Most Favorited Posts in the Past 7 Days:
Western Orientalism on MetaFilter
From discussion on the Big Data AI language model, some folks innocently mentioned the Chinese Room, a thought experiment about a language we don't know.
Help Me Get My Smile Back?
A strange man screamed at me for no reason today, now I find I need something to help me shake that encounter off, and feel happy again. Details below.
Subreddit recommendations
On a tangent from the MeFi post about Reddit, and specifically comments to the effect that, once you avoid the obvious trashfires and big mainstream forums, there are some quality subreddits: what are some subreddits that MeFites have found particularly worth following/getting involved in, especially ones that one might not stumble across on a casual visit to the site?
Look on these works, ye mighty, and rejoice
Judging by the brilliance of comments Mefites are amazing writers, and I for one would love to read your fanfic!
2 Hyuck 2 Hyucking
So our first experimental Hyucking Hyuck thread worked out pretty well, and then a month went by and it closed. So: here we are with round two! This is a dedicated space for riffing and jokes, designed in particular to take some strain of the overcrowded US politics catch-all threads.
Keeping arguing about the US primaries in check
The US political cycle is creeping into the beginning of the 2020 primary season, and that means we need to talk about avoiding the stuff that has gone badly on MetaFilter in previous election cycles. That means folks making a collective effort to avoid the worse discussion dynamics we've seen in the past, and it means the mod team pushing hard when folks aren't succeeding at that effort.
AskMe question about writing email
Can you please help me find a thread on the green that was about how to write emails that have the best chance of eliciting the desired action/response? I'm thinking someone submitted their proposed email phrasing and people responded with critiques and also little hints about how to structure emails. Thank you for the help.
Brimming With Valentine Exchange Warm Fuzzies
Thank you to mochapickle for organizing such a fun Valentine Exchange for the second year in a row! My mailbox has been full of fun/funny/charming/creative valentines all month. This thread is to oooh, aahh and otherwise chortle about the fun cards (and if Fig's card exchange brought you V-Day goodness, or if you sent/received Valentines in other capacities, please do share here)!
How many towels do MeFites own?
Because of this and similar towel counting, I suddenly have towel-ownership issues. How many do you own, or think you should own? How does it break down e.g. beach towel, bath towel, hand towel, toilet towel, face towel? And are there mitigating (and not private) factors that affect this number e.g. large family, pets, run a hotel, your job requires lots of towels? (note that if this is a security question for any account you should of course not answer)
MetaSkills
It's still early in the week but I'm already overwhelmed with politics and awful news. Let's lighten the mood and talk about something else. If time wasn’t an issue and you had forever to master a skill, what skill would you master? Sword-making, basket-weaving, knitting, quilting, embroidery, carpentry, coding/programming, languages, pottery, cooking, leather-work, tattooing, brewing, hunting, etc? Think like you're inside of a video-game and you have unlimited skill-points to invest in, what skill(s) are you leveling up? Also, be kind to yourself and to others. Cheers.
Nintendo Switch: The Enfriendening
I finally broke down and bought a Switch. It looks like the last round of friend code swapping was in 2014 for the WiiU and 3DS / 2DS. So, whaddya say? Let's swap friend codes!
MetaLifeHack
It's the end of another week. Politics is awful like usual, and much of the world seems to literally be on fire. So let's talk about something else instead. Tell me about a cool 'life hack'. Maybe you found a way to pack luggage in a way that has made traveling easier. Maybe you found a way to deal with oily skin using some old world natural remedies. Maybe there's a cool browser extension or add-on that lets you do some nifty thing in your day to day Internet consumption. Whatever it is, feel free to share some life hacks with the MetaFilter community. I'm always excited to learn about ways to make my life a bit easier/better.
Metatalktail Hour: Stranger Things
Good Saturday evening, MetaFilter – Euro Time Shift Edition! I'm filling in for Eyebrows to pose a topic suggested by holborne, who asks, "What are some memorable or funny (or both) interactions you've had with [non-threatening] strangers in public? (I thought of it mostly because I've had kind of adorable interactions with guys who handed me their newspapers on public transport after they caught me reading over their shoulders, although since no one really reads newspapers anymore that makes me old.)"
Will Poo Month Never End???
Poop month was January! JANUARY! And yet Johnny Wallflower and his nefarious assistant Fizz are turning February into Poop month 2: The wrath of crap!
When. Will. It. Stop?
Murrrrrrder?
Earlier today after a passing a family while walking down the street I said to my wife, "The interesting question to me isn't why some people murder their children. It's why anyone doesn't murder their children" - I didn’t think comments about murdering any types of people were allowed, but this one still stands.
MetaMetaTalk and MetaModeration Thereof
In another MeTa post, a moderator made comments that some found to be unmodly. That other MeTa became a more wide-ranging discussion of moderation (and metamoderation), to the point that it has been agreed that a different MetaTalk post should be started. This is that MetaTalk post.
(MetaFilter's own) Telephone Pictionary - signups open!
OK, friends and neighbors -- signups for Telephone-Pictionary-by-mail are now OPEN! The signup form is here, and signups will be accepted through the end of February. I'll aim to assign groups and email folks with their group assignments in the first week of March. If you have questions, please feel free to send me a MeFi Mail or shoot an email to mailphonepictionary@gmail.com. Better yet, ask in the comments to this thread. Not sure what this is about? Details within!
Metatalktails: Love
Good Saturday evening, MetaFilter! This week, in honor of Valentine's Day, I want to hear about something you love! A book, a painting, a person, a crayon color, a smell, a TV show -- anything at all as long as you love it!
Strike that, reverse it?
Deleted posts can be flagged but not favorited. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Why no meetup photos?
I used to love looking at meetup photos and putting faces with names, but it doesn't seem like anyone posts them anymore. Is this because people are more worried about privacy, or is it because Flickr is completely terrible now, or a combination? Or is it just because pictures are so easy/ubiquitous that no one really takes them anymore?
I don't know what the answer is (and I won't be contributing because I am WAY too shy to ever go to a meetup) but I would love it if people got into the habit again. Would allowing photos in IRL posts be a pony too far?