Issues posts

March 16, 2003 7:03 PM

Is this (this, or this) a new phase in the life of Metafilter? Meta the Meta? I for one support it.
posted by blue_beetle to Etiquette/Policy at 7:03 PM (29 comments total)

Sorry, that third link should have been this.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:05 PM on March 16, 2003

Tonight, might've been MeFi's Altamont if you ask me.
posted by jonmc at 7:13 PM on March 16, 2003

It's sort of like when the Simpsons started featuring the Comic Book Guy in every single episode.
posted by PrinceValium at 7:28 PM on March 16, 2003

Don't forget "rock" survived Altamont and that band had another hit or two.

Did the posting rules change? Where does it say "Every post must have a political agenda?"

Clevershark was off first and letterneversent took his gloves off, but quonsar came off the bench. Does the Third Man In rule apply at Metafilter?
posted by ?! at 7:34 PM on March 16, 2003

Tonight, might've been MeFi's Altamont if you ask me.

I knew Matt shouldn't have hired those Hell's Angels to guard the boards
posted by RobbieFal at 8:03 PM on March 16, 2003

*hefts his weighted pool cue, looks around menacingly*
posted by Vidiot at 8:12 PM on March 16, 2003

Glad I could help innovate.
posted by letterneversent at 8:46 PM on March 16, 2003

Interesting occurrence, terrible precedent.
posted by varmint at 10:28 PM on March 16, 2003

The first thread to set this off should have been deleted, IMO. The second and thirt are the equivalent of pancakes posts placed on the front page.
posted by Space Coyote at 10:38 PM on March 16, 2003

At least clevershark's initial post had some relevance to the issues currently surrounding the war in Iraq, and Saddam Hussein's history of brutality, whether or not you agree with an invasion. Funny how each thread about George Bush's mental acuity, relevant or not, goes virtually unchallenged. Are posters so insecure they must scramble to make a satirical counter-post for every unfashionable FFP they see? Letterneversent's post is damn near one of the lamest little pissing matches I've seen on the front pages of MeFi.
posted by dhoyt at 10:55 PM on March 16, 2003

Letterneversent's post is damn near one of the lamest little pissing matches I've seen on the front pages of MeFi.


Uuuhhhmmm, you're not looking very hard, are you? (And I really don't think you bothered to read the Iraq/Kurd/Gassing thread or you'd know that things there aren't quite at face value for the post you want to see ...)
posted by Wulfgar! at 11:27 PM on March 16, 2003

Mefi doesn't need more of anything, if you ask me. It already has too much of everything.
posted by crunchland at 4:52 AM on March 17, 2003

MetaFilter: Too much of everything, not enough of nothing.
posted by ColdChef at 5:00 AM on March 17, 2003

the initial post was basically a 15 year old double post. the second one was just childish. the third one was the only one that I thought was even remotely interesting.
posted by angry modem at 5:27 AM on March 17, 2003

All I was saying was that I used to hold this site in pretty high regard and thought we did some amazing stuff. We still do occasionally, but all the pointless meanness and pissing contests and one upmanship by the usual suspects made me sick. For the first time since I started actively participating here, last night I wouldnt've blamed matt if he wanted to pull the plug.
posted by jonmc at 5:35 AM on March 17, 2003

go cry in your beer, jonmc.
posted by quonsar at 5:41 AM on March 17, 2003

Hey, these are not ordinary circumstances. People are worried and they want to talk about these issues. Other sites have the same problem; strict rules would make a difference. I think we should let it pass for now.
posted by MzB at 5:52 AM on March 17, 2003

MzB is probably right; things are edgy, people are feeling edgy, it's not the right time for a real evaluation. I don't like the recent hostile outbursts either, but I'm hoping it's a world-gone-crazy-thing and not a mefi-thing.
posted by taz at 7:37 AM on March 17, 2003

I'm hoping it's a world-gone-crazy-thing

I think so, and I don't think you can fight it right now.

I caught a bit of Fox News (which was on in the break room) at work and they were speaking in terms of "...WHEN the troops will go in," not IF.

I'm a pinko-commy-peacenick-treehugger, but I'm just starting to think, Get it over with. I can't dispute that Saddam is an asshole, even if Bush is just being an oppourtunist.

Get it all over with already. Fuksake. At least Mefi will probably be better off afterwards.
posted by Shane at 8:17 AM on March 17, 2003

"all the pointless meanness and pissing contests and one upmanship by the usual suspects made me sick."

Amen.

"People are worried and they want to talk about these issues."

Which justifies pissing contests and one upmanship how?

It's not VentFilter. It's not StressReliefFilter. Being "worried" is no justification for peeing on the front page. If you want to comment on a front page post, then go ahead an comment on it. In the thread. That's how it's done. Are you really saying it's okay to move comments out of the thread and onto the front page?

If we let people make their comment on a post by submitting another post we seriously reduce the value of the site. I think it should be nipped in the bud ASAP.
posted by y6y6y6 at 9:21 AM on March 17, 2003

it's just a website. now, please wipe up the sticky remnants of your adolescent infatuation with it and stop whining. jonmc too.
posted by quonsar at 10:50 AM on March 17, 2003

And why didn't that occur to you at 4:28 PM PST yesterday?
posted by ?! at 12:30 PM on March 17, 2003

Does it occur to anyone that dragging every little thing you don't like into MeTa just encourages those who seek attention? Well, I know it does occur to lots of people, but no-one seems to take the advice to just stay away from the threads that offend and they will wither away. Many here seem to be drawn to bad threads like a magnet and, instead of ignoring them and letting them die, they are forced for some reason to validate them by participating.

Natural selection has been working for millions of years - why should MetaFilter be any different? Support the strong, ignore the weak and we can improve the breed.

Remember too, that on the other end of that piece of wire is a human being. Anyone who says they are not concerned about current world events (at the very least) must be living in a cave, either physical or mental. So, we are all having a bad day at once? Try tolerance for a while and see what marvels it can bring.
[/sermon]

no, this is not a call for a filter mechanism of any sort, as that would just make it worse
posted by dg at 2:20 PM on March 17, 2003

ColdChef said: MetaFilter: Too much of everything, not enough of nothing.

...and to think it all started from a whole lotta nothing.
posted by yonderboy at 2:48 PM on March 17, 2003

I thought it was funny. I've heard quite enough about Saddam Hussein...
posted by Mars Saxman at 3:21 PM on March 17, 2003

Drop some nukes, you're ruining the web until you do!
Next Up: Prolonged fears of war and rampant Mefi Newfilter turn Shane into a raving Dittohead.
"Recycling is a communist conspiracy to diminish demand for paper and aluminum and thus hurt Big Business's sales of these material!"
posted by Shane at 4:32 PM on March 17, 2003

mefi still rules. next!
posted by mcsweetie at 9:31 PM on March 17, 2003

The first two were shrill.
Quonsar's satire hit the mark and put a cap on the trend.
It's not like it was rabbits or anything...
posted by me3dia at 10:05 AM on March 18, 2003

I, for one, support our new meta meta overlords.
posted by Keyser Soze at 12:05 AM on March 19, 2003