November 2004 Archives (all archives)

November 30

Crafting Good Posts Part XXMCIV: labelling

Crafting Good Posts Part XXMCIV: labelling. Things to note when making a post: [QuickTime] = "this link has quicktime movie content," [NSFW] = "you may want to view this discretely," [NYT] = "this link requires a New York Times registration..."

What else do you wanna know up front? Let's go over it for our neoFites.
posted by scarabic to Etiquette/Policy at 9:59 PM PST - 43 comments

template error

I get a template error when trying to read this thread, which is the top-ranked google result for the "it vibrates" meme.
posted by SpecialK to Bugs at 9:46 PM PST - 13 comments

Finding Deleted FPPs

Pony: We've heard it before (a bookmarklet was even developed for it), and the devout scour mefi.lofi for them... but in this age of all the new MeFi citizenry, I think it would be helpful to get an easily accessible repository for deleted FPPs up and running for the benefit new posters to dig through and discover why some posts must die. How easy, how hard, or how pointless?
posted by moonbird to Feature Requests at 7:55 PM PST - 21 comments

Change the RSS feed?

AskMeFi-related: Would it be possible to change the RSS feed from AskMeFi to put an excerpt of the question in the title tag, or whatever it is that's appearing in my Thunderbird newsreader as "Question number [#]"?
posted by Big Fat Tycoon to Feature Requests at 4:13 PM PST - 6 comments

November 29

Add something about other online communites to the profile page.

It would be nice if the question Are there any other community weblogs where you regularly participate? could be added to the standard welcome questionnaire ("What's the deal with your nickname? When did you first start using the Internet?" etc.) [More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso to Feature Requests at 11:19 PM PST - 56 comments

User Statistics

Speaking of User Numbers, what happened to the population count on the front page? How are we supposed to know where we stand if we don't know how many others are shoehorned into this tiny webspace?
jus' kiddin' 'round, matt 'owie.
posted by wendell to Bugs at 7:50 PM PST - 9 comments

Self-link detected.

Official tank04 Is A Dick Thread
posted by Pretty_Generic to Etiquette/Policy at 6:40 PM PST - 76 comments

Uh. User 20000. Just sayin'.

Uh. User 20000. Just sayin'.
posted by grateful to MetaFilter-Related at 6:34 PM PST - 42 comments

World AIDS Day 2004

Say Matt, are we doing anything for World AIDS Day again this year? It's Wednesday, as you know I'm sure. Just wondering.
posted by crusiera to MetaFilter-Related at 4:00 PM PST - 3 comments

November 28

the consensus is: MetaFilter is not a soapbox

I am new. There is a lot of MetaTalk about politics.

Apparently, "The quickest way to get a label you'll never be able to shake here is to engage in political threads."

For a long time, I couldn't figure out why people freaked out so much about mentions of politics, but I've been reading this thread, and I'm almost three-quarters through, finally, and it looks like the consensus is: MetaFilter is not a soapbox, and your primary subject should be links, not opinions.

That's cool with me, I'm just curious if I've got it properly nailed down.
posted by blacklite to MetaFilter-Related at 10:13 PM PST - 271 comments

clay cat link broken

"Sometimes you just have to make the cats."
The classic thread that accompanies that link is dead.
posted by NortonDC to Bugs at 9:12 PM PST - 18 comments

Adding a question mark doesn't make a legit AskMe

I don't care if it is phrased in the form of a question. Using AskMe to get in a second post because you "already shot [your] wad today with a different MeFi front page post and thought this merited a posting" is just not on.
posted by mcwetboy to Etiquette/Policy at 2:00 PM PST - 73 comments

The post on sleep paralysis is a pretty good one.

I just wanted to call out this post on sleep paralysis as a pretty good one.
posted by KirkJobSluder to Etiquette/Policy at 10:29 AM PST - 5 comments

Stuff we didn't need to know

ARBITRARY: Did you know I'm masturbating with my free hand as I write this?! [m.i.]
posted by naxosaxur to Etiquette/Policy at 3:57 AM PST - 105 comments

November 27

Anyone having trouble seeing all of the main page with Mozilla?

Anyone having trouble seeing all of the main page with Mozilla? I can see all the posts with IE, but with Mozilla (latest) I see one and only one post. Cleared cache, same problem...
posted by e40 to Bugs at 9:54 AM PST - 4 comments

November 26

A question (about a sore nose) should have been answered by your mother/google.

I've just read the worst ask.me of all time and the risk of devaluing the site is irritating me to hell. I seem to remember a suggestion that maybe I should make use of google - does that sound like a reasonable soultion?
posted by dash_slot- to Etiquette/Policy at 6:25 PM PST - 83 comments

I do not WANT to be exposed to anus.

This is not good. Angry modem may deny doing this himself (although it was posted only 13 minutes after this), or may not. Worst case: some even worse asshat(s) who considers modem a role model will show up specifically to cause trouble. I do not WANT to be exposed to anus.
posted by wendell to Etiquette/Policy at 4:37 PM PST - 74 comments

Update Spell Check

Would it be possible to have the spell checker updated to accept some common words used here? Mefi and Metafilter (and all other variants thereof) get constantly tagged as misspellings, as do commonly used words like "snarky".

