Truth Dare or Torture? June 19, 2011 11:49 AM   Subscribe

Any MeFites check the member number of the people favoriting them – feeling chuffed if they have 4 digits, whereas your eyes might glaze over if they have 6 digits*?

Anyone regularly MeMail back with an "aww thanks"? Any MeFites found themselves in an innocent favoriting love-in? Any other shameful secrets you want to share?
posted by uncanny hengeman to MetaFilter-Related at 11:49 AM (168 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

*Except for Rory. All hail the power of Rory's name!
posted by uncanny hengeman at 11:51 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


uncanny hengeman: *Except for Rory. All hail the power of Rory's name!

Jesus, that's fuckin' ridiculous. I think the dude has some great comments on here, but elevating him to godlike status is a bit much.
posted by gman at 11:53 AM on June 19, 2011 [8 favorites]


Level 50 troll is more like it. :D
posted by phaedon at 11:56 AM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Er. That was meant to be lighthearted, guys.

Here's another question. Anyone got statistics on sh1tting in your own thread the fastest?
posted by uncanny hengeman at 12:03 PM on June 19, 2011


What is a Rory?
posted by Cranberry at 12:04 PM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]


I was rather foolishly delighted to get email from Jessamyn in answer to questions (I believe the answer was a kindly stated 'no' in both cases).
Not that you care since I'm a 6digiter. :(
posted by Glinn at 12:05 PM on June 19, 2011


Any other shameful secrets you want to share?

I'm sorry I caused all that cancer.
posted by griphus at 12:06 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Any MeFites check the member number of the people favoriting them – feeling chuffed if they have 4 digits, whereas your eyes might glaze over if they have 6 digits*?

Why would there be much difference, quailty-wise, between the comments of newer members and those who signed up ten years ago? I can't say I've noticed much of a correlation. Admittedly, it sometimes takes a new user a couple of months to really get to grips with the customs and in-jokes of the site, but then again, a lot of people lurk for years before signing up, and then behave pretty much like a fish in water. Conversely, once in a while you also get a really low-number user who drops by once a year, pisses people off, then leaves again.

I have a really low-digit account number with my bank; they treat me just as shoddily as everyone else.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 12:08 PM on June 19, 2011 [5 favorites]


I compute the prime factorization of each user's number, and then arrange toothpicks and M&Ms into piles corresponding to those factors. I eat the M&Ms one at a time while saying a short incantation to the elder gods, and then each toothpick is ritually sanded into sawdust, using only 400 grit wet/dry. I collect that dust in mason jars, which I stack to form a triangle formation. When the top jar in the triangle is ready, the I cement the whole thing into place with model airplane glue. I then dig a fire pit in the back yard of specific dimensions, into which I place the collected urine of the last 3 months. Then I lower the jar-triangle into the urine and strip naked. From there, things get weird.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:11 PM on June 19, 2011 [31 favorites]


Occasionally, I'll check on my posts. I feel all warm and gooey inside when someone takes the time to mark my posts as good, who has very few favorites. The user number doesn't mean as much as exclusivity.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:11 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Oh man ... obsessing over the user number of those that favorite my posts and comments is a whole new layer of ego-stroking that I had not yet considered! Thank you, hengemen!
posted by EatTheWeek at 12:13 PM on June 19, 2011 [9 favorites]


I don't really pay much attention to who favorites me. I pay attention to those who continually favorites me.

They make me feel like a little celebrity.
posted by TwelveTwo at 12:21 PM on June 19, 2011


OK I just found out last week that we have member numbers - for some reason I have no idea where they are? Ummm.... where are they? Probably right in front of my face but I don't see it on my profile..
posted by Poet_Lariat at 12:21 PM on June 19, 2011


Mouse over a user's name and look in the bottom left of your screen.
posted by Glinn at 12:22 PM on June 19, 2011


No, but one time a comment I made was favorited by St. Alia and Pope Guilty. That made me happy.

COME BACK, POPE GUILTY
posted by jtron at 12:23 PM on June 19, 2011 [10 favorites]


no.
posted by idiopath at 12:23 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I would like there to be a physical representation of all favorites. My pony request is that everyone get one thousand trading cards with their username on them and their statistics. Whenever anyone favorites anyone else's comment, they must ship them their trading card. We then open a new part of Metafilter called cards.metafilter.com that allows us to trade and purchase these trading cards. We can also use them to play a Pokemon style card game. I believe it would help us become a closer community.
posted by TwelveTwo at 12:26 PM on June 19, 2011 [7 favorites]


nope.
posted by ambrosia at 12:32 PM on June 19, 2011


I admit I get the tiniest shiver of hero-worship when someone I really admire favorites me.
posted by The Whelk at 12:33 PM on June 19, 2011 [12 favorites]


No.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:40 PM on June 19, 2011


Actually, I wasn't even aware that low user numbers was a thing until that faves experiment long ago. However, I was happy to learn from kattullus that us triple-zero users are not "woman born, but grown in a vast series of tubes." I thought it explained a lot about my childhood, actually.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:43 PM on June 19, 2011 [7 favorites]


