The Art of the FPP January 9, 2025 9:33 PM Subscribe
You people who post, please share your thoughts on the craft. How does the post come together? What are your criteria for success?
In all seriousness I'm not qualified to speak to this, but I am curious to see what others share
And what's a successful FPP from the perspective of someone who never creates them? edit to add: there are longstanding MeFites with little to no posting activity. They are getting something from MeFi that doesn't involve posting FPPs, what do they have to say
posted by ginger.beef at 6:01 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
And what's a successful FPP from the perspective of someone who never creates them? edit to add: there are longstanding MeFites with little to no posting activity. They are getting something from MeFi that doesn't involve posting FPPs, what do they have to say
posted by ginger.beef at 6:01 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
To me, a successful FPP is one where people chime in with more information or links about the subject, mention that they learned something, and/or a good conversation ensues.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:03 AM on January 10 [27 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:03 AM on January 10 [27 favorites]
I post a link to something I think is cool.
This seems simple on its surface but there are actually two very important criteria embedded in this:
1) A link to something I think is cool: I don't post links to things I hope MetaFilter will criticize, pick apart, or mock.
2) A link to something I think is cool: I post links where I hope MetaFilter will engage with the content of the link itself, rather than just talking about the topic of the link.
posted by capricorn at 6:23 AM on January 10 [11 favorites]
This seems simple on its surface but there are actually two very important criteria embedded in this:
1) A link to something I think is cool: I don't post links to things I hope MetaFilter will criticize, pick apart, or mock.
2) A link to something I think is cool: I post links where I hope MetaFilter will engage with the content of the link itself, rather than just talking about the topic of the link.
posted by capricorn at 6:23 AM on January 10 [11 favorites]
One thing that I've found helps is to think of posts as needing more than just one link. That pushes me to dig a bit deeper on the topic; the act of trying to find more links forces me to brainstorm about some other things to say about it (so I can hunt for those links), and that opens up other avenues of conversation. Once or twice it's also lead me to realize that this thing I thought was super-cool actually is a bit thin as a conversation starter and I abandon the FPP I'd been considering.
Sometimes, of course, there's a thing that I'm confident would attract attention with just a single link, but I do still try to give a bit of further context to get the conversation going.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:40 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
Sometimes, of course, there's a thing that I'm confident would attract attention with just a single link, but I do still try to give a bit of further context to get the conversation going.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:40 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
In my experience if you want engagement on a post you need to find something that is either charming and funny or obvious and intentional child abuse so that people can discuss its merits in measured and reasonable discourse.
I'm not really a FPP maker but, comment counts aside, my most liked posts have tended to be ones where I round up a bunch of related youtube videos and give context for what they are. So like every episode of a lost tv show or ten shorts about baby sloths.
posted by phunniemee at 7:30 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
I'm not really a FPP maker but, comment counts aside, my most liked posts have tended to be ones where I round up a bunch of related youtube videos and give context for what they are. So like every episode of a lost tv show or ten shorts about baby sloths.
posted by phunniemee at 7:30 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
I'll say this: whoever introduced Bobby Fingers to MetaFilter deserves a goddamn medal. It was inevitable, but still.. someone got there first. I'm so damn lazy but here, I dug it out: Drunk Mel Gibson Arrest Diorama, and the medal goes to Kosmob0t
as a participator and not so much knowing what the secret sauce of a successful FPP is, I really like it when there's flow and engagement and a combination of substantive contributions and quasi-shitposting, I just love it when "the room" feels familiar and people are enjoying the discussion
cendawanita stands out for their FPPs on Palestine, with toastyk coming in for their share of recognition also (a decided absence of banter and rightfully so, but it's the sheer value of the reporting that is shared and perspectives that break the NA mediasphere coverage)
I marvel at the structurally imposing FPPs from kliuless
posted by ginger.beef at 7:31 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
as a participator and not so much knowing what the secret sauce of a successful FPP is, I really like it when there's flow and engagement and a combination of substantive contributions and quasi-shitposting, I just love it when "the room" feels familiar and people are enjoying the discussion
cendawanita stands out for their FPPs on Palestine, with toastyk coming in for their share of recognition also (a decided absence of banter and rightfully so, but it's the sheer value of the reporting that is shared and perspectives that break the NA mediasphere coverage)
I marvel at the structurally imposing FPPs from kliuless
posted by ginger.beef at 7:31 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
At a certain point, I started thinking of many of flex's posts as the ideal, both as form:
My own habits are different, but it's an ideal I have at the back of my mind. One thing I try to do more consistently is also give some sort of author byline and the source, at least for the main link. There are several principles behind that but no hard rule. Other odd choices going through my mind are probably not legible enough to matter, but shoutout to cupcakeninja for 'getting' this one where the supporting links are above the fold, organized in a pretty intentional way no one will notice without looking into them sequentially, though it's still essentially just a 'main link and list of supporting links' post. FWIW I also keep a bookmarks folder for possible reposts to Metafilter, and before posting, I'll often check Google Scholar or Bluesky or whatever for how a topic is being framed in different contexts.
posted by Wobbuffet at 8:40 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
Main link here above the foldAnd also as content. Like, I chose those examples because they didn't have very many supporting links and instead struck a balance that illustrates supporting links as strength of Metafilter's freeform style. Compared to, like, HN's single-link post format, I like that on Metafilter you can basically gather up the things people have posted in response to a single link, elsewhere, and make them available in the post too. But by chance these posts were also popular and successful posts, content-wise--like a pretty high proportion of flex's posts were--because they were relatable, general interest content.
