October 2006 Archives (all archives)
October 31
Music donations
I would like to see a mechanism whereby MetaFilter Musicians were encouraged to accept donations (PayPal links?) and listeners were encouraged to donate. I would far rather donate to my favorite artists here than prop up Sony Corp.
13K Meta
13,000! Happy six and a half years of griping, feature requests, whinging, meetups, bugs and etiquette battles everyone!
Change to Music format?
Just wondering if there's been any change to the format of the streaming versions of the songs uploaded to Music. Lately they seem extra-specially compressed sounding to me, so I was wondering if it's something on my end. Not bitchin', just wonderin'.
"Others" Bug
The word 'others' on the 'saved as favorites' pages makes no sense and drives me batty. '2 others saved as a favorite' indicates that there is a third person. That's what the word 'others' means. Suggestion: change 'others' to 'users' or 'people' or 'assholes' or any word that is not confusing and inaccurate in that context.
Black Book Art Circle
Previous Black Book Art Circle post. The new 8 books are going out to: riotgrrl69, dersins, ThePinkSuperhero, robert angelo, david coulter (didn't give his username), nanojath, routergirl! Note that is only 7, because I promised one to klangklangston but he has not given me his mailing address (HINT).
Previous books went to brundlefly, jessamyn, cortex, dobbs, and bardic. If you are none of of these people or the new recipients, and want to participate, please say so and maybe someone will be kind enough to make you their next recipient!
Previous books went to brundlefly, jessamyn, cortex, dobbs, and bardic. If you are none of of these people or the new recipients, and want to participate, please say so and maybe someone will be kind enough to make you their next recipient!
Is there a way to block comments from a specific user?
Is there a way to block comments from a specific user?
Jobs Bug
Jobs.mefi bug: Posting new, clicking 'spell check' results in: Error processing CFX custom tag "CFX_JSpellCheck". The CFX custom tag "CFX_JSpellCheck" was not found in the custom tag database.
Logged out, logged back in, same error.
Logged out, logged back in, same error.
For Halloween, which Despot would you be?
For Halloween, which Despot would you be?
Mefi-CBC Radio crossover
I have noticed lately that the topics of many of the FPP's that I read on Metafilter end up being features on CBC Radio a day or two later. Just wondering if we had a member using MeFi as a tool for providing content for their radio show on a regular basis. Is it you Sook-Yin?
how about mefi personals?
how about mefi personals?
(question asked partly in jest, partly in possible pursuit of a partner versed in the wonderful logic of mefi)
(question asked partly in jest, partly in possible pursuit of a partner versed in the wonderful logic of mefi)
October 30
Code posting woes
Just when I thought I'd figured out how to post code into AskMeFi ... some feature of the back end is changing two single quotes into one single quote?
What's up with Killroy?
I hired a mefite
I am extremely pleased to reveal that this MeJob has been filled by none other than our very own tangerine.
Metafilter Jobs works, folks.
Metafilter Jobs works, folks.
next page doesn't show next
the next page link at the bottom of the saved as favorites by other members page just keeps displaying the same 30 comments.
Comment post preview acting weird
Preview and final post modes have diverged. I keep seeing complaints, after munged or garbled messages, about how 'it looked fine in preview!' [bit more inside]
Amazon's New Askville Service
Just a Meta Heads up. Along with Google and Yahoo in the "Ask" pool....
Amazon is stealing our internets too.
Amazon is stealing our internets too.
Los Angeles Meetup?
Los Angeles Meetup? Again? ALREADY? Our illustrious Admin Jessamyn is in town and staying in the Silverlake/Los Feliz area (carless). Anyone up for a quick get together round there this Sunday (the 5th), or failing that, the Monday (11/6) or Tuesday (11/7) immediately after - somewhere in that neighborhood would be optimal.
Spoiler tag pony request
If matt is looking for something to do he could whip up a <spoiler> tag, so (competent) people could conveniently hide their spoilers. Or is there already such a thing (I envision a textnode with "Here be Spoilers" text with DHTML magic to switch to the spoiler text upon mouseenter or hover).
AskMe thread going badly
This AskMe appears to be getting nasty with comments like:
ps - morally, you're a lot sleazier than the coach is ... and you're just as stupid
ps - morally, you're a lot sleazier than the coach is ... and you're just as stupid
Use of Wikipedia ^
I made a FPP (Stern Review of global warming) linking to Wikipedia using the ^ - for stylistic reasons, I wanted to emphasis the second link in the FPP and not the Wikipedia link, which is the first link, and so wanted to keep it small and unobtrusive. Someone< ?> then changed it and made it a full link. Is there a style-policy? Is it documented anywhere?>
October 29
Are these posts deleted or not?
55893 and 55894 appear to be deleted (and for good reason) in that they do not appear on the main MetaFilter page, but they do not contain a deletion message and are still open to comments. Perhaps it's a bug induced by the daylight savings switchover that just occurred a couple hours ago? Or maybe the threads decided to go as zombies this year...
accidentally favorited one of my own comments
so I accidentally favorited one of my own comments, and yet that comment doesn't show up on my favorites page so I that I can remove it. What's the deal? I don't want to be a self-favoriter.
Portland meetup photos Oct 2006
10/28/2006 Raw, unedited Portland meetup pics. Warning: May contain beer. The first (last) pic says it all.
October 28
By the river Cam
Who would be interested in a Cambridge, England meetup?
Is There a MeFi Policy for In Thread Music Links?
What's the policy on posting music links in thread?
October 27
Suggestions for the Answered and Unanswered tabs
Suggestions on improving the questions one finds on the 'Answered' and 'Unanswered' tabs on AskMe. [more inside]
Portland Oregon Meetup
Portland Oregon Meetup - Saturday October 28th at the Rose and Raindrop, 3-ish?
St Louis meetup October 2006
We gonna do this? This post a couple weeks ago called for folks to meet up in St. Screwy. Tonight. Perhaps the Tin Can, on Morganford, or are we gonna just give up this time and try later?
Barcelona meetup?
Any interest in a Barcelona meetup?
October 26
Could we outlaw cryptic posts & headlines?
