Chatty Cathy June 13, 2005 9:36 AM   Subscribe

Let's not set any precedents.
posted by Optimus Chyme to Bugs at 9:36 AM (141 comments total)

I really don't want to see this place dumbed down. Can we not do this sort of thing, please? Laszlo isn't the only offender, but I noticed a definite trend in his comments.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:38 AM on June 13, 2005


Also this should not be under "bugs" and I'm an idiot, speaking of dumbing down the place.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:39 AM on June 13, 2005


Isn't this where the public shaming comes in? Can't we just mercilessly taunt Laszlo until we're declared ghey and abandoned outright?

Though if that doesn't work, do we have to consider the possibility that nonconfrontational people with no ill will have every right to be here?
posted by cortex at 9:43 AM on June 13, 2005


"Dumbed down" is a bit harsh.

Laszlo is being a bit too chatty, I agree. Unfortunately, idle chatter is widespread in the blue, perpetuated by Mefites both new and old.
posted by Kwantsar at 9:44 AM on June 13, 2005


I'm fucked if I'm opening all those comments just to understand a shout-out. Do the work if you want the support ... what's he done?
posted by bonaldi at 9:45 AM on June 13, 2005


I'm guessing that Laz does not read MeTa. Someone might want to e-mail him/her. I am not that someone.

Also, dumbed down isn't harsh. Most of the comments add nothing at all (not even a bad joke) and are written in Prince/text-message symbols: i.e., "hehehe is that the 1 u R talking about?"

This stuff is like kudzu. If one starts doing it, several more will start soon.
posted by Mid at 9:49 AM on June 13, 2005


PAGING LANGUAGEHAT!

Please bring your GrammarNazi DoomStick(TM) to aisle twelve for 'clean-up' and the random sacrificial crushing of small children.

Can we have please have a "Post fails rudimentary language skills criteria and is therefore useless noise" tag?

On preview: bonaldi: Average comment grade = FARK user with supercritical brain leakage, with a +10 bonus modifier of AIM-speak.

Your dog wants complete sentences and a way to slap someone in the face with a dictionary or spellchecker across the internet.
posted by loquacious at 9:55 AM on June 13, 2005


Also: FARK still sucks.
posted by loquacious at 9:58 AM on June 13, 2005


So, you're not liking Laszlo because he talks like everyone on a bad MetaTalk thread talks? :-D
posted by shepd at 10:03 AM on June 13, 2005


but FARK works...
posted by quonsar at 10:03 AM on June 13, 2005


Did Lazslo not get banned for his self link FPP?
posted by dobbs at 10:03 AM on June 13, 2005


Seems harsh, half of his comments are a conversation with Balisong, most of the rest are non-Mefistandard equivalents of [this is good]. Though I'll happily see him taunted a bit on grammar.

On preview: Was it definitely a self-link?
posted by biffa at 10:07 AM on June 13, 2005


Just deleted I think.
posted by Balisong at 10:08 AM on June 13, 2005


If I paid $5 to make comments like that I would definately consider it a complete waste. I presume he does not.
posted by prostyle at 10:10 AM on June 13, 2005


i aint gots tha patients for this kinda stuff either.......but thats' a HOLE NOTHER STOREY!!
posted by naxosaxur at 10:11 AM on June 13, 2005


When was the last time Fark had a JRUN error? I rest my case.
posted by keswick at 10:11 AM on June 13, 2005


i dont no wut da probblem iz doz ne els ?
posted by deborah at 10:13 AM on June 13, 2005


I was much more concerned that the writer of the eBay auction he linked to sounded a lot like him - but with ALL CAPS instead of no caps. They're getting trickier! But someone with access to more info caught that, problem solved.

Seriously - we're supposed to read all those comments you've already told us were lame and chatty? Nope. And frankly, isn't "X is too chatty" pretty weak for a MeTa callout? Where is the fire, the drama? I'm just not feeling it, and suspect the problem isn't really that he's too chatty, but that it's not funny or interesting enough for you. Granted, and he's (almost surely) a dirty self-poster - but callouts for "chatty"?

How about "Optimus Chyme is secretly lacing his Metafilter comments with subliminal instructions to bring about The Rapture early! He's eating bars and eating cars and now he wants to nuke the whole middle east!" Now that's worthy of a callout!
posted by freebird at 10:14 AM on June 13, 2005


i aint gots tha patients for this kinda stuff either.......but thats' a HOLE NOTHER STOREY!!

oh, go take a picture of yourself.
posted by quonsar at 10:16 AM on June 13, 2005


Oh snap!
posted by Divine_Wino at 10:17 AM on June 13, 2005


quonsar for the win.
posted by greasy_skillet at 10:39 AM on June 13, 2005


Crap. I just lost The Game.
posted by loquacious at 10:42 AM on June 13, 2005


I really don't want to see this place dumbed down.

