Podcast interview with mathowie on leaving Metafilter November 28, 2016 9:22 PM Subscribe
User number 1 talks about leaving Metafilter on the Community Signal podcast. Includes transcript!
I have been thinking about this interview all morning, and thinking about the early days of Metafilter, and reading back over some of the Metatalk threads from the 2000s, and writing and erasing comments, and the bottom line is I <3 our Professional Mods!
I wonder if the growth of other absolutely massive, undermoderated communities have actually taken some of the pressure off of Metafilter, when it comes to trolls and other bad actors. Like how locking your bike next to an unlocked bike makes you less of a target.
posted by muddgirl at 8:50 AM on November 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
I wonder if the growth of other absolutely massive, undermoderated communities have actually taken some of the pressure off of Metafilter, when it comes to trolls and other bad actors. Like how locking your bike next to an unlocked bike makes you less of a target.
posted by muddgirl at 8:50 AM on November 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
what is this site and why is it so blue
posted by bondcliff at 9:17 AM on November 29, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 9:17 AM on November 29, 2016 [7 favorites]
Black market signups!
posted by ellieBOA at 9:23 AM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 9:23 AM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's odd listening to #1 on a podcast as my brain keeps waiting for Cortex or Jessamyn to interject with some quip and instead the Community Signal guy comes back in and my brain does a "oh, this isn't the MetaFilter podcast" adjustment.
Heh, I had the same problem kinda. And I kept wanting to jump in and be like "well but no it was—" on little bits where Matt had the gist right but the details wrong.
I wonder if the growth of other absolutely massive, undermoderated communities have actually taken some of the pressure off of Metafilter, when it comes to trolls and other bad actors.
That might be part of a thing, yeah. The signup process is a deterrent, but positive incentives elsewhere for bad behavior could do some pulling away as well. But I think steady growth of the community's expectations about not being a wild west thunderdome have been a big part of it too over the years.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:50 AM on November 29, 2016 [7 favorites]
Heh, I had the same problem kinda. And I kept wanting to jump in and be like "well but no it was—" on little bits where Matt had the gist right but the details wrong.
I wonder if the growth of other absolutely massive, undermoderated communities have actually taken some of the pressure off of Metafilter, when it comes to trolls and other bad actors.
That might be part of a thing, yeah. The signup process is a deterrent, but positive incentives elsewhere for bad behavior could do some pulling away as well. But I think steady growth of the community's expectations about not being a wild west thunderdome have been a big part of it too over the years.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:50 AM on November 29, 2016 [7 favorites]
Metafilter: That might be part of a thing, yeah.
posted by Melismata at 9:52 AM on November 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 9:52 AM on November 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
Matt comes back to do one of the monthly MetaFilter podcasts
Yes!
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 10:11 AM on November 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yes!
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 10:11 AM on November 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
He didn't leave us. Matthowie's Metafiltergame is in our hearts... :-)
posted by Jahaza at 11:31 AM on November 29, 2016
posted by Jahaza at 11:31 AM on November 29, 2016
I was surprised how little activity there was for Matt since he left. Last post a year ago, a comment maybe every month or two, maybe a favorite a week.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:21 PM on November 29, 2016
posted by Chrysostom at 12:21 PM on November 29, 2016
Cortex: "...little bits where Matt had the gist right but the details wrong. "
*ahem* I'm sure that Maximum leader (Ret.) had the details right. You may wish to...re-examine your memories. And if you do not wish to, perhaps The Cabal could help...refresh them?
posted by wenestvedt at 12:56 PM on November 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
*ahem* I'm sure that Maximum leader (Ret.) had the details right. You may wish to...re-examine your memories. And if you do not wish to, perhaps The Cabal could help...refresh them?
posted by wenestvedt at 12:56 PM on November 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
little bits where Matt had the gist right but the details wrong.
Yeah, before we talked about the fake suicide thing, I told him upfront I don't remember a lot of the nitty gritty details since it's been a few years and I was so angry about it I blocked most of it out.
I was surprised how little activity there was for Matt since he left. Last post a year ago, a comment maybe every month or two, maybe a favorite a week.
I'm surprised too. At first it was just a way of separating, taking a month-long total abstinence towards MeFi to help the transition, but then I got swamped with work and I only have time to visit the site once or twice a week at this point. My wife and friends read it religiously still and often relay stuff back to me that I missed.