I posted this double in large part because the headline for this post from a few days before was so cryptic that it passed under my radar. I'm aware that there can be no official policy outlawing cryptic posts (I'm not arguing for a strict policy, either), but such doubles are bound to occur when the front pages are filled with non-descriptive links. Judging by this and other comments in my thread, I'm not alone in wishing that folks would provide a bit more info with their FPPs. At the least, it could save wasted time on the part of posters and readers alike. Wondering what the wider MeFi community thinks about this.
Announcing: give a mefi account as a gift.
Currently in beta: give a mefi account as a gift. I think all the bugs have been worked out. You put in your friend's email, pay the five bucks, and they'll get an email letting them pick a username, password, and other details. If you try it out, let me know if you or your friend gets any errors.
Is the AskMe question limit per user, or per account?
"This is a sock pupped account for potentially embarassing posts and also for when my other account has used up its weekly question."
Is the AskMe question limit per user, or per account?
Is the AskMe question limit per user, or per account?
Couple of minor glitches with Favoriting.
Couple of minor glitches with Favoriting. [MI]
Back button works, Ajex gone
FYI: the tabs on mefi, metatalk, and ask mefi are no longer ajaxy, loading whole pages instead. They all have permanent easy to read URLs and your back button works again.
This comment looks fine in the thread but is messing up "My Comments"
This comment looks fine in the thread but is messing up "My Comments". Everything after it is in tiny-font.
Don't tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about
So I solved this problem, based on the help given by a few members, who I'm very grateful for. But was it really necessary for a load of people to come into the thread in the meantime and tell me that I didn't know what I was talking about?
San Francisco Meetup
Reminder: MeetUp in two weeks (!!) in San Francisco. November 9, 2006, 7:30 p.m. on, at Soluna Cafe & Lounge. Right near Civic Center BART. Be there or be absent.
people outside this board can and will read whatever you post
Today I get interviewed by a lawyer about this post. Not specifically about that incident, but as supporting evidence to try and get the store in question to settle a different court case. The lawyer has told me that the security department has already admitted to criminal behaviour. Considering that this event occured at least 5 years before I made that post, I've already expressed how little I remember. I expect to say "I don't remember" a lot. I just bring this up as a reminder that people outside this board can and will read whatever you post (remember our own shoplifting community?).
Callout of a user's antics in imminently deleted double
Shouldn't Matt and Jess be the ones who decide which posts are deleted?
Naming Metafilter Projects subsite
Random thought: The official nickname for MetaFilter Projects should be MeJects. Whadaya think?
October 25
Possible to buy gift memberships?
Is it at all possible to buy gift MeFi memberships to others? Answers in comments, please.
Take it offline, or at least off the front page
I note with happiness that ikkyu2 has quietly returned to AskMe
I note with happiness that ikkyu2 has quietly returned to AskMe, dispensing the good oil as he goes. Since he doesn't have an email in profile: welcome back.
Please be specific when you post your AskMe question
Could people please not post questions on Ask with just a "this is a question about [very general topic], specifics inside" on the front page? Questions needn't be a single sentence: I'd rather see if I can be of help on a question on the front page, than be able to fit 50 questions per screen but have to open each link to see what the question is. Thanks.
User specific text formating in the My Favorites Tab is borked
User specific text formating in the My Favorites Tab is borked in ask.me and metatalk and perhaps elsewhere.
Bug in the tabs in AskMe.
I love the new tab feature, but there's a small bug with AskMe. When the posts are sorted by favorites, anonymous questions are credited to Anonymous Ask MetaFilter instead of the usual anonymous. No crisis, but an inconsistency that may distress some of our more sensitive members (you know who you are).
Pony: seeing tags from outside the thread
Could we have it set up that mousing over the number of comments in a FPP shows us the tags? [more inside]
Is favoriting currently broken?
Is favoriting currently broken? Doesn't seem to work for me (and it used to). I get a link to the post with a # appended, and don't see the "you have marked this as a favorite" or whatever on the page, nor does the number of favorites on the comment increase by one. Plx fix kthx.
Sometimes I am someone else
For a moment, I was logged on as another user (darthduckie ? sp) It happened on AskMe, but when I came here, I was lobstah again. I didn't try to post as that user, so I'm not sure how deeply I was logged in. Does this happen much?
October 24
Popular Favorites
Pony Up: In the new tabbed feature (which I love), "Popular Favorites" tallies popularity by those who favorited the post. Perhaps a more valid index of popularity (read: worthwhile, not-to-be-missed nuggets) would be to include the number of favorites to both the post and assorted comments within?
RSS autodectect to tag-specific feed
Here is a little feature request. I was thinking that the tag results page (e.g. posts taged with "ski"), should have a rss auto-detect meta tag in them that points to the tag specific RSS feed. Currently it has one that points to the site wide RSS feed. The specs are clear that you are allowed to have multiple rss auto detect tags in one document.
Whatcha think?
Whatcha think?
I started a Fantasy Congress league
I started a Fantasy Congress league, for those who are interested. For those who already have teams, how long should we wait before we activate the league, and start scoring?
Just because philosophists don't get anything done...
Deleted?
This post was deleted for the following reason: chatfilter. What's the problem you're trying to solve again?
This isn't "chatfilter" this is an age-old question that could be served well by the hive-mind (community). Philosophical = Chatfilter?
This post was deleted for the following reason: chatfilter. What's the problem you're trying to solve again?
This isn't "chatfilter" this is an age-old question that could be served well by the hive-mind (community). Philosophical = Chatfilter?
Can't add favorites.
"Request is malformed: can't add as a favorite." That's what I get when I try to add a favorite.
Good riddance to bad images
Do you miss the img tag? I sure as hell don't. Can I get an amen?
False accusations lead to murder, bring to mind askme
Dude's girlfriend tells him she was raped, and names the attacker. Dude flies into rage, goes and kills the man, and buries the body off in the woods somewhere. Girlfriend was lying. Apropos of the AskMe from a couple days back.
Slow Servers
Metafilter was unreachable this morning and is incredibly slow this evening - is there something we should know ?
metafilter sites: now with google custom search!
