's a liberty, and Matt can't have a liberty taken, can he? I mean, it's enough to give him the arsehole. And he can't have the arsehole, can he, boys?
posted by Danelope at 11:43 PM on February 16, 2004

4. Incisive, bulleted analysis of oissubke's failings. Excessive. But fun.
posted by quonsar at 2:19 AM on February 17, 2004

no 'arry, you can't!
posted by lowlife at 4:13 AM on February 17, 2004

5. Intense dislike of chihuahuas
posted by angry modem at 5:37 AM on February 17, 2004

I, for one, am now terrified of Danelope.
posted by subgenius at 8:43 AM on February 17, 2004

IMO, you post WTF too much to AskMe, oissubke. And they're mostly about some little business that you seem incompetent to operate (otherwise, you wouldn't be asking such basic damn questions in the first place.)
posted by five fresh fish at 8:45 AM on February 17, 2004

Danelope, you've got it wrong. it's the metafilter web design co-operative. we're all honorary members and we're going to be paid in lipstick. i bagsy the black cherry gloss.
posted by andrew cooke at 8:46 AM on February 17, 2004

oissubke, I deleted the post because I didn't see much of a question being asked. What I saw was you promoting a new site/service you built, asking "how can I make this better?" and "does this work for you?" which in my mind are weak attempts at getting people to use and talk about your new site and not really answer any questions.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:11 AM on February 17, 2004

Like FFF said, but a shade more gently expressed.

Maybe you're in over your head, oissubke? I would feel uncomfortable, as a client, forking over good dough for work regarding which the contractor felt the need to appeal repeatedly to an online forum for advice.

I mean, once, twice even: OK. But I too have noticed your constant low-level drizzle of bizniz-related inquiries and scratched my head. Maybe you need to find a line of work with which you're more comfortable.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:15 AM on February 17, 2004

*nixes intent to post question "I've created a new automated vibrating male masturbation aid, would you be interested in a free trial?"*
posted by angry modem at 11:39 AM on February 17, 2004

Matt, I actually just was looking for suggestions about the template. I did have to explain the project a bit so that those reading the questions would know what I was getting it, but I wasn't trying to promote the service at all (that's why I just linked to the template, rather than any promotional information about the project). I understand that it's a gray line, though, and I appreciate your responding to my question.

(To various others:)
I know I'm basied because I'm, well, ME -- but in looking back over my history of questions, I think that saying that I'm over-using MeFi because I'm incompentent to run my business is....excessive.

I've asked maybe three or four questions that were business-related. I've asked some more web questions (perfectly reasonable ones) which haven't had anything to do with my business.

Overall, I've probably asked more questions about photography than anything else.
posted by oissubke at 11:53 AM on February 17, 2004

posted on Feb 16, 2004
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Thank you for playing 365 questions, with your host, oissubke!
posted by eyeballkid at 12:19 PM on February 17, 2004

oissubke's posting history does dispell the main charge made by Danelope and FFF, that he's using askme primarily as a promotional tool. The charge: unfair.

As for the excessive posting [as eyeballkid points out]: if that were a MeFi posting history rather than an askMe history, that wouldn't look too bad: only 5 occasions where there has been a same-day post and an average posting rate of just

over

once every two days, not outrageously different to the proposed limit of once every 3 days. The charge of excessive posting, therefore: exaggerated.

/evidence for defence.
posted by Blue Stone at 12:41 PM on February 17, 2004

This is a community and we have some context. It might be worth it to take the context into account and rerun your numbers.

Is oissubke posting about his business more than anyone else? Yes.
Is oissubke asking more questions than anyone else? Yes.
Does oissubke repeatedly not get it? Yes.

/evidence for a smack down
posted by y6y6y6 at 1:00 PM on February 17, 2004

oissubke's posting history does dispell the main charge made by Danelope and FFF, that he's using askme primarily as a promotional tool. The charge: unfair.

I never said oissubke was using Ask MetaFilter as a "promotional tool" or, even if he were, that it was his "primary" use. I said, "A significant proportion of your Ask MetaFilter questions have been directly related to your Web Design company or how you/your wife/your cat/Ted from Accounting can make money."

If it's not about his wife working for Mary Kay, investing in stocks, coming up with a business name, or so on, it's one of a dozen questions that appear to tend toward "I'm setting up a business. I'm at the point where I'm doing __________. How can I do this?" How can we be expected to disassociate this series of questions from a Web-related business?

I suspect he's had more Ask MeFi questions deleted than most others have even asked, and whenever it happens, he immediately posts a MetaTalk thread about it so that he can "get it" next time.

Regarding the question posting frequency, if I lurked at Ask MetaFilter for three months and then posted five questions in a single day, my average would still appear quite low, but that doesn't make it acceptable behavior. y6y6y6's point above is an important one.