Yeah, we'll ask for SAT scores from all prospective members from here on out.
posted by jonmc at 10:45 AM on June 13, 2005


Hey, this turned out pretty well, considering the number of errors I made in posting it. I didn't know about the self-link, but that is one serious abortion of a thread. Ugh.

"i know wat ya mean"

Die.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:49 AM on June 13, 2005


Optimus Chyme. if you're going to mention someone in Metatalk, you should really let them know. Also, like other people have said, you really have to be more clear about what the issue is.
posted by Doug at 10:52 AM on June 13, 2005


I really don't want to see this place dumbed down.

...

quonsar for the win.


*scratches head*

Um... dumbed down to where?
posted by soyjoy at 10:54 AM on June 13, 2005


2-shay soyjoy
posted by greasy_skillet at 10:55 AM on June 13, 2005


quonsar will never be excepted because he is the produce of incest
posted by naxosaxur at 11:19 AM on June 13, 2005


like a hemophiliac carrot?
posted by Divine_Wino at 11:21 AM on June 13, 2005


PAGING LANGUAGEHAT!
Please bring your GrammarNazi DoomStick(TM) to aisle twelve for 'clean-up' and the random sacrificial crushing of small children.


WTF? There are plenty of GrammarNazis around this place -- way too many, in fact -- but I am not one of them. In fact, I am their Sworn Enemy. So name-check somebody else.

On topic, Laszlo seems like a pretty worthless commenter, but unless and until he starts infecting others, it doesn't seem worth getting all concerned about.
posted by languagehat at 11:21 AM on June 13, 2005


he is the produce of incest...like a hemophiliac carrot?

or a one-eyed potato.
posted by jonmc at 11:25 AM on June 13, 2005


On topic, Laszlo seems like a pretty worthless commenter, but unless and until he starts infecting others, it doesn't seem worth getting all concerned about.

Exactly. Bad callout.
posted by Specklet at 11:38 AM on June 13, 2005


Can one actually catch teh 57up1d?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:40 AM on June 13, 2005


This is a bad callout. I have seen much worse examples of chattiness in the blue. To single out someone so new indicates to me that you lack the courage to call out more senior members because they have "status".
posted by mlis at 11:41 AM on June 13, 2005


Crap. I just lost The Game.
posted by loquacious at 10:42 AM PST on June 13 [!]

Dammit. I only had a week or so on that one.
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:02 PM on June 13, 2005


Hey! he thanked me for my little, fun, post,What is wrong with that?
posted by hortense at 12:10 PM on June 13, 2005


languagehat : "WTF? There are plenty of GrammarNazis around this place -- way too many, in fact -- but I am not one of them. In fact, I am their Sworn Enemy. So name-check somebody else."

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that name-check should have been directed at me.
posted by Bugbread at 12:19 PM on June 13, 2005


loquacious wrote "Can we have please have a 'Post fails rudimentary language skills criteria and is therefore useless noise' tag?"

No, because some of thomcatspike's posts are actually quite interesting to read, despite the often mangled manner in which they are presented.

And what's with The Game?
posted by caution live frogs at 12:20 PM on June 13, 2005


I just lost the game too
posted by dial-tone at 12:30 PM on June 13, 2005


Welcome to The Game.

Discussed here.

on preview: I just lost The Game!
posted by Hlewagast at 12:30 PM on June 13, 2005


This is a bad callout. I have seen much worse examples of chattiness in the blue. To single out someone so new indicates to me that you lack the courage to call out more senior members because they have "status".
posted by MLIS at 11:41 AM PST on June 13


I've called out plenty of old members, but through more private means (hi, jonmc!), but Laszlo's comments were/are atrocious.

Also I just lost The Game as well, jerks.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:33 PM on June 13, 2005


On topic, Laszlo seems like a pretty worthless commenter, but unless and until he starts infecting others, it doesn't seem worth getting all concerned about.

Yeah, it's not like he's making jokes about recumbent prams.
posted by timeistight at 12:36 PM on June 13, 2005


Crap. I just lost The Game.
posted by loquacious at 10:42 AM PST on June 13 [!]