Google Custom Search came out today. Here's a test search across all sites. Apparently you can refine it by hand and I opened up the ability to do that to others. I don't know if this is any better than a regular google.com search with site:metafilter in the string, but I figured it's worth trying out to check.
This AskMe is Meta, Ergo...
If anything belongs in metatalk, a post flaming Metafilter users' spelling and grammar sure does. How much more "about Metafilter" can you get than "I am baffled as to why this is so frequent on a site such as AskMeFi"?
DC Zombie Lurch BRAAAAIIIINNNS!!
What do we want?
Brains!
When do we want them?
BRAAAAIIINS!!!
Get your zombie on this Sunday on the Mall! Yes, it's the inaugural DC Zombie Lurch! [more inside]
Brains!
When do we want them?
BRAAAAIIINS!!!
Get your zombie on this Sunday on the Mall! Yes, it's the inaugural DC Zombie Lurch! [more inside]
It would be fun to have some sort of halloween contest next Tuesday
It would be fun to have some sort of halloween contest next Tuesday. The most spirited post would win some sort of prize? What would the prize be? I suggest five pounds worth of candy shipped to the winning poster. What do you all think?
October 23
SaneWork self-linker.
Redirecting tag pages
minor annoyance filter: can the url: http://www.metafilter.com/tag/x redirect to http://www.metafilter.com/tags/x? (likewise for AskMe)
I know it's minor, but "tags" seems nonstandard given how other sites work.
I know it's minor, but "tags" seems nonstandard given how other sites work.
Did anyone go to the Dawkins lecture meetup Oct. 2006?
Any SoCal Mefites going to see the Dawkins lecture this saturday at CalTech? Informal meetup mayhaps?
California Meetup
Anyone up for a Peninsula/South Bay/Silicon Valley Meetup? Friday, November 3rd?
but is there advantage to the new ajaxy front page
I don't mean to sounds like a complete luddite, but is there advantage to the new ajaxy front page other than being cool and web2.0-ish?
October 22
Do comments make good posts?
Is it OK to construct a FPP from links and comments within another FPP?
This thread is just turning into "dump on women"
I think this thread is just turning into a "dump on women" thread.
Recent favorites algorithm doesn't make sense
The sitewide Recent favorites page (not the tab) says that it lists the most popular posts within the last 24 hours, but appears to be using some other algorithm. Posts (examples: 1 2 3) and comments (examples: 1 2 3) that have received zero favorites in the last 24 hours are listed on it.
img tag?
OK SO HAS THE img tag been permanently revoked, or just temporarily in order to stop the insanity? Sorry, took me a second to wind down from my CAPSLOCK.
Please Clarify AskMe Guidelines
Okay I get why my question was deleted. Would it be okay to repost it as 'are overseas webhosts protected from US Copyright enforcers?'
Faster crawl rate option
Google is offering an option for a faster crawl rate
AJAX: bringing functionality -and- problems
The ways in which AJAX breaks things.
Holocaust denier's website
If you click the main link in jonson's post, you go to a known Holocaust denier's website -- maybe you're at work and you don't want to do that, or maybe Holocaust denial is illegal in your country. Or maybe you just don't want to give traffic to the guy. Anyway, the link is there, and it's not tagged as nsfw.
portland meetup at mississippi pizza
Portland Meetup pre-meetup? Tonight scottandrew is playing Mississippi pizza from 6pm-8pm. I'll be there. cortex? frykitty? You guys down?
Is MeFi protected against cross-site request forgery?
Is MeFi protected against CSRF? I know the logout link isn't (should be a form button anyway) and could be triggered by displaying an image to a MeFi user, but if the forms are vulnerable things could get nasty (imagine someone posting a link that changes your prefs, or makes you create a post, etc.). Just askin'...
October 21
Sidebar Guidelines
On the sidebar on Metafilter ("This sideblog keeps track of site news and noteworthy posts"): Who decides which posts get put on this wall of honor?
fmpub javascript slowww
Whatever this fmpub javascript thing is, it's making it annoyingly slow to load the front pages (www. and ask.). And has been doing so for at least a couple of days. This is what one sees for an interminable period of time.
How is this kind of crapping in a thread legitimate
haunting and moving comment, but offtopic
This comment had seemingly nothing at all to do with the FPP on which it was posted, yet I found it one of the most haunting and moving things I have ever read in MeFi.
Request for RSS feed for Popular Favorites.
I love the new tabbed layout, but is it possible to get an RSS feed only for the "Popular Favorites" tab on MeFi and on Ask MeFi ?
October 20
Murderous Confession
Well, askme got served with a doozy tonight and I think it's safe to say it didn't go well. It's not just the completely awful legal advice being dispensed, or the attempt to frame this question as a solely moral one that disturbed me, but the seeming justification of murder (and referencing religion to reason away that murder) that made me shudder.
Vancouver meet-up photos
Vancouver meet-up photos . My camera ran out of batteries so only three shots. Hopefully, timeistight has more (better?) pix.
Why Yahoo Over Google?
Why does does mefi search use yahoo instead of google? I am not particularly interested in individual opinions of the two engines, I'd rather base answers on factual results.
Job Locations
Can you please list the city a job is in on the front page? It seems kind of silly to have to click every job to see if it's even in your state. Thank you.
Why was my post removed?
Why did my post at AskMeFi about iTunes 7 get removed minutes after I posted it?
dmd and miagaille got married!
new tabbed interface testing here
I'm testing out the new tabbed interface here, before I make it live on MeFi and Ask MeFi later today. Feel free to post reactions, bugs, etc. here.
Your comment appears to be blank, go back and try again
I'm trying to comment on thread 55668. I can preview my comment, but not post it. Either I get "Your comment appears to be blank, go back and try again." or a Coldfusion error (inside).
October 19
Animated Gifs in MeFi
i don't like it when people post pictures in metafilter. I like animated gifs even less. It makes metafilter like every other message board on the web. Probably also you're flirting with the NSFW. What do other people think? Outlaw them, or let them stay?
you need more MeFi in your life.
You have not commented on any items in the past 7 days... you need more MeFi in your life.