I don't know if I said it clearly enough, but the staff have been amazing about keeping everything going in my absence and I'm extremely happy and lucky that it has gone smoothly.
posted by mathowie (retired) at 1:11 PM on November 29, 2016 [33 favorites]
Yeah, before we talked about the fake suicide thing, I told him upfront I don't remember a lot of the nitty gritty details since it's been a few years and I was so angry about it I blocked most of it out.
I was surprised how little activity there was for Matt since he left. Last post a year ago, a comment maybe every month or two, maybe a favorite a week.
I'm surprised too. At first it was just a way of separating, taking a month-long total abstinence towards MeFi to help the transition, but then I got swamped with work and I only have time to visit the site once or twice a week at this point. My wife and friends read it religiously still and often relay stuff back to me that I missed.
I don't know if I said it clearly enough, but the staff have been amazing about keeping everything going in my absence and I'm extremely happy and lucky that it has gone smoothly.
posted by mathowie (retired) at 1:11 PM on November 29, 2016 [33 favorites]
Thank you for sharing the show, Chrysostom! Matt and I talked about the Slashdot-effect/MetaFilter-effect/community-effect on the show, so it's funny that this is our biggest day ever and it's partially because we were linked on MetaFilter! :)
I wonder if the growth of other absolutely massive, undermoderated communities have actually taken some of the pressure off of Metafilter, when it comes to trolls and other bad actors. Like how locking your bike next to an unlocked bike makes you less of a target.
I think this is a great point, muddgirl. When I had Derek Powazek on the show, he made a really interesting point, that is in line with yours:
There will never not be pests – the pests won’t decide to stop being pests – so you have to come up with clever ways to manage those problems. When I was talking to one particular farmer about deer, he said, "Oh, you don’t have to stop deer, you just have to make your farm less appetizing than the one next door."
posted by patrickokeefe at 2:41 PM on November 29, 2016 [8 favorites]
I wonder if the growth of other absolutely massive, undermoderated communities have actually taken some of the pressure off of Metafilter, when it comes to trolls and other bad actors. Like how locking your bike next to an unlocked bike makes you less of a target.
I think this is a great point, muddgirl. When I had Derek Powazek on the show, he made a really interesting point, that is in line with yours:
There will never not be pests – the pests won’t decide to stop being pests – so you have to come up with clever ways to manage those problems. When I was talking to one particular farmer about deer, he said, "Oh, you don’t have to stop deer, you just have to make your farm less appetizing than the one next door."
posted by patrickokeefe at 2:41 PM on November 29, 2016 [8 favorites]
Includes transcript!
[Ctrl-F: "Alvy" 0 of 0]
I don't miss that guy at all. Borrrrring!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:45 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
[Ctrl-F: "Alvy" 0 of 0]
I don't miss that guy at all. Borrrrring!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:45 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's odd listening to #1 on a podcast...
Doing a job interview with Cortex over skype had pretty much that level of dissonance, combined with "Whatever you do, don't say 'Mefite', 'Mefi' or 'Dragon'" as a constant distracting anxiety in the back of my head.
posted by frimble (staff) at 12:41 PM on November 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
Doing a job interview with Cortex over skype had pretty much that level of dissonance, combined with "Whatever you do, don't say 'Mefite', 'Mefi' or 'Dragon'" as a constant distracting anxiety in the back of my head.
posted by frimble (staff) at 12:41 PM on November 30, 2016 [6 favorites]
so,
does mathowie own the site still? right? but he just doesn't participate in running it day-to-day?
posted by rebent at 4:42 PM on November 30, 2016
does mathowie own the site still? right? but he just doesn't participate in running it day-to-day?
posted by rebent at 4:42 PM on November 30, 2016
It was jarring hearing the election referred to as something so definitely in the past. I realize that it's done, technically, but my mind and body seem to have classified it as an ongoing thing, a neverending thing.
It's possible I need a rest.
posted by ODiV at 7:51 AM on December 1, 2016
It's possible I need a rest.
posted by ODiV at 7:51 AM on December 1, 2016
I enjoyed the podcast! The conclusions at the end are sad ones. Hopefully we'll have another age of independent websites people actually visit directly.
posted by michaelh at 9:03 AM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by michaelh at 9:03 AM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
does mathowie own the site still? right? but he just doesn't participate in running it day-to-day?
Right. He retains ownership and handles a couple of e.g. tax administration things, that sort of stuff, but has been totally out of any day-to-day or hands-on stuff since he left for Slack.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:05 AM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Right. He retains ownership and handles a couple of e.g. tax administration things, that sort of stuff, but has been totally out of any day-to-day or hands-on stuff since he left for Slack.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:05 AM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Interesting interview!
