Yay. Another favorites discussion.

November 19, 2009 8:28 PM

Maybe we shouldn't be able to favorite our own comments?
posted by yhbc to Etiquette/Policy at 8:28 PM (234 comments total)

We should be able to favorite our own comments.
posted by 0xFCAF at 8:29 PM on November 19, 2009 [13 favorites]

I don't see a problem. It's a way of keeping track of things you want to be able to find again. Why not for your own posts, too?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:29 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

PRAY FOR YHBC
posted by nanojath at 8:31 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think we should be able to favorite our own comments multiple times. I'm sick of having to have my sock puppets favorite my comments for me.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:32 PM on November 19, 2009 [54 favorites]

What is the problem?
posted by trip and a half at 8:34 PM on November 19, 2009

Because it can be easily abused, as AZ points out in his own inimitable, albeit schizophrenic, fashion.
posted by yhbc at 8:34 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I don't think anyone should be allowed to favorite Astro Zombie's comments. Not even Astro Zombie 2.
posted by Skygazer at 8:36 PM on November 19, 2009 [10 favorites]

Eh, what does it hurt?
Abused? How?
posted by lekvar at 8:36 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I think favouriting is a much bigger problem than self-favoriting.
posted by qvantamon at 8:37 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

How is it abuse though? This has been done to death, but favorites are used by different people in different ways. You don't get a prize for most favorites.
posted by chiababe at 8:37 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

There's this great new feature where you don't see favourite counts that makes this sort of slightly questionable (but probably easily explainable) behaviour pretty much invisible and irrelevant. I'm sure it'll be popular.
posted by Abiezer at 8:38 PM on November 19, 2009 [5 favorites]

Why would self-favouriting be a problem?
posted by Mitheral at 8:39 PM on November 19, 2009

Because it can be easily abused

But who would be hurt, were I to start favoriting all of my own comments? It's not like I'd be taking electrons directly from your iron lung's electron supply, or something -- all that would happen is that the number of favorites on my profile page would go up.

But in all the years I've been a member here, I seriously doubt that anyone other than myself has ever checked my favorites total. Why would they, and what difference would it make if half of them were from myself?
posted by Forktine at 8:39 PM on November 19, 2009 [5 favorites]

Forktine, you can favorite your own post, so that it calls more attention from people because of the "1 favorite"/"has favorites" thingy. Then more people look at it and think "oh, yeah, this is good, so good someone favorited it" and favorite it. then you surreptitiously remove your own favorite.

Then you are half a dozen favorites closer to the prize
posted by qvantamon at 8:43 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

I'm self-favoriting myself even as I type this...

Shhhh....
posted by Skygazer at 8:44 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yes, it could be abused. But it'd be self-abuse, and that's the nice kind of abuse.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 8:45 PM on November 19, 2009 [13 favorites]

Can someone favorite that already? I'm still sitting here waiting to unfavorite it.
posted by qvantamon at 8:45 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Is this something I'd have to see favorites to be able to understand what anyone is talking about? Because I don't see the problem in people favoriting themselves.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:46 PM on November 19, 2009 [11 favorites]

It doesn't hurt anybody.
posted by Miko at 8:47 PM on November 19, 2009

In this comment, not only am I vigourously self-favouriting myself, but I am also flagging this comment as "fantastic."
posted by Skygazer at 8:48 PM on November 19, 2009 [7 favorites]

[has fla-vor-ice]
posted by Bernt Pancreas at 8:49 PM on November 19, 2009

That's it...I've had it with this comment. Flagged as noise!
posted by Skygazer at 8:49 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

I think favouriting is a much bigger problem than self-favoriting.

I think people who use two different (yet arguably correct) spellings of the same word in the same sentence ARE the problem.
posted by philip-random at 8:49 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

But good noise. So...

I'll favorite it as well.
posted by Skygazer at 8:50 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Genesis 38:9 - And Onan knoweth that the favorite is not reckoned his; and Metatalk hath come to pass, if he hath favorited unto his brother's post, that he hath flagged it to the ground, so as not to give favorites to his brother.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [8 favorites]

is this the thread where it's cool to self-favorite?

uncool not to
posted by philip-random at 8:51 PM on November 19, 2009

If other people are favoriting their own comments, why, I'll just have to start favoriting my own or else risk losing legitimacy in arguments!
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

Seriously? I mean, seriously?

Look, one day I'll trade in my favorites for cash, but that's just my plan.

Others use favorites as a sort of bookmark. Why are you worried about someone using this feature of MetaFilter this way? Favorites mean different things to different people.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

The problem, if there is one, is only in the kind of astroturfing that eccnineten is clearly doing, which nola pointed out, and which I decided to put to a discussion here. When you are favoriting most, if not all, of your own comments, you are probably doing it for some other reason than to up your own "favorite count" or to mark something you have said in order to find it later. Instead, you are probably doing it to make it appear to other readers of the site that what you have said has the approval of some other member of the site, and so it should have greater authority, especially when the "has favorites" thing applies and doesn't say how many favorites a comment has.

If there isn't a problem, there isn't. I just thought it warranted some thought and discussion.
posted by yhbc at 8:51 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

What exactly is the problem here?
(And why shouldn't I be allowed to click my own + from time to time?)
posted by iamkimiam at 8:52 PM on November 19, 2009

Mom warned you that you'd go blind!

Explains why so many Mefites wear glasses, anyway.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:53 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

qvantamon writes "Forktine, you can favorite your own post, so that it calls more attention from people because of the '1 favorite'/'has favorites' thingy. Then more people look at it and think 'oh, yeah, this is good, so good someone favorited it' and favorite it. then you surreptitiously remove your own favorite.

"Then you are half a dozen favorites closer to the prize"

This is an argument for removing favourite counts all together rather than restricting self favouriting.
posted by Mitheral at 8:54 PM on November 19, 2009

Instead, you are probably doing it to make it appear to other readers of the site that what you have said has the approval of some other member of the site,

Or the user doesn't know how to use Recent Activity or her/his own profile to find past comments?
posted by not that girl at 8:56 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

Sorry, I hadn't read all ten jillion comments in that thread. And I already did.
posted by yhbc at 8:56 PM on November 19, 2009

If I hadn't already pulled this ill-advised stunt in a different thread, I would totally favorite every comment here!

(I was totally about to do this, but then my brain kicked in.)
posted by Ouisch at 8:57 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Give me a few hours to trawl the entirety of Metafilter in order to find other tiny inconsequential non-issues of meaninglessness and irrelevance to bring to the attention of the crowd. Sorry yhbc but this is a silly brainfart and you should feel bad about yourself for as long as it takes to head to the fridge and grab a frosty ale.
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:57 PM on November 19, 2009 [8 favorites]

you are probably doing it to make it appear to other readers of the site that what you have said has the approval of some other member of the site

1. 1 favorite is not a lot. Not enough to make you go "wow, User has a fanclub!"
2. If they were doing it for that reason, the illusion kind of vanishes immediately when you click through and see the user's own name. The negative freight that carries vastly undermines any illusory gain there might have been from looking like their comment had one favorite.

