I discovered TRIBE.net a couple of weeks ago

August 4, 2003 12:48 PM

I discovered TRIBE.net a couple of weeks ago, and I'm smitten. This little anti-FRIENDSTER/nuevo-FIREFLY is currently in beta, but seems to be making the rounds... and there's not better time to make your mark, than during beta.

So why bring it up, here? Well, cuz there's a Metafilter tribe (a sub-set of the social network, not unlike a USENET group)... and I want y'all to come and play!

More inside.
posted by silusGROK to MetaFilter-Related at 12:48 PM (37 comments total)

The tribe you have requested (mefi) could not be found on the system.
posted by jonson at 12:56 PM on August 4, 2003

A couple of points: the servers have been a little quirky (hammered, is more like it), so you may need to log in/sign up via the home page, then navigate to the Metafilter tribe "manually": Click on the TRIBE tab, then scroll down to CULTURES & COMMUNITY on the list... that's where you'll find it.

Also, if you're interested in making a difference, check out the TribeIdeas group... an informal feature request forum (which you can also find under CULTURES & COMMUNITY).
posted by silusGROK at 12:57 PM on August 4, 2003

Where's the more inside?
posted by Witty at 12:57 PM on August 4, 2003

Wow, jonson, you're fast!
posted by silusGROK at 12:58 PM on August 4, 2003

oh
posted by Witty at 12:58 PM on August 4, 2003

okay, I joined... now approve me, dammit, or was this whole thing just a mean spirited taunt, yet one more way in which jonson can be rejected!?! Et tu, vis1on? Goodbye, cruel world!!
posted by jonson at 1:22 PM on August 4, 2003

You've been approved, already... sheesh!

Now where's my listing in the jonson who's who?!

Speaking of approvals: I'm approving anyone that asks and provides a mefi handle (preferrably with a link to their member profile page). If you find that some bastard's stolen your identity, let me know, and I'll do what I can.
posted by silusGROK at 1:32 PM on August 4, 2003

So let me get this straight... you've set up a discussion group for a discussion group?
posted by crunchland at 1:48 PM on August 4, 2003

I've set up a community site for a community that currently has limited ways to interact: no self-linking on metafilter, meet-ups are a pain in the neck to schedule, folks can't ask the community for help with questions.

Metatalk did a little of that... but Metafilter and Metatalk aren't really about community as much as they're about content.

Not a bad thing, but now that we've got a community, why not use some tools to foster/encourage it? #mefi is fun and all... but chat rooms aren't exactly everyone's cup-o-tea.
posted by silusGROK at 1:54 PM on August 4, 2003

how did we ever have community before the internet?
posted by quonsar at 1:59 PM on August 4, 2003

Um.

We talked to our neighbors.

And went bowling.
posted by silusGROK at 2:07 PM on August 4, 2003

in most communities, you can leave when you're ready to move on.
posted by soyjoy at 2:38 PM on August 4, 2003

Well, if you set up a bowling team, I'd be all over that. As it is, I'd say I probably have as much interaction with y'all as is necessary.
posted by crunchland at 2:43 PM on August 4, 2003

So, I guess we have an answer to this, after all? If nothing else, we can see if there is enough real demand for further and closer interaction between users.
posted by dg at 3:41 PM on August 4, 2003

NB: There seems to be a problem with accepting requests to join the tribe... I think their servers are getting slammed.

Anyway, if I don't accept your request in short order, e-mail me directly with the e-mail address you used and I'll manually invite you.

Great service... but it's still in beta for a reason.

*sigh*
posted by silusGROK at 3:55 PM on August 4, 2003

I think their servers are getting slammed.

Hmm, why could that be happening?
posted by signal at 4:52 PM on August 4, 2003

I was going to sign up until they demanded my full name and postal code.
posted by timeistight at 5:03 PM on August 4, 2003

signal... I'd like to think that we caused it, but TRIBE has been getting a bit of attention lately.

timeistight... It's a point of trust issue, I guess. Did you take a moment to read their privacy policy? Did you consider giving them a pseudonym? I'd give them a zip that's at least close, though, as location is central to some of the networking features.
posted by silusGROK at 5:20 PM on August 4, 2003

Vis10n, you may like to update the e-mail address in your profile.
posted by dg at 5:21 PM on August 4, 2003

No I didn't do those things, Vis10n. I'm not even sure why it stopped me. It's not like I have much to hide; anyone could find my name address and a map to my home in about four ckicks from this page. It was more finding myself signing up for something I didn't even understand and being require to give that much personal info without an explanation of why that turned me off.

Maybe I will try pseudonym and lurk.
posted by timeistight at 5:37 PM on August 4, 2003

timeistight... pseudonyms are handy. As for the being asked for so much information so early, I'd have to agree. It would be nice to have some sort of staged entry into the community—you should bring that up over in the TRIBEIDEAS group!