No big deal if it can't be done, but if it could it would be quite appreciated.
posted by Bugbread to Feature Requests at 4:18 PM PST - 10 comments

what IS the "best of the web?"

An honest question: how would you define "The best of the web" in late 2004 looking forward to 2005? Obviously we live in a political world, but MetaFilter is a longer train of thought, I think. How can we balance current events with interesting and wonderful stuff? It's largely up to the noobs, I think. Matt has taken a huge leap of faith here and he is God but there must be a way to convert our indigenous zealots too. My fingers are crossed for the next few weeks.
posted by Cryptical Envelopment to Etiquette/Policy at 3:23 PM PST - 8 comments

Stop being jerks, especially outside of politics threads

Consistency in standards, and the lack thereof. Since the election, MeFi has gotten a lot calmer, and a lot more readable. Much of these is surely do to the deletion of highly partisan comments and threads, but it seems like some people aren't getting the message. Snarky FPPs like this provoke obnoxious replies like part 3 of this.

Is there a viable way to confine this crap to the political threads?
posted by mosch to Etiquette/Policy at 1:26 PM PST - 20 comments

RSS feeds per user?

RSS feeds per user?
posted by nthdegx to Feature Requests at 1:08 AM PST - 20 comments

November 25

New account, but stats, low user number, LOST

With new sign-ups available again, it is tempting for people like me to create a new account with a username they actually like. The "problem," is losing post/comment stats and the ever prized lower user number. [MI]
posted by MrAnonymous to Feature Requests at 8:58 PM PST - 76 comments

Here's a little bookmarklet that tells you the average user age contibuting to the thread.

So I keep noticing thousands of new usernames in comment threads (which is awesome), and I got to wondering about how user age/contribution patterns were evolving on a threadwise level with the new users settling in. Being a non-statistician, I didn't care enough to perform a serious study, so I just threw together a little bookmarklet that tells you the average user age contributing to the page. It's totally worthless, but a bit of fun.
posted by DrJohnEvans to MetaFilter-Related at 1:29 PM PST - 47 comments

November 24

Front page is kicking all sorts of community weblog butt

I'd just like to say that the front page is kicking all sorts of community weblog butt at the moment, and this is a good thing. There, now I've probably gone and jinxed it.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken to MetaFilter-Related at 10:01 PM PST - 47 comments

Los Angeles Meetup

LA Meet up!

Given the, er, considerable interest in the last Los Angeles meetup, we've decided to throw a post-Thanksgiving burger bash.

Eyeglasses encouraged.

Friday, November 26, 6 pm, at Irv's Burgers in West Hollywood , followed by cocktails at ">The Coronet Pub.

Hope to see you there - for more details, email's in the profile.
posted by Space Kitty to MetaFilter Gatherings at 5:49 PM PST - 30 comments

Just wanted to tell you something

Would have been cool to make my front page debut commenting about this post, but it appears my new user probation is currently in effect. I plan on taking a look in person as it is happening only 30 minutes from my TG Day location.
posted by redneck_zionist to MetaFilter-Related at 2:14 PM PST - 18 comments

AskMe Turnover

By my perhaps innacurate counting yesterday, November 23, 41 questions were posted to AskMe. Currently, the AskMe home displays the most recent 40, which means that yesterday's questions appeared on AskMe for less than 24 hours. For daily readers I guess this isn't a huge deal assuming you read AskMe around the same time each day, but for others perhaps a smaller font and a bigger query is in order?
posted by ChasFile to Etiquette/Policy at 12:42 PM PST - 31 comments

the process of posting with a link evades me

True, I have battled many an apeman. Yet the process of posting with a link evades me. Can anyone give me the quick skinny?
posted by ifoughttheapemen to Etiquette/Policy at 10:57 AM PST - 44 comments

Unofficial MetaFilter Op-Ed About Political Content in FPPs

"How hard is it to articulate a simple policy about political content? Matt has not done that, and needs to."

Which prompts another unofficial MetaFilter op-ed from y6y6y6.........
posted by y6y6y6 to Etiquette/Policy at 10:06 AM PST - 76 comments

Links to products: Cool? Shill? Both?

How does the community feel about links to products for sale, especially during the X-mas holiday shopping season? There seem to have been a few links which were pointing our products in their own right, without any broader point or purpose. Cool? Shill? Both?
posted by chaz to Etiquette/Policy at 9:14 AM PST - 12 comments

November 23

Grey areas in AskMe

The AskMe thread on faking one's death seems to skirt the same grey area as several of the deleted warez-related inquiries. Not to be a prude, of course -it's ust that curiousity like this could be bad for our ponies.
posted by Smart Dalek to Etiquette/Policy at 4:57 PM PST - 35 comments

Blizzard's World of Warcraft

Back in this thread, XQUZYPHYR -- or as I like to pronounce it, "Ted", asked if anyone was taking part of Blizzard's World of Warcraft open beta. Well now the beta's done, and the retail game is in stores today. Anybody wanna gang up and roll dice?
posted by cavalier to MetaFilter-Related at 9:46 AM PST - 24 comments

November 22

I hate to ask why this was deleted, but...

