How Can We Stop Doubleposts? October 12, 2001 7:07 AM   Subscribe

Wow. Three double-posts in a row. Nothing new in and of itself, but this makes me wonder if MetaFilter could implement a FilePile type icon based system for marking double posts. (Inside: I will try and explain myself)
posted by thewittyname to Etiquette/Policy at 7:07 AM (14 comments total)

What I'm talking about are these icons:




Maybe, and I know this is asking a lot, Matt could implement a system where users could vote on double posts, and after a certain amount of unique votes were collected, an icon would be placed next to the post. Or, you could go further and have the post automatically deleted.

The reason for this, IMO, would be to take some of the long-term workload off of Matt. I think this community is really good at spotting double-posts, and thus, there is no reason for Matt to have to do it himself.

Anyone else have any ideas about how to help Matt out with this double-posting?
posted by thewittyname at 7:15 AM on October 12, 2001


the amount of flack received is reason enough for me to avoid double posting as much as possible.
having said that, occasionaly, the second coming reveals new truths, or at least different opinions, than the original.
but mostly it is treated as a troll, which it is legit to respond to.
i haven't come across a double thread without a link to the original, yet.
posted by asok at 8:02 AM on October 12, 2001


Jesus -- won't these people learn to search for keywords instead of just URLs???
posted by jennak at 8:21 AM on October 12, 2001


I'm starting to think it may be time to take a much heavier hand to double posts. They should simply be deleted as soon as Matt gets the chance, no matter how many responses they may have garnered in the meantime. It's to the point where this one action alone could end up reducing front page traffic by a good 25%.

It would also do something to lower the general animosity level around here, IMHO. I think that when you get the exact same topic being brought up over and over and over in such a short period of time, it leads to a lot of people making the exact same point over and over again, except each time they make it a little more shrilly, and tempers get a little more frayed as the same arguments keeps being made again and again. (A good example are the far-too-numerous atheism threads that have popped up in just the last week.)
posted by aaron at 8:25 AM on October 12, 2001





houndyboy seems to be a busy-bee with 3 posts in 28 hours.
posted by tamim at 8:43 AM on October 12, 2001


beat two posts in 12 minutes.
posted by moz at 8:52 AM on October 12, 2001


Wow. Two double-post posts in MetaTalk in one day. ;-)
posted by misterioso at 9:01 AM on October 12, 2001


Dude, I am on a roll this morning. Since 12:00 AM PST, I have posted 6 comments (2 in MeFi and 4 in MeTa), including a 70 anchor one (with 1 additional booboo'ed link). It's Friday!

Anyhow, I wanted to keep a link to houndyboy's profile for future 'Kayceeing,' in case Matt deletes two of the three posts. Should make for a great chat tonight.
;-)
posted by tamim at 9:14 AM on October 12, 2001


Don't overload Matt. Certain astute and impartial members - like Tamim and at least another two dozen I could think of -should be able to nix them as soon as they arise. They could all go to some MetaLimbo, along with the justifications, allowing Matt to resurrect whichever he thought might still have something to offer.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:17 AM on October 12, 2001


You guys know that I've been one of those people that has, in the past, defended people's right to post...

But now I admit it; you were right, I was wrong. I just had a higher pain threshold for the whole thing. Things really are way, WAY out of hand. The problem is, we're pretty much complaining about the weather here, unless Matt would like to install some means of allowing us to directly self-police the site. (Ponytime, Chief...)

I personally have no beef against some kind of voted trap door on posts. I prefer - as I've moaned about elsewhere - the idea of a two-level page heirarchy where the Front Page has a Back Page from which the good stories are winnowed. One way or the other - or by some, yet unmentioned solution - Metafilter needs to go on some kind of diet.
posted by Perigee at 9:17 AM on October 12, 2001


don't worry, houndyboy won't be posting anymore.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:29 AM on October 12, 2001


But who will be the next houndyboy? There needs to be some kind of structural solution.
posted by rodii at 10:56 AM on October 12, 2001


Perigee--I went through that switching-sides thing too. I remember vociferously arguing for (a) discussion as the primary value, (b) links to Slashdot, Yahoo!, Avanova, Salon, etc., (c) the right of anyone to post anything they want. It seems to be a natural evolution as the site ramps up and up and up and up and up...
posted by rodii at 11:15 AM on October 12, 2001


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