Whither these dudes? July 18, 2010 5:18 PM   Subscribe

What happened to Smedleyman and IRFH?

Two of my fave MeFites, and they seem to be MIA. Quick site searches don't tell me much. Anybody know the score?
posted by GrammarMoses to MetaFilter-Related at 5:18 PM (140 comments total)

Perhaps they decided to just bail out without feeling they needed to announce it. It's best to do it that way, I think.
posted by turgid dahlia at 5:23 PM on July 18, 2010 [3 favorites]


I’m not saying they’re not not tied up in my basement.
posted by found missing at 5:24 PM on July 18, 2010 [3 favorites]


I saw them in terminal 3 of LAX a few months ago. They were boarding a flight for 4chan.
posted by special-k at 5:28 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


Oh, that's too bad, IRFH had one of my all-time favorite usernames!
posted by lunasol at 5:31 PM on July 18, 2010


Here's a clue from IRFH.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:31 PM on July 18, 2010


Yeah we've seen this bug before: if someone favorites one of your comments 500 times, the site automatically disables your account.*


*At least that's the story I'm going with...
posted by hermitosis at 5:39 PM on July 18, 2010 [6 favorites]


They were in level 3 of the dream but missed the kick.

I do miss IRFH.
posted by Elmore at 5:40 PM on July 18, 2010 [3 favorites]


Smed is on hiatus, he said that it's temporary so he should be back at some point.

Flo noted that he may be gone for good, but not for any mefi-specific reason, just personal stuff. I hope it doesn't play out that way because I will miss him terribly, but life is bigger than mefi and can be funny that way.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:40 PM on July 18, 2010 [4 favorites]


Dang, two of my faves also. I remember Smed left once before but came back after a while, so hopefully we'll see them around again.
posted by Quietgal at 5:41 PM on July 18, 2010


I didn't preview but cortex didn't proofread, so we're even.
posted by Quietgal at 5:42 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


I miss infinitywaltz.
posted by infinitywaltz at 5:43 PM on July 18, 2010


I don't know what you're talking about!
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:44 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


Here's a pony request that I'm sure will be made into dog food: a little more explanation for disabled accounts, voluntary (he pushed the button) vs. involuntary (banninated), permanent or temporary or not sure, 'no hard feelings' or 'with extreme prejudice' (from check-off-boxes, because allowing quitting MeFites to leave a good-bye message has potential for extreme ugliness).
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:51 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


Or maybe a check off box for 'I'm still here under a different name'
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:52 PM on July 18, 2010


Thanks for the info, cortex.
posted by GrammarMoses at 6:01 PM on July 18, 2010


"...life is bigger than mefi..."

Psh. Maybe yours.
posted by griphus at 6:04 PM on July 18, 2010 [9 favorites]


Two words: Logan's Run.
posted by maxwelton at 6:06 PM on July 18, 2010


Smed is a Sandman?

And it looks like they're doing a remake of Logan's Run. Didn't they already do that and call it The Island.
posted by P.o.B. at 6:12 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


Here's a pony request that I'm sure will be made into dog food: a little more explanation for disabled accounts

Honestly, people who really really want to accomplish this can do so one way or another without a whole lot of trouble.

We've determined at this point that we don't want to make it trivial for people to leave some fucked up SCREW YOU FUCKERS message in their profiles in their profiles post-closure; folks who want to kiss off will do so in-thread, folks who want us to know what's up to pass on if people ask (cf. Smed and Flo here) can leave us a notes or email folks they know, etc.

Trying to create some weird hybrid afterlife for departed folks beyond what we currently roughly facilitate via account closure notes sounds like a nightmare with almost zero payoff. I understand the idea, but no.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:17 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


in their profiles in their profiles

Okay, now you're doing it on purpose.
posted by P.o.B. at 6:20 PM on July 18, 2010


The island was not a remake of Logan's Run. It was a remake of The Clonus Horror.