My own habits are different, but it's an ideal I have at the back of my mind. One thing I try to do more consistently is also give some sort of author byline and the source, at least for the main link. There are several principles behind that but no hard rule. Other odd choices going through my mind are probably not legible enough to matter, but shoutout to cupcakeninja for 'getting' this one where the supporting links are above the fold, organized in a pretty intentional way no one will notice without looking into them sequentially, though it's still essentially just a 'main link and list of supporting links' post. FWIW I also keep a bookmarks folder for possible reposts to Metafilter, and before posting, I'll often check Google Scholar or Bluesky or whatever for how a topic is being framed in different contexts.
posted by Wobbuffet at 8:40 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
Whenever I copy a URL to my clipboard in order to send it out to like three different group chats or people or social media accounts, that's probably a good FPP. By adding a little context, you can offer up something really interesting or funny, and also seed the ground for a fun or informative discussion.
The only real guaranteed-DOA threads are where there's either nowhere or just one direction for the conversation to go: they'll follow their course, slowly or quickly, and drift to a halt.
(Also, I missed that Bobby Fingers video the first time it was posted, and I just watched it. That's amaaaaaaazing.)
posted by wenestvedt at 8:41 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
The only real guaranteed-DOA threads are where there's either nowhere or just one direction for the conversation to go: they'll follow their course, slowly or quickly, and drift to a halt.
(Also, I missed that Bobby Fingers video the first time it was posted, and I just watched it. That's amaaaaaaazing.)
posted by wenestvedt at 8:41 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
wenestvedt, there are several Bobby Fingers dioramas (but you may know this already)
most recent post to the blue
posted by ginger.beef at 8:51 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
most recent post to the blue
posted by ginger.beef at 8:51 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
Possibly not related, but I have made the decision that any FPPs I post in 2025 will be more Canadian content (politics, pop culture, etc) and less things designed to be fighty. I don't expect sparkles and rainbows on MeFi during Trump 2.0 but at least my contributions can more "here's what happening elsewhere."
posted by Kitteh at 8:58 AM on January 10 [13 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 8:58 AM on January 10 [13 favorites]
This is a good post, Lemkin. Good space for talking about what's good on MetaFilter. For me...
* The best post is the post you make, not the one you fret over and don't make, or decide isn't good enough.
* Diversity in posts is helpful: single links, multiple links, organized, disorganized, "ooh gotta share it," One Weird News Story, or a hobbyhorse post can all be useful. Sometimes things really take off that I didn't expect to.
* I have really tried to embrace the single-link post. Last year I looked back through the archives, and plenty of objectively successful posts were brief and featured a single link.
posted by cupcakeninja at 8:59 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
* The best post is the post you make, not the one you fret over and don't make, or decide isn't good enough.
* Diversity in posts is helpful: single links, multiple links, organized, disorganized, "ooh gotta share it," One Weird News Story, or a hobbyhorse post can all be useful. Sometimes things really take off that I didn't expect to.
* I have really tried to embrace the single-link post. Last year I looked back through the archives, and plenty of objectively successful posts were brief and featured a single link.
posted by cupcakeninja at 8:59 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
I just posted a single-link post. Looking back at my memory of things that I found on Metafilter, most of the things I remember are an in-depth article about something unusual that I wouldn't have found on my own, usually because it's written by an expert in a field I'm not in for other experts in that field. Maybe those links were also posted with other supporting links and a great title and description, but those things are not what I remember.
One link I think about often is something jessamyn posted maybe 10 years ago that was a tourism website for a weird town in Europe.
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:13 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
One link I think about often is something jessamyn posted maybe 10 years ago that was a tourism website for a weird town in Europe.
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:13 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
90% I'll post a link to something I thought was cool or interesting and that about which I think MetaFilter might feel the same. Maybe a few links to add context or point out specific pages of interest.
9% of the time I'll post something in hopes of spurring a conversation I want to have in the hopes of learning something.
0.9% of the time it's an obituary where I hope people share something about the deceased or to showcase their accomplishments.
0.1% of the time it's to point and say look at these assholes in order to commiserate with others who I think would feel the same.
posted by Mitheral at 9:44 AM on January 10
9% of the time I'll post something in hopes of spurring a conversation I want to have in the hopes of learning something.
0.9% of the time it's an obituary where I hope people share something about the deceased or to showcase their accomplishments.
0.1% of the time it's to point and say look at these assholes in order to commiserate with others who I think would feel the same.
posted by Mitheral at 9:44 AM on January 10
I've not made too many posts given how long I've been here, a few a year on average, but last year I tried to pick up the pace and averaged a couple a month, so I guess I can chime in.
Usually it's just something I've found interesting or entertaining that I suspect others here would as well. Bonus points if it feels like it might prompt some discussion, but I try not to feel too bad if it doesn't... it'll fall off the front page after a day or two.
This morning, for example, I read a cool interview with Nick Park and colleagues about the making of the latest Wallace & Gromit film, which I thought other W&G fans here might enjoy. I didn't want it to be just another comment in the FanFare thread, so I dropped it on the Blue (with a link to FF). Seems to have gone over well. Crucially, it was prompted by the interview, including some great concept drawings by Park, rather than just a desire to discuss Wallace & Gromit—for that, I would have just commented on FanFare.