Someone doing this is either doing this for their own practical reasons (searchability being a huge one), or because they've got some strangeness about them as people that probably isn't going to impact anyone in an important way.
posted by Miko at 8:59 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Not only do I favorite my own comments, I usually flag them as Fantastic too.
posted by Ouisch at 8:59 PM on November 19, 2009

The problem, if there is one, is only in the kind of astroturfing that eccnineten is clearly doing...

Yeah but that's kind of an issue with a single jerk, not an established system.
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:59 PM on November 19, 2009

Okay, then.

Mmm, frosty ale.
posted by yhbc at 9:00 PM on November 19, 2009

Dude, yhbc, you need to chill out.

here, repeat this ancient Buddhist mantra over and over as fast as you can and you will feel all better.

Oh - Wah - Tah - Goo - Nye - Yam
posted by vronsky at 9:00 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Get one for me, while you're up.
posted by Ouisch at 9:00 PM on November 19, 2009

JohnnyGunn thinks we should refer to ourselves in the third person and favorite ourselves.

I think you get a free sockpuppet account every 10,000 favorites you get so this could be gaming the system.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:00 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

I know that I'm outside Metafilter's demographic, so when I talk, I'm speaking as an outsider. I don't have the luxury of relying on groupthink for reassurance. That's why I self-favorite.
posted by Kinbote at 9:01 PM on November 19, 2009 [14 favorites]

Hell, get seven or eight.
posted by Ouisch at 9:01 PM on November 19, 2009

Instead, you are probably doing it to make it appear to other readers of the site that what you have said has the approval of some other member of the site, and so it should have greater authority, especially when the "has favorites" thing applies and doesn't say how many favorites a comment has.

That's why I always check to see who has favorited a post. If I see they're a member of the cabal, I then agree.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 9:01 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Metafilter: An issue with a single jerk, not an established system.
posted by Skygazer at 9:02 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

JohnnyGunn: "JohnnyGunn thinks we should refer to ourselves in the third person and favorite ourselves.

I think you get a free sockpuppet account every 10,000 favorites you get so this could be gaming the system"

What about people who not only favorite themselves, but quote themselves? JohnnyGunn does this.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:03 PM on November 19, 2009 [22 favorites]

don't look now but someone, somewhere, on the internet is flattering themselves

SNARK THEM TO DEATH AND DESTRUCTION!!!
posted by pyramid termite at 9:03 PM on November 19, 2009

This callout is fucking weird.

Real Talk.

I read YHBC's explanation a few comments up because it wasn't at all apparent, on the face of it, what his objection was. But I still don't really get it. I suppose I might be in the minority here, but I'm not really good at picking up on posting patterns from people unless they're incredibly awesome or incredibly annoying. As such, I tend to take things on a per-thread basis. If something in a thread has a bunch of favorites, it really just says to me "a lot of people enjoy this guy's point about this particular topic." It doesn't really say to me "THIS PERSON IS POISONING THE WELL OF OUR GOODWILL AND TRUST BY TRYING TO EXCESSIVELY INFLUENCE METAFILTER'S POPULAR OPINION."

Except Astro Zombie. That favorites clown poisoned the well ages ago, and wields WAY too much influence around here. He must be stopped at all costs
posted by orville sash at 9:04 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Did I tell you all about the time I met Harry Connick Jr.? It was a neat comment because he was there at the place with Glenn Close and I made it funny because at the end I said "they were both nice guys", thereby equivilating (!) Glenn Close to a man, but nobody else found it amusing or even interesting despite the fact that I met two quite famous people and probably even now they're talking about me in their little text messages to one another - "Remember that guy?" "Yeah he was amazing" - but anyway nobody else favourited it and neither did I which means it is lost forever.
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:05 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

It's like when I received that email with tracking device that pays you a dollar for every time you forward it, and kept forwarding it to myself.
posted by qvantamon at 9:05 PM on November 19, 2009

I see your frosty ale and raise you a chilled cerveza.
posted by Skygazer at 9:06 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I think it's a bit silly to be able to favorite our own comments, especially right now where having a single favorite looks identical to having a hundred.
posted by flatluigi at 9:07 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

Because it can be easily abused, as AZ points out in his own inimitable, albeit schizophrenic, fashion.

I do not think that word means what you think it means
posted by edgeways at 9:08 PM on November 19, 2009

Alright, so this has now become the thread where we get drunk? Thank you for this call-out, yhbc. Couldn't have come at a better time.
posted by Ouisch at 9:08 PM on November 19, 2009

Every time you favorite yourself, God kills a kitten.
posted by killdevil at 9:08 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I simply refuse (no way, no how, not gonna happen, nothing to see here please move along), to self-favorite this comment.
posted by Skygazer at 9:09 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

especially right now where having a single favorite looks identical to having a hundred.

Yeah, but I kind of think we all realize it isn't identical, therefore who the hell cares?
posted by Ouisch at 9:09 PM on November 19, 2009

You know, maybe eccnineten just sincerely believes that everything he writes is really, really great.
posted by nanojath at 9:09 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Every time you favorite yourself, God kills a kitten.

No way. and shut up.
posted by Skygazer at 9:10 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, shit, for all that -- maybe everything he writes really is really, really great.
posted by Ouisch at 9:10 PM on November 19, 2009

In fact, I'm also glad for this thread so I had the opportunity to witness eccnineten's inimitable brilliance.
posted by Ouisch at 9:11 PM on November 19, 2009

In any case, whatever his hand finds to do, it does it with all his might.
posted by Kinbote at 9:12 PM on November 19, 2009

Just wait til someone posts a self-link to a self-help article titled "How to Stop Self-Favoriting." Then Metafilter will surely self-destruct.
posted by amyms at 9:13 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I get more favourites than you could possibly imagine.
posted by smoke at 9:13 PM on November 19, 2009

It's not self-favoriting if he refers to himself in the third-person.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:14 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Alright, so this has now become the thread where we get drunk?

It's really not a good idea to drink while you're self-favoriting. I think it's illegal in some states, and countries even.

That sort of thing needs to be left to the experts.
posted by Skygazer at 9:15 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

IT SEEMS AS IF THIS ACTIVITY IS SIMILAR IN A METAPHORICAL WAY TO MASTURBATION.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:16 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm sure that when most potential employers see the MetaFilter Favorites Count on your resume they're not going to spend the time verifying that the favorites aren't from you. So there's that angle to consider.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 9:18 PM on November 19, 2009

IT SEEMS AS IF THIS ACTIVITY IS SIMILAR IN A METAPHORICAL WAY TO MASTURBATION.

That's just gross. No need to get all weird and sexual, dude.
posted by Skygazer at 9:18 PM on November 19, 2009

(Case in point.)
posted by Ouisch at 9:18 PM on November 19, 2009

First: my name is not in capital letters. It looks weird like that; please don't do it that way.

