Introduce yourself! January 24, 2022 10:36 AM Subscribe
Hey, are you newish to MetaFilter? Or not new but you don't comment or post much? Come on in and say hello, introduce yourself, talk about what brought you here, and so on!
How'd you get here? What are your hobbies? What's your internet backstory? Etc. Lay it on us.
Curious about the site? Some potentially handy resources for new and irregular readers/members:
- The site guidelines sum up our basic community expectations, and link to some further resources
- The FAQ covers a lot of basic policy and site mechanics questions
But if you've got questions about the site, how it works, what sort of things folks get up to here, and so on, fellow community members and the site's moderation staff will do our best to answer, along with just saying howdy back.
(Thanks in particular for suggestions/nudges on making this happen to brainwane and jessamyn, and everyone else who has been enthusiastic for some more welcoming stuff on the site; this is a nice idea long overdue.)
How'd you get here? What are your hobbies? What's your internet backstory? Etc. Lay it on us.
Curious about the site? Some potentially handy resources for new and irregular readers/members:
- The site guidelines sum up our basic community expectations, and link to some further resources
- The FAQ covers a lot of basic policy and site mechanics questions
But if you've got questions about the site, how it works, what sort of things folks get up to here, and so on, fellow community members and the site's moderation staff will do our best to answer, along with just saying howdy back.
(Thanks in particular for suggestions/nudges on making this happen to brainwane and jessamyn, and everyone else who has been enthusiastic for some more welcoming stuff on the site; this is a nice idea long overdue.)
Nice to see you around again, old-timer!
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:59 AM on January 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:59 AM on January 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Good Lord, I've been a MeFite for over 20 years, and haven't even lurked in far too long.
THIS SHALL NOT STAND.
(I also should really change my password.)
posted by JeffK at 11:08 AM on January 24, 2022 [22 favorites]
THIS SHALL NOT STAND.
(I also should really change my password.)
posted by JeffK at 11:08 AM on January 24, 2022 [22 favorites]
I've been around since 2005, but I haven't been super active in the last bit (but still heavily lurk). Metafilter's seen me through a divorce, career shifts, relocations, a midlife crisis, and countless attempts to identify a book, movie, or turn of phrase.
My core hobbies revolve around cartoons, tiki, and tarot. I lean into to Ask Mes about human relations, weird movies, advertising/branding, corporate careers, and a few other things.
I'm a ddial geek who became a usenet geek who became a LiveJournal geek who wandered over here and never left - and all my Twiter friends seem to have Mefi in their bios :)
posted by Gucky at 11:10 AM on January 24, 2022 [18 favorites]
My core hobbies revolve around cartoons, tiki, and tarot. I lean into to Ask Mes about human relations, weird movies, advertising/branding, corporate careers, and a few other things.
I'm a ddial geek who became a usenet geek who became a LiveJournal geek who wandered over here and never left - and all my Twiter friends seem to have Mefi in their bios :)
posted by Gucky at 11:10 AM on January 24, 2022 [18 favorites]
*puts out a inviting variety of nuts, crisps, fruits, cheese, cakes and cookies... for anyone who is feeling peckish*
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:14 AM on January 24, 2022 [27 favorites]
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:14 AM on January 24, 2022 [27 favorites]
Hey. I haven't been around in forever... I didn't get one of the famous cameras, but I do still wear my t-shirt. :) I quietly stan cortex's Twitter and figured the least I could do was to participate in the hellllooooooooooo!
posted by mindsound at 11:22 AM on January 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by mindsound at 11:22 AM on January 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
Hi, I wrote a post about writing novels.. I'm going to guess 10 years ago. Sure.
I go by Niteowl elsewhere (mostly at stavrosthewonderchicken's mefightclub).
I once tried to create an IG handle of badminton_boardgames_battlestargalactica since that pretty much covers all my interests. That handle was too long, apparently.
posted by eurasian at 11:33 AM on January 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
I go by Niteowl elsewhere (mostly at stavrosthewonderchicken's mefightclub).
I once tried to create an IG handle of badminton_boardgames_battlestargalactica since that pretty much covers all my interests. That handle was too long, apparently.
posted by eurasian at 11:33 AM on January 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
Hi everyone! I've been around since 2000 or 2001, via the Slashdot-Kuro5hin-MeFi pipeline. I made an account in 2002 along with the other 14K-ers. I've never really commented much, though I've been to a few meetups in different Canadian cities. My username came from my Ultima Dragons name, which was created in high school and used on Horizons Tavern, a close-knit web forum in the late 90s and early 2000s. Since the pandemic, for whatever reason, the Internet has rapidly been losing interest for me, but I still keep up on Metafilter and Ask Metafilter every day.
posted by RGD at 11:48 AM on January 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by RGD at 11:48 AM on January 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
Howdy do. I used to be a fairly frequent commenter, but my situation changed and I ended up becoming instead a dedicated lurker. Still, I read MetaFilter so much that my eleven year old told me that the blue screen with white and yellow type makes her nostalgic, because "that's what Dad always looks at."
What led me here was, believe it or not, a podcast commercial. "The Sound of Young America," an interview show later renamed "Bullseye," used to have an ad for Ask MetaFilter on it. Curiosity compelled me to look, which led me to regular Meta. Loved what I saw, felt the classic internet pull of offering up an unasked-for opinion, and coughed up the five bucks to join.
I'm between hobbies now. Most of my life, I was a giant comic book fan, but time away from the stuff weakened my interest and most of it holds no interest anymore. Dang it. I try to write fiction, but with my feeble work ethic, it's not working out. Maybe I should take up falconry instead. Scare the neighbors, cut down on the local squirrel population, finally have an excuse to wear giant leather gauntlets in public.
My internet name derives from two things that amused me back in the Ye Olden Tymes, right about when I first found the joys of posting nonsense online: the Jimmy Stewart movie about an invisible rabbit, Harvey, and the phrase denoting a small, remote town: Jerkwater burg.
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 12:06 PM on January 24, 2022 [16 favorites]
What led me here was, believe it or not, a podcast commercial. "The Sound of Young America," an interview show later renamed "Bullseye," used to have an ad for Ask MetaFilter on it. Curiosity compelled me to look, which led me to regular Meta. Loved what I saw, felt the classic internet pull of offering up an unasked-for opinion, and coughed up the five bucks to join.
I'm between hobbies now. Most of my life, I was a giant comic book fan, but time away from the stuff weakened my interest and most of it holds no interest anymore. Dang it. I try to write fiction, but with my feeble work ethic, it's not working out. Maybe I should take up falconry instead. Scare the neighbors, cut down on the local squirrel population, finally have an excuse to wear giant leather gauntlets in public.
My internet name derives from two things that amused me back in the Ye Olden Tymes, right about when I first found the joys of posting nonsense online: the Jimmy Stewart movie about an invisible rabbit, Harvey, and the phrase denoting a small, remote town: Jerkwater burg.
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 12:06 PM on January 24, 2022 [16 favorites]
an interview show later renamed "Bullseye," used to have an ad for Ask MetaFilter on it
Ask used to have ads?!
Also may be time to watch Harvey again.
posted by Glinn at 12:30 PM on January 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Ask used to have ads?!
Also may be time to watch Harvey again.
posted by Glinn at 12:30 PM on January 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
greetings from fabulous, glamorous Worcester, MA. long-time Mefite (first account was registered in september 2002), also came from Slashdot/K5 IIRC. I've left a few comments here and there, gone to a couple of meetups in the past, and used to be a bit active in Mefightclub, but I wouldn't say I feel like a contributor or member of the community or anything.
the blue has been an unfailing source of cool stuff to read ever since I first came across it and I don't think a week goes by without my brain dredging up some weird bit of info or humorous quote from a article or comment posted to MeFi. it's also the only place on the internet apart from a couple of local Substacks in which I will even attempt to follow political discussions.
so thanks y'all for making this one of the most pleasant corners of the internet. here's to another 23 years.
posted by Old Kentucky Shark at 12:47 PM on January 24, 2022 [17 favorites]
the blue has been an unfailing source of cool stuff to read ever since I first came across it and I don't think a week goes by without my brain dredging up some weird bit of info or humorous quote from a article or comment posted to MeFi. it's also the only place on the internet apart from a couple of local Substacks in which I will even attempt to follow political discussions.
so thanks y'all for making this one of the most pleasant corners of the internet. here's to another 23 years.
posted by Old Kentucky Shark at 12:47 PM on January 24, 2022 [17 favorites]
Hi!
Not sure if I belong in this thread because I am technically not a lurker but I read a lot more than I post/comment. I am on Metafilter all day, starting at 6.30 am, reading new posts/questions before I get out of bed, and then during meetings, and at night.
I live in Poland and I do not remember any more what led me to this site but I cannot remember not being here.
My biggest hobby is finding and buying fun, interesting, nerdy toys for my herd of nephews aged 1 to 18. I sometimes joke I should get a PhD in toy-buying.
I am also passionate about my job (doc in a teaching hospital). My work persona is somewhat of Amy Santiago who "wishes there was more time to savor paperwork". Okay, I hate paperwork as much as the next person but I love getting and writing up consults. It's like getting a new puzzle to solve plus meeting a new human at the same time.
Also, I am bad at Scrabble but I love Wordle!
posted by M. at 12:56 PM on January 24, 2022 [23 favorites]
Not sure if I belong in this thread because I am technically not a lurker but I read a lot more than I post/comment. I am on Metafilter all day, starting at 6.30 am, reading new posts/questions before I get out of bed, and then during meetings, and at night.
I live in Poland and I do not remember any more what led me to this site but I cannot remember not being here.
My biggest hobby is finding and buying fun, interesting, nerdy toys for my herd of nephews aged 1 to 18. I sometimes joke I should get a PhD in toy-buying.
I am also passionate about my job (doc in a teaching hospital). My work persona is somewhat of Amy Santiago who "wishes there was more time to savor paperwork". Okay, I hate paperwork as much as the next person but I love getting and writing up consults. It's like getting a new puzzle to solve plus meeting a new human at the same time.
Also, I am bad at Scrabble but I love Wordle!
posted by M. at 12:56 PM on January 24, 2022 [23 favorites]
Hi all! Long time lurker and infrequent poster here (looking back on my commenting history, there’s a lot of periods). Jabo was the name my Mom made with the handy Dymo-Labeler and put on all my camping gear. It’s now the name I use on all my art. Mrs. Jabo and I are artists who began selling at craft shows and eventually began to teach our technique and sell books about it online.
When I wasn’t trying to get the hang of HTML, I buzzed (if you call 28.8 buzzing) over to Metafilter to read about Kaycee Nicole. This thread reminds me it’s time to send in another contribution to keep my favorite place on the internet buzzing along! Happy trails!
posted by jabo at 12:57 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
When I wasn’t trying to get the hang of HTML, I buzzed (if you call 28.8 buzzing) over to Metafilter to read about Kaycee Nicole. This thread reminds me it’s time to send in another contribution to keep my favorite place on the internet buzzing along! Happy trails!
posted by jabo at 12:57 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
Hi everyone,
longtime lurker, just signed up for an account after seeing a couple posts on the blue, and in ask, that hit close to home. Wanted to start participating!