How adorable is that? Is it new, or is it just that i've never gone a week without posting something? : >
How adorable is that? Is it new, or is it just that i've never gone a week without posting something? : >
(x new) logic should be tweaked
The (x new) logic in the Blue and Green still seem just about useless within a given session as far as I can tell. I sort of remember talk about this changing several months back, but it doesn't seem to have changed. Any news on this front? (Yes, I know about MetaFilthy, but I'm not a fan.)
Error Messages
I just got this:
The web site you are accessing has experienced an unexpected error.
Please contact the website administrator.
The following information is meant for the website developer for debugging purposes.
Error Occurred While Processing Request
The request has exceeded the allowable time limit Tag: cfhttp
Resources:
Enable Robust Exception Information to provide greater detail about the source of errors. In the Administrator, click Debugging & Logging > Debugging Settings, and select the Robust Exception Information option.
Check the ColdFusion documentation to verify that you are using the correct syntax.
Search the Knowledge Base to find a solution to your problem.
Browser Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/418.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/419.3
Remote Address 81.1.77.246
Referrer http://www.metafilter.com/contribute/post_preview.mefi
Date/Time 19-Oct-06 12:43 AM
...when I posted a link to MeFi. My link still went up, though.
The web site you are accessing has experienced an unexpected error.
Please contact the website administrator.
The following information is meant for the website developer for debugging purposes.
Error Occurred While Processing Request
The request has exceeded the allowable time limit Tag: cfhttp
Resources:
Enable Robust Exception Information to provide greater detail about the source of errors. In the Administrator, click Debugging & Logging > Debugging Settings, and select the Robust Exception Information option.
Check the ColdFusion documentation to verify that you are using the correct syntax.
Search the Knowledge Base to find a solution to your problem.
Browser Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/418.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/419.3
Remote Address 81.1.77.246
Referrer http://www.metafilter.com/contribute/post_preview.mefi
Date/Time 19-Oct-06 12:43 AM
...when I posted a link to MeFi. My link still went up, though.
October 18
GoodSearch selflinker?
2 Posts, registered a day after a post highlighting Goodsearch, all in favor of the search engine. I'm guessing spammer? The "I think GoodSearch is a brilliant idea and my friends and family are now rallying around it." sentence really tipped me off.
I have a question about personal info privacy concerns on MeFi
I have a question about personal info privacy concerns on MeFi. [more inside]
Favorites broken?
Is favorites broken? They don't seem to be showing up reliably in the my favorites page, and sometimes the favorites tag on the comment itself isn't incremented. A little more inside.
Quartermass gets an academic teaching gig!
Congratulations Quartermass on you first academic teaching gig! Earlier this year he successfully defended The Thesis and has now been signed up to teach Sociology of Mass Communication.
Ahem, we'll all get shoutouts to your class, right?
Ahem, we'll all get shoutouts to your class, right?
Error messages beget post
I posted this and got a timeout error message. So I tried again and got a different error message. But on the third try, I got the message telling me the link had already been posted. So one of the two attempts that generated an error message actually worked.
October 17
How about a mobile version of MetaFilter?
Has a mobile version of MetaFilter been suggested here before? I ask because I'm using my phone's online access much more than at home nowadays. Surely there are a few people in the same boat? Neigh!
Smart Quotes and RSS
Smart Quotes Ahoy! Love 'em or hate 'em, they turn up awful weird in my RSS reader.
Not a major crisis, I was just surprised to see Word-style formatting passing through after the very recent thread on blocking entities.
Not a major crisis, I was just surprised to see Word-style formatting passing through after the very recent thread on blocking entities.
St. Louis meetup?
Looks like this has been tried a few other times, but how about another shot at a St. Louis meetup? Maybe the 27th after work?
Is this Best Posts link for August supposed to be there?
Does the Best Posts for August 2006 page still deserve a link in the navigation atop every blue page?
Fix My Link
they switched my link ... it now should be this link instead of the link in the fpp ... is there anyway this can be corrected? ... sorry about this, but i swear the link i gave was working yesterday
Why do escape characters disappear?
Simple html escape characters appear to work in the live preview but don't come through correctly. Is this a bug or intentional?
October 16
something is not right with the first comment in this thread.
I tried to answer this question, but I think something is not right with the first comment in this thread.
Can I invite people to non-metafilter events?
I was wondering about the etiquette of inviting mefites to non-metafilter events. I'm not talking about concerts or art shows or anything where money is exchanged, and I'm not talking about I'm bored/drunk/lonely, wanna hang out? situations. Rather I'm talking about open events that require active participation like parties, writing workshops, or bike rides. Can I do that?
By the by, Chicago Mefites, Zephyr's ice cream is closing for good this Sunday and I'm organizing a bike ride to go pig out there.
By the by, Chicago Mefites, Zephyr's ice cream is closing for good this Sunday and I'm organizing a bike ride to go pig out there.
Photos from the Auckland meetup
Photos from the Auckland meetup last Saturday. Only a few picutures there sorry, although I take my camera everywhere I'm missing the photographers instinct and generally forget to use it.
is this the first AskMe with no Answers?
I think I'm gonna go 0-fer with this AskMe question. Has that ever happened?
I will not even CONSIDER [the obvious and necessary].
Is it a serious faux-pas to suggest things or give answers contrary to specified criteria in the questions at AskMe?
Ban Uncapitalized Posts?
Can we please have a ban on posts that are tiresomely self conscious about ignoring the conventions that apply to capitalization?
This is not pedantry. Capitalization provides the visual clues which enable rapid reading and comprehension. Its absence demands closer attention from the reader, which is excusable if you're e.e.cummings but painfully pretentious if you're not.
This is not pedantry. Capitalization provides the visual clues which enable rapid reading and comprehension. Its absence demands closer attention from the reader, which is excusable if you're e.e.cummings but painfully pretentious if you're not.
NYC Meetup Photos
Librarians love AskMe
The article that I wrote for Library Journal about Ask Metafilter is now online. It lost a wee bit in the editing process, but I'm pretty happy with it. MeFiBrarian Posse represent!
