Warnings for FPPs

November 4, 2002 7:26 PM

[Bracket Etiquette]: For the benefit of users old and new and Metafilter usability in general, what warnings are considered essential or helpful when posting to the front page? [Possible list inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso to Etiquette/Policy at 7:26 PM (29 comments total)

Here are some of the warnings that might be essential:

1) Flash or Shockwave required;
2) Real, Quicktime or Windows Media, etc;
3) NYT, The Times or other newspapers' registrations;
4) Not Safe For Work;
5) Hate Sites and other potentially offensive items;
6) GeoCities or other fragile websites;
7) Pop-ups;
8) Potential e-mail harvester;
9) Speakers off or on, unwelcome Midis etc;
10) Foreign languages;
11) Large file sizes, dial-up limitations etc.
12) Any other warnings that may help users decide whether it's worth their while to click on the link(s).
posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:27 PM on November 4, 2002

does [more inside] count as a warning? : >
posted by amberglow at 7:37 PM on November 4, 2002

I think those are all good, although #4 could count for #5, #8, and #9.
posted by mcsweetie at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2002

How about a small request that posting to Geocities and other "fragiles" be accompanied by some mirroring elsewhere, even if it means one's own domain? It's reeeeallly frustrating to try to get in on those sites when they're being metafilter-ed.
posted by whatzit at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2002

[This will get ugly]
posted by Succa at 8:11 PM on November 4, 2002

How about a small request that posting to Geocities and other "fragiles" be accompanied by some mirroring elsewhere, even if it means one's own domain?

The google cache of a "fragiles" page is a great way of showing off your link without damaging the accessibility of the site and without the need to mirror it.
posted by ashbury at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2002

How about a small request that posting to Geocities and other "fragiles" be accompanied by some mirroring elsewhere, even if it means one's own domain? It's reeeeallly frustrating to try to get in on those sites when they're being metafilter-ed.

That's answered in the faq
posted by holloway at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2002

You spend too much time on Metafilter. [more outside]
posted by Stan Chin at 8:37 PM on November 4, 2002

Wouldn't it be great if the posting box had a checklist with all the possible warnings (including the "via" and the "more inside") which posters could just fill in or check, which would then be automatically formatted into a uniform, small-type footnote? Otherwise, it's sometimes quite difficult and messy to work the warnings into the post's wording, without making it aesthetically unpleasing.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:40 PM on November 4, 2002

[Metafilter: Not safe for work]

Stan, you rule.
posted by gottabefunky at 8:46 PM on November 4, 2002

You spend too much time on Metafilter.

Nag, nag, nag! Next thing you know you'll be telling me to get a life. So... was that a proposal, outdoors man and certified lumberjack Stan Chin? ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:52 PM on November 4, 2002

Wouldn't it be great if the posting box had a checklist with all the possible warnings (including the "via" and the "more inside") which posters could just fill in or check, which would then be automatically formatted into a uniform, small-type footnote? Otherwise, it's sometimes quite difficult and messy to work the warnings into the post's wording, without making it aesthetically unpleasing.

I've never understood the point, really. It's not terribly hard or time consuming to write it out on your own, so why bother coding in a huge list of potential tags for every situation? The only benefit I can see is it would introduce people who otherwise wouldn't tag to the practice, but if they haven't picked it up yet, are they really going to?
posted by The God Complex at 9:38 PM on November 4, 2002

I propose a [this is metafilter] to indicate threads that make MeFi so special. Of course over using it would suck.
posted by riffola at 9:45 PM on November 4, 2002

I just have to say that Stan's profile is squeeze-a-licious!
posted by hama7 at 11:52 PM on November 4, 2002

I love you, Cardoso, but you're just weird.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:24 AM on November 5, 2002

Yo, shoutout to another fellow Atlanta citizen, Stan! Actually, I'm living in Athens right now attending UGA, but my roots for last 15 years are in Atlanta.

I love you, Cardoso, but you're just weird.
Gotta' love those normal wonderchickens
posted by jmd82 at 5:31 AM on November 5, 2002

Ha! [this is funny]
posted by adampsyche at 6:19 AM on November 5, 2002

[Nothing good will come of this]
To be used after posts that end in "discuss" or "what do you think?"...
posted by Fabulon7 at 6:30 AM on November 5, 2002

[Abandon all hope, ye who enter]
posted by rory at 6:43 AM on November 5, 2002

"MetaFilter: Where even Dante would fear to tread..."
posted by JollyWanker at 7:24 AM on November 5, 2002

[Warning: Poster has been drinking or is drubk]

[Warning: Heavy sarcasm content, no emoticons]
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:38 AM on November 5, 2002

[first post, be gentle]

[serious science inside]

[who'll fight me?]

[ 1337Z 0|V1Y!!! ]
posted by me3dia at 7:40 AM on November 5, 2002

[I will burst into flames without attention]
posted by Skot at 7:54 AM on November 5, 2002

{Typos Inside}
posted by Ms.JaneDoe at 7:57 AM on November 5, 2002

[In swedish, sorry]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 8:32 AM on November 5, 2002

[rocking machine may result in injury or death]
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:42 AM on November 5, 2002

To MiguelCardoso's list I would add file types which require specialized software, e.g., [PDF].

posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:49 AM on November 5, 2002

[Apologies in advance, I'm shitfaced]
posted by tristeza at 7:31 PM on November 5, 2002

[Warning: Old pirate jokes ahead]

[Attn: This post contains many references to food-- do not attempt to read on an empty stomach]

[Please Note: The following thread is unsuitable for viewing by anyone missing a sense of humor]
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:59 PM on November 5, 2002