MeFites in Real Life: Acknowledge or No? July 23, 2012 5:50 PM   Subscribe

If I meet someone whose unusual real name I recognize from their profile, is it creepy to say "hey, I think I know you from Metafilter"? Or is it Not to Be Mentioned, like meeting one's therapist on the street?
posted by Wordwoman to Etiquette/Policy at 5:50 PM (121 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite

I think it's fine. If people don't want their offline & metafilter life to intersect, they can prevent it by not putting their full name/ picture in their metafilter profile.
posted by insectosaurus at 5:51 PM on July 23, 2012 [4 favorites]


I've always wondered the reverse. A good buddy of mine from high school is on here. HELLO GOOD BUDDY.
posted by roger ackroyd at 5:52 PM on July 23, 2012 [7 favorites]


Yeah as much as this place is a little odd, it's no AA, though sometimes people will say "Hey are you a Friend of Matt?"

I've been recognized in libraries and airports and it's always been nice. I'll sometimes not come right out and say people's usernames in case they're with non-MeFites who might not be people they want to have the real name/handle linkage so evident.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:57 PM on July 23, 2012


I have been recognized by other MeFites. I have always enjoyed it.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 6:01 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Just use the gang sign. But make sure you can get them to recite the Cortexene Creed so you know whether you're talking to an apostate.
posted by XMLicious at 6:02 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


I've been fantasizing about calling in to A Way With Words and slipping in an "I know Matt Haughey" or asking them about taters.

But... you're not talking about me, are you?
posted by cmoj at 6:15 PM on July 23, 2012


A good buddy of mine from high school is on here. HELLO GOOD BUDDY.
posted by roger ackroyd


We've got our eye on you, Dr James Sheppard.
posted by DU at 6:17 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


I'm an out and proud MeFite, feel free to say hello.
posted by arcticseal at 6:17 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I work a public desk for a few hours most days and almost always have MeFi up on my screen. Feel free to say hi if you're in the hood!
posted by carsonb at 6:19 PM on July 23, 2012


I've had this happen a couple of times. It's up to me to protect that identity if that's what I want.
posted by HuronBob at 6:19 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


But make sure you can get them to recite the Cortexene Creed

Credo in unum Matthaeus omnipotentem...
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:20 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


You can call me by name if you recognize me, Wordwoman. But I tend to travel incognito.
posted by madamjujujive at 6:25 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


Cum grano salis. Fortis cadere cedere non potest. Humanum est errare. Lupis pilum mutat, non mentem. Magna est veritas et praevalebit. Acta exteriora indicant interiora secreta. Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem. Amissum quod nescitur non amittitur. Brutum fulmen. Cum grano salis. Fortis cadere cedere non potest. Fructu, non foliis arborem aestima. Insanus omnes furere credit ceteros. Quem paenitet peccasse paene est innocens.
posted by Splunge at 6:25 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


Also, if you're a dude and wearing a MetaFilter t-shirt in NYC out in the streets, don't be surprised if you get "HEY METAFILTER GUY! HEY! HEY METAFILTER GUY!" yelled at you.
posted by griphus at 6:26 PM on July 23, 2012 [15 favorites]


No problemo, although I'm still not sure any of you are real.
posted by Kevin Street at 6:39 PM on July 23, 2012


"Cortex sent me!"

If the response is "Wha-what?" then you got the wrong guy. If he bursts out laughing, then he knows what you mean, and you've already broken the ice.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:45 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


HEY METAFILTER GUY!

and then greg nog hugs you
posted by elizardbits at 6:55 PM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]


If I existed in so-called real life, I'd be happy to be recognized.
posted by philip-random at 6:59 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


The only people who recognize me in real life work for the parole office.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:18 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


My real name is Mitt, and you guys are always welcome to use the pool or the beach or the helicopter or whatever if I'm not around.
posted by maxwelton at 7:27 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


"I'm from the internet and I'm here to help you."

