Cut from the thread! April 28, 2009 5:00 AM Subscribe
Re: this post -- I noticed that a couple of comments were removed (including mine), with no commentary. Isn't it usually customary to note what was removed and why?
I'm also curious as to why these, in particular, were removed. Yes, they were a little snarky -- but also kind of useful? "Get over yourself and stop self-justifying inappropriate behavior" (not mine) actually seems like a reasonable response, and more direct than a lot of the answers that weren't pruned. It seems like they were cut because they weren't really supportive (no "good for you for asking this question" tags), which seems a little strange.
Maybe I'm off base?
I'm also curious as to why these, in particular, were removed. Yes, they were a little snarky -- but also kind of useful? "Get over yourself and stop self-justifying inappropriate behavior" (not mine) actually seems like a reasonable response, and more direct than a lot of the answers that weren't pruned. It seems like they were cut because they weren't really supportive (no "good for you for asking this question" tags), which seems a little strange.
Maybe I'm off base?
Just another senseless homicide on Snowflake Street.
posted by The Straightener at 5:05 AM on April 28, 2009 [41 favorites]
posted by The Straightener at 5:05 AM on April 28, 2009 [41 favorites]
Isn't it usually customary to note what was removed and why?
No. Usually an email to the mods is customary for answers to your other questions.
posted by chillmost at 5:07 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
No. Usually an email to the mods is customary for answers to your other questions.
posted by chillmost at 5:07 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
"Get over yourself and stop self-justifying inappropriate behavior" (not mine) actually seems like a reasonable response
Things are not what they seem.
posted by atrazine at 5:18 AM on April 28, 2009
Things are not what they seem.
posted by atrazine at 5:18 AM on April 28, 2009
Mods, feel free to delete this question. Clearly asking about etiquette / policy is an inappropriate use of metatalk?
posted by puckish at 5:21 AM on April 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by puckish at 5:21 AM on April 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
Maybe I'm off base?
BASE!!
How low can you go?
Death row?
Wha-what a brotha know!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:24 AM on April 28, 2009 [14 favorites]
BASE!!
How low can you go?
Death row?
Wha-what a brotha know!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:24 AM on April 28, 2009 [14 favorites]
More or less the same question was asked in Metatalk six days ago.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 5:29 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Busy Old Fool at 5:29 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Isn't it usually customary to note what was removed and why?
As far as I know the mods only do this when they want to discourage similar answers from being posted again. If you have questions about why specific things were deleted you could always ask them via the contact form.
Yes, they were a little snarky -- but also kind of useful? "Get over yourself and stop self-justifying inappropriate behavior" (not mine) actually seems like a reasonable response, and more direct than a lot of the answers that weren't pruned.
The moderation on AskMe is pretty heavy, and I think for good reason. If an answer is nine words long, doesn't answer the actual question, and is snarky, then there's a good chance it will be deleted. If you write a longer comment explaining exactly what you mean and give the OP actual advice to answer the question it has a better chance of staying up.
Mods, feel free to delete this question. Clearly asking about etiquette / policy is an inappropriate use of metatalk?
Welcome toThunderdome MetaTalk.
posted by burnmp3s at 5:29 AM on April 28, 2009
As far as I know the mods only do this when they want to discourage similar answers from being posted again. If you have questions about why specific things were deleted you could always ask them via the contact form.
Yes, they were a little snarky -- but also kind of useful? "Get over yourself and stop self-justifying inappropriate behavior" (not mine) actually seems like a reasonable response, and more direct than a lot of the answers that weren't pruned.
The moderation on AskMe is pretty heavy, and I think for good reason. If an answer is nine words long, doesn't answer the actual question, and is snarky, then there's a good chance it will be deleted. If you write a longer comment explaining exactly what you mean and give the OP actual advice to answer the question it has a better chance of staying up.
Mods, feel free to delete this question. Clearly asking about etiquette / policy is an inappropriate use of metatalk?
Welcome to
posted by burnmp3s at 5:29 AM on April 28, 2009
When I was a kid, I mishead "death row" as "Jethro." Like it was some sly reference to the Beverly Hillbillies or something.
posted by Dr-Baa at 5:31 AM on April 28, 2009 [5 favorites]
posted by Dr-Baa at 5:31 AM on April 28, 2009 [5 favorites]
Isn't it usually customary to note what was removed and why?
Like burnmp3s said, we only do that if there is a trend or if people keep popping into Ask MeFi to make the same joke (don't laugh, it happens with amazing frequency). For one-off jokes or off-topic comments, we just remove them and rarely say something in the thread about it.
We don't email people or leave a marker or make a big deal out of every little deletion because it's a time consuming process to explain every angle of a deletion with a separate person dozens of times a day -- our hope is if a new user notices the removed comment, they might think twice before making a wisecrack or going off in a wild direction the next time they're answering a question in Ask MeFi.
I hope that clears stuff up for you, if there's anything else you want to know about, feel free to ask.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:34 AM on April 28, 2009
Like burnmp3s said, we only do that if there is a trend or if people keep popping into Ask MeFi to make the same joke (don't laugh, it happens with amazing frequency). For one-off jokes or off-topic comments, we just remove them and rarely say something in the thread about it.
We don't email people or leave a marker or make a big deal out of every little deletion because it's a time consuming process to explain every angle of a deletion with a separate person dozens of times a day -- our hope is if a new user notices the removed comment, they might think twice before making a wisecrack or going off in a wild direction the next time they're answering a question in Ask MeFi.
I hope that clears stuff up for you, if there's anything else you want to know about, feel free to ask.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:34 AM on April 28, 2009
So this is why we assembled all those pitchforks in the other thread—I knew they'd come in handy!
posted by languagehat at 5:40 AM on April 28, 2009
posted by languagehat at 5:40 AM on April 28, 2009
When I was a kid, I mishead "death row" as "Jethro." Like it was some sly reference to the Beverly Hillbillies or something.
