July 2003 Archives (all archives)
July 31
nothing loads after ADVERTISEMENT
Google Ad problem? Everything on the blue pages load, right up to the ADVERTISEMENT part of the Google Ad sidebar, then nothing loads after that. (screen shot)
I want to delete my account
in most communities, you can leave when you're ready to move on.
Minneapolis-St. Paul mefites, let's get our meetup planned here!
Minneapolis-St. Paul mefites, let's get our meetup planned here!
Link redux: MeFi gets too common-linky?
Without getting specific, I regularly see links on metafilter these days to items which not only have previously been posted to every site on the intarweb and my grandmothers mailing list, but which have usually appeared on my television set some twelve to twenty four hours before they show up here. I fully realise that the intentions of the participants re-shape the intentions of communities over time, and that if I don't like it here I'm free to leave.
However, I first got interested in this site because it was the best filter on the web, not the wittiest discussion forum, so I'll poke my head over the parapet one more time to ask the question: what is the purpose of this site any more as opposed to, say, blogdex? Do we still fulfill a useful function, or as Matt obliquely eludes elsewhere, are human filters wearing the orange safety reflectors of the web these days, compared to the robots? And if not, how can we raise the bar?
However, I first got interested in this site because it was the best filter on the web, not the wittiest discussion forum, so I'll poke my head over the parapet one more time to ask the question: what is the purpose of this site any more as opposed to, say, blogdex? Do we still fulfill a useful function, or as Matt obliquely eludes elsewhere, are human filters wearing the orange safety reflectors of the web these days, compared to the robots? And if not, how can we raise the bar?
July 30
DHTML Popup Problems
The DHTML popups are driving me batty, and they won't go away. More inside.
Updated link for closed thread?
What does one do with an updated link for something that's already been posted, after the thread's been closed? (More inside...)
UK Meetup
Has there ever been a UK MeFi meetup. If not, how do people feel about it? Any interest? Anybody? Hello?
July 29
Thread Error
This thread produces an error. Error text inside.
July 28
Madison Meetup
All these meetups going on make me want one too. Madison? Upper Midwest? [more inside]
New members increase numbers (from July 2003)
17153? Did I miss a memo? For the longest time it was 17151. Who are the two new members? Does this mean membership is open again? What do I do if someone I know wants to get in, and does it involve PayPal?
July 27
Poor attendance at the July 27 meetup in Portland, Oregon
Portland Pilers Suck. Yes, this means you.
Called out on the callout of the callout
Most of you probably don't care about this thread, but I got called out on my callout, and... [more inside]
July 26
Is this a self-link?
Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this.. it's late at night and I've poked around a little bit looking for a place to email questions like this and didn't find one, but I didn't want to FPP to MeFi without asking this first...
The company I work for (but not me personally) has developed a web scripting language that in some ways is comparable to ColdFusion, which MeFi is run on...
Is it kosher for me to post a link to it on MeFi? The product is free and the only end goal I want to see is that interested parties go try it out and give feedback on it... The "business model" so to speak is to eventually sell customer support to corporate types, but there are online forums and the like for free support to regular joes just tinkering with the language and helping each other out...
Anyhow... if it's not cool to post it, no big deal... if it is, cool... If anyone wants to check it out, let me know... I'll respond with a link...
The company I work for (but not me personally) has developed a web scripting language that in some ways is comparable to ColdFusion, which MeFi is run on...
Is it kosher for me to post a link to it on MeFi? The product is free and the only end goal I want to see is that interested parties go try it out and give feedback on it... The "business model" so to speak is to eventually sell customer support to corporate types, but there are online forums and the like for free support to regular joes just tinkering with the language and helping each other out...
Anyhow... if it's not cool to post it, no big deal... if it is, cool... If anyone wants to check it out, let me know... I'll respond with a link...
No Iraq amputee trolling please.
Come on do we need this type of trolling here? (more inside)
Vancouver Meetup Photos
A small but extremely congenial group of Vancouver metafiltarians met at the Sylvia last night. I have pictures. (I hope salmonberry's turned out better.)
July 25
Anyone else playing these games?
I found these two groovylittle turn based web games from the text ads here. So, I'm wondering is anyone else playing, and is there any interest in our forming a Mefi gang and wreaking chaos and terror through the world?
July 24
SDB in Opinion Journal
Every time I post, the ping to weblogs.com times out
Every time I post, the ping to weblogs.com times out. The post goes through, so I guess we're all OK, but I thought I'd mention it. Does this seem to be a regular thing for everybody else?
Different thread, same topic
Surely we don't need another thread on the Hussein boys so soon, do we?
What can we do to encourage people to pad out their NewsFilter posts?
What can we do to encourage people to pad out their NewsFilter posts? Yes it is an interesting piece of news, and yes I am sure some interesting comments may follow but surely some extra links to relevant elements of the story is not too difficult? C'mon folks, off your fat asses.
July 23
Why the title change?