Dammit. I only had a week or so on that one.
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:02 PM PST on June 13 [!] [quote]


this is crap. everytime someone mentions losing the game, everyone else playing loses too, because you mentioned it, and now i lost!
posted by puke & cry at 12:51 PM on June 13, 2005


loquacious, i just lost the game, too ... and i was doing real well at it ... damn you
posted by pyramid termite at 1:29 PM on June 13, 2005


Ditto. Thanks for nothing.
posted by Specklet at 1:30 PM on June 13, 2005


I was winning The Game until I read this thread. Why wasn't it marked nsfTG?
posted by Cranberry at 1:35 PM on June 13, 2005


I have also lost the game, for the first time since February. Loquacious, you're asking for a callout.
posted by grouse at 1:37 PM on June 13, 2005


I have also lost the g***, for the first time since February. If mentioning it isn't against the guidelines, it should be.
posted by grouse at 1:37 PM on June 13, 2005


I thought there was a half-hour realignment after mentioning the Game that prevented such mass game loss (i.e., you can't lose 'cause someone else mentions it). But then, I'm no expert, since, um, I think it's dumb.
posted by mdn at 1:45 PM on June 13, 2005


You may have all lost the Game, but you've won the lame.
posted by me3dia at 2:02 PM on June 13, 2005


I am so confused.
posted by TwelveTwo at 2:11 PM on June 13, 2005


TwelveTwo, see previous comment.
posted by Specklet at 2:18 PM on June 13, 2005


But not me, right? right?
posted by TwelveTwo at 2:43 PM on June 13, 2005


So... how many of the posts here actually contribute to this thread? This whole thing is nothing but chat and banter and a lot of "bad callouts"...and I just got sucked into the vortex. Shame on me.
posted by Doohickie at 3:10 PM on June 13, 2005


I thought there was a half-hour realignment after mentioning the Game that prevented such mass game loss (i.e., you can't lose 'cause someone else mentions it). But then, I'm no expert, since, um, I think it's dumb.
posted by mdn at 1:45 PM PST on June 13 [!]


I'm with mdn on this. We used to get a 20 or 30 minute reprieve when someone lost. However, I happen to like a lot of 'dumb' things...so yeah.
posted by Frisbee Girl at 3:18 PM on June 13, 2005


teh
posted by moift at 4:02 PM on June 13, 2005


I'm all for dumb things as long as they are typed in a grammatically correct way. Stupid is acceptable with proper punctuation and spelling!
posted by TwelveTwo at 4:24 PM on June 13, 2005


I'm fucked if I'm opening all those comments just to understand a shout-out.

A shout-out is good. A call-out is bad (if you're the calloutee), and I must say that I dislike that phrase pretty intensely.

Also, there's something to be said for killing the stupid before they breed. Harsh, perhaps, but necessary.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:24 PM on June 13, 2005


"it doesn't seem worth getting all concerned about"

++languagehat
posted by mischief at 4:30 PM on June 13, 2005


Optimus Chyme is secretly lacing his Metafilter comments with subliminal instructions to bring about The Rapture early!
Wow, I thought I was the only one who noticed that!

... there's something to be said for killing the stupid before they breed. Harsh, perhaps, but necessary.
This is very true. The line about "only stupid people are breeding" seems to become more true every day.
posted by dg at 4:36 PM on June 13, 2005


I've called out plenty of old members, but through more private means (hi, jonmc!),

And I paid it about as much mind as people are paying this one.
posted by jonmc at 5:09 PM on June 13, 2005


Thanks a lot, elwoodwiles.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 5:54 PM on June 13, 2005


Don't you think it's sort of elitist to try to exclude people based on your judgement of how good their grammar is? You understood Laz said, didn't you? Or are we talking about the chattiness of his posts? Or both? It's pretty unclear.

Also, there's totally a window after someone mentions losing the game, but does that window start when the person loses the game, or when each player is alerted to the loss?
posted by nomad at 8:26 PM on June 13, 2005


Fuck. I lost.
posted by stray at 8:33 PM on June 13, 2005


It was my fault, too

I am guilty of chattiness. It was late, I was drinking.

From now on I will only post when I can contribute to the greater understanding of the subject, and only on subjects that I am knowledgable. I'll back up all my assertions with links from reputable sources, and never, ever call anyone names.

I would apprereciate the same from all you in return.

(this post didn't count.)
posted by Balisong at 9:22 PM on June 13, 2005


And I paid it about as much mind as people are paying this one.
posted by jonmc at 5:09 PM PST on June 13


Go get a tattoo about it.

Don't you think it's sort of elitist to try to exclude people based on your judgement of how good their grammar is?

If I wanted to read the scribblings of illliterate troglodytes I'd visit genmay or fark or a homeopathy or ufo forum. Metafilter is good because most of its members are intelligent and articulate.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:25 PM on June 13, 2005


Just... wow.

I read pages and pages of Monkey poo about the "attitude" over at MeFi and defend the place constantly, but... "scribblings of illiterate troglodytes".

*flings feces*
posted by dreamsign at 9:45 PM on June 13, 2005


Damn it, I was winning until I read this thread again.
posted by puddinghead at 10:39 PM on June 13, 2005


Attitude? Check this out: "Balisong, hope u aint holding a newly purchased butterfly knife as well hehe.....interesting post caddis....im still reading..."