My cousin mis-heard "I don't want to be called yo' n***a' as 'I don't want to be called Mal Meninga'.
posted by Infinite Jest at 5:41 AM on April 28, 2009
My cousin mis-heard "I don't want to be called yo' n***a' as 'I don't want to be called Mal Meninga'.
posted by Infinite Jest at 5:41 AM on April 28, 2009
Hey, I misheard "Fuck tha police" as "Law enforcement officers have a darned tough job, by golly, and they sure as heck deserve our support".
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:50 AM on April 28, 2009 [13 favorites]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:50 AM on April 28, 2009 [13 favorites]
"911 is a joke" as "7-11 is broke?"
posted by double block and bleed at 5:59 AM on April 28, 2009
posted by double block and bleed at 5:59 AM on April 28, 2009
It's weird how common this experience is, I guess it's from being a white suburban rap fan in the early 90s when the urban dialect was totally unknown in pop culture.
For instance I misunderstood the Ice-Cube song Predator really bad because I THOUGHT he was saying something like:
Jerry Heller is a devil shit-packer
Coming with a crazy pitch
And the statue of Liberty ain't nothing but a lazy bitch
Don't wanna give up the crack to the black
But you call it racial, if we go and break the ho'
But eat 'em up yum and you're flawed
Mutha-fuck Billboard and the editor
Here comes the Predator
but he was REALLY saying:
"What I wanted to show is that everybody
who comes from the gangster life
they want what that man in the suburbs wants.
Nice family. Nice house. Nice cars. Bills paid.
Kids in school. Food on the table. Nothing more.
Nobody trying to be Scarface out here.
Everybody just wants to be comfortable."
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:02 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
For instance I misunderstood the Ice-Cube song Predator really bad because I THOUGHT he was saying something like:
Jerry Heller is a devil shit-packer
Coming with a crazy pitch
And the statue of Liberty ain't nothing but a lazy bitch
Don't wanna give up the crack to the black
But you call it racial, if we go and break the ho'
But eat 'em up yum and you're flawed
Mutha-fuck Billboard and the editor
Here comes the Predator
but he was REALLY saying:
"What I wanted to show is that everybody
who comes from the gangster life
they want what that man in the suburbs wants.
Nice family. Nice house. Nice cars. Bills paid.
Kids in school. Food on the table. Nothing more.
Nobody trying to be Scarface out here.
Everybody just wants to be comfortable."
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:02 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Mods, feel free to delete this question. Clearly asking about etiquette / policy is an inappropriate use of metatalk?
Do you read metatalk? Or just when you want to complain? Because your question is so stereotypical, I'm not sure how you couldn't see these responses coming. I could have written the mod's answers from memory.
posted by smackfu at 6:19 AM on April 28, 2009
Do you read metatalk? Or just when you want to complain? Because your question is so stereotypical, I'm not sure how you couldn't see these responses coming. I could have written the mod's answers from memory.
posted by smackfu at 6:19 AM on April 28, 2009
Next up on ESPN2HD after the International Snowboarding Championships, sate tuned for X-TREEM MODERATION!™ Or tune to the Discovery Channel® for World's Most Extreme Moderators!©
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:39 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:39 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
LOL Mishead.
Also, I have upgraded my pitchfork to a glaive-guisarme! Haha! It's stabbity as fuck!
posted by Mister_A at 6:46 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
Also, I have upgraded my pitchfork to a glaive-guisarme! Haha! It's stabbity as fuck!
posted by Mister_A at 6:46 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
By the way Puckish, speaking of censorship. You may have noticed in some of the obituary threads that there is no comment and just a '.' That's because the mods have censored the really vile and tasteless comments some people make about the dead individual. They do it to flag the really sick and depraved people who comment. Just so you know for future reference, that's what the '.' means.
posted by Elmore at 6:47 AM on April 28, 2009 [14 favorites]
posted by Elmore at 6:47 AM on April 28, 2009 [14 favorites]
I always thought it was "death row, water buffalo" I was apparently wrong.
And yeah, the "get over yourself" sort of comment is one that we see a lot, usually adds nothing to the question and, in all cases can be replaced by something that basically isn't saying "OP you are a bad person and you should feel bad for asking this question" While it's not a big kumbaya-fest in AskMe, we'd like people to feel okay asking somewhat touchy questions and part of our pact with you, the asker, is that if people give crappy spleen-venting answers, we'll axe them. Not saying yours was one of these, just saying that's the general feel.
So, when we remove comments, usually we'll only email if we think
- you're new and might not know what happened
- you're new and might not know what sort of AskMe guideline you may have trampled over
- there's a recurring problem and we feel that there needs to be a little extra "no please stop" added to the normal comment deletion.
You are, as mathowie says, always welcome to ask us.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:49 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
And yeah, the "get over yourself" sort of comment is one that we see a lot, usually adds nothing to the question and, in all cases can be replaced by something that basically isn't saying "OP you are a bad person and you should feel bad for asking this question" While it's not a big kumbaya-fest in AskMe, we'd like people to feel okay asking somewhat touchy questions and part of our pact with you, the asker, is that if people give crappy spleen-venting answers, we'll axe them. Not saying yours was one of these, just saying that's the general feel.
So, when we remove comments, usually we'll only email if we think
- you're new and might not know what happened
- you're new and might not know what sort of AskMe guideline you may have trampled over
- there's a recurring problem and we feel that there needs to be a little extra "no please stop" added to the normal comment deletion.
You are, as mathowie says, always welcome to ask us.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:49 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
You know, actually, I think there is a valid issue here regarding moderation. People see the little mod notes that say [you kids quit your grabassing, hear?] so they know there is active moderation, but then their snowflakey comment gets deleted and there is no mod notice about it, so they feel they're being silenced all their life.
Clearly, for the reasons that have been stated one zillion times in one zillion similar threads, there shouldn't be deletion notices for every deletion (public OR private), there shouldn't be NO deletion notices, and there shouldn't be NO deletions (ha!). So this will happen from time to time. People will be confused.