Okay, so, on the uncanny hengeman scale of favoriter favoritism, this is the data we have so far:

favorited by a 4 digit user number = feeling chuffed

favorited by a 6 digit user number = eyes glazing over

I want to know what the appropriate response is for receiving a favorite from a 1, 2, 3, or 5 digit user number. If we're going to adopt this system, it needs to be complete!
posted by amyms at 12:45 PM on June 19, 2011


Rory Storm?
posted by mintcake! at 12:47 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Well-favorited TWH comments are considered by the author to be righteously indignant; poorly-favorited comments regularly indignant.
posted by The White Hat at 12:50 PM on June 19, 2011


When clavdivs traces at his pleasure the windings to and fro of the threaded comments,
he no longer touches the earth with his feet: so too, we should stand in the presence
of boradband itself and take our fill of ambrosia.
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:51 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Ha! You say this as if everyone with a 6-digit usernumber is a "new" user.
Psssst! Heads up. You may want to rethink that one.
posted by heyho at 12:55 PM on June 19, 2011


Not really, but I did have a bit of a squee when my 'comments favorited by others' hit 1000.

Squee!
posted by Space Kitty at 12:55 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Confession: I've got two six-month-old posts that are each teetering a mere 12 clicks away from the 500-mark, and watching them slowly inch up over the course of weeks due to latecoming readers is as harrowing as waiting for your odometer to hit 100,000 miles when you're mired in endless Los Angeles-scale gridlock. I actually have messaged people on occasion for granting a milestone favorite (1000, 10,000) and brightening my day a little, like a "YOU'RE OUR MILLIONTH VISITOR!!" pop-up that's not trying to scam you. But if or when I ever cross either of those lines it will probably be a simple "thank you for freeing me from this cruel anticipatory game."

And yeah, handicapping the warm fuzzies you get from a given favorites by user number is kind of weird. There are plenty of jerks who have been around for years, and totally awesome people who joined after jamaro won the 100,000th account (which is still unnamed, ack!). Not to mention people who have returned under a new name. I never understood why the IDs were kept as the default profile URLs instead of the usernames; it seems to encourage unhelpful seniority systems like these for no good reason.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:58 PM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]


Any other shameful secrets you want to share?

I liked Waterworld and The Postman.
posted by Splunge at 1:02 PM on June 19, 2011 [5 favorites]


Wait, what, we have digits?!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:04 PM on June 19, 2011


Damn, Splunge. I used to value your favorites.
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:05 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


twotwelve sends a note after a fav, that is so cool.
posted by clavdivs at 1:05 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wait, what, we have digits?!

Ten, until the flameout, five thereafter.
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:07 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


my favorites are delicate crystalline baubles that smell of summer's eve and shine like diamonds.
posted by The Whelk at 1:07 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Snobbery about user numbers is incredibly tedious.
posted by Squeak Attack at 1:07 PM on June 19, 2011 [6 favorites]


I never look at user numbers. All favorites are equally precious to me.

(Though if I get a favorite from someone I believe to dislike me, that adds something.)
posted by Trurl at 1:08 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


> Any other shameful secrets you want to share?

> baubles that smell of summer's eve

Now that you mention it... when I was young and shortsighted (18 or 19) I broke up with a guy I liked a great deal just because his last name was Massengale. I was horrified by the prospect of ending up with that for a last name, should the relationship continue. It's both true and sad, but mostly just pretty shameful.
posted by heyho at 1:17 PM on June 19, 2011


For some reason I have it in my head that my user number is the same as my college's zip code. It's actually a town in Illinois, about an hour's drive south of Moline, population 794.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:18 PM on June 19, 2011


When I'm making certain kinds of posts, I'm really happy to see that they're liked by people who're experts in that particular area. For instance, if I'm making a music post, a favorite from flapjax at midnite indicates to me that the post was well made. Though I don't read anything into it if there's no favorite (this goes for flapjax at midnite as much as anyone else).

Other than that, I don't really read too much into favorites, people use them in so many different ways that it's hard to draw any conclusion from a single favorite.
posted by Kattullus at 1:32 PM on June 19, 2011


man - i've been here 9 years nearly and my number is 5 digits. so i guess some people just feel indifferent about my favorites.

as for shameful indulgences - my front page of favorites received is nearly all 30+ and i have been waiting for that day to actually come for a while.
posted by nadawi at 1:32 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Devils Rancher: "Damn, Splunge. I used to value your favorites."

You used to like me! You really used to like me!

::sigh::
posted by Splunge at 1:36 PM on June 19, 2011


Metafilter: They treat me just as shoddily as everyone else.

Any other shameful secrets you want to share?