My other posts tend to be sparked by one link and then built up around it as I find more and more interesting links on the theme... but I don't see a raft of additional links as essential if the main link is strong enough. It's good to leave room for others to bring additional links to the party too.
Occasionally, I'll post on some political event or other—I did a bunch of Brexit ones in 2019, for example, and the UK election post last July. I leave the front-page-posting about US politics to US folks, though.
posted by rory at 10:32 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
Usually it's just something I've found interesting or entertaining that I suspect others here would as well. Bonus points if it feels like it might prompt some discussion, but I try not to feel too bad if it doesn't... it'll fall off the front page after a day or two.
This morning, for example, I read a cool interview with Nick Park and colleagues about the making of the latest Wallace & Gromit film, which I thought other W&G fans here might enjoy. I didn't want it to be just another comment in the FanFare thread, so I dropped it on the Blue (with a link to FF). Seems to have gone over well. Crucially, it was prompted by the interview, including some great concept drawings by Park, rather than just a desire to discuss Wallace & Gromit—for that, I would have just commented on FanFare.
My other posts tend to be sparked by one link and then built up around it as I find more and more interesting links on the theme... but I don't see a raft of additional links as essential if the main link is strong enough. It's good to leave room for others to bring additional links to the party too.
Occasionally, I'll post on some political event or other—I did a bunch of Brexit ones in 2019, for example, and the UK election post last July. I leave the front-page-posting about US politics to US folks, though.
posted by rory at 10:32 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
The New Post page sums up the "process," which is clear, not complicated, and even includes the motivation:
Found something cool on the web and want to share it with everyone else? Great! Just fill the blanks and it'll go live.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:37 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
Found something cool on the web and want to share it with everyone else? Great! Just fill the blanks and it'll go live.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:37 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
Simple. It is however you define "best of the web".
posted by JohnnyGunn at 1:13 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by JohnnyGunn at 1:13 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Some of my FPPs are carefully designed and launched like ocean going sealiners. Some are badly knocked-together and launched like hastily-constructed rafts in a river race. A few are the textual equivalent of quickly defecating (I'll come back to this) in the bushes.
Things I won't do posts about nowadays are posts about Trump or Musk. It's intensely boring seeing post after post, sometimes several in succession, about the latest thing they have said (and they speak frequently) or done. Fair enough, a lot of MeFites are into that, but if I start reading the blue and immediately see several of those I quickly lose interest in MetaFilter, doing another post or contributing, for a while.
Criteria for success? What is success nowadays? Doing what you need to do to retain most of your sanity and health? Or something. I don't know. I guess comments?
When I do make a post, guess it depends on my mood? Stuff that makes me laugh or say WTF? when I read about them online sometimes end up as posts, especially if there's a gut feeling that the community will comment with glee. Because my god this community can sometimes riff like no other online. For example, admitting that your partner uses a bedside beaker for washing his freshly moistened penis after sex, or a Danish kids TV animation about a man with an enormously long penis.
However, be aware that if you go for humour, any kind of humour whatsoever, then there's a high degree of chance someone will find it unfunny, or be upset, or twist it in a contorted way into some form of outrage. And they will comment about their feelings, either genuine or otherwise. But if you launch a post where one MeFite comments "This is the funniest thing I've seen this year" and the next MeFite comments "This is so outrageous I'm buttoning my account" then in a weird way it's a success? One of my half-finished posts is about first watch reactions to Salvatore Ganacci's award-winning Horse music video and I reckon no matter how it's presented there's a >50% chance of complaints. But some MeFites will really like it, and so with an appropriate Content Warning it'll be a post.
Talking of penis's (peni? penisy?) and defecation, sex, food and poop are three good areas to choose if you want a load of comments. Many people, including MeFites, have anecdotes of a sexual nature. Everyone eats. And everyone defecates. So there's a lot of self-interest in the community. And stupid anecdotes, the weirder the better, in any of those three topics will often pick up comments.
But yeah, food. If you want your FPP to get lots of comments, some angle on a food which many MeFites eat is your best bet. It doesn't have to have a lot of links, and if there's a new or unexpected variation or angle on a well-known food then all the better. Or all the batter. Or all the butter? I dunno.
posted by Wordshore at 1:33 PM on January 10 [8 favorites]
Things I won't do posts about nowadays are posts about Trump or Musk. It's intensely boring seeing post after post, sometimes several in succession, about the latest thing they have said (and they speak frequently) or done. Fair enough, a lot of MeFites are into that, but if I start reading the blue and immediately see several of those I quickly lose interest in MetaFilter, doing another post or contributing, for a while.
Criteria for success? What is success nowadays? Doing what you need to do to retain most of your sanity and health? Or something. I don't know. I guess comments?
When I do make a post, guess it depends on my mood? Stuff that makes me laugh or say WTF? when I read about them online sometimes end up as posts, especially if there's a gut feeling that the community will comment with glee. Because my god this community can sometimes riff like no other online. For example, admitting that your partner uses a bedside beaker for washing his freshly moistened penis after sex, or a Danish kids TV animation about a man with an enormously long penis.
However, be aware that if you go for humour, any kind of humour whatsoever, then there's a high degree of chance someone will find it unfunny, or be upset, or twist it in a contorted way into some form of outrage. And they will comment about their feelings, either genuine or otherwise. But if you launch a post where one MeFite comments "This is the funniest thing I've seen this year" and the next MeFite comments "This is so outrageous I'm buttoning my account" then in a weird way it's a success? One of my half-finished posts is about first watch reactions to Salvatore Ganacci's award-winning Horse music video and I reckon no matter how it's presented there's a >50% chance of complaints. But some MeFites will really like it, and so with an appropriate Content Warning it'll be a post.
