I knew about open Snowden threads of course, but the G20 surveillance news really wasn't being discussed elsewhere. I though a new thread might spark an interesting conversation about what effects this might have on the G8 meeting. Also we'd no G8 thread. Also we hadn't discussed GCHQ. Sadly, my post did not inspire a discussion that diverged significantly from the existing threads, maybe my /. link screwed it up, not sure. Anyways, if anyone has easy tips for quieting the early thread axe grinds then I'd be interested to hear them. I suppose more links about GCHQ would've helped, but probably not much, and that's more work. Would it have been out of line for me to have simply ended the post with a question like : Do we know how this will impact the G8 meeting?
posted by jeffburdges at at 6:23 AM - 25 comments

I was reading along... [more inside]
posted by hal_c_on at at 6:02 AM - 12 comments

Nonviolent communication has gotten me past a lot of dead ends in conversations, and now I can't help but see how useful it could be in a lot conversations in a lot of threads. I was thinking maybe Metatalk could benefit from a general discussion on the nonviolent communication process and how it works. [more inside]
posted by aniola at at 12:17 AM - 281 comments

It seems like the blink tag post has spurred a resurgence of their use here. What's up with that? [more inside]
posted by zug at at 4:29 PM - 57 comments

Today will mark the third day of increasingly violent rioting over a bus fare increase in my hometown, São Paulo. Would this make a good post? If yes, what kind of post is best? Thanks!
posted by Tom-B at at 12:29 PM - 27 comments

In a recent Ask thread, one commenter suggested Reiki healing as a treatment for labor pains. I gave a neutrally-worded comment with links to meta-analyses which showed that Reiki healing has no measurable effect on any illness. This comment was deleted, though the original comment stands. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that it is officially ok to endorse Reiki healing, but not to point out that it is rejected by the scientific and medical communities, because that would be a 'derail'. Do I have that right?
posted by lambdaphage at at 10:45 PM - 574 comments

This AskMe Question seems to be an attempt to find Edward Snowden's hotel in Honk Kong. He's since checked-out, so the issue isn't pressing, but I think we should discuss whether that's a use of Ask Metafilter with which we are comfortable. I personally sympathize with Mr. Snowden and think we should avoid providing crowd-sourced help to the CIA and others who may be seeking him. I recognize Mr. Snowden hasn't made much of an attempt to hide his location and the CIA doesn't really need our help.
posted by Area Man at at 9:34 AM - 80 comments

I've been wondering: What is the thinking behind a poster offering up "Check your MeMail" (and nothing else) in response to an AskMe? [more inside]
posted by nacho fries at at 5:13 PM - 59 comments

I've noticed a recently trend recently where people use the phrase "full stop" to cut off a line of thinking they disagree with. I'm wondering what other people think about this. [more inside]
posted by cupcake1337 at at 9:13 AM - 186 comments

See Inside [more inside]
posted by ishrinkmajeans at at 7:11 PM - 886 comments