And so, from time to time, the confused will come to MetaTalk, not perhaps realizing that the snark deferred on the blue and the green thrives in the gray, and so we throw rocks at them, and point and laugh, and they are all, "what the fuck?"
I guess I am just saying I can see where that sequence of events might not be the best experience for someone.
posted by dirtdirt at 6:51 AM on April 28, 2009 [13 favorites]
Clearly, for the reasons that have been stated one zillion times in one zillion similar threads, there shouldn't be deletion notices for every deletion (public OR private), there shouldn't be NO deletion notices, and there shouldn't be NO deletions (ha!). So this will happen from time to time. People will be confused.
And so, from time to time, the confused will come to MetaTalk, not perhaps realizing that the snark deferred on the blue and the green thrives in the gray, and so we throw rocks at them, and point and laugh, and they are all, "what the fuck?"
I guess I am just saying I can see where that sequence of events might not be the best experience for someone.
posted by dirtdirt at 6:51 AM on April 28, 2009 [13 favorites]
Your mom cooks farm animals.
posted by Balonious Assault at 7:07 AM on April 28, 2009
posted by Balonious Assault at 7:07 AM on April 28, 2009
People see the little mod notes that say [you kids quit your grabassing, hear?]
They're more like "quit being jackasses and stick to answering the damn question, like most of you know you should be doing"
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:09 AM on April 28, 2009
They're more like "quit being jackasses and stick to answering the damn question, like most of you know you should be doing"
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:09 AM on April 28, 2009
.
posted by Sailormom at 7:09 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by Sailormom at 7:09 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
I guess I am just saying I can see where that sequence of events might not be the best experience for someone.
Truth, and a little less rock-throwing around here would be nice. If someone really wants to put themselves into a me-vs-the-world position, it's not like they won't get there fairly quickly under their own crazy aggro steam, and I'd personally very much like it if there was a little less prompting from the peanut gallery on that front.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:21 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Truth, and a little less rock-throwing around here would be nice. If someone really wants to put themselves into a me-vs-the-world position, it's not like they won't get there fairly quickly under their own crazy aggro steam, and I'd personally very much like it if there was a little less prompting from the peanut gallery on that front.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:21 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Speaking as someone who flagged offending comments in those threads, they were absolutely pointless, unhelpful and mean. The OP was asking for help with his temper, something he recognized as a problem, and I believe your response was "Keep losing your temper until she dumps you! Problem solved!" or something to that effect. I'm surprised at your surprise about them being deleted.
In keeping with the ethos of Metafilter, I FLAG[ged] IT AND MOVE[d] ON, but you wanted to know why they were removed; it was because of me and folks like me. I know you were just being eponysterical and all, but come on.
posted by orville sash at 7:35 AM on April 28, 2009
In keeping with the ethos of Metafilter, I FLAG[ged] IT AND MOVE[d] ON, but you wanted to know why they were removed; it was because of me and folks like me. I know you were just being eponysterical and all, but come on.
posted by orville sash at 7:35 AM on April 28, 2009
BASE!!
How low can you go?
Remember how on South Park, if Cartman heard the any of Come Sail Away by Styx, he had to quickly sing the rest of the song or he'd go crazy?
That's exactly how I am with Bring the Noise.
Damnit.
posted by quin at 7:40 AM on April 28, 2009
How low can you go?
Remember how on South Park, if Cartman heard the any of Come Sail Away by Styx, he had to quickly sing the rest of the song or he'd go crazy?
That's exactly how I am with Bring the Noise.
Damnit.
posted by quin at 7:40 AM on April 28, 2009
Once again back is the incredible
The Rhyme Animal
posted by orville sash at 7:43 AM on April 28, 2009
The Rhyme Animal
posted by orville sash at 7:43 AM on April 28, 2009
When I was a teenager I was very curious about this whole "rap music" thing I kept hearing about, so I told my momma to go to the mall and buy me an N.W.A. album. She goes to the mall and asks the clerk at the chain record store that I can't remember the name of now (what was the name of that record store that was in all the malls?) for an N.W.A. album and he sells her Efil4zaggin and she brings it back to me and I listen to it and think "I don't think this rap music is for me" and I tell one of my friends about the whole situation and he is like "No dude you have to get Straight Outta Compton, that is their good album." I tell my momma "No mom you are so stupid, you were supposed to get Straight Outta Compton. Go take this back and get that one!" My dear sweet saintly momma then went back to the record store at the mall and returned Efil4zaggin and bought a copy of Straight Outta Compton [the clean version] which I now know does not include "Fuck the Police" and which has all of the songs apparently rerecorded with cleaned up lyrics. But at the time I thought that was just the normal album, because I had never heard the real versions.
I ended up loving that album and listening to it hundreds of times and memorizing almost every lyric, thinking that I was actually listening to Straight Outta Compton. So, to this day, I can rattle off the lyrics to most of the songs on Straight Outta Compton, BUT ONLY THE CLEAN VERSIONS! I will hear the real version when it comes up on random on my mp3 player, and the actual lyrics will be playing ("Straight Outta Compton crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube . . .") but in my head I will automatically be mentally rapping along with the song, going "Straight outta Compton crazy young brother named Ice Cube . . .". But even though I have listened to the real versions of those songs dozens of times for a decade now, I still always rap in my head the clean versions, even while the real versions are playing, because that is the version of the songs that I have listened to way more often and which I learned by heart. No matter how hard I try, I can't make myself experience Straight Outta Compton as anything other than the clean version. Thanks a lot MOM!