Asking why a post was deleted has become trite and cliched recently, and I am hesitant to do so again so soon. And yet, here is a genuinely light-hearted humor post that's got some brilliant framing done by esch . . . and the deletion reason was 'um?'
posted by Ryvar to Etiquette/Policy at 6:58 PM PST - 193 comments

error in database when trying to post comment

Whenever I try to make a post to a thread in the Blue, I get " Error Executing Database Query.
Invalid data contribute,post_comment_preview.cfm for CFSQLTYPE CF_SQL_INTEGER." and c.
Other people make posts, so I suppose there's some prob with my account, perhaps?
posted by signal to Bugs at 6:18 PM PST - 8 comments

Profile URLs now going to names not numbers?

I keep a bookmark that ends in the spelled-out version of my username so that I can go to it and type out other users' names at the end if I don't know their user number. Tonight, going to it to find some other user's page, it took me to the page with the URL ending in my user number rather than the word "interrobang".

In the past couple of days, I've also "moused" over other people's names to see who they were--mainly in ask metafilter--and gotten the URL ending in the name spelled out rather than the number. Is this because the standard is soon going to be user pages with URLs ending in names, rather than numbers?
posted by interrobang to Bugs at 6:06 PM PST - 12 comments

Wikipedia on mefi

Metafilter article at the Wikipedia. I've just updated that membership is back up, but is anything else missing?
posted by feelinglistless to MetaFilter-Related at 3:53 PM PST - 22 comments

Unposted Anonymous AskMes on contacts page

I, like many people, have added Anonymous AskMetaFilter as a contact, due to his/her interesting, thought-provoking, often sex-related questions and complete self-restraint when it comes to making snarky comments.

However, I noticed a weird phenomenon. On my contacts page, I see several anonymous questions that link to deleted/nonexistant posts. These do not show up in "Anonymous AskMeFi"'s posting history, and I never saw them on the AskMe page. Did they ever appear on the main page? Is there a reason they are still visible from my contacts page?
posted by louigi to Bugs at 1:01 PM PST - 11 comments

Is this because I'm new?

Help! I can't set up links within my comments. Beneath the comment box I only have Preview and Spellcheck: no link button, no bold, no italics. Is this because I'm new? I sure would like to be able to link to things to, you know, back up my comments. Thanks for your help!
posted by Fuzzy Monster to Bugs at 12:58 PM PST - 22 comments

What is metafilter.net?

At the bottom of every page is a link to http://www.metafilter.net, which is the same as MetaFilter.com except you can't log in. Curious.
posted by Pretty_Generic to Bugs at 12:42 PM PST - 9 comments

Censored!!

OK Matt : I took your deletion of my previous two posts on this subject, the 2004 election controversy ( and probably several by other folks ) as an indication that either 1) you oppose posts on the election controversy or 2) you want quality posts. Since I don't like to think of you as a site manager inclined towards censorship, I took the deletion of those posts as an indication that they weren't of sufficient quality. So, I addressed #2 : I thought that was a high quality post - well substantiated, and which presented an angle not yet discussed or noted elsewhere on the net. If you are opposed to discussion of the 2004 election, why not state that in your posting guidelines ? I feel that would be more helpful. Otherwise, new users may be confused for those unspecified posting categories which you are inclined to delete.
posted by troutfishing to Etiquette/Policy at 11:44 AM PST - 224 comments

Mathowie has teased in a comment that he would launch another section of the site

Also, another teaser: I'm gonna launch another new *Filter section this weekend. For reals, yo.

posted by mathowie at 1:01 PM PST on November 18
posted by kyle to Feature Requests at 8:20 AM PST - 61 comments

MetaFark FireFox plugin?

Fark FireFox plugin - So uhhh... at the risk of calling down all the wrath of hellfire, is there a use for something similar for metafilter?
posted by sourbrew to Feature Requests at 7:26 AM PST - 7 comments

November 21

Announcing the Metafilter design contest.

I'm hereby announcing the MetaFilter design contest. Post any questions here.
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 11:27 PM PST - 53 comments

How can I style my userpage?

I want my user page to be a color, like orange clock's. How do I do that? I understand basic html and all that; I really would like to know the specific html to make your user page a color (other than blue; nothing against it, of course, I'm just more of a pink girl).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero to MetaFilter-Related at 8:47 PM PST - 22 comments

Let's not be SA

So from molatar to the animal dildos to a couple other sites that have been getting posted, mefi is getting something of a PoE flavor. I realize that's only a couple examples, I've just sort of had a growing impression of this sort of thing over the past couple weeks.

I don't really have an opinion on this, but it seems like the sort of thing people might want to discuss. Is "posting links to funny people so you can laugh at them" a thing Metafilter wants to be doing? If so, might I suggest stealing PoE's prime directive: "never, ever contact the people so linked."

Let's... not be SA. In any way.
posted by kavasa to MetaFilter-Related at 7:00 PM PST - 57 comments

Open registrations = open for spammers?

Noverber 18, 2004: Metafilter registrations become open for a nominal fee of $5.

November 18, 2004: The spam I receive at my previously clean inbox increases exponentially.

Coincidence?

I think not.
posted by scottymac to MetaFilter-Related at 5:53 PM PST - 43 comments

November 20

mad props anew

This has been posted before, but with so many new users pouring it, I declare it high time to bestow mad props anew to Majcher's excellent and addictive GeneFilter. Just change the username at the end of the URL and get a wonderful Burroughsian cut-up of that user's postings. Great for getting a general flavor of what a user has contributed. Hit reload to create a fresh cutup. Enjoy!
posted by squirrel to MetaFilter-Related at 8:33 PM PST - 71 comments

How do you quote?

