January 2013 Archives (all archives)
January 31
Would it help if I focused on the hedgehog?
Was there an alternate way I could have formatted this post? The main link is to the promo website that will eventually have the featured cute puppy video but doesn't yet, but there are two other links (to an existing cute puppy video on youtube, as well as an associated hedgehog-interest story). Is the problem that the link to the promo site was the only one above the fold, and the main video of interest is not actually up yet? Should I just wait until after Sunday and link to the video post-Puppy Bowl? Should I have focused on the three-legged hedgehog overcoming her disability? Or is the collection as a whole just not really FPP-worthy? Thanks in advance for suggestions and constructive criticism.
Don't potty-train your cat?
Help me find a comment made on a cat-related post sometime in recent years. The gist of the comment was, "Don't potty-train your cat, cat feces is uniquely toxic to the environment when disposed of through the sewers." It contained a link to a page supposedly backing that claim up.
(I don't recall whether it was a joke or not, FWIW.)
Worlds collide
I was pretty surprised to see Jessamyn on Venture Beat this morning. Great picture!
January 30
Show Us Your Desks
In honor of this FPP and cause it's been a while, I propose a 2013 round of "Show Us Where You Work!" Cause sharing is caring.
The $2.5 million comment
Last night I dreamed that Metafilter introduced premium comments that you had to pay to view, and some company posted a very long comment that was listed at $2.5 million. There was wild speculation as to its contents, and the motivation behind the high price, but of course no-one could afford it, so we never found out what it said. [more inside]
January 29
First Post, Pretty Cool, Not Blue Enough
Halfbuckaroo here, got a hit in Key West for the first time in probably 10 years, and I thought it was groovy as hell and I'm reporting. Bad karaoke at AQUA, and a mefite from Chicago shows up, and it was superior. I thought I was alone, and yet. I'm gratified and delighted. small happiness, and utter delight. Thanks MeFi.
Why the post titles?
Is there a way to turn off the giant overwhelming post titles and return to the halcyon days of yore where titles only showed on the post's page?
77: Gay Teen Denouement
Episode 77 of the MetaFilter podcast runs about 1hr 40min and was recorded yesterday afternoon with jessamyn and cortex. It features a run-down of our favorite posts from across the sites for January 2013. [more inside]
January 28
Is the word "Cracker" acceptable on MetaFilter?
Is this comment really going to stand? I've seen way less questionable comments get deleted so I'm a little surprised that it's still around. I have to admit, it is clever, but I think this may set a precedent where you can use any slur as long as you do it in a clever enough manner.
The title-display question
Is the title-display question closed? If so, is there any alternative other than the 0%-size solution? [more inside]
Tags with weird characters
When tags with non-ASCII characters appear in the tag search results, the links are broken (while tags with non-Latin-1 characters are simply not accessible by any means). Tags with percent signs make the server grumpy. Underscores also seem to be treated somewhat inconsistently (or at least counterintuitively) by the tag search. [more inside]
January 27
Speaking of mental health...
I remember reading either a post or a comment that listed some sources for, I believe, free online counselling services. Can't find the post or comment in question. Does anyone kmow where it is? It was probably an askme.
Mental health is all in good fun
this post seems problematic to me.
January 26
Pony Request: 160 hours between AskMes?
I like to post AskMes at around 10 am on Tuesdays.
If I have my post ready at 9:15 or 9:30, I'm prevented from posting until it's been a full 168 hours since my last post.
I think the one-post-a-week rule works really well, but it would be nice if it were a little less strict.
Would you consider changing it from 168 hours between posts to 160 hours or 162 hours or even 166 hours? [more inside]
January 25
Name that shampoo!
An AskMeFi comment mentioned a shampoo in response to a question from someone with thinning hair. There was a link in the comment. I believe the shampoo had some ingredient that is very stimulating for the scalp. I can't find that post and comment again even though I have been sifting and searching through tags about hair loss and such. I forgot to add to favorites! Thanks!
Quora
Right before this post was deleted, I wrote up a bit of a rant about Quora for those interested, explaining my theory of how the site is structured and why it is evil. [more inside]
Linky Pony: URL search for previous postings
Hi-
I'm much more of a Green user than a Blue user. However, I came across an article that might be interesting for FPP submission that was published in December.
I realized that I didn't really have any way of finding out whether this particular article had been posted before, without knowing the keywords that someone might have used to describe it.
