Quiet periods save resources November 12, 2002 8:47 AM Subscribe
It's Tuesday, 8:42 PST, and there are only three posts on the front page - surely a record. Perhaps if users distributed their posts better over the 24 hours (and according to their timezones) there wouldn't be so much crowding? Quiet periods can easily be identified and this might be a way to avoid the rush, spread out and save resources.
Sheesh Miguel, yesterday there was only ONE post until 9:42.
posted by machaus at 9:03 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by machaus at 9:03 AM on November 12, 2002
Well, it's four now. It's just I was quite struck by the nice rhythm of one post every three hours. Given that there's quite a big contingent of us European and Eastern users, couldn't we contrive to post at the times when MetaFilter is less busy? Surely that would help.
It's nice to post when there's a crowd here but it's also nice to post when it's quiet. If we divide users into 4 great timezones - Australasian/European/East Coast/West Coast - surely some waxpancakesque genius can work out which are the less taxing times for each sector to post.
Reduce congestion now, I say!
Stalinesque as it may sound...
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:05 AM on November 12, 2002
It's nice to post when there's a crowd here but it's also nice to post when it's quiet. If we divide users into 4 great timezones - Australasian/European/East Coast/West Coast - surely some waxpancakesque genius can work out which are the less taxing times for each sector to post.
Reduce congestion now, I say!
Stalinesque as it may sound...
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:05 AM on November 12, 2002
Yesterday was a Monday, Machaus - generally a quiet day, as people actually have to do some work start their week. Tuesdays are typically much more frantic. In any case, my query is about distributing the post load, rather than claiming Guinness records. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:09 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:09 AM on November 12, 2002
In a perfect world three of those four posts would have already been deleted.
posted by timeistight at 9:09 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by timeistight at 9:09 AM on November 12, 2002
couldn't we contrive to post at the times when MetaFilter is less busy?
*Imagines the organizational hierarchy of Miguel's sock drawer.*
posted by machaus at 9:09 AM on November 12, 2002
*Imagines the organizational hierarchy of Miguel's sock drawer.*
posted by machaus at 9:09 AM on November 12, 2002
*Imagines the organizational hierarchy of Miguel's sock drawer.*
cough and splatter. i just got wine in my lungs. it hurts.
posted by ginz at 9:15 AM on November 12, 2002
cough and splatter. i just got wine in my lungs. it hurts.
posted by ginz at 9:15 AM on November 12, 2002
It was a long weekend here in the US, that would account for the lack of activity. Relax you'll get your daily dosage of snark soon.
posted by riffola at 9:16 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by riffola at 9:16 AM on November 12, 2002
"couldn't we contrive to post at the times when MetaFilter is less busy?"
a) Please get over yourself.
b) No.
There. Wasn't that easy? Why do we need to contrive silly crap to make sure MetaTalk doesn't get stale? "I was noticing today that most of the posts had an odd number of words. Should Matt build a filter that would alert posters to this so they can alter their wording?"
At some point would it not be possible to just say no? Is there *any* way we could NOT post every freakin question that pops into our heads to MetaTalk? "Hi, I just had a bowel movement and I was thinking about a Metatalk thread. Do other people think about Metafilter while laying a steamer?"
Just stop it. There is a purpose to MetaTalk. That purpose is subverted when you use it as a way to stave off boredom.
posted by y6y6y6 at 9:20 AM on November 12, 2002
a) Please get over yourself.
b) No.
There. Wasn't that easy? Why do we need to contrive silly crap to make sure MetaTalk doesn't get stale? "I was noticing today that most of the posts had an odd number of words. Should Matt build a filter that would alert posters to this so they can alter their wording?"
At some point would it not be possible to just say no? Is there *any* way we could NOT post every freakin question that pops into our heads to MetaTalk? "Hi, I just had a bowel movement and I was thinking about a Metatalk thread. Do other people think about Metafilter while laying a steamer?"
Just stop it. There is a purpose to MetaTalk. That purpose is subverted when you use it as a way to stave off boredom.
posted by y6y6y6 at 9:20 AM on November 12, 2002
Aw, y6y6y6, you're just narked your excellent FAQ post is slowly being pushed towards the precipice of the page.