And Scatlett Johansen is no Jenny Agutter.

posted by cortex (staff) at 6:21 PM on July 18, 2010 [3 favorites]


> I don't know what you're talking about!

cortex, you fink! it's totally unfair that mods can edit comments and the rest of us just have to look like crazy people

posted by Quietgal at 6:22 PM on July 18, 2010 [4 favorites]


Scatlett! I'm not even going to pretend not to be using an iPhone at a barbecue at this point.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:22 PM on July 18, 2010 [16 favorites]


I think this is one of the few times I think Wikipedia is actually insightful in saying:

a pastiche of "escape-from-dystopia" science fiction films

posted by P.o.B. at 6:24 PM on July 18, 2010


i'm in ur bbqs moddin frum an iphone!!!1!
posted by P.o.B. at 6:26 PM on July 18, 2010 [5 favorites]


Personally, I want to know where Brandon Blatcher went.
posted by limeonaire at 6:31 PM on July 18, 2010


He's still here.
posted by special-k at 6:34 PM on July 18, 2010 [3 favorites]


Next time my account implodes I'm totally coming back as Scatlett.
posted by hermitosis at 6:39 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


cortex, you fink

My god, this is the first time in what seems like 20 years that I have encountered the word "fink". What a great word (apologies to cortex, here).
posted by KokuRyu at 6:40 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm not even going to pretend not to be using an iPhone at a barbecue at this point.

That reminds me of a song. Hack Williams, I guess. "iPhone at a Barbecue".

Oh I got me an iPhone at a barbeque
Cookin' up some weenies
And simultaneously moderating
Yeah yeah moderating
My love for you.
posted by turgid dahlia at 6:45 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


Ahh, never mind!
posted by limeonaire at 6:45 PM on July 18, 2010


folks who want us to know what's up to pass on if people ask

But then we have to ask. We can only ask in two ways:

1/ Threads like this, which are fleeting and not in a member's profile.
2/ MeMail, which makes it private information shared through a back-channel.

#2 is what we've got now and I would argue that as a system, it's not very systematic.
Banned accounts should say "banned" and not "disabled" to distinguish members who have left voluntarily but are eligible to return from those who are no longer members.

And honestly, I don't see a down-side to letting members who leave voluntarily fill out an exit survey to indicate their departure status ala [ ] quit [ ] hiatus [ ] unknown.

I mean, we distinguish deceased members from other absent members, which is as it should be. Presumably we do not want the community to think dead members have been banned, and actively clarify that. But like there is a difference between banned and dead, I think there is also a significant difference between banned and departed which should be recognised.

In other words, bageena's absence is different than, say, dhoyt's, but dhoyt's is also very different than IRFH's. Should we not flag those differences? They seem very distinctive and easy to categorize to me.
posted by DarlingBri at 6:54 PM on July 18, 2010 [6 favorites]


One daughter they loved very much and named her Scarlet.

The other daughter, they named Scatlett.

Come back to us IRFH.
posted by fleacircus at 7:03 PM on July 18, 2010


But then we have to ask. We can only ask in two ways:

And I know that's kinda rough if you're wondering what's up, but I think that fundamentally that's okay even if it's personally disappointing sometimes. Mefites are not a captive population, they can leave without notice if they want and generally speaking do so, far more often than the button let alone button with an explicit note if my view of the numbers is correct.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:06 PM on July 18, 2010


Scatlett!

scatlett [skat' lət]
noun
an especially cute turd
posted by Sys Rq at 7:09 PM on July 18, 2010


This avocado peanut stir fry is horrible. Why did I order this?
posted by dobbs at 7:19 PM on July 18, 2010


Arrgh. Wrong thread!
posted by dobbs at 7:19 PM on July 18, 2010


Arrgh! Wrong site! :<
posted by dobbs at 7:19 PM on July 18, 2010 [10 favorites]


Occasionally I get the urge to disable my account and start using my sockpuppet instead just to see a) how long it would take before anyone noticed that Navelgazer wasn't posting anymore, and b) whether a simple change in usernames would affect the reactions to posts and comments.

Thankfully, I'll never actually do this. Even if my sockpuppet's name is much cooler than this one.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:20 PM on July 18, 2010


2) a female scat singer 3) to have scat-ed (see also coprophilia)
posted by P.o.B. at 7:21 PM on July 18, 2010


And Scatlett Johansen is no Jenny Agutter.

But she could be. Just maybe. Actually, I fear no one could be as amazing as Jenny Agutter. I just don't know. But Scarlett's got as good a chance as anyone.

it looks like they're doing a remake of Logan's Run.