I play music, which is both work and hobby for me, and recently went back to school to finish a bachelor's I started 20 years ago.
cheers!
posted by caseyblu at 1:05 PM on January 24, 2022 [24 favorites]
longtime lurker, just signed up for an account after seeing a couple posts on the blue, and in ask, that hit close to home. Wanted to start participating!
I play music, which is both work and hobby for me, and recently went back to school to finish a bachelor's I started 20 years ago.
cheers!
posted by caseyblu at 1:05 PM on January 24, 2022 [24 favorites]
Hellooooo lurkers and new folks, glad to have you.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:19 PM on January 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:19 PM on January 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
I love that this thread for new users is full of people who've been here for decades, lol.
My user profile says I joined in 2017 but I have been reading the site for quite a bit longer than that. I am mostly to be found on Ask, but just recently dipped my toes into the blue and made my first post.
Hobbies? Never met her. (Actually I am a recent and clumsy but enthusiastic potter, a lapsed artiste of photocopies/zines/stickers, and an amateur and clumsy gardener. Taking all that advice to be enthusiastically mediocre at things I like!) Oh and I bake.
Professionally I do art historical things, and am academic-adjacent.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:23 PM on January 24, 2022 [21 favorites]
My user profile says I joined in 2017 but I have been reading the site for quite a bit longer than that. I am mostly to be found on Ask, but just recently dipped my toes into the blue and made my first post.
Hobbies? Never met her. (Actually I am a recent and clumsy but enthusiastic potter, a lapsed artiste of photocopies/zines/stickers, and an amateur and clumsy gardener. Taking all that advice to be enthusiastically mediocre at things I like!) Oh and I bake.
Professionally I do art historical things, and am academic-adjacent.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:23 PM on January 24, 2022 [21 favorites]
an interview show later renamed "Bullseye,"
q.v. Help rename my public radio show!
used to have an ad for Ask MetaFilter on it
posted by zamboni at 1:39 PM on January 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
q.v. Help rename my public radio show!
used to have an ad for Ask MetaFilter on it
So, how long has AskMe been sponsoring The Sound of Young America?
posted by zamboni at 1:39 PM on January 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
Howdy, I feel like I've been here forever but I don't say much and my few front page posts have not interested many! :-) I visit and read every day - or at least every workday - mostly the blue and green, and I peek into fanfare and metatalk.
I can't remember how I came across metafilter to start with, lo these many years ago, but I'm so glad I did.
I'm middle-aged, cis female, mostly straight, recently divorced and still heartbroken. I'm a big huge U2 fan and love the rock and roll and concertgoing generally ... in happier times. I love animals and also paint hideous acrylic abstracts more for the quiet enjoyment of painting than for the finished product, fortunately.
I usually lurk without logging in unless I'm commenting, and then I see that people said lovely things to me six months previously, to my shame.
posted by Occula at 1:43 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
I can't remember how I came across metafilter to start with, lo these many years ago, but I'm so glad I did.
I'm middle-aged, cis female, mostly straight, recently divorced and still heartbroken. I'm a big huge U2 fan and love the rock and roll and concertgoing generally ... in happier times. I love animals and also paint hideous acrylic abstracts more for the quiet enjoyment of painting than for the finished product, fortunately.
I usually lurk without logging in unless I'm commenting, and then I see that people said lovely things to me six months previously, to my shame.
posted by Occula at 1:43 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
Profile says I joined in 2005. First reaction to that is, "Wow, thought it was longer ago than that." (And also remembering that I was a reader of the site for years before joining.) Second reaction to "2005" is, "Wow, now that I think about it, that was a fairly long time ago." Anyhow, haven't posted much in recent years but will try to re-add MeFi to my rounds again.
posted by aught at 1:50 PM on January 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by aught at 1:50 PM on January 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
I'm a long-time lurker, finally decided to bite the bullet and make an account. (Honestly no idea how long I've been lurking. Possibly decades.)
I live in the Pacific Northwest, I work in game development, and my hobbies include lots of crafting/making plus reading SF&F, and gaming of all sorts.
Now that I have an account, I may put together some front page posts on random topics that I know far too much about for no good reason. :)
posted by elizabot at 2:11 PM on January 24, 2022 [26 favorites]
I live in the Pacific Northwest, I work in game development, and my hobbies include lots of crafting/making plus reading SF&F, and gaming of all sorts.
Now that I have an account, I may put together some front page posts on random topics that I know far too much about for no good reason. :)
posted by elizabot at 2:11 PM on January 24, 2022 [26 favorites]
Hi!
posted by Stewriffic at 2:17 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by Stewriffic at 2:17 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
I have been lurking here for so long its downright embarrassing ... so HI!
I used to be a software designer for a few decades, but couldn't take the misogyny, hype and existential despair after a while. Now I run a little farm on the California Central Coast, and raise fruit and flowers, along with my bestie, some llamas, goats, chickens, cats, livestock guardian dogs, an alpaca named Tyrion, and two emus.
posted by birdsongster at 2:26 PM on January 24, 2022 [34 favorites]
I used to be a software designer for a few decades, but couldn't take the misogyny, hype and existential despair after a while. Now I run a little farm on the California Central Coast, and raise fruit and flowers, along with my bestie, some llamas, goats, chickens, cats, livestock guardian dogs, an alpaca named Tyrion, and two emus.
posted by birdsongster at 2:26 PM on January 24, 2022 [34 favorites]
OK, sure, hi. I've been mostly lurking since April 2001 (!). I didn't really mean to sign up for Metafilter itself, but https://the5k.org had a membership tie-in that led me here, and I guess I stuck around. 👋
I still read this site (and skim Ask) as part of my daily web routine. I made one or two half-hearted moves towards participating back in the day, but that never really stuck. I'm not a prolific poster anywhere, so that makes sense.
posted by cathodeheart at 2:30 PM on January 24, 2022 [13 favorites]
I still read this site (and skim Ask) as part of my daily web routine. I made one or two half-hearted moves towards participating back in the day, but that never really stuck. I'm not a prolific poster anywhere, so that makes sense.
posted by cathodeheart at 2:30 PM on January 24, 2022 [13 favorites]
Nice to see everyone!!
What led me here was, believe it or not, a podcast commercial. .... hmm.. Mods: Any thought of doing more of this?
posted by latkes at 2:32 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
What led me here was, believe it or not, a podcast commercial. .... hmm.. Mods: Any thought of doing more of this?
posted by latkes at 2:32 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
I just posted in the free thread on the blue and then found this on the grey. (Am I getting the lingo right, here?) So, since I don't know how to create a link, here it is again:
MetaFilter member for a while but only recently active. Deleted my "social" media accounts and am finding I like this community much more. I'm retired and fortunate to be able to stay home as much as I want/need with my dog and cats. Picked up cross stitching again 2 years ago after a 30+ year hiatus and am enjoying creating while binge watching Netflix and Hulu.
posted by Scout405 at 2:59 PM on January 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
MetaFilter member for a while but only recently active. Deleted my "social" media accounts and am finding I like this community much more. I'm retired and fortunate to be able to stay home as much as I want/need with my dog and cats. Picked up cross stitching again 2 years ago after a 30+ year hiatus and am enjoying creating while binge watching Netflix and Hulu.
posted by Scout405 at 2:59 PM on January 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
Hello lurkers and newcomers. Just adding this thread to my recent activity.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:24 PM on January 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:24 PM on January 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
I’ve been here for 13 years, and I still feel like a n00b. I listen to a lot of podcasts, but not the MetaFilter podcast. When will cortex and griphus restart their horror film podcast?
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:37 PM on January 24, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:37 PM on January 24, 2022 [9 favorites]
HihiHI! Recently delurked in a free thread on the blue. Trying to be braver about piping in more regularly and not just reading after 15 years.
Don't remember how I found metafilter all those years ago. Do know that I'm a better person because of metafilter. I've learned so much from other people's tips, stories, advice, experiences, perspectives. Mefite wisdom carried me through my 20s and 30s.
I love this place, warts and all. I'd be a very different person if metafilter didn't enter my life.
posted by kitkatcathy at 3:59 PM on January 24, 2022 [34 favorites]
Don't remember how I found metafilter all those years ago. Do know that I'm a better person because of metafilter. I've learned so much from other people's tips, stories, advice, experiences, perspectives. Mefite wisdom carried me through my 20s and 30s.
I love this place, warts and all. I'd be a very different person if metafilter didn't enter my life.
posted by kitkatcathy at 3:59 PM on January 24, 2022 [34 favorites]
I started reading metafilter in the early 2000s and went over a decade without an account. Not sure what convinced me to start one, and I don't participate a lot, but I still come here daily.
posted by One Hand Slowclapping at 4:39 PM on January 24, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by One Hand Slowclapping at 4:39 PM on January 24, 2022 [9 favorites]
Hi! I'm moonbeam, another devoted lurker since somewhere in the 2011-2012 range, when I was in my early 20s. I think I had come across the site before then but started reading daily in my first office job, as a bored receptionist with unfettered internet access. About 5 years in, I finally settled on a respectable username and registered for an account, I think, and then maybe one other before I landed in this one? I collect usernames everywhere for some reason.
Reading is one of my other primary hobbies (alongside art-making and walk-taking), and I read the site daily, or very nearly. Mostly the blue, green, and a pop-in to the grey when I remember. Is it overblown to say that Ask has been foundational to my adult development, especially as a late-diagnosed and kind of sheltered autistic person desperate to understand how people work? And the main page has always helped me pass as more cultured and well-read than I am.
10 years in and I still don't think I've converted any of my real life friends into site users. Or at least they won't admit it. Maybe I shouldn't lead with the emotional labor thread...? Weird!
posted by moonbeam at 5:01 PM on January 24, 2022 [17 favorites]
Reading is one of my other primary hobbies (alongside art-making and walk-taking), and I read the site daily, or very nearly. Mostly the blue, green, and a pop-in to the grey when I remember. Is it overblown to say that Ask has been foundational to my adult development, especially as a late-diagnosed and kind of sheltered autistic person desperate to understand how people work? And the main page has always helped me pass as more cultured and well-read than I am.
10 years in and I still don't think I've converted any of my real life friends into site users. Or at least they won't admit it. Maybe I shouldn't lead with the emotional labor thread...? Weird!
posted by moonbeam at 5:01 PM on January 24, 2022 [17 favorites]
I've been lurking since forever. I have a friend who's been a member since longer than forever, and I used to ping him on the rare occasions I had something constructive to add to an Ask question. I think he either (1) figured it was time or (2) got tired of being my MeFi Cyrano bc a Christmas or two ago, he sprang for my dues. And here I am.
MeFi is my standard "oh man this code's going to run for a bit, but not long enough that I can go get coffee" perusal. I'm a little embarrassed by how long I ate the fruits of so many talented curators without chipping in, but I listened to public radio for a long time before I put any cash in that kitty too :/
posted by adekllny at 5:10 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
MeFi is my standard "oh man this code's going to run for a bit, but not long enough that I can go get coffee" perusal. I'm a little embarrassed by how long I ate the fruits of so many talented curators without chipping in, but I listened to public radio for a long time before I put any cash in that kitty too :/
posted by adekllny at 5:10 PM on January 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
I started lurking sometime in the mid 2000s. I came to the site via Ask, which popped up occasionally useful answers in Google search. Sometime around the time that Ask saved my bacon by teaching me how to successfully write a thesis in MS Word without loosing your mind, I realized that instead of serendipitous encounters in search results, I could just go directly to ask.metafilter.com and thus started a many year relationship in which I compulsively read all the asks and answers daily (I learned so much! Now I have less time). I eventually started venturing on to the Blue, and now I probably lurk on both equally.