(PRESS 'PLAY' ON TAPE DECK.)

(SULTRY SAX BEGINS.)


Etc.
posted by subbes at 7:35 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


This actually happened to me and sweetkid.

She was an acquaintance at the time. Based on something she wrote on facebook, I realized that she was a mefite. I memailed her and confessed that I'd figured out her Secret Online Identity.

We've been great friends ever since.
posted by Sara C. at 7:40 PM on July 23, 2012 [10 favorites]


I have worn my metafilter shirt in public just hoping against hope to find another mefite, but it never seems to happen!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:43 PM on July 23, 2012


The opposite of that is how every time I wear my pictures for sad children shirt I really hope I don't run into John Campbell.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:47 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


I've mentioned this on here before, I think, but one of my favorite people on the planet became friends with me after she saw me loafing around mefi at work.
posted by troika at 7:57 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Metafilteria est omnes divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt MeFae, aliam AskMae, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Meh-fites, nostra Me-fights appellantur.
posted by Copronymus at 7:59 PM on July 23, 2012 [12 favorites]


I just ran into someone over the weekend named Jessamyn. I said, oh, that's cool, I know someone else named Jessamyn. She said, which Jessamyn do you know? I said, Jessamyn West. She said, "YOU KNOW JESSAMYN WEST?!"

I will caution people that my real name, in my profile, is very common. So unless that person is drinking and swearing, it may not be me. If that person is drinking and swearing, it may be because they just found out how much more cool I am. Forewarned is forearmed.
posted by Errant at 8:07 PM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]


I just realised I wore a fedora to make a pick up today.

Kindergarten pick up, that is. Hey, it was raining.
posted by Catch at 8:30 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


She said, "YOU KNOW JESSAMYN WEST?!"

The famed equine masseuse?
posted by griphus at 8:30 PM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]


I ran into my counselor on the street once. Wasn't as awkward as you might think.
posted by victory_laser at 8:32 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


I had a [sort-of] friend whose life goal was to be written about in the "missed connections" section of craigslist. I thought it was a bit silly. But after this thread I have a new life goal.
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:39 PM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]


The only people who recognize me are people I've met at previous meetups or people who know me from the stage stuffs I used to do. No one has ever commented on my Mefi Tee and I ware it all the time.

My only other operation is that Mefites tend to be much shorter than me or much taller. I'm in like the uncanny valley for Mefite Heights.
posted by The Whelk at 8:46 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


I once ran into The Great Big Mulp on the street and recognized him (I forget how). I said to him: "Hey, are you The Great Big Mulp?" His facial reaction was probably not all that dissimilar from what it would be if I had said: "Hey, I've got a knife and want to stick it in your torso. Don't mind if I do!" He replied: "Yes, yes I am." And then hurried off. On a warm, sunny day, not much later, I'm walking along another street and I hear: "Hey, Kattullus! Want to join us for a beer?" There was The Great Big Mulp and a friend, enjoying wheat beers on the patio of a brewpub. I did join them for a beer and The Great Big Mulp and I are friends to this day, though sadly we no longer live in the same city.

Lesson learned: Even though unexpected MeFite greetings can be awkward, they lead to good things.
posted by Kattullus at 8:46 PM on July 23, 2012 [13 favorites]



This actually happened to me and sweetkid.


Yes, yes it did! I was very very worried about what to cook for my mom so I cross posted Facebook and AskMe.

Also, I had met functionequalsform but somehow blanked on the fact that we worked in the same place until she asked a question about seeing a ship outside her office window and I thought...hey, I see that ship outside my office window...

Also and finally, seeing your therapist in the street, no big deal. it's kinda like when you were young and would see your fourth grade teacher in the grocery store with their kids, like, I don't imagine that you actually have a life, but hey, look at that, you do!
posted by sweetkid at 8:48 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


Yeah as much as this place is a little odd, it's no AA

( ; __ ;)
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:48 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


I'm waiting for the day when the NYC Mefites buy a brownstone and live together and fight crime make delicious Mac and cheese.
posted by The Whelk at 8:48 PM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]


The Google Group is currently 126 members strong. If we all chipped in, we probably could buy a single, dilapidated brownstone that is missing things like windows and plumbing and floors.