Next: I knew someone would call out the schizophrenic thing. I know that schizophrenia is not anywhere close to the idea of "split personalities", but that's what the term stands for in popular culture, so that's why I used it there (and also because I couldn't think of another way to express the idea quickly enough).

Finally: I agree this is not the biggest or baddest problem around. My panties, I assure you all, are unbunched. I just thought it odd that a relatively new member was (in my opinion) abusing the feature in this way when it was pointed out to me, and so I thought I'd bring it up here, instead of continuing the derail in the thread. That's what this here MetaTalk thingie is for!
posted by yhbc at 9:19 PM on November 19, 2009

Well, since there's no unfavorite button, the only way to show your displeasure is to favorite every other comment in the thread so that the one you don't like is -1 overall. So you might have to favorite one of your own.
posted by ctmf at 9:19 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Okay but is it at all possible to self-favourite with, like, only one hand?
posted by Ouisch at 9:20 PM on November 19, 2009

I am so glad you brought the state of your panties into this. It's the only logical next step.

Did you get my beer yet?
posted by Ouisch at 9:22 PM on November 19, 2009

I've always wondered whether Marion Barry likes marionberry pie, or if the stupid jokes people make while he eats it ruin that type of pie for him.
posted by killdevil at 9:26 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

Hey guys I wanted to remind all of you that Dortmunder is hosting the inaugural meeting of the Professional Anti-Sock Puppet and Troll Association (PASTA) at the patio of McSozzley's Pub on Sunday at 5. See you all then!
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 9:35 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Gonna go against the upper-class groupthink here and suggest this is a problem (for some value of problem) in the same way someone going and favoriting every comment on a post is problematic now that all you see is "has favorites." It's kinda just noise.

That said, this would have to actually catch on as a practice everyone engages in rather than just this one dude to reach that level, and I don't see that happening, and I have counts on anyway,so actually yeah, I don't care about this at all now that you mention it.
posted by cj_ at 9:37 PM on November 19, 2009

People should be allowed to favourite their own comments so that we can point and laiugh at them.
posted by Artw at 9:37 PM on November 19, 2009

laiugh

Is that like a craic?
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:41 PM on November 19, 2009

[has favorite] <>
[has favorites] <>
I brought this same thing up in the original thread about the experiment, just because I do use favorite counts as a signal-to-noise filter when skimming a long, interesting but contentious thread. Eliminating self-favorites solves that particular problem, but hurts others, so just differentiate one from many.

Plus then you can do a find on "has favorites" and jump from one hive-mind-judged interesting comment to the next.
posted by davejay at 9:44 PM on November 19, 2009

Note: Everyone needs a favorite.
posted by Sailormom at 9:44 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

I need a shave, which is annoying, because I only had a shave like two days ago. I guess I'm just that productive.
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:45 PM on November 19, 2009

ah, frig, that didn't work. trying that again. damn html filter.

[has favorite] <-- probably not worth reading when skimming, because it's likely a self-favorite or something that only one person liked.

[has favorites] <-- now yer 'talkin!
posted by davejay at 9:45 PM on November 19, 2009

upper-class groupthink
I would never participate in such a thing; I have servants to do that for me.
posted by Abiezer at 9:47 PM on November 19, 2009 [4 favorites]

I enjoy it when I'm on the phone with someone and we are favoriting together.


Wait...What?
posted by MultiFaceted at 9:56 PM on November 19, 2009

You know, initially I was like whaaat yhbc, who caaaares? But man, this guy has favorites a ton of his own comments. I can't really think of a legitimate reason to do that since you can easily view your own comments through recent activity. I don't like it. I will lead by example and not favorite this comment.
posted by prefpara at 10:03 PM on November 19, 2009

I'm kind of down with yhbc on this one. I've got a pretty healthy favorite count, which I feel I've earned fairly. What has this kind of false favorite speculation done to our favorite-based-economy here? And when the favorite bubble bursts, where will me and my family be left? Who will clean up the mess?

Seriously, though, I have no idea what eccnineten's reason for doing this is. But I do feel like, if one of the more contentious and notorious users were doing it (say, sixcolors, god rest her username's soul) then there'd be a lot more shit flying here towards that particular user. And I thin there is, indeed, a sort of difference between the static energy and kinetic energy of the favorites system, where having one creates an impetus for others to more easily add their approval.

Still, in the end, not hurting anyone, and no prize. Doesn't mean I won't still be trying for the gold once I'm a little less swamped with work again.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:18 PM on November 19, 2009

Favoriting strangers seems so... dirty.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:20 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

What has this kind of false favorite speculation done to our favorite-based-economy here?
The only just solution is to nationalise the 'commanding heights' of favourites generation (liberal group-think, shit puns, heart-string tugging anecdotes etc.) and distribute their output based on need rather the obviously biased criteria of wit, ability to express oneself or relevance.
Of course, people will say that's typical of me, as I've been fighting a war against relevance all my life.
posted by Abiezer at 10:22 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Mod opinion: I think it's a fairly bizarre habit, but I'm not sure it's anything that we need to take action on. eccnineten may establish for themself a reputation as That User Who Self-Favorites Like Crazy, but I'm not sure there's any other real effect this is going to have on the site, especially since it seems like very much an outlier. (Though someone could spend some time with the favorites data in the Infodump if they really want to explore that angle, I guess.)
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:24 PM on November 19, 2009

I'm with everyone else in this thread in thinking this is pretty dumb thing to be concerned about, but it occurs to me that [has favorites] does seem to imply that this comment was popular with people other than the commenter him or herself, and in that context actually doesn't serve its intended purpose when it's only a self-favorite. So it might actually make sense to not display [has favorites] if the the commenter is the only one who favorited it. This allows the commenter to continue to use it for bookmarking purposes without presenting the false impression that someone else thought it worth favoriting. On the other hand, that's just that much more runtime, per-page-view code for what seems a petty concern, so I wouldn't argue very strenuously for actually doing it.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:26 PM on November 19, 2009

I did it once on accident. I wish I could take it back.
posted by nestor_makhno at 10:30 PM on November 19, 2009

A point of order: We are (presumably) going back to normal favorite counts in about 10 days. The fabric of metafilter was not ripped asunder in the 20 days this user had to game that particular loophole (if that's what they are even doing, I'm wary of guessing motivation), which is why I'm having a hard time caring. They probably did more damage to themselves now that it's called out. I'd be embarrassed if anyone caught me tooting my own horn, personally.

And I thin there is, indeed, a sort of difference between the static energy and kinetic energy of the favorites system, where having one creates an impetus for others to more easily add their approval.

