February 4, 2005

6:09 AM

Given the fairly high usage and value of many of the threads, isn't it time for Ask Metafilter to be promoted to be listed on the Blue? The link in the sideblog to this amazing thread is a clear sign that it's ready for primetime. How about it Matt?
posted by tommasz to MetaFilter-related at 6:09 AM (36 comments total)

He needs another link then. There's 8 links on the main page at the top navigation bar right now, add one more you get 9 and you ruin the lovely symmetry he has going on right now. Then Metafilter becomes asymmetrical and therefore ugly, everyone stops coming here, and we all are sad because we lost a really cool site. Is that what you want? For everyone to be sad?
posted by banished at 6:50 AM on February 4, 2005

The ability to add other links to the front page is a key feature of the upcoming redesign.
posted by Mitheral at 7:05 AM on February 4, 2005

Speaking of Redesign, what about the results?
posted by Gyan at 7:10 AM on February 4, 2005

Then Metafilter becomes asymmetrical and therefore ugly
And of course we all know that:
Ugly is bad
And bad is wrong
And wrong is sinful
And sin leads to eternal damnation
An' hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Arrrrrrrghhhhhhh!

Actually I have been wondering the same thing myself and look forward to it in the new and improved version. On my own computers I have AskMe bookmarked, but I often use other computers while I am at work, so a quick link from the front page would be a most excellent pony, symmetry be damned.
posted by TedW at 7:16 AM on February 4, 2005

Wow, thanks for the link to that AskMe thread, Tommasz. I had skipped over it, thinking it would soon be deleted as chatfilter. Now I am just lost in it!
posted by LarryC at 7:20 AM on February 4, 2005

Uhh ohh, redesign? Anyone care to elaborate or have links to the important discussion I was obviously absent from?
posted by banished at 7:22 AM on February 4, 2005

That "amazing thread" = ChatFilter
posted by mischief at 7:23 AM on February 4, 2005

Recent redesign threads - here and here.
posted by ericb at 7:46 AM on February 4, 2005

It is ChatFilter, but great ChatFilter. I admit I rolled my eyes when I first saw the question, but like LarryC I got lost in the thread after this one sent me to it. I wouldn't want it to become a regular thing, but I'm glad it exists.
posted by languagehat at 7:55 AM on February 4, 2005

I probably should note that I am not bothered by ChatFilter, but given the double standards around here, I thought I too would hop on that wagon. ;-P
posted by mischief at 7:59 AM on February 4, 2005

That "amazing thread" = ChatFilter

Agreed. Once again, we are encouraged to ignore any requests made by mathowie regarding content, because if he likes something, it doesn't matter how many rules it violates. He'll not only let it slide, why, he'll post it on the sideblog as an exemplary use of AskMetafilter, confusing members for months to come (and resulting in a great many more chatfilter posts)!
posted by rushmc at 8:08 AM on February 4, 2005

I know usability guides would indicate AskMe should be linked on the front page, and Matt mentioned in an earlier thread that it's just something he hasn't gotten around to yet, but I still like the idea that users may not approach the oracle of AskMefi without first skirting the perilous dark forest of MetaTalk.
posted by klarck at 8:15 AM on February 4, 2005

Speaking of Redesign, what about the results?
posted by Gyan at 7:10 AM PST on February 4

Probably hanging out with those new sections that came out a couple of months ago.
posted by angry modem at 8:22 AM on February 4, 2005

And that Ask thread is garbage. It's not even informative or helpful.
posted by angry modem at 8:23 AM on February 4, 2005

all the very best and most remarkable AskMe threads haven't fit the rules, which is the best argument for hypothetical and philosophical and basically non-practical threads being allowed.
posted by amberglow at 8:31 AM on February 4, 2005

I don't know about changing things-- I don't really have an opinion-- but, um, I thought I should point out...

banished, nine links would be perfectly symmetrical. A three-by-three grid is about as symmetrical as you get.
posted by koeselitz at 8:37 AM on February 4, 2005

Let's be honest, there are no real rules in AskMe other than "don't snark in comments." Sometimes a question of a certain kind will get deleted and/or the poster pilloried in MeTa, and sometimes a question of that exact same type will stay and be lauded by all as a shining beacon of the site at its best. It's best not to try to extract meaning from any of this. Just enjoy the site for what it is.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 8:44 AM on February 4, 2005

'Best' is highly subjective. Using a criterion like 'informative' or 'helpful' preserves order, because these things aren't typically subjective.
posted by angry modem at 8:44 AM on February 4, 2005

there are no real rules in AskMe other than "don't snark in comments."

Then why axe my question about tsunami jokes? ;-P
posted by mischief at 9:12 AM on February 4, 2005

all the very best and most remarkable AskMe threads haven't fit the rules, which is the best argument for hypothetical and philosophical and basically non-practical threads being allowed.

It's also an argument for discretion in deleting chatty threads. Guidelines, not hard and fast rules.
posted by kenko at 10:04 AM on February 4, 2005

Matt is damned if he follows the "imagined" rules and he's damned when he doesn't.