I'm a newbie here.

How do you quote the Preview feature when replying
to other comments in a thread?

btw,i synidicated MetaFilter on LiveJournal the other day.
posted by bearybipolar to Etiquette/Policy at 7:18 PM PST - 15 comments

Would it be hard to offer users to option of putting their posts under a Creative Commons license?

Would it be hard to offer users to option of putting their posts under a Creative Commons license? Users that go for it could have a (cc) link (to the license they chose) put in the byline of their posts.

Just a bit more copyright-friendly.
posted by Count Ziggurat to Feature Requests at 11:13 AM PST - 24 comments

November 19

Near-this-user outside the US, please?

Matt how hard would it be to add the near this user to people outside the USA? Assuming the code just uses a proximity match on zip code a similiar thing could be done with postal codes in Canada and I guess the UK.
All our non-US members, does your coutry have a similiar code?
posted by Mitheral to Feature Requests at 8:25 PM PST - 16 comments

question asking limits on ask mefi?

question asking limits on ask mefi?
posted by GleepGlop to Etiquette/Policy at 12:13 PM PST - 25 comments

When angry modem's ID was supposedly hacked, Nov. 2004

angry modem's ID has been hacked, admin please hope us
posted by ZippityBuddha to Bugs at 11:30 AM PST - 283 comments

I can't comment or post

A MeFi newbie question. I tried deleting cookies, but I can't find a way to post/comment nor can I find a way to get back to the references page. Is this a *feature* for New Users, or did I do something wrong on say the Preferences page, or what?
posted by davy to Bugs at 9:48 AM PST - 13 comments

I'm Matt and so is my wife

I'm Matt and so is my wife.(For the More, the Side must be In)
posted by Dagobert to Bugs at 8:06 AM PST - 11 comments

Removing Ads

Is it possible/good karma to turn off the adbar on the side, now that I'm one of the (mass of) elite Metafilter users? I don't want to do it in general -- paying for the existence of MeFi is something I'm quite happy to do by showing ads -- but from school I get a fair amount less bandwidth (University wireless is a mess) and every little bit I can trim out is a good thing by me.
posted by ChrisR to Etiquette/Policy at 8:05 AM PST - 7 comments

NYC welcomes Juicylicious

Reminder: NYC welcomes Juicylicious @ d.b.a. starting at 6pm tonight!
posted by falconred to MetaFilter Gatherings at 7:00 AM PST - 61 comments

Resetting Passwords

Metafilter is one of the only membership sites on the web that doesn't allow a user to reset their password. Now that you have some help with the coding, and to facilitate sponsored memberships and take some of the workload off of you (not to mention provide all the normal benefits that prompt sites to allow password changing), wouldn't it make sense to add a password change widget to the site? This can't be very complicated coding. Or is there some specific reason why you don't want this feature?
posted by rushmc to Feature Requests at 6:29 AM PST - 28 comments

MeFiMentor

MeFiMentor: If you're one of the bazillion new folks here and have a question or two that maybe seems too dorky for MetaTalk and too 'Filter related for AskMe, or maybe you just want to run a front page post by someone, feel free to IM someone who's been around the block a bit. Willing old-timers inside...
posted by jessamyn to MetaFilter-Related at 5:46 AM PST - 49 comments

MetaFilter on Halo 2.

Halo 2 Clan for Metafiler [more inside]
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood to MetaFilter Gatherings at 12:03 AM PST - 30 comments

November 18

Thanks from Mathowie

Holy mother of god. It's official, even though I was kind of worried about ponying (heh) up the dough for a couple of high ticket servers, I made enough money off the $5 signups today to pay for one year's hosting. So I want to say thanks to all the new users for ensuring the future of this place. I love ya. Some more news inside
posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 11:42 PM PST - 68 comments

Interval between signup and FPP?

Hi. I just signed up a few hours ago.When can we start posting in the blue?
posted by crusiera to Etiquette/Policy at 8:20 PM PST - 52 comments

Subsidizing sign-up fee?

Prospective new users needing help? Earlier the idea was discussed of existing users helping subsidize new users who can't afford the signup fee. Any oldbies willing to help out in this regard? [more inside]
posted by louigi to MetaFilter-Related at 5:48 PM PST - 38 comments

We should do something with user# 20000

What with the flood of signups, user# 20000 is coming right up. Matt, I think you should auction or raffle it off for charity, or do something fun with it.
posted by theora55 to MetaFilter-Related at 2:19 PM PST - 30 comments

$5, same as in town: perks for signing up

Are these new logins, having paid, getting to see the new ad-free MeFi?

Does the $5 fee come with an uptime guarantee?

Lastly, will Mathowie pay me $5 to rescind my login? Really lastly, what is the returns policy for those who have paid their $5?
posted by dayvin to MetaFilter-Related at 10:45 AM PST - 73 comments

A Word of Advice for New Users, From Your Uncle y6y6y6

A few words to our new users, from someone hardly qualified to give them. [more inside]
posted by y6y6y6 to MetaFilter-Related at 9:43 AM PST - 116 comments

MetaFilter on MonkeyFilter.