So, you know, your regular multi-million dollar brownstone.
posted by griphus at 8:49 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


Buy up some lots in east new york, start a farm, beekeeping, dorms, beer making, bread baking, slow ad in some quasi religious rites until its a full fledged monestary.
posted by The Whelk at 8:51 PM on July 23, 2012 [8 favorites]


On one hand, though I think you should go ahead and point this out, you should be careful as I have been mistaken for someone with my name from my location and I do worry that other Mike McNamara might be tagged with some of my opinions from the Blue or confessions from the Green.

On the other hand, I went to high school with roger ackroyd. HELLO GOOD BUDDY.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:51 PM on July 23, 2012 [6 favorites]


roger ackroyd has one of my favorite usernames ever.
posted by sweetkid at 8:53 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm not sure where this "East New York" is, but as your broker, I suggest you check out some of these apartments in up-and-coming South Bushwick.
posted by griphus at 8:56 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


Ah the historic Smoking Warehouse Fire distinct!

Also
posted by The Whelk at 8:57 PM on July 23, 2012


Actually, my favorite East New York story:

I used to hang out with the chem lab technician in high school during lunch. He told me that, during the Vietnam draft (which he managed to avoid via a combination of flat feet and college) he had to report to a base in East New York. Apparently, at the metal detector, the local boys each emptied an armory out of his pockets.
posted by griphus at 9:00 PM on July 23, 2012


MY ANECDOTES ARE RELEVANT TO THE DISCUSSION AT HAND

What were we talking about?
posted by griphus at 9:06 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


Sometimes I feel like I'm the only Mefite in Chiba. Then I realize, hey, wait, I am the only Mefite in Chiba. It's not that you're all avoiding me when you see me on the street! That's it! That must be it!


/weeps bitter tears of loneliness
posted by Ghidorah at 9:07 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


Buy up some lots in east new york, start a farm, beekeeping, dorms, beer making, bread baking, slow ad in some quasi religious rites until its a full fledged monestary.
posted by The Whelk at 8:51 PM on July 23 [2 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]


So, like, I don't live in NY but i'm not really too tied down to where I'm at so....
posted by FirstMateKate at 9:10 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


It's lonely out here in the desert. I gaze longingly through the virtual window at all your meetups.
posted by Superplin at 9:11 PM on July 23, 2012


"Hey I know you from Metafilter" is a bit weird, if there are other people around.

I normally open with: "In the name of the most holy and individual Trinity: Be it known to all, and every one whom it may concern, or to whom in any manner it may belong, That for many Years past, Discords and Civil Divisions being stir'd up in the Roman Empire, which increas'd to such a degree, that not only all Germany, but also the neighbouring Kingdoms, and France particularly, have been involv'd in the Disorders of a long and cruel War".
posted by pompomtom at 9:17 PM on July 23, 2012 [7 favorites]


Hey I just met you

And this is crazy

But favorite me maybe?
posted by The Whelk at 9:19 PM on July 23, 2012 [14 favorites]


I think you're missing a line, Whelk.
posted by FirstMateKate at 9:26 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


"Here's my user number?"
posted by davidjmcgee at 9:29 PM on July 23, 2012 [3 favorites]


And so the great Mefi song parody contest begins.
posted by The Whelk at 9:30 PM on July 23, 2012


Once upon a time ten minutes ago I had the idea, inspired by The Whelk's comment, to write a MetaFilk of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" titled "Somebody That I Know Online" but then I realize that was a bad idea and I was a bad man for thinking of it so I stopped after the first verse.

