It's MetaFilter Survey Time!

November 26, 2007 5:30 PM

As part of my final paper for a grad class, I wanted to ask the hivemind a few questions. It's just 20 quick questions about MetaFilter and AskMetaFilter, since those are the two most active parts of this community. I had to break it up into two parts since I'm a poor grad student and don't want to drop $20 for one survey: Part One Part Two It's also limited to the first 100 responses, but if even get close to 100 responses I'll be extremely happy. Thanks in advance!

This is master's class, not a PhD, so the survey is really simple. I'm just looking for some basic info about how people interact with the site. I'm also already familiar with this previous survey, but it doesn't really cover everything I'm looking for (I'll probably still cite it in my paper, though).

FWIW, I'm doing this as part of a really unique grad program that the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California started just this year, called the Annenberg Program on Online Communities (more info here). Specifically it's for a class with this dude, for anyone interested in research on virtual communities. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or comments about the survey or grad program.

posted by lovetragedy to MetaFilter-Related at 5:30 PM (167 comments total)

I did mine!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:35 PM on November 26, 2007

Your scales are 1 to 7, with one meaning what, precisely?
posted by jacquilynne at 5:37 PM on November 26, 2007

Neat! I'll do it shortly.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:38 PM on November 26, 2007

I did it.

It'd be cool if you could share your completed project with us later.
posted by DMan at 5:39 PM on November 26, 2007

done and done
posted by jonmc at 5:39 PM on November 26, 2007

Definitely elaborate on the scale.
posted by ALongDecember at 5:40 PM on November 26, 2007

I did it.
posted by OmieWise at 5:41 PM on November 26, 2007

2 is the most, 4 is the least, 7 is sort of in between, and you can extrapolate from there.
posted by aubilenon at 5:41 PM on November 26, 2007 [6 favorites]

Bigger is always better. What are you? A moran?
posted by Cyrano at 5:46 PM on November 26, 2007

I did it. I think I put the high numbers as the positive ones.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:46 PM on November 26, 2007

Heheh. Really, though, if it was a scale of 1 to 10, I'd assume 10 was the best, but on a scale of 1 to 7, I don't want to make that assumption.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:46 PM on November 26, 2007

Did it. Twice.
posted by nenequesadilla at 5:47 PM on November 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

I did 1 is the best.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 5:49 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.

...and on a scale of 8-17, what would you rate this survey?
posted by niles at 5:51 PM on November 26, 2007

I said 7 was the better rating, while 1 was the most important reason for visiting AskMe
posted by niles at 5:51 PM on November 26, 2007

That was easy.
posted by mediareport at 5:53 PM on November 26, 2007

Done
posted by grumblebee at 5:53 PM on November 26, 2007

Done and done and what a cool program! My college experience was nothing like yours.
posted by misha at 5:55 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.
posted by padraigin at 5:55 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.
posted by googly at 5:55 PM on November 26, 2007

I think I got all of them right!

It'd be cool if you could share your completed project with us later.

Seconded.
posted by brain_drain at 5:55 PM on November 26, 2007

I am smitten by the young lady with the laptop on the finished page.
posted by LarryC at 5:57 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.

Do the "1 being the worst, 7 being the best" thing next time, or label each point on the Lickert scale.

/psychometric nitpick
posted by CKmtl at 6:00 PM on November 26, 2007

Thanks guys..Sorry, 1 would be low, 7 good.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:00 PM on November 26, 2007

Yeah- I was quite happy using 7 as best but then the 1-4 ranking question threw me.
posted by Gratishades at 6:00 PM on November 26, 2007

As for scoring, I did mine like niles said.
posted by dhammond at 6:00 PM on November 26, 2007

Also, you guys are really fast. I already have over 60 responses. Maybe I'll spring for the full version and get more results.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:02 PM on November 26, 2007

Thanks guys..Sorry, 1 would be low, 7 good.

