I am writing a dissertation about online communities, and MetaFilter will serve as the primary focus of my research. I need your help to better understand why MetaFilter functions better than so many other online communities. Can you spare 15-30 minutes to complete a short survey to improve our understanding of online communities? [more inside]
posted by lewistate on Oct 20, 2009 - 818 comments

Where do I find a "best of MeFi" - i.e. collected AskMes as they can be found on the MeFi Wiki? [more inside]
posted by mathiu on Mar 16, 2009 - 34 comments

Averyoldworld did research. [more inside]
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Oct 28, 2008 - 60 comments

Carnegie Mellon Study Ranks the 100 Most Informative Blogs. MetaFilter ranks as #33.
posted by ericb on Oct 30, 2007 - 33 comments

For what reason did this get deleted? I am interested to hear informed peoples' explanations of the significance of Albert Schweitzer. I'm a little offended that my question got deleted, and with no posted reason. What's the deal, yo?
posted by pelican on Jun 27, 2007 - 51 comments

Is it worth flagging AskMe questions that seem to have been asked without any attempt by the user to answer the question? They may contain a "legitimate" question, but the user has clearly failed to make the effort prior to posting. I'm asking not in reaction to a specific post, although there was one recently, but just to know if it's worth the effort, and would such questions be likely to be removed?
posted by edgeways on Apr 10, 2007 - 38 comments

Since when is it okay for a user to ask Mefi to do his research for him? (or her) This person wants studies and research as opposed to personal stories... so isn't that just asking us to google it for him/her?
posted by IndigoRain on Nov 26, 2006 - 39 comments

Miguel’s AskMe post requesting info on the typical Metafilter user (correct answer: there is no typical Mefi user and a fiction writer would do better with an atypical character anyway) for his teleplay was deleted because it would have been more appropriately posted in MetaTalk. I always suspected that Miguel was here researching for his next novel. What’s your plotline for a Miguel Cardosa novel featuring Metafilter?
posted by TimTypeZed on Oct 12, 2006 - 73 comments

After much discussion, debate and support, here my defended (and revised) thesis: "Capital and Stratification within Virtual Community: A Case Study of Metafilter.com". [mi]
posted by Quartermass on Jan 8, 2006 - 134 comments

I just realized today that Ask MeFi made Business Week's Best of the Web list for "Research" but I didn't notice in time to have everyone stuff the ballot box on public voting so we got last place. heh.
posted by mathowie on Sep 16, 2005 - 23 comments

Is this sort of thing just Pepsi Blue in a new bottle? Recently there was an AskMe post about men's shaving products that I know was a case of lazyweb market research (because the poster admitted as much on a certain orange-and-blue-themed site before he posted it), and I didn't say anything then, but I wonder if a) this is more of the same and b) whether the community at large cares if AskMe gets used this way.
posted by briank on Sep 12, 2005 - 12 comments

Last week, SpecialK wondered aloud on MeTa, "Why do people keep asking medical questions on AskMe?". Here's a Pew Research report that talks about how and why people look for health information online. Also see Eszter Hargittai's Crooked Timber post on this study and another, along with her other posts and writings. (I posted here because it's too narrow-interest for MeFi and is in reponse to an AskMe etiquette question. Also, it's not bitching or a callout.)
posted by Ethereal Bligh on May 19, 2005 - 9 comments

How much leg work/research is common for a FPP? I had my first and I admit I didn't do much - as evidenced by the subsequent discussion. I was just happy to find something that came up empty on Search Metafilter.
posted by tvjunkie on Apr 22, 2005 - 15 comments

I am a graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Information studying human-computer interaction. I am posting this thread to let you know that I will be studying MetaFilter this semester for an e-communities class project. My term paper will describe MetaFilter’s purpose, the technologies used, roles, identifiers and identities, intergroup relations, norms of behavior, and governance mechanisms. For more information about the course, see http://www.si.umich.edu/~presnick/courses/winter03/684/

I will make my findings available at http://www.noor.bz/ecommunities. Feedback would be welcome any time. I have also included information there about how your privacy will be protected.

If you have any concerns about how I am conducting this study, you may contact me by email at nooraz at umich dot edu.

Thank you!
posted by nalihasan on Jan 31, 2005 - 123 comments

"My thesis is on Metafilter..."
This isn't the first reference I've seen to The Blue as an empirical playground for academic discourse. What exactly is Mefi's scholarly value?
posted by Saucy Intruder on Jan 29, 2005 - 70 comments

Hullo. Hate to bother you all like this, but...

I'm a student currently in the first part of my sophomore year at Northern Kentucky University. In my English class, we were given a very broad research paper, and I decided to narrow mine to weblogs. In particular, one aspect of weblogs: weblogs & the media. So, I'd like anyone who has an opinion on the matter to answer this one question:

How do you feel weblogs have changed the way that people interact with "news" and "the media?"

Thanks for reading this far.
posted by philulrich on Apr 10, 2002 - 31 comments

I was thinking about making a post that would compare and contrast US foreign aid to Europe after WWII to Afghanistan and Yugoslavia today. It also got me on the trail of the annual US foreign aid bill that passes each year. However it was next to impossible to find a breakdown of exactly who gets what each year and what the money is spent on. I consider myself a decent Googler, but I'm stumped. Any help out there? Thanks!
posted by chaz on Jan 22, 2002 - 8 comments

Let's respect MeFi's past, while looking to chart its future. I've scanned through the archives and pulled up some of the more important threads in my time on MeFi, and I encourage you to do the same.
posted by hijinx on Jul 20, 2001 - 6 comments