And now, to dislodge said earworm from your brain, here's Elliott Smith's Somebody That I Used to Know.
posted by Kattullus at 9:33 PM on July 23, 2012


The Whelk, I suggest:
Hey I just met you

And this is crazy

[But here's my comment]

[Fav'rite] me maybe?
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:38 PM on July 23, 2012 [5 favorites]


Our own Sappho.
posted by griphus at 9:49 PM on July 23, 2012 [4 favorites]


I've been fantasizing about calling in to A Way With Words and slipping in an "I know Matt Haughey" or asking them about taters.

I want to encourage any mefite who has a moment in the spotlight to yell out "Matt Haughey". It could be the new Baba Booey.
posted by mlis at 9:55 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


I wonder how Matt feels about all this name dropping.
posted by FirstMateKate at 9:56 PM on July 23, 2012


There was the odd, wonderful, long running I Am Not Matt Haughey Meme but I think we've run out of dopplegangers.
posted by The Whelk at 9:57 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


There are two people on metafilter I've known in meat-space since I was five.

And seriously nobody else I've met in real life.

Apparently my critical window for meeting cool people was kindergarten.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:07 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Everyone is cool in kindergarten.
posted by FirstMateKate at 10:09 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Unless they take the blue green crayon you wanted, those bastards have to pay.
posted by The Whelk at 10:12 PM on July 23, 2012 [6 favorites]


Hey I work in East New York so it would probably be a shorter commute from the bee keeping farm monastery. So sign me up.

And I ran into my previous therapist at hot yoga...that was a bit weird.
posted by bquarters at 10:25 PM on July 23, 2012


I ran into my old therapist at the farmer's market once... I mean literally ran into him. Had to buy that guy new eggs. Awkward times.
posted by palomar at 10:51 PM on July 23, 2012


They were all in one basket?
posted by ODiV at 10:56 PM on July 23, 2012 [14 favorites]


I have worn my metafilter shirt in public just hoping against hope to find another mefite, but it never seems to happen!

I was leaving the Rally to Restore Sanity, proudly wearing my Mefi shirt, and a woman in the crush of people crossing my path saw me and said "Yay, MetaFilter!" but she disappeared before I could grab her and shout "WHAT IS YOUR USERNAME?"

Which may have been a good thing.

But, anyhoo -- Hello, random Mefi lady at the Rally to Restore Sanity!
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 11:13 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Ive come to the decision there is probably something wrong with my media consumption habits as the result of MeFi lately.

Because the "Hey I just met you / and this is crazy" thing? I have no idea (and minimal desire to know) where it came from. And yet it seems everyone else does.

I should move to a radioactive atoll until I mutate into a giant radioactive MeFi user and attack Japan until the combined forces of all the MeFites in Japan channel the research of iamkimiam and destroy me with some kind of language-based weapon. It's the kind of fate I sometimes think I should have.
posted by mephron at 11:48 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]


Mephron: it's the first two lines of the chorus from the Summer 2012 Smash Hit / Wildly Overplayed Earworm, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen. It's a cute pop song of little substance and quite effective execution. I love it, in part because I only ever hear it when I want to hear it. because I never leave the house and when I do I only listen to classical radio. and somehow I think that makes me cool.
posted by KathrynT at 11:57 PM on July 23, 2012


My new housemate, it turns out, is on MetaFilter. HELLO FROM THE NEXT ROOM OVER AND THE INTERNET!
posted by iamkimiam at 12:01 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


I ran into a Mefite at the movies tonight but it was someone I knew from meetups. Austin folks, this can happen to YOU if you come to the meetups. *hint hint*
posted by immlass at 12:08 AM on July 24, 2012


More than a few folks in my world are here but everyone is playing at Fight Clubs and emphasizing the anonymous in pseudoanonymous so I've learnt not to spill the beans and play along with a straight face. I'm looking at you Twitter Feed that linked to my FPP
posted by infini at 1:04 AM on July 24, 2012


Matt doesn't mind you shouting his name out randomly if you get the pronounciation right, and since it's as Irish as I am the chances of that happening are tiny.......