Oh, I see.. Oopss
posted by Chuckles at 6:04 PM on November 26, 2007

Done. Glad to be of service.
posted by exlotuseater at 6:05 PM on November 26, 2007

CKmti: That's exactly what I should have done. Despite being in grad school, I've only had like 1 research class. If that totally screws up the questions, though, it's not a huge deal. I think the other questions are more important.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:06 PM on November 26, 2007

Get Matt to spring for the full version and call it a "customer satisfaction monitoring focus group interactive survey tax deduction"

also, done.
posted by Rumple at 6:06 PM on November 26, 2007

7 = best
1 = bad

Right?
posted by KokuRyu at 6:07 PM on November 26, 2007

did mine!!
posted by pearlybob at 6:08 PM on November 26, 2007

KokuRyu: correct.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:08 PM on November 26, 2007

I'm glad I waited until I knew what one meant and what seven meant. Done and done, lovetragedy, and please let us know how things turn out.
posted by cgc373 at 6:11 PM on November 26, 2007

7. On a scale of 1-7, how would you rate the quality of the front page posts?

My front page posts (from context) or the front page posts of MetaFilter (from wording)?
posted by carsonb at 6:13 PM on November 26, 2007

Update: Dropped a 20 since I'm clearly going to get over 100 responses, and I fixed the 1-7 thing. Let me know if it says you can't take it because I'm over the limit.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:14 PM on November 26, 2007

I did mine, with 7 as good, 1 as bad.
posted by delmoi at 6:14 PM on November 26, 2007

carsonb: All front page posts.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:14 PM on November 26, 2007

did the 1 - 7 in reverse :(

I am the one with the 50% answer in the AskMe part.
posted by Dr. Curare at 6:15 PM on November 26, 2007

Piker. Any Master's candidate worth his/her salt would do their whole THESIS on the greyish-cyan wonder that is Meffy.

Kidding. And yes, I did the survey. Here to help.
posted by hangashore at 6:16 PM on November 26, 2007

Done!
posted by amyms at 6:18 PM on November 26, 2007

hangashore: no denying I'm a piker. My "thesis" for this program is actually building an online community. I'm sure I'll shamelessly promote it in ProjectsMefi when it's done.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:18 PM on November 26, 2007

Done. (I'm sure you recognize you will only get people who are very devoted users, by announcing in MeTa.)
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:19 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.

nitpick: the question asking 1-3 then 3-6 or whatever it was was poorly designed (two possible answers if you're a 3-year reader).
posted by gaspode at 6:21 PM on November 26, 2007

Thanks for clearing that up, lovetragedy. I answered 7 before knowing which was which with the thought that if it was good then great! I'm an enthusiastic MeFite, and if it meant bad then you've got a genuine troll on your hands and maybe something to mention in your paper.
posted by carsonb at 6:21 PM on November 26, 2007

LobsterMitten: That's what I was thinking. Admins: could you possibly a link to this thread in the sidebar on the front so I can get a more representative sample?

gaspode: Damn, I was trying to avoid that; thanks for catching it.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:22 PM on November 26, 2007

Done! Do I get a cookie?
posted by maudlin at 6:26 PM on November 26, 2007

lovetragedy: my fault, I couldn't resist the cheap snark. Still, from the description of your program it sounds like Q-mass's thesis would be right up your alley. It's a good read. Unfortunately the original link for the PDF is gone, but Matt's mirror of it is still active.
posted by hangashore at 6:27 PM on November 26, 2007

You know only fanatics read Meta though. That's going to make your results pretty boringly similar, I'd imagine.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:27 PM on November 26, 2007

I can sidebar this if it's not going to make you broke with a lot of people taking it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:28 PM on November 26, 2007

jessamyn: $20 pays for 1000 responses. I can close the survey if I see it starting to get that many.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:30 PM on November 26, 2007

Did it too!
posted by carmina at 6:38 PM on November 26, 2007

that was fun.
posted by shoepal at 6:40 PM on November 26, 2007

Done, yup.
posted by rtha at 6:45 PM on November 26, 2007

Just curious if anyone has said that MeFi has gotten better over the years.
posted by dobbs at 6:45 PM on November 26, 2007

I did.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:46 PM on November 26, 2007

Isn't that the right answer?
posted by carmina at 6:47 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.