1. If there is an interval between comment and tagline-ification after which tagline-ification is no longer funny and in fact just indicates you are late to the party, I don't know what it is.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 1:39 PM on June 19, 2011


my favorites are delicate crystalline baubles that smell of summer's eve and shine like diamonds

....sparkly douchebubbles?
posted by elizardbits at 1:44 PM on June 19, 2011 [6 favorites]


Heh. Newbs.
posted by eyeballkid at 1:48 PM on June 19, 2011


Not digitist!
posted by Lynsey at 1:51 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Hey guys did you know there is a product called Summer's eve that I didn't know about and now my offhand remark is really, really strange sounding?
posted by The Whelk at 1:53 PM on June 19, 2011 [11 favorites]


I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A FREE MEFITE
posted by secret about box at 1:57 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


if you meet rory on the road, kill him
posted by Rory Marinich at 2:02 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


All I'm taking away from this thread is that The Whelk smells like Summer's Eve.



And I think that's quite enough.
posted by taz at 2:08 PM on June 19, 2011 [7 favorites]


MetaFilter: I don't know what it is.
posted by Splunge at 2:14 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I basically invented Metafilter. Basically.
posted by Jofus at 2:24 PM on June 19, 2011


if you meet rory on the road, kill him

This has always been one of my guiding principles.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:24 PM on June 19, 2011


if you meet rory on the road, kill him

That might put a damper on the mefi roadtrip.
posted by TwelveTwo at 2:26 PM on June 19, 2011


Hope all the MeFite six-digiters take it the right way! The word "might" was there for a reason. As someone already said, the more valuable members will begin to get noticed.

To stop any more second guessing, my answers are yes, no, no.

I have a few childish and illogical habits that I don't bother changing. If they don't hurt people or cost money then I keep them as an in-joke to myself.

Like, if I'm alone and drive past Matlock Street near my parents' house, I subconsciously blurt out in a Grandpa Simpson voice "we want Maaat-lock!" Then I laugh at myself at how immature that is. So to with checking user numbers. Completely illogical.

Big shout out to the few of you who made condescending comments. Baffling, when I'd already classified the behaviour as shameful. Just like those nasty pieces of work who try and get their licks in at the end of a flameout after someone's retracted a comment and apologised.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 2:28 PM on June 19, 2011


OK I just found out last week that we have member numbers - for some reason I have no idea where they are? Ummm.... where are they? Probably right in front of my face but I don't see it on my profile..

Hover over your user name. Or, when you're on your profile page, look at the URL. You're 77939.
posted by rtha at 2:38 PM on June 19, 2011


For some reason -- I'm pretending not to be putting off doing something slightly unpleasant -- I just went and checked and I have no favourites from 2-digiters or lower. I am curiously unmoved by this knowledge.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 2:40 PM on June 19, 2011


Not as a rule, but I do admit to being secretly pleased a few months ago when I put up a post and its first favorite came from user number 1.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:43 PM on June 19, 2011


When I first joined, I did this sometimes (once I figured out what user#s were), and it was reassuring in a weird way to see that someone who had been a member for much longer than I had thought I wasn't doing it all wrong. I only ever notice now if I get a favorite from someone whose name is entirely unfamiliar, and who's one of those almost-never-comments-but-has-been-here-since-the-beginning-of-time people. Or someone with a very high number who sounds really really familiar, and I figure they're a BND.
posted by rtha at 2:44 PM on June 19, 2011


I pay little attention to my user number. I've been lurking around on this site since 2001 or so, and finally ponied up some cash in 2009. Years ago, I was much more of a passive spectator to this and many other sites, and never felt the need to actually get around to signing up and throwing myself in the fray. Even now, I only have 'member' status to two posting/discussion sites (not counting social profile sites like FB or years ago, Myspace and Friendster). One is Metafilter, the other is SomethingAwful. My SA account is now more of an occasional spectator thing, but this is the only site I frequently post at. I feel like no matter what the argument, save one or two hot-button topics, that people get a fair shake and a reasonable debate without devolving into a mass of emotion-fueled verbal combat. And even then, there are comments that rise above that din and show me a point that I may not have considered on either side of the argument.

I do find it a bit supportive when my comments are favorited by 'old guard' members, as at least it gives me an idea that my comments are keeping with the intended nature of this site, be it because my comment is humorous, informative, or at least interesting. It is helpful as a gauge to show when I might be on track of a good discussion. As has been stated many times before, users favorite comments and posts for different reasons, and I don't think they automatically mean agreement with whatever I have said.

I'm not looking for favorites as an ego building thing, but the possibility of my comment being favorited does come into play in a small way before I post. It acts as a check, to make sure the point(s) of my comment are clear before I post, and to keep my chatter to a minimum, and comment only when I actually have something to say.
posted by chambers at 2:49 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Low user numbers are over-rated. I mean, sure, the annual magnum of champagne is great, and I've got a nice grouping of ponies pastured in the back yard (one for each mod!), and I'll never say no when the monthly delivery of chocolate arrives, but once you get past all of that, we log in the same as everyone else.... on our golden keyboard with a glittery "Favorite this!" macro button in the upper right corner.
posted by julen at 2:53 PM on June 19, 2011 [5 favorites]


We specials should really keep this conversation to The Purple.