posted by ND¢ at 7:46 AM on April 28, 2009 [17 favorites]
I ended up loving that album and listening to it hundreds of times and memorizing almost every lyric, thinking that I was actually listening to Straight Outta Compton. So, to this day, I can rattle off the lyrics to most of the songs on Straight Outta Compton, BUT ONLY THE CLEAN VERSIONS! I will hear the real version when it comes up on random on my mp3 player, and the actual lyrics will be playing ("Straight Outta Compton crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube . . .") but in my head I will automatically be mentally rapping along with the song, going "Straight outta Compton crazy young brother named Ice Cube . . .". But even though I have listened to the real versions of those songs dozens of times for a decade now, I still always rap in my head the clean versions, even while the real versions are playing, because that is the version of the songs that I have listened to way more often and which I learned by heart. No matter how hard I try, I can't make myself experience Straight Outta Compton as anything other than the clean version. Thanks a lot MOM!
posted by ND¢ at 7:46 AM on April 28, 2009 [17 favorites]
^ partially recycled material ^
posted by ND¢ at 7:47 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by ND¢ at 7:47 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'd say that the whole "look how clever we are, changing the subject and mocking the poster" thing is a fairly big problem here (on all parts of the site - it's particularly bad on the blue)
To me, this is cliquish, bullying, and immature behaviour.
I've been reading the site long enough to be able to predict which threads are going to go that way. They used to be fun to read, but lately they just seem tedious - sort of like the tradition has morphed into something a bit rougher, a bit uglier, than it was when it started out.
I know that MeTa acts as a sort of unofficial pressure releif valve for the rest of the site, but unless somebody is a regular reader here, they have no way of knowing that, and most of the commenters likely come off looking like assholes.
For the uninitiated, it'd be sort of like being on vacation, walking into the Tourist Information office and getting mugged, beaten, and mocked just for asking why the beach is closed today. (and as you are crawling out, seeing the employees high-fiving and patting each other on the back, not caring that their manager is the one who is going to have to deal with the fallout and clean up the mess)
It doesn't add anything to the site as a whole, I don't think.
posted by davey_darling at 7:50 AM on April 28, 2009 [26 favorites]
To me, this is cliquish, bullying, and immature behaviour.
I've been reading the site long enough to be able to predict which threads are going to go that way. They used to be fun to read, but lately they just seem tedious - sort of like the tradition has morphed into something a bit rougher, a bit uglier, than it was when it started out.
I know that MeTa acts as a sort of unofficial pressure releif valve for the rest of the site, but unless somebody is a regular reader here, they have no way of knowing that, and most of the commenters likely come off looking like assholes.
For the uninitiated, it'd be sort of like being on vacation, walking into the Tourist Information office and getting mugged, beaten, and mocked just for asking why the beach is closed today. (and as you are crawling out, seeing the employees high-fiving and patting each other on the back, not caring that their manager is the one who is going to have to deal with the fallout and clean up the mess)
It doesn't add anything to the site as a whole, I don't think.
posted by davey_darling at 7:50 AM on April 28, 2009 [26 favorites]
To me, this is cliquish, bullying, and immature behaviour.
I bet you don't know a damn thing about rap.
(Point taken. Maybe I should get back to work.)
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:55 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
I bet you don't know a damn thing about rap.
(Point taken. Maybe I should get back to work.)
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:55 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
I don't care what anyone else says. This thread made my day because:
• I'm tired of the favoriting discussions. Yawn.
• I'm not interested in "cool stuff" or "being nice."
• This question is asked so often, there should be a little note above the comment box over in AskMe, saying that sometimes comments are deleted without notice and that if you have questions you should e-mail a mod.
• There should be a little note above the comment box here telling people not to ask about favorites or deleted comments unless this time it really is different, SRSLY!
• People here are just plain mean sometimes.
• And sometimes it's funny when they're mean.
• I am a special snowflake, no matter what the rest of you say.
• We don't have any good mysteries any more. Whatever happened to con artists who made the MeFi community love and care about them before disappearing in a cloud of smoke?
• It's been too long since anyone marched in here and said, "You all suck. I'm leaving," then proceeded to stick around and argue with everyone for the duration of the thread.
• And this quote: "Clearly asking about etiquette / policy is an inappropriate use of metatalk?" Yes, puckish, yes it is. The etiquette/policy category is meant to lead you astray so that countless villagers can poke you with their pitchforks before roasting you over an open fire. Sorry you had to hear about it this way.
I would say something to the rest of you about being nice to your newbie friends, but that would just be silly. And then folks would aim their pitchforks at me.
BTW, do you all think a hamster would be an easier pet to care for than a cat? Or would it just get annoying? I need to know.
posted by brina at 8:00 AM on April 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
• I'm tired of the favoriting discussions. Yawn.
• I'm not interested in "cool stuff" or "being nice."
• This question is asked so often, there should be a little note above the comment box over in AskMe, saying that sometimes comments are deleted without notice and that if you have questions you should e-mail a mod.
• There should be a little note above the comment box here telling people not to ask about favorites or deleted comments unless this time it really is different, SRSLY!
• People here are just plain mean sometimes.
• And sometimes it's funny when they're mean.
• I am a special snowflake, no matter what the rest of you say.
• We don't have any good mysteries any more. Whatever happened to con artists who made the MeFi community love and care about them before disappearing in a cloud of smoke?
• It's been too long since anyone marched in here and said, "You all suck. I'm leaving," then proceeded to stick around and argue with everyone for the duration of the thread.
• And this quote: "Clearly asking about etiquette / policy is an inappropriate use of metatalk?" Yes, puckish, yes it is. The etiquette/policy category is meant to lead you astray so that countless villagers can poke you with their pitchforks before roasting you over an open fire. Sorry you had to hear about it this way.
I would say something to the rest of you about being nice to your newbie friends, but that would just be silly. And then folks would aim their pitchforks at me.
BTW, do you all think a hamster would be an easier pet to care for than a cat? Or would it just get annoying? I need to know.
posted by brina at 8:00 AM on April 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
not perhaps realizing that the snark deferred on the blue and the green thrives in the gray
What happens to a snark deferred?
Does it dry up, like a raisin in the sun?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:01 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
What happens to a snark deferred?