And, dobbs, not me.
posted by konolia at 6:47 PM on November 26, 2007

Done! The 1-4 question threw me off...in order? Of what? 1 meaning what? 4 meaning what? Having the unfortunate experience of working in market research recently, it gave me flashbacks to "On a scale of one to ten, with ten being you liked it very much, and one being that you didn't like it at all, what number between one and ten would you give ____ ?" *shivers*
posted by SassHat at 6:47 PM on November 26, 2007

dobbs: I'll post the results later. I don't want to mess them up more than they're already messed up.
posted by lovetragedy at 6:48 PM on November 26, 2007

I would like to meet the young man with the lightbulb, please.
posted by JanetLand at 6:51 PM on November 26, 2007

You can't have him. He's MINE.
posted by Biblio at 6:59 PM on November 26, 2007

Sorry, my answers are all completely backwards.

(You'd get higher quality results if you charged $5 a pop.)

Actually, it was fun. Please post the results.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:04 PM on November 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Done.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:10 PM on November 26, 2007

Thanks for separating out the blue and the green; I hang out at AskMe almost exclusively. AsMeFiers represent!
posted by Riverine at 7:14 PM on November 26, 2007

Sorted.

Oh, and agreed. Please post the results if/when you can.
posted by Sk4n at 7:14 PM on November 26, 2007

Done and Done. this sounds intriguing :D
posted by Phire at 7:16 PM on November 26, 2007

Can we all get "I Took The Metafilter Survey" T-shirts?
posted by amyms at 7:19 PM on November 26, 2007

Done! And like many others, I hope you post the results.
posted by leesh at 7:20 PM on November 26, 2007

DONE!
posted by nitsuj at 7:21 PM on November 26, 2007

I said I hate you all and that this place is going to hell in a handbasket.

Someone has to, and eyeballkid has been falling down on the job lately.
posted by yhbc at 7:22 PM on November 26, 2007

Dobbs: In the old days I could only lurk. Now I can be a participant. That means Metafilter has definitely gotten better for me. I guess it's not my place to say whether you should feel the same or not. (One has hopes, of course.)
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:27 PM on November 26, 2007

I did it! This looks really interested, and I would be eager to hear about some of the results of this when you have everything together.
posted by Quartermass at 7:27 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 7:28 PM on November 26, 2007

Of course, my first post to this place in ages and I jump the gun before spell checking... duh.
posted by Quartermass at 7:28 PM on November 26, 2007

AsMeFiers represent!

oh, god! they're mutating over there!
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:30 PM on November 26, 2007

done. good luck with your project!
posted by DarlingBri at 7:30 PM on November 26, 2007

amyms: I wish I could send everyone who took this a t-shirt and a cookie. Or a t-shirt with a cookie on it.
posted by lovetragedy at 7:30 PM on November 26, 2007

cool, done.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:32 PM on November 26, 2007

How about a t-shirt cookie?
posted by delmoi at 7:33 PM on November 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Done!
posted by dismas at 7:37 PM on November 26, 2007

a t-shirt with a cookie on it.
Here you go!
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:38 PM on November 26, 2007

Worth the time for the clip-art at the end.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:39 PM on November 26, 2007

I tried to complete it -- but I soon realized I am a simple askmefi lurker, and my information would skew the results as there was no N/A answer, and I never look at the crap on the front page. {I'd hit it}
posted by SirStan at 7:41 PM on November 26, 2007

All set. (Haven't used SurveyMonkey in years!)
posted by mykescipark at 7:41 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.
posted by Gary at 7:46 PM on November 26, 2007