I am a lurker by nature, but a few years ago decided I should probably sign up and, like, lurk officially. One barrier was having to choose a user name - although I have been online since the 90s, I don't have a long-time handle and I don't currently wish to create one that spans sites. What I settled on reflects my extreme indecisiveness on this front. :)
I am a proud dilettante who's hobbies currently include reading fantasy/scifi/romance novels, learning to juggle, spinning my own yarn, and never leaving my apartment.
posted by Advanced_Waffler at 6:20 PM on January 24, 2022 [15 favorites]
I am a lurker by nature, but a few years ago decided I should probably sign up and, like, lurk officially. One barrier was having to choose a user name - although I have been online since the 90s, I don't have a long-time handle and I don't currently wish to create one that spans sites. What I settled on reflects my extreme indecisiveness on this front. :)
I am a proud dilettante who's hobbies currently include reading fantasy/scifi/romance novels, learning to juggle, spinning my own yarn, and never leaving my apartment.
posted by Advanced_Waffler at 6:20 PM on January 24, 2022 [15 favorites]
It is lovely to hear from all you people!
posted by janell at 10:25 PM on January 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by janell at 10:25 PM on January 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
I'm also not new, but I transitioned and mf doesn't let us update our screen names, so I had to make a new account.
posted by june_dodecahedron at 3:28 AM on January 25, 2022 [17 favorites]
posted by june_dodecahedron at 3:28 AM on January 25, 2022 [17 favorites]
I've been a lurker since at least... 2013? and some years before that, though I'm not sure I have any way of knowing exactly, which is weird. Ask helped me to figure out how to be a better human. I probably made my first account in around 2016. I was umming and ahhing to a friend about ponying up to make an account and he (completely unaware of what I was talking about), said something like, "$5? Are you kidding me? I'LL pay for you to make an account!" and I realised this thing I thought was kind of difficult was actually very easy.
I only made this account recently and have probably posted more in the last two months than I've ever done. I'm not sure why that is except that I'm feeling like I want more community in my life, and I know if I want community I have to show up.
Anyway cheers to Grace Tame
posted by happyfrog at 3:35 AM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
I only made this account recently and have probably posted more in the last two months than I've ever done. I'm not sure why that is except that I'm feeling like I want more community in my life, and I know if I want community I have to show up.
Anyway cheers to Grace Tame
posted by happyfrog at 3:35 AM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
I'm new! Like, brand-new!
Left The Elephant 6 Townhall for Digg in 2008. Left Digg for Reddit in 2010. Now I'm here. Hello everyone!
posted by BeesLikeMe at 3:42 AM on January 25, 2022 [36 favorites]
Left The Elephant 6 Townhall for Digg in 2008. Left Digg for Reddit in 2010. Now I'm here. Hello everyone!
posted by BeesLikeMe at 3:42 AM on January 25, 2022 [36 favorites]
Pretty sure I came across MeFi due to a link from Suck.com. Anyway it was eons ago. Lurked for years before deciding to register … only to find registration was closed. Frantically hit refresh in April ‘04 and was one of the 17kers who got in during the glitch that allowed too many members, right before mathowie locked it down up until the $5 signups hit.
MeFi is where I grew from a smartass kid to a wise old sage, I guess. At least in internet years. At any rate these days I certainly stick my foot in my mouth a lot less!
Full time administrator in a research division at a VA hospital these days. Soft money was stressful, hard federal funds and a pension? I’m eternally thankful my boss gave me that opportunity. I still play at science but my colleague is driving that ship, I’m out of the loop but she keeps me on the grants and papers because I write better than anyone else she knows. Plus I’m no stats wizard, but I’m good enough that she relies on me.
If you had told 2004 me that some day I’d be pushing paper in an office and loving my job, I’d think you were crazy … but here I am.
posted by caution live frogs at 5:15 AM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
MeFi is where I grew from a smartass kid to a wise old sage, I guess. At least in internet years. At any rate these days I certainly stick my foot in my mouth a lot less!
Full time administrator in a research division at a VA hospital these days. Soft money was stressful, hard federal funds and a pension? I’m eternally thankful my boss gave me that opportunity. I still play at science but my colleague is driving that ship, I’m out of the loop but she keeps me on the grants and papers because I write better than anyone else she knows. Plus I’m no stats wizard, but I’m good enough that she relies on me.
If you had told 2004 me that some day I’d be pushing paper in an office and loving my job, I’d think you were crazy … but here I am.
posted by caution live frogs at 5:15 AM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
I started lurking here in 2004, joined in 2005, posted and commented like a madman, then disappeared for 15 years. My newish job has a pretty strict social media policy, so I jettisoned FB and twitter and came back here. Ditching FB has been a fantastic decision, I'm happier than I've been in a decade.
I was around for the longboat and that is a memory I'll always cherish.
posted by schyler523 at 5:30 AM on January 25, 2022 [14 favorites]
I was around for the longboat and that is a memory I'll always cherish.
posted by schyler523 at 5:30 AM on January 25, 2022 [14 favorites]
I lurked since the early 2000s, don’t remember exactly when I first started. But the triggering thing to get an actual login came with the FPP in late 2016 about Cindy Stowell, the Jeopardy! champion who died of cancer before her first shows aired. I was privileged to be in the live audience for her last few games, as my roommate was a contestant. I felt compelled to get a login to properly bear witness.
posted by notoriety public at 5:42 AM on January 25, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 5:42 AM on January 25, 2022 [8 favorites]
> I transitioned and mf doesn't let us update our screen names
Actually, while we're here, can the mods explain why this is the case, and if they have any plans to change this policy?
posted by june_dodecahedron at 6:27 AM on January 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
Actually, while we're here, can the mods explain why this is the case, and if they have any plans to change this policy?
posted by june_dodecahedron at 6:27 AM on January 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
Hello! I'm Gray Duck. I lurked for years, and I was Elly Vortex since '11 but leveled up to a better username a few years back. I'm a rare poster, I usually post stuff about Minnesota (including the annual Minnesota State Hockey All Hair Hockey Team Awards). I'm an intermittent commenter. I think I must have a higher-than-average ratio of noise:signal comments, mainly due to my taking things too literally and my tendency to ramble.
Seeing my name at the top of the "popular comments" page for my nerdy Dorian Gray joke is still the highlight of my metafilter experience. I'm still riding that dopamine high.
posted by Gray Duck at 6:46 AM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
Seeing my name at the top of the "popular comments" page for my nerdy Dorian Gray joke is still the highlight of my metafilter experience. I'm still riding that dopamine high.
posted by Gray Duck at 6:46 AM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
Hi! I've been here since 2009 (!!!) I am a daily reader, not a prolific poster but I have had spurts of commenting and a few asks.
I have no idea where my user name came from which is strange given how oddly specific it seems.
You all have been my rock for 12+ years.
posted by kiwi-epitome at 7:29 AM on January 25, 2022 [10 favorites]
I have no idea where my user name came from which is strange given how oddly specific it seems.
You all have been my rock for 12+ years.
posted by kiwi-epitome at 7:29 AM on January 25, 2022 [10 favorites]
I transitioned and mf doesn't let us update our screen names
That's actually the main case where we are okay with it! If you want to drop a line to the contact form, we can sort out the details.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:39 AM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
That's actually the main case where we are okay with it! If you want to drop a line to the contact form, we can sort out the details.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:39 AM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
Five dolla noob! I've been reading since days of closed sign-ups.
I was living in Thailand and signed up on the day of the 2004 tsunami when we were being asked not to clog up servers of local websites if not emergency traffic. MeFi was my companion while I moved back to USA a few years later.
I don't comment much, but make a resolution to contribute more from time to time. Maybe I'll really follow through on that one day.
I can't imagine a day with MeFi.
posted by jaruwaan at 7:44 AM on January 25, 2022 [13 favorites]
I was living in Thailand and signed up on the day of the 2004 tsunami when we were being asked not to clog up servers of local websites if not emergency traffic. MeFi was my companion while I moved back to USA a few years later.
I don't comment much, but make a resolution to contribute more from time to time. Maybe I'll really follow through on that one day.
I can't imagine a day with MeFi.
posted by jaruwaan at 7:44 AM on January 25, 2022 [13 favorites]
Another old fart here. Been a member since 2001, and I have 2 front page posts to my name, with 11 years between them. I'm still contemplating what to post in 2032.
MeFi is my happy place on the web. The Blue is the only feed in the "Discussions" folder of my feedreader, and Fanfare is the first port of call after I've watched or read something. I'm here every day, just real quiet in the corner, enjoying the hubub of conversation.
posted by garrett at 7:59 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
MeFi is my happy place on the web. The Blue is the only feed in the "Discussions" folder of my feedreader, and Fanfare is the first port of call after I've watched or read something. I'm here every day, just real quiet in the corner, enjoying the hubub of conversation.
posted by garrett at 7:59 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
Hi all! I've been a lurker for a couple of decades now, finally decided to ante up. My username is the title of a blog that I had in the early 2000s. Metafilter feels like the lone holdout from those early days of the web. I always find something interesting, hope to contribute something interesting too!
posted by Ishbadiddle at 8:17 AM on January 25, 2022 [14 favorites]
posted by Ishbadiddle at 8:17 AM on January 25, 2022 [14 favorites]
Hi all, I tend to lurk a lot. I want to express my appreciation for all the people here, mods and admins and members, who make this place so great. It remains foundational for my experience of the interwebs, and maybe also the world, 16 years running.
I do a bit of DIY. I love to cook. My handle comes from an attempt by my brother to form a word during scrabble, about which I still giggle. It took me at least 15 minutes to write this.
Thanks again to all of you, the richness of your interests and knowledge boggles the mind.
posted by rudster at 8:17 AM on January 25, 2022 [13 favorites]
I do a bit of DIY. I love to cook. My handle comes from an attempt by my brother to form a word during scrabble, about which I still giggle. It took me at least 15 minutes to write this.
Thanks again to all of you, the richness of your interests and knowledge boggles the mind.
posted by rudster at 8:17 AM on January 25, 2022 [13 favorites]
Thanks for this opportunity!
Hello everyone. I've been here a long time but I don't post anywhere near as much as I read. I sort of feel like I missed the chance to get to know people when I was new. Many of you are really funny and clever, so sometimes I feel like, "well, I can't follow that comment with mine."
I love being part of a community with so many smart and well-intentioned humans. And I've learned so much over the years. It's also been really healing to read threads about family issues with all the supportive comments. My mindset on what I owe to myself has shifted immeasurably.
posted by Knowyournuts at 8:35 AM on January 25, 2022 [18 favorites]
Hello everyone. I've been here a long time but I don't post anywhere near as much as I read. I sort of feel like I missed the chance to get to know people when I was new. Many of you are really funny and clever, so sometimes I feel like, "well, I can't follow that comment with mine."