I love the original movie, but the book is so chock-full of craziness that a remake that followed it more closely could easily stand on its own. I don't have a lot of confidence that such a movie will be made, but it could happen.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:26 PM on July 18, 2010


Smedleyman adds humor, insight to MetaFilter

Self link?
posted by slogger at 7:28 PM on July 18, 2010


cortex, you fink! it's totally unfair that mods can edit comments and the rest of us just have to look like crazy people

What I want to know is, who deletes the inappropriate answers in AskMe and comments related to foreskins that the mods post?
posted by crunchland at 7:28 PM on July 18, 2010


Occasionally I get the urge to disable my account and start using my sockpuppet instead just to see a) how long it would take before anyone noticed that Navelgazer wasn't posting anymore, and b) whether a simple change in usernames would affect the reactions to posts and comments.

It's been done. And no, it doesn't.
posted by crunchland at 7:29 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


And what happened to Amberglow? And matteo?
posted by dobbs at 7:30 PM on July 18, 2010


what happened to Amberglow? And matteo?

Cat ate 'em.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:45 PM on July 18, 2010


*burp*
posted by new brand day at 7:46 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


Huh? the mods look like crazy people too, but just with super powers!
posted by new brand day at 7:47 PM on July 18, 2010


What I want to know is, who deletes the inappropriate answers in AskMe and comments related to foreskins that the mods post?

We basically just chase each other around like the Three Stooges with that stuff.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:49 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


Well, if today ain't the day of crunchland schoolin' me on all things MeFi!

Seriously, though, I doubted it would change much of anything, and I trust from your time as Dave Farris you would know (then again, under either name you've been more influential to the site than I have been.) For what it's worth I have zero complaints about how I'm treated on this site, which is why I basically live here. It's more a question of mild curiosity than anything else.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:51 PM on July 18, 2010


I recognize those user-names and tend to enjoy posts and comments made by the person or people behind them!
posted by paisley henosis at 7:51 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


I've been a continiously active MeFi member for almost ten years now and with the exception of maybe twenty users, four of whom are mods, no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

My hatred of all of you, however, seethes and boils unabated.
posted by eyeballkid at 8:03 PM on July 18, 2010 [9 favorites]


When I changed to using my real name, I was convinced it would a) give me a brand new start, and that people would respond differently to me, and that b) I would be more careful being belligerent and caustic in my comments since, I figured, I wouldn't be hiding behind an alias, I'd be more careful and respectful all ways around.

I suspect the failure of the second premise had a huge effect on the failure of the first premise, but both ended up failing miserably. The people who didn't like what I said or did as crunchland showed great flexibility in not liking what I did under my real name. Perfectly understandable, really, since I didn't change the way I reacted or posted. That some of those people were the people who run the site is what caused me to decide to take a self-imposed hiatus for about a year. I'm hoping the slippery slope to the same conclusion isn't completely inevitable.
posted by crunchland at 8:12 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


Yeah. I haven't gotten into any big fights around here, partially because I'm pretty non-confrontational to begin with and partially because I'm only just recently feeling like I'm sitting at the "big kids table" around here anyway. So I've got no reason to change names. Except, again, that the other name is better.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:18 PM on July 18, 2010


Just out of curiosity, shouldn't that be hatred for all of you?
posted by yhbc at 8:28 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


Huh. Crunchland now looks a hell of a lot like George Washington. That's interesting.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:32 PM on July 18, 2010


> first time in what seems like 20 years that I have encountered the word "fink"

Old fogeys, representin'!
posted by Quietgal at 8:38 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


I think there is also a significant difference between banned and departed which should be recognised.

I tend to agree with DarlingBri in most cases and look up to most of her comments like she is the internet big sister I never had and always wanted, but (silly as this might sound) I disagree in this case because I think that getting banned can be kind of personal and if a user was banned he or she might prefer not to have that known to everyone. There have been times when a user's account has been disabled without any final words about it. If they DID get banned, I think it's better for it just to happen quietly in case the person would be embarrassed or sensitive about getting banned. I suppose basically what I'm saying is the mods may have taken their account, but I appreciate that they still have their dignity.