Might it be possible to create a 'search by url' function, either in the 'new post' page or somewhere else, to be able to paste in a url and see whether it's been linked to on MeFi ever? It seems like this might help cut down on duplicates (especially if it was part of the new post submission process). ...or am i missing something super obvious?
I realized that I didn't really have any way of finding out whether this particular article had been posted before, without knowing the keywords that someone might have used to describe it.
Might it be possible to create a 'search by url' function, either in the 'new post' page or somewhere else, to be able to paste in a url and see whether it's been linked to on MeFi ever? It seems like this might help cut down on duplicates (especially if it was part of the new post submission process). ...or am i missing something super obvious?
Old AskMe: if Apple had designed a car?
Within (I think) the last couple years, someone had asked in Ask MetaFilter something to the effect of, what new cars are the Apple products of cars? That is, what cars these are Apple-like in designs and details, quality of materials, user-friendliness, etc. I can't find this thread now—does anyone remember it? Thanks.
January 24
Many versions of the same thing
I like the FPPs that have many versions of the same thing, such as this cups and balls post. I'm sure I've seen others in the past, but I can't remember them, and the search engine is letting me down. Are there any other FPPs that have many versions of the same thing - song, short film, etc?
I need help finding a recent Askme with a list of tech job boards
I thought there was a question recently from someone looking for a job that basically said - "Here is where I'm looking online...is this the best I can do?" Someone in the 3rd or 4th comment provided a list of other job boards to look for work. I think the search and the boards were all IT/tech related but can't remember exactly. I've tried some key word and tag searches and have scanned ask questions though mid-December but can't seem to locate the question. The searcher might have been located near Chicago or the west coast.
January 23
Somebody Someone Totally Still Knows
Also, I would like an inter-engine fermentation system.
We have clouds for the top 150 tags posted to Mefi, Music, Meta, Jobs, IRL and Ask. We can see the top ten tags we've used listed on user profiles. Would it be possible to view all tags (or a greater subset than 'top ten') for individual users, either in a list or cloud form? [more inside]
Character length limit on titles?
Sorry if this is covered in an early titles post, but is there a character length limit on titles? Twice this week I've seen FPPs on the blue that have had their titles (otherwise) unaccountably truncated in mid-word . This is the first one I noticed, and then this morning there was this one.
Just curious.
January 22
MefiMusic: MP3 or GTFO
Can we move the music player to the top of Mefimusic posts that exploit the "more inside" function. This has bothered me for years really. Recent feedback has confirmed that this confuses the heck out of people. [more inside]
Futuristic gritty cityscapes
Help me find a post or comment which linked to amazing futuristic cityscapes. [more inside]
January 21
It's time for another collection of Metafilter Music!
There is so much music here. Here's the annual torrent of all the songs from Metafilter Music, gathering everything from 2012. There were 558 songs, taking up 3.1 gigabytes. Massive, massive props to all the musicians who shared their music! Check it out, and remember, the song threads never close, so if you find a song you love, please drop by and let the artists know! [more inside]
January 20
Hold On To The Slight
Metafilter gets a shoutout on Salon.
January 19
Can we just answer the question?
People not answering questions but instead trying to act as pseudo-psychologists as in this post. Can we not do this, please? [more inside]
January 18
Edit misuse protocol?
As I understand it, the Edit feature is to be used for correcting things like typos, grammar fixes, accidentally leaving out a word, and such. It's not to be used for adding more information or things like that. What, if anything, are we supposed to do when we happen to notice its misuse? [more inside]
No Wonder AskMe Got the Shout Out
Linda Holmes, writer and editor of NPR’s entertainment and pop-culture blog, Monkey See, cites Metafilter as one of her three daily must-reads in the NPR Digital Services January 2013 Newsletter.
Reminder: Please update your Mefi contact email if it's getting moldy
This is just a PSA to remind you that we use the email you have attached to your account to answer contact emails from you (unless you change it manually in the email field on the contact page), and sometimes to get in touch with you if there is a problem with a post or comment, so please make sure that it is a working address. You can change or update your email in your profile preferences under "Contact Preferences," as well as choose whether you want it to be visible to other users, and if you want Mefi mail forwarded to your email. [more inside]
January 17
There's a reason people wrote to Dear Abby
AskMe gets a shoutout in NPR's MonkeySee blog.
Stop messing with my Google Maps settings!
Please stop making the map of a user's location use satellite view by default. [more inside]
Why does Ask Metafilter sometimes displays greens differently.