San Francisco Meetup
San Francisco MeetUp -- November 9, 2006, 6:00 p.m.-ish. Details not yet worked out but save the date.
Pony request: color coding on My Comments
Wouldn't it be cool if the My Comments page was color-coded by site section, like the usercontacts page?
your askme update is not a new askme thread
pile-on against the poster
This AskMe question has quickly become a pile-on against the poster. Sure, the question has some elements of the ridiculous in it, but it's crossing the line. Two select comments: 1, 2. Also, this comment really addresses the problem we're creating by attacking the poster.
VANCOUVER MEETUP FILTER
So why don't we say Black Frog on Thursday the 19th? 8pm?
(VANCOUVER MEETUP FILTER)
(VANCOUVER MEETUP FILTER)
Get Your War On stage version
Lots of people have posted about Get Your War On already, so this isn't FPP material, but I did want to follow up on Matt's thread from February about the stage version of the comic. The Rude Mechanicals were in DC over the weekend and the show was awesome (although it wasn't a musical, thank god)!! Unfortunately their tour ends this weekend, but if you happen to live in Marfa, TX (which is unlikely because it looks like it is in the middle of nowhere), you should definitely try to go see it.
Also, was this the right place to post this?
Also, was this the right place to post this?
October 15
nominate threads you thought had an impact on MeFi culture and history here.
I just noticed that we have a metafilterhistory tag. This, dear admins, is a brilliant idea, and was a great walk down memory lane. We have cameras, indeed. I was wondering, perhaps, if people wanted to nominate threads they thought had an impact on MeFi culture and history here.
Is Jessamyn a volunteer or paid?
"I don't know if she's paid or volunteer, but I damned sure wouldn't want to have jessamyn's job." Well, me neither -- I sometimes disagree with the judgement calls, but wouldn't want to be the one making them, and I don't see why anyone would volunteer for it. So is jessamyn paid?
October 14
Memorialize this crap elsewhere
Fine, i'll bite - 55526. First of all, I don't think some lame newsfilter post about another idiot soldier dying in a pointless war deserves to be in the blue. Quite apart from that, i DEFINITELY don't think some half-assed tribute, in the form of a PERIOD, is a worthy title for an FPP. Memorialize this crap elsewhere, I say, and stop tying up the front page with your idiot posts.
October 2006 NYC meetup photos
Photos from the NYC meetup!
If you're not logged in, lofi throws an exception.
If you're not logged in, lofi throws an exception.
inconsistency in ability for logged in or out users to see favorites for comments
On AskMetafilter, when people are logged out of the site, they can see when threads and comments have been favorited, and by whom. On MetaFilter and MetaTalk, they can only see when threads have been favorited, but not comments. This is kinda strange!
Deep down, the internet is about people
Deep down, the internet is about people. Sure it's an interconnected set of computers following simple machine instructions, but the driving force behind it all is people connecting with other people. The human network is good way to describe what the internet has become. It is ingrained in our everyday lives. We email coworkers, friends, and loved ones. Our lives are captured by digital cameras and shared online. We read blogs for their personalities and unique take on the world. Even dry data like bank balances and weather forecasts have become ways to accentuate and improve your daily life.
- Matt Haughey
- Matt Haughey
The link is what you're supposed to talk about
Would everyone please cut it out? Pretty please?!
October 13
MetaFilter Jobs Success!
Hooray for MetaFiler Jobs! I got hundreds of inquiries from Craigslist and other job boards but ended up hiring the one (1) person who applied from this MeFi jobs posting.
A Valentine to AskMe
A valentine to Ask MetaFilter or if you prefer, an unplanned side-effect of cites.
Connect MeTa threads directly to the original threads that inspired them?
It would be extremely beneficial to be able to connect MeTa threads directly to the original threads that inspired them.
When someone posts an innappropriate/poorly formatted/whatever thread, calling it out in thread gets it sidetracked, but they are unlikely to ever see the MeTa thread, and flagging for deletion isn't always the best solution. This way you could simply create a 'linked' MeTa thread, a link would popup in the initial thread (directly under headline on inside?) and discussion ABOUT the thread could take place there. Similar to the way wikipedia treats neutrality disputes, etc.
When someone posts an innappropriate/poorly formatted/whatever thread, calling it out in thread gets it sidetracked, but they are unlikely to ever see the MeTa thread, and flagging for deletion isn't always the best solution. This way you could simply create a 'linked' MeTa thread, a link would popup in the initial thread (directly under headline on inside?) and discussion ABOUT the thread could take place there. Similar to the way wikipedia treats neutrality disputes, etc.
A site that blogs entries from random FAQs.
MetaFilter on UsedFAQs - a site that blogs entries from random FAQs.
Metafilter Writer's Group on Vox
The Metafilter Writer's Group: the Vox edition. (more inside).
Dawkins should be discussed sometimes.
I was sorry to see this post on Dawkins get deleted becuase it was "yet another Dawkings post", when the one from three weeks earlier was deleted as well. I understand he's discussed alot, perhaps ad nauseum to some folks, but they can skip the post. I think the mistake being made here is that the same arguments will always be rehashed over and over. This disregards the fact that new people may have registered since the last time the topic was discussed.
In a very "meta" sense, the addition of new people to the discussion allows the argument to evolve, over the course of multiple debates. These kinds of topics - religion, rights, abortion, etc. - appear not to have objectively correct answers, however the passions on all sides and the articulation of arguments are a reflection of the community and our collective culture. By returning to the argument, with newer and older members we start to understand everyone's basis for their position, the forces that motivate the passions behind people's positions and give rise to the issue in the first place.
In a very "meta" sense, the addition of new people to the discussion allows the argument to evolve, over the course of multiple debates. These kinds of topics - religion, rights, abortion, etc. - appear not to have objectively correct answers, however the passions on all sides and the articulation of arguments are a reflection of the community and our collective culture. By returning to the argument, with newer and older members we start to understand everyone's basis for their position, the forces that motivate the passions behind people's positions and give rise to the issue in the first place.
Was high school really this complicated?