I love being part of a community with so many smart and well-intentioned humans. And I've learned so much over the years. It's also been really healing to read threads about family issues with all the supportive comments. My mindset on what I owe to myself has shifted immeasurably.
posted by Knowyournuts at 8:35 AM on January 25, 2022 [18 favorites]
Hey, I used to really be into MetaFilter (and the rest of the internet), and then at some point around 5-6 years ago, I became disenchanted with internet discussion in general. I deleted a lot of accounts and started speaking exclusively in a really high-pitched voice.
Recently, I got back into small online communities a tiny bit. I realized that while I still don't like the nature of internet discussion as it is today, I really like the spirit of amateurism (which I think is more important than professionalism) on Projects and MeFi Music. So, I check that out frequently, and you should make projects and music for me to experience!
(OK, the high-pitched voice part is not true.)
posted by ignignokt at 9:57 AM on January 25, 2022 [18 favorites]
Recently, I got back into small online communities a tiny bit. I realized that while I still don't like the nature of internet discussion as it is today, I really like the spirit of amateurism (which I think is more important than professionalism) on Projects and MeFi Music. So, I check that out frequently, and you should make projects and music for me to experience!
(OK, the high-pitched voice part is not true.)
posted by ignignokt at 9:57 AM on January 25, 2022 [18 favorites]
Hallo! I found Metafilter through Slashdot. I think it was a slashbox you could enable, and I liked the name. 1999 or 2000 I think. I started reading regularly when 9/11 happened and MF was one of the few sites I could get to load and get updates.
I'm a lurker and I love to read discussions by people smarter than me so I can learn things. Finally signed up for an account in 2016. I don't usually post because I feel like I never have anything intelligent to add. Y'all can be intimidating sometimes. But I've learned so much!
posted by Billy Rubin at 10:00 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
I'm a lurker and I love to read discussions by people smarter than me so I can learn things. Finally signed up for an account in 2016. I don't usually post because I feel like I never have anything intelligent to add. Y'all can be intimidating sometimes. But I've learned so much!
posted by Billy Rubin at 10:00 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
Is there an unfiltered version of this site, and how many carcinogens is the filter preventing from getting into our lungs? Are our filters biodegradable, or are they made of plastic?
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:40 AM on January 25, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:40 AM on January 25, 2022 [7 favorites]
Hey friends! I was a lurker from 2001-2005. Bit the bullet and bought my first online subscription to Metafilter. I was still in my 30's then, not married, no kids, 4 jobs ago. Different life and different world. I slowed down here when facebook was the new happy fun ball and then back daily when I read the happy fun ball disclaimer.
Gave up drinking going on 5 years ago. Actively trying to be healthy now. I do disaster service work in the Chicago area. My wife and I are watching all of the seasons on Vera (which should have been called Everyone Lies to Vera) currently. Finding peace in nature and trying to stay sane in the time of the extremists.
Really love this place! Appreciate you all.
posted by zerobyproxy at 10:46 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
Gave up drinking going on 5 years ago. Actively trying to be healthy now. I do disaster service work in the Chicago area. My wife and I are watching all of the seasons on Vera (which should have been called Everyone Lies to Vera) currently. Finding peace in nature and trying to stay sane in the time of the extremists.
Really love this place! Appreciate you all.
posted by zerobyproxy at 10:46 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
I don't comment much, but I will note that I joined more'n a decade ago in response to a not-dissimilar thread. Hi to the quiet ones!
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 10:49 AM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 10:49 AM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
Hey all,
I've been here a while, thanks to a friend who pointed me to this place a surprisingly long time ago. I tend to post lots of questions, but have been trying to cut back on that recently. I still read AskMe frequently, but find the actual blue a bit depressing at times, so hesitate to add that to my routine.
My username, I don't know, it was a teenager's attempt to come up with something suitably fantasy-sounding for a role-playing game and has kind of stuck with me ever since. I'm happy to be here even though I don't engage as much as I would like to.
posted by Alensin at 11:27 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
I've been here a while, thanks to a friend who pointed me to this place a surprisingly long time ago. I tend to post lots of questions, but have been trying to cut back on that recently. I still read AskMe frequently, but find the actual blue a bit depressing at times, so hesitate to add that to my routine.
My username, I don't know, it was a teenager's attempt to come up with something suitably fantasy-sounding for a role-playing game and has kind of stuck with me ever since. I'm happy to be here even though I don't engage as much as I would like to.
posted by Alensin at 11:27 AM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
We had no air conditioning that summer so it was not unusual for us to be out on the deck at 3 am and a shadow that looked like a man in a greatcoat with a hat ran down that road every morning. She said she was glad I saw it too.
People moved in across the street. They kept all the lights on at night. I asked and they'd seen it too.
So I had my son up for a diaper change one night. I was getting him some kfir in the kitchen afterwards and he saw it. I asked him what he saw and he said " hatman." So I googled that and wound up on this now defunct website called Professor Hex. Plenty of coverage about the sightings of hatmen. I started going through his list of links and discovered metafilter.
I lurked for a year and joined. I asked my son to pick my username.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 1:19 PM on January 25, 2022 [26 favorites]
People moved in across the street. They kept all the lights on at night. I asked and they'd seen it too.
So I had my son up for a diaper change one night. I was getting him some kfir in the kitchen afterwards and he saw it. I asked him what he saw and he said " hatman." So I googled that and wound up on this now defunct website called Professor Hex. Plenty of coverage about the sightings of hatmen. I started going through his list of links and discovered metafilter.
I lurked for a year and joined. I asked my son to pick my username.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 1:19 PM on January 25, 2022 [26 favorites]
I've been a member for quite some time, and I have periods where I'm kind of active (especially on AskMe), but I tend to be a bit more quiet.
I'm Patrick! I'm xingcat here and just about everywhere else. I like theater and storytelling and ... yeah, hi!
posted by xingcat at 1:38 PM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
I'm Patrick! I'm xingcat here and just about everywhere else. I like theater and storytelling and ... yeah, hi!
posted by xingcat at 1:38 PM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
Lurked without an account for about 4 years, finally joined in 2011, been mostly reading (and sometimes faving) ever since. I still use the "classic view" and visit the home page + AskMe multiple times a day. Love this place, so much. Hello to all the other quiet MeFi users :)
posted by sc114 at 2:52 PM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by sc114 at 2:52 PM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
Looks like I bit the $5 bucks bullet in 2006. About right I guess. Early 2k I was in my office reading a Kuro5hin article and my office mate said: "If you like that, you'll like MetaFilter". So I started visiting occasionally and back then was the era when there were a lot of 'via MetaFilter' sort of things all over the internets. Took me forever to actually find Ask and Meta. I sorta have this (probably a bit false) memory of why I ponied up the $5, but I think it was to MeMail someone with a "fedora, know exactly your problem, fix it in five minutes, send me the code". I was right, took like 5 minutes to fix up a shitty PHP script to handle SJIS encoding issues because shitty PHP (tips fedora).
Welcome. Don't obsess over Favorites (people use them for a wide variety of reasons). MeFi runs on ancient technology (ColdFusion or something) might as well be COBOL. The mods will be mods and they're as overworked and underpaid as much as everybody else while raising a child of a site for 20+ years now.
BTW, I think there has been some data loss here or there. Received MeMail only goes back to 2016, Sent MeMail goes back to 2008. And *LOL* the oldest sent mail is offering miss lynnster a place to crash with me at a conference in Oakland or a couch in LA. Wonder what the hell sort of Ask that was.
Stick around, ups and downs, it's a mostly nice place.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:24 PM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
Welcome. Don't obsess over Favorites (people use them for a wide variety of reasons). MeFi runs on ancient technology (ColdFusion or something) might as well be COBOL. The mods will be mods and they're as overworked and underpaid as much as everybody else while raising a child of a site for 20+ years now.
BTW, I think there has been some data loss here or there. Received MeMail only goes back to 2016, Sent MeMail goes back to 2008. And *LOL* the oldest sent mail is offering miss lynnster a place to crash with me at a conference in Oakland or a couch in LA. Wonder what the hell sort of Ask that was.
Stick around, ups and downs, it's a mostly nice place.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:24 PM on January 25, 2022 [12 favorites]
Hi. I've been doing tech work for 40-50 years. And yes, I was told I was older than dirt on IRC in the 90s. I just looked and my slashdot ID is 18,706. But I've been chatting online since the 70s (vis $DMR9,'want to have dinner'). Anyways, my nick is not a random collection of letters. My first large online community was Compuserve, but in the 90s I helped out a Korean friend with his computer problems at work and home. So he set me up with a ricochet modem (wireless before standards were set, I used to chat online from Green Lake park in Seattle), and he paid for it in his name (hint: gr means doctor). Hence you have to know Korean to know what my nick means. :)
One good thing about being old, is I know many people. That 16 year old kid in India that I knew on IRC in the 90s needed a book from Amazon. But they didn't ship there. I ordered it when I lived in Seattle, paid for it, and shipped it to him India free of charge for the kid. He is now someone senior at Microsoft. Or I know one of the first people who started at RedHat. Same thing at where I've worked the past 20 years. I know all the people who've been around a long time.
posted by baegucb at 3:36 PM on January 25, 2022 [20 favorites]
One good thing about being old, is I know many people. That 16 year old kid in India that I knew on IRC in the 90s needed a book from Amazon. But they didn't ship there. I ordered it when I lived in Seattle, paid for it, and shipped it to him India free of charge for the kid. He is now someone senior at Microsoft. Or I know one of the first people who started at RedHat. Same thing at where I've worked the past 20 years. I know all the people who've been around a long time.
posted by baegucb at 3:36 PM on January 25, 2022 [20 favorites]
Hi, friends! I'm Andy, I write (well, mostly linkblog these days) at Waxy.org and am working on a weird virtual event space called Skittish. I made some stuff you might have heard of like the XOXO festival, Upcoming.org, an album called Kind of Bloop, and helped get Kickstarter off the ground. I've been on MeFi since the early days, but mostly lurk these days via RSS. The front page posts are still a must-read for me, two decades and running.
posted by waxpancake at 4:20 PM on January 25, 2022 [21 favorites]
posted by waxpancake at 4:20 PM on January 25, 2022 [21 favorites]
Hello! I go through stages where I comment a lot and then sink back into lurker mode, but I'm always here, always waattchiiing.
I've always been a raging lefty and Metafilter has helped me refine my beliefs and willingness to shut up and listen. I'm eternally grateful to all of you for that.
posted by h00py at 5:54 PM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
I've always been a raging lefty and Metafilter has helped me refine my beliefs and willingness to shut up and listen. I'm eternally grateful to all of you for that.
posted by h00py at 5:54 PM on January 25, 2022 [15 favorites]
Hi! I'm another longtime lurker. I got here in 2001. I followed the Kaycee Nicole story here, liked the place, and stayed. "Swerve" came from my ADHD habit of swerving from one subject to another without warning. I'm disabled by Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and migraines. I'm a volunteer photographer and cat lady for a local animal shelter. I've been out since Covid hit, but I'll go back as soon as it's safe enough.
When I was still new here, I made a clueless SLYahooNews FPP. I've since learned much, much more about what makes a good FPP and have consequently left it to others. Someday I'll try again.
Thank you for being such a consistently great community for so long.
posted by swerve at 7:35 PM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
When I was still new here, I made a clueless SLYahooNews FPP. I've since learned much, much more about what makes a good FPP and have consequently left it to others. Someday I'll try again.
