It's worth the extra effort and will make Mefi a better place.

September 6, 2004 6:57 AM

This really, really sucks. It's quite presumptuous to assume that 17,500 people know everything about the band that you like. Please educate us by providing background information, so we can learn about new things. It's worth the extra effort and will make Mefi a better place.
posted by PrinceValium to Etiquette/Policy at 6:57 AM (25 comments total)

It's also pretty presumptuous to assume that this is worthy of posting on the front page at all. I mean, a friend of mine was burgled a week ago. Am I allowed to post that as an FPP?
posted by seanyboy at 7:18 AM on September 6, 2004

Whatever. What a stupid call-out.

There's stuff posted everyday that I don't "know about." I am in Canada, I have never seen this band live, nor do I own any of their albums. Yet, I still found it interesting at how much stuff was stolen, and that (as per my follow up) that this kind of thing happens to bands all the time.
posted by Quartermass at 7:25 AM on September 6, 2004

See the MeTa post two down. These call-outs have gotten out of hand.
posted by Quartermass at 7:27 AM on September 6, 2004

But you had heard of them before, no?
You're already ahead of 90% of us.
posted by PrinceValium at 7:36 AM on September 6, 2004

seanyboy, matt himself posted a 'some blogger dude nobody knows gets burgled' thread a week or so ago. the thing was more like one of those X10 ads than a metafilter post. when i humorously suggested in a comment that he was shilling for memocam, he deleted my comment. i'd have to say that 'people we don't know getting robbed' threads are the new wave - go for it!
posted by quonsar at 7:48 AM on September 6, 2004

These guys got robbed, can anyone help? (and no, apparently they weren't insured)
posted by johnny novak at 8:31 AM on September 6, 2004

This callout 'really really sucks'. ;-P
posted by mischief at 8:45 AM on September 6, 2004

Hey, I want a new car. I'll make the page, you guys can fpp it.
posted by angry modem at 8:45 AM on September 6, 2004

It is good practice to include background links, whatever the topic of discussion.

That having been said, the thread self meta'd quite nicely;

keswick - 'Hey, I'm poor. Somebody want to give me some money, too? I can probably write a few bad songs in drop-D if that helps'

lotsofno - ' i saw engine down about a month and a half ago at a small show, opening for rainer maria.

their bass player moves like a very tall robot. they weren't very good.'

It was interesting to me in that this resource (internet fan donation) was not available to the Sonics when they had their gear twoc'd. But that is about as far as it went.
posted by asok at 8:57 AM on September 6, 2004

q, that post of mat's was interesting. it was the web cam that made it worthwhile, in my pov. I hear about bands who get robbed every week. Who gives a shit? I mean, if it were U2, sure (cause then it would be funny as hell that a bunch of rich hypocritical morons with heavy security got robbed), but some mostly unheard of band gets their van broken into? Please. The post was pure crap. (And I've heard of the band.)
posted by dobbs at 8:59 AM on September 6, 2004

Wow, that was pretty uninteresting.

Quonsar, the point of my post about the unknown blogger getting burglarized was that he had the photos from his wacky webcam setup to prove it. That made it interesting to me, to see that someone used tech to catch someone red handed.

This was just some report of an unfortunate incident for some band I've never heard of. There wasn't really anything novel about it, and it was just begging for money (like the record company can't afford a new truck and trailer for someone?).
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:08 AM on September 6, 2004

dobbs,

I've heard of U2 as well, but seeing as you're such a fan, here's some shadenfreude on a plate for you.
posted by johnny novak at 9:16 AM on September 6, 2004

Still, was it bad enough to get called out?
posted by Quartermass at 9:57 AM on September 6, 2004

These guys got robbed, can anyone help? (and no, apparently they weren't insured)

Oh, and the post sucked.
posted by languagehat at 10:14 AM on September 6, 2004

1. It was, as you say, egregiously bad.
2. Nitpick - 'burglarize' is an ugly word for an ugly event. Call it 'burgle' - it's so much nicer. And quicker. Plus you'll sound posh & british, and have greater career success.
3. Mathowie, why'd you delete a citical comment - or is that privileged information? I thought you're post was fine, I just didn't know you did that.
posted by dash_slot- at 10:57 AM on September 6, 2004

Mathowie, why'd you delete a citical comment - or is that privileged information?

Because I thought it was a pointless "pepsi blue!" comment, many of which I delete when I see them. I ax them because they're often disruptive, add noise, and take away from the discussion taking place. The guy didn't put the post up or fake the robbery to sell webcams, and the webcam company didn't tell me to post it. Quonsar's claims were ludicrous and didn't merit a response.

There certainly are cases where someone can make a legit beef that a post seems like a shill, but more often than not, anything remotely connected in any way, shape, or form to a product will garner at least one "pepsi blue!" comment from someone looking to make Yet Another Inside Joke, for the sake of making the joke.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:42 AM on September 6, 2004

Thanks for the response, Matt.

I guess that there's a risk involved, when presented with a comment which if it weren't critical of the site owner, it would be deleted with no question, but looks like something akin to censorship when User#1 is the target.

I guess it's quite a rare occurrence, though? I mean, deleting comments at all, is rare; deleted comments critical of you are like hen's teeth, yeah?
posted by dash_slot- at 12:32 PM on September 6, 2004

Quonsar's claims were ludicrous and didn't merit a response.

wow. my "claims" consisted of an offhand one-liner in a subsequent, unrelated thread. something to the effect of "i certainly hope this is protected by memocam". it was a jibe, not a claim or an accusation. i agree that it didn't merit a response which is why i was surprised you took the trouble to delete it.
posted by quonsar at 2:23 PM on September 6, 2004

Next time somebody uses any variation of phrase 'call out', I'm'a smackin' 'em.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:11 PM on September 6, 2004

My favorite metafilter username to say out loud is darukaru.

(not that anyone asked)
posted by iconomy at 4:17 PM on September 6, 2004

Though it looks like from the replay he may have been safe, the runner was called out.

Just try and get past my tiger style, stavros.
posted by ChasFile at 4:23 PM on September 6, 2004

*goes mental*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:34 PM on September 6, 2004

Count me among those who don't grasp Matt's passionate crusade against occasonal flippant or "ludicrous" comments while letting entire huge steaming crap-piles of threads sit on the front page in perpetuity.

Just sayin'.
posted by soyjoy at 10:00 AM on September 7, 2004

quonsar: an offhand one-liner in a subsequent, unrelated thread
posted by turbodog at 11:53 AM on September 7, 2004

You know, I don't always find every single post on Metafilter to be fascinating. And if Matt wants to delete something because he finds it to be somewhat less than interesting, fine--it's his right.

What made the post so bad, though? Specifically, worth calling crap? I don't call some MeFites what I think they are, mostly out of consideration for them and the others that read this.

What I do like: the way PrinceValium posted his displeasure, Mathowie posted his-- that's polite and useful. Just calling something crap is not gonna improve Mefi at all. Pretty much just makes me think you talk like the Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons and overlook any valid point you may have had.
posted by chinese_fashion at 8:12 AM on September 8, 2004