Considering the tone of a few of Matt's recent comments, I wouldn't be surprised (devastated, yes; surprised, no) to show up one day and he's pulled the plug.
posted by deborah at 12:15 PM on February 4, 2005

I love the thread and have been sending it to my friends.
posted by bowline at 1:25 PM on February 4, 2005

Having had a chatfilter question deleted myself a while back, I have never understood the vitriol against those kinds of questions. They have made AskMe better, not worse.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 2:26 PM on February 4, 2005

Of course, now angry modem has made his usual useful and insightful contribution to the thread ("goatse"). Geez, modem, why don't you just write "jerk" on your forehead with a sharpie and go for a walk around the neighborhood? You'll get the same reactions, only you'll be able to actually see 'em instead of read 'em.
posted by clever sheep at 2:27 PM on February 4, 2005

Of course, now angry modem has made his usual useful and insightful contribution to the thread ("goatse"). Geez, modem, why don't you just write "jerk" on your forehead with a sharpie and go for a walk around the neighborhood? You'll get the same reactions, only you'll be able to actually see 'em instead of read 'em.

It was an honest answer, and if you can't live with my lifestyle choice, and stop stalking me on here, I'm afraid you've got some serious soul searching to do.
posted by angry modem at 2:33 PM on February 4, 2005

Stalking you? To the best of my knowledge, I've never addressed you directly before, whether in the blue, gray, or green. Get over yourself.

And since in this very Meta thread you called that Ask thread "garbage," your implied claim to have simply been participating in the discussion is supremely hollow. You were just being a jerk, and now you're being either phony or cowardly. Take your pick.

What a maroon.
posted by clever sheep at 2:40 PM on February 4, 2005

It strikes me that maybe you're reading into my comment that your behavior was "usual." Don't worry, that's not stalking. It only reflects my vague impression that this is about par for the course where you're concerned. An inductive accumulation of contemptuous impressions, if you will.
posted by clever sheep at 2:46 PM on February 4, 2005

And since in this very Meta thread you called that Ask thread "garbage," your implied claim to have simply been participating in the discussion is supremely hollow. You were just being a jerk, and now you're being either phony or cowardly. Take your pick.

I really dislike playing any sort of sport. On occasion, I'll play basketball, however. Sometimes I'll even have fun. Cognitive dissonance is a beautiful thing.

And I've just realized I misread the thread and noticed the phrase 'as a child' was present. So I apologize.
posted by angry modem at 3:18 PM on February 4, 2005

I misread the thread and noticed the phrase 'as a child' was present.

you and half the other responders.


I hate chatfilter and also rolled my eyes at the question. But it's developed into the most absorbing, heartbreaking and inspirational thing I've ever read here.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:31 PM on February 4, 2005

Also, after jeremias explained why he was asking, it stopped being useless chatfilter.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:33 PM on February 4, 2005

I like chatfilter, too, myself.
posted by graventy at 4:23 PM on February 4, 2005

Rules, rules, rules! That's boring. Structure, community, purpose, fulfillment, gratitude, humor, empathy, sadness, joy, anger, indiscretions, love, charm, quirks, intimacy, understanding, safety, criticism, uncertainty, and comfort. That's Metafilter. And that's what I want mathowie to enforce.

Metafilter is interesting for its links first and foremost, but its links are are interesting because of the community that has assembled here. Don't pretend the two are separate things. Take #58 for example -- the cumulative posts of that user feel like a human being. Maybe you disagree here or there (or everywhere) with him, but you just know there is a person behind that number. When you comment here, when you post here, you know you are talking to a real and invested audience.

It's not the "rules" that need to be rigidly enforced -- it's the community that must be protected and fostered.
posted by theatrical matriarch at 8:15 PM on February 4, 2005

But my real point was this: if an Ask.Mefi link is simply held up by asymmetry, we simply need a 10th link. Let's hear some ideas.

Off the top of my head, a randomly selected inside joke reference?
So you keep reloading, and it keeps changing: Pancake?, Ice-cream day?, Wanna Pony?, This link, it vibrates?, BabyJesus: *cries*, Meaning of the dot?, Cl*ck Here, pl*eas*, PepsiBlue, and the related...

What does it link to, though? I vote the most recent reference to "mefi lore" or related synonmistic phrases. Or porn, that works for me, too.
posted by theatrical matriarch at 8:24 PM on February 4, 2005

Yes, that thread is a fantastic thread. Anyway, rearange the links on the main page and put that on there.
posted by delmoi at 2:30 AM on February 5, 2005

I kind of like having askme beyond metatalk, too, actually. It sort of produces a natural rhythm, where you see what's on the front page, then find out what the community's freaking out about, and then go relax with some nice questions.

Anyway you can always bookmark.
posted by mdn at 6:15 AM on February 5, 2005

Metafilter is interesting for its links first and foremost

But, of course, we're talking about AskMe here, not Metafilter, which is allowed to get as chatty as it wants to get.
posted by rushmc at 3:52 PM on February 5, 2005