Thank you for being such a consistently great community for so long.
posted by swerve at 7:35 PM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
Hey y'all! I've been a lurker on and off for nearly 10 years now. I don't remember what exactly drew me here, but I've always appreciated reading the discussions. Despite never contributing, the megathreads really got me through the last few years.
My username, well, I've spent much of my career so far trying to warn people that the current course of action was going to cause significant problems later, only to (usually) be ignored. My name ain't Cassandra for nothing :)
It used to be my dead name, but the mods were able to change it for me. Thanks, cortex!
I'm a moderately stereotypical transfem software engineer living in the rural US Pacific Northwest. My other hobbies include video games, tabletop RPGs on the weekends (mostly Pathfinder), cosplay, and stop motion animation (though all of my animation has been in Blender these days).
posted by Prophetess of Tech at 7:43 PM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
My username, well, I've spent much of my career so far trying to warn people that the current course of action was going to cause significant problems later, only to (usually) be ignored. My name ain't Cassandra for nothing :)
It used to be my dead name, but the mods were able to change it for me. Thanks, cortex!
I'm a moderately stereotypical transfem software engineer living in the rural US Pacific Northwest. My other hobbies include video games, tabletop RPGs on the weekends (mostly Pathfinder), cosplay, and stop motion animation (though all of my animation has been in Blender these days).
posted by Prophetess of Tech at 7:43 PM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
Hi all!! I found this place via an article on the Verge in 2019, so haven’t been around too long.
One day when there are meetups again I’d like to make it to one of the NYC ones.
posted by bxvr at 8:39 PM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
One day when there are meetups again I’d like to make it to one of the NYC ones.
posted by bxvr at 8:39 PM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
Howdy folks,
I think I found this place through Memepool ages ago, but I didn't actually join until this year. I've lived in Texas most of my life at this point, and I like reading SF, fantasy and horror. My RPG group has been meeting over zoom for almost 2 years now.
My user name means nothing.
posted by Spike Glee at 8:49 PM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
I think I found this place through Memepool ages ago, but I didn't actually join until this year. I've lived in Texas most of my life at this point, and I like reading SF, fantasy and horror. My RPG group has been meeting over zoom for almost 2 years now.
My user name means nothing.
posted by Spike Glee at 8:49 PM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
hi everybody.
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:51 PM on January 25, 2022 [18 favorites]
posted by 20 year lurk at 8:51 PM on January 25, 2022 [18 favorites]
Apparently I've been lurking for close to 15 years now. Amazing. Hi everyone!
posted by FarOutFreak at 8:59 PM on January 25, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by FarOutFreak at 8:59 PM on January 25, 2022 [10 favorites]
Hi everybody. I joined at the end of 2001, but I have mostly been an avid lurker, except for the first few years. Now that I think about it, Metafilter and NYT have been the only two constants in my online life over the past two decades!
Love this site. Will make an active attempt to become a non-lurker in future …
posted by justlooking at 9:16 PM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
Love this site. Will make an active attempt to become a non-lurker in future …
posted by justlooking at 9:16 PM on January 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
When I was still new here, I made a clueless SLYahooNews FPP.
Honestly, that FPP is rock solid.
Anyway I'm neither new nor old, neither a lurker or a prolific poster/commenter. I've been around for, huh, almost exactly ten years, and I know I was a lurker for long before that and was just too cheap to cough up the five bucks to join. As someone else wrote above, writing it out actually makes it seem ridiculous that I was worried about five whole dollars.
At any rate, I post/comment irregularly, but I am here every day reading the blue, gray and purple mostly, with occasional forays into Ask and Projects when the feeling hits me. If you have happened across any of my stuff you will notice that I'm a bit of a shitposter, but hopefully not in a way that's hurtful to anyone (although I do admit there are a few comments/posts that I wish I could take back).
Great to see/meet everyone. :))
posted by Literaryhero at 9:57 PM on January 25, 2022 [8 favorites]
Honestly, that FPP is rock solid.
Anyway I'm neither new nor old, neither a lurker or a prolific poster/commenter. I've been around for, huh, almost exactly ten years, and I know I was a lurker for long before that and was just too cheap to cough up the five bucks to join. As someone else wrote above, writing it out actually makes it seem ridiculous that I was worried about five whole dollars.
At any rate, I post/comment irregularly, but I am here every day reading the blue, gray and purple mostly, with occasional forays into Ask and Projects when the feeling hits me. If you have happened across any of my stuff you will notice that I'm a bit of a shitposter, but hopefully not in a way that's hurtful to anyone (although I do admit there are a few comments/posts that I wish I could take back).
Great to see/meet everyone. :))
posted by Literaryhero at 9:57 PM on January 25, 2022 [8 favorites]
I don’t lurk. I LOOM.
(IRL I am generally not tall enough to loom, so I have to get it in where I can).
I’m pretty sure Mefi is part of what’s made me as left as I am, and I know for sure it’s where I hear about most anything I find interesting enough to share.
I’m an academic now in my forties, but I think in many ways it’s here on Mefi that I’ve actually learned to structure an argument— at least outside of my narrow field of expertise (a certain su field of physics). Perhaps more importantly, it’s also taught me when not to make an argument at all.
So, back to looming. Hi y’all.
posted by nat at 11:38 PM on January 25, 2022 [14 favorites]
(IRL I am generally not tall enough to loom, so I have to get it in where I can).
I’m pretty sure Mefi is part of what’s made me as left as I am, and I know for sure it’s where I hear about most anything I find interesting enough to share.
I’m an academic now in my forties, but I think in many ways it’s here on Mefi that I’ve actually learned to structure an argument— at least outside of my narrow field of expertise (a certain su field of physics). Perhaps more importantly, it’s also taught me when not to make an argument at all.
So, back to looming. Hi y’all.
posted by nat at 11:38 PM on January 25, 2022 [14 favorites]
Great to learn more about y'all! Nice to know more about who's reading.
This thread has spurred me to send a gift account invitation to someone who I think will enjoy the site. (I also sent a separate email to the person saying why I think they might like MeFi and suggesting a couple of threads to start with.)
posted by brainwane at 11:41 PM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
This thread has spurred me to send a gift account invitation to someone who I think will enjoy the site. (I also sent a separate email to the person saying why I think they might like MeFi and suggesting a couple of threads to start with.)
posted by brainwane at 11:41 PM on January 25, 2022 [11 favorites]
I can't believe that it will be 20 years in October since I got my MeFi account, and I lurked for a little while before that. I'm a lurker by nature - just a private kind of girl, I guess - and this is the only place on the internet I actually have an account and make comments every once in a while, though I visit the blue and the green every single workday over my morning tea. It's crazy to think about how much else has changed in my life during those 20 years - moves, marriage, motherhood, careers - and I'm still here.
I'm a monthly donor to the site, but MeFi has given me far more during the last 2 decades than I have contributed. I know for a fact that I'm more open-minded as a result of reading so many AskMes with situations very different from my own. I am frequently amazed at the level of goodwill and effort put in by so many strangers to help other strangers on the internet. I love this place, where the good far outweighs the bad, and hope all of you new joiners will too. Welcome all!
posted by widdershins at 7:00 AM on January 26, 2022 [19 favorites]
I'm a monthly donor to the site, but MeFi has given me far more during the last 2 decades than I have contributed. I know for a fact that I'm more open-minded as a result of reading so many AskMes with situations very different from my own. I am frequently amazed at the level of goodwill and effort put in by so many strangers to help other strangers on the internet. I love this place, where the good far outweighs the bad, and hope all of you new joiners will too. Welcome all!
posted by widdershins at 7:00 AM on January 26, 2022 [19 favorites]
Checked the ol' profile and DANG, been a member since 2013 and I almost never ever comment on the things other than Asks.
I do IT admin stuff for a certain state legislature, like photography, construction & woodworking. Currently on the final phase of a back yard sauna. Just have the benches, interior door and cedar tongue and groove to go.
This is fun and I appreciate these kinds of threads + the new free threads on the blue. Makes it less scary for people like me to get more of the community vibe.
posted by sewellcm at 11:54 AM on January 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
I do IT admin stuff for a certain state legislature, like photography, construction & woodworking. Currently on the final phase of a back yard sauna. Just have the benches, interior door and cedar tongue and groove to go.
This is fun and I appreciate these kinds of threads + the new free threads on the blue. Makes it less scary for people like me to get more of the community vibe.
posted by sewellcm at 11:54 AM on January 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
Hi!
I've been lurking for many, many years and just signed up a year or so ago. I've only commented once or twice before - mostly due to my own nature and hangups but also partly due to the site culture.
I love Wordle (or anything word related), puzzles, crochet, baking and other crafty things. Also love cats (hence the username) and have two kittens who provide endless joy, entertainment and early morning wake-ups.
Thanks for the prompt - I probably never would have piped up otherwise!
posted by toebeans at 12:51 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
I've been lurking for many, many years and just signed up a year or so ago. I've only commented once or twice before - mostly due to my own nature and hangups but also partly due to the site culture.
I love Wordle (or anything word related), puzzles, crochet, baking and other crafty things. Also love cats (hence the username) and have two kittens who provide endless joy, entertainment and early morning wake-ups.
Thanks for the prompt - I probably never would have piped up otherwise!
posted by toebeans at 12:51 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
cathodeheart: "OK, sure, hi. I've been mostly lurking since April 2001 (!). I didn't really mean to sign up for Metafilter itself, but https://the5k.org had a membership tie-in that led me here, and I guess I stuck around. 👋
I still read this site (and skim Ask) as part of my daily web routine. I made one or two half-hearted moves towards participating back in the day, but that never really stuck. I'm not a prolific poster anywhere, so that makes sense."
I was just now listening to your synthpop cover of The Tourist and was wondering if you were still around. Glad to see it -- and thanks for the music!
posted by Rhaomi at 2:12 PM on January 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
I still read this site (and skim Ask) as part of my daily web routine. I made one or two half-hearted moves towards participating back in the day, but that never really stuck. I'm not a prolific poster anywhere, so that makes sense."
I was just now listening to your synthpop cover of The Tourist and was wondering if you were still around. Glad to see it -- and thanks for the music!
posted by Rhaomi at 2:12 PM on January 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
Now then, my old loves!
I've been reading MeFi (mostly the Blue, bits of Ask/Projects) since before God were a lad, but only recently joined. Found so many interesting things here, and the comments, oh the comments! Also found answers to questions I didn't even know I had.
I'm in rural Cambridgeshire in the UK and I work at a company making HSMs which are... oh shut me up or we'll all be looking at our shoes.
Old. Old enough to remember the war (bloody Vikings). Apparently not old enough to have settled down and worked out what I want to do though.
Outside of work, and when not doing hobby coding, I fiddle with musical stuff and writing. Nothing criminally bad, but I lack the necessary sticktoitiveness for either.
I hope you're all having a lovely day.
posted by BCMagee at 3:37 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
I've been reading MeFi (mostly the Blue, bits of Ask/Projects) since before God were a lad, but only recently joined. Found so many interesting things here, and the comments, oh the comments! Also found answers to questions I didn't even know I had.
I'm in rural Cambridgeshire in the UK and I work at a company making HSMs which are... oh shut me up or we'll all be looking at our shoes.
Old. Old enough to remember the war (bloody Vikings). Apparently not old enough to have settled down and worked out what I want to do though.
