Chairman MaOwie

January 29, 2002 1:43 PM

Metafilter -- dictatorship, monarchy, autonomous collective or religion? [more]
posted by feelinglistless to MetaFilter-Related at 1:43 PM (39 comments total)

All kinds of Metalk threads have demonstrated how Mefi has rapidly become a metaphore for the real world with all of it's strengths and weaknesses. Take the moment not too long ago when we all got our backs up because so-called 'cam girls' started posting here. We all grumbled at how these people weren't following the rules set out by our community. But surely like the free-thinkers of the 60s all they were doing was excercising a right to free expression? And all we did was shout them down because they faled to fulfill the rules of our society? I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed that certain moments in Mefi's history have felt like moments in the real world.
posted by feelinglistless at 1:55 PM on January 29, 2002

There were cam girls here, and I missed them?

That's exactly like the real world. I miss all the good stuff.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:02 PM on January 29, 2002

I don't mean to be snarky, or maybe I do, but could it be the fact that MeFi is in the real world? And that all of the members live in the real world?

As for the community standards and your original question, this definitley is a monarchy that leads by example. There is a certain standard set forth by either the king or the upper echelon of regular users. It seems like a pretty fair standard and one conducive to conversation.
posted by eyeballkid at 2:04 PM on January 29, 2002

But does MeFi exist in the real world. Does anything on the internet. Until 'feelinglistless' can comfortably sit opposite someone on the train -- ask them their name and have the response 'eyeballkid' I think it will forever be divorced. There isn't any reason (other than repetition) that we shouldn't be using our real names here, so why don't we?

If Mefi is a monarchy, who is in line when the king abdicates?
posted by feelinglistless at 2:13 PM on January 29, 2002

If Mefi is a monarchy, who is in line when the king abdicates?

Mob rule! feelinglistless, if you ever spot me on a train, you may ask me my name, and I will respond with : J. Edwards.

I think we face similar issues, but there are differences, which may be mostly the effect of a lenient central authority and anonymity.
posted by j.edwards at 2:20 PM on January 29, 2002

For me it's a religion. I pray at the altar of MeFi several times daily.
posted by ColdChef at 2:37 PM on January 29, 2002

dictatorship, monarchy, autonomous collective or religion?

Surely we can do better than that old menu of choices. After-school AV club! Incipient hive-mind! Failing fast-food franchise! Microstate! Campfire Girls chapter! Human chain!
posted by rodii at 2:42 PM on January 29, 2002

what if say, 'Stuart' can comfortably sit opposite someone on the train -- ask them their name and have the response 'Matt'?

handles shouldn't be taken so seriously. And, what is the difference, really, of knowing someone as feelinglistless or stuart? knowing something of the person and their habits is more important than a proper name. A rose by any other nickname?

So if someone forgets your name
They're forgetting something intangible
That has nothing to do with you
So it's stupid to feel bad--dan bern, One Dance

as far as the real world goes, are you saying that you don't talk to people in real life like you do--and about the same things--in real life? I do. Drives my wife nuts. Metafilter offers a chance to interact in tiny snippets with thousands of other sentient beings [mostly anyways]. All of that adds up to...lets say...chatting with someone for a few minutes while waiting in line for coffee someplace?

Communication here is real life, its just on a different time scale, and the people who forget that are the ones who come across as being assholes.

i'm sidetracked i think.

i say, 'macrotheistic gestalt organism'.
posted by th3ph17 at 2:45 PM on January 29, 2002

MeFi is not the real world. In the real world I am a productive member of society. I have a positive effect on those around me, I am articulate, and I have interesting things to say.

And then I log on...

Mefi is not the real world because the majority of people that stumble on it are not your average websurfer. When was the last time you made a comment in your circle of friends and someone went "actualy remlap, we talked about this already on September 4th, I'm going to take you to the 'specieal discipline room' so we can talk about this to make sure it doesn't happen again".

Me? using anonymity to escape from my real world woes? never.
posted by remlapm at 2:45 PM on January 29, 2002

Brain trust! Think tank! Group grope!
posted by Lynsey at 2:55 PM on January 29, 2002

I once paid 180$ to spend 15 minutes in a special discipline room.
I didn't like the ball gag, but the gimp was friendly.
posted by dong_resin at 2:56 PM on January 29, 2002

“We all grumbled at how these people weren't following the rules set out by our community.”

Who’s “we” pale face?
posted by raaka at 3:22 PM on January 29, 2002

I always assumed that we had a benevolent despot. Seems there has been no argument that Matt’s word is law. True, he remains quiet for the most part, but when he speaks, everyone listens (for fear of the ruler or respect of a leader). His army has always been his ability to pull the plug on MeFi; his divine authority comes from creation, literally, of MeFi. I think that any other terminology, i.e. Monarchy, only seeks to take the edge off of the power that can be wielded, if necessary.
posted by BlueTrain at 3:32 PM on January 29, 2002

Actually remlap, we talked about this already on September 4th. I'm going to take you to the 'special discipline room' so we can talk about this to make sure it doesn't happen again.
posted by rodii at 3:33 PM on January 29, 2002

"...his divine authority comes from creation, literally, of MeFi"

Matt. Is. God.

