Why does mousing over a user's comment show username instead of user number?

January 7, 2006 9:24 AM

In Metatalk and Ask Metafilter, when previewing a comment, mousing over a username produces their /username.mefi/username, instead of their user number. Why? [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 9:24 AM (18 comments total)

Example:
before preview: http://www.metafilter.com/user/1
on preview: http://www.metafilter.com/username.mefi/mathowie

I was aware of the /username feature before, and it doesn't really stand in the way of any of the site's functionality (it works either way); I'm just curious.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:25 AM on January 7, 2006

IIRC, this particular feature goes back several years, and was meant, unless I'm mistaken, as a way to prevent people from checking each other's user numbers (read: seniority) while composing a comment. At the time there was some concern about people judging each other by how small their user number was -- back when those of us with five-digit user IDs were all a bunch of n00bs.

Unless, of course, I'm totally wrong.
posted by mcwetboy at 9:45 AM on January 7, 2006

back when those of us with five-digit user IDs were all a bunch of n00bs

you still are. you just didn't have to pay 5 dollars.
;)
posted by matteo at 10:06 AM on January 7, 2006

rooftop secrets refers to it here, but it doesn't seem to offer anything conclusive.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:07 AM on January 7, 2006

Just a weird quirk. Please don't change it.
posted by smackfu at 10:59 AM on January 7, 2006

There's always the option of showing user names only on MeFi (as MetaChat does). However, I'm sure that would cause a riot of epic proportions.
posted by deborah at 11:16 AM on January 7, 2006

Says the 16ker. Pfweh. ;)

No seriously, I want to emphasize that I was just curious. No value judgment intended here.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 11:40 AM on January 7, 2006

mmmm! i lurvs spaghetti!
posted by quonsar at 12:34 PM on January 7, 2006

I'd hate to have usernumbers totaly disabled, although the records do show the actualy date of signup.

It would be nice if we could go to user/username rather then needing to remember username.mefi/username, for when you want to look up someone by name.
posted by delmoi at 1:06 PM on January 7, 2006

The user/username format suggested by delmoi is even tastier than the spaghetti code alluded to by quonsar.
posted by furtive at 1:54 PM on January 7, 2006

yeah, it's either an early offering to the fsm or matt's just fucking with your mind.
(have you heard what he did to my <p>s?)
posted by andrew cooke at 2:19 PM on January 7, 2006

I think it's saving a db request to print out usernames instead of looking up every user_id, and I never updated it.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:55 PM on January 7, 2006

It would be nice if we could go to user/username

user/111?
posted by Armitage Shanks at 8:48 PM on January 7, 2006

user/111?

"Bob" willing, there need not be any need for anyone to worry about that scenario ever again.
posted by Jimbob at 2:58 AM on January 8, 2006

I think it's saving a db request to print out usernames instead of looking up every user_id, and I never updated it.

Ok, makes sense, thanks.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:03 AM on January 8, 2006

Someone once said that 111 was Witty. Who was it that said that? Oh yes, the Mayor.
posted by gramschmidt at 10:52 AM on January 8, 2006

*brandishes her spork at gnfti*

Truly, I don't care one way or t'other.
posted by deborah at 12:42 PM on January 8, 2006

Wait, there's a spork now? And is that meant as a threat or a mating ritual? Truly, I don't care one way or t'other. ;)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:52 PM on January 8, 2006