Actually, it hadn't occurred to me that Matt still owns Metafilter. I don't know who I thought owned it, but it makes sense that he owns it but is "retired" from day-to-day activities.
posted by radioamy at 12:05 PM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Actually, it hadn't occurred to me that Matt still owns Metafilter. I don't know who I thought owned it, but it makes sense that he owns it but is "retired" from day-to-day activities.
posted by radioamy at 12:05 PM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, it's one of those things where it's legally very, very simple for him to just kinda stop doing anything but a lot more complicated to actually change the legal fact of ownership. It's something we talk about periodically and it might make sense to actually pull the trigger at some point, but we haven't gotten there yet.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:27 PM on December 2, 2016
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:27 PM on December 2, 2016
But I think steady growth of the community's expectations about not being a wild west thunderdome have been a big part of it too over the years.
Yes! I'm glad that, finally, we have gotten beyond thunderdome. (Oh c'mon I had to do it.)
posted by JHarris at 10:12 PM on December 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yes! I'm glad that, finally, we have gotten beyond thunderdome. (Oh c'mon I had to do it.)
posted by JHarris at 10:12 PM on December 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
*puts JHarris on mule aimed at the desert*
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:42 AM on December 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:42 AM on December 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I like the transcript! Any idea how it was made?
posted by Pronoiac at 7:24 PM on December 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Pronoiac at 7:24 PM on December 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I like the transcript! Any idea how it was made?
I am really happy to hear that, Pronoiac. We pay Scribie to produce our transcripts, and then I format them in the way you see on the page there. We tried another service first, but Scribie is so much better as far as the mix of cost and quality. I also read through the transcripts, correct the obvious issues I see and pull out quotes from them that I feel are particularly great.
posted by patrickokeefe at 8:36 AM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I am really happy to hear that, Pronoiac. We pay Scribie to produce our transcripts, and then I format them in the way you see on the page there. We tried another service first, but Scribie is so much better as far as the mix of cost and quality. I also read through the transcripts, correct the obvious issues I see and pull out quotes from them that I feel are particularly great.
posted by patrickokeefe at 8:36 AM on December 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Hmm. I wonder if Scribie ultimately outsources to services like Mechanical Turk....
posted by JHarris at 10:55 AM on December 4, 2016
posted by JHarris at 10:55 AM on December 4, 2016
Hmm. I wonder if Scribie ultimately outsources to services like Mechanical Turk....
You can read more about their process here: https://scribie.com/audio-transcription-service#process
They weren't the first transcription service we used, but their quality is so much better. They are definitely qualifying people in some way.
posted by patrickokeefe at 6:50 PM on December 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
You can read more about their process here: https://scribie.com/audio-transcription-service#process
They weren't the first transcription service we used, but their quality is so much better. They are definitely qualifying people in some way.
posted by patrickokeefe at 6:50 PM on December 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yeah, it's one of those things where it's legally very, very simple for him to just kinda stop doing anything but a lot more complicated to actually change the legal fact of ownership. It's something we talk about periodically and it might make sense to actually pull the trigger at some point, but we haven't gotten there yet.
This may be part of the discussion already, but have you thought about setting up a company or trust of some sort (private, of course) to ease future changes? Cortex is 1000% awesome right now, of course, but there might come a time when another transition of Supreme Leader makes sense, and my limited business knowledge is that making things a business is partially meant to ease these sorts of changes.
It's weird how central MetaFilter is to my conception of the world. I take my breaks from here, but it's been a steady part of my consciousness since well before I signed up. MetaFilter was my first internet purchase (I blame you for my spending on virtual dragon habitats!).
posted by Deoridhe at 6:47 PM on December 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
This may be part of the discussion already, but have you thought about setting up a company or trust of some sort (private, of course) to ease future changes? Cortex is 1000% awesome right now, of course, but there might come a time when another transition of Supreme Leader makes sense, and my limited business knowledge is that making things a business is partially meant to ease these sorts of changes.
It's weird how central MetaFilter is to my conception of the world. I take my breaks from here, but it's been a steady part of my consciousness since well before I signed up. MetaFilter was my first internet purchase (I blame you for my spending on virtual dragon habitats!).
posted by Deoridhe at 6:47 PM on December 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
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Speaking of which, I do hope that at some point in the future - and only of course if he's happy to do so - then Matt comes back to do one of the monthly MetaFilter podcasts (small pony request: other mods as well, if they want to).
posted by Wordshore at 3:27 AM on November 29, 2016 [4 favorites]