Does it dry up, like a raisin in the sun?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:01 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
Indiecent: I heard the dirty version first but I like the clean one better too. It's funnier and I can actually rap them out loud without dropping an Nbomb every 5 seconds.
"Yeah he did yeah he did, I TOLD that brother to work at the POST OFFICE!"
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:02 AM on April 28, 2009
"Yeah he did yeah he did, I TOLD that brother to work at the POST OFFICE!"
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:02 AM on April 28, 2009
BTW, do you all think a hamster would be an easier pet to care for than a cat? Or would it just get annoying? I need to know.
Depends, is it declawed?
posted by inigo2 at 8:10 AM on April 28, 2009
Depends, is it declawed?
posted by inigo2 at 8:10 AM on April 28, 2009
"For the uninitiated, it'd be sort of like being on vacation, walking into the Tourist Information office and getting mugged, beaten, and mocked just for asking why the beach is closed today. (and as you are crawling out, seeing the employees high-fiving and patting each other on the back, not caring that their manager is the one who is going to have to deal with the fallout and clean up the mess)"
"HEY TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE WHY DID MY WHIZ GET CLEANED UP AFTER I WROTE MY NAME ON THE BEACH?"
Then a bunch of old toothless guys make fake crying noises in the background, and some yobbo from the street sees and says, "You guys are mugging him!"
And everyone looks confused for a moment, then start talking about this Catalan chick they knew in high school, Bobby Lee Womack and whether hand buzzers were ever really funny and have just been deprecated or were never that funny at all and strangely ubiquitous.
Then the manager comes out and says, "Don't piss on the beach," and shakes a broom at the couple of guys making baboon noises and trying to make the other guys smell their pits. Talk goes back to whether country-disco ever existed.
I have fixed your analogy.
posted by klangklangston at 8:26 AM on April 28, 2009 [43 favorites]
"HEY TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE WHY DID MY WHIZ GET CLEANED UP AFTER I WROTE MY NAME ON THE BEACH?"
Then a bunch of old toothless guys make fake crying noises in the background, and some yobbo from the street sees and says, "You guys are mugging him!"
And everyone looks confused for a moment, then start talking about this Catalan chick they knew in high school, Bobby Lee Womack and whether hand buzzers were ever really funny and have just been deprecated or were never that funny at all and strangely ubiquitous.
Then the manager comes out and says, "Don't piss on the beach," and shakes a broom at the couple of guys making baboon noises and trying to make the other guys smell their pits. Talk goes back to whether country-disco ever existed.
I have fixed your analogy.
posted by klangklangston at 8:26 AM on April 28, 2009 [43 favorites]
The favorites will be strong with that comment, Mr. Klangston.
posted by Kwine at 8:34 AM on April 28, 2009
posted by Kwine at 8:34 AM on April 28, 2009
Were hand buzzers ever funny? The first time a friend pulled one on my I just kinda wondered why he wanted to shake my hand and then what that buzzing was. When I found out that it was a hand buzzer I was genuinely annoyed. I'd always wanted to order one of them from the back of a comic book, but I didn't think my parents would let me get one since, you know, they electrocuted people. It was a secret dream of mine to get one of those, cause I'd never been exposed to a hand buzzer and thought they were real.
What a fucking let down.
posted by Science! at 8:36 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
What a fucking let down.
posted by Science! at 8:36 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
I know that MeTa acts as a sort of unofficial pressure releif valve for the rest of the site, but unless somebody is a regular reader here, they have no way of knowing that, and most of the commenters likely come off looking like assholes.
I definitely think part of it is the nature of MeTa as you said, but I think part of it is also the RTFM-ism that ends up getting ingrained in any community that has noobs coming in and asking the same few questions all the time. There's a frustration that comes into play when people have gone through an issue many times and have going through all the different angles, and then someone new comes in and wants to start the same discussion over again.
That's part of the reason why we need mods in the first place, they help answer the same few questions over and over again to make sure the site keeps running smoothly and introduce new people to how things work here. The only time it really gets to be a problem in my opinion is when a soon-to-be-deleted thread or unpopular MeTa post from a new user gets a lot of snarky comments without any input from the mods.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:42 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
I definitely think part of it is the nature of MeTa as you said, but I think part of it is also the RTFM-ism that ends up getting ingrained in any community that has noobs coming in and asking the same few questions all the time. There's a frustration that comes into play when people have gone through an issue many times and have going through all the different angles, and then someone new comes in and wants to start the same discussion over again.
That's part of the reason why we need mods in the first place, they help answer the same few questions over and over again to make sure the site keeps running smoothly and introduce new people to how things work here. The only time it really gets to be a problem in my opinion is when a soon-to-be-deleted thread or unpopular MeTa post from a new user gets a lot of snarky comments without any input from the mods.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:42 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
This question is asked so often, there should be a little note above the comment box over in AskMe, saying that sometimes comments are deleted without notice and that if you have questions you should e-mail a mod.
This is actually a pretty good idea. Maybe reword the gentle note below the preview to include that wisecracks (etc) may be deleted without notice?
posted by epersonae at 8:49 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
This is actually a pretty good idea. Maybe reword the gentle note below the preview to include that wisecracks (etc) may be deleted without notice?
posted by epersonae at 8:49 AM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
That might also tempt people to post wisecracks and noise, believing that the comment will be seen by a few and then just disappear silently.
posted by Science! at 8:56 AM on April 28, 2009
posted by Science! at 8:56 AM on April 28, 2009
I wanna rock and roll all night
and party some of the day!
posted by pianomover at 8:59 AM on April 28, 2009
and party some of the day!
posted by pianomover at 8:59 AM on April 28, 2009
Maybe reword the gentle note below the preview to include that wisecracks (etc) may be deleted without notice?
How about we just re-wire the preview button to deliver a 20,000-volt shock to anyone who uses it?
FUCK PREVIEW! FUCK IT RIGHT IN THE ASS!
posted by dersins at 9:03 AM on April 28, 2009
How about we just re-wire the preview button to deliver a 20,000-volt shock to anyone who uses it?