Talking of penis's (peni? penisy?) and defecation, sex, food and poop are three good areas to choose if you want a load of comments. Many people, including MeFites, have anecdotes of a sexual nature. Everyone eats. And everyone defecates. So there's a lot of self-interest in the community. And stupid anecdotes, the weirder the better, in any of those three topics will often pick up comments.
But yeah, food. If you want your FPP to get lots of comments, some angle on a food which many MeFites eat is your best bet. It doesn't have to have a lot of links, and if there's a new or unexpected variation or angle on a well-known food then all the better. Or all the batter. Or all the butter? I dunno.
posted by Wordshore at 1:33 PM on January 10 [8 favorites]
And what's a successful FPP from the perspective of someone who never creates them? edit to add: there are longstanding MeFites with little to no posting activity. They are getting something from MeFi that doesn't involve posting FPPs, what do they have to say
I don't post much at all but as a quasi-lurker who has been here for over 20 years, I can tell you that the posts that I feel are good posts are a mix.
I don't care much for posts that involve hours or days of commitment but I very much appreciate the effort and care involved in making them; these are good posts and I've favorited many.
It doesn't matter if it's a many link post, a single link post or a post with a few links, what catches my interest is the framing; the subject of the post needs to be clear.
It doesn't need to be "the best of the web" but if it's unusual or prompts me to look deeper into the subject on my own then that's a good post.
Did I watch the thing or read the link over and over because it's amazeballs? That's a good post. Bobby Fingers is a perfect example of this.
I'm not going to talk about topics because that's very subjective: what I like may not be what you like and that's fine. That said, I don't care much for political posts; I read them but I often find them overwhelming, loud, crass, one-sided and US-centric. I appreciate it when people add links to government resources, however.
What happens after that is also important! There might be a low comment count but is there good discussion? Is it somebody's passion and they're willing to explode about all the juicy details in the comments? Is there a bunch of fun ridiculousness or running jokes in the comments? Did somebody drop a remarkably clever and witty something in there?
posted by ashbury at 1:45 PM on January 10 [5 favorites]
I don't post much at all but as a quasi-lurker who has been here for over 20 years, I can tell you that the posts that I feel are good posts are a mix.
I don't care much for posts that involve hours or days of commitment but I very much appreciate the effort and care involved in making them; these are good posts and I've favorited many.
It doesn't matter if it's a many link post, a single link post or a post with a few links, what catches my interest is the framing; the subject of the post needs to be clear.
It doesn't need to be "the best of the web" but if it's unusual or prompts me to look deeper into the subject on my own then that's a good post.
Did I watch the thing or read the link over and over because it's amazeballs? That's a good post. Bobby Fingers is a perfect example of this.
I'm not going to talk about topics because that's very subjective: what I like may not be what you like and that's fine. That said, I don't care much for political posts; I read them but I often find them overwhelming, loud, crass, one-sided and US-centric. I appreciate it when people add links to government resources, however.
What happens after that is also important! There might be a low comment count but is there good discussion? Is it somebody's passion and they're willing to explode about all the juicy details in the comments? Is there a bunch of fun ridiculousness or running jokes in the comments? Did somebody drop a remarkably clever and witty something in there?
posted by ashbury at 1:45 PM on January 10 [5 favorites]
I will say, as someone who's leaned single-link FPPs (in my few attempts) because striking essays and compelling video essays are 99% of what I find worthwhile on the Internet, I think it's important include at least one or two pull quotes as well as perhaps one or two places where people are analyzing or discussing the primary source.
pull quotes give people something to bounce off of regardless of whether they RTFA. without the pull quotes, you're much likelier to get a conversation about the broad topic (if even that) and not even a little bit the actual linked piece, which can be extremely frustrating
posted by Kybard at 1:59 PM on January 10 [7 favorites]
pull quotes give people something to bounce off of regardless of whether they RTFA. without the pull quotes, you're much likelier to get a conversation about the broad topic (if even that) and not even a little bit the actual linked piece, which can be extremely frustrating
posted by Kybard at 1:59 PM on January 10 [7 favorites]
One problem with pull quotes is that they often don’t make as much sense out of context as a person who just read the article thinks they do. My formula for a good post is:
- At least one link
- An explanation of what the link goes to
- An explanation of why I’d want to click on it
Brandon, I think that's not a good FPP, that's a great FPP.
posted by freethefeet at 2:44 PM on January 10
posted by freethefeet at 2:44 PM on January 10
There's a 2012 MetaTalk asking 'why did you create Front Page Posts' which has some still-relevant comments and observations from MeFites.
posted by Wordshore at 2:55 PM on January 10 [2 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 2:55 PM on January 10 [2 favorites]
I don't have any real-life friends. (Auspicious way to start a comment!) I also am not active on social media. So when I find something interesting, I don't really have anyone to talk to about it. So my personal criteria is just, if I had friends, could I show them this and would it be interesting enough to have a conversation about? It's a pretty low bar, but there's a lot of stuff I wouldn't share here because I feel like it'd be too hard to explain why I think it's interesting. Sort of a GYOB thing--if I feel like I really have to tell a story, in my own words, for why something's interesting enough to post, then maybe it's not really interesting enough to post. Then other stuff sort of speaks for itself--it's one of the reasons I admire chavenet's format of FPPs, because there's a quote, and if the quote grabs you, you read the article, and if it doesn't, that's okay, the discussion inside is usually pretty good anyway, but the trick there is really letting the quote do the work for you.