Except most of their comments just have the one favorite, and the ones that have more are good contributions, so it seems that effect isn't actually happening. The reality is that for most users, they see "has favorites" on nearly every comment anyway (this is why I opted out of the experiment).
posted by cj_ at 10:34 PM on November 19, 2009

FAVORITE-SEEDER HATERZ!
posted by heyho at 10:36 PM on November 19, 2009

vronsky: "Oh - Wah - Tah - Goo - Nye - Ya"

EXCUSE ME!... I believe episode 206-24 "The Perils of Punky" (an barely precedented two-parter) established this as "Oh - Wah - Tah - Goo - Siam". You should know better than to try and pass off this jocose bon mot as your own. We know the classics.
posted by team lowkey at 10:42 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

/me checks palms for hair
posted by not_on_display at 10:44 PM on November 19, 2009

If it's really that big of a deal (that is, in terms of knowing whether someone really "earned" their favorites or whether they clicked the + for their own posts), self-favoriting could always be added to the profile pages. Under the "Favorited by others" count, there could be a separate count for "Favorited by self."
posted by amyms at 10:52 PM on November 19, 2009

Your sitcom forensic skills are indeed formidable, team lowkey, but you missed one vital detail: It was also used as you describe in The Odd Couple episode "The Exorcists", in 1973, a full twelve years earlier.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:53 PM on November 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm with everyone else in this thread in thinking this is pretty dumb thing to be concerned about, but

It's all bullshit before the "but"
posted by philip-random at 11:00 PM on November 19, 2009

I was being a hamburglar.
posted by team lowkey at 11:01 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I can think of one reason that a person might want to favorite all their own posts/comments: to see all your own activity with one click on one page. The fact that he or she favorites almost nothing else leads me to think that this might be the purpose here. Has anyone asked eccnineten?
posted by taz at 11:02 PM on November 19, 2009

Even I cannot favorite my obvious joke in this comment.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:04 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm sure there have been instances of this happening, but really? How often? I don't know if one single favorite adds much to the "authority" of a comment or post, and dragging out all your sock puppets seems like a lot of work. I mean, you've almost earned it by that point.
posted by katillathehun at 11:13 PM on November 19, 2009

and dragging out all your sock puppets seems like a lot of work. I mean, you've almost earned it by that point.

You forget that there are very many children in the room.
posted by philip-random at 11:17 PM on November 19, 2009

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when?

Rabbi Hillel
posted by vronsky at 11:21 PM on November 19, 2009

User 100,000 should get get the power of unfavoriting. Or maybe mega-favoriting. Or both.

Unless Astro Zombie wins.
posted by bh at 11:26 PM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

"Though someone could spend some time with the favorites data in the Infodump if they really want to explore that angle, I guess.'

yeah that's your answer for everything isn't it cortex.

what are we having for dinner? spend some time in the infodump.

Where are my keys? spend some time in the infodump.

Why do my balls hurt? spend some time in the infodump.
posted by vronsky at 11:28 PM on November 19, 2009 [14 favorites]

So this is the thread where any crappy comment I make gets a favorite? Sold!
posted by Pronoiac at 11:53 PM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I would also like some favorites.

And I think we should keep self-favorites because it lets us know who the weird people are. *glares at Astro Zombie*

OK I don't know if you self-favorite but you're weird anyway. And also I think you're cool.
posted by Limiter at 12:05 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Top self-favoriters

It's not all about the Infodump. There's also the wiki.
posted by Pronoiac at 12:05 AM on November 20, 2009 [3 favorites]

Well, that's bizarre. That Punky episode I linked to skips a hell of a lot of the plot. Not just the Ohwhatagooseiam reveal, but it completely removed Mr. Pieces. That some weird conspiracy. Is it because Mr. Pieces was a homosexual?
posted by team lowkey at 12:16 AM on November 20, 2009

puke & cry is my new hero
posted by cj_ at 12:18 AM on November 20, 2009

If MetaFilter worked like arcades from my childhood, you could trade in 500 favorites for a kazoo that doesn't work, a switchblade-comb that breaks after being opened 5 times, or a fuzzy troll pencil-eraser. It somehow doesn't seem worth it.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:20 AM on November 20, 2009 [4 favorites]

fuzzy troll pencil-eraser is always worth it.
posted by taz at 2:08 AM on November 20, 2009 [3 favorites]

If MetaFilter worked like arcades from my childhood, you could trade in 500 favorites for a kazoo that doesn't work, a switchblade-comb that breaks after being opened 5 times, or a fuzzy troll pencil-eraser. It somehow doesn't seem worth it.

cortex and jessamyn are going to pool their favorites and get the NES with the Power Pad!
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:40 AM on November 20, 2009 [3 favorites]

Oh, the obligatory high value prize. It sat there off in the corner under the glass of the display case, covered in dust with faded ink. Was there really ever anything in there or was it just an empty box? It was there to mock me every time I went bowling, taunting me like a carny with a ticket price so high that the ski-ball machines would all run out of paper before being able to dispense a sufficient amount of tickets to claim it.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:10 AM on November 20, 2009

Oh, can I get a favourite if I say something here? Oh shit, even though I know the stakes are low I still feel like I should say something meaningful. Pressure! Um.. okay, here's a limerick:

Oh, pity the life of the mod!
They get paid to react to a prod.
"Oh save us!" we say
And then hip hip hooray
The shitty post's gone with a nod.

Well that sucked.. okay how about this:

Mathowie and cortex and jess
amyn all said 'let's have a quick rest'
'No no!' said the masses
Who raised up their glasses
"Shitfuckcunt, we've all got Tourette's!"

Sigh. Okay just give me a pity-favourite. I'll be happy with that.
posted by h00py at 3:22 AM on November 20, 2009 [7 favorites]

I can't favourite that. I have an awful feeling that my fear of hideous embarrassment is justified.
posted by h00py at 3:27 AM on November 20, 2009

I'm cool with allowing self-favoriting, but I'm a big fan of accuracy, so I think the profile pages should separately list "Favorited by others" and "Favorited by self" instead of lumping them all together under the former label.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:45 AM on November 20, 2009

I've found it's best to care about the fewest number of things you can possibly manage to care about, and it seems like it's pretty easy to not care about this.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:48 AM on November 20, 2009 [6 favorites]

Mitheral: This is an argument for removing favourite counts all together rather than restricting self favouriting.

I agree with this.
posted by Doofus Magoo at 4:10 AM on November 20, 2009

My therapist recommends that I look at my favourites count to boost my self esteem. My ebay feedback is an even bigger boost.
posted by Solomon at 4:11 AM on November 20, 2009

Remember, some people also use favorites to bookmark comments they feel are monumentally obnoxious or stupid.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:14 AM on November 20, 2009 [4 favorites]

This self-favoriting feels the same as spousing on metafilter. It is fun, but it is lacking something.
posted by kudzu at 4:20 AM on November 20, 2009

could I just self-flag myself out of existence?
posted by The Whelk at 4:23 AM on November 20, 2009

Not only should I be able to favorite myself, I should also be able to mark myself as a spouse.

THIS MAN IS AN ISLAND!
posted by DU at 4:27 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Remember, some people also use favorites to bookmark comments they feel are monumentally obnoxious or stupid.