Content-free, "u" in place of "you," "hehe," ellipses all over the place, no capitalization, and to top it off, an acknowledgement that he has not yet read the article. One or two of those things, fine, I guess, but together it's a mess and an insult. It isn't even good enough for gamefaqs.

Look: maybe the guy is really nice in real life, and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but if everyone wrote this way nothing would be worth reading.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:57 PM on June 13, 2005


If I wanted to read the scribblings of illliterate troglodytes I'd visit genmay or fark or a homeopathy or ufo forum. Metafilter is good because most of its members are intelligent and articulate.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:25 PM PST on June 13 [!]


If I wanted to read the elitist hissy fits of internet cognoscenti, I'd spend all my time on pitchfork.

Look: maybe the guy is really nice in real life, and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but if everyone wrote this way nothing would be worth reading.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:57 PM PST on June 13 [!]


If everyone took your attitude, nothing here would be worth reading.

This callout sucks.
posted by shmegegge at 12:34 AM on June 14, 2005


If everyone took your attitude, nothing here would be worth reading.

If everyone took his attitude, everything here would be worth reading.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:43 AM on June 14, 2005


OptimusChyme: Comments that add little to the discussion I can handle,* obnoxious bullying I can't. This MeTa post went far over the line. You should ask Matt or Jessamyn to delete this thread and write a contrite e-mail of apology to laszlo.


*I'd like to note that I find nothing wrong with laszlo's comments. They are short quips that take up little space on the thread and are occasionally humorous. To attack someone who's made 16 comments in 16 days is excessive to say the least.
posted by Kattullus at 4:41 AM on June 14, 2005


Optimus Chyme : If you're so worried about the standards of MetaFilter, why don't you spend more time creating posts (I note that you haven't made any to the blue and yet have made three to the grey. I'm willing to entertain the idea that you simply enjoy talking about the community, but given the thin line that you have already crossed over from "discussion" to "snark fest" I find it fairly reasonable to infer that you prefer snark to content.) and less time policing new members?

Let's not set any precedents here for our beloved MeFi to become a gigantic circle jerk in which members constantly put each other down in some sort of bizarre "alpha blog" feeling of superiority to those "illiterate troglodytes."
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:12 AM on June 14, 2005


This MeTa post went far over the line. You should ask Matt or Jessamyn to delete this thread and write a contrite e-mail of apology to laszlo.

Just make sure you use lots of emoticons so the idiot will be able to process the apology.

Kattullus: apply the "if everyone did it rule." If everyone made comments like laszlo's idiotic AIM-style jottings, this place would be unreadable. Short jokes--even bad short jokes--are OK sometimes, but not 16 times in 16 days.
posted by Mid at 6:14 AM on June 14, 2005


Optimus Chyme : If you're so worried about the standards of MetaFilter, why don't you spend more time creating posts

Thus far, all of my potential posts to the blue have a) been done already or b) weren't as good on second read-through. I have high standards of quality; I'm not just going to link to Mahir's home page and say "good enough."

write a contrite e-mail of apology to laszlo.

Are you joking? Do you honestly think you would visit here if every comment was like that?
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:27 AM on June 14, 2005


Optimus Chyme : Seems to me your high standards of quality are working against you if your major contributions to MetaFilter are callouts of other users for not fitting aforementioned high standards. (Ok, that sentence made a lot of sense in my head which is about to 'asplode from trying to reason that out.)

If you can't find anything worth posting that doesn't meet these rigorous standards, perhaps you should lower your standards a bit. That goes for your treatment of other users as well. Perhaps it's time you learned the fine art of "slack-cutting." This is just the internets, after all.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:41 AM on June 14, 2005


There's also the issue of his one link post to a weird ebay marketing auction being deleted [not by me], for whatever that's worth. I don't think it's the chattiness or spelling that's at issue as much as laszlo seeming to treat this place like it's an entirely different kind of web site. Callout worthy? Dunnow, probably not, but maybe worth knowing about in case the pattern of lame marketing links continues.
posted by jessamyn at 6:44 AM on June 14, 2005


Go get a tattoo about it.

*tattoos: "Poor Impulse Control. Does Not Suffer Bores Gladly." on forehead*
posted by jonmc at 6:45 AM on June 14, 2005


Optimus Chyme: Nope, I'm not joking. The way I see it you're bullying a mefite by calling him out on the gray. Singling people out for ridicule is reprehensible. Especially for something as minor as making jokey comments. I don't object to the fact that you don't like comments like that, I object to the way you chose to register your complaint.