I mean the grey, I mean nowhere, cause there is no such thing. That would be silly.
posted by The Whelk at 3:00 PM on June 19, 2011 [7 favorites]


I have written a Greasemonkey script to automatically hide all comments by people with member numbers over 100k.
posted by Justinian at 3:11 PM on June 19, 2011


That's so weird. I wrote one which does the same thing for those users between 20,632 and 20,634.
posted by gman at 3:13 PM on June 19, 2011 [6 favorites]


Hah! You would not have seen my comment if that were so!
posted by Justinian at 3:14 PM on June 19, 2011 [5 favorites]


I only respect chicobangs and his knee length socks.
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:16 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Where do favorites from tehloki factor in? Do you have to convert those to regular favorites using an ancient algorithm, derived from the Masons and perhaps containing the secrets to total world domination?
posted by sonika at 3:21 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Any other shameful secrets you want to share?

Every now and again when I am approaching some round number of favorites, I drop my boyfriend a note so that he could be the one to give me, say, favorite 1000 or whatever. Since favorites are basically fungible and not sequential or numbered this is one of those things that basically only exists in the weird brief temporal space in which it exists, if that makes sense, but I always enjoy it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:24 PM on June 19, 2011 [16 favorites]


After lurking for just short of a decade - no, really, ever since the 9/11 thread - I finally joined Metafilter five days ago. This is my first post that isn't an AskMe answer. I saw this morning that I have eight favorites, and it totally made my day. That is all.

(gathers up massive six-digit user number and returns to small, lurky AskMe corner)
posted by amy lecteur at 3:27 PM on June 19, 2011 [27 favorites]


Welcome to the hive, tell us tales of your native land!


I am totally guilty of informing people that I'm really close to a nice round favorite number and maybe .......
posted by The Whelk at 3:28 PM on June 19, 2011


You know, amy lecteur, we really should give the n00b clubhouse a bit of a clearout, it's gotten so cluttered what with all the free pre-release games and films and CDs and mmmpppph...

There is no n00b clubhouse.
posted by likeso at 3:35 PM on June 19, 2011


Favorites in Metafilter are... I wouldn't say fickle, exactly, but they are difficult to predict, from both long-term Mefites and more those who have joined more recently... and that's a good thing. I've sweated over posts that I was sure would be received well, only to have a collective "meh" in response; I've written comments that I considered dashed-off and received hundreds of favorites.

It's not about the date that the user signed up - although I definitely experienced a thrill when User No. 1 favorited a post I made - but more to do with their contribution to the site. When Astro Zombie claims that a post I wrote is going to suck all the time from his day, I consider that a high compliment.

I've seen some Mefites claim that there is some sort of "system" to gaining favorites, but I think that may be a case of gambler's fallacy or pareidolia. The reason people young and old favorite content on the site is varied and individual, and the only commonalities I can see are wit, helpfulness, insight, good stories and compelling writing.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 3:35 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Favorites are fraction of a hand job.
posted by The Whelk at 3:38 PM on June 19, 2011


Just looking at the commenters in this thread, user numbers are so different from what I would have guessed. So, no. I might care if it's someone I particularly respect from their own contributions but otherwise, no.
posted by salvia at 3:42 PM on June 19, 2011


I'm just always really thrilled to get a favorite at all. I'm simple like that.
posted by SMPA at 3:46 PM on June 19, 2011 [8 favorites]


Can we get a frequency cloud of the people that favorite us? I think I might have something special going on with mrgrimm...

P.S. favorite this if you want someone with a 4 digit user number to give you a favorite.
posted by drezdn at 3:54 PM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]


A gentleman doesn't favorite and tell. Sheesh.
posted by J. Wilson at 3:59 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I just passed the magic 1000 favorites a few hours ago - do I really worry about whodunnit? No. Today I ate cake.
posted by Namlit at 4:01 PM on June 19, 2011


sure he does. i turn off my favorites , yet peek at my count, alot.
Democracy.
posted by clavdivs at 4:02 PM on June 19, 2011


Big shout out to the few of you who made condescending comments.

See now, even as a noob I know not to get too sensitive about such things. Well, after I wipe away the tears of course. ;)
posted by Glinn at 4:03 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Any MeFites check the member number of the people favoriting them – feeling chuffed if they have 4 digits, whereas your eyes might glaze over if they have 6 digits*?

What exactly does "chuffed" mean, in this context? I've heard this term used seldom enough that I can only think of two meanings, and one is more-or-less the opposite of the other. [Referring to people by their assigned number is too evocative of institutions (eg. prison, military, patient) for my tastes, so I hardly ever notice member number]

I admit I get the tiniest shiver of hero-worship when someone I really admire favorites me.

I then look at the count of people/favorites(*), and use that shiver to dive from the pedestal of hero-worship into the well of poor-self-esteem..

(*)"If I had a nickel for every time" I got a favorite... I might be able to buy breakfast or lunch with it. But probably not both.
posted by Tuesday After Lunch at 4:06 PM on June 19, 2011


(Psst, Glinn. Glinn. Did you remember to pick up the er-)

What. Nothing to see here. Move along.
posted by likeso at 4:09 PM on June 19, 2011


Favorting me is a clear sign of sophication and general good health, just FYI
posted by The Whelk at 4:13 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


What exactly does "chuffed" mean, in this context?

