What can we do to encourage people to pad out their NewsFilter posts?

July 24, 2003 7:43 AM

What can we do to encourage people to pad out their NewsFilter posts? Yes it is an interesting piece of news, and yes I am sure some interesting comments may follow but surely some extra links to relevant elements of the story is not too difficult? C'mon folks, off your fat asses.
posted by Frasermoo to Etiquette/Policy at 7:43 AM (14 comments total)

..hmm i just realised that my oh so un-PC comment at the end will bring the 'brigade' out, i apologise beforehand.
posted by Frasermoo at 7:46 AM on July 24, 2003

Frasermoo, you don't understand. Any time spent digging up additional links means someone else will beat you to the newsfilter post. Gotta have our priorities.
posted by soyjoy at 7:52 AM on July 24, 2003

"Yes it is an interesting piece of news"

No. It's not. It's filler. Very handy on a slow news day.

"and yes I am sure some interesting comments may follow"

Especially if you live for dumb one-liners.

"but surely some extra links to relevant elements of the story is not too difficult?"

If you really feel this wacky news, dog turd of a post needs elaboration, feel free to add links in the comments. That's sort of the point of MetaFilter. You find cool stuff, then others add their cool stuff, and pretty soon we're bursting at the seams with cool stuff.

"Giant mutant killer seal eats Nobel laureate!!! Film at 11."
posted by y6y6y6 at 7:54 AM on July 24, 2003

I was thinking this morning that maybe a good way to actually, um, filter the news posts would be to add a note that goes with the "generally haven't seen/interesting to other people" note on the posting page that encourages people to post news stories that are still going to be interesting/important in 20 years. (The Supreme Court decision overruling sodomy and the attacks on the World Trade Center= still going to be important in 20 years; a concert cancelled in New York, not so much.)

Of course, now that I think about it, nobody reads the guidelines anyway, but at least then when we have a breaking news story about Cheney's plantar's warts, everybody can roll their eyes and bitch about how unimportant that will be in 20 years instead of bringing up pancakes or pikes.
posted by headspace at 7:56 AM on July 24, 2003

What can we do to encourage ... NewsFilter

Just give up and admit defeat, and/or call anyone who disapproves in any way a pastel suited jackal. It certainly worked first time around.
posted by walrus at 8:02 AM on July 24, 2003

I'll never admit defeat. Defeat is for penguins and Antarctic scientists.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:04 AM on July 24, 2003

"what can we do to encourage people who poop on the lawn to dress it up with a couple of flowers planted in teh pile?"

/secretly likes newsfilter, this one not so much.
posted by Space Coyote at 8:28 AM on July 24, 2003

See, you have it backwards. We don't need more links, we need fewer links. I haven't stumbled across anything I thought was worth posting to MeFi since March of this year.

Now, let's say I do come upon some news story that I think has to be covered on MeFi. I'm probably wrong. It probably doesn't need to be on MeFi. Maybe it shouldn't even be on MeFi. Still, let's give me the benefit of the doubt.

Now, I'm supposed to go do a simple Google search or two to try to dredge up even more links - even though the one I have is the best thing I've found since March of this year? How likely is it that those extra links are any good? Not very. One like, one post. Let's keep it focused people. Sure, if you have a few supplemental links and they really add to the post, feel free to throw them in, but don't for a minute think that 10 sub-par links somehow add up to one good link. They don't. That's just not the way it works.
posted by willnot at 9:52 AM on July 24, 2003

f-moo: well, if you like that kind of thing...

Personally, I don't see the need.
posted by mischief at 9:55 AM on July 24, 2003

What can we do to encourage people to pad out their NewsFilter posts?...surely some extra links to relevant elements of the story is not too difficult

I appreciate a well-researched post, but there is no requirement to have anything but one link. (To me the question should be whether or not the link is a good one.) The link to the posting page is "Post a Link." There's nothing on the posting page about doing your homework. The About page says "anyone can contribute a link." There's nothing in the guidelines about padding the post with extra links.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:15 AM on July 24, 2003

but at least then when we have a breaking news story about Cheney's plantar's warts,

I didn't realize Cheney had a plantar. It's too bad his plantar has warts.
posted by Tin Man at 1:55 PM on July 24, 2003

I didn't realize Cheney had a plantar.

it's in his back yard, next to the berbaque.
posted by quonsar at 1:58 PM on July 24, 2003

What can we do to encourage people to pad out their NewsFilter posts?

Frasermoo, you don't understand. Any time spent digging up additional links means someone else will beat you to the newsfilter post. Gotta have our priorities.

I'll never admit defeat. Defeat is for penguins and Antarctic scientists.

Add links to your comments within the thread; were not just members, but: A Community.
posted by thomcatspike at 5:02 PM on July 24, 2003

Post page: slowly scrolling (think Star Wars intro) flash animation with the entire guidelines going by. Multiple choice questions to test whether or not you read the dang thing. 3 checkboxes (a: is this really interesting? b:does this relate to Iraq? c: is this a re-hack of a previous post?), only then can you hit "post".

24 hours later, your post shows up on the front page!

Hey, if it won't be interesting tomorrow, it's not interesting today.
posted by signal at 8:10 AM on July 25, 2003