Matt, don't you like Jello Biafra? Because the original title of the ADL thread was actually an excerpt from a famous anti-Nazi DK song, as noticed by talos.
BTW, since we're here, let me ask again: is it wise to run the tinyninjas ad even though they sell Iron Cross apparel?
BTW, since we're here, let me ask again: is it wise to run the tinyninjas ad even though they sell Iron Cross apparel?
July 22
Too much self-moderation?
Even giving the poster's intentions the benefit of the doubt, there's a whole lot of self-moderating going on in this thread.
As far as I'm aware, this is still a no-no.
South Carolina Meetup
Jealous of all of the lovely social events planned for the near future, I cautiously ask: Am I the only South Eastern Mefite? Anyone in South Carolina? Want to get together and prove the stereotypes by eating a pig raw while firing guns in the air, or more preferrably disproving them all by drinking something other than King Cobra and conversing intellectually? [more inside]
July 21
Meetups In SF, Portland, Vancouver: Going?
Potentially busy social calendar this weekend: MeFi meetups in San Francisco, Portland, and Vancouver planned between the 25th and the 27th. Are these all still on? Are there more I missed?
July 20
HTML tag corrupting a link
There's a corruption at the end of a hot link - http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/27108 - caused by an odd "a href" tag. How would I go about getting it sorted? I've got a corker of a post to put up...
July 19
Duplicate trackbacks
Still getting duplicate Trackbacks.
July 18
I love mouseover text
I love mouseover text, especially in gratuitous, copious amounts. I've got that feature enabled where it looks all pretty (blue background, white text). But I can't read it all in this nicely-organized post, since part of the mouseover text ends up sitting underneath the 'ADVERTISEMENT(S).' I request satisfaction.
July 17
Are there t-shirts?
The BushFilter ad redirects to MetaFilter. Are there t-shirts?
I don't come here very much any more, but...
I don't come here very much any more [no time; the Chomsky crowd nauseates me trop] but could someone please offer a possible explanation for why Metafilter no longer looks the way it used to on my IE5.0 for Mac? No more Verdana; more clean, uncluttered look....? My cookies were deleted and replaced; customization is as it should be....?
We've discussed problems with geocities links before
Regarding this post: We've discussed problems with geocities links before. Unfortunately people are not requiored to have read that discussion before posting. Can we grep front Page posts for sites with limited bandwidth quotas (geocities and other known free hosting sites) and then at least warn the posters on the preview pane that they should probably get the google cash or try and find the content elseware?
July 16
Why was the WWV post deleted?
Why was the WWV post deleted? Not clever enough? Isn't the ";)" enough to denote it's some type of joke?
The timeout setting is pretty low right now.
These days there's enough traffic on MeFi (which is a good thing) that it takes a while, what with interruptions and such, to get through all the new links, comments, and new comments on previously-seen threads. So Matt, could you increase the timeout setting (or make it configurable on the User Page) for deciding when to update the new comments count? Thanks!
July 15
User Callout
Dear 111, I wanted to email this to you but you listed no email address. I thought you were rude in the "brights" thread and wanted to let you know. Your position was unhelpful, off-topic, and served to intentionally deflect attention from the topic at hand.
July 14
Thousands of unviewed links? That can't be!
Is it just me? The bluepage seems to think I have thousands of unviewed links while here in the grey it lists two. As addicted as I am to this place, I know SOMETHING is wrong...
Scientology primer host passes bandwidth bill
The host of the '70s Scientology primer that brought so much joy to Metafilter and others is passing the hat for an unexpected bandwidth bill: "~50,000 people saw the site, and given that I do not think it is crazy to assume that 210 of them (you) can donate a dollar (just one!) to my cause."
Forced login - what?
I just got forced to login when loading either MetaFilter or MetaTalk, with a statement that only logged-in folks can post. What's that about?
July 13
Linking a temporary absence
Linking the temporary absence of a site is silly.
Echo Project is mislabeld as "metafilter related"?
Think the only thing "MetaFilter-related" about The Echo Project is that it's a reason for Dave Winer to have another FPP-level hissy fit? Well, since copyright conflicts won't allow the developers behind "Echo" to call it "Echo", they're putting out a call for alternate names, and one of the most popular proposals so far is MetaPub. Is this infringement on the MetaFilter name? Will this cause future confusion among the already easily confused? Is this something that this Meta Community should take a stand on?
BTW, other popular names: Necho (as in Not Echo), Spark and Lokahi (obscure Hawaiian term). A couple folks are also pushing MetaVox.
BTW, other popular names: Necho (as in Not Echo), Spark and Lokahi (obscure Hawaiian term). A couple folks are also pushing MetaVox.
July 11
Adding double posts to the original?
A new way to deal with double posts: instead of deleting them (or not) could the double and its comments be added as comments to the original post?