As far as I can tell from observation, "chuffed" is a primarily British expression that means either:

1. Pleased, happy, proud, validated (e.g. "me club just upset those Arsenal wankers an I had a hunnert quid on th' match, I'm chuffed").

2. Disapointed, unhappy, bummed, pooped-upon (e.g. "I heard someone say chuffed in an ambiguous context one time and I assumed that it meant 'disappointed, unhappy, bummed, pooped-upon', but then I found out it means basically the opposite of that so now I'm chuffed about my vocabulary except dammit wait a second").
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:15 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


~Nonchalantly strolls in, not allowing the disgusting burden of her 6 digit number to bow her head, rips the bandage off her scarred psyche torn by her shocking lack of favorites, and with a brave "tra la" trips merrily out of the room~
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:17 PM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]


(e.g. "I heard someone say chuffed in an ambiguous context one time and I assumed that it meant 'disappointed, unhappy, bummed, pooped-upon', but then I found out it means basically the opposite of that so now I'm chuffed about my vocabulary except dammit wait a second")

Wait-just-a-damn-minute: When did mods acquire the power to read minds?
posted by Tuesday After Lunch at 4:22 PM on June 19, 2011


Ah, what I wouldn't give to go back to the good old days.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 4:22 PM on June 19, 2011


Just think, right now is the fugure good olde days.
posted by The Whelk at 4:24 PM on June 19, 2011


"chuffed to bits" 2:38
posted by Namlit at 4:26 PM on June 19, 2011


Future good olde days.


I don't know what fugure means, i have no idea at all.
posted by The Whelk at 4:28 PM on June 19, 2011


Ye good olde The Art of the Fugure (J.S. Bach).
posted by Namlit at 4:29 PM on June 19, 2011


That's how it'll be spelled when these are the good old days.
posted by cmyk at 4:30 PM on June 19, 2011


Fugue state good olde days?
posted by eyeballkid at 4:51 PM on June 19, 2011


In fugure
posted by The Whelk at 4:56 PM on June 19, 2011


Back - sort of - on topic for a minute, someone recently gave me my first "Damn you, likeso!"

I was chuffed to bits.
posted by likeso at 5:07 PM on June 19, 2011


I don't know what fugure means, i have no idea at all.

One day you will, The Whelg. One day you will.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:16 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Actually, the community events are much more wonderful than the favorites. Some events that spring to mind: the gold star thread, the great enspousening, the engagement with two ersatz web celebrities that shall not be mentioned specifically. Those events are gold.
posted by effluvia at 5:44 PM on June 19, 2011


Back to the Fugure III ruined the franchise.
posted by TwelveTwo at 6:09 PM on June 19, 2011


The Whelg

That would be one hell of a sockpuppet name. I nominate anyone but me. I'm not up to that kind of responsibility.
posted by sonika at 6:10 PM on June 19, 2011


Wait, what, we have digits?!
Speak for yourself, I have flippers. Do you know how hard it is to favourite while balancing a ball on your nose?
posted by arcticseal at 6:10 PM on June 19, 2011


Do you know how hard it is to favourite while balancing a ball on your nose?

Whoa. Sure, I experimented a bit in college, but never anything as risque as that.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:23 PM on June 19, 2011


I occasionally check to see who favorited a comment of mine. My chuffing happens when I see a favorite from a contact, or a particularly cromulent mefite.

Though those times when, out of nowhere, favorites disappear kinda bring me down. Has the luster worn off the comment, making it unfavorable? Was the favorite only someone using me as a bookmark, giving me a cheap favorite only to yank it back, cruelly and anonymously?
posted by Ghidorah at 6:28 PM on June 19, 2011 [7 favorites]


I have experimentally favorited Ghidorah's comment in order to find out if I count as cromulent or not.
posted by shakespeherian at 6:55 PM on June 19, 2011


I'm happy when an awesome or prominant member of the site favorites me.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 7:01 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Mister_A: Making Lovecraft In Brooklyn happy since when this was posted.
posted by Mister_A at 7:02 PM on June 19, 2011


You embiggen me.
posted by The Whelk at 7:03 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


And anyone who ascribes any hint of incromulence to shakespeherian is clearly a vorpegulant.
posted by Mister_A at 7:07 PM on June 19, 2011


It's kind of stupid to venerate the people who have hung around here the longest. Just judge people by the content of their character, not by the length of their user number.
posted by crunchland at 7:18 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


clavdivs: "sure he does. i turn off my favorites , yet peek at my count, alot.
Democracy.
"

You are one of my favorite people here. And that transcends mere favorites. So if you don't see favorites from me, that's because you are a favorite in my head.

Peek at that. I dare you.
posted by Splunge at 7:21 PM on June 19, 2011


Just judge people by the content of their character, not by the length of their user number.
I'm with crunchland on this. It's your behaviour on the site that matters, not your seniority.

I will favourite for kippers though.
posted by arcticseal at 7:23 PM on June 19, 2011


shakespeherian, you've always been cromulent to me.