Was high school really this complicated? It's been so long I can't remember. Officially contains one of my favorite sentences of all time: "Fast-forward to grade 11."
could there be a way to list items that have been favorited
This has probably been asked for before ... could there be a way to list items you have posted, either posts or comments that have been favorited within the last X amount of time? I have noticed that the favorite count goes up by one or two on my user page, but it's sometimes not obvious what has changed, and it ends up being some post I made 4 months ago.
October 12
lots of mentions of mefi in the press
Press watch: lots of mentions of mefi in the press lately, including Slate.
San Francisco Meetup, Early November?
Any interest in a San Francisco meetup in early November? I'll be making my first ever foray out of Eastern Standard Time, in order to attend a training course held in San Francisco; I'd be up for something just about any evening from the 5th through the 10th.
"Fantastic questions and answers suggested by members" returns CF error
When attempting to view "fantastic questions and answers suggested by members" in AskMeFi, I receive a ColdFusion error.
Seoul Meetup
Last-minute, snowball's-chance-in-hell Seoul minimeetup? I'm going to be in Seoul for a biz trip tonight (Friday) until Sunday... [more inside]
Nip this in the bud
Matt or Jess, you might want to nip this in the bud.
Miguel's next plot line?
Miguel’s AskMe post requesting info on the typical Metafilter user (correct answer: there is no typical Mefi user and a fiction writer would do better with an atypical character anyway) for his teleplay was deleted because it would have been more appropriately posted in MetaTalk. I always suspected that Miguel was here researching for his next novel. What’s your plotline for a Miguel Cardosa novel featuring Metafilter?
Misleading information on the front page?
What are the pros and cons of adding some kind of notation to posts like this that may not be hoax-y enough to delete, but that still pass along misleading information on the front page? I'm not angry or calling for a deletion (the debunking discussion has been interesting), just asking for thoughts about the value of noting incorrect info for folks who just scan the front page.
Vox ads even on login?
Vox ads, even for members? I use the plain text theme and I see these ads on the front page of Mefi and AskMe.
I know this has come up before but I don't want to see any ads. That was one of my reasons for slapping my £2.69 on the barrelhead. As far as I can tell opinion seems to be fairly evenly split between members who don't want to see ads at all and those who don't mind. Therefore, please make a preference so that those who wish to see ads can see them (or vice versa, I don't give a monkey's).
I know this has come up before but I don't want to see any ads. That was one of my reasons for slapping my £2.69 on the barrelhead. As far as I can tell opinion seems to be fairly evenly split between members who don't want to see ads at all and those who don't mind. Therefore, please make a preference so that those who wish to see ads can see them (or vice versa, I don't give a monkey's).
October 11
Auckland meet up this weekend?
Auckland meet up this weekend? As a follow up to this call for a barbeque in Cornwall Park this weekend, do we have enough people keen? Did we decide a day? Is it going to rain? (being Auckland we can be sure of a yes to the last question at least).
Followup on the Funky Little Project
Followup on the Funky Little Project, now officially titled the Black Book Art Circle Project. The first 5 are mailed out, I've got 9 more coming, either to mail out or to hand out if they arrive before the Vancouver meet. After that, I think no more books. Cost of books + cost of postage is more than I budgeted for. If you are interested in the project and want to receive a book, please try and request one from the recipients who've just got one or will get one (I'll post who they are when I send them). 15 books out, hopefully I get 15 back!
I feel guilty just having read the question
This seems barely different from the earlier version that was deleted.
have some respect please
Please give it a rest in the blue.
NYC Meetup
Reminder - NYC Meetup :: Saturday the 14th 5pm at the Double Down. MrMoonPie will be paying a visit. moonpies...bacon martinis....bacon moonpie martinis.....*drools*
October 10
I am not Mathowie
"Is Matthew Haughey in the audience tonight?" -- John Hodgman, Powell's Bookstore - Portland. October 10, 8:10 p.m.
"Return to post" from "favorites" not working as advertised
"Return to post" after viewing favorites... doesn't.
I can't post my song to MeFi Music
I'm having a problem posting a music to MeFi music. It's an MP3, under 3 MB. I'm getting this error message after a few minutes:
The MIME type of the uploaded file "audio/mpg" was not accepted by the server. Only files of type "audio/mpeg, audio/x-mpeg, audio/mpeg3, audio/x-mp3" can be uploaded. Verify that you are uploading a file of the appropriate type.
The MIME type of the uploaded file "audio/mpg" was not accepted by the server. Only files of type "audio/mpeg, audio/x-mpeg, audio/mpeg3, audio/x-mp3" can be uploaded. Verify that you are uploading a file of the appropriate type.
I figured maybe I had just created a slogan. Then I googled it.
Apology owed. I came up with a turn of phrase I liked, and happily noted that it had been marked as a favorite by 3 others.
I figured maybe I had just created a slogan. Then I googled it.
Turns out it's been said before, which is fine. It's not particularly profound--any reasonably geeky person discussing this issue might use the phrase. But it's even been said on AskMe before.
Apologies to Teece, and those who saved it.
I also didn't kill 24 people in the caves of Tibet.
I figured maybe I had just created a slogan. Then I googled it.
Turns out it's been said before, which is fine. It's not particularly profound--any reasonably geeky person discussing this issue might use the phrase. But it's even been said on AskMe before.
Apologies to Teece, and those who saved it.
I also didn't kill 24 people in the caves of Tibet.
Happy Birthday, mathowie
What's the point of this question?
What's the point of this question? Do you want us to comfort you and hold your hand? Are you looking for advice? What are you looking for?
< breaks comment
I made a comment that had a < symbol. the rest of the br tag showed up, and i imagine the rest of the paragraph would not have.br>
It apparently happens in MeTa as well. I'm not sure it's a "bug" as such, but it might spare someone some embarassment to have a note above the post dialog, or a function that converts them to character entities on post.
I did a search and it seems to have been danced around a couple of times a few years ago.
Also "preview the link" text in MeTa posting seems a little confusing to me.>
It apparently happens in MeTa as well. I'm not sure it's a "bug" as such, but it might spare someone some embarassment to have a note above the post dialog, or a function that converts them to character entities on post.