Upgrades in the Works
Uptime will probably be sporadic over the next few days while I do some software and hardware upgrades. On the upside, I get to bask in the glow of the server while I do the upgrades.
come on and share your most embarrassing moment
Have you ever plagiarized and double-posted a two-day-old post about plagiarism? I have. Please make it less lonely in here, folks - come on and share your most embarrassing moment on MeFi so far!
July 10
Portland OR Meetup
Screw Boston! Has there ever been a Pacific Northwest MeFi gathering? There are a fair number of Portland/Seattle MeFites.
July 9
So, what happened to Mefi Music?
So, what happened to Mefi Music? It hasn't been updated in six years.
Boston Meetup
Has Boston ever had a meetup? I can't find a record of one, so I'm going to suggest it.
July 8
MetaFilter was mentioned in an USA Today "Blogosphere" article today.
MetaFilter was mentioned in an USA Today "Blogosphere" article today.
Bad Markup
Goofy, wrong or misused HTML breaks the style sheet and ruins the appearance of the rest of a thread. I don't know if this is an IE/Mac only experience, but in any case it really makes reading the rest of a thread difficult, which stinks when the topic is interesting. I may be asking for an elephant gun to kill an ant, but is there some way to alert people when they've got misformed markup in their post?
DC meetup proposal
Now that we have the nifty zip-code identifier, I see that there is a decent crowd here in DC. Any want to do a gathering? This is the time of year....patios and roofdecks are open, its light late, perfect time for picking a bar and going to meet a bunch of strangers.
Deleted posts search feature?
This thread for googling for WMDs has come up I think three times now. (And will probably be deleted before most of you read this post.) As It took me quite a while to locate via search where the page in question was first posted, and this mistake could be made with similar distributed content is there any way that we can have the search feature include deleated posts? If it did this person would have probably seen the other two deleted posts and not posted this. Perhaps a checkbox on the search page for 'include deleted posts'.
July 7
I consistently get a weird error when i go to this thread.
I consistently get a weird error when i go to this thread.
July 5
Servers and delfuego moving, expect downtime.
Tomorrow, I’ll shut down all the computers that still live in my old apartment in New York (including the one running this site and the MetaFilter server), drive them up to Boston, and set them all up on the new T1.
5 Jul 03 @ 9:31 PM"
Expect downtime. MetaFilter addicts take note. You have been warned. We now return to your regularly scheduled flamewar.
5 Jul 03 @ 9:31 PM"
Expect downtime. MetaFilter addicts take note. You have been warned. We now return to your regularly scheduled flamewar.
July 3
comment counts in MeTa
Trivial pony: when inside MeTa threads, could we have a count of total comments, like we do in the Blue? I know the comment counts are there on the MetaTalk home, but it might be nice, even if only for consistency of UI, to be able to tell how many comments without having to back out and re-enter.
Imminent demise of Metafilter predicted, 7/3/03
As a long-time MetaFilter reader (but mostly a lurker), it saddens me to see that the quality of FPPs has fallen dramatically in the last few months. This is less in reference to repeated posts, and more just really lame, boring, very poorly written (or not written) and poorly styled FPPs. And what's worse, the problem also seems to be rapidly accelerating in recent weeks, IMHO. I have friends that have basically stopped reading Mefi due to quality drop. While I do realize that recent MetaTalk posts have suggested features to help fix FPP-quality issues, meanwhile the problem goes unchecked. Is there anything we can do to help save Mefi from a death of total lameness? Or should those of us who are concerned just start looking for a good Mefi alternative? (Any suggestions?) Do other people out there agree that quality has declined and poses a serious threat to the relevance of Mefi, or it is just my friends and I?
New Activity in Dormant Threads
Sorry if this has been requested before, but... some lame front-page posts on recently-covered topics (e.g., Blair Hornstine) might be avoided if there were a way to alert interested users of new activity in dormant threads. (more inside)
July 2
Meetup near Pittsburg for SCA fans as well, Aug. 2003
MeFi Goes Medieval - An August Meet-up Proposal: more inside...
Vancouver Meetup
Seriously, what is it with Vancouver? It can't be as cool as I've been lead to believe. Want to find out? How about a Vancouver meetup this summer?
Is the MeFi demographic overwhelmingly white and pale-faced?
Is the MeFi demographic overwhelmingly white and pale-faced? Where are the minorities?
Shirky on Internet Groups
Shirky on Internet Groups: All groups of any integrity have a constitution. The constitution is always partly formal and partly informal. At the very least, the formal part is what's substantiated in code -- "the software works this way."
Article about groups (including Metafilter) on the internet. Quite Interesting.
Article about groups (including Metafilter) on the internet. Quite Interesting.
Mod worship
AutoMatt and the Template of God [[more inside]]
July 1
Will the new project launch?
OK, OK, so there was a little outage. We've already forgiven and forgotten, right? The question is: Here it is July 1st... so, is MoJo ready?
Sorry about the downtime
Sorry about the downtime, I was moving from one place to another, far away. Things should be back to normal now.