Of course, now that the experiment is done, you'll probably remove the favorite.

sob
posted by Ghidorah at 7:32 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Mister_A: Making Lovecraft In Brooklyn happy since when this was posted.

I hope you didn't favorite me out of altruism or some misguided desire to help the poor.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 7:35 PM on June 19, 2011


Shakesperian! Speech! Speech! Speech!


But not about David Lynch we're bored!
posted by The Whelk at 7:37 PM on June 19, 2011


It's kind of stupid to venerate the people who have hung around here the longest.

I don't want veneration, just cash.
posted by nomisxid at 7:43 PM on June 19, 2011


Whoa you have been around a while! Mind if I venerate you with a fiver stuck in your g-string? VENERATION FUCK YEAH BRAH!
posted by Mister_A at 7:52 PM on June 19, 2011


If you're bored with David Lynch you probably haven't seen Dumbland.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:05 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


my eyes glazed over when you favorited me
like some kinda junky monkey in a monkey tree
like a user who ain't got to pay no user fee
my eyes glazed over when you favorited me

hope you'll favorite me again, please say you will, my friend
cause now i'm cravin' your favorites, hope they never end
i need 'em every day now, oh can't you see?
my eyes glazed over when you favorited me
my eyes glazed over when you favorited me
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:49 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


My user # is the zip code for Ward Cove, Alaska.

I find it really exciting how narrowly I escaped six-digithood.

Most of all, I love how my user # is a Rain Man reference and the number of the beast when turned upside down.
posted by herbplarfegan at 9:18 PM on June 19, 2011


Oh, wow, I also escaped six-digithood and I had no idea this information was available. Now I'm all self-conscious.

But yeah, I do feel really good when I get a favorite from someone I consider to be wise. I may have a bummer of a day at work, but hey! Someone agreed with something I said on the internet! Good for me!
posted by Knowyournuts at 9:27 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I used to pay more attention to the favorites and who I received them from. But then a totally off hand comment that I made while drinking too much got favorited a whole bunch of times---and my sense of attachment to favorites basically collapsed. I mean, I spend time crafting carefully worded responses that get ignored, I flippantly smack off about something stupid and get favorited.....it made no sense to me. So now... I figure that favorites are practically random-you hit a nerve sometimes and get some, other times you don't.

And yeah-some jerks have low numbers, some jerks have high numbers...that part never really meant much to me.
posted by supercapitalist at 9:29 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I once got a favorite from a user with 2 digits who had fewer than 50 favorites total. I only noticed cause it was a guy I'd met before and it was a comment that only got a couple of favorites. What I surmised from this was that favorites are less about what's objectively good and more about what resonates with certain people.

Regardless, I was probably more tickled than the time an old blog post of mine was FPP'd.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:36 PM on June 19, 2011


If you make a comment that indicates you are an arse, and I favourite it, it is not because I think highly of you.
Favourites are all purpose 'remember this' tokens.
posted by bystander at 11:55 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I am not a numbrist. I enspouse 'em all, high or low.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:25 AM on June 20, 2011


Favorites are fraction of a hand job.

In which case, I need a cigarette.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:37 AM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


I don't really do any of the above and don't pay very much attention to favorite count and who's favoriting my comments anyway, but I was jazzed when I noticed that Jessamyn gave me a favorite on something once. Beyond that cool three-digit case, I've never really looked at user numbers like that.

I do sometimes notice favorites given/received ratios, but that's really more from idle curiosity about how people use the sites and the favorites feature. It's vaguely interesting to see whether someone is a very active favoriter while being a low-volume commenter or whether their favorites tend to come from a couple of super-popular posts and comments or from a broad range of comments.
posted by zachlipton at 1:05 AM on June 20, 2011


Metafilter: I hardly ever notice member number
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:27 AM on June 20, 2011


Assuming a handjob is twenty dollars, same as in town, you should be able to get 0.85 handjobs for one Bitcoin. Wait, what was the question?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:43 AM on June 20, 2011


hal_c_on: ♫ ♩ ♫ Douche Chill ♫ ♪ ♫

Is this gonna be a new thing with you? It was kinda funny the first time you trotted it out in a relevant thread, but this is the third time in under week.
posted by gman at 3:43 AM on June 20, 2011


Yeah, not especially imaginative.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:25 AM on June 20, 2011


I get a thrill when loquacious favourites anything I do.

And the Hell of it is I have no idea why.
posted by bwg at 5:07 AM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


TwelveTwo: "I would like there to be a physical representation of all favorites. My pony request is that everyone get one thousand trading cards with their username on them and their statistics. Whenever anyone favorites anyone else's comment, they must ship them their trading card. We then open a new part of Metafilter called cards.metafilter.com that allows us to trade and purchase these trading cards. We can also use them to play a Pokemon style card game. I believe it would help us become a closer community."

Only 1000 per member? We're gonna need a bigger deck.
posted by zarq at 5:18 AM on June 20, 2011


bwg: "I get a thrill when loquacious favourites anything I do.