What other people think of Metafilter.
posted by drezdn to MetaFilter-Related at 9:07 AM PST - 96 comments

New user signups are back on

Hell hath frozenth overth. New user signups are back on, for a one-time five buck cover.
posted by mathowie to Feature Requests at 1:05 AM PST - 486 comments

November 17

AskMe link behaviour

I noticed that the AskMe "older" and "newer" thread links at the bottom of the page don't actually point to the thread's immediate neighbour, but end up skipping one or two posts in either direction.
posted by antifreez_ to Bugs at 5:48 PM PST - 1 comment

mathowie on MarketPlace

Just heard a segment on MarketPlace that featured Matt Haughey and the future of TiVo. Rock on.
posted by BlueTrain to MetaFilter-Related at 3:58 PM PST - 15 comments

Simultaneous callout and feature request

mattslist.metafilter.com?
posted by PrinceValium to MetaFilter-Related at 2:09 PM PST - 16 comments

There are a couple of threads going in AskMe dealing with 'net addiction workarounds..

There are a couple of threads going in AskMe dealing with 'net addiction workarounds...Can they be combined into a single thread? Because I can't stop clicking back and forth between them!
posted by stupidsexyFlanders to Etiquette/Policy at 12:11 PM PST - 5 comments

Guidelines for FPP

I have at least five more recent journal entries from soldiers in Iraq that I wanted to share, but I can't link people directly to these entries, as some of the posts are locked. Even though I provided a screenshot last time I shared a letter, showing the original post but censoring names, pictures, and possible OpSec issues, I still heard from people saying that it doesn't sound real and another person who supposedly wanted to send it to Snopes. So, my question is this... how best should I present this kind of material, and how can I / who can I trust to take a look at my sources and vouch for their authenticity, while still respecting these soldier's confidentiality?
posted by insomnia_lj to Etiquette/Policy at 7:55 AM PST - 26 comments

November 16

connection failure??

from looking at this thread, hoder mentioned a thread that (presumably) I made and that was deleted. I tried to go to the page in question, http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/35470, and got a "connection failure" notice. What's up wit dat, yo?
posted by bob sarabia to Bugs at 10:10 PM PST - 6 comments

NYC mefi meet up?

NYC mefi meet up? I'll be in NYC 11/18 - 11/22. Anyone interested in joining me for a meet up?
posted by Juicylicious to MetaFilter Gatherings at 3:26 PM PST - 50 comments

Metafilter has amassed the extra-ordinary total of 3804 total subscribers at Bloglines

Just wanted to let you know that Metafilter has amassed the extra-ordinary total of 3804 total subscribers at Bloglines, which makes me wonder how many people are reading via other RSS readers and what the total readership of the site is on a daily basis. Scary.
posted by feelinglistless to MetaFilter-Related at 2:30 PM PST - 25 comments

November 15

MeFi interferring with real life?

How many of you (if any) have had issues with MeFi interferring with real life? I use a pseudonym because way back in the dark ages of BBS's, I regularly indulged in flamewars and I ended up getting prankcalls at all hours and such. Now, I try not to get sucked into flamewars, but I have a feeling I'm still kind of a dick online, so I hang on to a pseudonym. How about you?
posted by keswick to MetaFilter-Related at 9:48 PM PST - 54 comments

Possible race condition in AskMe's new post count.

New post count might have some sort of race condition in AskMe:

"For gamblers, what's the attraction? [more inside]
posted by jonmc at 7:10 PM PST - 1 comments (2 new)"

I think the second comment might have been posted in that split second between querying the total and counting up the new posts.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen to Bugs at 7:21 PM PST - 13 comments

Sidebar for Newbies?

Would it be possible to add a little sidebar in MetaTalk listing links to the Wiki for some of the more common questions, such as "What does '.' mean?" and "Why was my post deleted?"
posted by me3dia to Feature Requests at 9:18 AM PST - 22 comments

November 13

Can we please stick to the topic on Ask?

Can we please stick to the topic on Ask? Sorry jonmc and astruc but I don't think your opinions on the aesthetics of waxing pubes was on answergrape's mind when she asked the question.
posted by dobbs to Etiquette/Policy at 8:14 PM PST - 150 comments

What does it mean when someone posts just a period "."?

What does it mean when someone posts just a period "."?
posted by xammerboy to Bugs at 7:28 PM PST - 52 comments

November 12

Long-winded explanations for deletion look bad....

The long-winded explanations for deletion in these three threads look bad in Firefox 1.0 and the latest MSIE.
posted by graventy to Bugs at 10:18 PM PST - 27 comments

Adding tagging to Ask Metafilter?

So there's roughly 8,000 questions now in AskMe (# of June questions x 11 months).... May I humbly request an update on the tagging project, or any other ponies that could help make this the great resource it's screaming to be? And has any more thought been given to how metadata could be added to the questions already in the db?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders to Feature Requests at 10:19 AM PST - 24 comments

Explain yourself (deletion)

OK, I might sound like a whiner, but I gotta ask. Why did my post to this letter get deleted while the Neal Pollack stuff stays up? Too incendiary?
posted by lumpenprole to MetaFilter-Related at 9:50 AM PST - 33 comments

Counter-Strikers: where you at?