No, but seriously - if you have a limited resource (and the server has been slow recently) then it makes sense to optimize its use, by distributing the load. As it is, there's a very intense period when almost everyone posts and it slows things down for everybody. It would make sense to have recommended posting times according to traffic, based on timezones. That's all.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:28 AM on November 12, 2002
No, but seriously - if you have a limited resource (and the server has been slow recently) then it makes sense to optimize its use, by distributing the load. As it is, there's a very intense period when almost everyone posts and it slows things down for everybody. It would make sense to have recommended posting times according to traffic, based on timezones. That's all.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:28 AM on November 12, 2002
Why waste bandwidth on endless sentences of snarking?
Just post the word "snark" and I am sure everyone would get the idea. In fact I have an idea it would cut Matt's bandwidth usage by 30% at the very least.
Oh, and I am thinking that since yesterday was a (US) holiday, most folks are actually having to do actual work at the moment. I am sure we will hear from them once they are caught up.
posted by konolia at 9:39 AM on November 12, 2002
Just post the word "snark" and I am sure everyone would get the idea. In fact I have an idea it would cut Matt's bandwidth usage by 30% at the very least.
Oh, and I am thinking that since yesterday was a (US) holiday, most folks are actually having to do actual work at the moment. I am sure we will hear from them once they are caught up.
posted by konolia at 9:39 AM on November 12, 2002
I don't know if posting taxes the server near as much as bouncing between threads, refreshing every two minutes, and ceaseless commenting. Maybe we should have assigned times to read MeFi according to your user number? From 10-11:45, I can read and enjoy MeFi. The rest of the time, I am banned. Kind of like the gas shortage in the seventies.
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:41 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:41 AM on November 12, 2002
miguel: (sorry for the long post!)
Perhaps if users distributed their posts better over the 24 hours (and according to their timezones) there wouldn't be so much crowding? Quiet periods can easily be identified and this might be a way to avoid the rush, spread out and save resources.
if there are 30 posts by the end of the day, the time at which they were posted does not matter. the same amount of space is used by a slow but steady stream of threads as would be used by a sudden rush of posting.
No, but seriously - if you have a limited resource (and the server has been slow recently) then it makes sense to optimize its use, by distributing the load.
this may seem correct, but it is so only when discussing the network resources of the server. metafilter is served off of a T1, if memory serves, which is a decent amount of bandwidth for the site. the resources for which we should be wary are the load upon the server itself; the requests to the database and the strains upon the hard drive of the computer.
distribution of load will, in no way, be beneficial in the case of physical load on the computer. if your hard drive is used often, it will wear down and errors will begin to occur (such as bad sectors). finally, the hard drive will crash. if all you modify is the distribution of the load, as opposed to the amount of load per day, you won't stave off the inevitable disk problems that matt has said have been occurring lately.
that is not to say things can't be improved. better search code could be put into place (as it stands, the search algorithm used by matt has been reported to be a linear, brute-force method which is both slow and hard on the server). the number of days viewable could be limited to 1 or 2, and long threads could be divided with an arbitrary number of comments per page (under the assumption not all will or want to view all comments in a thread).
posted by moz at 9:42 AM on November 12, 2002
Perhaps if users distributed their posts better over the 24 hours (and according to their timezones) there wouldn't be so much crowding? Quiet periods can easily be identified and this might be a way to avoid the rush, spread out and save resources.
if there are 30 posts by the end of the day, the time at which they were posted does not matter. the same amount of space is used by a slow but steady stream of threads as would be used by a sudden rush of posting.
No, but seriously - if you have a limited resource (and the server has been slow recently) then it makes sense to optimize its use, by distributing the load.
this may seem correct, but it is so only when discussing the network resources of the server. metafilter is served off of a T1, if memory serves, which is a decent amount of bandwidth for the site. the resources for which we should be wary are the load upon the server itself; the requests to the database and the strains upon the hard drive of the computer.
distribution of load will, in no way, be beneficial in the case of physical load on the computer. if your hard drive is used often, it will wear down and errors will begin to occur (such as bad sectors). finally, the hard drive will crash. if all you modify is the distribution of the load, as opposed to the amount of load per day, you won't stave off the inevitable disk problems that matt has said have been occurring lately.
that is not to say things can't be improved. better search code could be put into place (as it stands, the search algorithm used by matt has been reported to be a linear, brute-force method which is both slow and hard on the server). the number of days viewable could be limited to 1 or 2, and long threads could be divided with an arbitrary number of comments per page (under the assumption not all will or want to view all comments in a thread).
posted by moz at 9:42 AM on November 12, 2002
"It would make sense to have recommended posting times according to traffic, based on timezones."