Here's an example. Lever News recently posted a piece on Citi's "plutonomy" papers. Unfortunately it was behind a paywall and I couldn't find an ungated version, so I didn't think their piece would work, but I was able to grab the PDFs to the papers off Brad DeLong's site. I was wondering whether a few PDFs would make a good FPP, and spent a few days debating over it. I had a pretty good pull-quote, I thought, but really wished I had a singular link that would go through the pieces and their implications. Then luckily I thought to search to see if they had been posted before, which indeed they had. Posting crisis averted!
But it's interesting, even though I've become a lot more comfortable commenting in recent years, when it comes to posts themselves, I don't want to say much, I want the post to do its own work--I don't like to comment in my own threads, it's more fun to see what other people have to say. (I've wondered if that feeling is down to the MF format...like, it's really hard to have conversations with people here, outside of a single-comment reply--back-and-forth really ends up taking up the whole space, which wouldn't necessarily happen in a more threaded environment.)
posted by mittens at 3:11 PM on January 10 [6 favorites]
Here's an example. Lever News recently posted a piece on Citi's "plutonomy" papers. Unfortunately it was behind a paywall and I couldn't find an ungated version, so I didn't think their piece would work, but I was able to grab the PDFs to the papers off Brad DeLong's site. I was wondering whether a few PDFs would make a good FPP, and spent a few days debating over it. I had a pretty good pull-quote, I thought, but really wished I had a singular link that would go through the pieces and their implications. Then luckily I thought to search to see if they had been posted before, which indeed they had. Posting crisis averted!
But it's interesting, even though I've become a lot more comfortable commenting in recent years, when it comes to posts themselves, I don't want to say much, I want the post to do its own work--I don't like to comment in my own threads, it's more fun to see what other people have to say. (I've wondered if that feeling is down to the MF format...like, it's really hard to have conversations with people here, outside of a single-comment reply--back-and-forth really ends up taking up the whole space, which wouldn't necessarily happen in a more threaded environment.)
posted by mittens at 3:11 PM on January 10 [6 favorites]
I have no "clout", I'm not special, I'm not an Anointed One. I'm a nobody, just some dude who likes to goof off on the internet. I post random stuff that happens to appeal to me. It might contain multiple links or just one, whatever's appropriate for the subject, just sharing something I thought was worth sharing. I do try to tell a bit of a story at least, make it engaging and not bone-dry...and because I'm me, some humor often gets injected into it, but not always. But I've never tied my own self-worth to the outcome of my posts, regardless of whether their reception was good, neutral or negative - or for some of them, utter indifference. You don't like what I post, nobody's forcing you to read it, no skin off my nose. But then I'm a cynical bastard anyway.
I know not everyone is as callous and socially detached as me and some people get really nervous about posting; even so I think it's easy to build up more anguish and doubt than it's worth over the idea of making a post. In my 14 years here there have been vanishingly few posts that I thought Metafilter could have completely done without. Apart from those, I think even posts where the discussion has been less than ideal or has been critical to some degree about the posted topic (not the poster!) were worth a post anyway, just so people take a moment to consider a subject they might otherwise have missed or ignored.
So I say - you find something interesting, write it up, put a modicum of effort into it, add whatever context will help people engage with the topic, hit Post. Wotthehell archie, no big deal.
Then after that your work is done. Let your post fly free to flourish or flounder, knowing you gave it the best start you could. Nobody has to worry about an Internet Protective Services social worker showing up at your door asking nosy questions and insinuating you're a useless washup who should have done better!
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:43 PM on January 10 [5 favorites]
I know not everyone is as callous and socially detached as me and some people get really nervous about posting; even so I think it's easy to build up more anguish and doubt than it's worth over the idea of making a post. In my 14 years here there have been vanishingly few posts that I thought Metafilter could have completely done without. Apart from those, I think even posts where the discussion has been less than ideal or has been critical to some degree about the posted topic (not the poster!) were worth a post anyway, just so people take a moment to consider a subject they might otherwise have missed or ignored.
So I say - you find something interesting, write it up, put a modicum of effort into it, add whatever context will help people engage with the topic, hit Post. Wotthehell archie, no big deal.
Then after that your work is done. Let your post fly free to flourish or flounder, knowing you gave it the best start you could. Nobody has to worry about an Internet Protective Services social worker showing up at your door asking nosy questions and insinuating you're a useless washup who should have done better!
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:43 PM on January 10 [5 favorites]
I've never suffered stage fright either, so I may be a weirdo mutant freakazoid. YMMV. Use or ignore my advice as appropriate.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:54 PM on January 10
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:54 PM on January 10
So when I find something interesting, I don't really have anyone to talk to about it.
This is, in a slightly different way, me too. That is, I don't really have many real life nerdy Extremely Online friends. And some of the things I like to talk about, or which were interesting to me, I'd like to share with those sorts of people. This is especially true for a few types of topics: birds, history, obit posts for people who I think deserved them, books/libraries, and accessibility/disability issues. Sometimes it will just be a single link that I want to share, sometimes it's a few, it's rarely a LOT because realistically I think most people won't read a lot (maybe they do, that's just the vibe I have). I include some short quote as the title, I write up a few words or use some from the page I am linking to, I make sure there are a lot of good tags, and then I post it and leave it alone for a while, come back and see what's going on. If there's a conversation I might join it.