Haugheytheism?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:02 PM on January 29, 2002

Easy with the god stuff. We're all just a hair's breath away from the group kool-aid.
posted by dong_resin at 4:08 PM on January 29, 2002

Chronic democratic anarchy, lightly seasoned with liberal snarkiness and quirky deviations galore. With Matt as an example, but just because he's someone everyone genuinely likes and admires. It's actually close to a perfect political system, IMO.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:10 PM on January 29, 2002

No way IMO....what we have is a new form of feudalism -"....diagrammatic feudalism resembles a pyramid, with the lowest vassals at its base and the lines of authority flowing up to the peak of the structure " - under a regime of benevolent despotism - "...the 18th-century doctrine of the Enlightenment influenced such absolutist rulers as Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine II of Russia, and Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II toward a rule of beneficent intent known as benevolent despotism...."
posted by Voyageman at 4:37 PM on January 29, 2002

mathowie = Philosopher-King.
posted by kindall at 4:40 PM on January 29, 2002

It's an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We all take turns acting as a sort of executive officer for the week.


posted by Hildago at 4:46 PM on January 29, 2002

DENNIS: Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

ARTHUR: Be quiet!

DENNIS: Well you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!

ARTHUR: Shut up!

DENNIS: I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an empereror just because some moistened bink had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!

ARTHUR: Shut up! Will you shut up!

DENNIS: Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

ARTHUR: Shut up!

DENNIS: Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system! --- HELP! HELP! I'm being repressed!


posted by Kafkaesque at 4:50 PM on January 29, 2002

LOL Hildago

too funny
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:50 PM on January 29, 2002

handles shouldn't be taken so seriously.

Nor should names.

Two new nominees for MeFi taglines (or t-shirt logos):

Brain trust! Think tank! Group grope!

We're all just a hair's breath away from the group kool-aid.
posted by rushmc at 5:24 PM on January 29, 2002

Until 'feelinglistless' can comfortably sit opposite someone on the train -- ask them their name and have the response 'eyeballkid' I think it will forever be divorced.

I think -- and this is a perfectly good thing -- you live in a different "real world" than I do. In my own case, I'm referred to by my handle by all sorts of folks, and have often enough introduced myself with it as well even with people I do not know online. I've gone on dates (well, okay, fine, the one time) knowing someone only by handle.

Some people seem to be more comfortable with a generous overlap between their online and offline presences, and some prefer a more strict compartmentalization. I'm beginning to notice it correlates very roughly along technology-generational lines: pre-web, pre-IRC community people (for example: dialup BBS folk, a cross-section of early-to-mid Usenetters) tend towards being more comfortable blending their online identities with the rest of their lives. "Newer" folks don't seem to do that with quite the same frequency.

But then, my sample is small enough for this intuition to be pretty much meaningless.
posted by majick at 5:43 PM on January 29, 2002

Metafilter -- dictatorship, monarchy, autonomous collective or religion?

How about "electrconic day-care center for maladjusted cranks/genuises?"
posted by jonmc at 5:46 PM on January 29, 2002

majick, you may officially double your sample size. I've used variations on the "Crash Davis" name for so long that I'm just as likely to answer to "Crash" as I am to my real name. I have friends who've known me for seven or eight years who still only call me Crash.

It's the dialup BBS syndrome, for sure. Those were the good old days. Why, I'd fire up my IBM XT, dial my super-speedy 2400 baud modem...I had an onion tied to my belt, of course, as was the style at the time...
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:52 PM on January 29, 2002

...using our real names here, so why don't we?

um.... I'm exactly like this in real life except that I type more poorly in real life. in real life, there are many people named jessamyn and in MeFi, only one. And I'm pre-web, for whatever that will do for your sample, majick.
posted by jessamyn at 6:02 PM on January 29, 2002

remlapm : 'special discipline room'

new MeTa tagline?
posted by skwm at 6:08 PM on January 29, 2002

Is there really a Matt?

I am not sure I believe in him....
posted by bunnyfire at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2002

That's okay. Matt believes in you.
posted by dong_resin at 6:42 PM on January 29, 2002

Tupperware Party? Petri Dish? Adult Day Care Center? Actually, I know a woman who had, along the Tupperware lines, a bra party--custom fitting and all that--and judging from recent posts, Bra Party wouldn't be so far afield.
posted by y2karl at 7:08 PM on January 29, 2002

<voice style="zombie:hungry;">braaai-iins</voice>
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:10 PM on January 29, 2002

How about "electrconic day-care center for maladjusted cranks/genuises?"

Fine, so long as the geniuses leave me alone, and get off my goddamned lawn.
posted by Hildago at 8:24 PM on January 29, 2002

Hidalgo, for a small fee, I'd be happy to mow it for you...
posted by jonmc at 8:50 PM on January 29, 2002

Matt exists whether you believe in him or not, bunnyfire.
posted by kindall at 10:36 PM on January 29, 2002

it's merely a web site. the sooner everyone grasps that, the better!
posted by mcsweetie at 10:40 PM on January 29, 2002

jessamyn -- there's always one...
posted by feelinglistless at 11:29 PM on January 29, 2002

Mcsweetie hath blasphemed! Banish the swine infidel to hell!
posted by dong_resin at 4:43 AM on January 30, 2002

Matt: passive drug pusher
Us: Crack addled OCD, bipolar lugnuts


posted by Dagobert at 8:13 AM on January 30, 2002