The more I hear about this, the more I would like to see an actual example of this and I mean that someone who uses them for that reason specifically. I can understand a one of goof, or something that you think is so stupid you favorite to go back to (which would make it a bookmark). But I kind of doubt the veracity of this claim overall. Someone going around favoriting for that specific reason seems a bit unbelievable, but just like the person in this callout it is one of those things where I shrug and assume it so.
posted by P.o.B. at 4:45 AM on November 20, 2009

Generally speaking, the solutions to life problems like this can be found by looking to the lyrics from the groundbreaking music rhythm game for the PSX, Parappa the Rapper. In the immortal words of Instructor Mooselini:

uh-uh uh-uh, no way.
I've been sitting in my car
Yes, now for days.

Did you check the toilets on the left?
(Did you check
the toilets
on
the left?)

Did you check the toilets on the right?
(Did you check
the toilets
on
the right?)

OK, OK, you win.

posted by majick at 5:26 AM on November 20, 2009 [4 favorites]

Remember, some people also use favorites to bookmark comments they feel are monumentally obnoxious or stupid.

The more I hear about this, the more I would like to see an actual example of this

I've always assumed that any of my comments that are favorited are for this reason.
posted by Shohn at 5:32 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's not a high percentage of my favoriting, but I do favorite particularly clear examples of arguments that I disagree with. Not really "obnoxious" or "stupid" comments, but sort of "this is one of the best arguments from the other side of the issue." In that case, the favorite isn't to say "me too!" as much as it is to help me remember to take that argument into account when I'm working out my own thoughts, or to come back to it later for careful consideration. I'm always willing to be convinced.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 5:38 AM on November 20, 2009

You know, maybe eccnineten just sincerely believes that everything he writes is really, really great.

Not everything. I am more concerned about eccnineten's self-doubt for those few comments that are not self-favorited. Are these the ones the user would like stricken from the record?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:40 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

"REQUIRE people to comment"

As someone whose job included, at one time, to read the required comment associated with every single commit made to a source code repository containing the code for 31,000 classes being actively maintained by 40-ish developers -- people who were at least conversationally fluent in the English language and getting paid to document what they do -- let me state for the record that I know exactly what the most common required comment would be:

"[space]"

followed shortly by:

"fix"

I know you're being facetious here (and elsewhere, and over there too, and somewhere else as well, no doubt), but yeah, the very notion of self-service metadata like required commenting? Worthless. It just pushes metadata work from someone who cares about metadata to a large number of people who don't.

That's my axe to grind, and I'ma grind that bad boy.
posted by majick at 5:47 AM on November 20, 2009 [3 favorites]

Well, I favourited one of his comments too because I thought hey excellent! He translated Shakespeare into sign language! I think he's just very aware of how cool he is.

(And I'm very sad that I missed the favouriting window.. I guess I should have favourited myself, but I couldn't. I just couldn't)
posted by h00py at 5:48 AM on November 20, 2009

Self-favoriting should not cause the "Has Favorites" thing to pop up. That suggests to other people that the comment has been favorited by others, and that that it's worth reading and possibly favoriting themselves.

I don't see that happening on ones the person linked to self-favorited, so it seems like there's already code to prevent it. It's not too big an issue, though, as favorites are largely a popularity contest that don't matter.

As nerds, we're supposed to get in a snit about popularity contests and insist we're too cool for them.
posted by mccarty.tim at 6:13 AM on November 20, 2009

I have an idea! We can make favorites REQUIRE people to comment on why they favorited, so we know if they're favoriting the obnoxious or the agreeable.

I don't know if you're trying to earn one for obnoxiousness or what but you deserve one for it. I was only asking a simple question about an oft repeated example. One that doesn't seem to bear out, but, hey, maybe you could relax a little and look to see it was only a question and not an indictment of how people favorite.

but sort of "this is one of the best arguments from the other side of the issue." In that case, the favorite isn't to say "me too!" as much as it is to help me remember to take that argument into account when I'm working out my own thoughts, or to come back to it later for careful consideration.

In which case it would be a bookmark. Not that those are mutually exclusive uses, but if you marked it for an "I need to think about this." then I don't see how it would fall under the guise of "this is ridiculous."
posted by P.o.B. at 6:14 AM on November 20, 2009

And then I go back to the comments, and they do say HAS FAVORITES. Damn it, Chromium, the feebleness of my brain and Metafilter, quit screwing with me!
posted by mccarty.tim at 6:15 AM on November 20, 2009

If I could favorite myself I would never leave the house!

But seriously, I don't see the problem either. If favorite counts were, in fact, some sort of contest for which a prize were given (or self worth was based upon) then this might be an issue. But it isn't, there isn't, and it shouldn't be.
posted by JeffK at 6:24 AM on November 20, 2009

Dunno; I always read favorites like an online version of these guys, with all the importance that entails.
posted by Pragmatica at 6:35 AM on November 20, 2009

The problem, if there is one, is only in the kind of astroturfing that eccnineten is clearly doing, which nola pointed out, and which I decided to put to a discussion here. When you are favoriting most, if not all, of your own comments, you are probably doing it for some other reason than to up your own "favorite count" or to mark something you have said in order to find it later. Instead, you are probably doing it to make it appear to other readers of the site that what you have said has the approval of some other member of the site, and so it should have greater authority, especially when the "has favorites" thing applies and doesn't say how many favorites a comment has.

I'm thinking we understand terms like "astroturfing," "clearly," "probably," and "authority" in very very different ways.
posted by desuetude at 6:37 AM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

What is it with you kids drinking your ale at frosty temperatures? Unless your drinking frost-brewed cold Coor's Light, an ale should be served at no less that 48'F.
posted by slogger at 6:38 AM on November 20, 2009

The more I hear about this, the more I would like to see an actual example of this and I mean that someone who uses them for that reason specifically.

Well, one example are the people that create sock puppets with names like "You get a favorite for being dumb" and then favorite stupid things. But that's not really a real example, and besides that behavior has been gently stomped out I think anyway.

But a more valid example is not hard to find. Off the top of my head, there's "I actually know far more about this subject than I think you can imagine. [6 favorites]" which was an example of someone trying to defend pseudoscientific nonsense woo and being taken to task by basically everyone else in the thread. Now, do you really think those 6 people -- I haven't looked at who they are so this is a general statement -- favorited that comment because they agree with the nutbag, or because they want to save the comment to point and laugh at later?

Or how about "I bet my right hand against quonsar's lies. Under any amount of torture, he will break first, because he is lying. If I break first, I will surrender my right hand. [20 favorites]". Again, do you think people are pointing and laughing at the flameout, or are agreeing with the crazy person's valid points?

You can generalize this. There are these contentious threads that every so often draw someone out of the woodwork who tries to defend an outrageous position or says something totally offensive or tone deaf. And some of the time, they have a handful of favorites, most of which are people just cataloging the crazy for later.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:42 AM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

Pragmatica: "Dunno; I always read favorites like an online version of these guys, with all the importance that entails"

Which gives me an idea for a new "favorited" symbol:
⍢
posted by idiopath at 6:47 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

When I think about you I favorite myself.
posted by mintcake! at 6:50 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

*Shrug* I don't know Rhomboid. I think those are really good questions, and I think they're valid questions about behavior as it pertains to favoriting. I also think it's good to ask those questions rather than be dismissive about it though, not that you were being dismissive.
posted by P.o.B. at 6:57 AM on November 20, 2009

.
posted by exlotuseater at 6:58 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wow. From now on I'm going to favorite every comment I make. That way I can feel self-important all the time without having to impress anyone!