And the Hell of it is I have no idea why.
"

Because when loq comes into a thread with a real substantial multi-para comment it's very likely to be the best thing anyone says in the thread and reasonably likely to be among the best things you've ever read on the subject? That's where my loquacious-based thrills come from.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 5:42 AM on June 20, 2011 [4 favorites]


Do we really need to turn this thread into a debate about the existence of hal_c_on's sense of humor?
posted by crunchland at 5:42 AM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


My slashdot number is under 1200. I use this to get free beer at the slashdotter bars you can find in the seedier parts of town, usually next to run-down Radio Shack franchises.

(It actually did come up in a job interview once - guy interviewing me was all "I've been in the business a long time. My slashdot UID is in the low 35,000's", and I was "Mine is 1179, but anyone with a UID under 2500 or so was on the site before UIDs, and they were assigned first-come, first-served after the betatesting group. Membership didn't begin to explode until a few months after that. HOT GRITS!")
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:13 AM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


The Whelk: "Favorites are fraction of a hand job."

What, the upstroke?
posted by bwg at 6:49 AM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


There are a few members whose favorites make me grin, but not because of their user ID. I also grin when someone I don't know adds me as a contact. And I recently received what I could call a "fanboy MeMail," which was kind of exciting, and weird.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:51 AM on June 20, 2011


Favorites Pony is sad that you dismiss her favorites so readily.
posted by Favorites Pony at 9:04 AM on June 20, 2011


Favorites? I don't use that function. I admire many many MeFites and their contributions in blissful silence.
posted by ericb at 9:33 AM on June 20, 2011


Edit window, please! Typing on an iPad can be tricky.
posted by ericb at 9:35 AM on June 20, 2011


bwg said: And the Hell of it is I have no idea why.

I spend a lot of time naked in front of my computer.

ArmyofKittens said: Because when loq comes into a thread with a real substantial multi-para comment it's very likely to be the best thing anyone says in the thread and reasonably likely to be among the best things you've ever read on the subject? That's where my loquacious-based thrills come from.

Aww, shit. *blushes furiously*

Nah, pretty sure it's just 'cause I'm naked.

Ok. More serious answer? I guess I'm pretty genuine and I wear my heart on my sleeve. When I favorite (or comment on) something it's rare that I'm not genuinely excited and interested or into the comment.

I do tend to favorite things that make me laugh, because if there's one thing I really need in life it's to be able to keep laughing. Especially good, snarky one liners. Which I really shouldn't encourage.

And I don't favorite enough of the really great comments and posts people put lots of time into. But I'm reading them. (Well, most of them, anyway. I used to be able to read 100% of the posts and comments on the site, but it's been a few years since that was humanly possible.)
posted by loquacious at 9:45 AM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


> Any other shameful secrets you want to share?

I liked Jingle Jangle by the Archies.
posted by jfuller at 10:02 AM on June 20, 2011


"That's fucking it," says Astro Zombie.

"That's fucking what," says Rory and he gobs out a mouthful of booze, covering Zombie. He flicks a flaming match into his bird's nest and the geezer's lit up like a leaky gas pipe.

Rory, unfazed, turns back to the WWDC. His Apple stock's up, too. Four points.
posted by adamdschneider at 11:24 AM on June 20, 2011


In answer to the OP: no.

I do peer through my posts-that-have-been-favorited list from time to time, just to sort of see what shows up. Mostly for oddities like this comment. Why would anyone favorite that? At this point I'm not even really sure why I posted it. Someone posted a link and I went and looked at it and found a bit of it interesting, then went "this bit here was interesting". Like a person gazing upon L'Arc de Triomphe and musing aloud "I quite like the horses". Perhaps you do - and who doesn't? - but it's not as if you're going to grab the elbow of a passerby and, fumbling for your phrasebook with your index finger thrust in the direction of the arc, blurt out "j'aime les cheveaux!".

Anyway. The danger of looking through your favorited posts is that if you go too far back you start finding things you said a long time ago, which is embarrassing. Lord hammercy. I try not to even think of some of the things I've said/posted in various places on the internet.

There are horses carved on the arc, aren't there? There must be. Right?
posted by kavasa at 12:42 PM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


I'm 1200 beotches!! Suck on that.


I've been waiting ages to pull my MeFi number card.
posted by humboldt32 at 1:20 PM on June 20, 2011


loquacious: "bwg said: And the Hell of it is I have no idea why.

I spend a lot of time naked in front of my computer.


Squeeee!
posted by bwg at 5:23 PM on June 20, 2011


/so glad fourdigitprimepre911.metafilter.com* is still a secret.

*Miguel got in because two out of three ain't bad.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 8:50 PM on June 20, 2011


(Yes, I know. I don't care. He's in.)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 8:53 PM on June 20, 2011


(I mean, come on, three distinct prime factors is probably better anyway.)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 8:55 PM on June 20, 2011


hal_c_on: I think we're going to have to agree to disagree.

So does that mean you are going to continue trotting out the same tired quote?

Also, what do you have against Rory?

Fuck all. Re-read what I wrote.

And seriously...people see me as such a hater on here...isn't it nice to see me LIKING somebody?