Sometimes when I load Ask Metafilter the green color will show up washed out, but I can open it up in a new tab and it is now a different shade. Usually scrolling down the desaturated page or selecting text will change it back to a more saturated green. Any reasons for this? Safari OSX.
screenshot
Tags
I'm curious about how people make use of tags on MetaFilter. Is there any data on it? I only ever find myself using them while searching to avoid double-posting, but I wonder if people use them to find content and threads? I know one way to use them is through the MyMeFi page. Is there any data on how many people primarily read MetaFilter that way?
January 16
Where did I read that girls were the first geeks?
I seem to remember a comment on MetaFilter on the subject of "fake geek girls", that stated that actually women were the first geeks and vastly outnumbered men in the early scifi conventions. Does anyone remember the comment?
Is there a mefite working on Don't Trust the B in Apt 23?
In the cold open of the Don't Trust the B episode "Dating Games," the titular character says, "I'm sorry, my friend wants to apologize for the boringness. To make up for it she'll show you her taters." Was this a coincidence or is there someone working MeFi in-jokes onto the show?
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
In an effort to enhance your overall Metafilter Experience, I present the preliminary Metafilter Achievement System Slash Drinking Game. Comparing Achievement score is a widely accepted method for determining respectability, one's contributions to society, and for enhancing self esteem. Feel free to contribute suggestions, modifications, or cash. Bonus points for obscure references to Metafilter history. [more inside]
January 15
The same damn user is doing it again.
Five days of MetaFilter interest
Out of curiosity (or work deadline avoidance), anyone know why the MetaFilter entry on Wikipedia suddenly get a lot more "readership" or views than normal for the five days of January 5th to 9th inclusive, then suddenly go back down to the previous background level? [more inside]
January 14
Metafilter Frequency Tables updated, now with 636 million words!
It's been over a year since we first made the Metafilter Frequency Tables available, and now they're updated with word frequency information for all of 2011 and 2012 as well, bringing the total number of words up to six hundred and thirty-six million. Gosh! (Is a word we've collectively used 5,707 times since 1999!) [more inside]
January 13
Bug with new titles/deleted posts?
I run the greasemonkey script that shows deleted posts on the front page, mainly for curiosity's sake.
I've noticed this (screenshot) happening, when a post is deleted. Basically, the greasmonkey script shows the post that was deleted, with the title of the undeleted post immediately before the deleted post appearing as the deleted post's title.
(Sorry if that's confusing; hopefully the screenshot explains this better.)
I don't know if this is an issue with the greasemonkey script or with metafilter.
January 11
Errors loading www.metafilter.com in the latest Google Chrome on OS X?
This is pretty strange and we've gotten 3-4 reports of members not being able to load anything on www.metafilter.com (ask, metatalk, everything else works) in just Google Chrome's latest version (Firefox/Safari work fine), on OSX. Anyone have any ideas what could be going on? [more inside]
PDF and other icons on links?
So in this thread some where complaining about no PDF warning. How about using some CSS magic (a[type="pdf"]) to add icons to links?
Name that awkward computer scientist!
He is known for picking his toes up on the desk while speaking, writes his own eccentric appearance contracts, and refuses to drink Coke for political reasons. My co-workers don't believe he exists, but I know I read about him here. Thanks!
Morgan Freeman doesn't die like the rest of us.
Using Chrome on Windows 7 with the deleted posts script installed, the title display seems to be malfunctioning to show the deleted post in between the title and the body of the non-deleted post below it.
January 10
Swap Me Maybe?
80 minutes - 700MB - 5 discs - 6 swappers
Let's swap mixes. Sign up for the 2013-1 MeFiSwap inside! [more inside]
Let's swap mixes. Sign up for the 2013-1 MeFiSwap inside! [more inside]
Why hasn't this been deleted?
If this is fiction, why are we giving it any air?
Because November is a ridiculous time to schedule anything
MeFiWriMo! As discussed in this year's NaNo thread, let's do a Metafilter Novel Writing Month from January 15th to February 15th - the deadest time of the year, and so a good one to have a nice concrete goal to work on. [more inside]
Unpacking the viral ninja hack guru in the cloud
January 9
Title customization options added
As a compromise over the recent release of titles, we've added the ability to set your title font faces and sizes just like the body and byline fonts/size options on the preferences page. [more inside]
Rookie <3s MeFi
Maggie from Rookie gave MetaFilter yet another shoutout in her article about TV mythologies. Scroll down or search the page for "grumblebee".
January 8
The last (OR IS IT) SQ thank you thread!