FUCK PREVIEW! FUCK IT RIGHT IN THE ASS!
posted by dersins at 9:03 AM on April 28, 2009
Wow. New members have quite the hazing ritual here.
posted by preview at 9:09 AM on April 28, 2009 [8 favorites]
posted by preview at 9:09 AM on April 28, 2009 [8 favorites]
It's been too long since anyone marched in here and said, "You all suck. I'm leaving," then proceeded to stick around and argue with everyone for the duration of the thread.
Are you busy today?
FUCK PREVIEW! FUCK IT RIGHT IN THE ASS!
No surprises, please.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:13 AM on April 28, 2009
Are you busy today?
FUCK PREVIEW! FUCK IT RIGHT IN THE ASS!
No surprises, please.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:13 AM on April 28, 2009
It's got to be 'matidae! Wo woah, take me home.
posted by flabdablet at 9:16 AM on April 28, 2009
posted by flabdablet at 9:16 AM on April 28, 2009
So this sounds like a good place as any to ask:
What do the little dots in threads mean?!?
posted by Skorgu at 9:22 AM on April 28, 2009
What do the little dots in threads mean?!?
posted by Skorgu at 9:22 AM on April 28, 2009
What do the little dots in threads mean?!?
I think those are tributes to ND¢.
posted by clearly at 9:25 AM on April 28, 2009
I think those are tributes to ND¢.
posted by clearly at 9:25 AM on April 28, 2009
What do the little dots in threads mean?!?
RTFT, noob.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:25 AM on April 28, 2009
RTFT, noob.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:25 AM on April 28, 2009
I'd personally very much like it if there was a little less prompting from the peanut gallery on that front.
Me too.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:26 AM on April 28, 2009
Me too.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:26 AM on April 28, 2009
Metatalk: stabbity as fuck!
Metatalk: not a big kumbaya-fest
Metatalk: Get over yourself
It's either a good day in Metatalk, or I'm in a good mood. I blame The Deej.
posted by theora55 at 9:42 AM on April 28, 2009
Metatalk: not a big kumbaya-fest
Metatalk: Get over yourself
It's either a good day in Metatalk, or I'm in a good mood. I blame The Deej.
posted by theora55 at 9:42 AM on April 28, 2009
MetaFilter has a pretty high snark quotient too, but I think a lot of new users probably aren't prepared for the instant animosity they experience on MetaTalk. Part of this, I think, is the high level of doubleposts on the grey. I've got a couple of ideas for changes that might help.
On MetaTalk's post page, it might be good to add a word of warning about the attitude that can be expected here.
Would it be possible for the post preview page to contain a short search of earlier posts or the FAQ? I mean, say, in two days we get another post about deleted comments. The search would either check their tags or just have keywords it already knows attached to the FAQ or earlier questions, and then return "Hey, here's some information we have about deleted comments already. If this answers your question, great!"
posted by graventy at 10:33 AM on April 28, 2009
On MetaTalk's post page, it might be good to add a word of warning about the attitude that can be expected here.
Would it be possible for the post preview page to contain a short search of earlier posts or the FAQ? I mean, say, in two days we get another post about deleted comments. The search would either check their tags or just have keywords it already knows attached to the FAQ or earlier questions, and then return "Hey, here's some information we have about deleted comments already. If this answers your question, great!"
posted by graventy at 10:33 AM on April 28, 2009
On MetaTalk's post page, it might be good to add a word of warning about the attitude that can be expected here
It should say something sorta pretentious like, "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."
posted by barrett caulk at 10:48 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
It should say something sorta pretentious like, "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."
posted by barrett caulk at 10:48 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
It should say something sorta pretentious like, "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."
And every other MetaTalk thread would be "What does that quote on the post page mean?"
I do think it would be a good idea to show links to the more frequently-asked questions on the post page.
"Are you writing with suggestions about favorites?" - show a list of past threads
"Are you writing because your comment was deleted in AskMeFi?" - show a Mod-written explanation of what can cause an Ask comment to get deleted
"Are you writing a message because you're leaving in a huff and never coming back?" - close account, redirect to a page featuring animated cats waving bye-bye and a MIDI file of "So Long, It's Been Good To Know Ya"
posted by Spatch at 11:06 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
And every other MetaTalk thread would be "What does that quote on the post page mean?"
I do think it would be a good idea to show links to the more frequently-asked questions on the post page.
"Are you writing with suggestions about favorites?" - show a list of past threads
"Are you writing because your comment was deleted in AskMeFi?" - show a Mod-written explanation of what can cause an Ask comment to get deleted
"Are you writing a message because you're leaving in a huff and never coming back?" - close account, redirect to a page featuring animated cats waving bye-bye and a MIDI file of "So Long, It's Been Good To Know Ya"
posted by Spatch at 11:06 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
"Are you writing a message because you're leaving in a huff and never coming back?" - close account, redirect to a page featuring animated cats waving bye-bye and a MIDI file of "So Long, It's Been Good To Know Ya"
What? No! Don't stop the flameouts! Maybe something like:
"Leaving in a huff? MetaTalk requires a 15 comment commitment in drama queen threads, so please plan accordingly."
posted by graventy at 11:25 AM on April 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
What? No! Don't stop the flameouts! Maybe something like:
"Leaving in a huff? MetaTalk requires a 15 comment commitment in drama queen threads, so please plan accordingly."
posted by graventy at 11:25 AM on April 28, 2009 [3 favorites]
While I like the irreverence of MetaTalk, it does seem as if the level of hostility to new users asking questions that we think they should know the answer to is pretty high lately. It's one thing when folks are working hard to make an ass of themselves, and essentially claiming that the whole site is broken because it doesn't work as they would choose, but it seems like others should get a bit more of the benefit of the doubt.
posted by OmieWise at 11:27 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by OmieWise at 11:27 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
it seems like others should get a bit more of the benefit of the doubt.