( it's HAW-HEE)

Now after me.....
posted by Wilder at 1:07 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


Back in 2004, when there were fewer mefites, I found out a friend of mine was pregnant because her husband was a mefite (which I hadn't known) and had posted something and in a followup comment mentioned that he had a baby coming. This was a couple in the same city I was in (Austin), in my circle of longtime college friends, but I'd not seen either of them for months (because I'm pretty reclusive).

This is the only mefi/real-life incident I've ever had (obviously not counting people I've met at meetups) and it was someone in my immediate social group. Not to mention that MeFi was how I learned my friend was pregnant.

When I've worn my MeFi t-shirt I've wondered if anyone will recognize me. But I only remained in Austin for about eight months after I'd joined MeFi and, after that, I've not lived anywhere that has very many mefites. I've been in Kansas City for almost two months now, and it's a moderately big city, certainly larger than Albuquerque, but we're having trouble getting a meetup together — I don't expect to meet any mefites here randomly. Bummer.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:50 AM on July 24, 2012


sometimes people will say "Hey are you a Friend of Matt?"

The same thing is standard with meetups from that other site, when people can ask "Hey are you a friend of Andre?" without seeming weird.

Doesn't work so swimmingly with MefightClub meetups, where asking people if they are 'friends of the wonderchicken' tends to bewilder.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:54 AM on July 24, 2012 [3 favorites]


I am just waiting for the day I'm at a store and when I whip open my wallet the cashier sees my MetaFilter User License. Yes, these are the things I live for. I'm a simple gal.
posted by iamkimiam at 2:14 AM on July 24, 2012


Ooh..yeah, mattdidthat's MetaFilter User IDs [link to original thread] are awesome! Is he still making those?
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:25 AM on July 24, 2012


I am just waiting for the day I'm at a store and when I whip open my wallet the cashier sees my MetaFilter User License.

Then everyone bursts into song.
posted by ersatz at 3:29 AM on July 24, 2012


I don't put my real name on my user profile, so I'm not sure how those folk would react. But in terms of recognizing someone from clues, I would not mention it publicly, at least. Probably fine to do so privately.
posted by corb at 3:34 AM on July 24, 2012


I would love to be serendipitously spotted as a MeFite by another MeFite in person.

I would also likely be sort of freaked out, so be ready for some crazy awkwardness.
posted by byanyothername at 3:52 AM on July 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


You have to ignore your therapist in the street? I think I have more worries about running into my doctor at the supermarket, when she can see just how well my low cholesterol diet is going ...

I have had zero response btw from wearing The Shirt.
posted by carter at 4:44 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


KathrynT: " ...because I never leave the house and when I do I only listen to classical radio. and somehow I think that makes me cool."

Actually that makes you laid back. Jazz would make you cool.
posted by Splunge at 5:13 AM on July 24, 2012


I work at something of a tourist attraction and I wear a name tag, so I get recognized quite a bit.
posted by jonmc at 5:25 AM on July 24, 2012


I've done the reverse of this. MeFi came up in conversation with a friend-of-a-facebook-friend-of-my-friend when we were out seeing a show. She told me her username and I promised to MeMail her, but by the next morning I had absolutely no memory of the name. Bugger.

sometimes people will say "Hey are you a Friend of Matt?"

The same thing is standard with meetups from that other site, when people can ask "Hey are you a friend of Andre?" without seeming weird.


I wish I'd thought of this years ago. At a meetup for another forum, we didn't have a sign or anything and one guy was either very late or already there but hadn't found us. I ended up approaching random guys in the bar asking "excuse me, are you Incompetent?".
posted by metaBugs at 5:28 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


don't be surprised if you get "HEY METAFILTER GUY! HEY! HEY METAFILTER GUY!" yelled at you.