The server load is dependant on when people read and comment. Surely you don't think people would only read or comment based on their timezone? People use the site when they're able. Make sense how? Why does this have to be thought through here?
Matt is never going to tell people to post at noon in their timezone. Right? Even if he did people wouldn't do it that way. Right? And even if they did it wouldn't effect the server load because people use the site in there own sweet time. Right? And if people limited their comments to a short timezone window that would make for crappy discussions. Right? This is a non-starter.
"Why waste bandwidth on endless sentences of snarking?"
See? Now that's a good question. This is something we can actually talk about. What to do about members who insist on being cranky assholes.
posted by y6y6y6 at 9:47 AM on November 12, 2002
The server load is dependant on when people read and comment. Surely you don't think people would only read or comment based on their timezone? People use the site when they're able. Make sense how? Why does this have to be thought through here?
Matt is never going to tell people to post at noon in their timezone. Right? Even if he did people wouldn't do it that way. Right? And even if they did it wouldn't effect the server load because people use the site in there own sweet time. Right? And if people limited their comments to a short timezone window that would make for crappy discussions. Right? This is a non-starter.
"Why waste bandwidth on endless sentences of snarking?"
See? Now that's a good question. This is something we can actually talk about. What to do about members who insist on being cranky assholes.
posted by y6y6y6 at 9:47 AM on November 12, 2002
Hey, thanks moz for enlightening me. It's not the first time, either. My impression was that MeFi was much faster during slow traffic periods. I now realize I asked a stupid question and proposed a stupid solution. Sorry for that. Intuition isn't everything it's cracked up to be...
So it's all down to anildash now. Will he be able to face the dying MetaFilter hard drive? Soon enough to save the day? Keep your fingers crossed for the next episode.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:48 AM on November 12, 2002
So it's all down to anildash now. Will he be able to face the dying MetaFilter hard drive? Soon enough to save the day? Keep your fingers crossed for the next episode.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:48 AM on November 12, 2002
What to do about members who insist on being cranky assholes.
Indeed. For just as you have come to like me; so too have I come to dislike you.
Just kidding - though I do hate it when you're right, y6y6y6, though I guess I should be thankful it happens so infrequently. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:54 AM on November 12, 2002
Indeed. For just as you have come to like me; so too have I come to dislike you.
Just kidding - though I do hate it when you're right, y6y6y6, though I guess I should be thankful it happens so infrequently. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:54 AM on November 12, 2002
"Why waste bandwidth on endless sentences of snarking?"
Actually, y6y6y6, the delicious irony is that I posted that with you in mind. ;-)
posted by konolia at 10:03 AM on November 12, 2002
Actually, y6y6y6, the delicious irony is that I posted that with you in mind. ;-)
posted by konolia at 10:03 AM on November 12, 2002
Not to quote an 80s synth band or anything, but:
Enjoy the silence.
Mode is Synth Pop/New Wave. Do or die.
posted by j.edwards at 10:05 AM on November 12, 2002
Enjoy the silence.
Mode is Synth Pop/New Wave. Do or die.
posted by j.edwards at 10:05 AM on November 12, 2002
Hi, I just had a bowel movement and I was thinking about a Metatalk thread.
Actually, it's the other way around. MetaTalk threads can sometimes do funny things to one's bowels
posted by matteo at 10:14 AM on November 12, 2002
Actually, it's the other way around. MetaTalk threads can sometimes do funny things to one's bowels
posted by matteo at 10:14 AM on November 12, 2002
(Must resist urge to point out irony of spoiling quiet period on MeTa by making unnecessary post about quiet period on MeFi...)
posted by languagehat at 10:20 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by languagehat at 10:20 AM on November 12, 2002
Nice, languagehat! Ironic humor is the best kind of humor.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:43 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:43 AM on November 12, 2002
Are there places outside of MeTa and MeFi where Meta-related conversations occur? It seems like there ought to be an overflow valve for excess chattiness.