I did it, and felt really special that I was in the first 100 until you had to go and burst my bubble.
posted by lilac girl at 7:50 PM on November 26, 2007

done
posted by pupdog at 7:55 PM on November 26, 2007

Was that the first use of "I'd hit it" since The Great Sexism Kerfuffle and Flameoutfest of 2007? Or just a flag tester?
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:02 PM on November 26, 2007

Done!
posted by Kangaroo at 8:05 PM on November 26, 2007

Done!
posted by winna at 8:09 PM on November 26, 2007

SirStan is a friend of mine who is mad that he couldn't fix my router earlier today, making some sort of point I figure.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:16 PM on November 26, 2007

Again, thanks for all the responses! Over 300 so far!! I'm going to head out since I have dinner and other school obligations, but I'll leave this open for at least 24 hours (8:00 PM PST), or until I get 1000 responses, whichever is first. I'll post the results or a link to the results here.
posted by lovetragedy at 8:19 PM on November 26, 2007

One more
posted by goshling at 8:32 PM on November 26, 2007

done.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:32 PM on November 26, 2007

Done! Do I get a cookie?

I went back to the site to see if I really reversed the 1-7 answers, but it would only give me the finished page. So, you probably already got one :)
posted by Chuckles at 8:32 PM on November 26, 2007

Did it - I'm a sucker for surveys. =)
posted by Melinika at 8:37 PM on November 26, 2007

...and that's 100.
posted by JParker at 8:38 PM on November 26, 2007

I have eaten
the cookie
that was in
the hard drive

and which
you were probably
saving
for analysis.

Forgive me
it was delicious
so sweet
and so chewy.
posted by maudlin at 8:43 PM on November 26, 2007 [10 favorites]

Done!
posted by samh23 at 8:47 PM on November 26, 2007

Done x 2.
posted by Quietgal at 8:52 PM on November 26, 2007

Done and done.
posted by dw at 9:00 PM on November 26, 2007

Doned it.
(If any of the averages are anywhere near my answers, you people are LYING!)
posted by wendell at 9:06 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.
posted by robcorr at 9:10 PM on November 26, 2007

Done!
posted by suedehead at 9:10 PM on November 26, 2007

Done!
posted by geekyguy at 9:12 PM on November 26, 2007

Stick a fork in me...
posted by birdsquared at 9:14 PM on November 26, 2007

Done. Can I have an "I voted" sticker? I really like "I Voted" stickers.
posted by fieldtrip at 9:15 PM on November 26, 2007

Done. Good luck, lovetragedy! What a neat program...

(maudlin, nice! ;)
posted by onoclea at 9:17 PM on November 26, 2007

done
posted by maryh at 9:31 PM on November 26, 2007

Ate it for breakfast.
posted by theantikitty at 9:38 PM on November 26, 2007

Done.
posted by dreamsign at 9:45 PM on November 26, 2007

Done. Glad to help, I once had to run a survey and learnt that it's really quite amazing how hard it is to get survey responders.
posted by Xere at 10:02 PM on November 26, 2007

I'd 'id it

is what I think you mean, SirStan?
posted by wemayfreeze at 10:07 PM on November 26, 2007

Done!
posted by bluishorange at 10:07 PM on November 26, 2007

Quartermass! Too good for us now, I presume.
posted by Rumple at 10:14 PM on November 26, 2007

Since I can't give blood, I don't expect a cookie.

Done!
posted by metasav at 10:33 PM on November 26, 2007

A dog ate mine.

I probably shouldn't have printed it on bacon.
posted by loquacious at 10:34 PM on November 26, 2007

Quartermass!

maudlin, I liked your William Carlos William riff so much I accidentally deleted it when I was trying to favorite it. But then I undeleted it, and then I favorited it. So it's a very special sort of favorite.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:36 PM on November 26, 2007

Done. I'd kinda like to read your final paper!
posted by mewithoutyou at 10:41 PM on November 26, 2007

Hey everyone: 433 responses on one and 416 on the other is 848 towards my 1000 responses per month.* I don't think I can combine them, so I'm going to have to close this soon. Everyone's been amazing and I can't think you enough.