Long ago, I was walking through the Union Square subway station on my way home from work, when I saw a Mefite I had met briefly at a meetup 6 months prior coming toward me. I could not remember his real name, and not wanting to shout HEY METAFILTER GUY, I let him pass. I ended up figuring out who he was later, and I sent him a message on MySpace* (this was before MefiMail) saying, Hey, I saw you today in the subway, oh and there's a meetup coming up**, ColdChef will be there so it's going to be a good one, you should come. He came, and Reader, I married him. This is what comes of saying hello to Mefites in real life.

*I just logged into MySpace for the 1st time in years and all the messages from the beginning of MySpace are still there. Like reading old diaries, SO CREEPY.
**Checking the messages I sent to him reveals a truth I had forgotten- he brought up the meetup, not me. But I told him I was going and he should, too.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:47 AM on July 24, 2012 [25 favorites]


The only MeFite I know is the daughter of my former neighbors. Of course, this is Rhode island, so I am probably within ten yards of a handful more, and related-by-marriage to at least one other.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:55 AM on July 24, 2012


The reverse happened to me with The Straightener (knew him in college, hadn't seen him in 10 years and realized we worked at the same place ~2008 when I saw him here).

Sucks that he's gone from here these days, but nice that I just ran into him yesterday morning AND this morning while walking the dogs. He's doing great.
posted by Pax at 6:00 AM on July 24, 2012 [13 favorites]


I saw someone in a metafilter shirt in traffic once. And I delmoi saw me in mine, then promptly moved to another city.

I wouldn't find it that odd if someone asked me if I was on here.

I did once have someone say, "Oh, you're that guy!" in relation to a totally different online activity. That was a bit weird, since I didn't know if this was a good thing or not.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:13 AM on July 24, 2012


it's kinda like when you were young and would see your fourth grade teacher in the grocery store with their kids

On the other hand, if you see your teacher at the strip club, you're probably in a hilarribad James Van Der Beek movie.
posted by kmz at 6:33 AM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


I did have my Quake handle shouted across a bar at me. Especially awkward since it was hellkitty. I expect any MeFi recognition to come in the form of a sucker punch.
posted by fleacircus at 6:39 AM on July 24, 2012


Somebody once approached me outside of a meetup, and said "Wait. You're schmod??? I always thought you'd be.....like..... really old."

I still don't know how I feel about this, and decided against asking why this other MeFite thinks I'm an old dude. I'll just pretend that this was a comment on my shockingly youthful appearance, and continue on in blissful ignorance...
posted by schmod at 7:29 AM on July 24, 2012


> I just logged into MySpace for the 1st time in years and all the messages from the beginning of MySpace are still there.

So. Even myspace beats digg.
posted by jfuller at 8:07 AM on July 24, 2012


pray, favorite me, perchance?
posted by Eideteker at 8:26 AM on July 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


Someone who answered an AskMe of mine recently has the same handle as someone in The Rooster's GoodReads group, which I am also in. MeFi and The Morning News seem to have overlapping readerships, so I'm guessing it's the same person, but I haven't asked.
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:37 AM on July 24, 2012


Also, I always feel weird about the idea of saying hi to someone I recognize from online because I read a lot more than I comment, so it's a bit like "Hi! I recognize you but you won't know me. I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU."

(Although I did run into at least one person in university who had read one of my 15 nodes on Everything2, so there you go.)
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:43 AM on July 24, 2012 [3 favorites]


And so the great Mefi song parody contest begins.

Man, so I've been on vacation the last six days, visiting my brother and his wife and some friends in Cleveland, and my brother had not heard either the Gotye song or Call Me Maybe prior to that visit.

And me and my brother get into seriously bad feedback loops of dumb humor when we're around each other (god help you if we start Walkening at each other during a road trip), and so the entire trip ended up being scored by sudden impromptu recitals of parody lyrics.