So the phrasing of that last sentence sounded kind of familiar to me and then I realized it's because I recently read A Confederacy of Dunces and it kind of sounds like "There were plenty of beaus at the ball, but I still have my honor" only, I guess, "There were plenty of mods at the banning, but I still have my dignity". And then someone (Cortex?) dressed as a parrot grabs a donut because it shaped like a ring and, um, hilarity transpires.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:50 PM on July 18, 2010


Mrs. Pterodactyl, I see what your saying, and I also see the desire for better knowing the site's history. Though in the case of banhammering one could always look up the user's last comment (which is what I tend to do if I'm curious about someone's account being disabled.)
posted by Navelgazer at 8:54 PM on July 18, 2010


I do that too (because of my insatiable curiosity -- I'm pretty much the Elephant's Child), but if there's no crazy flameout or explicit banning in their final activity then I don't know what happened, and I think it's better that way. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to know because, you know, I'm super curious, but I also recognize that maybe it's sort of best to let it go if it's not already explicit. Being banned doesn't negate the contributions someone made to the site and I'm not a big fan of the idea of having that be the final message displayed on their profile irrespective of any positive contributions they might have made.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:03 PM on July 18, 2010


Mrs. Pterodactyl, flattering though that is, nobody should look up to me. My life is two steps from a (fairly genteel) train wreck at all times. It is frequently easier to offer suggestions for sorting out the lives of complete though fondly held strangers on the internet than to sort out my own. Also I make cataclysmically poor FPPs. I am fatally flawed as a MeFi member.

I suppose basically what I'm saying is the mods may have taken their account, but I appreciate that they still have their dignity.

I suppose I assume most people who have managed to get themselves banned have engaged in behaviour that is decidedly un-dignified by the standards of the site - self-linking, spectacular flame-outs, deception, etc. - and that's why they're no longer welcome. However, since we don't have a public tally of these people, I could very well be wrong. Perhaps a good number of them are just misguided problem children who should be quietly shuffled out the back door and silently disappeared into the ether.

There goes my line of Scarlet B t-shirts.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:36 PM on July 18, 2010


no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

You know what's funny? I was honestly thinking of taking a long vacation from Metafilter today before I read this comment. I've been here for three years and five months.
posted by Avenger at 10:14 PM on July 18, 2010


*hugs IRFH from afar*

Live your life, dudebroski. It's much more important than us, no matter how much we may miss you. We'll be here. The important things come first.
posted by loquacious at 10:24 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


I've been a continiously active MeFi member for almost ten years now and with the exception of maybe twenty users, four of whom are mods, no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

Aw hell, now you've gone and made me feel old and part of some endangered species or something.

I think you've got to be wrong. There are probably lots that are continually active for more than 3 year stretches, but just not prolific enough so as you'd notice.
posted by juv3nal at 10:39 PM on July 18, 2010 [4 favorites]


I hate you most of all yhbc.

*seethes*
posted by eyeballkid at 10:46 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


IRFH, I hope you weren't the one who posted the two anonymous AskMe questions I am thinking of at the moment. If you were, I am very sorry about your situation and I wish you and your family peace.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:09 PM on July 18, 2010


sometimes I wish I were a noob again adn didn't have a clue what this thread meant
posted by infini at 11:24 PM on July 18, 2010


I've never been able to parse Smedlyman's comments.

I feel vaguely bad about that.
posted by Afroblanco at 12:42 AM on July 19, 2010 [2 favorites]


Me too. I like the writing, it's strong, great insights, but sort of long, and the formatting is at odds with what many use here. It's not that I don't understand or lack the patience to unlock the specific whatevers, it's more of an eye thing.

It reminds me I need eye surgery is what it does. All the best, Smed.
posted by Wolof at 1:07 AM on July 19, 2010


I always just assumed that his mind works differently than mine. But he seems to be a good guy, and I'm glad that he has an audience here.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:09 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


Mefites are not a captive population, they can leave without notice if they want

LOL

Yes, I suppose that is one way you night choose to spin it.
posted by Meatbomb at 2:39 AM on July 19, 2010 [3 favorites]


Mefites are not a captive population, they can leave without notice if they want

yes but then you have to forgo your severance favourites and no one wants that.
posted by elizardbits at 3:14 AM on July 19, 2010 [2 favorites]


you mean they can leave any time they like but they can never check out?
posted by infini at 3:28 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


you mean they can leave any time they like but they can never check out?

It's more like they could check out, but then they'd have to do without the ever-replenishing mini-bar.
posted by djgh at 4:21 AM on July 19, 2010


I've been a continiously active MeFi member for almost ten years now and with the exception of maybe twenty users, four of whom are mods, no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

If they hadn't added AskMe, I'm sure I would have left years ago.
posted by smackfu at 6:14 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


Smedleyman adds humor, insight to MetaFilter

You left out "unnecessary, perplexing line breaks."
posted by applemeat at 6:22 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


I seethe what you did there.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:33 AM on July 19, 2010


Smedleyman and IRFH, I hope you weren't the ones who posted the two anonymous AskMe questions I am thinking of at the moment. I told you not to eat it. I told you, god dammit.
posted by stavrogin at 6:41 AM on July 19, 2010 [3 favorites]


If someone disables their account and doesn't leave a note about why, I can't imagine how it's anyone's business why they did that. If they wanted people to know, they'd have left a note. Also, it's really, really no one's business if they were booted out, rather than leaving voluntarily. I feel like that's a confidentiality issue, kind of like the mods are working in the HR department and would be blabbing about someone being fired.