I did a search and it seems to have been danced around a couple of times a few years ago.
Also "preview the link" text in MeTa posting seems a little confusing to me.>
October 9
Deletion objection
Not really so hypothetical. I think the question should stand.
Is the Metafilter writer's group dead?
I guess the Metafilter writer's group is dead? I don't see any updates from the past two months.
Mefi Jobs Says a Job is 17,000 Miles Away -- That's Geographically Impossible
The MeFi Jobs distance calculator seems to have a bug...
Does Dr. Cherry hold the record for posting in one's own AskMe thread?
Auckland meetup Oct. 2006?
Auckland meetup, bbq edition? This weekend?
October 8
Thanks!
Hello. I just want to thank everyone who responded to my Ask Metafilter question about spouse/fiance immigration.
Elephant Day
Wots up with the My Comments page only lists the past 7 days?!!?
I was using My Comments to locate a previous post via my comment. Wots up with the My Comments page only lists the past 7 days?!!?
Ok, Maybe I should post more often. Then, I use search, and using my user ID I get nada. Then I used google site search with time limit of 3 months and I get posts from 2004. Oddly, this Google results page is missing the "sort by date/relevance". Same for Yahoo; no date on results sort.
Regardless, this leads me back to a simpler question. Why does the My Comments page limit the results to 7 days? Now I can't rememebr what the post was to begin with, but I would like to hear why the forced limit on this page.
-Long Time Lurker
Ok, Maybe I should post more often. Then, I use search, and using my user ID I get nada. Then I used google site search with time limit of 3 months and I get posts from 2004. Oddly, this Google results page is missing the "sort by date/relevance". Same for Yahoo; no date on results sort.
Regardless, this leads me back to a simpler question. Why does the My Comments page limit the results to 7 days? Now I can't rememebr what the post was to begin with, but I would like to hear why the forced limit on this page.
-Long Time Lurker
I think your questions are not worthy
Tune in next week for another exciting edition of jacobean's vapid, ignorant, stupid, shallow and inflammatory question show! What will he ask next? Is it true that clouds are made of water? Why don't people like the same things I do? How long can a person go without takiong a shower? All this and more, coming next week!
October 7
Let me display my ignorance about RSS
Let me display my ignorance about RSS. Since there are so many AskMeFi links, I miss posts via RSS on my MyGoogle page. Is there a way to increase the frequency at which RSS updates? Is this a Google problem?
This should be in projects....
In the midst of yet another FLP (funky little project)...I've got a small number of unlined moleskin notebooks with 60 pages each. Inside each one is instructions detailing how the recipient of the book should use one page (one or both sides) to be creative (words or art), and then pass it on to someone else who will also be creative and also pass it on. At the end of filling the book I've requested the book be sent back to me for scanning and hosting on the web, and assuming I get any back I will do so. MetaFilter has a goodly number of cool creative people, I'm hoping some of them (up to 4; the number of books I have unallocated) are interested. If so, post here (so I don't get overwhelmed) then drop me an email with mailing address? Contact info available via my personal page. More books will be available at a later date (once I order them). I (over) parenthesize (sp?) my sen(t)en(c)es.
There's a spell check button on the Projects post page.
Matt, there's still a Spell Check button on the Projects post page.
Self Link on the Blue
55335 on the blue is a self-link (I'm deliberately not linking to it), anyone know how to contact a mod? Are they asleep? It's especially irritating because it's a self-link to a crap site about "marketing and making money on the web". Also, how about a feature that allows a user to self-revoke posts for a certain amount of time (like 10 minutes) if they realize or learn it was a bad idea.
October 6
How about opening Music up? (Oct2006)
How about opening Music up? It occurs to me that I rarely pop into Music and I assume that's the case for a lot of people who don't actually make music--even if, like me, they love music. It just doesn't occur to me. What about changing the focus of that section to also include music posts sans actual tunes? For instance, discussion of new albums, concerts, music photography, or stuff like this which I don't think is suitable for a blue FPP but is probably of interest to many who visit music currently?
Please stop bashing Texas
And fuck the Texas bashers most of all.
Bunch of ignorant bigots
If you're making a post about Texas you should reconsider, as many recent threads have ended in shouting matches that do nothing good for the site or the community. If you do insist on posting about those subjects, make sure it's actually something of major importance or at the very least interesting, and not just another news blip about a teacher being fired for taking their students to a museum.
Bunch of ignorant bigots
If you're making a post about Texas you should reconsider, as many recent threads have ended in shouting matches that do nothing good for the site or the community. If you do insist on posting about those subjects, make sure it's actually something of major importance or at the very least interesting, and not just another news blip about a teacher being fired for taking their students to a museum.
Username appearing variously with titlecase and lowercase
Why does my username appearing in the top left corner not match the name that is posted when I comment? My login username is lowercase while the one that appears in comments is titlecase. Live preview displays my name in lowercase as well. I think I used a capital S when I first signed up (which was stupid since I prefer the lowercase s).
Offensive gif in Askme thread
This kind of thing should result in an instaban.
Chill.
October 5
what is the deal with the small and large tags on AskMefi?
I know this has been discussed already and even used as an excuse for the guys here to show off their font skills, but what is the deal with the small and large tags on AskMefi? They exist but there's no script or interface that lets a novice change the size of his or her font in the post? Is this a way of regulating some from emphasizing words? Just want some history here... Thanks.
Possible self-linker? Turns out no.
Is this setting off anybody else's self-link-dar? 8 comments to the 'Filter and one answer to AskMetafilter, no profile information, and she favorites her own not-particularly-interesting post?
Bear vs. Monkey: -not- a valid AskMe?
Honestly, can't we have a little fun every now and then? Am I missing some precedent here?
Read Before Answering!
Is it really that hard for people to thoroughly read an AskMe question before answering? It seems increasingly more common to have mutliple answers to a question that duplicate material already mentioned in the question or answers that express concern for an aspect of the question the original poster already explicitly addressed. To get a sense of what I am talking about, see the first 6 or so answers here.
biscotti is awesome with animals.