Thanks Metafilter!
posted by kalessin at 8:30 AM on November 20 [+] [!]

Liar!

Not only am I too embarrassed to favorite myself, I'm too embarrassed to have my sock puppets do it; I'm afraid that you guys would find out somehow and I would forever have the stench of "sneaky sock puppet self-favoriter" befouling my good name.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:00 AM on November 20, 2009

The JohnnGunn commens above are best read in the voice of Disco Stu.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:14 AM on November 20, 2009

Aw, self-favoriting isn't any worse than masturbation, as alluded to and specifically noted upthread. Alone, in private, fine. Natural, even! The problem is when you walk into a room and someone is there self-favoriting themselves. Surprise! Pants around ankles, [has favorites +] turgid and exposed (sometimes quickly retracting to just [+], sometimes proud), that innocuous bottle of lotion you never paid much attention to now leaking gooey, slick intent one spurt/click at a time. And you're like, 'fuck! I was gonna do some dishes but now that I've seen you, doing that, right there in front of everybody and god, things have changed.' And there's the problem with self-favoriting; the dishes don't get done now because brains have been tainted by privates in public.
posted by carsonb at 7:19 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think the problem is the line on the user profile says "Favorited by others" when instead many of these were "favorited by the author".

Maybe: Favoritecount = Countif(PostfavoriteAuthor != ProfileName) ?
posted by Nanukthedog at 7:25 AM on November 20, 2009

It's more like a barter system.
posted by The Whelk at 7:40 AM on November 20, 2009

I have never self-favorited myself until this thread, which to me seems like a bit of a self-favoriting neutral zone where it's not only ok to s-f, but even recommended to s-f.

Also, sometimes I Fave people, just to say hello. Is that wrong?
posted by Skygazer at 7:44 AM on November 20, 2009

There is a really easy way of dealing with this; let people self favorite, because it's not hurting anyone, but have an audio-file that plays sad trombone whenever they hit the "[+]". Just so that they know it's a shameful, dirty, (but accepted) thing that they are doing.
posted by quin at 7:56 AM on November 20, 2009 [6 favorites]

And now that we've connected the two, hopefully no one will hear sad trombone when masturbating. Because that would just be... well, sad.
posted by quin at 8:06 AM on November 20, 2009

Everyone knows self favourites don't count towards the Prize, right?
posted by lucidium at 8:16 AM on November 20, 2009

Not only am I too embarrassed to favorite myself, I'm too embarrassed to have my sock puppets do it; I'm afraid that you guys would find out somehow and I would forever have the stench of "sneaky sock puppet self-favoriter" befouling my good name.

The only worse thing would be to log into a long abandoned account and use that.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:28 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

This whole "has favorite"/hide favorite count thing makes the intentional-self-favorite-for-nefarious-purposes-behavior worse, because people may still be using favorites as a gauge of how popular a comment is, even though the mods apparently don't like that behavior. So now every comment that has at least 1 favorite may be seen as "better" than any comment that doesn't have any favorites.

It's this weird middle ground where Favorites are no longer an effective voting system, but heck, they're still a voting system. And an easier one to game.

Get rid of visible favorites entirely and just let them act as bookmarks. You could still see what someone favorited from their profile page, but not from the post/comment itself.
posted by muddgirl at 8:28 AM on November 20, 2009

> That User Who Self-Favorites Like Crazy

...should be the username of whoever wins the 100000 raffle.

> Your sitcom forensic skills are indeed formidable, team lowkey, but you missed one vital detail: It was also used as you describe in The Odd Couple episode "The Exorcists", in 1973, a full twelve years earlier.

When I was in grade school in Bangkok (1958-62), we used to teach new arrivals the "Thai National Anthem," which was sung to the tune of "God Save the Queen" and began: "O watana Siam..."
posted by languagehat at 8:33 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

The only worse thing would be to log into a long abandoned account and use that.

Oooooo Pink! Your stainless tail is showing.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:36 AM on November 20, 2009

Reminds me of the quonsar tag. That didn't go so well for him.

I can understand favorites on a few of your own comments to assist in finding them later, but this is crazy stuff.
posted by caddis at 8:38 AM on November 20, 2009

How about when you self favorite, instead of saying [has favorites] it can say [fap].
posted by InfidelZombie at 8:39 AM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

your favorite favorite sucks
posted by terrapin at 8:49 AM on November 20, 2009

Pronoiac: "Top self-favoriters

It's not all about the Infodump. There's also the wiki."

I love that tehloki is on that list. I think he just got carried away a few times.
posted by shmegegge at 8:52 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

This whole "has favorite"/hide favorite count thing makes the intentional-self-favorite-for-nefarious-purposes-behavior worse, because people may still be using favorites as a gauge of how popular a comment is, even though the mods apparently don't like that behavior. So now every comment that has at least 1 favorite may be seen as "better" than any comment that doesn't have any favorites.

Can't people figure out whether this is the case by reading the comments? Who really says to themselves, "ooh, I'd like to favorite this comment, but no one else has, so I'll favorite the one below it because some other person I don't know has marked it as a favorite for some reason that I am not privy to"?

Besides, dude started this before the favorite experiment. He can do whatever he wants with the favorite system. If people are afraid that it makes mediocre comments look good, they should have other methods of evaluating comments. Like their content.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:01 AM on November 20, 2009

Oh, and if my last comment sounded snippy, it's because I can't believe that one poor schmuck doing his own thing on MeFi is being held up as an example of gaming the site or ruining favorites. One person. Among a few thousand.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:05 AM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

oneirodynia - my point was more general than just a condemnation of this one users behavior.

I guess I'm just confused as to why we have visible favorites at all anymore, and the behavior of this one specific individual, along with the understandable reaction of yhbc, just brought my confusion into focus.
posted by muddgirl at 9:07 AM on November 20, 2009

Come on people. We are hardly going to find a problem with self-favouriting if we don't start putting a little more effort into it. Mass moral panics don't just start themselves, you know.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:38 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Dear ask.metafilter,

I'm dating this guy, and we favorite each other all the time, but the other day I got home from work early and caught him favoriting himself while looking at some website. *Sob* Am I not enough for him anymore?
posted by yohko at 9:39 AM on November 20, 2009 [6 favorites]

Dear Askme:

I favorite my partner every day, sometimes multiple times. My partner just cannot seem to favorite me, and ends up having to favorite herself. What am I doing wrong?
posted by idiopath at 9:43 AM on November 20, 2009

DTMFA.
posted by scrump at 9:46 AM on November 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

*Sob* Am I not enough for him anymore?