I suppose, but culturally we make a big deal of the LURK MOAR ethos. It's basic web etiquette 101 to get to know a place before galumphing in with your big opinion, and if you're clumsy about that, the blame is on your ignorance, not on the members and mods who are trying to preserve the feel of a place.
I suppose the argument on both sides could be boiled down to: don't be an asshole.
posted by shiu mai baby at 11:32 AM on April 28, 2009
I suppose, but culturally we make a big deal of the LURK MOAR ethos. It's basic web etiquette 101 to get to know a place before galumphing in with your big opinion, and if you're clumsy about that, the blame is on your ignorance, not on the members and mods who are trying to preserve the feel of a place.
I suppose the argument on both sides could be boiled down to: don't be an asshole.
posted by shiu mai baby at 11:32 AM on April 28, 2009
And one of the nice things about metafilter is that it has been, historically, a place where the assholes didn't always win.
We shouldn't be making these snap judgements of members based on their lack of understanding of site rules, written or unwritten.
How do you know that the poster that is chased off by the mob wouldn't have developed into a helpful askme answerer, or a crafter of epic FPP's, or even a wicked metalk one-line dropper?
There is something to be said for nurturing some of the more delicate plants, lest we end up a field full of weeds.
posted by davey_darling at 11:39 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
We shouldn't be making these snap judgements of members based on their lack of understanding of site rules, written or unwritten.
How do you know that the poster that is chased off by the mob wouldn't have developed into a helpful askme answerer, or a crafter of epic FPP's, or even a wicked metalk one-line dropper?
There is something to be said for nurturing some of the more delicate plants, lest we end up a field full of weeds.
posted by davey_darling at 11:39 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
graventy: "a lot of new users probably aren't prepared for the instant animosity they experience on MetaTalk."
Boy howdy, I sure never saw it coming.
But what the hey. You live and learn.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:39 AM on April 28, 2009
Boy howdy, I sure never saw it coming.
But what the hey. You live and learn.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:39 AM on April 28, 2009
Mmm, weed.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 11:57 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 11:57 AM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
"Are you writing with suggestions about favorites?" - show a list of past threads
Good idea.
posted by burnmp3s at 12:08 PM on April 28, 2009 [1 favorite]
Orville-sash: You were probably right to flag it (the post got to me for some reason, but it wasn't very helpful comment) For the record, I was more surprised that the first comment got stripped -- presumably for similar reasons? (it's hard to judge tone, and we were both probably a little off)
Not to get off-topic, though.
Sorry for asking a dumb question. Flesh exposed -- I'll pack bandages the next time I venture onto the gray. On the plus side, I've never gotten this many comments on a post before. (I guess that makes it a good day?)
posted by puckish at 12:16 PM on April 28, 2009
Not to get off-topic, though.
Sorry for asking a dumb question. Flesh exposed -- I'll pack bandages the next time I venture onto the gray. On the plus side, I've never gotten this many comments on a post before. (I guess that makes it a good day?)
posted by puckish at 12:16 PM on April 28, 2009
"How do you know that the poster that is chased off by the mob wouldn't have developed into a helpful askme answerer, or a crafter of epic FPP's, or even a wicked metalk one-line dropper?"
How do you know that a mob chasing them off (muggings? mobs? someone likes hyperbole) won't lead them to spend more time offline developing the cure for cancer? How do you know they're not sleeper terrorists, now off to infiltrate Digg instead?
Or, even more to the point, how do you know that they would have become exemplary posters? Because the very fact that they don't get the norms (prompting clueless MeTa) seems to predict a pattern of not getting the norms, not a pattern of reversal and epiphany.
This is especially given as even good posts will often have someone who disagrees with the posting (for good reasons or bad), and thus becoming a regular requires the ability to shrug off criticism. Certainly, there are times when things go over the top, but I don't think that's demonstrated here (muggings and mobs aside).
It's a bit like saying, just think of all the great bands out there that would exist if no one ever said that bands suck.
posted by klangklangston at 12:36 PM on April 28, 2009
How do you know that a mob chasing them off (muggings? mobs? someone likes hyperbole) won't lead them to spend more time offline developing the cure for cancer? How do you know they're not sleeper terrorists, now off to infiltrate Digg instead?
Or, even more to the point, how do you know that they would have become exemplary posters? Because the very fact that they don't get the norms (prompting clueless MeTa) seems to predict a pattern of not getting the norms, not a pattern of reversal and epiphany.
This is especially given as even good posts will often have someone who disagrees with the posting (for good reasons or bad), and thus becoming a regular requires the ability to shrug off criticism. Certainly, there are times when things go over the top, but I don't think that's demonstrated here (muggings and mobs aside).
It's a bit like saying, just think of all the great bands out there that would exist if no one ever said that bands suck.
posted by klangklangston at 12:36 PM on April 28, 2009
LURK MOAR is good advice, generally, except that at some point people probably want to contribute something, most likely won't do it perfectly first time, chances are they want it to be interesting, which often means controversial, and almost inevitably will misjudge it one way or the other.
It's a huge barrier to entry: if Youtube is the commenting equivalent of shouting helpful advice about genealogy and sexuality issues at a sporting event, Metafilter is an open mic night in a half-familiar culture, and the hecklers are drunk and smarter than you.
It's not a soluble problem, there's always going to be someone that falls just the wrong side of "try a post->feel hounded off the site", and people that simply never try. I guess somewhere out there someone's looking at Youtube thinking "If only I could come up with something as substantive as 'LOL UR ALL FAGZ'. Best leave it to the pros...".
Metafilter is far FAR more socially progressive than anywhere I've ever been in the real world and you have to be damn careful with words here, since they're all you've got. It's just a shame that there are so many heads on pikes, people parsed within an inch of their lives, pour décourager les autres.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:15 PM on April 28, 2009
It's a huge barrier to entry: if Youtube is the commenting equivalent of shouting helpful advice about genealogy and sexuality issues at a sporting event, Metafilter is an open mic night in a half-familiar culture, and the hecklers are drunk and smarter than you.