DG: In my metafilter profile? I've used that one for ages, and I haven't had any problems that I know of. Are you getting bounced messages?
posted by silusGROK at 5:50 PM on August 4, 2003

Vis10n, I applied to join the MeFi tribe and, after what you wrote here, e-mailed you at the address in your profile. I got a reply (auto-reply, I assume) saying that you are not using this address much now and only check it once a week or so.
posted by dg at 5:55 PM on August 4, 2003

isn't a mefi group a bit against the spirit of the tribe system? it's hardly friend-of-a-friend if someone goes from one mefi member to another.
posted by andrew cooke at 6:18 PM on August 4, 2003

Good question, Andrew... but here's how I see it: we're encouraged to reach out to our peer groups and invite them to join TRIBE.net.

I did that: I invited my web-savvy business associates, clients, friends, family, and some second degree folks that only know me by association... then I invited another of my peer groups—all of you folks.

Those that join, are encouraged to find others that share common interests and to join or create tribes.

I did that, too: I created tribes for folks that like postcards, folks that are mormon (or are interested in the Church), another for BYU alumnus, another for folks that live in my region, and another for mormons that want to do hold scripture study (albeit remotely), and then I created a tribe for folks that love metafilter.

I also joined a bunch of other tribes... one's for cat owners, go players, folks interested in blogging, a quirky one for people into social network engineering, and (of course) the one for TRIBE.net members interested in improving the system.

I've also started to query my networks (tribe-based, degree-based, and the network at-large) for information using the LISTING system: I've asked for some help networking on a business project, help finding an antique go set, and I've told everyone about my GOING POSTAL postcard exchange... in September or October, I'll post about an available bedroom in my condo.

In the end, I've created plenty of points of contact between me and the TRIBE.net family... all through various interests, or through the interests of my first and second degree associations... and that's what I'm guessing will happen to everyone else that I've invited to join: they'll either join, get involved at several levels, and stick around; or they'll join, not do anything, and loose interest; or they'll not join in the first place.

So that's my take.

I hope I answered your question.
posted by silusGROK at 7:26 PM on August 4, 2003

sweet. the new friendster. THE NEW FRIENDSTER!

you all know friendster's dead, right?

gawker said so.

anyhow. this is one train i'm jumping on early! woo!
posted by fishfucker at 7:26 PM on August 4, 2003

I'm not into the hook-up scene... so I was never attracted to FRIENDSTER, but from what I've heard, this is the anti-FRIENDSTER.

Time will tell.

Can't wait to have you join-up fishfucker... the more the merrier!
posted by silusGROK at 7:32 PM on August 4, 2003

friendster isn't necessarily a hook-up scene, really. there are just a lot of people who use it for that. In my neigborhood, all the scenester kids are "friendsters" with each other, and they will post events they are going to or new club nights they're involved with or other pertinent local news.

i see the tribe.net functionality working well for this, and so far, it appears faster -- instead of *not* loading a page that it can't get properly from the db it seems like it'll just load what it can get, which is a great improvement (for example, there's been instances where i've posted a reply, etc, and it won't show up until i hit reload a couple of times, but i can still see everything else on the page.)
posted by fishfucker at 12:37 AM on August 5, 2003

Looks a lot like Community Zero, a company I loathe because they started off free then went pay-only with no way to export all the content me and some friends had created over the two preceding years.

Once burned, twice shy. There's a hair-metal song in there somewhere.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:52 AM on August 5, 2003

Also : wonderchicken irregulars. Heh.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:03 AM on August 5, 2003

aww. the mefi tribe was the first one i joined with membership approval needed. i was pleasantly (and surprisingly) overcome with a feeling of home.
posted by VulcanMike at 6:57 AM on August 5, 2003

stavros has no testimonials.

Stavros is a eunuch? That's news...
posted by dash_slot- at 9:13 AM on August 5, 2003

Vis10n: I requested membership. Looking forward to how this pans out.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:43 AM on August 6, 2003

I did too, and got an acceptance notice, but now I can't log in. Bah.
posted by languagehat at 9:47 AM on August 6, 2003

stavrosthewondercapon?
posted by timeistight at 9:47 AM on August 6, 2003

languagehat, what happens when you log in? I'm not having a problem, but then there was a big 13-hour gap between my two postings...

If you can log in with your email and password, but can't get to the metafilter area, click on "tribes" and there should be a heading "My Tribes" at the top of the page, with the link to Metafilter just under it. Navigation is pretty clunky (unless I just haven't figured out the speedy way to do things yet) and I want the site to stop bugging me for my password all the time, but it's interesting.
posted by taz at 11:01 PM on August 6, 2003

Yeah, I find the navigation a bit awkward, but assumed that this was caused by the nature of the site, having to cater for so many different areas and permutations that users will want to access. I felt that there should be an easier way to bookmark a tribe as well, because I managed to do it the first time, but then could not figure out how to do it again.

Ditto with the password thing, too.
posted by dg at 12:06 AM on August 7, 2003

A couple points... you should now be able to access the tribe via http://mefi.tribe.net/, which is pretty damn direct. : )

Also, they're working on "REMEMBER ME" for passwords (a la Yahoo!).

Stavros, I've been chatting with The Powers That Be, and it looks like they're going to incorporate some form of external integration to a contact manager... I'm pushing for e-mail integration, and a contact download that is compatible with PALM.

Languagehat... are you still having problems? Let me know, and I'll yell at someone.
posted by silusGROK at 2:52 PM on August 7, 2003