Don't worry, dear- he's going to go blind doing that.
posted by Pragmatica at 9:46 AM on November 20, 2009

"Is this something I'd have to see favorites to be able to understand what anyone is talking about? Because I don't see the problem in people favoriting themselves."

Wait, is there a way to hide favorites? Because I'm tired of seeing "has favorites" everywhere.
posted by Eideteker at 10:01 AM on November 20, 2009

Can't believe it took this post for me to figure out I COULD self favorite. Whadda newbie I be.

I do wonder about the rationale of having to self favorite to see one's own posts and comments: we can already do that by looking at our profiles . . .

Hope someday someone posts about how to do teeny tiny comments --- my html skills apparently aren't up to it -- so I can learn something else so useful.
posted by bearwife at 10:02 AM on November 20, 2009

bearwife: <small>text that should be tiny</small>

mefi comments use standard html, but only a few kinds of tags
posted by idiopath at 10:05 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

bearwife writes "I do wonder about the rationale of having to self favorite to see one's own posts and comments: we can already do that by looking at our profiles . . ."

I've favourited a few of my own comments to make them easier to find. I've got 8500+ comments and only 850 favourites so finding that needle is a mite bit easier in an order of magnitude smaller pile.
posted by Mitheral at 10:19 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm dating this guy, and we favorite each other all the time, but the other day I got home from work early and caught him favoriting himself while looking at some website.

But... but I've favorited thousands of people.

I didn't know! Oh god, I didn't know!
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:23 AM on November 20, 2009

I tried to make a point a few weeks ago in that other Favorites thread ... something to do with the traditional "visible-favorites" version of Metafilter functioning as a sort of cocktail party. You wander in, you notice certain areas of interest (laughter, intense discussion etc), you get drawn toward them, you throw in a line or two of your own, you get a BIG laugh or a few snarls or maybe just a subtle nod of the head, or maybe nothing at all. The point being, favorites are a way to gauge the discussion and your contributions to it and various undercurrents ...

Enter self-favoriting. It's like the room is suddenly full of mirrors and you've got all these people checking themselves out, not unlike Warren Beatty (or was it Mick Jagger) in that Carly Simon song:

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte

... pity about rhyming gavotte/apricot by the way. That's something Mick Jagger would never do.
posted by philip-random at 10:34 AM on November 20, 2009

That's something Mick Jagger would never do.

that would explain why he only sang back up on the chorus
posted by pyramid termite at 10:36 AM on November 20, 2009

I self-favourite using my non-dominant hand.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:44 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

You people and your self esteem.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:46 AM on November 20, 2009

Huh, I always thought it was
Your scarf it was apropos
As you watched yourself ggggggo. Or gi-go. Or something something go, anyway. Something self favoritey and probably underhanded. Nefarious, even.

Actually I couldn't care less about self favoriting. I just like saying nefarious.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:06 AM on November 20, 2009

The mountain has came off.
posted by at the crossroads at 11:22 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Eideteker: Wait, is there a way to hide favorites? Because I'm tired of seeing "has favorites" everywhere

I wrote a Greasemonkey script that lets you edit that to your liking.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:31 AM on November 20, 2009

It doesn't hurt anybody.

You're wrong. I'll never be the same again. Ever!
posted by Pollomacho at 11:34 AM on November 20, 2009

Favorite this comment and I will randomly favorite one of yours back. See what I did there?
posted by fixedgear at 11:53 AM on November 20, 2009 [6 favorites]

Thanks Pronoiac! I shall never worry about favorites again!
posted by muddgirl at 11:55 AM on November 20, 2009

. I'll never be the same again.

Well, you weren't the same before, so it's all one.
posted by Miko at 11:56 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

> I wrote a Greasemonkey script that lets you edit that to your liking.

A great start, Pronoiac. Now to to plug in a database and some content analysis tools so that it customizes it by the nature of the comment:

[7 people apparently never heard that one before]

[9 people want everyone to know they recognized that reference]

[3 people still think the same quote from Dr Strangelove is a hilarious response to every post involving water quality]

posted by George_Spiggott at 12:35 PM on November 20, 2009

I liked the part where people used self-favoriting as a euphemism for mastubation to comedic effect.
posted by lazaruslong at 12:36 PM on November 20, 2009

fixedgear, you already favorite every comment I make about either beer or bicycles--if you also liked rap music and tattoos, that would cover about 90% of the things I say around here.
posted by box at 12:40 PM on November 20, 2009

...quietly removes 'favorite' from box's comment...
posted by fixedgear at 12:44 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Anyone out there who wants to compute the mean number of favourites per post, (a) overall, and (b) over posts that have been self-favourited? (Maybe only since favourites were introduced?)
posted by louigi at 12:49 PM on November 20, 2009

I favorite everything because of the golden rule.
posted by Obscure Reference at 12:55 PM on November 20, 2009

The meanest number of favorites is zero.
posted by box at 12:55 PM on November 20, 2009

George_Spiggott - Now to to plug in a database and some content analysis tools so that it customizes it by the nature of the comment...

I've thought about a Greasemonkey "Pet Peeves" script, which takes comments with, say:
* "You know who else..."
* "Is this something I'd need..."
- and greys them out, puts them in Comic Sans, wraps them in <small>, and/or so forth. But first, there's a graph to make about time to 1st, 2nd, 3rd favorite & so forth (I want to see if there's an elbow after #12, & how this changed this month), & there's a podcast to transcribe and and and...
posted by Pronoiac at 1:02 PM on November 20, 2009

The meanest number of favorites is zero.

But one is the loneliest number. And two can be as bad as one; it's the loneliest number since the number one.
posted by amyms at 1:05 PM on November 20, 2009

Nice favorite count there, Forktine.
posted by contraption at 1:05 PM on November 20, 2009

I favorite my partner every day, sometimes multiple times. My partner just cannot seem to favorite me, and ends up having to favorite herself. What am I doing wrong?

DTMF(avoriter)A
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:09 PM on November 20, 2009

I'm afraid I didn't understand the comment the user favorited upon himself, so it seems like something only he/she would understand. Does it mean they didn't like the fact that religious speech was not included in hate/threatening the Prez laws or they want them to be included because any hate speech is hate speech, religious or not (i.e., I remember something about a guy out west who had a "King George, off with his head" bumper sticker and was visited by the FBI, but it's okay for people to wish this if they couch it in religious terms?)?

It's a puzzle.

But thanks for the frosty beer tips!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 1:20 PM on November 20, 2009

According to the CDC, self favoriting is the only truly safe way to engage in favoriting activity. If you must favorite someone else (outside of a monogamous favoriting relationship), you should wear a condom rubber glove to avoid a favoriting transmitted disease. More information is available at the CDC website.

IOW, you gotta wrap it before you tap it, AMIRITE?
posted by double block and bleed at 2:49 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Also, you should save that first shared favorite with someone special, after you've spoused them. Don't just give it to a stranger!
posted by double block and bleed at 2:52 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Also, the Bible says that thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's favorites.