Counter-Strike: Source MeFites! (more inside)
posted by Pretty_Generic to MetaFilter-Related at 6:47 AM PST - 34 comments

November 11

So-and-so is a Muslim not okay

So-and-so is a Muslim

Ah, I see, so political posts aren't ok, but transparent HATE MOCKERY is. Damn you mr_crash_davis. Damn you to hell.
posted by Pretty_Generic to Etiquette/Policy at 7:58 PM PST - 56 comments

Do we need a new thread every time a Republican swallows a load?

So-and-so likes teh cock.

So what? Do we need a new thread every time a Republican swallows a load?

Just wondering.
posted by mr_crash_davis to Etiquette/Policy at 5:35 PM PST - 107 comments

how about a customize option to have links open in new Tabs?

Given the recent Firefox release / post, how about a customize option to have links open in new Tabs?
(Not sure about the technical ease / feasibility)
posted by daveg to Feature Requests at 10:13 AM PST - 25 comments

SF Meetup

Dear MetaTalk,

I never thought I'd be writing to you, but I wanted to tell you about the hot action at the SF MeetUp last night. [more inside]
posted by Kafkaesque to MetaFilter Gatherings at 9:01 AM PST - 33 comments

subscribe to the comment threads

So, I'm addicted to Ask, aka the green.

What I really want to do is subscribe to the comment threads - when a new post occurs, I want someone to run into my office (my home, my bedroom, whatever) and shout up and down the answer is here. Or there was a followup question. (6 new) just doesn't help - especially if a thread a scrolled off page.

Or it could be a little link on the homepage (customized for me for threads I'm watching/participating in.)
posted by filmgeek to Feature Requests at 4:18 AM PST - 3 comments

November 10

How do you regard the time you spend on MetaFilter?

How do you regard the time you spend on MetaFilter? Is it information time (keeping up with the web; news-gathering); social time (discussing; engaging with others); fun pure and simple; vegetative-time (like watching indifferent TV); time-wasting when having a break from work...or what?
[Apologies if this question is of no interest to anyone but me.]
posted by MiguelCardoso to MetaFilter-Related at 9:20 PM PST - 53 comments

connection failure instead of a thread

Bug: When trying to go to this thread, I get a connection failure instead of a thread. It happens consistently, while others work.
posted by SpecialK to Bugs at 7:56 PM PST - 6 comments

Why Was I Deleted?

What happened to my thread about the November 9, 2004 Christopher Hitchens article on Slate.com? I know it was not DP (I searched), so that's not the answer. What exactly are the guidelines for deleting a thread? In light of the fact that I though my thread was relevant, appropriate and interesting I think the guidelines should be posted somewhere or e-mailed to MIFI uses.
posted by Bag Man to Etiquette/Policy at 12:32 PM PST - 59 comments

How not to respond in a thread.

How not to respond in a thread. I don't like callouts, and I'm not calling anyone out. I was inspired by the good discussions in the green and I believe this thread highlights how Metafilter can be improved. In it so far, we have a throwaway irrelevant "I'm an atheist, this does not apply to me" comment, we have a non sequitur comment, an "I agree" without any backup, and a purely reaction provoking comment of whether God has a penis and can take dumps (I do understand the point being made). Basically, we can do better. I'm far from perfect and probably have a lot of throwaway comments to my name -- but could we all try a little harder to think before we comment?
posted by geoff. to Etiquette/Policy at 11:43 AM PST - 46 comments

Admin for a Day

Admin for a day: To raise money (and give himself an occasional break) mathowie could occasionally auction off 24-hour admin rights. These temporary admins could delete posts, suspend miscreants and maybe even manually register new users.
posted by timeistight to Feature Requests at 9:47 AM PST - 57 comments

That was a bad post.

http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/36862 is nothing but pure hate speech. And uninteresting boring hate speech at that.
posted by konolia to Etiquette/Policy at 5:46 AM PST - 55 comments

November 9

November 9th has happened three times so far on the AskMe front page.

November 9th has happened three times so far on the AskMe front page.
posted by DrJohnEvans to Bugs at 11:32 AM PST - 18 comments

Timeout error on Metafilter?

FPP returns time out error but posts end up on main page anyway.
It just happened again.

Its not a major problem, just a minor one. But what's up with it?
posted by fenriq to Bugs at 10:38 AM PST - 3 comments

SF Meetup: Nov 10

MeFiSF Reminder: Tomorrow, November 10, 7 PM, at the Phoenix (Valencia and 19th).
posted by caitlinb to MetaFilter Gatherings at 8:39 AM PST - 12 comments

Unintentional double - please merge

Ooops.

I missed the FPP with a similar topic two posts below because of my habit of skipping links to Windows Media. I didn't mean to post something so topically similar to something else already posted on the front page.

Is there a way to move my post to a comment in the previous one?
posted by eustacescrubb to Etiquette/Policy at 7:37 AM PST - 4 comments

Copenhagen Meetup

Julefrokost MeFi Meetup. I'm throwing a party the 11th December, would any Copenhagen mefiosos like to join us?
posted by dabitch to MetaFilter-Related at 6:38 AM PST - 15 comments

November 8

Was this thread on voter intelligence deleted?