Outside of work, and when not doing hobby coding, I fiddle with musical stuff and writing. Nothing criminally bad, but I lack the necessary sticktoitiveness for either.
I hope you're all having a lovely day.
posted by BCMagee at 3:37 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
Hi! Thanks for this post. I've been a somewhat regular MeFi lurker for maybe years but finally joined a few months back. I don't recall how I originally found the site, but it was probably through AskMe. As for my web history... I'm not very active online, though I do scroll twitter and reddit more than is good for my mental health (one of my goals for this year is to completely take those sites out of my web routine and follow more blogs for when I need to scroll. Recommendations for interesting personal blogs/sites welcome!). Lurking has always kinda been my MO when it comes to the internet. Hmm.
I took my handle from my interest in Odilon Redon's prints, many of which were inspired by microscopy. Here's one of my favorites.
posted by microscopiclifeform at 3:50 PM on January 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
I took my handle from my interest in Odilon Redon's prints, many of which were inspired by microscopy. Here's one of my favorites.
posted by microscopiclifeform at 3:50 PM on January 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
Hi everyone! I joined in 2018 but lurked for a decade. I'm a plant nerd, if you couldn't tell by my username. I'm old enough to still type two spaces between sentences but young enough to have a 7 yr old.
This is the *only* place on the web I read comments.
I love you all. Stay safe and sane out there.
posted by Arctostaphylos at 7:31 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
This is the *only* place on the web I read comments.
I love you all. Stay safe and sane out there.
posted by Arctostaphylos at 7:31 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
Hi everyone! I lurked for a long, LONG time before finally joining in 2016. I started reading in graduate school, so around 2000-2001, probably? My username is pretty silly--it comes from a time sitting around a campfire with my spouse and friends, when my spouse very animatedly said, holding his fingers up, about something I can't even recall, "It's FOUR times better than it used to be. FOUR!!!" He was so emphatic about the number four that it became a long running joke with those friends. And that's what I came up with!
I'm a mid-40s college employee living in the Midwest, with spouse and teen kids. They're all pretty rad too, and are very used to me saying "Oh, I saw this thing on Metafilter...."
posted by TheFantasticNumberFour at 8:43 PM on January 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
I'm a mid-40s college employee living in the Midwest, with spouse and teen kids. They're all pretty rad too, and are very used to me saying "Oh, I saw this thing on Metafilter...."
posted by TheFantasticNumberFour at 8:43 PM on January 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
I’ve been lurking… probably close to twenty years now. I read a lot. I signed up some 5 years ago (checks .. 7.5! geez) during one of the first calls for funding (hey I can kick in $5) and since then I have been occasionally answering various computer-connectivity question on ask — I know that stuff because the day job is an overeducated and overpaid systems architect / engineer doing communications systems.
To be honest I really only typed all that above so I could say this: Gucky named me.
posted by doomsey at 8:44 PM on January 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
To be honest I really only typed all that above so I could say this: Gucky named me.
posted by doomsey at 8:44 PM on January 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
I started daily lurking over 10 years ago and finally made an account a few months ago. I've learned so much from the comments of this website, and finally feel like I'm at a place where I can contribute here and there. I work in public health, and this site has been a place of respite for me during the pandemic.
In general, I love this website and the community. I've spent my young adulthood lurking here (from a high school kid to a late 20s person with a phd), and reading advice from older folks on Ask really helped guide me into being the kind of person I want to be. Thanks for sharing your kindness and wisdom -- hope to be on here with yall for years to come.
posted by bongerino at 9:23 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
In general, I love this website and the community. I've spent my young adulthood lurking here (from a high school kid to a late 20s person with a phd), and reading advice from older folks on Ask really helped guide me into being the kind of person I want to be. Thanks for sharing your kindness and wisdom -- hope to be on here with yall for years to come.
posted by bongerino at 9:23 PM on January 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
Been visiting MeFi since 1999 or 2000. I think I heard about it from Kottke or maybe one of Derek Powazek's sites. I should have signed up around that time but didn't, then signups were closed, and then I was part of the 2004 wave of new users once $5 registration opened up.
Anyway, while I've visited the blue pretty much daily for 20 years I don't post much. I can't really say why but the same is true for me on other popular social websites. But I credit MeFi with making me a much more interesting (-seeming) person, as it has really exposed me to a lot of diverse topics and smart people saying smart things about those topics. I try to chip in occasionally but mostly I'm content to scroll through threads and just absorb.
Oh and Fanfare is usually my first stop after I see a movie I love, or a "big" movie (like a Star War), because these are the people whose opinions I want to read.
posted by good in a vacuum at 9:43 PM on January 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
Anyway, while I've visited the blue pretty much daily for 20 years I don't post much. I can't really say why but the same is true for me on other popular social websites. But I credit MeFi with making me a much more interesting (-seeming) person, as it has really exposed me to a lot of diverse topics and smart people saying smart things about those topics. I try to chip in occasionally but mostly I'm content to scroll through threads and just absorb.
Oh and Fanfare is usually my first stop after I see a movie I love, or a "big" movie (like a Star War), because these are the people whose opinions I want to read.
posted by good in a vacuum at 9:43 PM on January 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
And wow, I just checked my profile and the above was my first-ever comment on Metatalk. I really should venture to other-coloured backgrounds more often.
posted by good in a vacuum at 9:48 PM on January 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by good in a vacuum at 9:48 PM on January 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
I signed up in September 2005 but had been lurking for about a year before that, I think. I can't remember how I found MetaFilter but I do remember thinking that there was nowhere else I'd found on the web that had such interesting, funny and thoughtful contributors. Lots of the regular posters from those days who first bowled me over are long gone now, but there is still something special about this site that keeps me coming back. I was in my mid-twenties at that point and MetaFilter definitely shaped my politics and broadened my taste in music and literature.
I did quite a few FPPs in the years after that (one of which triggered Dave Gorman to sign up for an account), and went to a couple of London meetups, and hung out on Metachat and Monkeyfilter for a bit too. I used to love the mix CD swaps in particular, and I have a MeFi t-shirt lurking around in a drawer somewhere, too! But I drifted away once I had kids and less spare time, and ended up lurking and visiting less regularly. When Covid hit I started visiting every day again, and posted a bit more, to AskMe in particular. 16 years after I joined, the site is once again the first place I go to on the web every day. Other than news websites, I can't think of any other site I've been reading this long.
posted by greycap at 5:45 AM on January 27, 2022 [8 favorites]
I did quite a few FPPs in the years after that (one of which triggered Dave Gorman to sign up for an account), and went to a couple of London meetups, and hung out on Metachat and Monkeyfilter for a bit too. I used to love the mix CD swaps in particular, and I have a MeFi t-shirt lurking around in a drawer somewhere, too! But I drifted away once I had kids and less spare time, and ended up lurking and visiting less regularly. When Covid hit I started visiting every day again, and posted a bit more, to AskMe in particular. 16 years after I joined, the site is once again the first place I go to on the web every day. Other than news websites, I can't think of any other site I've been reading this long.
posted by greycap at 5:45 AM on January 27, 2022 [8 favorites]
Been lurking for almost ten years - I'm not sure how I found MeFi exactly but I'm glad I did, for so many reasons. I've participated in secret quonsar a couple of times, went to a meetup in Jersey City, and have mostly lurked on the green.
I'm currently in the market for a new hobby, but I read a ton, play board games, and drink more than my fair share of Pinot Noir.
Nice to see you all here!
posted by lyssabee at 6:56 AM on January 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
I'm currently in the market for a new hobby, but I read a ton, play board games, and drink more than my fair share of Pinot Noir.
Nice to see you all here!
posted by lyssabee at 6:56 AM on January 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
User number 199 here, so I guess I signed up towards the beginning? I don't participate much but mefi is still where I go for entertainment when the socials have burned me out.
The fact that it's quick-loading and always running has also made it my default for testing that my wifi is working.
posted by endquote at 10:56 AM on January 27, 2022 [11 favorites]
The fact that it's quick-loading and always running has also made it my default for testing that my wifi is working.
posted by endquote at 10:56 AM on January 27, 2022 [11 favorites]
Hi everyone. I've been here since 2002 - part of the once-famous 14k brigade that really had to work to get in when sign-ups were officially closed. Been away for the last few years, but MeFi has never been far from my heart and string to me a bit more active these days. Welcome to all the recent $5 newbs and to others like me that checked out but never left.
posted by dg at 12:25 PM on January 27, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by dg at 12:25 PM on January 27, 2022 [8 favorites]
Hi all! I've been around here pretty much forever with a different user name (since 2004, maybe?), though I've always been mostly a lurker. In fact, lurking daily on the blue and green has been one of my main internet habits.
I'm a middle-aged queer polyam woman into making art, cooking/eating, reading books, and exploring new places and ideas. I work as a science editor, but am trying to move into web design. I live about half the year in the Wash DC region and spend the other half traveling and housesitting (my wife and I are freelancers).
posted by quiet wanderer at 1:13 PM on January 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
I'm a middle-aged queer polyam woman into making art, cooking/eating, reading books, and exploring new places and ideas. I work as a science editor, but am trying to move into web design. I live about half the year in the Wash DC region and spend the other half traveling and housesitting (my wife and I are freelancers).
posted by quiet wanderer at 1:13 PM on January 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
Hi, been lurking since high school ('05 grad) as a faithful weekly reader. You simply can't get comment boxes like those on Metafilter anywhere else on the Internet then, in the 00's, and now. Y'all are the funniest, sharpest, dare I say wisest group of people I've ever come across. And I'm one of those always online folks. So! I've been around the block a bit.
About me: I'm an RN at a hospice, training to be an NP ('23 grad-- cross fingers), married for 10 years, got 4 kids who are 9 and under. On Instagram (are we doing this?) I'm also @BlunderingArtist where I will sometimes, as it says on the tin, blunder about doing art. My other hobby is writing. I'm working on a fantasy of manners which I've challenged myself to shop around a few publishers before 2023 rolls around. That's actually why I finally joined MF, to ask some questions about doing that. Later.
Very pleased to meet everyone!
posted by BlunderingArtist at 1:33 PM on January 27, 2022 [9 favorites]
About me: I'm an RN at a hospice, training to be an NP ('23 grad-- cross fingers), married for 10 years, got 4 kids who are 9 and under. On Instagram (are we doing this?) I'm also @BlunderingArtist where I will sometimes, as it says on the tin, blunder about doing art. My other hobby is writing. I'm working on a fantasy of manners which I've challenged myself to shop around a few publishers before 2023 rolls around. That's actually why I finally joined MF, to ask some questions about doing that. Later.
Very pleased to meet everyone!
posted by BlunderingArtist at 1:33 PM on January 27, 2022 [9 favorites]
Love the "lurk every day" lifestyle. I joined in 2015 in honour of a dear friend who passed who has a prolific mefite. I haven't lived up to the standard he set but I do really enjoy the community here. If anyone likes vermintide 2, left 4 dead 2, or wants to play 40k in the Kawarthas of Ontario, drop me a line.... or commiserate about the legal system. I'm a rural solicitor :[
posted by LegallyBread at 2:13 PM on January 27, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by LegallyBread at 2:13 PM on January 27, 2022 [10 favorites]
Hi y'all! I'm another of the long-term lurkers, probably close to 20 years now, since I was in college. I really appreciate the quality of comments here.