OK, I'm done. Sorry.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:54 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

i don't really understand all the hand wringing about favorites. some people use them for bookmarks, some people use them to say me too, some people use them to show appreciation for a certain opinion/story/link, some people use them to find the "popular" ideas, some people just like clicking plus signs, and some people use them for all or none of these reasons.

the thing i can't figure out is - why do some people care? use your favorites how you want and allow everyone else the same leeway. he is not making your favorite count mean less or your opinions less visible in a thread. just because you can't figure out a "legitimate" reason for his behavior doesn't mean you should seek to stop it. i didn't understand the kid in the 5th grade who combed his hair with his fork, but it didn't make my fork any less useful for eating food.
posted by nadawi at 3:02 PM on November 20, 2009 [4 favorites]

Good lord, I step away from the 'puter for a few hours, and this is what you people get up to the minute my back is turned? Every day, in every way, I feel more and more like the fish in The Cat in the Hat.

If we're already getting crankified threads on self-favoriting in mid-November, how weird will the joint get by December 30? The MeFi Ho-Ho-Hostilityfest used to freak me out, but I've grown to find it sort of darkly sweet, like a Rankin-Bass stop-motion special as directed by Bergman.

Self-favoriting is fine. Death to self-LOLers, however.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:16 PM on November 20, 2009

LOL
posted by idiopath at 3:22 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

No offence to yhbc but I'm kind of sorry I brought it up.

It was just one of those moments of weakness when I thought 'wtf, that's strange'

But now it seems kind of pointless like shouting, 'YOUR PANTS R GREEN'
posted by nola at 3:26 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

People in green pants: Really, WTF? Blue jeans not good enough for you?

Bastards.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 4:25 PM on November 20, 2009

A guy I know from college "likes" his own wall posts on Facebook. All the fucking time. Yankees are winning? "Ernie Marks likes this." His wife is cooking beans? "Ernie Marks like this." Yankees are winning again, on a different night? "Ernie Marks likes this." Seriously, I looked at his wall just now and a post from a week ago said "Ernie Marks is watching Erik the Viking" (Ernie Marks likes this) And that movie sucked.
posted by the_bone at 4:58 PM on November 20, 2009

Gosh. Well THANKS A WHOLE FUGGIN LOT, NOLA.

Last time I get YOUR back.
posted by yhbc at 5:09 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

*slinks away in shame*
posted by nola at 5:23 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm glad you can favourite your own posts. The last post of mine was stuck at 99 favorites for the past few days and it was driving me batty, so I went ahead and made it 100. So there. I blame it on growing up in a cricket mad country.
posted by dhruva at 5:37 PM on November 20, 2009

Now, can we start drinking again?

I say, everytime someone self-favorites we do a shot.

I'll go first.
posted by Skygazer at 6:45 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wow, it's like 24 hours later, this thread is still open, and once again, I'm sitting here reading it with a beer.
posted by Ouisch at 6:58 PM on November 20, 2009

Years ago there was some sort of thread wherein Cory Doctorow was ridiculed for self-favoriting. Fuck if I can find it though.
posted by pelham at 7:00 PM on November 20, 2009

How about when you self favorite, instead of saying [has favorites] it can say [fap].

I vote with do this with all favourites. It's sort of like "faved" except loads dirtier.

[fapped +]
posted by Ouisch at 7:01 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm sure someone probably made that joke on the original "favorites experiment" thread, but I don't even give a shit because that is how fucking hardass badcore I am.
posted by Ouisch at 7:05 PM on November 20, 2009

fixedgear: "Favorite this comment and I will randomly favorite one of yours back. See what I did there"

You, sir, are a liar and a charlatan, I shall have to report you to the proper authorities, who are you to connive your way into undeserved favorites by making promises in bad faith.

Do not favorite fixedgear he will not favorite you back.

F- WOULD NOT do business again.
posted by idiopath at 7:12 PM on November 20, 2009

Speaking of drinking, is it considered self-favoriting if...

*You post on MeFi drunk, and favorite a sober post?
*You post on MeFi sober, and favor a drunk post?
*You get high from smoking that la la la, and favor non-high posts?
*You're not high and favor posts when you were smoking that la la la?
*You die, and your ghost favorites your posts?
*You were banned, and with your new username you favorite your old posts?
*You are one of those weirdos that use a joint (one of those sound good right now) account. I think I remember reading in the archives that a few MeFiers shared accounts. You make a comment, and then hubby gets on teh computer and favors it.

So many questions.
posted by Eleutherios at 7:13 PM on November 20, 2009

Or what if you suffer from Dementia Praecox and you have 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 56 other personalities, but you only use one account and you unknowingly favorite yourself from when you were in another personality.

Ahh...whatever...do a shot.
posted by Skygazer at 7:21 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Goddamn I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF THAT.

*bottle clink*
posted by Ouisch at 7:44 PM on November 20, 2009

Ouisch: "Wow, it's like 24 hours later, this thread is still open, and once again, I'm sitting here reading it with a beer"

That's one literate beer you've got there.
posted by FishBike at 7:46 PM on November 20, 2009

Well, it is French.
posted by Ouisch at 9:02 PM on November 20, 2009

So what kind of trouble would I get into if I posted drunk? Cause this is beginning to feel like a good drunk night.

I wonder what I would actually say?
posted by MultiFaceted at 9:22 PM on November 20, 2009

Posting drunk is an honored tradition, in particular times like this when the mods are probably busy getting drunk and having some fun themselves, so your stupidest comments and most ill-advised FPPs will stay up as long as possible.

In all seriousness, mathowie, please consider shelling out the cash and hire a mod that lives in Australia, China, or Siberia, so we get some better time-zone coverage.
posted by idiopath at 9:27 PM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

That there's the price of the favorites system. Some people be using it in a different way that fucks up your way, you can't impose on them what you want them to do.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:31 PM on November 20, 2009

The problem, if there is one, is only in the kind of astroturfing that eccnineten is clearly doing...

Clearly the solution is Chinese favoriting sweatshops where for only $2.95 per day, sockpuppets will favorite you on a consistent basis.

Truth be known, there's only like three users on this site. One guy pays the other 99,997 sockpuppets to favorite his comments.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:46 PM on November 20, 2009

So what kind of trouble would I get into if I posted drunk?

The trouble kind. The don't kind.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:41 PM on November 20, 2009

...and here I am three hours later, out of beer and sober as a judge.

Goddammit.
posted by Ouisch at 12:23 AM on November 21, 2009

Yeah..I even went out and all I got out of it was a headache.

Some nights just aren't built for drinking.
posted by Skygazer at 12:36 AM on November 21, 2009

I now have a list of people who couldn't get a date on Friday Night... I'm gonna favorite this.
posted by HuronBob at 4:02 AM on November 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

amateurs
posted by The Whelk at 8:57 AM on November 21, 2009

I think I am awesome. who are you to judge?
posted by krautland at 1:15 PM on November 22, 2009

[this comment intentionally kept blank]
posted by ob at 7:05 AM on November 23, 2009 [2 favorites]