Hi,--

I could swear I saw a link in a thread on Mefi recently that debunke the supposed correlation between voter intelligence and voting preferences, with a link to a spreadsheet containing the actual correlation between the two. Except I can't find it now and I'm wondering if the thread got nuked or if it was tucked away in a thread of a different topic. Does anyone remember this?
posted by mecran01 to MetaFilter-Related at 3:06 PM PST - 25 comments

November 7

A poster wonders why his or her post was deleted

How do I find out why my FPP from today got deleted?
posted by alumshubby to Etiquette/Policy at 4:12 PM PST - 47 comments

Politics Callout

May I say that if there must be politics in AskMe, papercake's scrupulously value-neutral question is the way to do it? And thank you, SidheDevil, for the brief teacher's-ruler-across-the-knuckles that kept us on topic.
posted by jfuller to Etiquette/Policy at 3:56 PM PST - 24 comments

Seattle Meetup Photos

Seattle Mofi Mefi Blog thing pix. Uncaptioned, but many shoutouts. Sorry we missed ya, NJ.
posted by mwhybark to MetaFilter Gatherings at 1:43 AM PST - 25 comments

NJ meetup photos November 2004

NJ MeFi meetup followup:
posted by adampsyche to Bugs at 12:25 AM PST - 33 comments

November 6

Dallas Meetup

Anybody up for a Dallas Meetup this Friday the 12th to celebrate my birthday? [mi]
posted by thatothrgirl to MetaFilter Gatherings at 7:05 PM PST - 7 comments

AskMe comment count accuracy

Bit of an Ask Me SQL bug: this thread tried to entice me by offering 10 new comments in a 9 comment thread. Slattern!
posted by yerfatma to Bugs at 1:14 PM PST - 2 comments

Complaint about deletion policy

One of the most questionable trends emerging at MeFi lately is the MetaTalk treads complaining about post deletions, linking directly to the 'hidden' threads (effectively un-hiding them), where the usually awful discussions cut off by the Hand of Mathowie get a chance to continue raging in the Grey.

Maybe the way Matt deletes threads needs to be changed. Maybe closing discussions gone bad early instead of deleting. Maybe deleted threads on the blue need to completely disappear, like on the green & grey. How about adding to the posting page, a list of the most recent deletions with Matt's reasons for deletion (Hey, that might prevent triple-double-posts). Any other better suggestions for implimenting the FPP Death Penalty?
posted by wendell to Feature Requests at 11:57 AM PST - 44 comments

multiple-date-headers thing again

ask.mefi is doing the multiple-date-headers thing again. There's a "November 6" header above each of the first three posts.
posted by neckro23 to Bugs at 9:43 AM PST - 4 comments

Can't get to #mefi?

Can't get to #mefi?
Try the alternate site on undernet
posted by kamylyon to Bugs at 7:35 AM PST - 4 comments

Followup: first date was a success.

Followup: first date was a success. But... um.... [horror inside]
posted by Pretty_Generic to MetaFilter-Related at 3:44 AM PST - 27 comments

November 5

Mefi userbase: more Chstian-right post GOP-favoring election?

Is it just me, or has the recent GOP win emboldened the christian right here at mefi? More inside folks...
posted by Richat to Etiquette/Policy at 6:58 PM PST - 107 comments

Anonymous askme: what percentage fail to get posted?

Since 12 October 2004, when the AnonAskMe feature was created, there have been 37 questions asked anonymously. Matt, how many, if any, questions have you passed over and not posted? Any reason why?

(I'm not critiquing the decision to not post the question, just trying to get a complete picture on how people are using the feature.)
posted by NotMyselfRightNow to MetaFilter-Related at 4:27 PM PST - 18 comments

Is it possible to log in to MeFi using the BlueBerry browser?

Is it possible to log in to MeFi using the BlueBerry browser? login_action.cfm just throws up a blank page.
posted by mkultra to Bugs at 1:00 PM PST - 5 comments

MeFiSF Reminder and Date Change

MeFiSF Reminder and Date Change (due to special guest's travel schedule): Wednesday, November 10, 7 PM, at the Phoenix (Valencia and 19th). More BARTable than Lucky 13! Nice area with good seating in the back! Food available! And actual living, breathing females! Email me if you want an email reminder.
posted by caitlinb to MetaFilter Gatherings at 12:58 PM PST - 1 comment

Win/Firefox Error?

I recently had to switch (temporarily) from OSX/Safari-FireFox to Windows 2000/FireFox. Since then, every time I post a thread on the Front Page, I get an error message. Funnily enough, I then open another tab and see that the thread went to the Front Page anyway. But I get the error message every single time I post. See inside for text of error message.
posted by matteo to Bugs at 12:32 PM PST - 4 comments

This site is just too much

I had my finger on the button of a new MeTa thread, ready to congratulate Matt on having the discretion to NOT delete the Rape Haiku post. Unfortunately, that's a thread that will never exist.
posted by Ryvar to Bugs at 10:46 AM PST - 137 comments

November 4

Seattle Meetup

Reminder: PNW MeFi/MoFi Meetup this Saturday evening, November 6, 2004 in Seattle (thanx naxo). [mi]
posted by mwhybark to MetaFilter Gatherings at 3:33 PM PST - 7 comments

New Jersey MeFi/MoFi meetup

Reminder: NJ MeFi/MoFi Meetup this Saturday evening, November 6, 2004 in New Jersey. [mi]
posted by naxosaxur to MetaFilter Gatherings at 2:13 PM PST - 23 comments

This post was deleted for a political reason?