We would narrate car rides, we would comment on the menus when eating out, we would explain the world to his eight-month-old daughter, we would come up with synopses of fictional works, etc. Every lull in the conversation, for days, became a launch platform for e.g. "Now you're just some burger / with grilled onions on" or "i just met you / and this is crazy / i shit my diaper / change me maybe" or so on.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:28 AM on July 24, 2012 [6 favorites]


"i just met you / and this is crazy / i shit my diaper / change me maybe"

OMG, I just wrote one of those for our baby, too:

"i just met you / and this is crazy / but here's my boobie / so suck it maybe?"
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:39 AM on July 24, 2012 [3 favorites]


I just make the hamburger symbol with my hands.

You know, like this:

{/}
posted by LordSludge at 11:53 AM on July 24, 2012


A few weeks ago I get a knock on the door to my apartment, and there's some guy holding a cd and his keys. His story:
He lives in the building next door and goes to some tech college somewhere. They gave him this flash drive and theres a rap song that his buddy made on it, and he's gotta burn it to a CD but his computer wasn't working so he was wondering maybe if we could do it for him. It was a bit suspicious, what with it being around 11 at night and a bottle of liquor in a paper bag slightly off to the side. But I agree to do it anyway. It ends well, I assume, cause I burned him the CD and he never came back. Later that night I'm working at my sewing machine and my sister just walks in and bursts out with
"I don't know you/ and this is crazy/ but here's my flash drive! /Burn me a CD?" And then walks out. Parodies of this song are great.
posted by FirstMateKate at 12:19 PM on July 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


I don't think I've run into MeFites in the wild, but... I did have a gentleman try to hug me while I wore my "Everyone Needs A Hug" tshirt while I was en-route to a meet-up and that's when I learned that a) that shirt is not suitable for public transportation and b) I should know what shirt I'm wearing because I forgot that my shirt mentioned hugging and not only was I sort of offended, but I was also totally confused.

[ PS: I'm moving to Boston next week! Feel free to say hi if you see me! I'll most likely have a toddler in tow. Note: I've been accused of talking... how do I put this nicely? WAY TOO MUCH.]
posted by sonika at 12:20 PM on July 24, 2012


My own personal favorite Call Me Maybe parody is one I got from this very website.

Hey I just met you
And this is screwed up
But would you call me
Billy Crudup?
posted by KathrynT at 12:23 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


I don't think I've ever been recognized in the wild by a Mefite. I did, however, have an extremely awkward conversation with one of the owners of my favorite bar when he came up and said "Wait! You're Jeremy who works on UO! My girlfriend and I are huge fans - we saw your picture in the meetup thread!"

I was like, "Um, does that mean I can't come here to drink and bitch about my job any more?" Very awkward.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 12:42 PM on July 24, 2012


I'm on a committee with a Mefite's mom and at our first meeting a couple weeks ago, I really wanted to say something but sadly couldn't think of a non-creepy way to do it.

On the other hand, I am strongly considering setting up a North Dakota/Manitoba meetup sometime in August or September. There's a few of us in the area and we could totally implement the 'Are you a friend of Matt?' greeting at the meetup.
posted by librarylis at 1:41 PM on July 24, 2012


There's a couple more Mefites out here in the wilds of Abbotsford, and I think one of them is a librarian in the local system, but I have yet to meet any out here. I really must start wearing my Mefi shirt more often.
posted by deborah at 2:05 PM on July 24, 2012


Whenever these t-shirt/member recognition threads come up, I always wonder about how the others feel, you know, the non-members. The people who come to ask to get advice or google/stumble a thread on the blue, and they read around for a bit, and then they hve the strange synchronicity of the next day they see (for e.g.) Delmoi out in the street in his Mefi T-shirt and think "Hey, I was just looking at Metafilter yesterday." That must be stranger.

As for me, living in the wilds of the East-midlands, far far from any form of civilisation, I doubt I will meet another Mefite while out and about. Strangely I saw a teenage girl in a Joy Division "Unknown Pleasures" T-shirt and wondered if she liked Joy Division, or just had the T-shirt because she thought it was cool. I Didn't ask her, would have been a bit creepy.
posted by marienbad at 2:49 PM on July 24, 2012


Re not remembering what shirt you are wearing- have you seen the Loius CK 'awesome possum' bit? (Can't link due to phone).
posted by bquarters at 3:12 PM on July 24, 2012


I've met a few people through t-shirtage. It helps that I live out of a backpack and cycle through like six t-shirts, so the MeFi shirt's on a significant amount of the time.