Having said all that, why does someone disable their their account when they take a break due to their busy "real life" rather than just leave it as is and not show up for a while?
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:59 AM on July 19, 2010


Lack of self control.
posted by smackfu at 7:08 AM on July 19, 2010


I think it's very similar to when compulsive gamblers have themselves banned from casinos. Sometimes you just have to make it difficult for yourself in order to regain some sense of normality.
posted by h00py at 7:19 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


Also, you can disable your account with the button, but you need to email the mods to re-enable it.
posted by smackfu at 7:24 AM on July 19, 2010


Yes, I suppose that is one way you night choose to spin it.

? I don't have a problem if you feel like you disagree with me about this, but I don't know what you're actually trying to say and this kind of reads like you're telling me I said something bullshitty. What am I missing?
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:29 AM on July 19, 2010


Ha! Self-control! Oh my goodness, that makes so much sense. It's kind of disturbing how much sense that makes to me. God. I may have to do that soon. Uh, thanks.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 7:33 AM on July 19, 2010


I think there is also a significant difference between banned and departed which should be recognised.

Yeah we've been talking about this a little. I think our thinking at the time was this.

- we didn't want to get into fights with legitimately-banned spammers over their profile page saying something potentially inflammatory
- we didn't want people who were taking an involuntary day/week off to have user pages that looked the same as banned-spammers
- this was before the Big Red Button option was available to people and widely used
- some people disabled their accounts right before we could ban them so even though they left of their own accord they're not really welcome back
- we're happy to at least give short "what happened" answers to anyone who wants them.

So even though there's a lot of nuance to how people leave the site, sometimes we know it and sometimes we don't, we decided to have a pretty flat "this person is not here any more" mention [except for deceased members and even that is only marked when we know about it] so that the mentions on the profile pages themselves wouldn't be a source of contention.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:49 AM on July 19, 2010


I don't have a problem if you feel like you disagree with me about this, but I don't know what you're actually trying to say and this kind of reads like you're telling me I said something bullshitty. What am I missing?

I could be wrong, but I think he was just making a light-hearted joke.
posted by adamdschneider at 8:56 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


Do you think I'd be taken seriously or do I need to spend another 5 bucks?

*contemplates navel*
posted by hugbucket at 8:57 AM on July 19, 2010


What I want to know is why new brand day makes less typos than his former incarnation. I'm serious.
posted by desjardins at 9:03 AM on July 19, 2010


I could be wrong, but I think he was just making a light-hearted joke.

I may be experiencing an epic failure to locate the joke in the first place, let alone get it, yeah. People leaving the site is enough of a contentious and touchy subject for any number of reasons that it may be leaving me more on edge than it ought to. I'm still squinting hard and not finding the shape of the joke but I can appreciate that I may just be on the wrong frequency this morning.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:06 AM on July 19, 2010


I think he meant to sound ominous about the fact that we could check out anytime we like but we could never leave with the undercurrent humour of the reality of our addiction to your presence in our lives and the site..

here, have a hug... no snarks
posted by infini at 9:13 AM on July 19, 2010


> What am I missing?

Meatbomb, god love him, occasionally says things that parse as jokes only to him. I recently reread a thread where he managed to piss off a number of people, including me, before he explained that he was just making a funny. I think it's the astral gases that get to him.
posted by languagehat at 9:17 AM on July 19, 2010


"Subtle fire" is one of my favorite phrases ever. Lucky djinn.
posted by adamdschneider at 9:26 AM on July 19, 2010


hugbucket: Do you think I'd be taken seriously or do I need to spend another 5 bucks?

I'll pay you $5 every time you don't make a comment.
posted by gman at 9:29 AM on July 19, 2010


I dunno, I expect a 'bomb to have gas as one of its deliverables ...
posted by infini at 9:32 AM on July 19, 2010


gman, wanna buy me a sock as a gift then?
posted by infini at 9:33 AM on July 19, 2010


Perhaps the subtle distinction between retiring and bannination might be found between "This user has disabled their account" and "This account has been disabled." Nothing like the passive voice for the little things.
posted by adipocere at 9:35 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


gotcha...