In my mind, this is more a question of courtesy and community than statistics. Ask MetaFilter is a resource where everyone is invited to pose questions and, at present, it feels like the resource is being dominated by a few, particularly when a single user is asking multiple questions in a single day. I bear no grudge against oissubke (and have joked around regarding his posts before) but the man needs to more carefully consider his questions and the manner in which they're asked.
posted by Danelope at 1:53 PM on February 17, 2004

Um, sorry oissubke, that was pretty convincing.

/defence resigns; suggests listening to oissubke.
posted by Blue Stone at 2:08 PM on February 17, 2004

If it's not about his wife working for Mary Kay, investing in stocks, coming up with a business name, or so on, it's one of a dozen questions that appear to tend toward "I'm setting up a business. I'm at the point where I'm doing __________. How can I do this?"

I've looked again, and I can't find anywhere near a dozen questions related to my business. I've asked a couple of web questions, but apart from one or two, those have been personal interest questions.

When it comes right down to it, my posting history really isn't much different from other relatively innocuous ones (e.g., signal). Mine might stand out more because my name's attached ("Ah, geez, what's he up to this time!?"), but to say that I'm overusing MeFi as a business resource is definitely an exaggeration.
posted by oissubke at 3:36 PM on February 17, 2004

You guys are like so mean.
posted by xmutex at 3:40 PM on February 17, 2004

You better quit while you're behind, oissubke (and i'm totally on your side).

I think it's the asking about why some are deleted that really annoys people--your AskMe questions are easily skipped by those not interested in answering, or those who don't know the answer, and i don't think they're excessive at all.
posted by amberglow at 3:42 PM on February 17, 2004

But to say that you're overusing it, is definitely not an exaggeration.

Face it, man, you're the Miguel of AskMe, but without the smoking jacket.
posted by ook at 3:44 PM on February 17, 2004

...but to say that I'm overusing MeFi as a business resource is definitely an exaggeration.

No. No it's not.

If you want the AxMe Hivemind to be your personal business consultant then you're missing the point.

And. You're going to ruin what has been an amazing resource for the rest of us. Up to now it has been relatively snark and in-joke free (thanks to collective restraint and Matt's judicious pruning).

Lay off the business posting.
posted by bshort at 3:49 PM on February 17, 2004

oissubke, one more vote here for less of your business in the green. 'nuff said.
posted by clever sheep at 6:39 PM on February 17, 2004

Frankly, oissubke, your credibility sucks, and I shudder to think of someone doing business with you. You didn't really come clean about your little unethical stunt from last year (which also sure seemed to have something to do with a business you were involved in). People make stupid mistakes and some are temporarily ethically challenged, to forgive is divine, etc, etc....but now here you are again. Imagine that.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 6:40 PM on February 17, 2004

in looking back over my history of questions, I think that saying that I'm over-using MeFi because I'm incompentent to run my business is....excessive.

Perhaps. But if we truncate that sentence to read "I'm over-using MeFi" I think it's more accurate. The 1x1 gif episode was hands-down the lamest thing I've seen happen here [and that includes yesterdays zooporn fiasco], and while I don't think you have to go around dragging your tail in-between your legs over this last post-pulling, you might want to leave some greenspace for the rest of the AskMe community and graciously accept that not all of your questions see the light of day.
posted by jessamyn at 7:15 PM on February 17, 2004

I think that saying that I'm over-using MeFi because I'm incompetent to run my business is....excessive

Oh, hey, I suppose that was directed at me.

Well, in my opinion, many of the web-related questions you've asked are just stupid coming from anyone who's trying to run a web business. As in 'if you have to ask them, you ain't competent to run a web business.'

Add in the shitty little 1x1 gif episode and some of the grossly inappropriate 'help me make money' questions, and I can honestly state that if I were running MeFi, you'd be banned for abusing my goodwill and resources.

You're excessive: excessively abusive of our host's grace, excessively persistent in pursuing your self-interest over everyone else's, excessively slimey in abusing our privacy, etcetera.

But that's all my opinion. Seeing as you don't seem to respect anyone's opinion here, given the number of times you abuse the system and reject other's feedback, I figure my opinion is about worth the paper it's written on.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:06 PM on February 17, 2004

Well, in my opinion, many of the web-related questions you've asked are just stupid coming from anyone who's trying to run a web business.

Like, which ones? I'm a reasonably competent web developer (server and client side, plus I've done a load of visual communications to boot) and I don't see much in his questions that really raises flags in my mind, with the possible exception of the "hex translation" question.
posted by weston at 8:31 PM on February 17, 2004

Golly.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:04 PM on February 17, 2004

with the possible exception of the "hex translation" question.

That one was only because I'm generally able to work with hex quite nicely, and I was stumped by that one that appeared to be gibberish.
posted by oissubke at 5:49 AM on February 18, 2004

First time anybody's called me relatively innocuous. So, thanks, I guess.
posted by signal at 6:19 AM on February 20, 2004

random: I keep thinking of Kingfish from Amos and Andy.
posted by milovoo at 10:55 AM on February 20, 2004