I'd rather have more levity in this place than more rancour.

jessamyn: There I agree. Self-links and marketing should be quashed immediately.
posted by Kattullus at 6:52 AM on June 14, 2005


>>Singling people out for ridicule is reprehensible.

lolf lolz. where are you posting from? please continue...

i m l i s t e n i n g i m l i s t e n i n g

g o a h e a d

o k a y o k a y
posted by naxosaxur at 7:13 AM on June 14, 2005


whyareyoutalkingsoslowlady?huhuhuhuh?
posted by jonmc at 7:21 AM on June 14, 2005


naxosaur: I suppose I should clarify. I'm fine with people trading barbs in comments, but a MeTa callout that's essentially "look at this guy, he's stupid" is something I'm gonna object to.
posted by Kattullus at 7:22 AM on June 14, 2005


NAXOSAXUR PLZ

Are you making fun of my handle? WTF?!!
posted by naxosaxur at 7:25 AM on June 14, 2005


I left myself wide open for that :)

I'll confess to an unhealthy obsession with dinosaurs when I was a kid. So it probably comes from there. Though it's probably for the best you don't speak Icelandic because then you might actually have been offended...

;)
posted by Kattullus at 7:29 AM on June 14, 2005


apply the "if everyone did it rule.

I call complete BS. A community does not follow the "if everyone did it" rule. If everyone was a sidewalk chalk artist, it would ruin the community. If everyone busked, no one could hear the music. That's not a community. A community has some variety, and I think this community is strong enough to tolerate a little short-form.

If everyone took your attitude, nothing here would be worth reading.

If everyone took his attitude, everything here would be worth reading.


I guess this is the point of dissent. What is worth reading? MeFi is hurt far more, in my opinion, by PartisanFilter than it is by people saying things in less-than-perfect-English. So save your next screed in perfect English, and give me an interesting post introduced in whatever version of the language you please.

Besides, you really don't want actual grammatical nitpickers to go to work do you?
"I'm going to try and post again" WRONG
"I'm going to try to post again" CORRECT!
posted by dreamsign at 7:30 AM on June 14, 2005


Forget this callout and let's talk about what's actually important: I've always thought of naxosaxur as a naxosaur as well. Anyone else?

Hey naxos, what is the deal with your nickname?
posted by grouse at 7:34 AM on June 14, 2005


You know what? Fine. Who cares? Let's all post however we want and figuring out what people are saying - if they're saying anything at all - can be a fun game. Because anyone who read the bad comments knows that they're not in "less-than-perfect" English, they're in "barely" English.

hehe u kno wut im sayin dremsign this is da cool way we psot now

good luk doin searchs for key words...cuz who knos hwo they cud be spelled....hehe...see u around
posted by Optimus Chyme at 7:38 AM on June 14, 2005


hehe
posted by grouse at 7:43 AM on June 14, 2005


optimouse chime u r breakin my hart :( hold me like u did by the lake...on naboo
posted by naxosaxur at 7:46 AM on June 14, 2005


You know what? Fine. Who cares? Let's all post however we want

Yes! It'll be anarchy! Mwahahahaha!
posted by jonmc at 7:49 AM on June 14, 2005


:)
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:18 AM on June 14, 2005


Chyme: u r acting like a 6 yr old. grw up plz. ty.

Here's a quick OC audit:
Metatalk: "This is a dumb comment", "All but the first thirteen comments in this thread are terrible", "Let's not set any precedents" (a callout about a comment)

Also, since I absolutely do not feel like doing any work today, I ran down some of your comments in threads. Some gems:
"Who goes to all that trouble and spells "bulletin" incorrectly?"
"First of all, we use capitalization and punctuation around here."
"Thi's make's me very happy. Arre'sted's Development's's a great 'show." (Making fun of someone who improperly used an apostrophe)

Sure, I'm cherry picking, but there are several more of you just laying into someone for some asinine reason.Honestly, if you want to actually *appear* superior - instead of just feeling that way - post more of your own thoughts about the subject and less of your thoughts about other people's thoughts. The former, from what I've seen, are actually worth reading. (Seriously.)
(Did my putting the commas on the outside of the quotes bother you?)
posted by absalom at 8:29 AM on June 14, 2005


*applause*
posted by jonmc at 8:32 AM on June 14, 2005




Metatalk: "This is a dumb comment", "All but the first thirteen comments in this thread are terrible", "Let's not set any precedents" (a callout about a comment)

The first and second threads were vindicated by none other than Matt himself. Two out of three ain't bad.

"Who goes to all that trouble and spells "bulletin" incorrectly?"

I fail to see the problem with that post. Some PR flack created a viral marketing website but ruined its potential verisimilitude by misspelling a common word. That's goofy.

"First of all, we use capitalization and punctuation around here."

There is more to the comment than that, which is why you failed to post the rest, I'm guessing.


"Thi's make's me very happy. Arre'sted's Development's's a great 'show."