I get an email any time a FPP is posted and if I see one I like (usually about libraries or books or copyright or Vermont or photography or birds) I'll take a look, try to engage meaningfully with the content, and leave a comment or two. I work in libraries, I'm a sharer by nature. Having shared the thing I wanted to share is my criteria for success. Low bar, always exceeded.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:05 PM on January 10 [12 favorites]
This is, in a slightly different way, me too. That is, I don't really have many real life nerdy Extremely Online friends. And some of the things I like to talk about, or which were interesting to me, I'd like to share with those sorts of people. This is especially true for a few types of topics: birds, history, obit posts for people who I think deserved them, books/libraries, and accessibility/disability issues. Sometimes it will just be a single link that I want to share, sometimes it's a few, it's rarely a LOT because realistically I think most people won't read a lot (maybe they do, that's just the vibe I have). I include some short quote as the title, I write up a few words or use some from the page I am linking to, I make sure there are a lot of good tags, and then I post it and leave it alone for a while, come back and see what's going on. If there's a conversation I might join it.
I get an email any time a FPP is posted and if I see one I like (usually about libraries or books or copyright or Vermont or photography or birds) I'll take a look, try to engage meaningfully with the content, and leave a comment or two. I work in libraries, I'm a sharer by nature. Having shared the thing I wanted to share is my criteria for success. Low bar, always exceeded.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:05 PM on January 10 [12 favorites]
I post things that are doing the rounds elsewhere, when I notice that they haven't made it to Metafilter yet and when I think they'd be appreciated.
Usually my posts are a single link to an article, and I just write a short blurb for it or choose a pull quote to fill out the post. If there's additional context that's relevant I might work in some additional links. I don't think I've ever included a "more inside" section.
I have nothing against the people who spend ages crafting long posts about some topic, and clearly some folks enjoy that style of post, but I find it astonishing and regrettable when people talk about that sort of work being necessary to post on the blue.
As a reader, personally, I find the big posts full of many links to be overwhelming. There's usually just too much there for me to feel like following all the links to take everything in. So either I don't engage, or I just comment about the topic in general without having read the material.
I don't feel bad for engaging like this and I don't think anyone else should either.
posted by automatronic at 4:09 PM on January 10 [7 favorites]
Usually my posts are a single link to an article, and I just write a short blurb for it or choose a pull quote to fill out the post. If there's additional context that's relevant I might work in some additional links. I don't think I've ever included a "more inside" section.
I have nothing against the people who spend ages crafting long posts about some topic, and clearly some folks enjoy that style of post, but I find it astonishing and regrettable when people talk about that sort of work being necessary to post on the blue.
As a reader, personally, I find the big posts full of many links to be overwhelming. There's usually just too much there for me to feel like following all the links to take everything in. So either I don't engage, or I just comment about the topic in general without having read the material.
I don't feel bad for engaging like this and I don't think anyone else should either.
posted by automatronic at 4:09 PM on January 10 [7 favorites]
Do what makes you happy. Not a frequent poster, but I've yet to successfully gauge which posts will get traction and which ones don't. Some that I thought would get noticed didn't, and some that I made for a lark did numbers. 'Numbers' for me means double digit comments ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I don't post for clout (are favorites clout?), just the hopes that it might be useful, fun, stimulating or informative.
There's no ratio that I can tell between effort and comments, effort and favorites or otherwise. Perhaps you have to be a frequent or well-known poster for those things to affect numbers, but as an occasional poster they don't seem to make much difference to posts being successful. So just have fun with it.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 4:13 PM on January 10 [5 favorites]
There's no ratio that I can tell between effort and comments, effort and favorites or otherwise. Perhaps you have to be a frequent or well-known poster for those things to affect numbers, but as an occasional poster they don't seem to make much difference to posts being successful. So just have fun with it.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 4:13 PM on January 10 [5 favorites]
Not a frequent poster
I guess that's why your username isn't Hardcore Poster!
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:29 PM on January 10 [3 favorites]
I guess that's why your username isn't Hardcore Poster!
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:29 PM on January 10 [3 favorites]
gur orfg cbfgf pbagnva ng yrnfg GJB va-wbxrf, cersrenoyl va gur fnzr fragrapr, gur fnzr nf va gbja.
posted by lalochezia at 6:37 PM on January 10 [3 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 6:37 PM on January 10 [3 favorites]
The obsession some of y’all have with performing Metafilter correctly is just bizarre. Write the post. Click submit. Success.
posted by spudsilo at 10:04 PM on January 10 [11 favorites]
posted by spudsilo at 10:04 PM on January 10 [11 favorites]
The quest should start in serendip.
posted by peacay at 4:43 AM on January 11 [1 favorite]
posted by peacay at 4:43 AM on January 11 [1 favorite]
The obsession some of y’all have with performing Metafilter correctly is just bizarre. Write the post. Click submit. Success.
spudsilo, you've been here a long time, and you know it's not that simple if you actually read or care about other MeFites' comments. Like, on the one hand, I appreciate your philosophy! (see my comment above) On the other, so many MeFites clearly believe it's Doing Important Work to be zealous MetaFilter critics. They think they are doing a meaningful politics or bringing about social justice by attacking posts. (And, of course, MetaFilter sometimes is a place where political opinions change based on discussion; mine have, a few times.) They don't just live for the drama but believe they are correct to live for the drama if supported by the right reasons. It's exhausting and regularly drives some users away from the site, and it certainly has fucking stopped people from wanting to post FPPs. We know it because they have repeatedly said so in MeTas and elsewhere, year after year.