I've lived on a commune in the southeastern US for over a decade. For fun I do various crafty things, and for work I do back-of-the-book indexing and manage the wholesale office of an organic seed business. I have a queer/poly family with several kids and co-parents.
posted by chantenay at 6:58 PM on January 27, 2022 [9 favorites]
I've lived on a commune in the southeastern US for over a decade. For fun I do various crafty things, and for work I do back-of-the-book indexing and manage the wholesale office of an organic seed business. I have a queer/poly family with several kids and co-parents.
posted by chantenay at 6:58 PM on January 27, 2022 [9 favorites]
Hi, I'm cinnamonduff, here and elsewhere on teh webs (and @cinduff on Twitter, b/c I joined that back when every character still counted and I wanted to make it easy for folks). Found MeFi via Ask in around 2008? because it kept coming up when I'd google questions (back when that still worked, apparently) and eventually wandered over to the Blue. Learned a lot by reading EVERYTHING tagged "divorce" when I (amicably) split with my then-husband in 2010, which is why I recommend Ask to anyone contemplating big life changes.
Subscribed a couple of years ago, and am a monthly donator, because I gain so much from this site. I live a small, sheltered rural life for Reasons but that also means I miss out on meeting people IRL who don't look and live like me (or, hell, aren't related to me 3 gens back), and am especially appreciative of the varied lives y'all are living that you choose to share with all of us.
posted by cinnamonduff at 7:06 PM on January 27, 2022 [7 favorites]
Subscribed a couple of years ago, and am a monthly donator, because I gain so much from this site. I live a small, sheltered rural life for Reasons but that also means I miss out on meeting people IRL who don't look and live like me (or, hell, aren't related to me 3 gens back), and am especially appreciative of the varied lives y'all are living that you choose to share with all of us.
posted by cinnamonduff at 7:06 PM on January 27, 2022 [7 favorites]
Hi, I’ve been lurking and commenting since some things happened in 2001, with a button gap and this new account commemorating the various transitions of my past few years.
I enjoy lurking and people-watching the interplay of communities. I think I have a 1:1 blue:gray ratio, I’m absolutely terrified of Fanfare (no fault of anyone’s), and I have few useful answers for Ask. I haven’t posted yet, because my employment has taken up all my creative energy for the past couple decades, but I expect that’s on its way to changing too.
I care deeply about people and I do my best to help conversations flow smoothly, when circumstances enable it. You can find me at coffee shops reading a book and listening to everyone in the shop chatter with each other, and once in a long while chiming in with an interesting comment and then returning to my book.
I want to design lighting for a home, for my home, and use sensors to tune it to respond to the light and weather outside so that it accentuates in ambient without conflicting with the various task lamps my aging vision requires. This largely is held up by not having a home of my own, but it is my lifelong dream.
My mom said that I like to improve the “umami” of the small things in my life. I suppose she’s right.
posted by Callisto Prime at 9:50 PM on January 27, 2022 [8 favorites]
I enjoy lurking and people-watching the interplay of communities. I think I have a 1:1 blue:gray ratio, I’m absolutely terrified of Fanfare (no fault of anyone’s), and I have few useful answers for Ask. I haven’t posted yet, because my employment has taken up all my creative energy for the past couple decades, but I expect that’s on its way to changing too.
I care deeply about people and I do my best to help conversations flow smoothly, when circumstances enable it. You can find me at coffee shops reading a book and listening to everyone in the shop chatter with each other, and once in a long while chiming in with an interesting comment and then returning to my book.
I want to design lighting for a home, for my home, and use sensors to tune it to respond to the light and weather outside so that it accentuates in ambient without conflicting with the various task lamps my aging vision requires. This largely is held up by not having a home of my own, but it is my lifelong dream.
My mom said that I like to improve the “umami” of the small things in my life. I suppose she’s right.
posted by Callisto Prime at 9:50 PM on January 27, 2022 [8 favorites]
Um, hi. I joined in 2013, but had been reading MetaFilter regularly since 2008, maybe earlier. I'm a mid-career academic (historian) at an R1 university, and one of the things that I appreciate about this site is that it gets me out of the tiny little world I usually inhabit, both in terms of my actual life and in terms of my area of specialty, and directs me toward interesting ideas, projects, etc. that I would never otherwise have known about. I've learned a lot.
posted by pleasant_confusion at 12:15 PM on January 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by pleasant_confusion at 12:15 PM on January 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
Hey there!
I'm not a very good "joiner" and have little sense of time so this is all a bit of a guess. I probably have been reading Mefi for at least 10 years, joined with a user name about 3 years ago, posted for the first time a month ago. I suppose I am just an extremely slow burn.
My favorite post of all time is the neural network naming guinea pigs (All Hail Rockass and Stargoon!) and makes me laugh every time I read it.
So what does that say about me? I think one of the aspects of Mefi that brings me back is that I have no idea what I will see, and what unexpected pleasure I will get from reading someone smart's curated post. Sort of itches the same place, I suppose.
I live in Los Angeles (EX SF, EX NYC) and am a writer, teacher, and strategist. I am just psychotically curious! The web used to have all sorts of interesting, easy-to-find freaky stuff but now it feels harder and harder to find.
Gratitude to the people who curate and share.
posted by Word_Salad at 4:25 PM on January 28, 2022 [8 favorites]
I'm not a very good "joiner" and have little sense of time so this is all a bit of a guess. I probably have been reading Mefi for at least 10 years, joined with a user name about 3 years ago, posted for the first time a month ago. I suppose I am just an extremely slow burn.
My favorite post of all time is the neural network naming guinea pigs (All Hail Rockass and Stargoon!) and makes me laugh every time I read it.
So what does that say about me? I think one of the aspects of Mefi that brings me back is that I have no idea what I will see, and what unexpected pleasure I will get from reading someone smart's curated post. Sort of itches the same place, I suppose.
I live in Los Angeles (EX SF, EX NYC) and am a writer, teacher, and strategist. I am just psychotically curious! The web used to have all sorts of interesting, easy-to-find freaky stuff but now it feels harder and harder to find.
Gratitude to the people who curate and share.
posted by Word_Salad at 4:25 PM on January 28, 2022 [8 favorites]
Hi, Word_Salad! That was my post, and I'm so glad you liked it! I don't comment a ton, but I like making goofy posts.
Hello, everyone! It's great to meet you!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:49 PM on January 28, 2022 [5 favorites]
Hello, everyone! It's great to meet you!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:49 PM on January 28, 2022 [5 favorites]
I was a long time lurker, and then joined to support the site, but never planned to comment. Then I couldn’t restrain my desire to stick my oar in. It has left me saddled with a username arrived at by squashing my chubby fingers against the keyboard. A life lesson in itself.
posted by JJZByBffqU at 4:48 AM on January 29, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by JJZByBffqU at 4:48 AM on January 29, 2022 [6 favorites]
Gosh, I've been lurking here for far longer than I can remember, it took me many years to create an account and a few more years to realize I didn't like my username, so I created a new one.
In cricket slang a nelson is the score 111 or multiples of it - called double nelson, triple nelson etc. It's considered unlucky by some and so there's a tradition of standing on one leg while the score is 111 to avoid ill fate. On 11 November 2011, in a Test match between South Africa and Australia with the time at 11:11 and with South Africa requiring 111 runs to win, the crowd did the leg raise for that minute with the scoreboard reading 11:11 11/11/11.
I am not superstitious about anything other than cricket and since I was creating my new account while watching the Test, I chose this username. And then we won!
posted by doublenelson at 10:26 AM on January 29, 2022 [7 favorites]
In cricket slang a nelson is the score 111 or multiples of it - called double nelson, triple nelson etc. It's considered unlucky by some and so there's a tradition of standing on one leg while the score is 111 to avoid ill fate. On 11 November 2011, in a Test match between South Africa and Australia with the time at 11:11 and with South Africa requiring 111 runs to win, the crowd did the leg raise for that minute with the scoreboard reading 11:11 11/11/11.
I am not superstitious about anything other than cricket and since I was creating my new account while watching the Test, I chose this username. And then we won!
posted by doublenelson at 10:26 AM on January 29, 2022 [7 favorites]
I've been a member for over 20 years (21 and counting) and spent the first decade fairly engaged. It was the Bush years, and then the beginning of the Obama years, and we were highlighting the rising fascism in America and lamenting the growing influence of Fox News. Unfortunately, as time wore on, MeFi became a bit of an echo chamber, intolerant of voices that didn't march in lock step with the younger generations. Alas, I rarely spend time here, but I'm proud of the people I've met and the history I've been a part of.
Proud 11k member, back when MeFi had to have registration blackouts because it was overwhelming the coldfusion servers.
posted by taumeson at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Proud 11k member, back when MeFi had to have registration blackouts because it was overwhelming the coldfusion servers.
posted by taumeson at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Hello! I've been lurking mostly for years, infrequently making comments or favoriting posts. In my mind, Metafilter is one of the few "good" spaces left on the nets: not overrun with misinformation, polarization, and hate. This isn't to say there isn't room for improvement, but I rarely feel rage after visiting MF. Not like how it feels to go into other online spaces. All that to say: thank you. =)
posted by johnxlibris at 9:22 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by johnxlibris at 9:22 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Oh hi, yes, I've been reading the threads approaching 20 years, wandering off for months at a time, coming back.
More recently signed up to lurk officially and support the site. Canadian, leftish, widowed, queer, cis female, two cat familiars, and always have at least three half-complete art projects in my sightline. The quest for meaning and purpose is life-long.
posted by My Cat Painted That at 10:49 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
More recently signed up to lurk officially and support the site. Canadian, leftish, widowed, queer, cis female, two cat familiars, and always have at least three half-complete art projects in my sightline. The quest for meaning and purpose is life-long.
posted by My Cat Painted That at 10:49 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have no idea how I ended up on MF the first time, but when I did see the page for the first time, the tagline "The plastic.com it's ok to like" grabbed me, so 2000-2001 ish?
Didn't sign up for an account until '05, and I'm usually just reading rather than commenting. I think I have a hard time organizing my thoughts into written words because I've had probably as many times writing what felt like book into the comment box only to delete it because I felt like it was incoherent as I have actually hitting the "Post Comment" button.
Only have made a couple of FPPs, one which I'm still happy about and the other was about that Musk guy; embarrassed to have briefly admired him. You live and learn.
I've had periods when I've drifted away from MF, but this is the only place I consistently come back to. This place is what the term "social media" should be defined as; even though I'm not close to anyone here, I still feel like I'm amongst friends every time I read the comments.
Thanks for always being there, everyone.
posted by Ickster at 1:06 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Didn't sign up for an account until '05, and I'm usually just reading rather than commenting. I think I have a hard time organizing my thoughts into written words because I've had probably as many times writing what felt like book into the comment box only to delete it because I felt like it was incoherent as I have actually hitting the "Post Comment" button.
Only have made a couple of FPPs, one which I'm still happy about and the other was about that Musk guy; embarrassed to have briefly admired him. You live and learn.
I've had periods when I've drifted away from MF, but this is the only place I consistently come back to. This place is what the term "social media" should be defined as; even though I'm not close to anyone here, I still feel like I'm amongst friends every time I read the comments.