The person in question misused two apostrophes, actually, as was noted by others in the same thread. When in Rome, you know.

absalom: I think OC is a sock puppet of a old-timer who does not want his/her primary account tainted by the grammar nitpicking.

You are mistaken; sorry.

A quote from languagehat.

I haven't laid into anyone for simple typos or spelling errors. I've only noted gross misuses of the language; such laziness is visually unappealing and an impediment to communication.

Everyone makes errors. The posts that I have specifically mentioned, however, are borne out of laziness or illiteracy. I'm clearly not making any friends in this thread, but I'll be damned if I'm going to gloss over and ignore worthless crap.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:00 AM on June 14, 2005


I would like to point out, that when Optimus emailed me his hate-filled invective to explain what he thought about the substance of my comments, he did in fact use improper punctuation and capitalization.
posted by dios at 9:22 AM on June 14, 2005


Oh, and I would like to second the belief that Optimus is a sock puppet. I very well might be wrong about that, but I would bet on it. We could try to guess. I would guess troutfishing.
posted by dios at 9:30 AM on June 14, 2005


OC, I think now is the time to flameout spectacularly or else walkaway saying nothing further. I think I'd advise the latter tactic.
posted by peacay at 9:34 AM on June 14, 2005


Language grows through 'mistakes'.
And its optimus PRIME , not optimus chyme , you can't even spell 'chime' correctly ......i'm sooo disapointed in you.
posted by sgt.serenity at 9:48 AM on June 14, 2005


If that's the way you all feel, okay. All hail King Laszlo. I look forward to more self-links and incomprehensible comments.

(P.S. I am not troutfishing, though I am flattered and he should be horrified.)
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:51 AM on June 14, 2005


*cutting off hand*
posted by Mid at 9:58 AM on June 14, 2005


I'm fine with people trading barbs in comments, but a MeTa callout that's essentially "look at this guy, he's stupid" is something I'm gonna object to.

Yeah, me too.
posted by Specklet at 10:01 AM on June 14, 2005


Before this turns irrevocably into a Optimus Chyme pile on (though I fear that that's already come to pass) I'd just like to note that I support the aim of what Optimus does. He cares about keeping mefi a high class establishment, and so do I.

I often find myself on the same "side" as he does in thread arguments (though I seldom pipe in). He argued against homeopathy in a thread and I agree, those kinds of things are naive at best, fraud most often and downright dangerous on occasion.

However, I don't always agree with the means. I agree with Absalom, Optimus Chyme offers interesting opinions when he's not attacking others.

And also, I don't really think he's a sock puppet. Why would a sock puppet bother to keep a MoFi account?

[On preview. Optimus Chyme: Just because I disagree with this callout doesn't mean that I'm against you. And even if I were it wouldn't mean that I were siding with those you disagree with. I just don't like bullying]
posted by Kattullus at 10:02 AM on June 14, 2005


THIS THREAD IS SO FUCKING SERIOUS so you dont want to dare piss off optimus chyme because he'll FUCK YOU UP because everything he said so far is COMPLETELY serious and im totally being for serious right now
posted by naxosaxur at 10:03 AM on June 14, 2005


I would like to point out, that when Optimus emailed me his hate-filled invective to explain what he thought about the substance of my comments, he did in fact use improper punctuation and capitalization.

email him a gold star and a hall monitor sash.
posted by jonmc at 10:04 AM on June 14, 2005


naxosaxur: Yeah, I'm generally a serious person. Silliness is for bozos and Brits.
posted by Kattullus at 10:13 AM on June 14, 2005


Before this turns irrevocably into a Optimus Chyme pile on

Why not? If OC had the guts to call out a member with "status" there would be a posse in MeTa tearing him apart. Instead he calls out nicky new guy who has been here two weeks.

naxosaxur: We get it. You made your point earlier. Stop trying so hard - it really is painful to watch.
posted by mlis at 10:15 AM on June 14, 2005


I GIVE NO FUCK
posted by naxosaxur at 10:20 AM on June 14, 2005


If OC had the guts to call out a member with "status"

Members with "status" generally attained that status for being good posters and commenters. So, uh, I wouldn't call them out, you see.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:23 AM on June 14, 2005


I GIVE NO FUCK

look! there's a mirror! go fuck yourself!
posted by quonsar at 10:53 AM on June 14, 2005


OC is absolutely right. This is not a matter of elitism or social class. An expensive private education is not required to click on the spell check button. You do not need 6 years of graduate school to find the shift key. The only possible cause of making a post with poor spelling and punctuation is laziness. The poster values their own convenience more than that of the readers. We can all be lazy sometimes, but that does not make it OK. And that is the value of public shaming, it makes us all better writers and citizens.
posted by LarryC at 11:00 AM on June 14, 2005


quonsar, you're just jealous that i get all the pretty boys and you get none.
posted by naxosaxur at 11:05 AM on June 14, 2005


MeFi is hurt far more, in my opinion, by PartisanFilter than it is by people saying things in less-than-perfect English.