I also had a really funny run-in a month or so back. I live in a big vegan co-op, and was contacted by a friend to see about hosting a traveler who seemed likely to enjoy the digs. In a strange collapse of the probability space, this person turned out to be a fellow mathematician-anarcho-metafilterian. (And a totally lovely houseguest, too!)
posted by kaibutsu at 3:43 PM on July 24, 2012


If my real name were James Wilson, and I didn't want to be recognized, I would have a different user name on Metafilter. As long as the context of saying "hey, I think I recognize you from the interwebs" weren't too weird, I don't see it bothering me... if I chose to have an identifiable user name.
posted by J. Wilson at 4:30 PM on July 24, 2012


Mrs. Junco related a funny story I'd told her -- which of course came from here, and from a fairly neglected AskMe, at that -- at her knitting (party? circle? club?), and another member asked her afterward "oh, so you're on Metafilter too?"
posted by junco at 4:47 PM on July 24, 2012


Put me down as welcoming contact in meatspace.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 5:21 PM on July 24, 2012


Pax: "I just ran into him yesterday morning AND this morning while walking the dogs. He's doing great."

Tell him we miss him.
posted by subbes at 5:24 PM on July 24, 2012


If you ever see me and want to say hello, just make the Elder sign. I will definitely respond "Ia Ia Cthulhu fthagn" and we will be buds. I don't care where we happen to be.
posted by Renoroc at 5:25 PM on July 24, 2012


Awesome Possum shirt. Louis CK.
posted by bquarters at 9:13 PM on July 24, 2012


Some dude once stopped me and asked me if I was internet famous. He seemed like a nice guy — he was at the farmer's market stumping for Marcy Winograd.
posted by klangklangston at 9:58 PM on July 24, 2012


Put me down as welcoming contact in meatspace.

"A Welcoming Contact In Meatspace" seems like the kind of porn Kilgore Trout would write.
posted by Diablevert at 10:16 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


A Trout in Meatspace? *ponders*
posted by infini at 1:54 AM on July 25, 2012


I thought I saw Divabat on a train (a couple of times) but felt a bit funny approaching. Also, I can never remember her IRL name. H00py now, she'd be weirded out, I think, if I bumpedinto her in Coles and said "H00py!" cos it's damn difficult pronouncing those middle vowels. You try it.
posted by b33j at 3:45 AM on July 25, 2012


My tongue is still trying to wrap itself around "b33j" - those middle vowels down under hard!
posted by infini at 5:23 AM on July 25, 2012


Gallant says: Hi! I think I know you from Metafilter!

Goofus says: Hi! I think I know you from the Girls Around Me app!
posted by Zed at 10:33 AM on July 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


KathrynT: thank you. I still don't know the song, but at least I know what it is from!

Please put yourself on the 'not to be destroyed when Mephron mutates into Mephzilla' list.

Because as a friend of mine says:

"the rules are
1) Be yourself, unless you can be Batman.
2) If you can't be Batman, you can be Godzilla."
posted by mephron at 3:38 PM on July 25, 2012


Those rules reduce to "be Godzilla".

Which maybe is the point.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:39 PM on July 25, 2012 [2 favorites]


Oh, wait, that's not right.

Is your friend a character in a movie and, after people have watched the movie, they are home and getting something out of their fridge and suddenly stop and say, "hey, wait a minute?"
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:42 PM on July 25, 2012


Our own Sappho.

Hey I [. . . . . .]et you
and this is [. . .]
[. . . . . . . . .]
[. . . . . . .] taters.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:32 PM on July 25, 2012 [1 favorite]


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