posted by cupcakeninja at 6:16 AM on January 11 [7 favorites]
spudsilo, you've been here a long time, and you know it's not that simple if you actually read or care about other MeFites' comments. Like, on the one hand, I appreciate your philosophy! (see my comment above) On the other, so many MeFites clearly believe it's Doing Important Work to be zealous MetaFilter critics. They think they are doing a meaningful politics or bringing about social justice by attacking posts. (And, of course, MetaFilter sometimes is a place where political opinions change based on discussion; mine have, a few times.) They don't just live for the drama but believe they are correct to live for the drama if supported by the right reasons. It's exhausting and regularly drives some users away from the site, and it certainly has fucking stopped people from wanting to post FPPs. We know it because they have repeatedly said so in MeTas and elsewhere, year after year.
posted by cupcakeninja at 6:16 AM on January 11 [7 favorites]
The best post is the post you make, not the one you fret over and don't make, or decide isn't good enough
...
The obsession some of y’all have with performing Metafilter correctly is just bizarre. Write the post. Click submit. Success.
Yeah, it's an interesting dichotomy: You post something and the eyes of the community you care about are on it, perhaps intently, perhaps not. It stays on the front page for a few days. Then it's gone and kind of like yesterday's newspaper that gets put on the bottom of the birdcage. Except that it's also on the internet forever.
posted by gwint at 8:41 AM on January 11 [4 favorites]
...
The obsession some of y’all have with performing Metafilter correctly is just bizarre. Write the post. Click submit. Success.
Yeah, it's an interesting dichotomy: You post something and the eyes of the community you care about are on it, perhaps intently, perhaps not. It stays on the front page for a few days. Then it's gone and kind of like yesterday's newspaper that gets put on the bottom of the birdcage. Except that it's also on the internet forever.
posted by gwint at 8:41 AM on January 11 [4 favorites]
it's not that simple if you actually read or care about other MeFites' comments.
I suppose the corollary of that is not to make a post about a topic that (a) tends to be contentious here and/or (b) you personally identify with/care very deeply about. Anything, in other words, that if the post or subsequent discussion went badly, it would make you feel absolutely terrible personally.
There are hundreds if not thousands of things online that an interesting post can be based on. Food is always popular, for instance, as are videos of someone doing something cool or funny, a fascinating science article, a particular musical style... It doesn't have to be a Momentous or Important post, something lightweight and briefly diverting is totally acceptable. Find something that allows you to make an engaging post without getting too psychologically wrapped up in its outcome.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:14 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]
I suppose the corollary of that is not to make a post about a topic that (a) tends to be contentious here and/or (b) you personally identify with/care very deeply about. Anything, in other words, that if the post or subsequent discussion went badly, it would make you feel absolutely terrible personally.
There are hundreds if not thousands of things online that an interesting post can be based on. Food is always popular, for instance, as are videos of someone doing something cool or funny, a fascinating science article, a particular musical style... It doesn't have to be a Momentous or Important post, something lightweight and briefly diverting is totally acceptable. Find something that allows you to make an engaging post without getting too psychologically wrapped up in its outcome.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:14 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]
what is the shortest Post in metafilter history as far as characters like one or two or a single word?
posted by clavdivs at 1:50 PM on January 11
posted by clavdivs at 1:50 PM on January 11
Hm, does this one count as one word or zero words?
posted by nobody at 2:02 PM on January 11 [3 favorites]
posted by nobody at 2:02 PM on January 11 [3 favorites]
that is close, how did you search for that. (cool post) I remember one post that had two letters or characters in the header and two or three letters in the main post with more inside.
posted by clavdivs at 2:09 PM on January 11
posted by clavdivs at 2:09 PM on January 11
I had a hunch there would have been at least one single-emoji post, but couldn't think of how to search for it. So on a lark I looked at all posts with the "emoji" tag, and that one -- despite not being about true emojis? -- was the shortest (and nearly the oldest).
(I'd guess there's still a single-emoji post to find down there in the archives, if only we knew how to look?)
posted by nobody at 2:19 PM on January 11
(I'd guess there's still a single-emoji post to find down there in the archives, if only we knew how to look?)
posted by nobody at 2:19 PM on January 11
This was the one that I remember and I had remembered that we edited it because it was just one character but either I was wrong about that (possible!) or we did edit it but it was before we tracked edits in the database.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:52 PM on January 11 [3 favorites]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:52 PM on January 11 [3 favorites]
The text there is like explaining a joke.
I would have made it the first comment back when.
Nowadays it could be More Inside.
posted by y2karl at 3:09 AM on January 12
I would have made it the first comment back when.
Nowadays it could be More Inside.
posted by y2karl at 3:09 AM on January 12
Or linked it to a definition in the appropriate emoji dictionary.
posted by y2karl at 3:16 AM on January 12
posted by y2karl at 3:16 AM on January 12
I've been on metafilter since forever, and while I'm not the most active poster, I've posted a couple of things in my time here. And one thing I wish didn't impact people so much as it seems to, is the perceived high bar on posting, as if you need to pass some brainiac level to post things. If I could I would encourage people to just post single link garbage like I have always done. It's fine, mefites don't actually bite that hard. Be more like me: see a random text, be drunk, make a half assed effort at explaining why the link is interesting, fail at this, but then still read mefite's great comments on it.