Schmoopy, my lovely, you've been spoused
posted by hugbucket at 9:44 AM on July 19, 2010


I can see I will never ever be taken seriously around here

*sniff*


ponders navel even more furiously
posted by hugbucket at 9:45 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


The worst part about people changing usernames is when they become mild internet celebrities before you notice that they're not gone, and then you add them as a contact again, but because they're mild internet celebrities they don't add you as a contact and you feel lonely and confused.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:47 AM on July 19, 2010


I just wanted to say that I always envisioned IRFH as having long curly hair and a big thick mustache, just like Ned Flanders'. I don't know why. But I always told myself that if I ever found myself involved in a conversation that included him, I would ask him about the mustache.

And now he's gone.

*sobs*
posted by bitteroldman at 9:48 AM on July 19, 2010


Next time my account implodes I'm totally coming back as Scatlett.

Why you little shit ! How dare you!
posted by y2karl at 10:00 AM on July 19, 2010


Oh sure, the one time I espouse somebody and he disables his account. I can take a hint.

I've been a continiously active MeFi member for almost ten years now and with the exception of maybe twenty users, four of whom are mods, no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

I've been a member for 8 years and took a couple of vacations: once or twice for 6 months and once for a year. Nobody missed me. I would guess that's about par for the course.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:08 AM on July 19, 2010


I've been a continiously active MeFi member for almost ten years now and with the exception of maybe twenty users, four of whom are mods, no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

I've been a continuously "active" member for almost 6 years no, with no breaks. However, I am neither prolific enough, or witty enough, so almost no one notices that I am here. Ever.

*sobs

*weeps openly

*gnashes teeth, rends garments
posted by jivadravya at 10:28 AM on July 19, 2010


I've been a continiously active MeFi member for almost ten years now and with the exception of maybe twenty users, four of whom are mods, no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

Crap. Can someone define "or so" for me? I'd like to know how much more time I have.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:31 AM on July 19, 2010


Damn, and no one even noticed when I was gone. Or, if they did, I missed it because I wasn't here.
posted by Eideteker at 10:58 AM on July 19, 2010


we're happy to at least give short "what happened" answers to anyone who wants them.

There are some cases where I'd like to know but I don't want to seem vulgarly curious about something that's none of my business (and I don't know whether or not it's an appropriate use of the contact form). It's actually okay to ask? If it's a touchy subject, I don't want to be pushy.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:00 AM on July 19, 2010


Meatbomb's comment totally read as a joke to me, but I've been known to suffer from foot-in-mouth disease myself on occasion, so I might be more apt to pick up on fellow sufferers.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:02 AM on July 19, 2010


yeh, jivadravya, me, too. I've had my account since August 2001 (and made my first comment shortly thereafter) and I consider myself an active user. But then I realized that--to me--actively using metafilter mostly means reading it pretty much every day and sharing stuff I find here with non-metafilter friends. Or commenting to non-metafilter friends about my reactions to comments or posts.

My guess is there are lots of long-time users, who consider metafilter well-integrated into their lives, that "no-one" notices around here.
posted by crush-onastick at 11:03 AM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


It's fine to ask, yeah. Drop us an email. Worst case scenario is we don't have anything to tell you.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:06 AM on July 19, 2010


Awesome, thanks!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:30 AM on July 19, 2010


My guess is there are lots of long-time users, who consider metafilter well-integrated into their lives, that "no-one" notices around here.

Heh, boy howdy. Closing in on ten years of angry, malformed arguments and wretched jokes!
posted by Skot at 11:30 AM on July 19, 2010


I, too, miss Smedleyman's weirdly formatted hard carriage return crazy line break comments. We don't get many people posting from a modified IBM selectric hooked up to a VT100 terminal and lynx.
posted by Justinian at 11:43 AM on July 19, 2010 [3 favorites]


i think he was the first one i spoused, at least inside my head
posted by infini at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2010


and schmoopy., i know what hug means
posted by infini at 11:53 AM on July 19, 2010


but life is bigger than mefi

Is this guy really mod material? I say stone the blasphemer!!

I can appreciate that I may just be on the wrong frequency this morning.