(Not that I'm snarking on chattiness, as I'm pretty off-topic chatty myself.)
posted by Shane at 11:09 AM on November 12, 2002
(Not that I'm snarking on chattiness, as I'm pretty off-topic chatty myself.)
posted by Shane at 11:09 AM on November 12, 2002
i should also say, before i forget, that distribution of load will of course ease the strain on the server (and perhaps decrease perceived latency) at a given time; my main point was that it won't necessarily detract from the total strain that the server suffers.
posted by moz at 11:12 AM on November 12, 2002
posted by moz at 11:12 AM on November 12, 2002
As it is, there's a very intense period when almost everyone posts and it slows things down for everybody. It would make sense to have recommended posting times according to traffic, based on timezones.
Henceforth, I will only post when I am not online.
posted by toothless joe at 11:16 AM on November 12, 2002
Henceforth, I will only post when I am not online.
posted by toothless joe at 11:16 AM on November 12, 2002
Are there places outside of MeTa and MeFi where Meta-related conversations occur?
Miguel's house?
posted by matteo at 11:22 AM on November 12, 2002
Miguel's house?
posted by matteo at 11:22 AM on November 12, 2002
Are there places outside of MeTa and MeFi where Meta-related conversations occur?
No.
posted by yhbc at 11:33 AM on November 12, 2002
No.
posted by yhbc at 11:33 AM on November 12, 2002
Are there places outside of MeTa and MeFi where Meta-related conversations occur?
No.
Would anyone like there to be?
posted by Shane at 11:58 AM on November 12, 2002
No.
Would anyone like there to be?
posted by Shane at 11:58 AM on November 12, 2002
Mig before I read all the comments let me post this: But I did read the comments, now my words are rhetorical.
Yes I do see where your coming from, but how to know the future. For example; hey! I have a great post but wow!? a lot of FPPs today. I'll wait until tomorrow as it will be a better time to post it, yet what if you see the same thing so you wait again?. Then if you're saving posts just imagine how large your stock pile would grow, enormous.
Some how to show a good example of the right rhythm of posts in Meta-Filter would be a great theme of things, in my opinion. But how? Be an example the best you can do. We are in a self policing community.
PS, I enjoyed the silence by catching up with the mode of Meta-missed posts of past.
posted by thomcatspike at 11:59 AM on November 12, 2002
Yes I do see where your coming from, but how to know the future. For example; hey! I have a great post but wow!? a lot of FPPs today. I'll wait until tomorrow as it will be a better time to post it, yet what if you see the same thing so you wait again?. Then if you're saving posts just imagine how large your stock pile would grow, enormous.
Some how to show a good example of the right rhythm of posts in Meta-Filter would be a great theme of things, in my opinion. But how? Be an example the best you can do. We are in a self policing community.
PS, I enjoyed the silence by catching up with the mode of Meta-missed posts of past.
posted by thomcatspike at 11:59 AM on November 12, 2002
Are there places outside of MeTa and MeFi where Meta-related conversations occur?
Isn't that what http://www.9622.net is for?
posted by timeistight at 12:00 PM on November 12, 2002
Isn't that what http://www.9622.net is for?
posted by timeistight at 12:00 PM on November 12, 2002
Aaaah! Timeistight keeps not getting my jokes!
Actually, yes; drop by anytime, Shane. Maybe even you'll (I can't believe I'm saying this) "come back".
posted by yhbc at 12:08 PM on November 12, 2002
Actually, yes; drop by anytime, Shane. Maybe even you'll (I can't believe I'm saying this) "come back".
posted by yhbc at 12:08 PM on November 12, 2002
Even you'll; you'll even. I know grammar proper and order word particularly.
posted by yhbc at 12:09 PM on November 12, 2002
posted by yhbc at 12:09 PM on November 12, 2002
..."come back".
Heh--at least the % of the population that gets that joke is getting smaller all the time. Or maybe that's a bad thing?
Thanks, I'll stop in. Oddly, the last group of people I hung out with on a 'net forum were all monkey-people. Especially flying-monkeys, but generally monkeys of any kind.
I've been kicking around the idea of starting a Delphi forum with no particular theme, too. Maybe just a place to kick ideas around and play with words, but then it could always expand to things like Meta-Babble.
posted by Shane at 12:18 PM on November 12, 2002
Heh--at least the % of the population that gets that joke is getting smaller all the time. Or maybe that's a bad thing?
