Is there a list somewhere out there of the users with the most double posts to their name? Or the highest ratio of doubles to legitimate posts?
posted by chunking express on Oct 2, 2006 - 33 comments

Is it just me, or are the AskMe topics getting more repetitive?

Even if the questions are not repeats, they're slight variations on existing questions, where a huge number of the answers are either identical or extremely similar.

I'm not sure how many more times I can rephrase my answer on what non-stick cookware to buy, or hear another question about whether some 18-year old who got married too early should explore polyamory on a trial basis, or engage in a heated discussion about how to extend the life of laptop batteries. Presumably, this happens more often than just the ones I notice.

The questions are interesting even the first few times. But it does get old and I feel like my will to be helpful is being sapped as I repeat myself. Obviously, people aren't reading the archives, or not finding the previous posts that quite obviously apply to them. Anyone else feel this way?

We've built up quite a knowledge base here, but it seems to me that the knowledge of where the knowledge is is still concentrated at the edges. The search isn't doing it, or people aren't using it. (The fact that the search results can't be ordered by date probably contributes.)

As a secondary concern, I'd also like to be able to better find those historical questions that do apply to me.

Thoughts?
posted by Caviar on Feb 1, 2006 - 65 comments

On duplicates, tags, and link quality... [more inside]
posted by knave on Nov 21, 2005 - 20 comments

Why are there three shoutings?
posted by delmoi on Oct 19, 2005 - 12 comments

The other one should be axed, not this one. I couldn't agree more. I know this has happened before- someone writing a well-crafted post is beaten (by about ten minutes) to the punch by a hastily-made, one-link post. I realize that technically, the "first" post wins, but shouldn't exceptions be made for cases like this? It's rewarding speed over substance.
posted by mkultra on Sep 28, 2005 - 37 comments

The two Katrina threads are functionally the same, regardless of their original intent. Can they be merged?
posted by Vidiot on Aug 29, 2005 - 10 comments

After a double post is deleted, how about adding a link in the original thread pointing to the deleted thread? [more inside]
posted by brain_drain on Jul 14, 2005 - 8 comments

Would it be possible to auto delete a post if the original author flags it as a double post? I double posted, I flagged it, but it is still there, perhaps I should be able to remove it?
posted by jonah on Apr 6, 2005 - 53 comments

Trying to avoid repeat posts is pretty hard because of timeouts from the search system. (In fact, I wanted to see if this is a duplicate Metatalk topic, but my searches stalled.) I want to avoid dupes, really I do! My memory isn't encyclopedic, though (and I have a life, *cough* ;-). How do the old hands here really avoid repeat posts? Shouldn't it be in a FAQ?

(Interestingly, after I started doing more searches, MetaFilter went into general "Server Error" mode for a while. Hmm...)
posted by tss on Jan 4, 2003 - 10 comments

Triple? Quad? What's the MeFi duplicate FPP record?
posted by nathan_teske on Apr 25, 2002 - 10 comments

So what exactly constitutes a double post? For example, this link on the front page regarding the ATHEIST plates was called a double post. On the other hand, this post regarding the Yates trial was not. I rarely monitor old threads, even if they are only a few days old. What is enough of an update to constitute a link worthy of an additional front page post?
posted by monju_bosatsu on Mar 15, 2002 - 3 comments

A sensor which would prevent two posts within an interval of, say, 30 seconds or 60. This would unintentional double posts such as mine in the tactical nuke thread of a few minutes ago. (I tend to push elevator buttons more than once also)
posted by ParisParamus on Mar 9, 2002 - 4 comments

Haven't been here long, but I've noticed double posts occur on nearly every thread, usually followed by a "shit ... I double posted" post %}

How difficult would it be to add a quick search through the previous posts in a thread such that if the same post had already been made it wouldn't post it again?

Or would that just crunch the overtaxed server too much?

posted by walrus on Oct 4, 2001 - 5 comments