MetaTalk

It's been a rather crappy past decade for me.. Wife passed away in '09 as y'all well know, diagnosed with T2 diabetes and stage 4 kidney cancer last June, surgery to remove a kidney and tumor last September, and ongoing chemo to reduce the metastasis in my lungs, and I'll eventually need surgery to rebuild my left shoulder due to a bone lesion. Through all this - y'all have been the most kind, caring, considering, and just gently awesome folks I could ever as for. Even when I'm having a really crappy day, I end up reading something on here, or talking to a MeFite on twitter (I'm @mrbill) that just makes me smile and cheer up a bit. So, in short, I'm all schmoopy right now.. thank you. Thank you Matt, Cortex, Jessamyn, and all y'all.
posted by mrbill on Apr 17 at 4:08 AM - 54 comments

A little bug came across me, out of nowhere, and reminded me: MetaFilter! It's been a handful of years since I've posted, and over a decade since I joined - with the Facebook et. al controversies of the world, I am thrilled to be back on the first "social network" community I joined aside from the myriad forums of the late '90's and early naughties. I am beyond thrilled to see that the same substance that drew me here to begin with is alive and well (HTML tags, yes!). Any other folks return after an extended hiatus? I have some profile work to do here but, feedback wise - is the magic still here? It still seems like it but we are fantastic at tricking ourselves into what we want to believe.
posted by deacon_blues on Apr 18 at 10:34 AM - 21 comments

It's time for a roll call of the social-media inclined pets of Metafilter!
posted by zeusianfog on Apr 13 at 12:55 PM - 63 comments

I *swear* I read an article here on MetaFilter about a study done that measured creative output in rural areas compared to urban ones. It found that urban areas had more creative output due to the higher concentration of creative types. There was synergy in being around other creative people that made you more creative yourself. I'm Googling and have searched the site but cannot find it. It was not a formal research paper but an article (that likely cited a study/studies). I'm helping with a UU sermon on creativity and would like to reference it if only I could find it! If it rings a bell for you, I'd greatly appreciate it!
posted by Twicketface on Apr 18 at 11:41 AM - 5 comments

Good Saturday evening, MetaFilter! This week, I'm curious to know your go-to karaoke song, if you have one! And if you don't (or even if you do!), you can tell us what you're doing this weekend.
posted by Eyebrows McGee on Apr 14 at 4:50 PM - 101 comments

Do not go gentle into that good night
posted by Sophie1 on Apr 13 at 7:05 AM - 130 comments

and all their assorted related mid April weather miseries check in thread. How are you handling the snow / freezing rain / thunderstorms / tornadoes / fire weather?
posted by mygothlaundry on Apr 15 at 11:18 AM - 70 comments

I am sad to share that longtime member kmennie passed away on December 26th, 2017.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Apr 9 at 6:18 AM - 162 comments

Instead of Reddit I use MetaFilter. Instead of Twitter I use Mastodon. I'm interested in what your other alternative platforms are? I'm also interested in platforms like MetaFilter that are designed/maintained by people that are trustworthy. These choices matter because I'm trying my best to be a part of a more ethical/social platform and still stay connected with a digital community. What are your recommendations?
posted by Fizz on Apr 15 at 10:22 AM - 34 comments

Bingo and I are Human-Computer Interaction researchers in Bath, UK and Vienna, AT, who are looking at moderation on web forums and how it shapes discussions. Over the past several months, with permission from the site staff, we have been examining moderator comments on MetaFilter in order to answer several questions.
posted by katta on Mar 26 at 7:27 AM - 131 comments

We've tidied up a bit in the "also on" sites in your profile. First, the cleanup discussed previously has been done. Thank you to everyone who categorised websites on the wiki and made it easier on me (if no less saddening) to remove deceased sites. Second, Mastodon and Diaspora have been, after requests and discussion, added.
posted by frimble on Apr 9 at 9:32 AM - 46 comments

Do we not have a post about what's happening in Gaza because of the whole "Metafilter doesn't handle Israel/Palestine well", or because no one has made a post yet?
posted by andoatnp on Apr 6 at 8:30 AM - 28 comments

What are the best 'called it' moments from here?
posted by fluttering hellfire on Apr 6 at 6:51 PM - 33 comments

Can this be the thread where we post pictures of our bicycles?
posted by jillithd on Apr 6 at 6:40 AM - 55 comments

Good Saturday evening, MetaFilter! This week, AugustWest wants to know, "Do you have any heroes and if so, who are they and why are they your hero?"
posted by Eyebrows McGee on Apr 7 at 5:43 PM - 41 comments

This isn't a call out at all, I just wanted to let people know how I'm affected and see if others have had the same difficulty. I'm pretty sure my executive function isn't as great as it could be... but I REALLY struggle when people are telling backstories and asking for advice and use letters instead of fake names to anonymise the people they're discussing. Eg X said to Y they failed to post the letter but Y had given it to B on the way to C and D’s house because Z was in Hobart . Easier for me : Patrick said to Tim he’d failed to post the letter but Tim had given it to Trinh on the way to Rachel and Krista’s house because Bronwyn was in Hobart. May I suggest that it's a lot easier for us to follow who the actors are if you give fake names? I'd like to ask people to consider using entire names, or nouns or something other than letters. It's super hard to follow. Even on a professional white background. ;-)
posted by taff on Apr 6 at 4:31 PM - 51 comments

User 1 interviews user 292 on the Hobby Horse podcast.
posted by Chrysostom on Apr 10 at 10:10 AM - 36 comments

The venting thread is dead, long live the venting thread.
posted by murphy slaw on Mar 12 at 6:57 PM - 378 comments

Tired of increasingly bloated, over-designed web interfaces? Looking for a way to enjoy your content without all the dozens of JavaScript trackers and endless needless geegaws? Give the new MetaFilter Reader interface a shot! Clean, classic design; mobile friendly; it even comes with its own games!
posted by cortex on Mar 31 at 10:15 PM - 140 comments

Australian Paypal has informed us that as of April 5th, "sending money internationally to friends or family" will now incur a fixed fee of $5.99 AUD+2.6% of the portion funded +fixed fee based on the currency.
posted by kjs4 on Apr 4 at 8:18 AM - 11 comments