It's not a soluble problem, there's always going to be someone that falls just the wrong side of "try a post->feel hounded off the site", and people that simply never try. I guess somewhere out there someone's looking at Youtube thinking "If only I could come up with something as substantive as 'LOL UR ALL FAGZ'. Best leave it to the pros...".
Metafilter is far FAR more socially progressive than anywhere I've ever been in the real world and you have to be damn careful with words here, since they're all you've got. It's just a shame that there are so many heads on pikes, people parsed within an inch of their lives, pour décourager les autres.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:15 PM on April 28, 2009
burnmp3s: part of it is also the RTFM-ism that ends up getting ingrained in any community that has noobs coming in and asking the same few questions all the time. There's a frustration that comes into play when people have gone through an issue many times and have going through all the different angles, and then someone new comes in and wants to start the same discussion over again.
Man, that is a perfect summary of what happens in so many discussions about racism or sexism.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:03 PM on April 28, 2009
Man, that is a perfect summary of what happens in so many discussions about racism or sexism.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:03 PM on April 28, 2009
MetaFilter: the hecklers are drunk and smarter than you.
posted by epersonae at 2:25 PM on April 28, 2009
posted by epersonae at 2:25 PM on April 28, 2009
Science! : but I didn't think my parents would let me get one since, you know, they electrocuted people. It was a secret dream of mine to get one of those, cause I'd never been exposed to a hand buzzer and thought they were real.
What a fucking let down.
Allow me to make your life better*
Go to a farm supply store and buy one of these. Take some reasonably heavy gauge insulated speaker wire, and run it down your sleeve to a leather glove. At the palm of the glove, use a couple of steel nails as contacts, and wrap the wire around them with electric tape, taking care to make sure that they are attached in such a way that they remain about a half inch apart.
The other end of the wire gets attached to the contact points on the Hot Shot. This then goes in your pocket on the side opposite your shock hand.
Now, just shake someone's hand and press the button. Voilà; serious fucking hand buzzer.
* Will not actually make your life better, and in fact, might actually get you arrested.
[note] This is also useful for proving that you are, in fact, a god and capable of striking people with lightning (albeit very small lightning.)
posted by quin at 3:00 PM on April 28, 2009
What a fucking let down.
Allow me to make your life better*
Go to a farm supply store and buy one of these. Take some reasonably heavy gauge insulated speaker wire, and run it down your sleeve to a leather glove. At the palm of the glove, use a couple of steel nails as contacts, and wrap the wire around them with electric tape, taking care to make sure that they are attached in such a way that they remain about a half inch apart.
The other end of the wire gets attached to the contact points on the Hot Shot. This then goes in your pocket on the side opposite your shock hand.
Now, just shake someone's hand and press the button. Voilà; serious fucking hand buzzer.
* Will not actually make your life better, and in fact, might actually get you arrested.
[note] This is also useful for proving that you are, in fact, a god and capable of striking people with lightning (albeit very small lightning.)
posted by quin at 3:00 PM on April 28, 2009
Sorry for asking a dumb question. Flesh exposed -- I'll pack bandages the next time I venture onto the gray.
Well played. You'll do OK here, amigo.
posted by languagehat at 3:43 PM on April 28, 2009
Well played. You'll do OK here, amigo.
posted by languagehat at 3:43 PM on April 28, 2009
On the plus side, I've never gotten this many comments on a post before.
It's about the LINKS, not the COMMENTS... NOOB!!!
Otherwise, what languagehat said just above.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:52 PM on April 28, 2009
It's about the LINKS, not the COMMENTS... NOOB!!!
Otherwise, what languagehat said just above.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:52 PM on April 28, 2009
Because you're not one of "the gang".
Metafilter is far FAR more socially progressive than anywhere I've ever been in the real world and you have to be damn careful with words here,
By far the funniest goddam thing I've read today.
posted by Zambrano at 5:19 PM on April 28, 2009
Metafilter is far FAR more socially progressive than anywhere I've ever been in the real world and you have to be damn careful with words here,
By far the funniest goddam thing I've read today.
posted by Zambrano at 5:19 PM on April 28, 2009
Zambrano, this isn't AskMe. You don't have to be wrong about everything here too.
posted by klangklangston at 5:59 PM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by klangklangston at 5:59 PM on April 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
You know, there are certain crusty and sarcastic Mefiers who I enjoy because they're smart, or because their curmudgeonliness is used sparingly or in just the appropriate places, but I gotta say, Zambrano, you are one guy who is so consistently negative that it gets really tiresome. Furthermore, so many of your comments (like the one above) express a a general disdain for this site and its members, that I sometimes wonder why you read and post here at all.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:01 PM on April 28, 2009
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:01 PM on April 28, 2009
And on non-preview, what klang said.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:02 PM on April 28, 2009
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:02 PM on April 28, 2009
I can't make myself experience Straight Outta Compton as anything other than the clean version.
So you're ND¢ in prose but D¢ in rhyme?
posted by lukemeister at 9:26 PM on April 28, 2009
So you're ND¢ in prose but D¢ in rhyme?
posted by lukemeister at 9:26 PM on April 28, 2009
Metafilter is an open mic night in a half-familiar culture, and the hecklers are drunker and smarter than you.
What? Just you try and deny it.
posted by djgh at 4:10 PM on April 29, 2009
What? Just you try and deny it.
posted by djgh at 4:10 PM on April 29, 2009
I'm-a tellya riiight nowwww, nnno-I say NObody's drunker'n me n'I'll prrrrrove it by knock- (burp) by knocking back annnotherrr wunna theeesssse whissssskys an -
*PLOP*
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:59 PM on April 29, 2009
*PLOP*
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:59 PM on April 29, 2009
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posted by yhbc at 5:04 AM on April 28, 2009