*Explanation: You can only have 10 questions and 100 responses per survey on the free version, so I split it up into 2 surveys to get all my questions in. With the paid one, you get 1000 responses TOTAL per month, no matter how many surveys you have. So trying to save money is actually costing me some responses, but this is still a very overwhelming overall response. You guys rule.
posted by lovetragedy at 10:45 PM on November 26, 2007

done.
posted by rooftop secrets at 11:28 PM on November 26, 2007

done. looks like an interesting course you're taking.
posted by LooseFilter at 11:52 PM on November 26, 2007

Done. Can I be lucky last, then?
posted by dg at 11:52 PM on November 26, 2007

no, that's my role.
posted by b33j at 11:54 PM on November 26, 2007

It's midnight by my clock, so I'm closing the survey and going to bed. Thanks a ton for all your responses, and I'll figure out how to post the results tomorrow, when I'm more awake.
posted by lovetragedy at 12:00 AM on November 27, 2007

D'oh!
posted by dg at 12:14 AM on November 27, 2007

lovetragedy said: I'm closing the survey and going to bed.

Yay! I was there before the deadline! I am somebody! Finally!
posted by amyms at 12:22 AM on November 27, 2007

Sadly, the timescale that this was open has almost certainly given the results a bias. I was on the site all day yesterday, and logged on at 8:30am GMT tuesday 27th november, but have just seen it. Now it's done & dusted.

Not whining, just sayin' - loads of UK mefites coulda taken part, but looks like they didn't.

Ne'er mind, eh.
posted by dash_slot- at 12:55 AM on November 27, 2007

Dammit it's closed! I WANT MY VOICE TO BE HEARD!!
posted by chillmost at 1:15 AM on November 27, 2007

Same as dash_slot, I slept through it.
posted by Elmore at 1:22 AM on November 27, 2007

Rats. What was it? Maybe there is a valid differential between people in different time zones. 100 is a very small number out of 60000 supposed members even if you slashed it by half 100 out of 30000 is but a mote. signed: disgruntled.
posted by adamvasco at 4:02 AM on November 27, 2007

Well, I would have completed your surveys, but they're already closed.
posted by triv at 4:39 AM on November 27, 2007

lovetragedy, pls post results or pm them to innarested posters, love, stpdsxyflndrs
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 5:48 AM on November 27, 2007

I feel so left out :'(
posted by jmd82 at 6:00 AM on November 27, 2007

I didn't get to participate, so just assume I marked everything a 4.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:14 AM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Dammit. Well, for what it's worth, I don't know how I would have answered the "getting better" question a couple of weeks ago, but after all the kerfuffle my answer now is definitely "yes."
posted by languagehat at 7:05 AM on November 27, 2007

Hardly too good for this place; rather, this place is too good for me! I am happy in my role as a wise old lurker.
posted by Quartermass at 8:28 AM on November 27, 2007

.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:12 AM on November 27, 2007

Results:
Part One

Part Two

Sorry to everyone who wanted to take this but couldn't - it turned out way bigger than I had expected. For the purposes of this paper, we were only expected to get like 20 responses, and I got well over 400, so, again, THANKS!!
posted by lovetragedy at 9:14 AM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

The reasons for deletion stuff is just plain money. Ditto the askme satisfaction feedback.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:23 AM on November 27, 2007

"The mods were jealous"
"It was probably a derail. I'm good at those."
""This sucks", on a post that did, honestly, suck."
"People are bitches"
"cortex fucking around"

Heh. This is so metafilter. Pop quiz: which one of those was mine?
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:31 AM on November 27, 2007

"jessamyn said i was involved in chimp play"

OMG.