Oh, okay.. Apology accepted.
posted by Chuckles at 11:59 AM on July 19, 2010


DIE HUGBUCKET DIE! Seriously, cut that shit out.

Actually, both of you need to cut this out at this point. Having sock puppets for the occasional joke is fine. Using them as a lulzy blind for your MeTa aggressions, not so great. We don't know who does or doesn't know about who is behind which accounts, so just knock it off and no one needs to worry about it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:27 PM on July 19, 2010


you stole my line you a&&
posted by infini at 12:52 PM on July 19, 2010


Hey, spiderwire -- where'd you go?
posted by heyho at 2:26 PM on July 19, 2010


I've been a continiously active MeFi member for almost ten years now and with the exception of maybe twenty users, four of whom are mods, no one sticks around for more than three years or so.

I don't think this is true. I've been a continuously active member for six and a half years now, and I would have been continuously active for a few years longer than that if it had occurred to me to mail Mathowie and ask for an account since apparently even when signups were closed you could get one if you were proactive enough. And I hardly think I'm exhibiting any particularly impressive amount of longevity.
posted by Justinian at 3:46 PM on July 19, 2010


My guess is there are lots of long-time users, who consider metafilter well-integrated into their lives, that "no-one" notices around here.

We ought to form a club!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:50 PM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


gman, wanna buy me a sock as a gift then?

Sure, but you have to promise to use capital letters and punctuation, and to never use hugbucket again.
posted by gman at 3:51 PM on July 19, 2010


apparently even when signups were closed you could get one if you were proactive enough

Trust me, it didn't always work.
posted by fleacircus at 4:29 PM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


I don't think this is true.

I'm inclined to agree. In any case, with a reasonably clear definition of "sticking around" (some minimum threshold of activity from year to year?) it wouldn't be hard to do a quick empirical test with the Infodump data.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:37 PM on July 19, 2010


Stop playing with yer dang infodump and go ride your bike!
posted by Mister_A at 5:28 PM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


"...it wouldn't be hard to do a quick empirical test with the Infodump data."

How difficult* would it be to generate a tool where you could input a user number and it would generate a graph of activity over time?

*For you data geeks - it would probably take me a year.
posted by vapidave at 6:30 PM on July 19, 2010


Slow, steady, and low-value-add comments. The key to longevity.
posted by Mid at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2010


I've been making venal, curse-ridden comments for coming up on eight years.

What ever happened to Stan Chin?
posted by notsnot at 7:57 PM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]


and I would have been continuously active for a few years longer than that if it had occurred to me to mail Mathowie and ask for an account since apparently even when signups were closed you could get one if you were proactive enough.

BAH! :P

I started lurking here in early 2002 and emailed Matt a few times asking, BEGGING for an account, to no avail. After running across this MeFi post in August 2003 about Linkfilter, I joined up there since I couldn't join here.

It wasn't until late 2004 that I was able to get a MeFi account! Three whole years of being denied MeFi! THREE YEARS!!

*shakes fist at sky, sips some apple juice*
posted by darkstar at 12:30 AM on July 20, 2010


gman: so your offer essentially is that for 5 bucks you want an stepford wife sock puppet?
posted by infini at 12:40 AM on July 20, 2010


If he says no, I'll take one.
posted by fleacircus at 1:48 AM on July 20, 2010


gotcha?
posted by infini at 1:59 AM on July 20, 2010


Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?
posted by fleacircus at 5:24 AM on July 20, 2010


jaws maybe
posted by infini at 7:01 AM on July 20, 2010


Count me in to the group that is on MeFi and affiliated subsites multiple times daily but has an abysmally small post count for someone who's been here for five years. I love this place, I just don't feel I add much to things when I get around to actually posting a comment.
posted by Phantomx at 11:53 AM on July 20, 2010


I miss infini and all the thread-killing comments that user contributed to the site.
posted by not_on_display at 2:55 PM on July 20, 2010


Nobody missed me.

I did.
posted by Sallyfur at 8:52 PM on July 20, 2010


where'd I go?
posted by infini at 12:57 AM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Wow, here eight years (almost). I guess that makes me one of the 20 pterodactyls.
posted by blucevalo at 7:06 PM on July 21, 2010


vapidave: Not very hard. A person could do it in Excel, even. How do I get my paws on the Infodump, again?
posted by GrammarMoses at 4:43 PM on July 28, 2010


Oh, never mind, found it. Using the Search thingy.
posted by GrammarMoses at 4:46 PM on July 28, 2010


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