I agree, but to be fair, the callout didn't seem to me to be about Laszlo's English so much as the total inanity of his comments -- although on reading the rest of the thread it does appear OC is overly concerned about people's usage. (To say "such laziness is visually unappealing and an impediment to communication... The posts that I have specifically mentioned... are borne out of laziness or illiteracy" is to betray a rather repellent elitism.) Still, he does have a point about Laszlo. Never mind "if everybody wrote like that" -- if even a few more people wrote like that, this place would become far less appealing.

Mentally replace half the comments in this thread by "hehe u r so dum" and you'll see what I mean.

On preview: yes it is a matter of elitism. And public shaming should be reserved for things any decent person would agree are worth being ashamed of.
posted by languagehat at 11:07 AM on June 14, 2005


LarryC writes "And that is the value of public shaming, it makes us all better writers and citizens." You've got to be kidding!

Sure, nice writing is good but this is a multifarious community not a grammar society nor an essay club. Some people are better than others at writing. Just glide past annoyances. And give a newby some time to meld in. That said, his ebay post was weak -- now that will have been ample reason for a callout or an email at least.
On preview - like there isn't inanity streaked through lots of threads?
posted by peacay at 11:10 AM on June 14, 2005


The Metaspellcheck provided right next to the post button has only ever worked for me twice. (this is one of them..)
posted by Balisong at 11:17 AM on June 14, 2005


I think OC is a sock puppet of a old-timer

Given the crankiness and doggedness of OC, rushmc would be my first guess.
posted by Kwantsar at 12:34 PM on June 14, 2005


naw, rush was more articulate and rarely as deliberately antagonistic.
posted by jonmc at 12:47 PM on June 14, 2005


Just so you know, when you lose the game, you do not need to post about it.

Thanks.
posted by delmoi at 12:48 PM on June 14, 2005


I always thought all the different 'mc's were the same guy in a basement somewhere in Queens.
posted by Kattullus at 12:51 PM on June 14, 2005


naw, rush was more articulate and rarely as deliberately antagonistic.

This is a pretty transparent tactic, jon. I expect better from you.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 1:08 PM on June 14, 2005


delmoi, hearing about someone losing the game gives you a 30 minute immunity from losing; it's totally fine.
posted by jonson at 1:21 PM on June 14, 2005


everything I do is transparent, Optimus, and you're silly to expect anything at all from me.
posted by jonmc at 1:30 PM on June 14, 2005


I really don't want to see this place dumbed down.

Well , making askme posts about how to smash car windows with spark plugs certainly raises the bar , doesn't it ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:23 PM on June 14, 2005


evanizer.
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:24 PM on June 14, 2005


*misses evanizer*
posted by dg at 3:47 PM on June 14, 2005


Well , making askme posts about how to smash car windows with spark plugs certainly raises the bar , doesn't it ?
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:23 PM PST on June 14


Are you insane? My car had been broken into. I didn't ask "how do I break car windows," I asked "how and why does this tool work," with emphasis on the physical properties of the sparkplug.

You win, sarge. Of all the posts here, yours is the only one I take offense to, as only an obvious troll or the world's biggest fucking moron could possibly interpret that question as anything but innocent.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 3:53 PM on June 14, 2005


I'm not trolling , i'm just pointing out , with examples , that your own posting record has hardly been the stuff of which metafilter's golden ages are made.....and it's really not nice to have a go at poor , honest simpletons like laszlo , who may lack the odd comma or two but fills our hearts with admiration at his energy and enthusiasm for all things meta.
Really , it's damaging and dispiriting to the community as a whole to see this sort of attack and i think you should serve yourself a lukewarm slice of humble pie and apologise to poor, demented laszlo , who is weeping softly in the corner as i type this.
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:18 PM on June 14, 2005


I'm clearly not making any friends in this thread, but I'll be damned if I'm going to gloss over and ignore worthless crap.