Thanks for always being there, everyone.
posted by Ickster at 1:06 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Hello, I've been lurking for maybe 15 years, and for a while some years ago I was occasionally even moderately active (under another username, had to ditch that one anyway since my teenagers discovered it and that just made everything a little weird... so I went back to lurking).
Dotje is one of the numerous nicknames of my new puppy, I'm afraid I just wasn't feeling terribly creative when I recently signed up again. Anyway, she is silly and bouncy and kind, so maybe I also wanted to borrow some of that positive energy for my hopeful future re-entry.
Hobbies, I've started doing nature photography during the pandemic. Nothing spectacular though, nor technically or artistically accomplished. Just snapshots of the semi-urban wildlife and interesting plants I come across while walking the dogs around the edges of the city I live in. It helps me get out of my head and actually pay attention to the world around me. Other than that, I'm into gaming with one of my kids, and we also love our MCU movies. I like baking bread and pies. I write atrocious poetry. Sometimes, I knit or crochet or even draw. Life is really small scale right now, WFH, which mostly suits me fine.
posted by Dotje at 2:47 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Dotje is one of the numerous nicknames of my new puppy, I'm afraid I just wasn't feeling terribly creative when I recently signed up again. Anyway, she is silly and bouncy and kind, so maybe I also wanted to borrow some of that positive energy for my hopeful future re-entry.
Hobbies, I've started doing nature photography during the pandemic. Nothing spectacular though, nor technically or artistically accomplished. Just snapshots of the semi-urban wildlife and interesting plants I come across while walking the dogs around the edges of the city I live in. It helps me get out of my head and actually pay attention to the world around me. Other than that, I'm into gaming with one of my kids, and we also love our MCU movies. I like baking bread and pies. I write atrocious poetry. Sometimes, I knit or crochet or even draw. Life is really small scale right now, WFH, which mostly suits me fine.
posted by Dotje at 2:47 PM on January 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm another longtime lurker. I made an account last spring because I felt I could actually contribute an answer on the green. I've been reading frequently for over 5 years, close to daily in the past 2 years. Can't remember how I found the site, but I listened to We Have Such Films to Show You, so maybe some round about way related to following cortex on twitter.
My little handful of contributions are all answers and basically sum up my work and hobbies these days: writing code via dictation, experimenting with playing video games hands-free using voice controls, playing tabletop games (mostly Netrunner and Go/baduk/weiqi), and learning Japanese.
Very grateful to all the contributors and mods, hard to express just how much I've gotten from the site from over the years.
posted by okonomichiyaki at 4:34 PM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
My little handful of contributions are all answers and basically sum up my work and hobbies these days: writing code via dictation, experimenting with playing video games hands-free using voice controls, playing tabletop games (mostly Netrunner and Go/baduk/weiqi), and learning Japanese.
Very grateful to all the contributors and mods, hard to express just how much I've gotten from the site from over the years.
posted by okonomichiyaki at 4:34 PM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
I used to be here a lot, a lot a lot, too much maybe. I've been gone for a few years but I logged in tonight. I know why I left, but that's not really important at all.
I logged on to see if gman was out here still. I had been thinking of him lately, and I hadn't seen him since I left the area and the site. So sad to see the news about him, he was a friend and he will be missed.
To all of the other Toronto mefites, hello again.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:16 PM on January 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
I logged on to see if gman was out here still. I had been thinking of him lately, and I hadn't seen him since I left the area and the site. So sad to see the news about him, he was a friend and he will be missed.
To all of the other Toronto mefites, hello again.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:16 PM on January 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
when i clict on this commentybox a small text pop say "Note: Everyone needs a hug." which i read as not everyone needs a hug
please dont try to hug me it will be awkward as your arms pass through the chill air i fail to occupy
once i was someone else i tried to live but it didnt work out now i am this ghost please do not try to find out who i was someone may try to hurt me
no need to direct me to the 'there is help' page i am aware of it but i disagree with the premise
i dont do anything creative nor fun any more cant reach it
sorry to be a bummer but the banner said introduce yourself i dare not disobey the banner... else banned
and this seems be who am become
posted by Rev. Irreverent Revenant at 2:39 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
please dont try to hug me it will be awkward as your arms pass through the chill air i fail to occupy
once i was someone else i tried to live but it didnt work out now i am this ghost please do not try to find out who i was someone may try to hurt me
no need to direct me to the 'there is help' page i am aware of it but i disagree with the premise
i dont do anything creative nor fun any more cant reach it
sorry to be a bummer but the banner said introduce yourself i dare not disobey the banner... else banned
and this seems be who am become
posted by Rev. Irreverent Revenant at 2:39 AM on January 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
My last metafilter post was May of 2021.
I guess I come here as muscle memory more than anything else lately.
I don't know?
I don't like living through 'interesting times'.
posted by Faintdreams at 6:44 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
I guess I come here as muscle memory more than anything else lately.
I don't know?
I don't like living through 'interesting times'.
posted by Faintdreams at 6:44 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
This is my second account on Metafilter, I abandoned my first about eight years ago when my feelings got hurt. Then I took some time off but eventually missed the community so I decided to start over. My first account was public but I decided that I would open this as an anon account hoping it would provide protection from getting my feelings hurt again. Yeah, I'm probably way too sensitive.
I have a really great job that's pretty public, so I don't really share anything about my work or expertise in hopes of maintaining my anonymity, but I do share personal stories, so you might get a sense of my private life.
I generally only comment in Fanfare or here, and when I share my stories I tend to bury them near the end of MetaTalktail threads. I can share some of my favorites which might provide an introduction to the closet gadfly I really am. This one is about being temporarily pretty and what I learned from it. This one is a ghost story. This one is about gardening. This one is about getting my brother onto the internet. This one is about being a queer parent to queer kids. This one is about taking my kid to dog park. This one is about playing hockey. This one is about my son's first love. This one is about the last feeling that I hope to remember before I die.
There are other stories dropped here and there, but those are my favorites and I think they might give a person a sense of who I am without sharing specifically who I am.
posted by Stanczyk at 10:07 AM on January 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
I have a really great job that's pretty public, so I don't really share anything about my work or expertise in hopes of maintaining my anonymity, but I do share personal stories, so you might get a sense of my private life.
I generally only comment in Fanfare or here, and when I share my stories I tend to bury them near the end of MetaTalktail threads. I can share some of my favorites which might provide an introduction to the closet gadfly I really am. This one is about being temporarily pretty and what I learned from it. This one is a ghost story. This one is about gardening. This one is about getting my brother onto the internet. This one is about being a queer parent to queer kids. This one is about taking my kid to dog park. This one is about playing hockey. This one is about my son's first love. This one is about the last feeling that I hope to remember before I die.
There are other stories dropped here and there, but those are my favorites and I think they might give a person a sense of who I am without sharing specifically who I am.
posted by Stanczyk at 10:07 AM on January 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
I barely post, comment every now and then, keep coming back because this is one of the spaces that points me at interesting and beautiful things.
I started going online to find community when I was home raising a baby/small child. The small child is fully grown and launched at this point.
posted by pernoctalian at 11:00 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
I started going online to find community when I was home raising a baby/small child. The small child is fully grown and launched at this point.
posted by pernoctalian at 11:00 AM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
I started reading MetaFilter in 2006/2007 and continued to read it for 10+ yrs without reading a comment because... well I had never read the comments anywhere. Not for any particular reason-I just didn't undertand the point. I'm somewhere between too young to be this bad at using the internet and old enough to not have an excuse. I am incredibly lazy though and when various internet things are explained to me they sound like a lot of work on my end. Anyways, I read the comments now, but only on MetaFilter. All my interests are analog so this is pretty much it for online presence.
posted by Ipomoea at 5:18 PM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Ipomoea at 5:18 PM on January 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
Hi folks, do you have to report socks to mods? :p
If so, then how?
posted by real-fern at 4:30 AM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
If so, then how?
posted by real-fern at 4:30 AM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Hi real-fern - The basic policy about sock accounts is that it's okay to use one occasionally for privacy, or to make a permanent move from an old main account to a new one -- but you can't pretend to be two separate people at the same time (e.g. using two accounts to comment in the same thread isn't ok). There isn't a requirement to let us know you're using a sock provided you stick to the guidelines; if you suspect someone else is using a sock in a bad way, let us know. Almost always on Mefi, if you want to let the mods know about something, drop us a note using the contact form, which is linked in the bottom right corner of every page. It emails all the mods so you'll reach the next person who is on duty, and generally you'll get an email reply within a few hours (often sooner). We're happy to answer questions anytime!
Everyone else - hello internet friends! It has been so great to read along with this thread and see you all in here. <3
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:52 AM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Everyone else - hello internet friends! It has been so great to read along with this thread and see you all in here. <3
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:52 AM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
One more question: I remember coming across a MetaFilter social site, which claimed to be less serious than the main site (uh, honestly making a new front page post and commenting there is kinda intimidating to me because it all seems more serious and thought out than I'd expect from an average internet discussion community...)
Is there a link to that site because I'd really like to just post my queer/CompSci memes and have a laugh with people, you know?
posted by real-fern at 9:07 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Is there a link to that site because I'd really like to just post my queer/CompSci memes and have a laugh with people, you know?
posted by real-fern at 9:07 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
real-fern, do you mean MetaChat, by chance? Barely a shadow of what it once was, but still open for nonsense.
posted by dg at 9:17 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dg at 9:17 PM on February 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just another lurker waving to the awesome friendly peoples with amazing taste and knowledge of ... well all kinds of things! I've been here for many years and it just gets more and more comforting and satisfying to see the mefi bookmark button still there and still providing niche knowledge and entertaining takes on so many different subjects. Cheers all!
posted by erebora at 10:45 PM on February 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by erebora at 10:45 PM on February 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
dg, yes! That's it, thank you!
posted by real-fern at 5:31 AM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by real-fern at 5:31 AM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
real-fern, there's MetaChat.org (a separate long-running site, populated by Mefites) and then there is a Mefi Chat room (linked in our site navigation here). (Both nice places, I just wanted to note it because the similar names can be confusing.)
Here at Mefi we have regular Metatalktail Hour threads in Metatalk and recently started Free Threads on the blue, which are both places for more free-form chitchat.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:59 AM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Here at Mefi we have regular Metatalktail Hour threads in Metatalk and recently started Free Threads on the blue, which are both places for more free-form chitchat.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:59 AM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh, I love this thread. I’ve been a Metafilter reader since 2006 (mostly the Green, occasionally the Blue), but have never been a terribly active poster. After my one ask went viral years ago, my account is now linked to my real life, and I’m probably even less active because of that (although I quickly found out which of my coworkers were Mefites back then)! I’m still here, constantly reading, grateful to the user base and mods, but definitely more of a consumer than a contributor.
posted by JannaK at 5:17 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by JannaK at 5:17 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
I first heard of MetaFilter from an article about 9/11. I sneaked in in the mid aughts when membership was limited to a few a day but Matt left the window open one morning. I remember dashing off this comment and it brings me back now to a time I can hardly remember (my nine year old is now a tough as nails nurse on the Covid ward). MetaFilter, to me, is an island of sanity in this increasingly uncivilized and ill-mannered world and I thank this wonderful community for your kindness and for continuing to dredge up interesting and cool things.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 6:14 AM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Turtles all the way down at 6:14 AM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
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posted by Eideteker at 10:49 AM on January 24, 2022 [56 favorites]