Word on the street is that there are a number of people still waiting to give public thank yous, but with nowhere to post them. So, without further ado, I would like to say OH MAN SO COOL, THANK YOU!!! to Snarl Furillo for the two very, very awesome pairs of earrings! [more inside]
BABY SHAKES!
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the world shakespeherian's brand new son Yves Thomas!
He looks almost exactly like a fat little pastrami with arms and legs and a tiny blue hat.
"add to favorites" links everywhere!
A request: I sure would love to see the little "add to favorites" plus sign everywhere posts are displayed, specifically on the popular favorites pages. [more inside]
January 7
Pony: soundcloud/mefimusic integration
This is a honkin' big pony but bear with me.
It would be REALLY nice if we could make music posts using embedded soundcloud links, much as we can embed YouTube and Vimeo links. [more inside]
The lockout is over
The MeFi Fantasy NHL league is on! [more inside]
Hipster Toggle
How do you turn off the new titles? It's too fancy for me. Thanks.
Chart-topping hits of yesteryear
Is it just me or are most of the entries on the the Mefi Music Chart's "Most Favorited Tracks (in the past 7 days)" from 2009?
Help locating an Ask comment about work
I have a vague recollection of a comment in AskMeFi about how to best document one's progress/achievement at work on a regular basis that I'd like to find. I seem to remember it was a suggestion about emailing your boss at the end of the week to let them know everything you'd accomplished that week and what your next steps were. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I thought I'd added it as a favorite, but no such luck. Thanks for any tips for where to find it!
MeFi is adding titles
We're rolling out titles to the front pages of Ask, MetaTalk, and MeFi today (all the other subsites have titles on their front pages). In addition, we've revamped the posting pages on those subsites in order to make the title more obvious and prominent (along with improved helper text). [more inside]
Unearthing 2012's Buried Treasure
My list of such is short and lame this year, but it would be lamer if we didn't have one of these threads for 2012. Show us your MeFi buried treasure! [more inside]
January 6
Should you approach an Australian Mefite?
I was in the courtyard of an inner west cafe today (not one I go to very regularly), and as I was walking inside to pay with my family, saw over someone's shoulder that they had The Blue open on their laptop. I was so startled that an Australian was reading my site I couldn't compose myself to say hello. [more inside]
Relationship Hacks 2012? (i.e. Okay to make a sequel?)
The question located at http://ask.metafilter.com/137148/What-clever-relationship-hacks-have-you-come-up-with is one of the most favorited posts of all time, created in 2009. I've found some of the advice in there immensely useful in my own relationships and have referred back to it often.
[more inside]
Space! William Shatner! and a metafilter connection....
William Shatner tweets at an astronaut in orbit, and gets a tweet back...meanwhile, brownpau gets a mention.....scroll down just a wee bit to see. (Redshirt? really?)
January 5
A short-lived long guide to History Is A Weapon
January 4
2012 Datawankery
January 3
Is it you or is it me?
System problems? [more inside]
overturn the scientific consensus the MeFi way
Given what's started to come out at the tail end of the prostate research thread, it seems to me like either the thread ought to be deleted or at least some of the links stripped out. To whatever extent the continued existence of the AskMe supports this person's behavior, it shouldn't.
76: Slicing up a Menger Sponge
Episode 76 of the MetaFilter podcast was recorded earlier today, with Jessamyn, Josh, and me going on for about an hour and fifteen minutes, recapping the best things from December on the sites. [more inside]
Mefites' Choice 2012 winners, week four
You may already have won! Click on through to meet the winsome winners of the fourth, last, final and concluding week of the Mefites' Choice Awards. [more inside]
teeny tiny
Concerning small text. [more inside]
January 2
Does anyone know where this post is or what happened to it?
I'm looking for an old metafilter post in which a food writer for Gourmet magazine or something like that says that "I can no longer in good conscience recommend that someone become a food writer." I've searched both "food critic" and "food writer" using metafilter's internal search engine, and typed out various phrases to the effect of the sentence quoted above on google, and I keep coming up with nothing. Can someone help me out here?
Health Month is back!
Want some help keeping your New Year's resolutions? The Mefits at Health Month are starting up another month (and another year) of improving our lives and we'd love to see more folks on our team! [more inside]
Kattullus surpasses 500 posts
Cheers to Kattullus on his 500th post last Friday!
January 1
Achievement Unlocked, Again
Speaking of love, as a quick followup to this post about this year's MefightClub donation drive for the Child's Play charity, we've wrapped it up with a total of $5500 dollars donated, beating last year's total and easily surpassing our goal. [more inside]
Bring It
I love you all. Please continue rocking in the new year.