Cortex, one of yours is mine.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:32 AM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

You gotta love those nice, normal distributions on part 1. This is really great, thanks for posting the results so quickly!
posted by Quartermass at 10:02 AM on November 27, 2007

I am mildly surprised that only two of the "reasons for deletion" specifically referenced intoxication.

Yes, one was mine.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:22 AM on November 27, 2007

If I ever had a comment deleted, I was too drunk to notice.
posted by maryh at 10:24 AM on November 27, 2007

Very interesting. I hope you get a good grade, lovetragedy!
posted by rtha at 10:51 AM on November 27, 2007

Now that I've read both survey I parts, I would have answered part 1 including AskMeFi. When people say "MetaFilter," I think of the blue, grey, and green as one contiguous site and not the blue by itself.
posted by jmd82 at 11:57 AM on November 27, 2007

"jessamyn said i was involved in chimp play"

OMG.

That was me. Ooo-oooo!
posted by iconomy at 12:05 PM on November 27, 2007

I think it's semi-interesting that the quality of both FPPs and comments got 5 out of 7 but the overall quality of MeFi is a resounding 6 out of 7. What explains the difference?
posted by patricio at 12:47 PM on November 27, 2007

What explains the difference?

The warm fuzzy feeling we get when comparing survey results.
posted by rmless at 1:29 PM on November 27, 2007

What explains the difference?

Perhaps the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and that there is more to the entire experience than just posts & comments?

Either that, or it's just another example of cognitive dissonance.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:43 PM on November 27, 2007

We <4 our modz. xoxoxoxo
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:01 PM on November 27, 2007

What explains the difference?

MeTa.
posted by ersatz at 3:31 PM on November 27, 2007

the whole is more than the sum of its parts

That was my thinking exactly. Better than most link blogs + better than most commentary + better than most Ask sites + better than most community sites + better than most music + better than most a couple other things = Better than any other single place on the Web.
posted by wendell at 3:34 PM on November 27, 2007

On average, how often do you visit Metafilter?

Several times per day 83.3%
So you got the majority of your answers from addicts. The normies among us are not well-represented in these results.

Also, from the deletion reasons feedback: are you kidding? i'm quonsar!
posted by carsonb at 3:50 PM on November 27, 2007

So you got the majority of your answers from addicts. The normies among us are not well-represented in these results.

This is ok for my purposes. It would be interesting to see the survey run again longer (and with more and better questions) to catch the less-active users.
posted by lovetragedy at 4:26 PM on November 27, 2007

Aww, I missed it and I adore quizzes. *snivels*
posted by deborah at 10:46 PM on November 27, 2007

Such a self-selecting sample indeed.
posted by anthill at 11:12 PM on November 27, 2007

What explains the difference?

Well, I guess it's the content outside the blue and the green that contributes to the overall satisfaction level for MeFi as a whole - like MetaTalk, the music and podcasts, and the weekly pornographic MeMail from Matt.





You guys do get that, right?
posted by DarlingBri at 1:43 AM on November 28, 2007

Get it? I ghostwrite it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:50 AM on November 28, 2007

Done, good luck with your project.
posted by andendau at 1:52 PM on November 28, 2007

Mod note: Get it? I ghostwrite it.

Then who the hell is that guy in the chicken suit?



uh oh
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:02 PM on November 28, 2007

Hee. It was kind of astonishing how many people read AskMe. I had been under the impression that at least a third of the people on MeTa despise AskMe as the festering ground for drama and avoid it at all costs.
posted by Phire at 6:23 AM on November 29, 2007

Everyone knows the real drama is on the blue.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:56 AM on November 29, 2007

nonono

We of MeTa dislike AskMe because it's all drama that is about people we can't mock properly. Proper drama involves a flameout and insults all around.

And popcorn.
posted by Arturus at 7:54 PM on November 30, 2007