That's the thing about worthless crap. If you don't ignore it, then you're getting all your panties in a twist about... worthless... crap.
posted by shmegegge at 6:41 PM on June 14, 2005


OC, I'm with you and can understand where you're coming from. But in this case, it's just one user. (The vast majority of Mefi users continue to write at well above the 6th grade level. When comments such as Laszlo's become common place then you can raise the issue in the gray. As it is, singling out a specific user like this is a bit distasteful. Also know that for issues like 'respect for grammar' it's a culture thing. The only ways you can change a culture are through rigirously enforced laws (backed by the threat of violence), technology, and killing a good chunk of the population. So if Mefi does eventually devolve into a place where most comments are barely English complaining in the gray won't help much. You'll either have to break out the fertilizer or, more likely, just head for the hills.
posted by nixerman at 7:21 PM on June 14, 2005


Dude, most of those people didn't know what they were talking about. It's not the metal tip, it's the porcelain. Thieves use it because it barely makes a sound.
posted by dreamsign at 9:07 PM on June 14, 2005


And public shaming should be reserved for things any decent person would agree are worth being ashamed of.
Find me a decent person and I'll support public shaming.
posted by wendell at 10:20 PM on June 14, 2005


Given the text centric format of MetaFilter (and since Laszlo has posted exclusively there, I will limit my comments accordingly), it seems to me that the McLuhan-istic components of how Laszlo writes affects how it is received (consciously or not), and that given the web based context of MeFi, there are going to be X number of l33tsp34k (sp?) IMers who will find their way here to contribute their two cents.

One of the linked comments was Laszlo apologizing for a misspelling, so it is likely that web denizens spending any significant time here will note the increased 'whuffie (for lack of a better word)' for persuasive posts, and while not required by any means, generally, the more legible a comment, the better its chance of being persuasive or memorable.

I don't by any means read every post on MeFi (nor Ask nor MeTa), and I don't mind scrolling to bypass logorrhea or "hehe...sw33t" when it appears. I haven't noticed a proliferation of the latter (the former, well...) and mostly, this site doesn't really lend itself to that, IMO.

All that being said, I try to remind myself everytime I post that what I write is potentially available at any point in the future, and so while whimsy is not excluded, it is minimized. Others may not have quite so much reserve, and they may at some point have to deal with whatever specters they've loosed onto the intarweb. They have felt strongly enough to post their comment (not a strenous task, but not a single click, either), so they've earned at least the microsecond it takes me to scroll past it, if I don't want to read it.
posted by birdsquared at 10:30 PM on June 14, 2005


poor , honest simpletons like laszlo
poor, demented laszlo

These two comments are about a thousand times more insulting and condescending than anything I've said about Laszlo's posts.

I expect better from Laszlo; you seem to think that he is incapable of such improvement. And I'm the one who's supposed to apologize? Bravo.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:52 AM on June 15, 2005


You should turn up your satire meter, it's set too low, I do believe.

Weak.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:16 AM on June 15, 2005


Given the crankiness and doggedness of OC, rushmc would be my first guess.

nice diversion, rushmc
posted by mr.marx at 9:25 AM on June 15, 2005


nice.
posted by Mid at 11:27 AM on June 15, 2005


Some of us have lurked here for years, waiting for membership to open up. A little logorrhea as birdman says can probably be expected. I think all but the least sensitive posters will find some kind of metafilter equilibrium within a short span, and the ones who don't will cross other lines that are more worthy of complaining about.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:08 PM on June 15, 2005


Greetings all. For this post, I am most likely to be banned from Metafilter forum. In any case I would like to express my deep felt love for Optimus Chyme and the Metafilter community in its entirety. I have completely enjoyed my time here and would like to thank each and every one of you for your dedication to the policing of my unacceptable grammical errors and apparent self links. It should also be noted, that the truth is this was not a self promotional link to an auction, as immediately assumed by yourselves. I happen to be from New Zealand and actually heard about the auction which I made a posting about on the radio. The assumption was made by the likes of Optimus Chyme and other forum pawns, that because I am posting from New Zealand that the post in question was actually a self link.

Anyway, this is my attempt to actually say nothing in particular as well as keep Optimus Chymes' 'hand on it' for an extended time period and keep him occupied for a small time longer. As I have gathered he is an extremely intelligent person with the ability to captivate forums and spark extremely interesting conversational virtues. In saying this lets hope to see more people like Optimus extending their love and compassion to the world in an attempt to make a considerable difference to those of us who carnt? spelt goodly'.

In closing, i would like to take the opportunity to welcome debate from Optimus at any time, as i find this person an interesting and sensitive person to say the least.

Feel free to email me at any time Mr or Mrs Optimus. I look forward to hearing from you....

PS. Pleese feel frei too eat, a large! cock @ any time u so desire, you cock sucking, wank stained peice of forum smut.

Special wishes and warm regards.

Laszlo.
posted by Laszlo at 3:40 PM on June 15, 2005


It's the post scripts that really let the love shine through!! <3 <3 <3!
posted by Balisong at 11:51 PM on June 15, 2005


These two comments are about a thousand times more insulting and condescending than anything I've said about Laszlo's posts.

Thanks ! *gives optimus and laszlo big huggz*
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:11 AM on June 16, 2005


As I have gathered he is an extremely intelligent person with the ability to captivate forums and spark extremely interesting conversational virtues.

That is true. :)
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:54 AM on June 16, 2005


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