This post was deleted for the following reason: fuck zell miller
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood to Etiquette/Policy at 10:57 AM PST - 127 comments

Toronto Meetup

I'll be in Toronto this Saturday and Sunday. Anyone for a mini-meetup?
posted by Shane to MetaFilter Gatherings at 9:04 AM PST - 7 comments

Post election thread doesn't go well.

I'm not sure what you have in mind when it comes to "drastic" Matt, but this piece of crap needs to go... in my opinion of course.
posted by Witty to Etiquette/Policy at 2:23 AM PST - 38 comments

November 3

Personal attacks suck

Haven't we been talking about putting a stop to this type of personal attack?
posted by fenriq to Etiquette/Policy at 6:14 PM PST - 63 comments

Jay-Run was smacking me around earlier

So. Jay-Run was smacking me around earlier when I tried to visit the site. Enough post-election traffic to cause problems or something else? Just curious, the site was really speedy last night when I was checking the huge election threads.
posted by bargle to Uptime at 4:08 PM PST - 12 comments

Flat file generation stuff got the URL cut off

Go to this thread. When I click on the usernames, I don't get user pages, but a thread...
posted by weston to Bugs at 12:26 PM PST - 22 comments

AskMe Legality Guideline

Should Ask MetaFilter be used to help someone find software that is not suppose to be distributed?
posted by terrapin to Etiquette/Policy at 9:40 AM PST - 12 comments

Another 4 years of BushFilter

It seems at the moment, that the US President will not change and will last another four years. I'm going to admit that I considered it a small bonus that if there was a victory for the contender, there was a glimmer of hope that the culture of MeFi might have shifted away from politics. Do you think that would have happened? We have another four years ahead of us...is it time to finally bury the dead horse and just admit, yes, the Blue is (and perhaps has always been) a community political weblog now? There's always AskMeFi I say.
posted by Stan Chin to Etiquette/Policy at 8:43 AM PST - 75 comments

November 2

Followup: I have a date!

Followup: I have a date! Also, since I've bet my ass on Kerry, I may actually be able to afford the coffee.
posted by Pretty_Generic to MetaFilter-Related at 2:26 PM PST - 28 comments

Thanks!

Let me just say for the record that it's noon, eastern standard time, and as far as I can tell none of the new ElectionFilter threads have devolved into the mess of baseless accusations and screaming threats I was afraid I'd see today. Thanks to everyone for keeping cool heads on this so far, and whatever happens I hope we can keep it this way. I know we're all tired of it.
posted by caution live frogs to Etiquette/Policy at 9:16 AM PST - 57 comments

Viewropa: we don't talk about US politics

If any folks would like to escape from the probable concentration on the US election here for the next day or two (and maybe many weeks after), you are all very welcome to come and discuss European issues over a cup of tea and scones at Viewropa...
posted by humuhumu to MetaFilter-Related at 9:14 AM PST - 11 comments

Can we get another background for AskMe?

COLOR THEORY CRYBABYFILTER: I love the blue and grey of metafilter, but find the green of AskMefi to overwhelm me, and in kind of a swampy pea green soup way where I can feel ill if I read it too long. Is it possible to offer another background color, similar to the white screen you can get in your preferences when the Metafilter blue gets similarly distracting? I love AskMefi but that green really gets overwhelming at points.
posted by Peter H to Feature Requests at 9:07 AM PST - 13 comments

Recollectionfilter: that game, the one with the terrorists...

A while ago (years?) there was a link posted on MeFi to a flash game where the objective was to kill terrorists by dropping bombs on them. The trick was, that when you killed terrorists you created more from the people around who took up the fight... Anyone remember it? I've tried a few searches, but nothing so far (there are A LOT of terrorist killing flash games)
posted by sycophant to MetaFilter-Related at 3:12 AM PST - 6 comments

November 1

Cold Fusion cold shoulder leaves link confusion

I'm looking for a link out of this archived thread but it has a cold fusion error.
posted by Shane to Bugs at 9:32 PM PST - 3 comments

Spell-checker works!

Maybe I've been doing something wrong, but today's the first time in months that the spell-checker has worked for me. It's been endless piano-keys for me each time I've tried it, all the way up to the new server install. Brav0!
posted by scarabic to Uptime at 9:52 AM PST - 5 comments

December Dallas Meetup?

December Dallas Meetup? Now you too can ? romakimmy...[mi]
posted by romakimmy to MetaFilter Gatherings at 7:02 AM PST - 27 comments

Advertising policy and spammers

I have a question about Metafilter's Textad policy. In general, I find the ads relevant and useful --- I'm far more likely to click through here than on other sites.

However, I noticed today that there's an ad running that asks people to "Play Texas Hold'em", posted by checknraise. Those of you who run Movable Type or Wordpress blogs might have noticed a recent wave of comment spam advertising "Texas Hold'em".

If I had ads on my blog, I wouldn't accept them from people who are also spammers. Does Metafilter have a policy on this type of thing, and is there any way to dump the "Texas Hold'em" ads?
posted by robcorr to Etiquette/Policy at 12:46 AM PST - 14 comments