Thanks, I'll stop in. Oddly, the last group of people I hung out with on a 'net forum were all monkey-people. Especially flying-monkeys, but generally monkeys of any kind.
I've been kicking around the idea of starting a Delphi forum with no particular theme, too. Maybe just a place to kick ideas around and play with words, but then it could always expand to things like Meta-Babble.
posted by Shane at 12:18 PM on November 12, 2002
Aaaah! Timeistight keeps not getting my jokes!
Sorry. Maybe I should be reading them aloud in a Massachusetts accent. "Pawk the caw" and all that.
posted by timeistight at 12:36 PM on November 12, 2002
Sorry. Maybe I should be reading them aloud in a Massachusetts accent. "Pawk the caw" and all that.
posted by timeistight at 12:36 PM on November 12, 2002
Isn't that what --------- is for?
Aren't we not supposed to mention that place here?
posted by mcwetboy at 12:41 PM on November 12, 2002
Aren't we not supposed to mention that place here?
posted by mcwetboy at 12:41 PM on November 12, 2002
I've always said "pahk the cah"
So that's why my Ted Kennedy routine always lays an egg.
posted by timeistight at 12:43 PM on November 12, 2002
So that's why my Ted Kennedy routine always lays an egg.
posted by timeistight at 12:43 PM on November 12, 2002
Shh. There is no cabal. These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along, nothing to see here.
posted by yhbc at 12:45 PM on November 12, 2002
posted by yhbc at 12:45 PM on November 12, 2002
geez, I dunno miguel - I already have a complex timing method down for my posts and if I had to add time zones in too things, could get out of control.
moz, there was a tagline in one of your posts -
metafilter: a linear, brute-force method.
posted by madamjujujive at 1:12 PM on November 12, 2002
moz, there was a tagline in one of your posts -
metafilter: a linear, brute-force method.
posted by madamjujujive at 1:12 PM on November 12, 2002
Oddly, the last group of people I hung out with on a 'net forum were all monkey-people.
Be careful: monkeys are vicious little buggers, who will bite your finger clean off at the knuckle if they get the chance.
paraphrased from UncleFes ... too drubk to search
posted by walrus at 2:11 PM on November 12, 2002
Be careful: monkeys are vicious little buggers, who will bite your finger clean off at the knuckle if they get the chance.
paraphrased from UncleFes ... too drubk to search
posted by walrus at 2:11 PM on November 12, 2002
I can't wait until my hair is long enough to give myself a nuclear pompadour!
posted by mcsweetie at 3:21 PM on November 12, 2002
posted by mcsweetie at 3:21 PM on November 12, 2002
I finally had pancakes on Saturday for the first time! In Nyack, NY. Pumpkin. Reminds me of thick buckwheat crepes (sarasin). Yummy!
posted by ParisParamus at 6:36 PM on November 12, 2002
posted by ParisParamus at 6:36 PM on November 12, 2002
30 years from now, people will write trilogies about the pompadour I'm gonna have.
posted by mcsweetie at 7:17 PM on November 12, 2002
posted by mcsweetie at 7:17 PM on November 12, 2002
Shh. There is no cabal. These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along, nothing to see here.
Huh? There's a Jedi in our midst? WTF? Hey everybody! yhbc is a Jedi!!! yhbc is a Jedi!!!
posted by ashbury at 7:30 PM on November 12, 2002
Huh? There's a Jedi in our midst? WTF? Hey everybody! yhbc is a Jedi!!! yhbc is a Jedi!!!
posted by ashbury at 7:30 PM on November 12, 2002
Metafilter, I don't like the sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating--not like you. You're soft and smooth.
posted by gsteff at 10:27 PM on November 12, 2002
posted by gsteff at 10:27 PM on November 12, 2002
The Cabal is made up of Jedi now? The plot thickens.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 10:33 AM on November 13, 2002
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 10:33 AM on November 13, 2002
I use the rhythm method, myself.
You know what they call people who use the rhythm method?
Parents.
posted by dg at 3:55 AM on November 14, 2002
You know what they call people who use the rhythm method?
Parents.
posted by dg at 3:55 AM on November 14, 2002
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Enjoy the silence.
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:52 AM on November 12, 2002