Not really. I could care less who you like or dislike. It's of no consequence.
posted by gman at 6:20 AM on June 21, 2011


Every now and again when I am approaching some round number of favorites, I drop my boyfriend a note so that he could be the one to give me, say, favorite 1000 or whatever.

Soliciting favorites from people you're in a relationship with? That's cheating.
posted by orthogonality at 6:21 AM on June 21, 2011


So this chuffing... it's a good thing? Is it done in the nude? Does one need rubber gloves? A rubber mallet? A rubber?
posted by Mister_A at 6:29 AM on June 21, 2011


My user number would be a lot lower if Matt hadn't closed signups the VERY DAY I first tried to register, after a month or two of hemming and hawing about whether I wanted to wade into this particular internet cesspool.

Now that I myself have spent years shitting in it, the cesspool is much more comfortable. Come on, folks. $5 for a chance to muddy the waters further. It's nice and fetid now... go ahead, have a wallow!
posted by caution live frogs at 7:50 AM on June 21, 2011


I think we're all going to have to disagree about agreeing.
posted by TwelveTwo at 9:02 AM on June 21, 2011


Shameful secrets? I celebrate every time my "Favorited by others" number matches my "Ask MeFi answers" number.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 9:16 AM on June 21, 2011


Oh wait! I do have a shameful secret. I was very excited when I happened to go onto my profile page and caught the moment (and it was only a few minutes) where my favorites count and user number matched.
posted by Kattullus at 9:25 AM on June 21, 2011


Rubber isn't necessary per se but it is rather nice.
posted by jtron at 10:36 AM on June 21, 2011


Myself, and all of Metafilter would appreciate that.

Actually, we would love it if you would stop working so hard to be a jerk.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:55 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]


A MAN'S LIPS ARE NOT MADE LESS BY EACH KISS THEY GIVE; A FAVORITE FROM TEHLOKI IS FULL AND WHOLE AND GOOD AND TRUE
posted by tehloki at 7:08 PM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]


I don't know what goes on inside anyone's mind, but I just checked, and it turns out I've got a 5-digit number, so maybe some people have a kind of chuffed-glazed feeling if they notice I've favorited their post. (I feel sort of bad about how few times I actually favorite anything, but it's just-another-example of the ratio of Good Intentions:Actually Done -- ie., it's best measured in orders of magnitude.)

Now, I wouldn't have mentioned any of this, except I just/finally got to use[self-link] a favorite[favorite-link] in (one of) the Ways God Intended[1], and I feel totally chuffed!

{Oh, chuffed in the way Woody explains in this quote[text] from Cheers[SLYT].}

[1] "For just such an occasion." [qued SLYT]
posted by Tuesday After Lunch at 7:18 PM on June 21, 2011


A MAN'S LIPS ARE NOT MADE LESS BY EACH KISS THEY GIVE; A FAVORITE FROM TEHLOKI IS FULL AND WHOLE AND GOOD AND TRUE

But they continue to give us a rash. Please, please see a doctor.
posted by TwelveTwo at 7:19 PM on June 21, 2011


I do have a favorite from a two-digit user. I keep it in a shiny box and I guard it with my life.

I would say the main reason I enjoy getting a favorite from a low-user number user is because I feel like I know them better, having read more of their comments. Other than that, I just enjoy knowing that someone liked something I wrote.
posted by Nabubrush at 4:56 PM on June 22, 2011


Man, user number = irrelevant to me, really. The person favoriting has more value, IMHO, but I don't really think of favorites as having different "weights" per se. To me, this user number thing is akin to saying "well, I have an OLD hundred dollar bill and a NEW hundred dollar bill - I totally am stoked about spending the old one!"

For me, it's more like, "Oh man, Miko gave me this $100 and here's $100 a person I don't know very well mailed to my house in a birthday card. How exciting! I think I'll go and see what both of these people are up to, and possibly return the favor."

Then again, if everybody was the same, how boring would that be?
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:28 AM on June 23, 2011


I don't really think of favorites as having different "weights" per se

This is mostly true except that every so often I get a favorite from mathowie and then all my make-daddy-proud issues come to the fore.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:42 AM on June 23, 2011 [2 favorites]


This is mostly true except that every so often I get a favorite from mathowie and then all my make-daddy-proud issues come to the fore.

Goddamn it I always knew he loved you best.
posted by Nabubrush at 8:28 PM on June 23, 2011 [1 favorite]


Yeah, you're right. There has to be a more efficient process.

Yup. Likeliest scenario, however: you won't be able to figure it out.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:40 AM on June 24, 2011


shakespeherian: " This is mostly true except that every so often I get a favorite from mathowie and then all my make-daddy-proud issues come to the fore."

Whose posts were most favorited by mathowie?

Whose comments were most favorited by mathowie?
posted by zarq at 6:40 AM on June 24, 2011


That just reminds me that I miss jonson.
posted by shakespeherian at 6:52 AM on June 24, 2011


Me too.
posted by zarq at 7:21 AM on June 24, 2011


Me three.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:29 AM on June 24, 2011


« Older Grandma is lost   |   What's the big idea? Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments