Why is this anonymous?

June 10, 2006 11:04 PM

Why is this anonymous?
posted by mzurer to Bugs at 11:04 PM (43 comments total)

Just curious. Seems odd, that's all. Maybe a bug?
posted by mzurer at 11:04 PM on June 10, 2006

probably worried about voiding their warranty.
posted by delmoi at 11:08 PM on June 10, 2006

Compaq once killed a man for losing a screw and then asking tech support about it; I saw it on /.
posted by klangklangston at 11:37 PM on June 10, 2006

Maybe they are spy and don't want to reveal that they have a computer to the rest of the world.
posted by 517 at 11:39 PM on June 10, 2006

Does posting anonymously still let one circumvent the one-post-per-week limitation?
posted by Danelope at 11:41 PM on June 10, 2006

Maybe this person is afraid of having his/her ass handed to him/her in case it's some easy question?

Signed,

NOT ME I DO NOT OWN A LAPTOP IT IS NOT ME SO THERE :p
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 11:49 PM on June 10, 2006

Maybe his/her user name is anonymous?
posted by jahmoon at 11:52 PM on June 10, 2006

They posted it anonymously so that it would get called out and therefore garner more answers.

Hey, it got me to answer.
posted by loquacious at 11:52 PM on June 10, 2006

Simple. They already used their question for the week and needed another one, so they posted anonymously. And it worked. I've thought about doing that too, but figured any anon question that didn't seem to have a good reason to be anon wouldn't be approved. Boy was I wrong.
posted by puke & cry at 12:32 AM on June 11, 2006

Well, from past threads I'm pretty sure that mathowie has said that there are numerous questions that are posted anonymously for no good reason that he routinely denies, so perhaps he might have just made an error in this case.

And I seem to recall that the link to post a question anonymously is not present on the "post" page if you are currently in your mandatory waiting period, so it wouldn't be a way to get around the post limit. (I suppose you could have bookmarked it but that still doesn't mean it will normally get past review.)
posted by Rhomboid at 1:02 AM on June 11, 2006

Maybe it WAS mathowie, and he doesn't want us to laugh at him.
posted by klangklangston at 1:03 AM on June 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

Oh, and maybe the person was just somewhat embarrassed that he/she tried to take apart the laptop and fucked it up so badly that it no longer runs. You know, in some circles that's quite emasculating.

Though I still agree that there's no reason that it should have been approved as an anon question.
posted by Rhomboid at 1:07 AM on June 11, 2006

Maybe the poster is Amish.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:33 AM on June 11, 2006

We have cameras.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:16 AM on June 11, 2006

Maybe the poster is mefi-notorious, and figures that if his/her name were attached, people would be rude.
posted by taz at 5:13 AM on June 11, 2006

maybe it's bill gates
posted by pyramid termite at 6:37 AM on June 11, 2006

Simple. They already used their question for the week and needed another one, so they posted anonymously. And it worked.

I don't see how that's possible. If you've used your question, the system won't let you post, anonymously or otherwise.
posted by bingo at 6:40 AM on June 11, 2006

If you've used your question, the system won't let you post, anonymously or otherwise.

Unless you post your anonymous question first.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:07 AM on June 11, 2006

Taz, I can't get anything past you.
posted by mischief at 7:12 AM on June 11, 2006

Maybe we're helping this guy with his laptop repairs.
posted by horsewithnoname at 7:44 AM on June 11, 2006

Might not be their computer.
posted by Feisty at 8:20 AM on June 11, 2006

Murderers!
posted by 517 at 8:29 AM on June 11, 2006

Maybe they work for Apple.
posted by boost ventilator at 9:33 AM on June 11, 2006

Maybe they've been convicted of internet crimes and aren't allowed within 50 ft of a computer. You know... like in Hackers!

That'd be so AWESOME.
posted by brundlefly at 10:01 AM on June 11, 2006

"Laptop restarting" is a euphemism for "can't keep it up".
posted by mischief at 10:08 AM on June 11, 2006

"Why is this anonymous?"

Because the poster used the "Post a question anonymously" form, and Matt approved it.

Sheesh.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:10 AM on June 11, 2006

I'm also pretty embarrassed that I own a Compaq.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 11:01 AM on June 11, 2006

The answer is the same as every other time it's been asked in MeTa:
None of your business, really.
posted by obloquy at 11:18 AM on June 11, 2006

I assumed it had something to do with warranty issues. A little overcautious, sure, but not totally crazy.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:22 AM on June 11, 2006

What is with the half-assed callouts lately? If you care enough to open a complaint thread in MetaTalk, take an actual position. "I don't think this should be anonymous for the following reasons..."
posted by smackfu at 12:15 PM on June 11, 2006

mzurer was most likely in the sitting position.
posted by mischief at 1:23 PM on June 11, 2006

Something tells me that Matt will be getting a call from the U.S. Veterans' Administration in 3...2...
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:07 PM on June 11, 2006

Jessamyn can approve anon posts as well, and I'm almost positive she did that one. Personally I wouldn't have approved it as it doesn't seem necessary and I would suspect was used to get around the one per week limit. But I might have hit approve accidentally when approving a bunch of relationship posts.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:07 PM on June 11, 2006

mathowie: "But I might have hit approve accidentally when approving a bunch of relationship posts."

Can we please have some more freaky sex ones approved? I'm bored on a Sunday.
posted by sbutler at 2:11 PM on June 11, 2006

I'll try to work one up.
posted by mischief at 2:16 PM on June 11, 2006

This was not a callout or a complaint. I am being 100% sincere, and I thought maybe there was some sort of bug. It really doesn't bother me either way.
posted by mzurer at 7:02 PM on June 11, 2006

I don't know about your motivation, but at least this thread kept me semi-awake during the Nascar race.
posted by mischief at 9:45 PM on June 11, 2006

I don't see how that's possible. If you've used your question, the system won't let you post, anonymously or otherwise.

The askme form won't show up if you've already asked your question, but you can still post an anon question here if your limit is used up.
posted by delmoi at 9:01 AM on June 12, 2006

And usually we're smart enough to know it's someone trying to game the system if you do that, not always though.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:44 PM on June 12, 2006

We need a completely anonymous RelationshipFilter. AskMe has turned into Dear Abby for the hipster set lately.
posted by fourcheesemac at 2:13 PM on June 12, 2006

We need a completely anonymous RelationshipFilter. AskMe has turned into Dear Abby for the hipster set lately.

Amen. Seems like everyday some douche is asking "how do I ask out a cute girl at the office?" Some people just need lots of attention I guess. That said, some of those replies are interesting.
posted by mattbucher at 2:23 PM on June 12, 2006

curse you Smart Dalek, I was scrolling down hoping nobody had made a VA joke!!!
posted by Megafly at 5:29 PM on June 12, 2006

Maybe the poster is Amish.

Is no one else laughing at this? I've been completely incapacitated by the image of girls with bonnets using $100 hand-crank laptops to secretly post RelationshipFilter questions from the back of a capsized barn. Good job.
posted by xanthippe at 5:57 AM on June 13, 2006