So as to avoid a slow Meta day, heaven forbid, I thought I'd call out biscotti on a very long pattern of knowledgeable AskMe contributions related to various four-legged beasts.
Which posts are you most - and least - proud of?
Of all the FPP posts on the blue that you've ever posted, which one are you most proud of? And which one do you wish you'd never, ever posted?
Hey languagehat, are you reading the comment I wrote?
Hey languagehat, are you reading the comment I wrote? [more inside]
October 4
Whether to post FPP on price breaks in Audible
I'm trying to decide whether or not to post a particular FPP. Would the following be a case of PepsiBlue?
Audible.com has recently lowered the price of several of its radio shows, including the popular-among-MeFites This American Life, to $.95 an episode. I know that TAL episodes can be acquired via - *ahem* - other - methods, but TAL's high cost on Audible (used to be $4 a show?) have been griped about around here before, and it seems like people would be interested in seeing the news about the reduction in cost.
I don't work for Audible, and I have had my complaints about them in the past, but I think this is pretty cool and don't know how many other folks know about it. On the other hand, I don't want to be an annoying pain in the ass.
Audible.com has recently lowered the price of several of its radio shows, including the popular-among-MeFites This American Life, to $.95 an episode. I know that TAL episodes can be acquired via - *ahem* - other - methods, but TAL's high cost on Audible (used to be $4 a show?) have been griped about around here before, and it seems like people would be interested in seeing the news about the reduction in cost.
I don't work for Audible, and I have had my complaints about them in the past, but I think this is pretty cool and don't know how many other folks know about it. On the other hand, I don't want to be an annoying pain in the ass.
vancouver meetup
Vancouver MeFites unite!
Me an' my lovely girlfriend (/username/holyrood) will be in Vancouver from the 18th through the 20th, attending a boring conference during the day. At night, perhaps a meetup?
Me an' my lovely girlfriend (/username/holyrood) will be in Vancouver from the 18th through the 20th, attending a boring conference during the day. At night, perhaps a meetup?
Why all the crashes?
Why is metafilter so slow and crash-prone? I know it gets a huge amount of traffic, but what causes the regular outages? Do you guys need a new server or what? I can't think of another major site that experiences as much downtime as metafilter does. (i'm not criticizing, I know how difficult it is to run a site of this scale... just curiouis)
The Woz on MeFi!
<nerdalert>omfg, the Woz is here! the Woz is here! </nerdalert>
October 3
Portland meetup
Portland meetup? It is Rocktober after all...
When I post a comment, the page reloads. When the page reloads, it jumps to "#comment".
When I post a comment, the page reloads. When the page reloads, it jumps to "#comment". This bugs me, and I don't think it used to happen. What this means in practice is that if I refresh the page to follow a thread, the reloaded page jumps to "#comment". Grrr. Intentional? Good? Bad? Ugly?
NYC Meetup
NYC meetup? The MrsMoonPie and I will be in NYC Friday, October 13, through Sunday, October 15, staying with a friend between Soho and Notila. Anyone interested in getting together? Since I know virtually nothing about the area, someone else will have to propose a venue.
Sometimes I just love this place.
Sometimes I just love this place.
Why was this question deleted?
why? I was looking forward to reading this one and had marked it as a favorite (as had others). Do we have to explain why we ask each and every question now?
October 2
Finding the line between chatfilter and AskMe
What's the key difference between "what are some great movie scenes involving food?" and "what are some great upbeat 80s songs?" that gets one post deleted and not the other?
Supplementary question -- has anyone ever noticed these help-me-with-my-list posts turning up in articles? I can't help but think that some of the people asking "name some movies for me where happens?" are getting their journalistic homework done via Ask. Is that cool if they are, or do we feel used?
On another forum, someone asked a "name some TV shows where <foo> happens" question, and I not only heard my answer on the radio three days later but heard it word for word. The guy had obviously cut-and-pasted my exact words and read them out on air.
Supplementary question -- has anyone ever noticed these help-me-with-my-list posts turning up in articles? I can't help but think that some of the people asking "name some movies for me where
On another forum, someone asked a "name some TV shows where <foo> happens" question, and I not only heard my answer on the radio three days later but heard it word for word. The guy had obviously cut-and-pasted my exact words and read them out on air.
pool for stumped questions
I got skunked! Since questions sometime slip off the front page within hours, how about a feature in which skunked questions are pooled somewhere until they get an answer? The skunkpool. Would that not be awesome?
Germany Meetup
Germany meetup? 10/13-18 (more inside)
The digg black market {via John Gruber}
The digg black market {via John Gruber}. This is a bad omen for mathowie's community weblog.
Time between initial posting and final response
This really isn't a pony request, but it would be cool to see what FPPs and AskMe questions had the longest time period between their initial posting and the final response. I'm amazed that there continue to be posts regarding Mark Foley long after it's dropped off the front page.
Double-Post Culprits
Is there a list somewhere out there of the users with the most double posts to their name? Or the highest ratio of doubles to legitimate posts?
Favorited comments (past tense) don't work on HiFi
Favorited comments (past tense) don't work on HiFi. [mi]
sockpuppetry
jonson/lilbrudder makes 2 posts within 15 minutes of each other. skallas 2001 revisited? Does jonson/lilbrudder get a pass?
October 1
Posting differences between AskMe and MeFi
Too fast... no, wait, too slow! It seems to me like AskMe is moving faster and faster every day in terms of the frequency of posts, especially at the busier times of the day -- it can go as high as a post every 10-20 minutes. Yet MeFi proper seems to be going slower and slower all the time, down to about one post every two hours or so. Am I right? Or crazy? And why?
are there any members here with Deviant Art accounts
I've seen members ask about metafilter members with accounts on other sites like myspace, last.fm, and the like. I was just wondering if there are any members here with Deviant Art accounts, who'd share a link? I've been wandering about looking in the jewelery section and thought it would be nice to peek at and fav some of you guys from here.
Also? The spell checker isn't working in metatalk.
Also? The spell checker isn't working in metatalk.
Media mention PC magazine
You might just learn something (or at the very least, kill some time). PC Magazine dubs us one of their Top 99 Undiscovered Websites. Go team!