For example this is how I learned that in English, "toothsome" does not in fact mean "having a lot of teeth".
posted by Pyrogenesis at 4:12 AM on January 12 [9 favorites]
For example this is how I learned that in English, "toothsome" does not in fact mean "having a lot of teeth".
posted by Pyrogenesis at 4:12 AM on January 12 [9 favorites]
what is the shortest Post in metafilter history as far as characters like one or two or a single word?
This is what the infodump is for! Specifically, postlength_mefi.txt.zip.
Here are two one-character posts: 60073 and 128532.
And many deleted zero- and one-character posts: 17222, 26785, 34153, 47086, 49272, 53252, 55526, 60222, 108099, 126640, 184050, 188050.
I added the urldesc and above fields to get a total above-the-fold length. YMMV.
posted by Klipspringer at 8:06 AM on January 12 [4 favorites]
This is what the infodump is for! Specifically, postlength_mefi.txt.zip.
Here are two one-character posts: 60073 and 128532.
And many deleted zero- and one-character posts: 17222, 26785, 34153, 47086, 49272, 53252, 55526, 60222, 108099, 126640, 184050, 188050.
I added the urldesc and above fields to get a total above-the-fold length. YMMV.
posted by Klipspringer at 8:06 AM on January 12 [4 favorites]
Was coming to link the single period FPP I instigated but that's 34153 in the list above.
posted by Mitheral at 9:44 AM on January 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 9:44 AM on January 12 [1 favorite]
128532 is not only still a working link, it's still funny.
posted by Lemkin at 10:31 AM on January 12
posted by Lemkin at 10:31 AM on January 12
34153...Stan Chin is missing his gold star.
a period would be hard to beat.
posted by clavdivs at 2:19 PM on January 12
a period would be hard to beat.
posted by clavdivs at 2:19 PM on January 12
Most of the details of my posts are created by asking myself 'Would I want to click on this?' and 'Would I be disappointed in some way if I clicked on this?', making those answers into yes and no and then doing as little as possible past that point.
I post a lot of CBC links, for example, and if the original headline was interesting and engaging and accurate (the CBC doesn't run to deep clickbait), then I just, you know, post that. It's probably what I was interested in in the first place.
If it's a long running story, I try to include enough links to tell the story so no one clicks on a link and doesn't understand what's happening.
If it's a link to an artist, I try to describe why they are cool and if their website is hard to navigate (why, artists, why?) then I try to include some direct links to works I like so people don't see the one thing on the front page and go away disappointed.
I think my posts are on the basic end of MetaFilter posts, but that doesn't bother me. Occasionally something I found really interesting doesn't get much response and I am a little disappointed, but what are you going to do? I can't make you love me if you don't.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:46 AM on January 13 [4 favorites]
I post a lot of CBC links, for example, and if the original headline was interesting and engaging and accurate (the CBC doesn't run to deep clickbait), then I just, you know, post that. It's probably what I was interested in in the first place.
If it's a long running story, I try to include enough links to tell the story so no one clicks on a link and doesn't understand what's happening.
If it's a link to an artist, I try to describe why they are cool and if their website is hard to navigate (why, artists, why?) then I try to include some direct links to works I like so people don't see the one thing on the front page and go away disappointed.
I think my posts are on the basic end of MetaFilter posts, but that doesn't bother me. Occasionally something I found really interesting doesn't get much response and I am a little disappointed, but what are you going to do? I can't make you love me if you don't.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:46 AM on January 13 [4 favorites]
ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR
posted by Lemkin at 3:17 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
posted by Lemkin at 3:17 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
Il Consiglio dei Dieci consulta la sottocommissione sui cap lock.
posted by clavdivs at 4:04 PM on January 13
posted by clavdivs at 4:04 PM on January 13
posted by Stan Chin⭐
posted by clavdivs at 4:06 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 4:06 PM on January 13 [1 favorite]
As a poster, I tend to go for two modes. Sometimes it's relatively short posts around a single item, usually an article. I add a little context, including any previouslys, and possibly a quote. Otherwise I put out medium-to long posts crammed with links. Nowadays those are my space exploration updates.
As a reader, I usually prefer the short post anchored on a single item. I can decide if it's of interest then either dive in or move on. (Unless it's long form video, in which case I shudder and move on.) Megaposts are harder, often threatening to take too much of my time, so I poke around to see if there are a few links of note. Except for those awesome sf podcast roundups, which I religiously copy to a Google Doc for extensive research.
posted by doctornemo at 5:09 AM on January 14 [1 favorite]
As a reader, I usually prefer the short post anchored on a single item. I can decide if it's of interest then either dive in or move on. (Unless it's long form video, in which case I shudder and move on.) Megaposts are harder, often threatening to take too much of my time, so I poke around to see if there are a few links of note. Except for those awesome sf podcast roundups, which I religiously copy to a Google Doc for extensive research.
posted by doctornemo at 5:09 AM on January 14 [1 favorite]
Inspired by this thread, I decided to chill my vibe and put up a SLYT, a Pepsi Blue flavored one at that, just because I thought it was neat.
So far, one person has signaled agreement. Success!
posted by Lemkin at 6:34 AM on January 14
So far, one person has signaled agreement. Success!
posted by Lemkin at 6:34 AM on January 14
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posted by ginger.beef at 5:58 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]